Who We Are [Eceph's First Hatching]

[cyrus]

The young man, almost too old to be a candidate, watches the frenzy quietly, withdrawn a little bit. He was not one of the mauled, nor was he late, but he had simply gone unnoticed by all of the creatures gathered here. Though older than many, he scarcely looked teenage, without the benefit of his overcoat, he seemed so slender, and delicate, his shoulders bony. Only the thin outline of his sword lent anything to his appearance. He sighs quietly once, and looks at the carnage that has befallen the others.

He had never felt more humble than when he stood in his soldier's garb, his shirt rumpled from his long sleep, remembering the moment where he stood in awe of one of the beautiful simourvs, which stood shining before him and his watchtower hound. Now, he waited quietly, hoping that one of the eggs was for him, after he touched them all carefully so long ago, in hopes that they would find him. His grey eyes fixed at a single spot, his expression empty, as he often was when something stuck him deeply somewhere vulnerable. He put his hands to his side, as he went to help Teagan bind her wounds, looking at the doctor with a bit of concern. He holds out the cloth quietly.

[jaker]

Kito shook his head, "nah, don't ya worry, I'll knick some food for yours," he said, trying to reassure her. He looked around to check if any hatchlings were going to take a nip at him, he personally didn't want to be bitten from his behind. "They sure are... 'playful' in nice terms," the muttered. He lifted his hand to check the wound, "you'll be ok, clean it up, put a couple of light stitches and it'll be like it never happened.... the wound ofcoarse," he added, having an inkling that the girl wanted the bonding to happen, he didn't know in all honesty so he choose what he said carefully, seeing as the girl was upset and still a bit stressed.

He felt someone behind him. As he turnt around his eyes came across a cloth, Kito smiled at the quiet man, "thanks mate, we needed a new one," he looked at his hand that was stained with blood, he made the shh expression because Teagan didn't know how much she bled at the start. "I don't suppose you could take over for me, I'm not the most comforting guys around here, expecially if I get bonded while I'm tending to Teag'," he asked as his eyes scanned the area around them.

[maiwolf]

[/i] time to stand up before something else knocked her over. She had just wiped off her butt from the hot sands when something pushed her over again. The young girl was afraid it would be some sort of red again, but the playful words of the rainbow entered her mind. What do you do if you're hurt, Ol'ia? Why, find a Weirph, of course! Olivia sat smack on her butt again, stunned to high heaven, as the rainbow forced itself to sit on her lap. The rainbow was about the size of a large dog, maybe larger, Olivia couldn’t really tell right now. The rainbow was warm, and her feathers had already dried from the gunk-stuff of the eggs. The sands had helped with that, the heat, and also the fact that the rainbow had hatched second out of the whole clutch. Olivia stared at Weirph, and Weirph stared at Olivia. Then Weirph spoke, Oh, and why did the baby fall out of the tree? Because it was dead! Isn't life ridiculous, Ol'ia? It took a moment for Olivia to register what Weirph was talking about, then a slow smile crept across her face as she heard the small rainbow laugh. The young girl could hear a small morbidity in the rainbow’s laughter, but at this moment, Olivia—no, Ol’ia—didn’t care.

“Weirph!” Ol’ia declared happily, and leaned forward to give her rainbow a hug. Her rainbow, the wonderful ball of feathers sitting in her lap was hers. Well, technically they were each other’s, but that didn’t matter much right now. Weirph knew what she was thinking, and reveled in the fact that Ol’ia was hugging her. Suddenly, though… I'm hungry. And indeed she was. Olivia could feel her rainbow’s stomach gurgle. No, it wasn’t Olivia anymore, it was Ol’ia. Ol’ia the rainbowrider. Ol’ia the rainbowrider. With a sharp intake of breath and a squeeze of Weirph’s feathered body, Ol’ia realized that she was just like Ts’kal now! Another stomach-growl made Ol’ia look back at her simourv’s purply-eyes, and the girl tried to get up. That required her to push Weirph off slightly before standing. But Weirph was not away from her for long, and Ol’ia stooped to pick up the rainbow. It was a hard fit, and Weirph oomphed as Ol’ia tried to stabilized the little rainbow in her arms. In the end, Olive ended up dragging her rainbow like one might hold a dog—her arms were around the simourv’s middle with her legs hanging down and her tail trailing. Weirph laughed, this time with no morbidity, and nuzzled her rider.

What happens when a chicken doesn’t cross the road? Weirph asked, but before Olive could even begin to answer, the rainbow continued gleefully, It gets eaten by the koxi! She laughed happily, with that awful sense of sinister happiness hidden in her voice. But she nuzzled her rider as much as she could with her head facing forward. Ol’ia continued to drag her simourv out, but if Weirph didn’t like it, she gave no sign. She hung there, expectant like a puppy, and laughed as she smelled food. Olive was happy, and Weirph was happy. That was all there was to it.

---

B’oone just sat there, on Anoglyph’s back.

---

Gabrael was surprised, like Marion always surprised him, when she jumped onto his back… well, not fully onto his back, but close enough, and draped her arms around him. Her voice was close to his ear as she said hello to him. He merely nodded back, trying to stifle his surprise but possibly failing at it. “Hello, Marion. Fancy meeting you here.” Gabrael tried to drawl back, and a small smile formed on his lips. He could smell her, oh boy could he smell her, but right now her smell was so much better than the smell of some of the people he was packed with. Like sardines, like those fish that swarmed together in the oceans, that’s how he felt. It was ten times worse for him since he couldn’t see if he were going to run into someone. Sarai wasn’t helping much, either, because all she was doing was talking about the hatchlings. She had acknowledged Marion, but only with a slight nod of her head while she continued, animatedly talking about the hatching.

