What was this? A pretty little gem was tucked away among the interlocking stalagmites of Canis. It was small, and shiny, and almost completely pitch black, with a slight sheen like oil. But oh, it was not just a regular stone, no no. It was alive! Alive with life!

But not just yet. For now it was just a conspicuously large crystal with a tiny, growing body inside. But soon it will hatch! Soon, as water dripped down stalagmites and pooled into puddles. Soon, as lights flickered in and out, day after day, for a whole cycle. It would happen, oneday.

And today was the day! The chrysalis shook once, twice, as tiny feet pittered away inside. The neonate was growing large, a whole collection of limbs pressed against stone, and they wanted out. One more sway and it shattered open with a loud crrraack!, the newborn tumbling out and onto their back. A spotted pelt, tiny beak, four tucked-in wings --and massive scythe-like arms flailing helplessly in the air. Not exactly your average fledgeling.

The hybrid wasn't fully aware just yet, but any toddler could tell when they're stuck on their back like a turtle and alone. And like any toddler, their first instinct was to cry. A strange wailing-buzzing-chirp noise echoed softly against, the stone as their mismatched limbs skidded in a poor attempt to get themselves standing.

This was gonna take a while.

ooc: don't mind the roll, I accidentally checked that box and it doesn't mean anything here lol

If anyone in the caves had ever worn the look of an expectant mother, don't say a word to Eythan. He thought he had the face down-pat, bright eyes glancing worriedly side-to-side at the oilslicked stone growing in the Chambers. It was a pretty small thing for what it was, and he'd... been expecting something larger. All these odd stones he picked up were always such large creatures, even as children. Okay, maybe just the one (and he was as yet unaware of how that one was doing.)

Regardless, taking more paternal responsibility had come with the somewhat averse side effect of pacing up and down the nature-made corridor and waiting impatiently for whatever little wonder was inside. The hatching day was surely drawing close (if he'd counted right, and he'd checked with Damask more than once - she was always right about that sort of thing.) (And most other things.) Thirty days to the dot and - crrraack!

Spotted ears pricked up, and the gryphon capered back down the hall. That was a tell-tale sign and so was the plaintive amalgam of a noise. Odd as it was, the tone of the sound was clear: help, I am a fresh-hatched neonate! Eythan moved perhaps quicker than he ever had, not even fully taking in the strange little hybrid lying in a bunch of oily residue that was already beginning to seep into the earth (huh?) Even without an innate sense of being paternal, he laid down and pulled the infant close.

"Shh, shh -" he cooed quietly, "hey kiddo, you're alright. Dad's here." Dad is here... Turning the tiny form over, Eythan tucked them into the fluff of his chest. It seemed right - a fresh-hatched Aure had snuggled right into his mother's chest and sought her warmth. Seemed only right that this little one might just want that closeness. "Dad's here..." he called, more than a little choked-up. Had his brother been this small upon emerging? There was no way...

Oh... oh, his family - their family. Carefully covering itty (bitty!) ears with his claws, the hybrid called to the rest of Canis: "Bonebound? Giggle - Aure? Damask?" Anyone that wanted to come... come and see.

@Ashtoreth @Damask @Giggle and any other Bonebound that'd like to show up!

Ashtoreth hadn't been far; she slept in one of the nooks of the Chambers, tucked up in a high ledge that she had found as a hideaway when she was... oh, two or three cycles old? Navigating the Chambers wasn't easy, but she happened to know exactly where Eythan was. He was with his growing stone baby, most likely-- maybe it had hatched? Oh, shit, maybe it had HATCHED!

The fluffy mustelid (and sister to the newly made father) pelted through the Chambers, weaving in and out of rooms and halls, until she had reached the entrance of the "baby room". Her feathers fluffed up, and she silenced every step she made as she crept into the room, big brown eyes blinking at the child.

They looked a lot like Eythan. Brown, spotty, with feathery wings and big, gentle eyes. It had weird, long limbs and glowing green spots, but otherwise... Yeah, spitting image. Ashtoreth's whiskers twitched, her lip curling up with silent laughter, as she settled down nearby to watch Eythan and his newborn baby with delight.

Giggle trotted down toward the call, ears pricked high. Was it time-? She'd been vaguely aware of the passing days, in terms of count; was this it?

