A Hatching [OPEN]

A cover of snow, thick as a blanket, pelted all of Pyrria on the day after the first snowfall. Gusts of bitter wind whipped the plains, the forests, the mountains, everywhere the light might touch. Prey was suddenly scarce and seemed to have disappeared overnight-- such was the hardships of winter. But there, in a small rock crevice in a lonesome plain, was hope. For there a dragon egg of brilliant sunset orange sat, flecked with shades of gold. The egg was very little in dragon terms, barely being taller than five feet. It was alone. . . for now. But almost any dragon could tell it would hatch very soon.

As Tharasis walked along the snow covered ground, he could feel the snow pushing down making a audiable * Crunch * the sound of the breeze of the cold wind made him feel at ease.

It was so peaceful here, as if the land was left untouched by the monsters. though one could also say they were just buried deep with in the snow.

As Tharasis overlooked the lands before him he set about finding a spot to lay down, but now before noticing a speck between some rocks. curiously he began to walk towards this speck.

As the IceWing grew closer, he might notice a sudden split appearing in the egg towards the top. The egg would began to quiver, but would not yet hatch fully. It seemed as if the egg was waiting for something.

Ptelea was exploring her new territory. Well, with the monsters about, she couldn't really call it her territory. But it was home. Her new home. The one Wake had helped her find. It was snowing now, and Ptelea was glad of her IceWing heritage--not that she disliked the cold. The mute was about to return to her den when she noticed something that would have been difficult not to notice. There, standing out against the fresh-fallen snow, was an egg. It stood out not because it was an egg, but because of its brilliant colors. Ptelea landed and looked at the little thing. Ptelea had never seen an egg before... not even the one she had hatched from. But she knew this egg had to be a Dragon egg. Ptelea looked around. There appeared to be no sign of the layer of the egg. Granted, the fresh snow could have covered up any tracks... She sniffed the air but smelled nothing. It's possible the mother had been killed or perhaps just left to hunt. Though the egg was nestled in a crevice, that crevice was in the middle of a plain. Ptelea didn't feel comfortable leaving it here. She picked up the fragile thing in her maw, precariously perched on her front teeth, which was closed just enough to keep the egg from falling. And then she finally noticed the other Dragon. A male. She looked at him and wondered if he were the father of this little egg. She used the tip of her tail to write into the snow. 'Is this egg yours?'

As Tharasis came to the egg he noticed something, it was not an ore or crystal as Tharasis had thought. But it was an egg! Who would leave an egg out here by itself? He thought as he came closer he moved his head to inspect the egg when suddenly, a small split began to appear at the top!

Jolting his head back in surprise he quickly looked around the vicinity when suddenly out of nowhere a dragoness came into view. How he did not noticed her? I don’t know either. Then a thought  came into Tharasis’s mind but before he could say the words she had already beaten him to it.

“ Is this egg yours? “ she wrote it on the snow covered surface. ” No, actually I was about to say the same thing. “ He said in a calm voice as to not scare the female, then a thought came to his mind. Why did she chose to write her question that day it he asked himself. But his mind came back to reality when he thought about the egg and how it was somewhere nearing to hatch at any moment as indicated by the small split.

” I think it’s about to hatch “ he pointed his claw at the small split st the top of the shell. A sense of worry in his voice.

Ptelea shook her head at the male's question. He commented about the egg being ready to hatch and pointed at it. Of course, since she was holding it in her maw, Ptelea couldn't see for herself. She wrote, 'Well, we can't let it hatch out here in the cold. I was going to take it back to my den.'

Again it came to his mind, why does she write her words? Well I guess she would since she was holding the egg on her maw. So with that Tharasis nodded to her.

With that done he went to her side and spread his long wings. ” Lead the way. “ he said. Ready to follow her to her den.

Normally, Ptelea would be reluctant to allow a stranger into her den. Actually, she still was, but not because this dragon was a stranger. It was more because her den wasn't big enough for the two of them. Ptelea had made sure to choose a new home that the more threatening monsters wouldn't be able to reach her in. Once more she wrote, 'You can come I suppose, but you can't come in. There just isn't enough room.' With that, Ptelea took to the air and flew off to her home. When she reached the cliff, she landed and climbed down to her den. There was a little ledge above the entrance, just wide enough for Tharasis to stand on if he didn't want to wait above. Once she got inside, Ptelea went to work building a little nest to set the egg. It wouldn't be the warmest, but it was better than the open air.

