Black

BLACK "WHAT IS THERE, AFTER EVERYTHING HAS BEEN COMPLETED?"

xxxxxxJANUARY xxxxxx

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JOURNAL 1/1/21 Copia was meditating in the center circle, practicing her meditation. She felt a few small prickles on her legs, ignoring them at first. Just an itch. After a few minutes, she cracked open an eyelid. Sitting on her leg was an itty bitty veilspun hatchling - Tuggo. Copia had heard of him before - Taita fawned over him when he arrived in a small box, the only egg of his nest. "Veilspuns are a very recent discovery - previously, they had been hiding in the Wispwillow Grove!" She never realized how small they were - no wonder she hadn't seen him before now. A small voice squeaked out. "I like you. You smell nice. I dunno what the smell is but it is a smell." Tuggo continued to babble on. Copia closed her eyes and tried to resume meditating, but his noise kept droning on.

She let out a sigh. Opening her eyes, she picked up the small bug-dragon, and carefully put him down on a nearby bush branch. Tuggo tilted his head at her. Copia tried to explain it to him. "Look, you're tiny and cute but I have to do big-dragon things that require silence. Why don't you go back to the nursery and play with the other hatchlings?"

He pouted. "The nursery is boring. I like it out here."

"Well, maybe you could go to one of the other areas. There's lots of dragons that would probably appreciate someone in the recovery ward."

Copia turned around and tried to walk to another spot. She heard a small buzzing, and felt something thorny fall on her back. Looking behind her, she saw Tuggo trying to come along. "Tuggo, you know I'm busy."

He flopped over. "How did you find mee? I'm so tiny."

"Tuggo, you are covered in thorns."

"...Oh."

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2/1/21
Robin and Hura sat near their nest, carefully waiting for the rocky shells to crumble apart.

A small tap-tap-tapping started - Taita came over to make sure they came out alright.

The first was a small mirror, with a blush-red body like Robin. She had grey wings that looked nearly identical to Hura's. At first, it looked as if she had died, she was so still. Her back was rising and falling with her breaths, though - she was simply asleep.

The second was a grey tundra baby, with damp fluff all over. He had genes just like his father, and oddly dark-colored eyes to match. He looked up and around, seeing the new world.

Hura went up to the sleeping mirror child, simply looking. "They need names, don't they?"

Robin picked the fluffy tundra tot up. "Yes indeed. What about... Maria for her?"

"That's a lovely name, love. And what do you think of Koru for the other?"

"I like that one. Did you base it off your sister's name?"

"...Yes, though I changed it a bit, because he will have a destiny of his own, different than her ending."

"Let's hope he does."

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4/1/21
Copia was once again trying to practice.

Tuggo was also once again trying to join in.

"I can't train if you keep standing on my head." Copia could barely see; Tuggo's hair had grown even longer, which seemed impossible before it actually happened.

"But up here has a good view!" Tuggo carefully tried to imitate her stances, though standing on her head instead of the ground.

"And that is at the expense of my view," she replied.

"Just let me stay up a bit longer! I've even been getting better about not poking people with my thorns."

Copia sighed, feigning exasperation. "Fine, I guess you can stay." Despite the fact that he constantly got in the way and interrupted her training, she was growing fond of him; It was like he was her own hatchling, albeit much, much smaller than a pearlcatcher.

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9/1/21
The team had gotten to level 14, and started exploring the Bamboo Falls.

Before they left for yet another expedition, Hura was sitting with her children. Robin was over by Copia discussing the use of Reflect, which both he and Hura had replaced their Shreds with.

"Oh, you two are growing up so much!" Hura said.

Koru calmly sat, his fur and wings a beautiful grey and purple. He was growing to be a regal tundra, with patterns just like Robin's, but colors closer to Hura.

Maria, on the other hand, was sitting upside-down on her back, a happy grin on her face. Her blush-red scales were dulled by dirt and mud.

She may not be the prettiest mirror around, but everyone adored her cheerfulness, a bright light in a dark room.

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20/1/21
All of three of them reached level 16. They powered through enemies in the Redrock Cove, even taking down one of the Deeprealm Hunters.

Hura felt invincible with Robin and Copia - Nothing could stop them, not even a heavy bolt of magic. They hit hard, but the trio always got back up, injured but alive.

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"Avocado, I swear, you're getting more unhinged by the day."

"Oh, come on Aqua! It's just a bit of fun... I don't want to lose them this far into it."

Aqua let out a heavy sigh. "You made those rules and now you're just smashing them apart!"

"I'll use the normal rules on the next team, alright? Get off my tail about it."

Aqua stood by Avocado, who was leaning over a large stone table with terrain pieces arranged like Sornieth. Picking up two small figurines, Aqua said, "Aww, you're just giving them plot armor because you don't want to have to deal with a pair of tragic orphan children, aren't you?"

The green-winged nocturne grabbed the pair of dragons from Aqua, and set the two by a stone circle surrounded by buildings set into hills. Three other small dragon-shaped pieces sat on the board, right by the Redrock Cove. "That's for me to know." She picked up one of the dragons, a reddish piece of coral carved into a tundra shape, with the wings painted a bright blue. "Plus, Robin's special. We wouldn't want him to get sent away so soon, since he is one of Vitali's warriors," Avocado said.

Aqua got up and started to walk away. As she approached the exit to the cave, she gave a parting remark; "The games are no fun if the rules can be broken without punishment. I'll let this team go free, but the others?" She chuckled. "They won't get out so easily, Avocado. I'll have my eye on them, be sure of it."

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