Sleeping. She had been sleeping. Within a great big nest, a chrysalis of imperial topaz had been steadily growing alongside its pyrite sibling. Unlike the great crystal at the side hers, the topaz was tiny, about the size of a baseball. Bright orange eyes remained sealed shut, but the neonate developing inside was beginning to stir.

And stir did she. She. Yes. Naked little feet pushed at the thick topaz shell, but to no avail. The creature shifted her thick pink tail and adjusted her position. The yellow fluffball was now sideways, and she pushed again. Turning once again, she leaned against the surface that touched her brother's chrysalis and pressed yellow down against the parts where pyrite had invaded the shell that had developed about her stone.

Her stone. There was magic in it, wasn't there? Maybe she could ask someone to help! Maybe... Ra'Ma? Ra'Da? Who were they? The raptor-esque creature forced her eyes to open and took in the sight of the baseball-sized chrysalis. If she focused on her beak long enough, she noticed it was the same color as her shell. It must be her stone. Forked tongue slithering out sloppily over it, she strained as hard as she could to make herself glow to draw attention of her Ra'Ma. Ra'Ma or Ra'Da would help, right? Or maybe even the critter growing nextdoor!

Her world was enveloped in a warm orange glow.

Outside of the chrysalis, the stone would seem to begin glowing from the core, a fiery orange color enamating from it and spreading outward. It was a bit hard to ignore. Tired by her effort, the neonate began to snooze off again.

@Hen

Beside the less than impressively sized chrysalis sat a much larger, much more defined outcropping of glimmering golden Pyrite. It dwarfed its sibling in size already, and inside, the beast that stirred would only grow bigger. But first, he had to escape this glass prison. He had to be free. The serpent twisted and coiled around itself inside its shell and it felt stifled, trapped. Discomfort grew into agonizing cramps and that was it. He needed to be free.

So the hybrid did what its muscles wanted and with a mighty effort, he uncoiled his length against the walls of his shell and pressed harder and harder until he could hear, feel, almost taste, the splinters of crystal breaking apart. A second later, the walls collapse and so did he, in a pile of scales and feathers and uncoiled muscles. He landed with a thud and righted himself with some effort, blinking and taking in the world around him.

Oh, it was lovely here. Every inch of this place was a different shade or hue. Oh, oh, but, where were the voices he'd heard? Were was Ra'Ma? Ra'Da? The lengthy hybrid coiled back in on himself, tucking long wings over his coiled body once settled, and there he sat- unknowingly coiled loosely around his sister's chrysalis, waiting, patient, would someone show? Would something happen? Ra'Ma was not here. Ra'Da was not here.

He was alone. Riot is alone. His thoughts echoed. Riot has no one. This saddened the newborn, who rested his head on one wing neatly, heavily. Riot is abandoned. Oh, woe was he.

@Havoc

The warm glow quickly left the small raptor-esque creature, and she was left in somber and quiet darkness once more. Havoc's warm gaze faded for just a moment as she closed her eyes and snuggled up tight into herself, but then there was noise. Something stirring. Someone else stirring. Ra'Ma? Ra'Da? She just had to find out. So, with big strong legs, she pushed as hard as she could against the baseball-sized chrysalis, unfurling herself...

Her shell began to shift and churn beneath her weight, uprooting itself and glowing sharply. Havoc lifted her sodden winglets and turned her head up to see a beam of light glow larger and larger. The more she pushed... the more she could see. A cool draft blew in, but she didn't mind at all. Feet continued to shove at the walls of the stone until it yielded. And she was birthed into life.

Oh. Life. It was sweet.

From the chrysalis came the neonate, soaking wet and shivering. Orange eyes blinked a few times before everything clicked. Crisp air filled her alveolate lungs and she gazed around. So many vibrant colors, like a thousand auroras, filled her gaze. As she gazed around, the downy fluff ball saw something that was almost familiar. Ra'Bro? Instantly, she clambered atop her (much) bigger brother's head and perched upon it, cheeping happily. "Ra'Botha?" Curling her rat-like tail around herself, the pale baby sat down and looked around. Where were the voices? "Ra'Ma? Ra'Da?" She cried out with all her might, flapping her little winglets to try and see if that would help to get them here. They couldn't be alone!