“So Sarai told me,” Gabrael declared, nodding toward the young woman who was helping her. But he was so much more interested in Marion. “Is this a time for rest before you’re out again to spread the good news?” Gabrael tried to ask nonchalantly, but he could hear the hatching (and hearing without seeing was sort of boring, even if Sarai was helping him), and her breathing in his ears. He had the intanse feeling that he needed to shiver, but it would not come. He could hear Sarai’s sniff of disdain before she continued, “Oh, more greens, and a blue finally hatched!” But Gabrael didn’t listen, and Sarai didn’t notice. Sometimes Gabrael wondered if Sarai liked to talk to him because she liked the sound of her voice.
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[Cy]

[/i] her friend.

"Of course," she muttered, not enough to be heard over the noise, but the fact that she stepped forward quickly as directed proved answer enough. She scurried across the sands, finally dropping down to her knees beside her friend, putting on a brave smile for the sake of the injured girl. "Hey, Teag." Her voice was still no more than a whisper, her eyes seeming larger with tears that she'd continued to prove strong enough to avoid shedding and her slender hand inched its way across to find a kind grasp on Teagan's.

Another boy was there, one she hardly spared a glance to as she focused on the mauled girl's face. It wasn't until the appearance of black and blue downy pressing against Teagan's side that she tore her gaze away to look to the chick, beautiful and concerned, and, for a moment, she thought maybe she'd been found. But no feeling wrapped its way into her heart and nothing spoke to her. When her friend's hand slipped away to care to the creature, to bury her face in feathers and speak, it was clear that the blue belonged to Teagan. And she suppressed the disappointment to smile instead, to watch the two together without disturbing them.

Her eyes widened a moment when the girl finally addressed that she was supposed to leave now that she was bonded. But she was injured! And Ripley - the man who had called her over? - had said not to move. And even if she could move, none of those tending to her now could leave the sands, none of them had yet bonded. She glanced up as another boy joined them, to help. She bit at her lip, twisting enough to glance towards the entranceway that they'd all piled in through. With a breath, she looked back to her friend, smiling a bit. "I'll see if I can find a rider to help you off the sands, okay?" She offered, looking from Teagan to the boys and then to the blue before pushing herself up and turning to hurry away towards the exit.

It wasn't more than a number of steps before she slowed and then paused, her blue eyes darting left and right in search of someone. She didn't want to leave the sands entirely, what if she wouldn't be allowed to return? She turned to the side to glance back to the hatching clutch and back to the injured girl. She needed help soon, they couldn't just wait until one of them was bonded and could help her off. She wrung her hands nervously, looking away again to continue to peer about for that help.[/ul][/size]

[Bre]

I'm running out of time . . .

Little went unnoticed by Ro'za. It took her a bit, her eyes fixed on I'dou and the little gray for several moments, but the fact that a soldier garbed candidate had a sword didn't escape her from too long, even with him lost in the crowd. She moved away from Eceph, trying to keep the gray, busy crooning over her remaining eggs and unbound children, calm. She followed the curve of the cavern, keeping to the edge. Hand wrapped around the sword at her hip, she slowly began to slide the blade from its sheath. Nudging Amira out of the way, she raised her sword in one quick motion and placed the tip against the back of Cyrus's neck. She was silent, she was deadly, and she was not pleased. "Take your sword out of its sheath and place it carefully on the ground;" she ordered, voice low. Others had noticed, but she was barely making a scene.

"Ooh, the gray bonded;" Marion sang, clapping the hands that she still hand draped over Gabrael's shoulder, knowing that his friend, Sarai, was still chattering away but saying it regardless of that. The messenger was paying better attention than the other girl, because she saved her words for important things. "And ooh, the Phoenix just pointed her sword at the back of someone's neck. Aw, he brought a weapon to the sands. How cute;" she drawled, chuckling softly. That was something one probably wasn't supposed to do unless was a rider and/or the Phoenix. Even she got that. Not overly concerned with the fate of the poor boy, she turned her attention back to the hatchlings and leaned comfortably against his shoulders, her frame slighter and shorter than his. She was tired, though she'd never truthfully admit such a fact to herself.

"Probably should;" Marion replied to his question, stifling a yawn that suddenly cropped up. It amused her, how he tried to drawl like her. It had taken her years to do it quite like how she did it. It had taken her years to even try it once. He didn't know that, didn't understand that, which was fine by her. Anyway, it also made her laugh how he tried to sound so nonchalant. She knew she got under his skin. That was half the fun. Perching herself on her tiptoes, she leaned closer to his ear. "You got some place that I can stay?" Her voice was barely audible, a whisper, half overcome with her laughter. She was making a joke of it, the way that she said it, but the question was honest enough. It was a friend's room or one of the communal barracks if she was going to rest that eyrie. Or she could sleep outside. That could be very nice.

The Aristocratic Core gave a powerful shake. The blue and red egg continued to rock with force, throwing its weight around as it barely avoided hitting the eggs around it. Spiderwebs of cracks quickly form on its shell and they began to widen until chunk after chunk started to fall off. Finally, a clawed, grayish black foot kicked its way through the broken shell. It withdrew for a moment. Then two feet emerged, followed by a third and a fourth. The egg was quickly torn apart and a blue stalked into the world on those four grayish feet of his. He was a big beast, though smaller and thinner the larger Motley blue. He had a hood of black over his head, but his ears were a fine grayish blue, as was most of his body, and a snip of blue ran down his nose. Lines of a lighter blue covered his legs, tail, and wings and black covered the tip of his long, slender tail.

