Dawn of a New Age (mystery hatching)

[Requiem]

The child flinched back at her sharp tone. Miguel glanced down his hands and murmured an apology. He didn't leave, though. This really was the best place to see everything that was going on, and unless Iskierka actually told him to go she was going to end up with company whether she wanted it or not. It wasn't that Miguel was trying to be annoying or anything. The boy simply wanted to be away from the crowd and somewhere he could see, so even if Iskierka was here and scary...it was still better than being down there.

Casting her a wary glance, he sprawled forward on his elbows, resting his chin on his hands. Who were the little avians cheeping at? Miguel wasn't sure, but he figured he'd know as soon as people started moving toward them. If they even Impressed like firelizards did. The child didn't know much about all that stuff, but kittens like Kale had didn't Impress, so maybe these didn't either. Even so he thought people like Mae would take care of them better than he could; Lord was dead. He clearly wasn't good at taking care of pets.

"There are so many," he commented quietly, stealing a glance back at Iskierka. She couldn't be grumpy all the time, could she? That little adult avian seemed to like her. "Do you think they'll just leave them here? The eggs probably taste good..." Not when they were close to hatching of course. Eating babies didn't appeal. But before that. "Mae would like eggs, I think."

[Avu]

“A goose, really?” She didn’t remember K’lir having a goose or a duck, but then, she had never known the greenrider really well—had spoken to him at the Hatching where she’d Impressed Mimic, and that was about all, as far as she could remember. And Meira certainly hadn’t remembered his carrying a water avian around with him then. “That’s kind of adorable.” She supposed so, anyway—it sounded so, but who knew; seeing it in person would probably just strike most people as being extraordinarily awkward and confusing. Also, kind of adorable: The way E’rro was indulging Mimic. As far as Meira could tell, most people did their best to ignore Salamandyrs in general, like their idea of damage control: If I don’t acknowledge your existence, you can’t acknowledge mine.

No, it had never really made sense, but a false sense of security was still a sense of security.

Mimic trilled pleasant acknowledgement to E’rro’s words, peering intently at the hatching eggs through E’rro’s fingers. Be safe, he agreed. Big ones fear, small ones fluffy. The opposite of fear: ‘Fluffy’. Clearly. He made a soft chirp of surprise as a woman, one of the Weyrfolk, stepped forward to claim the small creature, though, frill trembling against his neck; his entire body flattened in curious uncertainty. Watching them hatch and making sure they were okay was one thing—actually deciding to keep it as a pet was another entirely. How strange. Avians weren’t even close to Salamandyrs or firelizards. Of course, he supposed the wash of surprise was partially from Meira as well—she certainly hadn’t anticipated the baby would take so immediately to the presence of humans.

Just how tame did they get, if this was how friendly they were? They couldn’t have seen many, if any, people since…since whenever Burimyu had been deserted. “I guess,” she agreed, head tipping towards E’rro automatically so she could both hear and speak without raising her voice. “It shouldn’t be bad—they’re mostly like regular avians, aren’t they?” Not that she was exactly practiced in the Healing of avians, but she knew some of the basics—the very, very basics, like bones being almost hollow in order to permit flight. “We could probably—”

The sudden cacophony of noise from the clutch startled her, Meira cutting herself off at the chirps and whistles, loud for such a small creature, the one that had apparently taken a tumble right out of the nest where the remainder of its shell lay. It was looking—well, it was either looking at her or at E’rro, but there was a definite note of hungry appeal in the high-pitched whistles. She felt the thrum of surprise bloom in her mind from Jingth even as she stepped forward, murmuring, “Excuse me” to E’rro, to the people she stepped past in order to kneel, quickly scooping up the small pile of damp gray down before she could think twice about it, and stepped back so as not to block the nest from others.

The creature in her hands fell instantly silent, and for a moment Meira almost assumed it was out of fear, that picking up a wild hatchling avian was not, and would never be, a good idea, no matter the feeling that she should. Then it croaked a small, raspy chirp and pushed its head weakly against the pad of her thumb, weak and vulnerable and utterly trusting. Meira stared down at it, at a loss, before she said out loud, automatically, because thinking outside of emotions always worked better, the words intended for E’rro, “You think they can digest meat this early…? I know it can’t be milk like felines, but—we know nothing about them.” The words felt like surrender—how were they supposed to keep something alive when they knew so little? You didn’t get trial and error with a living creature…

And meanwhile, the baby, sticky with the fluids from the egg, a bedraggled scrap of downy fluff, murmured a hopeful chirp, nestling against her fingers, beady black eyes fixed on her face.



