Winter knew it had been a whole cycle already. A cycle that had passed so quickly. Sometimes she wished the time would speed up, other times she wished it would slow. She wanted to see her children so badly, she wanted to meet them and raise them but she was terrified. Parenthood was not a thing she was prepared for. And she didn't know if she was going to raise them or if they would simply let them go off into the world. She didn't know anything.

She wondered how Kielo was feeling about all of this. As she was sliding forward, across the familiar rocks of Polaris, she glanced back. Were they nervous too? Excited? Or...did they regret? Despite reaffirming their love for each other all the time, Winter still had trouble believing it to be true. But no, that wasn't important right now. She had to meet her children. Today was the day they hatched.

She followed the path to the rocks where they had hidden the two gemstones and immediately looked into the sandy hollow where they had been hidden. Yes, there they were, two pearls, considerably bigger then they were when they had let them rest there. Excitement warmed her blood for a moment as the visual hit it into her that this was happening today.

She turned to Kielo and took a deep breath. "...Are you ready for this?"


"And still I feel I said too much."
"My silence is my self defense."

Tags: @Kielo
Notes:

Kielo relished the way they were able to place their paws more surely, without needing to fumble ahead, and they proceeded after Winter with their head craned high on elegant neck. with each step their paws lifted high with excitement and even though they still walked cautiously, they moved at a quick gait, compared to what was usual for them. At some point, they perhaps even came level with or even overtook Winter in her slithering, so ingrained were the tracks of Polaris into their brain. Even after so long, the tracks they walked felt familiar, and they tossed their feathery mane in joy, tail fanning to trail the ground behind them.

It was good to be back.

But of course, that wasn't the only eagerness that put the spring into their steps; they knew that the time had come, and they felt their heart fluttering and swelling, imparting into them a nervous joy that made them giddy and drunk with sheer energy. Every one of their feathers were standing on end, and their wings fluttered at the tips.

They sniffed the air, tilting their ears, and listened for any sign of their children beginning to emerge.

Finally, they slowed to a halt just beyond Winter, their ears cocking back to listen.

"E-even if I wasn't, it's too late now," they laughed, trotting forward to scout at the ground with their soft muzzle. their nose contacted one of the chrysalises, and Kielo straightened in surprise. "Th-they've grown? So it worked!" they trilled jubilantly, tears springing to their blind eyes. Emotions, still so overwhelming even now, swelled in their chest, and they bounded back to winter in a bundle of energy, sniffing carefully as they slowed to a halt. "We really are gonna be parents, Winter."

It sounded as though they could hardly believe it.

Their sides shook with joy.



_________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Lyra @Vesna
notes: here

It had been waiting. No consciously, of course, but something in it would not let it hatch until the day had come. When the two most important people were there. It did not know this, but something within it did. When they were there, it was time.

Its eyes were not yet open, but its senses began to form as it began to wake. It wanted to stretch, being all curled up within its shell, but there was barely any room. It pushed, causing the chrysalis to wobble for a moment and it stopped that, scared that something bad would happen. Tentatively, it reached out a small bird-like paw and touched the smooth side of whatever was around them. It was smooth and strong. It would not be easy to break through.

She did not want to, either. She was tired and weak and would much rather go back to sleep then break her protective shell, her little home. But she knew there were things out there that she needed to see. Things that were good. Something just beyond the barrier.

She pushed again, a little harder this time, but that only caused the pearl to fall over completely. She opened her mouth to cry out, but only caught a mouthful of fluid. She started the writhe desperately as the stuff that had kept her alive began to fill her throat. She banged against the shell, still trying to shout out for help, but she couldn't. Nobody would hear her.