The blue moved forward with pride in his every step, but he looked more like a soldier, ready to pounce, than some useless prat. Still, he quickly made a reckless choice, rushing forward until he went tripping over his big feet. He snarled, leaping to his feet, trying to regain his dignity. Remaining as foolhardy and confident as he had been since he had hatched, he continued forward with reckless steps, charging towards the candidates. He had no plans to hurt them, but he wanted to quickly pick the best of who was left, because the best had to be for him. As he approached the messy group, he looked them over with piercing black eyes. Most of them looked unworthy of him and he snorted his disgust, haughty and not afraid to show it. He had confidence in himself and knew that he was worth it. If anyone wanted to question that, he'd fight them.

Despite the encouraging and lively presence of the Gypsy green, the sorrowful, confused Motley blue continued with his keening, plastered against the sands. He couldn't figure it out, why he wasn't dying when he couldn't find anyone. Why couldn't they just die? Just fold in on themselves and give up? But he didn't want to give up on himself. He knew he could have gone wild, but he didn't want to do that and it was in that moment that he started to figure things out. The awkwardness and confusion still ruled his mind, but he was too shameless to give up and he slowly raised himself from the sands. He scanned the crowd with his grayish brown eyes. He felt just a flicker. He had known it was there. In his heart of hearts, the heart he had buried deep within him, he had known there was someone out there. Cheer returning, he began to creep forward.

The playful Spirit green had finally been distracted from her game and was heading towards. Her blue watcher and guardian, the lazy but chivalrous beast, pulled himself to his feet and lumbered after her. However, he hung back while she continued forward, unafraid because she hadn't yet seen anything yet to be afraid of. She hadn't noticed her red brothers. She hadn't seen what they had done. All she knew was what lay in her mind and her imagination, what was important to her. She could sense her rider, not see her. Part of her craved contact, the hole in her chest that she hadn't noticed before, but she already knew which one was for her. She was empathic. That was sure. A searcher. Perhaps she would have been content to live her life alone in the wild, but part of her knew that her brother was there, watching her. That they were all there.

Small but still as big as any large dog, the hatchling pushed her way into the candidates, stepping on a few toes but otherwise very gentle. She wasn't very good at paying attention to where everything was, very easy to distract, lost in the depths her own head and imagination. R'ths! The green shouted her joy to the heavens, the name heard by all of the simourvs on the sands, all of her brothers and sisters and the adults. She couldn't help it! She wasn't even really aware that she was shouting! Come play with your Caidiph; she ordered, wiggling with simpleminded joy. She circled the girl, kicking up her feet. Oh, the games that they would play! Tag! Kick the can! She had a wonderful mind for games, considering that it wasn't good for much else. No one should really blame her, given that she was only forty minutes old or so right then.


549442 - oblivious, playful, simple, wild imagination

. . . and I'm growing weak.

[maiwolf]

[/b]” It was at these times, mostly just now, that Gabrael really wanted to know what was happening. Living in this black world made him lonely sometimes, and he wished he could see like the others. Or maybe, maybe he wished someone else could be blind, to experience what he experienced every day for just a few moments, not their whole life. Good little Gabe, he wouldn’t ever wish anything such as blindness onto a person.

Marion was speaking about Ro’za putting a blade to someone’s neck, and Gabrael’s head snapped toward the heat of the sands (not that where he was wasn’t hot, because it was) but all he saw was (hmm, imagine that) nothing. When he turned his head slightly back to where it had been before, he realized that he was completely comfortable with her leaning on him and that her weight felt familiar. His body had even forgot about her weight until he’d consciously thought of it. He could feel Sarai seething beside him, too, because he never touched her and here Marion was touching him. Well Sarai could get over it. Marion was shorter than Gabe by only a small bit, and because he was slightly reclining on the stand in front of him, she was able to reach over his shoulders like she was.

And it surprised him that he wasn’t nearly as surprised as he had been when they’d first met. And this was only what, their second time meeting. The first time he’d asked if she kissed every mad she met, he’d been met with a smart answer, and this time his head was buzzing with the question of whether or not she draped across every man she knew in the same way she was with him. It was wholly comfortable, this draping, but at the same time the question burned Gabrael’s throat, and he swallowed to lessen the pain. He was brought out of his reverie (and, thankfully, when he didn’t think about it the pain in his throat ceased) by Marion’s voice again. This time he was sure only he could hear it. Not even Sarai stopped to possibly look at Marion. Marion had whispered so quietly, but with a sense of laughter bubbling over that Gabrael didn’t think she meant what she asked.

He raised an eyebrow and put one hand on the other where it was resting on the stand. He tried to act as nonchalant as before, but Marion was a strange one and she affected him differently than Talia (or was it something else now? He remembered that she had been a candidate) or Sarai did. “Sure, I’ve got room.” He answered smoothly, no hint of anything different in his voice as he attempted a sideways smile. He wasn’t sure Marion could see it, but then again, what did he know about seeing? “If you excuse the fact that you’d be sleeping in a room made up by a blind man and the fact that you’d be sleeping close to a man.” He wasn’t trying to scare her off. And, indeed, he realized she might have slept close to many men. But Gabrael put his rooms up in a very particular way so that he could easily get around, and that way might not be conducive to someone like Marion. Someone who could see. Even Sarai said his room setup was different than she’d seen, and there was the keyword—seen.
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[skwog]

As more eggs began to hatch, Grey's attention became diverted back to the spectacle that was occurring. It took a few moments for him to realize what exactly has happening. Here he was, standing in a cave. Not just any cave, though. This cave had the eggs of a simourv, as well as the newly hatched offspring of the massive gray. For any ordinary person, this would have been an amazing sight to see. There was a slight difference between Grey and an ordinary person, however. He was a candidate, and something about him was drawing the attention of the simourvs in hopes of him bonding with the next generation of offspring.