A few minutes passed. Then, more cracking ensued in the egg. It was finally time for the egg to hatch. It wasn't long before egg shells began chipping onto the floor of the cave and tiny, little orange head poked out. The fur of the hatchling was as bright as a fire, with vibrant amber fur and pale yellow underbelly. Bright blue eyes snapped open.

Where am I?

The hatchling struggled, forcing herself out of the egg. Fur and feathers stuck to her skin in clumps from the fluids within the egg. She tried to stand, but she collapsed into the nest. She was very frail. Lilith's eyes snapped to the female dragon in her line of sight and the male at the mouth of the cave. I don't recognize these dragons. . . Did I just hatch?

Tharasis stood on the ledge, it was not the best surface for Tharasis to stand on. He insterted his head to the entrance of this dragoness's home, only managing till his wings prevented him from going any further.

He knew he could not fit in though the inside looked like it could fit him in, less he wanted to break the entrance.

As he looked around he saw the dragoness had built a nest, it was small but it was better than the cold floor. Tharasis extended his wings as to prevent the cold air from entering the cave, hopefully making it a little more warmer.

Then as Tharasis began to settle in, his head laid down on the cold floor. The egg had begun hatching, small cracks soon formed all around. Noticing this Tharasis quickly moved his head to inspect, his snout just a few inches from the egg. A chip had hit him on the face as the hatchling finally had come out of its egg.

Tharasis then saw the hatchling. it was so small, it had fur as bright as a fire, with vibrant amber fur and pale yellow underbelly. Tharasis smiled to see that it had hatch without any problems, as she opened her eyes he was just a few inches from her that he could clearly see her Bright blue eyes stare back at his.

She tried to stand, but she collapsed into the nest. Tharasis knew that she would most likely be tired after just breaking from her egg. had she stepped away from the nest the fluids that covered her would have stuck to the ground as it was very cold. " Its alright little one " he said in a reassuring voice.

Then he began to slowly lick the fluids that covered her, for it would not help keep her warm. the last thing she needed was getting cold from being wet.
" Care to help me? " He asked the dragoness.

Ptelea had been born in captivity. However, she was thought to have died after hatching, so she was tossed outside. As a result, she had no memory of being cleaned after hatching, and therefore didn't immediately know what to do after this little Hatchling emerged from her egg. It wasn't until she noticed the clumps of fur that it occurred to her the little Hatchling should be cleaned. Well, that and the fact it was cold in her den. As she proceeded to lick the little Hatchling, she heard Tharasis. She looked up and watched as he tried to lean as far into her den as he could get without falling off the ledge above the entrance. She walked toward the entrance and wrote on the ground with her claw, 'I told you there isn't room for you in here. The Hatchling is fine. I'm cleaning her. If you could go find some nesting material, that would be helpful.' Then she went back to the little Hatchling and carefully picked her up in her maw so she could lay down. Once she was settled, she placed the Hatchling where she thought she would be warmest and covered her with her wing while she continued cleaning her.

The hatchling's eyes were still wide in shock as the male and female dragon began to lick her. She watched as the female walked to the edge of the den, wrote on the earth, then returned to cleaning Lilith. The small dragon's eyes flicked between the two. Are they mates? Could they. . . Could they be my parents? However, as she looked down at her own fur, she realized it couldn't be. No. They're both blue dragons. I'm. . . Orange?

Lilith shifted on her legs and looked up to the female dragon cleaning her. Then, in a child-like voice with surprising wisdom, she spoke. "This. . . This isn't the Twilight Imperium, is it?" She tucked her wings close to her body and looked out into the snow fearfully. How far could she be from home?

Tharasis nodded to her and went back out of the cave, nearly falling as he had forgotten when he pulled his head out.

With a powerful flap of his wings he was back in the sky. It was a bit hard for Tharasis, the snow had covered the surface masking the materials he needed in a blanket of snow. Tharasis picked a random spot and began to sweep the snow picking up the twigs and sticks he finds with his mouth.

