ORIGIN - point of impact

it had been some time since his hatching. so far, netil had done absolutely nothing productive - unless you count gorging on small mammals, and making a nest anything of consequence. he ate, he slept, he ate some more, and hibernated. all that netil wanted was food to fill his gut; and his belly broke down all of that - the meat, the bone, even the gemstones that occasionally rooted themselves in his targets - and his body grew. he grew and grew. his body was snaked around a large tree within the heart of cetus. he was wedged there, having burrowed beneath the mud after a great meal, with only a small segment of his belly exposed. his lungs inhaled, paused, exhaled, and his exposed snout added a softly droning beat to the swampland. he was a part of the swamp, warm and comfortable for the time being.

Eve tried her best to help out with the rot-pile; but tiny things like she and Tal'at weren't particularly good at it - there was a reason why she was usually more concentrated on finding shinies for Aquarian (and sometimes taking a few 'minor' things for herself). Regardless, the crow managed to pick up a small rabbit in her talons and was quickly making her way towards the heart, where she dropped it.

Landing in front of the measly pile, the crow nodded. Aquarian was a big thing and a tiny rabbit would probably make no difference; but it didn't matter entirely. Eve was practically convinced by now that the only thing that would fill Aquarian's gut would be something along the size of Raheerah and with a side-order of Nemean's head. Though, you might as well add in her body, too. You'd probably need something like a couple of cave deer, maybe a Baratheon somewhere.

The crow shrugged, ready to take off again when the sound of breathing caught her off-guard. She blinked. She turned. She stared. Was it Ghanyarah? Dragon? Maybe Czernobog?

She hobbled forth until she came to the cause of the sound, glancing down at it. She leaned in close to Netil's maw, quiet, before she gave it a single peck.

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@Netil

something moved outside of his vision - scurrying across the ground - and netil sat in wait, listening, until it stopped. he did not move. patience was not his strong suit, but as the dictator of his own world, he forced himself to stay put. until there was some more shuffling, and - a peck. to his nose. the smell of something edible flooded his sensitive nostrils, and that was enough to prompt him in for a bite. he lunged, opening his mouth wide so that he could (potentially) grab the thing that poked at him and swallow it whole. too bad for @eve - she was soon engulfed by his hungry mouth.

Before Eve even knew it, there were a pair of jaws in her face. In an instant, everything was dark. It was wet and warm in here - she was in something's mouth. She squirmed while she could, a couple of her feathers trapped in Netil's teeth. She croaked and thought of the loudest thing she had ever heard before she opened her beak, bellowing within the hybrid's mouth a high-pitched, booming voice that could carry out through the entire caves.

"WHAT A FANTASTIC SHOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!"

Had it worked? She couldn't tell. She continued on, bellowing word after word.

"AND FINALLY, THE GRAND ORCHESTRATOR OF THIS WONDROUS SHOW! THE STUPENDOUS, THE GLAMOROUS, THE A-A-AMAZINGLY MIRACULOUS...
NEEEEEEEMEAAAAAAAAAN!"

While screaming, the crow had began to struggle even more, talons scratching against Netil's tongue and her body trying to twist and turn to thrash violently at his teeth, trying desperately to get him to open his mouth. You know, in case Nemean's screaming voice wasn't good enough.

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@Netil

There was a resounding CLAP, and then the sounds of a struggle - though it wasn't so much a struggle on both parts as it was one body fighting to keep another inside of its mouth. Ghanyarah was thankful that he was nearby when it happened - out of the corner of his eye, he had spotted sudden movement. The treeline was a great place to stalk potential meals that came to the edge of the murk for water or to swim, or even hunt; even the slightest motion of another animal would catch his attention, and he would decide in a split second whether it was friend, foe, or food. In this particular instant, what he saw was a great gaping maw snapped shut over something missed, and a crest of pink - Netil. Ghanyarah elevated himself above the mud to peer curiously in the direction of his son when another voice had suddenly boomed out from between his teeth.

It wasn't Netil's voice, though. He recognized it... from Polaris. How could he forget?

Nemean.

The reptile's eyes bulged as he stared at his son wrestling with who he thought was the small fairy that had helped lead Raheerah away from the spire. "Netil!" He called, scolded even, scampering towards his son in his struggle. "Netil, spit that out!"

Like a true dad.

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN

The noise from the creature only served to exacerbate Netil's desire to consume; like a lure to a great fish, the bird was the bait and the beast wasn't about to let this meal go wasted. He had clamped his mouth shut over the oily black feathers when a familiar voice burst from the swampland's surroundings. For a second or two Netil was sated, pausing while the bird struggled in his moist mouth, and leveled a bored look upon his father. But he obeyed, begrudgingly, and blebbed the bird out of his mouth with the shove of his tongue. The taste of dirt and feather remained in his mouth, and he savored it.

The look turned sharp as he watched @Ghanyarah in his periphery, sliding his tongue across his reptilian lips as if he had just given up the greatest dessert to ever exist. His stomach rumbled - or maybe that was his chest, a deep and primordial sound that told of his frustration. Eventually Netil would be bigger than his father, and stronger too. He wouldn't be able to order him around at that point. With a snort, Netil turned his pale gaze upon @Eve and watched them, no doubt looking for the next opportunity to chow down.

Eve was still shrieking as she was spat out, batting damp wings as she began running towards her saviour, Ghanyarah. "He tried to eat me?!" she squawked as if it were the most offensive offensive she had ever been offended by.

She fluttered up onto Ghanyarah's back for safety and shook herself dry of hybrid dribble, scowling and curling into herself.

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@Ghanyarah

Ghanyarah clenched his jaw, fully prepared to unleash his magic on his son if he didn't release the bird. Thankfully he spat her out, and Ghanyarah let loose a sigh of relief, his shoulders falling slightly. Eve seemed to take a great offense to this and squawked at him before fluttering up to safety, so Ghanyarah puffed up again with a small laugh. "I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding." If he'd known what had led Netil to snapping up Eve maybe he could scold either of them better, but he didn't. "You didn't mean to eat Eve, did you Netil?" The reptile landed his sunset pink eyes on the inky hybrid expectantly. "I'm sure he's just hungry." Ghanyarah followed with another nervous laugh. Right.

@Netil

Netil's reaction to his father's comments were the equivalent of an eye-roll: he snorted and shook his head. It was no mistake - this bird was his dinner, damn it. But if dad said not to eat it, he'd obey, for now. The boy scowled at the other lizard and turned a hungry eye upon the bird, almost like he was asking permission (at least to shut it up again); the noise of its panic was bothering him. Hungry was an understatement - Netil was ravenous, and being told not to eat a little bird was almost an insult. What made this bird different from the others? Netil puffed up slightly, his cheeks filling with air, and settled his head in to the mud - eyes seething, boring in to the dark bird as if that would make things better.