His trance was broken by the sounds of injured people. Some were merely scratched, and others had gashes and other wounds. Grey wished he could do something, but he knew little of what to do. Despite being the eldest sibling of his family, he rarely had to deal with wounds of this caliber. Most injuries that he was accustomed to seeing were simple scratches and bruises from fights between siblings. Never once has he had to deal with the aftermath of a koxi attack, so his knowledge of treating major wounds was rather limited.

Attention returned back to the remainder of the eggs and unbonded hatchlings. Grey knew somewhere in what was left that there was a simourv that deemed him worthy enough. He knew it. There just had to be. Why else would he have been asked to appeal to the hatchlings? So that he could miss out and be forced to return home to his life of being nothing more than a simple farm worker? No. Grey knew he was more than that. Tired of standing at the back of the group, he managed to weave his way through the crowd, muttering quick apologies under his breath along the way. Once at the front of the group, he stood in awe, amazed at how massive the mother was. She was most definitely the largest creature he had seen, and exuded a certain ere about her that demanded authority. Here he was, looking like a wreck, his hair and clothes a mess, and a massive knot swelling upon his forehead. Deciding it was best to show some form of respect, Grey bowed toward Eceph, then turned his attention to the eggs, eyes scanning over each one slowly and carefully. Which egg contained the simourv that thought he was worthy enough?

[zeis]

Kenii watched the hatchlings come and go carefully, lingering near the back of the group away from danger. He still wasn't sure what to think of all of this, though now that there were no more reds on the sands he felt more at liberty to consider his options. The boy had seen the strange expressions on the candidate's faces when they bond, including his brother who seemed to have accepted Teimoph's company without a fight. Some clung to the infant creatures, and others were weeping, though from happiness or sorrow he couldn't tell. It made him uneasy.