@Riot

There was a sudden movement and glow beneath him and he shifted his coils and lifted his head to watch, observe. From the chrysalis beside the remnants of his own, a tiny life emerged, more bird than snake, but he felt that protective instinct flicker to life and he knew who this was. Sister. When the tiny creature crawled up his scales to rest amongst the feathers on his head, he allowed it, carefully adjusting himself so she could settle there easier, without falling.

Sister was calling out for Ra'Ma. Ra'Da. That seemed smart, didn't it? He decided to try it as well...

...and unlike his sister's high pitched tones, Riot's own voice was deep already, and when he stretched his jaws and let out a call, it came as a booming crow, loud and hoarse.

"RA'MA! RA'DA!" He echoed, and he'd call out only the once, letting his voice echo back around the cave and he felt a burst of pride for its impressive volume. Yes, if there were around, they'd hear that.

"Ra'Si cold?" He questioned a moment later, glancing up with only his eyes, concern in his calmer baritone voice. "Ra'Riot is cold." Not really, actually, but colder than he'd been before, and that was uncomfortable. He coiled tighter and rested his head carefully on crossed wings. "Ra'Riot and Ra'Si alone? Ra'Ma not come. Ra'Da not come." Clearly the someday very patient creature would have to learn this trait. After only a few minutes waiting, he'd already assumed the worst.

They were together, but together alone.

@Havoc

The raptor-esque creature nestled amongst her brother's crest of soft and downy feathers, and she carefully preened at them. Then, she tended to her own down before she cried out for her—no, their—parents. But no one came to their calls. Compared her shrieks, Brother's voice was deeper and resounded further, but still nothing.

Fiery gaze dulled as she gave a keening call of sadness and she snuggled into her brother's feathers again. Why wasn't Ra'Ma and Ra'Da here? They had to be here! She was unaware of the fact that little tears began to fall down her face. Ra'Riot asked a question, and Havoc looked up and rubbed her face with a little winglet. "Ra'Havoc is..." she trailed off, thinking of the emotion that gripped at her little heart, "sad..." That'd what it was. Sadness. Loneliness... terror? There was no one to guide the duo. Nobody to...

Keep them in line.

"Ra'Rother?" She scooted closer to his forehead and held on gently with little claws. "Ra'Havoc and Ra'Rother alone together. Go be together? No need Ra'Ma and Ra'Da?" They could survive on their own, right? Yeah... yeah! They could! She just had to actuate her brother. He'd see it, right? She smiled and nuzzled her brother's forehead and hoped he'd agree.

@Riot

But nobody came.

Riot was beginning to suspect that they'd been abandoned. Perhaps their Ra'Ma had left them to thrive alone, on purpose. Perhaps this had been her plan all along, to force her children to grow as she did, stronger for it, better for it. He decided this was a reasonable conclusion and stuck to it. When Ra'Havoc spoke next, it was with sadness, and she sought to be closer and he complied, raising a wing to rest over his head, and thusly, over his sister's tiny body.

"Ra'Riot need only Ra'Si." He confirmed, and that was that. He carefully lifted his head from his coiled body and returned his wing to its rightful place at his side, then with the caution and slow movements of a saint, he slowly uncoiled to his full length, careful to keep Havoc steady atop his skull. "Go be alone, together."

He'd slither off towards the heart of Polaris, his sister in tow, leaving behind the only world they'd barely known, for one they'd discover together.

Exit Riot with Havoc?

@Havoc

Havoc stared all around, tears pricking at her little eyes until she blinked and they cascaded down her cheeks. They were supposed to be here, weren't they? What happened to Ra'Family? All of those voices she heard? Ra'Ma? Ra'Da. As Riot replied, she snuggled into her brother's feathery crest some more. "Yeah!" Smiling, she preened at the feathers. 'No need anyone,' she thought quietly as she felt her big brother shift and uncoil himself.

And they left for a whole new adventure.

[ exit Havoc ]