ORIGIN - There is still summer under the snow

On the side of one of Ursa's many cliffs grew a small egg-shaped chunk of red stone. It nearly gave the illusion of the mountain having a wound or a blister- and it was most certainly a stark contrast to the snowy white and stone grey of Ursa's usual landscape.

Inside that egg, just waking up, was a little chick. And like any good bird with bird instincts, they would chink-chink-chink at the side of their chrysalis. Cracks fractured across the surface of the coral cocoon, and in short time they fell apart into bright red shards. The chick had a single, breathtaking view of Ursa's mountainious landscape from a bird eye view.

And then gravity bid them a downward fairwell.

A shrill terrified chirp escaped them, following them downward until them found rest in a powdery drift of snow. This broke their fall. They were, luckily, unscathed. But they were cold. Very, very cold. And they couldn't escape the cold, even as they struggled through the snow that was a moment ago their savior. A chorus of terrified, panicked peeps poured from their beak, echoing across the frigid snow.

If anyone was around to hear it.

Though he often ventured to other rooms to distribute packets of Donta chips, gather insight for the research and development of new and adventurous flavors, and tend to the growing pocket of fungus he'd planted in Pisces, he had a duty in Ursa, too, deep below Ursa Major where the heart of Order's chip operations laid.

Having just completed a routine inspection of the factory (it was, as usual, running at the height of efficiency--as any machine of Order should), Jinyi headed back out with a bag of new, experimental flavored chips in hand. There was a Fishy Crunch Trial Flavor and a Deer Me Trial Flavor (working titles, both of them). It had taken him embarrassingly long to figure out how to make meat-flavored chips, as Shrike had suggested, and he still wasn't quite sure if the rather extended and comparatively less efficient process of producing them would be worth it. But-- he sighed. If people liked them, then they would produce them. Anything to improve Order's popularity and reputation among the denizens of these caves, especially with such a big... event coming up.

A quiet thud in the distance went unnoticed until a sudden series of frantic chirps caught his attention, when the Drone stopped in his tracks and tilted his head curiously at the sound. Then he changed direction and headed toward it, first in long strides and then in small, careful steps as he found the snowdrift from which the chirps emanated--and the little hatchling struggling within it. Red coral shards littered the snow around it--this must be a new child, then.

A soft sigh escaped the scarlet-robed Drone, and he leaned down in a graceful motion to scoop away the snow around the hatchling and help free it from the drift. The chromatophores on his face shifted, painting a reassuring expression on the smooth surface. "Oh, child, do not be afraid," he coaxed gently. His voice had an eerie, or angelic--depending on how you looked at it--quality to it, smooth and perfect like a choir, or a distant pipe organ playing many notes at once. "I can help you. You will be safe here--do you want to step into my hand?"

He laid a white, segmented hand on the snow, palm-up, offering it to the hatchling if they wished to accept his offer. Regrettably, the Drone did not generate much body heat of his own to be able to warm the little bird up--but at least they would be out of the snow.

@Eirlys

Elysium had quite gotten used to their post outside the hive.

They stood there for hours; without the need to eat or sleep, it was more than comfortable. Like a statue increasingly covered by snowfall as time ticked by. They watched the plains of driven snow; half awed by its perfection, and half watching for intruders.

It did not flinch at the first wail that broke through the quiet, but its stiff head slowly turned at the following chirps. It shifted once, then its wiry wings unfolded and shook the layers of twinkling frost from their feathers, before walking on. In the distance, it could see another humanoid figure; one that carried no scent and was perfectly symmetrical. Quietly, the Drone decided that even if another sibling had it handled, it would be good for a Guardian to stand by either way.

Also, it wanted to know what the noise was.

Distantly did Elysium wonder why this one had clothes and their plasticine body was naked and exposed (never mind the fact it did not need clothing) and silently, they tucked this question away to bother Ananke with later on in the day. It approached with heavy steps, towering over Jinyi, and paused.