The boy didn't clap as the others bonded, too caught up in the moment to think of anyone other than himself and his brother outside. He felt a brief uncertain pang of jealously at just being left alone here. Plenty of simourv chicks had paced by him, given him only the briefest of glances if at all, and then chose someone else. His expression had gradually changed from one of nervousness and worry, to being nervous and slightly irritated. Was he going to fail at this too? Something that didn't even require him to do anything other than be himself? He refused to believe that any of these people had something that he didn't. He was quick, clever, and cunning. Surely, these beasts appreciated things like that?

~~~~~~~~~

The green sang a loud joyous note as her sad blue brother got up and started moving. That was it! That was the spirit! Things may have seemed bad, but they weren't really! She pranced after him, staying at his side even though she didn't slow to match his pace. Instead she darted and leapt about him, urging him on. Life was not so hard! Just one step after another. She knew you had to keep on moving, and not let anything slow you down. They had to chase after life and seize it, then drag it with them! She wouldn't waste time thinking about what she had lost, but what she could win!

The patient blue nosed his lighter blue brother in a polite and fond fashion. He was interested to see another blue, and so many other simourv of their color around them. His brother seemed to share his ideals. Neither of them had ran off toward the candidates, and were content to wait. He liked that. He couldn't go off and make important decisions, any decision really, without thinking about it. He had to think of every possibility, every benefit, every consequence. Only fools rushed ahead without forethought, and he was no fool. Perhaps his brother was, or his other siblings. Fools could be useful.

He kept these thoughts carefully to himself as he chattered pleasantly with the other blue. Yes, he was sure his rider was here somewhere. He did not know where or who it was. There was no rush. If he waited for all the others to pick theres, his choice would be made clearer, and he would have the time to consider who he wanted. Slow and steady wins the race, after all.

[‡§åkørü‡]

The Servile Core kept shuddering on the sands, rocking rapidly back and forth until deep cracks spread over its entire surface, and it simply fell apart. Without waiting at all, the hatchling inside shot out of the egg, dashed between the other eggs, and crouched there, looking around with wide yellow eyes. His gaze settled on the huge crowd gathered to one side... and then to the group of candidates and winglets. There were so many of them! All those people standing there, probably watching him, gave the new hatchling the shivers. He burrowed into the sand behind another egg, the Guardian Core, and peeked out from behind it. Clearly, he didn't like this at all.

And yet, he had to do something or he'd have to stay here forever. Forever didn't seem very friendly to him, and neither did the suddenly rocking Guardian Core. Squeaking, the small hatchling dashed out from his hiding place, at last exposing his actual appearance. He was a blue, small for his size. Oddly enough, most of his body was black, and he had an ultramarine blue head, with aqua feathers ringing his neck. His tiny wings were tipped with dark blue feathers, edged in pale blue-violet, and his tail was the same way. It was also clear, from the manner of him, that he was beginning to hyperventilate.

Crack! Behind him, the Guardian Core's egg began to break apart. Screeching with nerves, the little blue whipped around and stared, relaxing only when he realized that it was just his sibling beginning to hatch. Still, the sounds made him edgy, and he darted away from the rocking egg, skittering to a halt some feet away from it. Here he realized he could see, and be seen by, everyone on the sands. Immediately he froze, ears twitching this way and that as he tried to figure out all the different noises. They were scary! He didn't like them at all!

But to get out, he had to go through all the candidates. Was he that brave? No, he didn't think so. Cowering in the middle of the sands, the little blue nonetheless crept a little closer to the waiting people. If he were careful, and very quiet, he might be able to sneak through without any of them noticing! Besides, maybe their attention was being held by the other hatchlings. With luck, no one would follow him out and he would be free!

Deciding that this would be his best course of action, the blue lunged towards the candidates, darting between them and leaping to avoid any kind of contact with them. It was as he neared the last of the obstacles that he realized there was something that felt...almost right about one of the candidates. Halting, he glanced behind him, small sides heaving with exertion and paranoia, and then scuttled sideways, shoving Amira over and accidentally running over her with his sharp claws, leaving a multitude of cuts in his wake. Seconds later, he crashed into the legs of Ro'za, and contrary to all expectation, shoved at them, snapping his beak in apparent anger. She was meddling with a candidate! He didn't like being here, but he didn't like that she was threatening His, either. Cyr's! Cyr's, we have to leave! She's going to hurt you, and maybe she'll hurt your Sradivaph too, and I don't want that! Squealing, the blue twined protectively around His' legs, and hissed, glaring up at Ro'za. She should stop that! She should go away, and she should go away now!


220E86 - intelligent, paranoid, withdrawn, dislikes crowds

---

The blue from the Minstrel Core was bored of showing off to Eceph. He wandered away, rubbing his face against the cracked Guardian Core and winding around it in lazy circles. When the egg broke, he squeaked and sidled away, pretending it hadn't startled him. Pausing to watch, he chirped loudly at the green that emerged, only to receive a glare and a screech in return. His light green sister, patched with light yellow over most of her body and a dark green band over her dull yellow eyes, hissed a warning to him. They were nearly the same size, too, with the green just a little smaller than the blue.

The latter huffed, clicking his beak at her in disdain. Didn't she know how beautiful he was? She didn't have to be snappy just because he'd seen her hatch! Gosh. Fluffing out his feathers, the blue strutted towards the candidates, deciding that it wasn't worth hanging around the clutch and his grumpy sister anymore. Eceph hadn't even acknowledged his greatness, anyway. And what dumb egg would know how fabulous he was?

So, humans were his best bet. Chattering to himself, he pranced on over and, totally ignoring the bonded winglets, looked at all of the remaining candidates. They were boring! Not one of them was interesting enough to warrant picking them! Even cruising by the wounded Amira, he paused only to see what Sradivaph had done, and then wandered off with only an indifferent chirrup.

And then he bumped into the legs of His. Instantly the blue began to dash in circles around the boy, making sure he was suitably prancing. Only a single glance was spared for his newly hatched green sister, sitting alone on the sands, before he leapt up and placed his forelegs neatly on his person's shoulders, warbling happily. What are you doing, K'to? That girl has her own blue now. Your fabulous Deeph wants food. I think we should go find some. With that, he dropped back to the sands, off K'to's shoulders, and turned pointedly in the direction of the entrance.


2F3F73 - carefree, snippy, hardheaded, vain, loud, gentle

---

