Liora tried to copy her and it was the most adorable, birdish thing the tiny noodle of fuzz had ever seen. She let out a silent chuckle, her body twitching as her tongue flicked in her maw, eyes shining. Unfortunately, her sister seemed frustrated by her inability to do so and looked up at Aza'zel-- and that wasn't fair! She wanted her sister to pay attention to her, and she huffed, nuzzling all up into the fluffy down of her black sibling.

She licked affectionately at her sister's cheek, wrapping her noodly body all around the hatchling, and continued to be a huge pain by being all over the newborn. It was so nice to have a sister all her own, even if she only barely understood what that entailed. For now, it was just enough to be able to practically share the exact same space as her, cooing silently over all of the pretty inky feathers and grooming her with her pink and purple splotchy tongue.

Listen to me + Hear my thoughts

@Azazel

Watching the newly emerged child snuggle deep into him warmed his heart some more, and he shifted to a sitting position and fluffed out his feathers, and he leaned down to nuzzle both atop the head. Right now, he wasn't concerned that one of his progeny was born a mute. He was concerned about protecting these two fragile little bundles of joy (though he'd find out later that raising Liora would be like living in goddamn hell) from anything that lurked in the caves. He'd love them unconditionally. Azazel gazed for a moment at the still jadeite chrysalis, pondering if it would ever birth life.

Liora, after a while, had lowered herself back to the ground again. Ashtoreth was clearly intent on pushing her many mammalian abilities on the bird, who couldn't lick her, or boop her with her toe beans, or ruffle her soft fur. She would keep all these things in mind and try to devise a way to counter them, but for now, Liora just wanted to sleep. As Ashtoreth curled her noodley body around Liora, the bird reveled in the warmth her sister offered. A satisfied chitter slowly seeped from her throat as she tucked her wings in close and nestled into Ashtoreth's soft, youthful fur. With the nuzzle from Aza'zel, she was now completely content and ready to drift asleep. Breaking free from the chrysalis had been tough work, and though she hadn't spoken much, her throat was already spent from all the verbalization she'd made. Her tiny lungs had to work extra hard to get her voice heard, but that was alright. Liora would learn. She'd grow and practice and become loud as... well, she didn't have anything to compare herself to, but she'd be Loud.

Oh, and she'd learn how to do all the mammal things, too. Lick and cuddle and boop. But mostly be loud. Pleased with this decision, Liora let a small smile spread on her beak as she snugged right close to Ashtoreth and Aza'zel, soaking in their warmth and drifting asleep.

exit Liora

Ash let loose a yawn as her sister nestled down and fell asleep. She didn't care what her dad had to say about the matter, it was apparently nap time so she closed her eyes and wrapped around the fluffy black feathered mass that she called "sister" and promptly drifted off as well.

If she was destined to have any nightmares, Liora's presence seemed to keep them at bay. The young noodle snoozed away in peace, the gentle "night" coming to the caves as Canis' glowing lanterns dimmed ever so slightly.

;; ash exit

Listen to me + Hear my thoughts

@Azazel

He had been lurking in the shadows having been hard at work locating every single chrysalis in the caves. He knew every single one, and checked on all of the as he traveled through the caves day after day.

This one was one of the most beautiful and he had managed to get here just in time to see her hatch. Though it was difficult when the creature he could only assume was her father, he had heard was one of the most feared in the caves.

Azazel took in the sight of the wolf pup for only a moment as his head slumped and he tucked his two babies close to his chest and he fell away into a deep slumber. Carmine eyes were shielded by his lids, and he felt at peace and happy. He dreamt of what his final child looked like.

[exit Azazel via Sleep]