((Her name shall beeee...Echo.))

[Sheari]

What was all the fuss? Activity surrounding R'men seemed to have died down outside of the mundane since Weith's...incident. The change was not unwelcome. Ioth informs us of events outside the Main Hall. The avians that fly here are hatching without parents, he says to bring mashed meat,[/i] the bronze in formed him. Weith was using "us" now, when he referred to the dragons. It was a small comfort, though all it did was let R'men know that he was keeping his mind less closed. He never wantes to get near that edge again...ever.

"You know I don't want pets, you are enough," R'men retored, though not harshly. After the work he'd gone through when Weith was a hatchling he'd vowed to himself to not get caught up in it again. Granted his hands had never been so soft in his life, but it was complicated to keep on top of patchy dry skin, though his scalp would never flake again. But Mine, they're birds, and I'm lonely sometimes. It won't grow to me my size and avians have feathers, not hide,[/i] Weith countered. R'men was steadfast in his desicion; afterall, he'd kept to it thus far, he could go farther! Perhaps it could play with Akos, your sister's pet,[/i] the bronze insisted. R'men ignored him...until the dragon nudged him. "I'm going! I'm going!" R'men said, exasperated. The meat must be mashed,[/i] "I make no guarantees," and with that the bronzerider was walking.

The only other contact R'men got from Weith were specific instructions and soon enough the man found the place and the cluster off people around what must be the nests. Was having something small and obsessed with you that great? An image of young Weith came to mind. Perhaps not. Looking around he spotted a spare bowl and grabbed it. Someone had remembered. Unused to such events, having never attended a small hatching in his life, R'men took to standing around, not doing anything in particular. The mental urging to get closer from Weith moved his nearer to the eggs than he wanted to be but in definace he decided to count the babies alreayd hatched; stacking his odds of getting out un-avianed. One, two...three babies were already being fed and from the looks of it there couldn't be too many more left. R'men stood awkwardly, feeling out of place.

[Tashe]

He shrugged slightly. "I suppose they'd be like regular Avians, but between the both of us we probably know about only the basics of healing them. The closest example would have probably been Raebelli's Cap'n." E'rro nodded as she excused herself, interested as to why she suddenly cut herself short. It looked as if one of the babies had caught her attention... more than just attention? He watched as she made her way over to the nests to pick up the hatchling. "Looks like you're going to have a new family member Mimic." But then, he too was startled by a wispy light feeling against his mind, one that was neither Feather nor Ismaroth. "Uh-oh." Oh he was tempted, so very tempted to simply ignore the attachment. It certainly didn't feel as strong as a Flitter or a Salamandyr, there was room to bend the rules. He didn't have to go... damn it. Yes he did.

Picking his way over to the nest, he crouched down and offered his palm to the chick to climb onto. "Mimic, mind scooting up to my neck? I don't want the chick to accidentally nip at you." When his wrist was free he cupped his hands around the chick as it gave a peep and fluffed itself up, retreating from the nest and finding his way back to Meira. He was inspecting the hatchling in his hands when she asked him the question. "I suggest we treat them like the Avians back home. I vaguely remember a mixture for chicks that I saw one of the beasthealers making. It was a liquidy paste of meat, milk and I think a drop of honey. But... as for right now... I don't think you're going to like it."

Picking up a bowl he brought it over to them, taking a small amount of the wherry meat and looking at it. "Babies eat the regurgitated food of the parents." E'rro glanced at the hatchling. "You are lucky I'm a healer and can't rightfully leave you to die." Sighing, he popped the small amount of raw meat into his mouth and chewed at it a few times before removing it from his mouth and offering it to the hatchling who made a crrreeekt sound before trying to swallow all of it. The Brownrider prevented it from doing so, not wanting the baby to aspirate on the food. "I suppose if you don't want to chew on it, Mimic could do it for you?" He said to Meira. "He is a mind-mate after all, and it looks like these guys bond vaguely like flits and mandyrs..."