Like a stone statue, the new green sat in the ruins of her shattered egg, surveying all that she saw. Her stupid blue brother had left, fortunately, but there was another pair of blues still waiting on the sands. She didn't particularly want to associate with them, either. Besides, this spot was hers. It had been the spot where her egg sat, and now she perched there possessively, guarding her territory. Glaring around with those fierce yellow eyes, the green released a high creel, warning off anyone who might like to come close. No way was she going to leave this spot. She wasn't interested in the candidates. She wasn't interested in Eceph, and she certainly wasn't interested in the huge crowd gathered to one side of the cavern.

The green was interested only in guarding this spot. Perhaps she'd leave it later. Perhaps she wouldn't. No one was going to make her do anything she didn't want to, or she'd snap at them. Mayhap she'd even do worse than snap at them! They'd best just leave her alone.

Unlike his moody sister, the first blue to hatch was still talking with his sibling. It kept him from going back to the candidates, which he didn't mind, because he didn't think His was here yet. He would arrive, of that the hatchling was certain, but when? Patience, he agreed with his brother, was an excellent virtue, and one that he was proud to possess. Still, he'd like to meet His. Didn't the darker blue agree? Wasn't the hatching pleasant, despite all the maulings? Those hadn't been so pretty, but he supposed life wasn't really that pretty either. Maybe he'd be able to make it better.

Calmly lowering his haunches to the ground, the blue chirped softly. At least he had an acquaintance to make here. Probably the other was being kept waiting, too. But it would be lovely to finally be able to meet his human. How he wanted to meet him or her, and arrange their life into a peaceful, perfectly ordered schedule! They'd be wonderful together, he was sure!

---

Leaning against Aburoqaph's warm side, Ts'kal watched the hatching with an interesting combination of excited, horrified, and fascinated emotions. Nothing really interesting was taking place anymore, and the attacks seemed to have wound down almost to nothing. Only the terrified blue, racing through the crowd and mowing down Amira, caused any more damage. The rest seemed to be peaceful enough. That red was sure violent, though, wasn't he, Aburo? the candidatemaster thought idly. His simourv chirped softly.

Very. And the blue just ran over Amira. Mine, Ol'ia and Weirph match us! They're the new rainbowpair! the rainbow exclaimed, clearly more excited by this than by the injured candidates. Ts'kal shook his head and smiled, stroking the bright feathers. Yes...they match us now. They are the new rainbowpair. I wonder if they're as excited about it as you are? he inquired rhetorically. In answer, Aburoqaph warbled, and then went back to observing the hatchlings. So far, the only really interesting bit, besides the maulings and the bonding of the grey, was the tiny blue trying to stand up to Ro'za. For the most part, at least, the hatchlings were being gentle with the candidates.

[/center]

[Bre]

It's my mind running in reverse . . .

"Nope, no idea;" Marion said. She wasn't familiar with many people at the eyrie. Aside from Gabrael, Ro'za, and G'len, she couldn't recognize most of the individuals that lived there, though she knew the names of all the riders. However, she was going to have to learn the grayrider's name. In fact, she'd have to learn all of the winglets names in order to pass on who had bonded to as many people as possible. She had a good memory, a better memory than anything else. The sort of memory that allowed her to remember details that weren't even important. She knocked her head lightly again Gabrael's temple, brushing their cheeks briefly together. He was getting better at acting nonchalant. She didn't like that. She liked seeing all of his emotions play across his face. She reveled in what she could see, knowing that he could hear her.

"I've slept in worse places;" Marion replied to him, giving a shrug without removing her arms from his shoulders. She sounded confident of that fact, even though she hadn't even seen what his room looked like. If it was a six by six cell with clothes strew everywhere, it was better than where she lived most of the time, having only a rack in the guards' barracks to call home back in Sayaie for the last few years. Her laughter had faded, making the offer seem more serious. "And, sweetheart, I've slept close to men before. I'm a guard messenger and a big girl now. I've slept close to woman before to. If you catch my drift." She smiled at him, forgetting that he couldn't see her. However, her voice was gentle as well. She was trying to be nice to him. It got harder for her when he acted so calm and smooth. She didn't like coolness.

The Noble Giant gave firm shake. It was the last of the giants that needed to hatch. In fact, it was the last of the eggs. Only shards and hatchlings were left on the sands, because, with a triumphant smack, the Noble Giant broke. A black, the second of the clutch, stepped forward. He was very distinct from his brother, despite the simpleness of their color's name. He was smaller, to begin with, though hardly tiny, only littler than Laraph and Dionyph, far bigger than all of the others. He was a solid black for the most part, but white covered his rump and gray spotted his sides, giving him the appearance of being covered in studded armor. Ro'za was still busy keeping every last hatchling safe, defensive and stubborn. Eceph, however, crowed her joy to the sky. The hatching wasn't over, but it was pushing towards its climatic ending, whatever that would be.

As he made his way forward, striding with somber purpose in his steps, the black ducked into a brief bow to the Gypsy green. She was quite energetic, but he wanted to be polite to her. Valiant and gentlemanly, he kept an eye on her, even as he continued forward. The Aristocratic blue came stalking by and he hurriedly stopped, moving protectively in front of the lively female, clicking his beak in warning. It was foolishness on his part, but he didn't care. The green was more interested in the Motley blue and the Aristocratic blue only snorted at him, waving one clawed foot at the black. In the end, after he actually thought about it, the black decided to take the high rode. Both him and the Aristocratic blue went their separate ways, moving towards the candidates, their personalities clear. The blue was foolishly reckless. The black was foolishly brave.

With his green sister Caidiph safely bonded, the Peasant blue settled back onto the sands, content to laze for a while longer. He watched the others go about their business, happy to see that his black brother was being polite as well. He wished that he had brought the egg shell he'd been chewing on over, but he was too lazy to go and get it. He was just becoming very, very hungry, more hungry than he actually was. He liked the idea of eating. He liked it very much. Grunting, he finally lumbered to his feet. There were only two things that could motivate him to do that. The first was being polite. The second was food and he needed to get food. He had a big hole in his belly. With ponderous steps, polite in manner but still awkward with his body, he made his way towards the candidates. If he wanted food, he was going to need a good rider.

The Motley blue chattered cheerfully to his encouraging sister, though he didn't move nearly as fast her. The way that she pranced made his head hurt. He wasn't good at much of anything, a slow moving, confused beast. He was just too happy to give up on life and on he forged, pushing his way into the candidates, politely waiting for one after the other to move out of the way, glad for the assistance of his pushier, darting sister. He knew there was someone there for him. He could sense them and he was getting closer, moving forward by feeling alone. He didn't look at any of the boys and girls around them, shuffling shamelessly onward, nudging one very stubborn boy out of the way. No, no, he wasn't his rider. He knew that he had someone, but he hadn't seen who it was yet. He knew that he would know as soon as he found his proper rider.