Eventually he managed to get a decent amount and flew back, again he had a bit of trouble standing on the edge of the entrance of the cave but but managed to secure a grip on the rocky surface. peeking his head back in he saw the dragoness covering the hatchling with her wing.

Tharasis dropped the nesting materials near her just enough for her to reach without having to get up to walk to the pile. Then once he settled his head on the cold rock surface he heard the hatchling utter its first words.

"This. . . This isn't the Twilight Imperium, is it?" Tharasis smiled. but suddenly jolted in disbelief at how this hatchling could speak their language after just being born. the words went into his mind and made him wonder. " How does she knows about the Twilight Imperium? " he thought.

By the time the male returned, Ptelea had finished cleaning the Hatchling. She met him at the mouth of her den and took the nesting material from him. Once she was satisfied with the next she built, she placed the Hatchling into it. And then, the Hatchling... spoke? Wait, she wasn't supposed to be speaking yet, right?? She didn't know whether the baby Dragon could read as well, but the male hadn't said anything and she didn't want it to start getting upset or something. So, hoping maybe it was possible, Ptelea dragged a flaw through the dirt. 'No. This is my den. I--we--found you out in the open. I brought you back here so you wouldn't be exposed to the cold and monsters when you hatched. This male was there too and wanted to come along.'

Lilith glanced at the male dragon who entered and waved her tail at him in greeting. She then turned to the female dragon before sitting down, wrapping her tail neatly around her paws as she stared at the writing on the ground. Was the dragon mute?

Upon realizing she was far from home, Lilith began to panic. Her fur fluffed up and she sprung to her feet. "N-. . . No!!" She turned from the female dragon and bolted to the entrance, but realized she was blocked in by the male dragon. Lilith crouched. "I need to find my brother. Baldirak!!" She glanced between the two dragons, fear blazing in her blue eyes. "Where is he? Where's my brother Baldirak!!"

" Wow, calm down little one " Tharasis said in a reassuring voice, in an attempt to calm down the hatchling that just bolted towards him. But he did not know what to do. He had an idea on how to raise a hatchling. But this!?. This was something he did not know how to handle.

Looking at Ptelea he sent here an expression that read help me.

Baldirak...Baldirak? Tharasis could remember this dragon He had heard his name be uttered by some dragons he passed but he knew nothing of great detail of him apart from his name. But what ties does she have with him? but his focus snapped back at the little hatchling. fear was in her eyes. She asked him where was her brother. Tharasis simply answered " Well... We dont know where he is. " at this point he could only hope for Ptelea had thought of something to help him.

Ptelea watched as the Hatchling ran off toward the entrance to her cave, blocked by the head of the male. It made the mute sad to see the Hatchling so distressed. But wait, did she say her brother? The little one just hatched, how would she be aware that she had a sibling? Did she even have a sibling? This was all very confusing to Ptelea. She got up and approached the Hatchling. She wrote into the dirt again. 'I don't know anyone named Baldirak, or where he is. But maybe we can help you find him. But... not today. It will be dark soon and traveling is dangerous right now.'

The small hatchling's jaw dropped open at the male's words. When she turned to look at the female's writing, she stamped her foot in anger. "I dont care!" she snapped. "He has to be close. He'd never leave me!" Snarling, she tried to squeeze past Tharasis to 'escape' the cavern. "I might have been blind, but I know how to defend myself!"

Tharasis could feel her trying to squeeze herself pass him, he responded by squeezing himself harder at the entrance eventually he reached his limit. His entire neck now blocked the entrance tightly. once he adjusted himself into the uncomfortable position he is in now he spoke. " I dont think it would be the right time, your still weak, your body wont be able to survive the freezing cold outside. " He stated trying to convince the hatchling to stay, then shot Ptelea a look asking her to help him convince her further. Tharasis still could not grasp at how a hatchling could know so much in an instant, she had learned so much in mere seconds from walking to forming full complex sentences. it made him wonder.

Ptelea wondered how a Hatchling only a few minutes old could speak already. She stood and went toward the entrance to her den, now blocked by the male. She picked up the Hatchling in her maw and carried her back to the nest. Figuring the little Hatchling would try to run again, she kept ahold of her as she wrote. 'Please calm down. It's just too dangerous to go outside right now. Your speech is very strange. To talk as though you are older, but you've only just hatched. And what do you mean you were blnd?'