(I'm naming the baby Thross)

[Ruby]

M'kaiMineLove? Um...[/i]

Sharding effing Burimyu, what thread-addled dimglow built this nonsense? M'kai growled, making a left this time just for the sake of turning left.

Are you going in circles again?

How would I know? I TRIED to go in a straight line, and for all I know, I went some sort of between-hole right back to where I started. Everything looks the same anyway, and this hallway's so dusty it's pretty clear no one has been here in weeks. Me included, unless, of course, the between-hole erases footprints too? In a fit of frustration and childishness, the Bluerider kicked at the dusty floor in front of him, disturbing the little particles into a hurricane that immediately choked him. Coughing and hacking, he leaned against a wall, totally distracted as Futh's attention shifted, getting the broadcast M'kai was too distracted to comprehend.

I think I know how to get you back,[/i] Futh offered, working backwards from Ioth's broadcast and apparent position in relation to his own. M'kai was out beyond Ioth, but at least if he could guide the prodigal Rider in Ioth's direction, maybe he could find his own way from there. . Left, left, straight...[/i] he trailed off as M'kai started walking, picking up his directions as soon as His made the turns requested.

Embarrassingly soon, M'kai crossed his own footprint trail, but Futh stopped him when he turned to follow it the other direction. MineLove, you've been wandering in here for an hour or more. Who knows what part of the trail this is? You are nearly to Ioth's, just trust me.[/i] The bluerider made a very rude noise, but continued to follow Futh's instructions, ending not at the dining hall as he'd thought, but at....

Futh, you dirtbag, you set me up! Whatever's hatching in there I don't want one, and you know it! I can't replace Reina and Bomb, and they'll never come back... Clenching his jaw so his lip didn't tremble, the Bluerider turned his back on the hatching, only to be stopped by a mental push from Futh. I know you don't think you want one, M'kaiMine, but maybe I do. Will you at least stay and see what is going on? Then I will guide you home, or someone else can. I certainly won't be giving any more directions until the last one has broken shell, and we know they are all safe...

M'kai rolled his eyes and shook his head, but entered the room anyway, leaning against the wall. He really was a sap when it came to the Blue. Where'd you get this maternal streak from, anyway? he asked sullenly. Then, though, the creature's sounds caught his attention, and M'kai found himself leaning forward and then pushing off the wall and leaving it altogether, curious about these ugly little fluffballs. Birds, apparently; there were always a few around the Weyr, and while M'kai had never had any desire for a silly little songbird or quacking menace, these looked dangerous enough to maybe be... cool? Maybe. probably not.

[Ember]

Iskierka wasn't sure whether the kid was a little tough or not. He did apologize but he didn't leave either. Eh, in the end it didn't matter much to her. Mumbling to herself as she watched the babies, she said, "They're not even that cute...?" Yes, she was trying to find out why people wanted the little gross wet balls of fluff. She turned her attention back to Miguel and shrugged. "Who knows. Once something is abandoned usually it has to find its own way or die. Those guys only have a chance if someone actually wants them."

The bluerider watched as the Stuffing Egg broke apart in the nest. To be more precise it was like the egg collpased inwardly on the chick, leaving many pieces of shell stuck to the chick. The baby shook his head, trying to dislodge the piece of shell covering one of his eyes. Unable to get it off, the chick called out for his parents only to have them mysteriously absent. He made his way to the edge of the nest and flopped gracelessly on the edge, peering at the people. Behind the Stuffing Chick the Pumpkin Pie Egg began to crack and wobble.

Time to go! The male let out a long, drawn out crr-rrrrrr-eeeeeeeekt as he stared directly at Darya. Feed me, please? Hurry, hurry, that one was hatching and he wanted to goooo! nevermind the fact that he knew nothing about the Pumpkin Pie Egg's chick. He simply wanted to be with his parent over his sibling. If Darya didn't come fast enough he'd jump out of the nest and waddle his way to her instead.

The final egg took its time cracking, tiny pieces falling away at a steady rate until the baby was at last revealed. The little female that hatched wasted little time in finding her 'daddy.' He was so obvious, how could she not? The little female chirped happily at M'kai. Wouldn't he please come to her? She was terribly small and couldn't fly yet.