And the blue pushed right on through the last of the candidates, giving none of them a passing glance. None of them were right for him. He knew that. It was past the candidates that he found his rider and he didn't care that he wasn't picking one of the people who had been selected for him. He didn't want to be rude, but he didn't understand such concepts. G'rael; he said, approaching the boy. He had a soft but cheerful voice, a voice that seemed so small for his large body. Protectively, he twined himself around the new winglet's feet, nudging Marion out of the way. He could barely pick up on his rider's feelings for her. He wasn't good at that sort of thing. He just wanted to protect the one who was for him. Your Talmaph had a little trouble finding you; he said, trying to laugh at himself. He wasn't sure of what else he was supposed to say.

"Do you suppose they let random guests sleep in the winglets' barrack?" Marion asked, finally releasing Gabrael as Talmaph nudged her out of the way. She was laughing, openly laughing, moving slowly to avoid the protective blue's wrath. She clapped G'rael lightly on the shoulder, ignoring the hatchling's nervous stare. "Congratulations;" she whispered, though she couldn't lean closer to him with Talmaph there. Eceph was tilting her head in confusion though she didn't look overly upset. Her son had wanted the blind one? Not one of the candidates? It was his choice, but she failed to see the logic in it. Elsewhere, Ro'za, making her way away from the newly bonded Cyr's, darting around Sradivaph, turned and sighed at the sight of one of the hatchlings right in the center of the crowd. Oh, that couldn't be at all good.


066AC0 - cheerful, shameless, socially awkward, protective

. . . trying not to forget who we were.

[zeis]

The green sang happily to her blue brother as he cheered up and marched determinedly into the crowd. She didn't know where he was going, where she was gonig really, but she was happy to follow. Adventures with unclear destinations were really the best, weren't they? Going wherever her feet may take her, and seeing all their was to see. She whirled around in a small circle just thinking about it, her wings aching with desire to one day reach the sky. She would someday, she knew. But the journey from now to then was long, and she'd enjoy it!

Speaking of journeys, theirs had ended. Her brother had stopped next to a boy off to the side of the cavern, and seemed content with him. She paused in her dance, and tilted her head with a curious little chirp. His journey had ended, not hers. Pacing, she walked cheerfully around the people in the crowd around her, looking up at them with happy chattering. How far she'd come from the sands in the middle! She supposed she should pick a new traveling partner, but she did so like her brother Talmaph. She needed someone like her, someone who didn't wait for life but ran after it. Someone quick enough to keep up with her. Her light minty yellow eyes lighted once more on her bright blue brother, and from him traveled to his rider, and then finally to a girl standing next to him.

She darted forward and leapt at the girl like an excited dog, with playful force behind it as she reared up and pawed excitedly at the girls middle, being careful of her claws. M'rion, are you ready to go see the world together? Your Romaph traveled far to find you! She warbled happily, glanced over her shoulder at all the candidates, and some pretty stunned faces in the crowd. Isn't this exciting? Everyone's together, noisy, and excited! Ooh, I'm all charged up! I feel like I could dance! She wiggled so fiercely she promptly lost her balance, hopping awkwardly backward on two feet before toppling over backward onto her back with a thump. In an instant she was up again, rubbing against the girls legs like a catnip crazed feline.

138808 - energetic, lively, spirited, loves noise and motion

The blue studied his brother carefully, tilting his had to the side to gaze steadily at him with dark gold eyes. Why, yes, he supposed he was excited to meet him. Excitement wasn't really his thing. It was so unseemly to be all frazzled and ruffled. He preferred to hide his emotions, to appear calm and collected in all situations. He did not mind much that he hadn't yet gone looking for his. He desired strongly to have a partner, but perhaps his rider was taking his time as well? Was his rider watching and learning all he could? He hoped so, he would like to have a smart cunning rider.

[Kat]

Dionyph wanted to be with his bonded, but his bonded was occupied with his duty, which seemed to entail aiding the injured people and being covered in blood. Some of the blood which had transferred onto Ri’ley’s body had transferred onto the large black hatchling’s muzzle and head, on his hard beak, at the top, and the crown of his head. The blood stained the lighter gray stripe down his head, but was only a shimmery gloss on his black feathers, almost not visible, except for a slimy sheen. The blood had transferred onto his side as well, from when he rubbed his body against his bonded’s body. He did not understand how his rider had managed to be covered in so much blood. Ri’ley was not injured himself; Dionyph was sure of that fact, as he was so intimately connected to the human, that he would know. Dionyph was glad his Ri’ley was not harmed. If the human was hurt, Dionyph would be responsible for not protecting his human. He was not sure he could have lived with the guilt of an injury, because if Ri’ley had been hurt, then he would not have been able to help all the other injured people. It would have been all Dionyph’s fault! But Ri’ley was not hurt. He was just covered in blood, and now the black hatchling had blood on him as well. But he did not care about beauty! Helping other bondeds, of his siblings, no less, was much more important than looking beautiful. Dionyph looked ugly, but it was ugliness which he accepted for the greater good, to protect his siblings and their humans. After all, if something happened to his, then he would have not been able to live any longer. Why, he would just shrivel up and die. What was the purpose of living without his? Even the wondrous and powerful sight of his silver queen could not save him from the repressive fingers of depression.

His queen! Dionyph had not yet introduced himself to Laraph’s bonded. He had not yet congratulated beautiful Laraph for bonding at all! How negligent Dionyph was being. He hoped that Laraph would forgive his oversight. If she never forgave him, Dionyph was not sure what he would do. He would not die, because he had his, but he would—he would never speak! That would be an adequate penance if his queen was angry with him. Dionyph had been too focused on Ri’ley’s duty, which consumed his rider’s mind and heart, and was rather intense. Ri’ley was very stressed, Dionyph felt, but working for the greater good was stressful. Dionyph understood that sacrifices had to be made, and pain had to be felt. His human would figure that out as well, but now, following the human around was becoming tedious. Dionyph knew that his human would not be able to feed him for awhile yet, as his was distracted with the task of carrying a woman who could not walk to safty. Well, that was a good thing, as Dionyph would feel very bad if Eoreph’s bonded died, but Dionyph could not help Ri’ley, so the hatchling decided that perhaps he could use this opportunity to greet his gray queen. After all, Laraph was not very far away. She was so nearby that he barely had to leave Ri’ley’s side. His bonded could not mind that Dionyph was serving his queen, especially if he only had to go a few feet in order to care for her properly.

