Update
Hatchday, oh hatchday!
Bit of a mixed bag, this one. I adore them all, and the third hatch comes really close to what I'm going for, but the tert color is wrong. Still lovely though, and I'd consider keeping her even just for a little while. The last hatchling has Faceted eyes, and oh boy, does she have a lot of potential! If I wanted more gene projects I'd keep her too.
She's brimming with sheer power, I tell you.
I mean, come on.
Vix awoke to a symphony, not of cheerful birds or fuzzy critters, but the harmonious shouting of her fellow clanmates. Even for a hatching day, the lair was buzzing with more frantic activity than usual. Whatever was causing this couldn't be good, and somehow this was going to land on her shoulders to fix. This certain, unspoken but inevitable reality was one that Vix was not in the mood to deal with. Seeing her day play out in her head was enough to send her rolling onto the floor with a groan. Oh, how she longed to stay in bed.
Vix slunk into the small garden lining the path to her private abode. Unconsciously dodging behind the taller plants, she listened for any sign of passers by, hoping to escape the commotion long enough to at least have a meal by herself. Despite the clan's lack of central leadership, most came to her for answers to even their most mundane problems.
No, I don't have any suggestions on how to sort your library, does Bubblesnort sound like a dignified name for a hatchling? I haven't the faintest idea. No, we're not using the breeding project funds to buy a Bee scroll for Renho..
Breeding project.
Breeding project.
She hid her face in her hands in frustration, her heart sinking into the pit of her grumbling stomach. Several days ago, Vix spotted Ivor leaving for the seas that bordered their home without saying a word. She knew the Pearlcatcher was getting more stressed by his matchmaking duties the longer he had to go about them alone. Despite her best efforts to find him a helper, no candidate Vix found lived up to his expectations.
Wherever he is, I do hope he comes back soon, Vix thought to herself as she made her way to the dining hall. Most of the clan either skipped their morning meal to see the new hatchlings or had already eaten, because Vix gratefully found it completely empty. She put together a platter of various fruits and bugs and nestled herself in a corner of the room to enjoy the brief moment of solitude. If she had to confront whatever major issue was happening today, she could at least do so on a full stomach.
"I'm so excited to see you two again, Uli, Doro!" chimed Neige as she entered the pair's nesting grounds. She ordered visitors to clear the area before her arrival, but it was still filled with gifts of food, toys and trinkets. Neige set her scroll case atop a pile of presents and unfurled its contents.
"Is Ivor coming today? We were hoping to have a word with him." asked Doroteia, the mother.
"Oh no, he's not ill, is he? I know he's been so busy with the other parents, he's really been looking... kind of terrible, really. More like a Plague than a Nature dragon!" added Uilleam with a light chuckle. "We hope he's alright."
"Uh, well.." Neige had no idea how to answer, she would hate to make them worry about Ivor, but she didn't have the slightest clue where he went. "I
guess he figured you two have things covered on your own and didn't think you'd need his help with your hatchlings this time! He's probably resting up for tomorrow to help with the others." she said with a wink. That should satisfy them, Neige thought, and privately applauded herself on the quick thinking.
Doroteia looked down at the eggs with a bashful smile. "Oh, that's so nice of him to think that. I'm glad he's getting the rest he needs, I really am." Uilleam nodded in agreement.
"So, would you two like to think about some names before these little ones arrive? If you'd like, we could use my scrying crystals again." With a flick of her paw, Neige opened her bag of crystals and placed them around the eggs for the two Guardians to see. Names used all across Sornieth bubbled to the surface of the group's inner vision, some with the promise of a great destiny, but many downright weird.
"Chicken? Isn't that a bird we sometimes eat for dinner?"
"Fireknight? It sounds mighty, but so common these days."
"I don't know, Hotel has an interesting ring to it if you say it with an accent. Ho-tayl."
"Doro, we are
not naming a child of ours Hotel!"
"
Someone out there did, Uli."
As the three pondered names, the first hatchling pecked at their shell, ready to emerge and greet the outside world. With each small crack their parents looked on with pride. A final crack set the little drake free, and they tumbled out onto the soft grass of the nest.
"Andrey!" gasped Doroteia. So the firstborn of the clutch was named Andrey.
"A fine name for a fine little hatchling!" chirped Neige. Andrey was soon followed by three sisters, Berendina, Inghinn, and Grisel. While the delighted parents cooed over their new children, Neige quietly studied her crystals nearby and recorded her notes. Every hatchling looked beautiful in her eyes, but two stood out: Inghinn, a near miss for Vix's special project, and Grisel, a warm toned child with faceted eyes.
"So, how did we do?" asked Uilleam, beaming with pride.
Neige told them the news, and that the pair would have to try once again--a fact that didn't surprise in them in the least, and they would be more than happy to keep trying. The scryer gathered her tools and scrolls once again to leave them in privacy. Outside the nesting grounds waited her peers in all things hatchling related, Chandresh and Drima.
"Not this nest, hmm? I can see it on your face." said Chandresh. Drima spat out a mix of a laugh and a hiss before returning to her air of elegance, holding her head high as if to spite the very light shining down upon them. "Really. This disappoints me, I'm so shocked by this news." In fact, Drima was actually a tad disappointed even if she would never admit it. She had a soft spot for hatchlings and wish she could dress them in hatchling sized clothing, even if she would never have any children herself.
"I suppose it's not
so bad Ivor wasn't here to see this himself, if the fabled child was finally born, maybe he would have one less project on his plate to worry about. I definitely do not envy his job--especially dealing with all those Imperials?
Ugh."
It was true, Chandresh thought. Although he delighted in meeting each and every dragon that was a part of Ivor's secret project, it seemed like they knew that they had a greater purpose and held their destiny over Ivor's head. It was as if they reveled in the great power they were responsible for creating. It could culminate in a disastrous end for Ivor if their ego got too out of hand--perhaps even endanger the whole clan.
Ivor confided in them before that at times, the pairs under his care could be a little nasty to him, but was there something far worse he was keeping from them? Is that why he left so suddenly? If that was the case, he would need a lot more help than just an apprentice to keep track of the records. They needed to find him, and fast.