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+--- Thread: [Hatching] The First Note (/showthread.php?tid=10859)
[Hatching] The First Note - Dread - Aug 16 2022
The father-to-be was busying himself around his home.
It wasn't quite the domestic scene one might expect from such a description, though. The 'father' was a sleek, long-bodied black dragon, his wings shining reddish-brown with the light passing through them. Dye affixed to his neck, flanks and tail shone in brilliant but ultimately meaningless flame-like sigils, and--as he nudged more gathered foliage around the obsidian chrysalis--heat shimmered around him. Embers, forming from nothing, sparked up and rose away, drifting into Leo's currently stormy skies. Rain, cascading down his scales, steamed away in threads of white.
It was pleasant, though; the sounds of seabirds, falling rain, and the rush of breakers far below played a nice background, and the warm but breezy air tousled the grasses atop the sea stack. A low rumble of thunder from somewhere far above was almost soothing to the dragon, though he hated lightning when up so high--he tended to flatten himself to the stone, or retreat to the cave beneath to ride it out.
Dread paused to look off at the other "egg," the old one--the massive flint that'd never hatched.
And warm.
Despite all his enormous, loud bluster, he was a gentle parent, and now--just back from feeding, and content--he curled himself across the sea stack's concave surface and kept a quiet watch.
@Cadenza
RE: [Hatching] The First Note - Cadenza - Aug 16 2022
It was dark, but it had always been dark. Much like it had always been quiet. The obsidian chrysalis kept out light and sound both quite well. It didn’t even occur to the being inside the chrysalis that life could be otherwise. But, they did remember a time when the place wasn’t quite so squished.
Their body took up the entirety of the space now, and there were these things on top of their head that made moving all the more difficult. All they could feel was their own body heat and the hard obsidian pressing in around them. Too crowded, too warm, and just generally too uncomfortable, they wanted out.
For once, those things on their head proved useful, as they smashed against the increasingly fragile walls. At first, there might be nothing heard from outside. But then, the thunk would grow louder as more and more of the chrysalis chipped away. It repeated, again and again, louder and louder. Until, at last, there was a crack.
They paused then, startled by the introduction of even the slightest of lights compared to complete darkness, and the rumble of what they did not yet know was thunder startled them further. It was somewhat frightening to the new life, so they held still and merely listened for a long moment.
But no harm came, and they gathered their courage and hit at the walls of the enclosed space once more. And the chrysalis shattered.
A viewer would note that atop this new life’s head were antlers already, but very basic ones that would likely grow much more extensive as they aged. The antlers were covered in shards of obsidian from pummeling away at the chrysalis walls to get out.
Fiery orange eyes stared and kept staring, simply overwhelmed. It didn’t occur to them to try and speak, or anything of the like. It wasn’t even a concept to them yet. No, they could only watch and gaze with awe at the world that had been revealed to them. And, they realized, the other giant being that had been revealed to them. Giant, but intrinsically understood as safe.
Which might be why, when the sound of thunder came yet again very suddenly not long after they emerged, the new life stumbled forwards towards the large dragon, barely balancing on two front limbs that were meant for more than just walking, though the being did not know this yet.
If they weren't so spooked by the sound, they might’ve taken a moment to mentally complain about having front and back limbs that were so very different to put into practice. As it was, the inconvenient limbs served to cause the new life to panic somewhat, unable to walk fully to the one that they knew meant safety. Without thought in their distress, just determination to be nearer, those front limbs spread out and then flapped, sending the much smaller life forwards some more, only to land and finally let out a noise.
A plaintive cry, soft yet sharp, a note cutting through the sounds of the storm.
Everything was confusing and frightening and safety was so close but they couldn’t quite reach it, movement was so complicated, and what if that sound came again? Another distressed sound left them.
@Dread
RE: [Hatching] The First Note - Dread - Aug 16 2022
Dread wasn't sure how long he'd been lying there when the stone began to... thump.
His head came up off the stone, ember eyes squinting, a thread of smoke rising from his nostrils in an confused exhale.
He couldn't remember.
But he had little time to think it over; as he pushed up, drawing closer, the stone shattered.
The dragon had a moment to look over the creature within--it reminded him strongly of one of his first children, of Bone. White, shaped like him--and then the moment passed, because the child was coming toward him while crying out, and--more importantly--there were obsidian shards all over their head.
Their safety came first; in his mind they were in immediate, if brief, danger. Their introductions could come after they weren't covered in razor-sharp rock bits.
@Cadenza
RE: [Hatching] The First Note - Cadenza - Aug 17 2022
Loud, safety was loud, was their first thought about the booming voice of the giant gembound, and it actually helped to soothe their panic. If safety was loud, then that meant that other loud noise might not be dangerous, after all.
They chirped back a greeting, wordless, and then it occurred to them that words existed. Could they make words too? They tried. “'Lo... 'Ello. Hello,” They repeated back to the entity of safety. Though brief the attempt at speech was, there was a clear lyrical cadence to their soft voice.
Safety’s head leaned down, very large and with sharp teeth, but because safety was safety, it didn’t occur to the new life to be afraid. Instead, they obligingly stayed still and waited patiently as the other cleaned them. Stillness was easier than movement as they had just learned anyway, so they didn’t mind at all.
@Dread
RE: [Hatching] The First Note - Dread - Aug 18 2022
After a moment he pulled back, inspecting Cadenza, and finding them suitably clear of razor-sharp gemstone shards, he took the time to examine them more closely.
So-... what now?
That strange awkwardness, the unsure 'am I doing this right' that sometimes struck at this point, slithered in now. He gathered himself.
He considered.
That had to be everything. Right-?
@Cadenza