ORIGIN

Aran typically does not frequent certain caves besides Eridanus - but with that place being particularly dangerous, he's taken to exploring Lacerta despite the danger. He hasn't spent 100% of his time here, but despite the danger this cave has taken his interest. Aran figures he can handle himself, and even if he can't his stone should save him. Regardless, he's been keeping an eye on the stones he left behind. Making sure no danger comes to the little nook he and Arquia killed the dinosaurs in.

The nook hidden in foliage and rocks, perfect for raising children, he decided. It was no wonder the dinosaur ran to this place, luckily the blood is long gone now. The damp weather of this cave washes away the stains quickly enough for the death to be long gone, save for some scratches someone would have to look very hard to find. Was this the dinosaur's home? If it was, the thing must have been petrified for it to become its grave too.

He still feels bad for it.

As he weaves his way to the gemstones, something feels different this time. It's been about as long as they take to hatch, hasn't it? But when? Sometimes they take a long time, right? He snuffs at the ground near one of them. Thankfully he placed them close together, so he won't have to go searching for any of them. The stones look healthy, no damage. The beings inside should be fine too then.

@Tipu @Tova

There was three growing gemstones.

One was the bright, startling red of spilt blood.

The other was a dull yellowish green- pus, or maybe moss.

And the last was the deep, endless black of nothing at all.

That gemstone shell had, at first, been an impenetrable wall of which absolutely nothing got through. But as the child within grew, and the walls thinned, muffled sounds would leak through. Not that the child cared, or even noticed.

Until she did.

What? Huh? What was that? It wasn't in here, because all that could POSSIBLE fit in here was herself, as cramped as it was. It must be... not-here. She had to get from in-here to out-there. But how? Maybe if she just....

And the out came a 'tiny' serpent- exactly four feet long nose-to-tail.

The main signifier of their newfound freedom was the cool air on their wet skin, and the sudden clarity of the sound which range throughout the jungle. Their eyes did not squint at the bright light, because there were no eyes TO squint. Glossy black pools of the same gemstone that they had just broken free from sat in their sockets. Blind, exactly like her father.

The only thing this child cared about, however, was figuring out where and what and how. She wobbled up onto four spindle limbs that held up a noodly, serpent-like body. This lasted for all of one second before she was a pile of tangled limbs back on the ground.

Seems like the first thing she'd have to figure out was standing.

@Ajit @Tipu

@Aran @Ajit

The last of his siblings to be born - and the largest - Ajit falls out of his chrysalis without much fanfare. It's a gross wet mess, but the scales of the draconic-like creature easily repel the liquids. Red eyes open for the very first time, and spot two creatures this one somehow knows to be his siblings, and a larger one - father.

He slowly walks forward, heavy tail dragging behind him. Side-by-side with the more ratty sibling, Ajit sniffs at this new place. Strange, but they don't want to go back inside the red gem that is now laying in shards on the wet rocky floor.

Aran isn't expecting them to start cracking when he's right here. Do the stones wait until one of the parents is nearby to hatch? But that wouldn't make sense... Aran himself hatched alone. Regardless, he watches as one of the three slides out of the chrysalis. A small one, long instead of tall. Through the bird's eyes, he can already tell this child will have vision issues. The child's stone is covering the poor thing's eyes. Perhaps she will find a way to get through that one day, but Aran has nothing to offer her.

Aran does nudge her body up, tries to assist the little thing with standing. It's the least he can do - he made the thing become living.

Not before long, though, the second bursts out a more deer-like creature. Paws instead of hooves - most definitely from the stone - batty like bits, but otherwise a pretty good copy of Aran's traits. He thinks its a pretty even combination of the parents, if there were truly two of them.

This one has movement issues, like most kids do (even the sightless one) - though he can tell it's from the stone weaving around the child's antlers - that shouldn't really be developed yet. Perhaps alike Aran's in that sense. The sound the kid makes does not go unnoticed, but he does not offer a reply at this time.

The last one comes out soon after, and there's not much he can think about besides the fact that it looks eerily similar to the deinocornus he killed to revive it. He can feel the bird's raising anxiety - memories of the dinosaur attacking Arquia flashing through his head - but Aran does his best to push it as far away as he can. This kid does not know what he did, and never will unless the deer gives up that information. He won't be.

"Welcome to being alive." he says to the group.

Only, Aran realizes he doesn't know how to be a father, and maybe it was just his shitty luck that the stones would hatch now. Perhaps he could find someone to ask for advice. Or just leave them here. He's not going to become that loving parent they need.

@Tova

She was able to glean very few answers from what was happening. It was COLD and WET and they could feel shards of the gemstone they'd just hatched from uncomfortably poking their belly as they collapsed onto the floor. Sounds they couldn't quite place- distant screeching dinosaurs and shattering gemstone. The latter sound was much, MUCH closer, and Tova's head instinctively whipped towards it.

And then something touched her side, and she bleated loudly, scrambling to stand if only to get away from the Unknown. She was successful this time, and skittered away a few steps on shaking legs, ears perked wide and alert and swiveling. Her nostrils flared, taking in the scents of fertile earth and fresh plants and something not unlike herself. It WAS like her, she knew, but not quite.

Family. Which meant no threat. She was safe.

By the time Aran spoke Tova was fully calm, although no less curious or alert. She would step forward- careful, measured, yet clumsy- long neck stretching to nuzzle Aran's chest, not unlike what he'd done to her.

@Tipu