For eons, the Spire had stood, a powerful landmark overlooking the cavernous room that was Polaris. From it, all of the magicka of the Caves had come. In a way, the crystalline precipice was perhaps the source of all life blessed to the Gembounds of Origin Caves. A rather new addition (compared to its age, anyways) to the area the Spire occupied was an obsidian stone, one that had existed for many cycles now—nearly seven, to be exact. Within, a creature had been festering, waiting. Curled up within their wings, the soon-to-be had been waiting.

Waiting for the perfect moment to emerge. None had come to investigate their presence. None had even bothered to think about them. They seemed to be nothing... yet, they felt like they were everything in this tiny world they owned. Perhaps it was not so bad, after all. The low hum of the distant Spire was all they needed to fill their tiny ears, as well as the sounds of the membranes and fluids they were suspended in. They didn't need anything else.

Yet... perhaps they did. This wasn't enough. The warm embrace of her shell was not enough. She desired more. She wanted more. A chrysalis was not alive. It lacked the beating heart that she was sure she had. Absently, one of her paws shifted to her chest, pressing it to it. Surely enough, there was a heartbeat. The sound was soothing. Slowly, her tawny eyes opened. There was more than this chrysalis she had been hiding in for ages. Wings stretching, they found that they were limited to the walls of their shell. Foreign fluids seeped into her lungs as she inhaled. The combination of both things drove the amalgamation into a furious panic as she flailed her limbs.

When that seemed to not work, the neonate gave up. The very stone that gave her life, however, did not. It refused. A small glow surrounded her, illuminating the darkness of her igneous home. Then... there was light, and cold. Gasping for air, the hybrid slid out of her now shattered shell as smithreens flew every which way. At the moment, her young lungs outright rejected air, for they were full of fluid. Hacking and wheezing, she felt it all slide out and anything she may have had in her stomach. Curling up in the remains of her chrysalis, she gave a long whine for anyone who may be out there. To try and keep warm, her wings enveloped her, forming an awkward donut of leathery wings and cub-puppy fluff.

@Damian

Silently the beast sat before the spire. Polaris has become rather boring in his stay here. His wings ached for something new and though he desired to go out and haunt other caverns beside this wretched blue room. Alas, he would not leave. Not until he knew for certain that the obsidian resting between two shattered chrysalis wasn't going to hatch. It was his child, bred from the gem from a hyena he hadn't seen since the day he took a piece of her stone. It mattered little to Damian as to what happened to Lux, but as for the child still slumbering his heart felt heavy. The brothers, Khoridai and Saosin, had hatched and grown. Finding their own places within the caves. He had seen Khori plenty, but Saosin seemed to be missing. Damian was indeed worried about Saosin, but he knew that hybrid pup could take care of himself.

Even now Damian clung to hope that his third child would break themselves free of their chrysalis. A quiet sigh rushed from damian's chest and he soon convinced himself he needed to go find something it eat before ultimately just coming back and sitting here even longer. Just as he was about to get up and go hunt a sudden shift in the air made him freeze to his spot. Ears twisted forward, listening as he suddenly heard something. Or at least he thought he had heard something. In a matter of seconds the obsidian gem containing his child shattered in an explosion that sent shards flying in all directions. A large grin spread over his features as he soon saw the child curling up in their own mess.

Damian didn't hesitate. He reached out instantly and, very gently, slid his paws beneath the pup and lifted her right up. Quickly he brought the child to his chest that was rumbling deeply. Just as he did with his sons Damian attempted cleaning most of the residue ooze off of his daughter all the while looking over her with such pride. Out of three children, it was this one that resembled him the most. "Hello, little pup," his voice rumbled out in a very affectionate tone as he wrapped his arms around the pup just trying to warm her up.

@bethesda
Bleh post. From a phone. But here.

For a moment, there was silence, as if the caves had hushed themselves to herald the emergence of a new being. Only the softest of footfalls alerted her to the approach of something. Paws slid beneath her tiny and shivering form, cupping her easily in both and bringing her towards warmth. Immediately, the neonate tucked in her wings and nuzzled the warm chest that she was now cradled against. The sensation of a tongue running over her fur and cleaning her of residual goo from the chrysalis further brought warmth to her and caused her to snuggle deeply into who was holding her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes again. Outside of the eyesore that was the Spire's glow, she saw one thing that stuck out. Something that was clearly important. Tawny gold eyes glanced up into the intense yellow gaze of someone else. Someone like her. For a moment, she stared. Hearing his rumbling voice, everything clicked within her head. She just knew. She knew him.

Spreading out all of her digits on her forelegs, she pawed at Damian's fur, squeaking in delight. At first, it was incoherent blabber, but then she began to catch onto the art of speech. "Da... da... daaaaaaa." Pawing at Damian's chest again, she paused and took on a very serious face as she focused her best. "Dad... dy. Daddy!" Quickly, she peered up at her father, clearly proud of herself.

@Damian

A bright grin caught Damian's features as he listened to his daughter try saying her first words and when she did she looked up at him with pride. This was definitely his child. "Well then, little pup, are you hungry?" He searched her amber eyes closely, eager to see her reaction. The boys had been ready to eat the moment they hatched so certainly she would be ready too. Slowly he hooked bis pawed hands under her arms and lifted her up high above his head so he could get a better look at her now that she was properly clean. His chest rumbled as he looked at her wings first, pondering over the fact they were obsidian instead of burgundy like his own. She also held a far more hyena like appearance it seemed. It was all fine though. He loved her more than he could ever explain. He couldn't say the same for the mother that gave him the gem to create her in the first place. Lux had seemingly vanished into thin air.

There was no fur off his back over it though. It's not like they were close to begin with. Plus, he was all this little angel would ever need. Damian prided himself over his children. Outside of intentionally being an asshole to most he saw just because he found them annoying, Damian was quite a gentle creature. Not that he would EVER tell anyone that. "Do you know your name yet?" Another grin spread across his features as he finally brought the pup right back to his chest and cuddled her there until she managed to give him a few answers.

@Bethesda