Dionyph took a few hesitant steps forwards, before he turned his head and looked towards Ri’ley. Ri’ley was focused on the injured girls, still, and so Dionyph decided that it would be okay to wander just a tiny bit. Once he decided to move to the queen, Dionyph walked with confidence and posture. He was a grand beast after all; he was a black, and he was the one most indebted to the gray. He was her knight amongst her servants. Dionyph approached Laraph, and once he got rather near her, he dropped his chest to the ground, threw his backside in the air, and tucked his tail behind him, in the form of a dramatic bow.
”My Lady, I am afraid I am very neglectful for not congratulating you and your bonded. I hope you will forgive my egregious oversight.”
Dionyph spoke in his somber, calm manner, and his voice expressed a great respect for the creature he addressed. After pausing in his bow for a few seconds, Dionyph lifted his body to his full height, and stared with his white eyes at Laraph’s bonded. She did not look like a phoenix, but he refused to question his lady’s choice. Laraph would make the right choice. He trusted her with his life. He would die for her, and he would serve her until the very end of his life.

((Meanwhile, Ri'ley is having a total freak out about all the people he needs to help while wishing he had slept a lot more the night before. : P ))

[maiwolf]

[/i]” was the first thing he’d said to her, and the conversation had become strange after that. Well, all up until she left, and Gabrael had been left in the pens by himself.

But her voice was gentle as she said that, and Gabrael could pick up just the slightest niceness seeping through where her drawl had once been. All of a sudden, Sarai spoke up, “What is this? It’s… is the blue escaping?” And Gabrael took his mind off of Marion for one second before a soft voice touched his mind. G’rael.[/color] And Gabrael thought he had died. Why not? No one knew what death felt like, and Gabrael was blind already. There were voices from the skies now, and the look Gabrael made was one of fright, nearly terror, before he felt something twine itself around his legs. His heart was beating a million times a minute, and he was unsure of what this thing was that was all of a sudden so protective of him. He felt Marion leave him, and his back felt cold, but by then realization had dawned on him. The look of fear had wiped itself clean of his face, and he dropped down on one knee as his Talmaph said, Your Talmaph had a little trouble finding you.[/color]

Gabrael let his fingers slide down Talmaph’s feathers, still slightly damp from the egg, and he delicately traced the simourv hatchling’s face. A smile lit his own face, and he blinked back tears that threatened to slide down it. Men didn’t cry, but Gabrael certainly felt like, if men did cry, this was as much a time to do so as any. “Congratulations… Gabrael echoed Marion, as his ears had picked up her whisper, and Talmaph blinked. She’s not going to hurt you, is she? Gabrael could feel the tiny simourv’s shoulders flex, and his grin widened, “No, she won’t hurt you, or me, Talmaph.” The blue seemed to calm down, but didn’t stop trying to wind himself into His. That is, until he stopped, and his voice shone in Gabrael’s ears—no, his mind—again. Oh, my sister! G’rael, watch—[/color] But the bonding had happened without a hitch and Talmaph stopped nervously winding around Gabrael (he supposed he was G’rael now) to watch. G’rael couldn’t watch, but he twisted around to listen to the commotion. Sarai had gasped and then preceded to tell G’rael everything that had just happened, though he could now tell because he had Talmaph.

Well, um, she bonded. Was all Talmaph could say as he sat down. G’rael found his hand reaching out, and Talmaph, more than happy to please, leaned into the man’s hand, and G’rael felt the feathery warmth of his simourv. His simourv. “Congratulations.” Was all G’rael could say as he tried to pinpoint Marion’s face. Would you look at that, Marion bonded! And—and he had bonded! He had thought he’d be nothing, a blind man destined to roam the halls of the Eyrie, lonely for the rest of his life. Well, he wasn’t lonely anymore. “I guess there will be a place for you in the winglet’s barrack anyway.” Was all he could say, for his throat cracked, and he risked losing his cool composure. He just dug deeper into Talmaph’s feathers, and the simourv simply purred.[/ul][/blockquote][/size]

[jaker]

Kito grinned as a pair of taloned feet fell onto his shoulders. He found his. "Fabulous Deeph eh? K'to?" he pulled off a toothy grin, full of pride. He looked a t'gan, "don't worry, you'll be ok now," he smiled and looked Cyrus. K'tooo your fantastic blue wants food still! Deepth chirped, showing his impatience. "Ah right my lovely little scrapper, let's go, " K'to laughed, tassling his Deepth's feathers. The two began to walk away out of the nests. K'to smiled at his little simourv, HIS, the very world filled him with joy. "Aye so will you best simourv my little Deeph!" he chuckled. Deeph looked up at him and snorted, I'm already the best K't! Just aren't amazing! it cooed joyfully. "Aye you are... you are," K'to replied softly, he looked back behind him and smirked, that's was were Kito ended and K'to began, a new life.

[crow]

Reiths continued to stare at the scene before her with rapt attention as she observed the remaining young Simourvs bond with their chosen candidates. The style of which the hatchlings would introduce themselves to the ones of their choosing fascinated the girl to no end. She couldn’t help but notice that after every bonding, the candidates seemed to look upon their Simourvs with the upmost adoration; despite the fact that they have only met for the first time. The notion was strange, illogical and most importantly, Reiths wanted to know why such a thing came to be. How was it possible that a person is able to connect so wholeheartedly with someone that they have just met? One question multiplied into thousands and soon the girl had found yet another puzzle to busy herself with.

Completely engrossed with her own thoughts, Reiths was abruptly brought back to reality when a high-pitched and child-like voice resounded - quite loudly - within her mind. R’ths! Looking up from her self induced stupor, the girl’s blue-green eyes widened slightly at what she saw, pushing its way through the crowd with an air of purpose about it was a small green chick. Scrambling over the feet of the other candidates as it made a beeline for her, Reiths was completely shocked when the chick began to prance around her playfully. Come play with your Caidiph!

At first, the only action Reiths was capable of doing upon hearing the demand was to blink owlishly at the small creature. ‘Your Caidiph?’ What did it mean by that? Unless… “C-caidiph?” It took a bit longer than one would have expected, but when the truth of it all began to sink in, the girl suddenly found herself overwhelmed by the feeling of unconditional love that seemed to have radiated off from the newborn Simourv before her; warm and pleasant, it was more like Reiths could clearly feel the love that the young one felt for her. It was strange, it was illogical, but for some reason it felt right. It was what she had been waiting for; her very own Simourv. Her Caidiph.

Unsettled by the girl’s lack of reply, Caidiph childishly began to tug at her rider’s sleeve. Why was her R’ths ignoring her? Did she not want to play with her Caidiph? No, that could not have been the case, her rider had been bored too, the hatchling could tell. But then, why wasn’t she paying any attention to her? R’ths?

Seeing her dear Caidiph so disheartened made Reiths’, or rather R’ths’, heart ache. Yet at the same time she could not help but allow a small smile to grace her lips. To think that the Simourv would behave in such a way just because she wasn’t given a reply straight away was quite amusing. Eyes glinting with amusement, R’ths crouched down and petted her baby Simourv’s head with a smile. “Caidiph, hunh? It’s nice to finally meet you.” Grinning from ear to ear, the girl tilted her head to the side as she questioned her new companion. “So, what kind of game did you have in mind? Whatever it is, how’s about we play it after we get some food into that belly of yours, hmmm?”