[Ember]

Stuffing Male
Name:
Bonded to: Darya
Species: Razorclaw
Age: Hatchling
Gender: Male

Appearance:

This male will be slightly larger than your average razorclaw. Although you can’t really tell that simply by looking at him. It only becomes apparent when he is perched next to another of his kind. His wings however will be noticeably wider than average. In length he will have the same wingspan typical of the male avian yet in width they will be a touch wider the muscles connecting them just a tad thicker, making his endurance something above average. In speed and aerial prowess he might be a bit upstaged by some of his brethren but in long distance flight he will beat them all out. He is still able to display the speed and agility his species is famed for however he rarely if ever chooses to display it. Instead he prefers easy, lazy flight if he is not hunting or defending.

Coloration wise he is simply stunning. His head is capped with jet black, the color lightening into a dark tanish mask around both eyes. His hooked beak is a cheerful yellow the very tip looking like it has been dipped in black. Sleek, shiny, and very, very dark chocolate feathers cover his back and the top of both wide wings. In fact the brownish color is just a shade off true back. His underbelly feathers are banded. Each feather an alternating crème and black, giving his bib and underside a sort of speckled appearance. His flight feathers are also follow the same alternating banded pattern although instead of crème they are a soft tan and chocolate. He is meticulous about preening and so each feather is always very sleek and shiny making him a very beautiful creature to look at in both appearance and flight.


Personality:

Loyal. This is the first word that comes to mind when describing this male. Even at the start of the bonding process he shows a preference for the company of his that is unusual. As time goes on his owner will find that the male’s preference for her company will soon develop into something borderline possessive. However, to call this male actually possessive would be wrong. He only wishes to be her protector not claim her as only belonging to him. He is a guardian if you will a silent protector. The razorclaw likes to know where his chosen is at all times. He is also very picky of who he lets close to his bonded. He is very attune to subtle body language cues from her and any unease on her part is met with his arrival. He is not fond of being stroked or held but he will tolerate it, and only for his. Any others who seek to touch him are levered with a patient look and a leaving bird. He would never strike out at them. Instead he just nobly removes himself from their presence.

He is not outwardly aggressive unless he has to be. However he does use threats well. The clacking of his beak and fluffing of his feathers being his most normal display. It quite effectively lets the party know that now is the time to ‘back off’. If his warning is not heeded he is not above lashing out with talons and beak with precise and often painful results. This male razorclaw is very intelligent and easily trained. Commands, messenger work, and completing simple puzzles will not be above his abilities. The only praise he needs are the verbal ones from his chosen. He is happy to accept food rewards from her but such is not needed. The only bad habit he seems to have is the almost immediate outward distrust of all other males. It will take a careful and patient man to earn his full trust. Females and the young however are lumped into the ‘must protect’ category and he will defend them like he does his. Let there be no mistake though. His always comes first.

As far as other razorclaws go he is ‘tolerant’. Never welcoming and any of his species who seek to perch on his will be met with both beak and talon and driven off. As far as food goes he is fond of catching his own meals. His main fair being other avians. Waterfowl, ground fowl, songbirds, ect. He also likes the challenge the occasional wild firelizard brings. Thus he will have to be carefully trained not to eat peoples pets. With time and patience it will be easy to train him to avoid firelizards. However at the beginning of his training quite a few of the small draconids might fall to his talons.


Pumpkin Pie Female
Name:
Bonded to: M'kai
Species: Razorclaw
Age: Hatchling
Gender: Female

Appearance:

This female will end up just a tad smaller than average for her species. Her wing span however is large and easily able to hold her aloft in flight for long periods of time. Her eyes are ringed with black eyeliner and are rather large giving her a almost innocent and loving appearance. At least as innocent and loving of appearance as a large predatory avian can have. Her chest is large and deep allowing her to sport large flight muscles and giving her an over all strong appearance. This female is far from dainty looking. In fact she just looks powerful and dangerous. Except for the alluring eyes of course. Overall she gives off a very impressive appearance and defiantly warrants a second look.