@Vesna

VESNA
and you, why you wanna stay?

clack... clack...

something began to thump within the serpentine infant's awareness, something told its body to squirm. the vibration it had felt inside the chrysalis for cycles had begun to hum a different tone--the child did not know it, but the walls of the pink opal it had grown inside of had begun to thin.

and then, there was panic.

it was pushing its round, furry nose against the opal wall, its movements weak, but persistent. the soft opal cracked slowly, unlike the shattering of glass, more like the piercing of slightly softened calcium, created just for the soft-nosed infant to emerge from it safely.

only a bit of the chrysalis peeled away around the tip of their nose, revealing a pair of little white nostrils, and the hint of a pearl wedged between their eyes. they took a moment just to breathe, and then a tongue flicked out, tasting the air for the first time.

it stayed there for a moment, completely unaware of its sibling's struggle, until the pearl that had previously rested against its own rolled forward. startled by the movement, the child tried to recede back into the comfort of its chrysalis, only to find itself unable to breathe. the taste was awful; it sprung forward back into the air, revealing its little, plugged and folded canine ears and fuchsia eyes, such a stark contrast against the white of its short fur.

the child did not fully exit its shelter, but instead bared its flared neck and hugged the edge of the soft pink opal, one eye facing its sibling with fearful curiosity. strands of albumen draped a bit disgustingly down the child's body, indicating that at least part of it was covered in short, white furs catching the slime. whether it was anything but a snake with odd ears was unknown just yet; scraggly little sticks of pinfeather stuck out on its head and along the back of its neck, mingled intermittently with fur similar to the rest of its body, only with a slight pink tinge.

@winter @kielo
"oh my god, have you listened to me lately?"
i've been going crazy.

Winter watched Kielo with shining eyes and her heart leaped. Yes, it was too late even if they weren't ready. But Winter wanted it to happen, she wanted them to hatch. She wanted to meet her children. And no sooner had she pressed herself against Kielo's leg that the first began to wobble. Surprised, her hood flared for a moment before she pressed it back in in favor of slithering forward to watch it with wide eyes. It flopped over just as the other began to crack.

She sucked in a breath and her body began to shiver in anticipation. "They're...hatching. It's happening now." She watched, unmoving as the second cracked open a tiny hole and she spotted a small nose and a flickering tongue. So one would be like her, serpentine for sure. This gave her a feeling so warm and so comforting that she probably would have cried if she could. When it peaked its head out more, she saw the combination of the two, with a snake's head and wolf ears, as well as Kielo's beautiful deep pink eyes. She wondered if it would be blind, just like her, but it was seeing. It was watching the other shell wobble with interest.

"The first one is looking out. It's got a snake's head and ears and eyes that look like yours. I can see white fur too and a hood on its neck." She described these things to Kielo quietly so as not to scare the small thing before she slowly inched her way forward. "Hello," she whispered to it, softly, "I'm your mother. It's okay, you can come out."


"And still I feel I said too much."
"My silence is my self defense."

Tags: @Kielo
Notes:

Kielo heard the soft scratches and the creak of crystals cracking long before Winter spoke, and waves of anticipation showed in the rippling of their feathers down their spine. A low and excited whine rose in their throat. "Both of them?" they whispered, tail twitching, ears lowering. Butterflies rose in their stomach.

They heard a crack. Kielo took a small step forward, slow as they could go, eager to meet their new family.

"It sounds wonderful," Kielo said, in a voice that was hushed with awe. They stepped forward on long and avian legs, slow as they could, trying not to disturb the little one. Kielo heard Winter introducing herself, and, Kielo's ears twitched. After a moment's consideration, they did the same. "And I'm Kielo, your... other parent. You can call me Papa, if you want to, or Mama. I don't mind," they said softly, folding their wings and nosing at the ground until they reached the chrysalises, one of which appeared to have tipped. they sniffed, taking in the fresh, newborn scent of their baby.

Kielo couldn't help but smile, tears welling in their sightless eyes.



_________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Lyra @Vesna
notes: here

The little one in the shell writhed around some more when it heard the sounds of its parents. It wanted to get out now, out of its cramped little shell. It wanted to stretch out and see its family, just as its sibling had. It had heard the crystal break. Now it wanted to break its own.