"Oh..." was all it said: droning and monotone, as it took another step back. To the other Drone, however-- the Priestess is also very small. She said she was afraid of things that were bigger than her. This gentle warning was accompanied by a sense of unease as it travelled down the link of the Hivemind-- as though the Guardian expected the baby bird to try to take one of Jinyi's fingers off. Which it did.

Still, quietly it marvelled at the small, pale thing in the snow, blinking very slowly at it.

@Eirlys

Terror mounted briefly as a [comparatively] massive shadow was cast over them. Their struggling quickened up until a soothing voice sounded from above. The head[?] had no beak to speak from- or even a face, until one suddenly appeared within the space of a blink. As soon as the hand was placed before them they'd scramble upon it, using both their beak and large feet to haul their tiny body onto the little safety raft. They trembled, body damp with snow-melt.

That horrifying ideal done with gave the little bird time to think- as much as a minutes-old hatchling could, at least. They pondered the words that the one who'd rescued them had said. Internally, they questions they fact they knew what words were, but not exactly what had been said. They had questions, like What's safe? How do you help? Who are you? and even more cursory questions, How did you put your face on? Whos that behind you? Why is it cold?

It was.. harder than it expected to talk. Words were forced out from it's beak half-formed and falling apart."Wh'-s Safe? 'n H- Hel-lp?" The words tailed off into a couple of meaningless peeps. Frustration.

Their head stretched up and they'd slowly rotate in place, taking in whatever they could see. A lot of white, and the shards of red that they knew had once contained them. Most interestingly, however, was Elysium itself, who they regarded for a long, quiet moment. They recognized bits of themself- feathers, and wings- but this creature again looked more like their rescuer than themself. Again they wondered why that was. "...Y-h-ou? 're Who?"

@Jinyi

Were it not for the mental communication web that the Hive created, the sound of something massive approaching from behind might have been cause for alarm. But outwardly, Jinyi did not even turn his head as Elysium's shadow stretched over him and the little bird he held in his hand, instead only sending a wave of warm appreciation down their link. It was good to have a sibling watching over them. He felt supported. Safe. Thank you for the reminder. I do my best to not be scary; please do remind me if I seem to become overbearing. It would not do to frighten this child. At the same time, he strove to reassure Elysium that such a small child could not harm him. Even if they gave him a nasty peck, he would not bleed, and would heal quickly enough.

He could not share these feelings directly with the poor hatchling, but he did his very best to communicate a sense of reassurance through his oddly two-dimensional (though perhaps a newly-hatched chick would not realize that) facial expressions. "Safe means that nothing will harm you," he explained in his droning, musical tone. "Help... means that whatever you need to be more comfortable, we can provide it."

He considered, the chromatophores on his face shifting to give an impression of serious thought. He had not ever felt cold--as a created Drone, Ursa's climate was more or less ideal anyway--but he knew, if vaguely, that those not born to the Hive felt cold sometimes, and that it was unpleasant. "If you are... cold," he began hesitantly, "I may wrap you up in this cloth?" He lifted a handful of scarlet robes in his free hand by way of demonstration. "Or... if you are hungry, I have chips? They are very good. We worked hard to make them and share this delicious food with the world." He was not sure if this bird would like the meat flavors, though. They did not seem like the kind of fierce predator that enjoyed meat. Nor did he know where to find other kinds of food; that was a task that other Drones and the Cleaners normally took care of.

"My name is Jinyi," he replied to answer the little bird's next question. "This is... my sibling?" He tilted his head back to look at Elysium, still crouched over the snowdrift. (He did not know if standing up would scare the bird. Surely it would be a frightening experience to be lifted up suddenly?) Do you think... it is safe to introduce yourself? Even with the imminent war, he did not know if they should be as bold as to give out a non-publicity-oriented Drone's name--even to a child. Perhaps a false name, if you think it would be better? --But you know more about security matters than I do. He trusted Elysium's judgment, whatever it was. In any case: "We are good people. We will not harm or eat you." If that was not clear already.

@Elysium