While in form she is positively impressive. In coloration this razorclaw is less so. A almost uniform tan all over the shade runs from the top of her head down her back and to the tip of her fathered tail. Around her eyes however she sports black eyeliner ringed in a off white shade that darkens to the normal tan coloration her feathers sport. Her chest and belly are also an off white shade as is the underside of her tail. If one looked very, very closely they might notice the very light tan bands running across the off-white feathers on her breast. But one would have to look very, very close and with her daunting appearance most wouldn’t hazard to even get that close.


Personality:

At total odds with her intimidating appearance this razor claw might be one of the most affectionate and sweet avians you could ever hope to meet. She for the most part is quiet and demure. Although she is not afraid to use her voice or considerable force in certain circumstances. She adores hers with an obvious that is almost sickening and she will be fond of cozying up t him whenever possible. The large female will also be fond of preening her chosen’s hair. Or clothes, or skin, or heck whatever she can reach at the time. Her love for her chosen is only perhaps overshadowed with her love of babies. Yes that’s right babies. The Razorclaw doesn’t discriminate on species either. Flit, canine, feline, dragon, even human babies she adores. To the point of outright trying to steal them to mother herself. Hers will have to try and lessen this behavior as much as possible if he wants to keep his weyr from becoming a nursery. Although to be honest he might be fighting a losing battle for the behavior is likely to always be apparent in one form or another.

It should not need to be said that her love for babies renders this razorclaw fiercely protective of them. Thankfully she isn’t big enough to carry a human or dragon baby but her chosen’s neighbors might want to keep an eye on their flitters or other small animals. Very intelligent this female will be extremely easy to train as she will go to great lengths to please her bonded. In relationships with other razorclaws this avian is always the mother figure. Preening and fussing over the others of her group to the point of them sometimes becoming annoyed with her as well. Not that she notices. The only exception to her baby rule in fact seems to be with tunnel snakes, rodents, and wherries. In fact she feeds exclusively on one of the three creatures. She’ll even bring food back for any babies she’s currently fostering. Aww isn’t that sweet?

[Kisha-Ra]

Well for a change it seemed Azrath was right, these babies only cared about food. The three of them that had chosen to adopt humans as their parents had headed almost directly for the food. It was safe to step a little closer. Well, they were kind of cute, or they would be once all the egg goo dried off them, right now the downy baby birds just looked kind of bedraggled. Especially the newest hatchling, who was also covered in eggshell bits. Then the beady little eyes of the chick fixed on her, and Darya leaned, and not for the first time, that curiosity killed the cat.

Bit arrived behind Darya, with her dead rodent and a curiously intent expression. How could hers forget that babies needed food? ‘It can’t eat that Bit,’ Darya explained tiredly, ‘chicks need squashed up things. Eat that yourself or get rid of it. That’s not my baby anyway.’ The statement was firmly contradicted by another appeal for food and the bedraggled little bird hopping forward to the very edge of the nest. ‘All right, it’s mine.’ The bluerider reached up and carefully scooped the baby out of immediate danger of falling. ‘It still can’t eat whole animals yet though.’ Without really thinking about it Darya flicked the bits of shell off the chick and moved away from the nest before the last baby could hatch and decide she was it’s mother. She’d better appropriate some of the food that had been brought for the hatchlings as well.

((He shall be Vrae))

[Ruby]

As if it had been waiting for his arrival, an orangy little egg started cracking, the industrious chick inside taking the thing apart piece bby piece. As soon as her head was free, though, the chick's eyes found M'kai without even a pause. Not sure what to expect, the Bluerider narrowed his eyes when something shifted in his mind. It wasn't like Bomb or Reina; weaker, but still present. Sort of. He knew the little bird was his - and he wasn't moving fast enough, clearly. Her initial chirp quickly turned into an insistent peep, increasing in volume as M'kai just stood there, trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

Pretty soon her little "Mi, mi!" noise got annoying, though, so M'kai grabbed a bowl of meat from someone (as much as he tried to deny the fact that he had... what, impressed? he really only had eyes for the little bird) and aproached the nest, allowing her to climb into his palm. So tiny! M'kai started in feeding and examining, plucking off shell bits and making sure everything about the bird was normal. It was when she started cuddling into his elbow and grooming the bit of his flight jacket that she could reach that M'kai felt an amused pulse from Futh. You accuse me of being maternal, MineLove?

Shut up.[/i]

((Kami <3))