It stopped moving for a second to figure out what it was going to do. It shuffled itself so that it wasn't as curled and would be able to thrust out with its legs. It planted its feet on the bottom, its top legs on the top, moved back, and then threw itself against the pearl.

The weak, thin shell gave way instantly and shattered, the whole thing completely crumbling. She cried out with shock as she was set flailing to the ground and landed on her stomach with and oof. Slightly shocked, it registered everything for a moment, before looking up and seeing only a pink little nose in front of its face that actually belonged to Kielo. Bravely, it reached out a paw and softly batted at the thing, wondering what it was and what it was doing there.

@Vesna

VESNA
and you, why you wanna stay?

strange noises vibrated through the air, but vesna's plugged canine ears could not hear most of them. a white, smooth thing approached first, and the child flinched backwards at first, as if they were going to slip right back into the chrysalis.

something about this felt alright, though. something drew the child towards this creature, something it could not hope to understand--no, the child was acting on mere instinct now. that it may have been driven towards the source of magical life it had been given it could not have even comprehended. it simply stretched its long neck out more; notably, its hood did not flatten, even as it reached out towards its life-giver in curiosity. wet, white appendages covered in what appeared to be hairs slightly longer than the rest of the white fur thinly covering its body slid out from the liquidy darkness of the chrysalis, tiny and fragile and tucked tightly against their little body. the infant held itself with surprising balance as it slid out, not completely, but enough to reveal the fuzzy white down that began to cover the lower half of its long tail.

it flicked its tongue out at the creature, seemingly looking to taste the air, learn something about this strange situation when its ears were still plugged from the amniotic fluid in the chrysalis...

... but quickly reeled back as a large, pink nose came towards its face, the strength of the appendage somehow sucking air away from the child and leaving it feeling a little chilly. it slipped back into the chrysalis for shelter, only its hood peeking out. its tongue did not move out again as it assessed the situation once more.

its sibling had finally broken out--its chrysalis was just the same--and reached out towards the beast. hopefully its sibling would fend it off. hopefully it was stronger. hopefully it would protect them.

@winter
"oh my god, have you listened to me lately?"
i've been going crazy.

Winter flinched when the other shell violently burst open and their second child flopped on the ground. She stared at it for a moment before her heart warmed. It looked very different from its sibling, but still had the white and pink that seemed to be the colors of the family. "The other one has hatched. It looks like you. It has a wolf-body, but longer and serpentine. It has your pink legs with claws and its covered with scales and fur. Also it has your peacock tail, as does the other. They're both beautiful." Winter loved them, they were perfect and beautiful and she loved them so much.

She slid forward towards the other small child and leaned down to nuzzle it gently. "Hello, child, I'm Winter, your mother." Its scales were soft and smooth, much like her own. There was a sudden sound and she turned to see the other child disappearing back into its chrysalis. She turned her attention to that one and moved towards its. "Don't be afraid, child," she crooned, softly, "We're your parents. We will not hurt you, ever."


"And still I feel I said too much."
"My silence is my self defense."

Tags: @Kielo
Notes:

Kielo grinned broadly, beaming at Winter with their ears pricked. They heard the sound of the other little one breaking free with a small cry, and stepped towards the ruins of the chrysalis with nose slightly twitching to take in the scents and pick out their newborn from the rubble. they nosed forward, feeling their pink nose meet chilly, wet hide. They stuck out their tongue in an effort to begin to groom it. Should she not move away, Kielo would feel the new-born's scales, soft and cold.

And then they felt a small, scaled paw against their nose, searching. They couldn't help the tears leaking into the fur around their eyes. "Hello there," they whispered, keeping voice as low and soothing as they could. "I'm Kielo. Welcome to our family."

They listened to Winter's words with nothing short of sheer joy. "They sound wonderful," they breathed. "I can't believe they're really here." Hearing Winter slither off to help their other child, Kielo lowered themselves onto their belly and reached out in an effort to gather the newest hatchling into their paws to give them a good clean.



_________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Lyra @Vesna
notes: here