His scent caught her nose and she veered toward it; the smell and sight of Ashtoreth and the child quickened her pace. A new hatchling-! Her expression warmed, softened, at once; a child! It was a strange thing, of that there could be no doubt--glowing, in places, which had her eyes widening. It reminded her, in a way, of Vinea (and where was he, these days-? She hadn't seen him in cycles!) but different, too: unique in its own way.

"Oh, Eythan," she breathed, trotting up and halting a few yards off. "Congratulations." Then a slower approach, a gentle breath, a nuzzle to the newborn--and she stepped back, making room.

"Welcome to the world, little one," she offered, very softly, her eyes shining.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

@Avi !! unless anyone else would like to sneak in ;v;
heads up ... not a very happy post in this most blessed thread

thirty, then twenty; twenty, then ten; ten, five, four, three, two, one ... zero.

counting the days was the least she could do for him, ensure he'd be in the right place at the right time. damask had never seen her uncle so happy, prancing, chirruping; but what she felt was a slow, nauseous creep of dread. something about the idea of having a half-sibling, or a cousin, no — of being one ... it made her uneasy. was she really cut out for that? no. could be she'd screw up. could be she'd hurt them somehow, warp the plastic of their neonate mind. could be all it took was her being her.

but really? you scared of a little kid, kid? you heard him calling, right? be good, now. be there.

a flutter, a landing, and she left her perch to march on the inevitable. angled apart from commoner thoroughfares, her choice of locale gave her time on the way: time to swallow, breathe, button up a three-piece suit of calm and composure. better distant than a nervous wreck. taloned feet slipped over the threshold, and immediately her gaze snapped to ashtoreth — ! ash, ash, she was safe? you mean safe? no!, just ... familiar. right. she sidled a little closer and offered a narrow, nodding greeting: hey, ash. a gesture of her chin from her chest and up, followed by a few inches of motion between her wings, pinions extended together and back: you and me, it's been a minute. her lip wavered on one side, apologetic — only for her to tighten up, steel herself, and face the star of the show.

she inhaled and held it. oh, this is masquerade all over again. the hatchling was so small, so breakable — and so veritably like eythan. alien, almost, but unique for it. he nestled them safe (safe?) in the ruff of his chest as giggle went in for a nuzzle, both of them nothing but softness and warmth. ... i don't belong here. damask stiffened, almost reversed — wrong way, coward. okay. okay. she let out that breath and approached, carefully but steadily. a safe (safe?) distance away, some feet behind and apart from giggle, the accipiter stopped and hung back. quicksilver eyes rose up to eythan's, seeking a cue: stay, come closer, speak, back off. try harder. a smile's a start. she cinched one on for size. it felt very tight.

all of hers did, lately.

The hybrid's cries softened as something large pulled them close. Their eyes were still shut tight and ears pressed against their head, unaware of neither their own goop or the gathering gembound, but they reached out a scythe curiously towards those gentle paws. They didn't know why, but they liked this warm, fluffy gembound. No resistance came when they were tucked under a spotted chest.

When Eythan spoke, one, two-- four wide eyes blinked open, gazing up at their father in full emerald glory. The alien couldn't understand the words fully just yet, but they paid no mind-- the cub was too busy staring up at his weary face. He was a spotted thing, beak opening and closing and eyes shining with care and worry. He felt like someone who loved them, someone here to protect them as they grew. He felt like family.

They wanted to snuggle under that loving, fatherly gaze forever, but oh-- now their cub ears were being squished down, and suddenly so many people were here! An old four-limbed creature with spots stepped right up to them and nuzzled their face, speaking words they only half-understood. There were two others in the background, a hip-winged beast and a monochromatic avian, and they found themselves peering curiously at the latter. She-- Damask, though they wouldn't know that for a while yet-- hung back, anxious, though those blank emerald eyes saw nothing but a friend.

Still nameless, the kitten-chick looked around all the faces in the cave, and then back at their father. He talked, earlier, words they couldn't understand but wanted to repeat anyways. "...D...Daaad?" Their first word was soft, and sweet, a strange buzzing chirp coming from their bill. "Daaaddy!" Their face lit up in happiness. Who was this "dad"? Was happy-face-above 'dad'? Was one of the other two 'dad'? Were they dad? So many questions! -- But that's for later. Right now, she needed to learn how to live.

The glowing child scuttled their way forwards from under the gryphon's fur, mismatched limbs splayed out but slightly less helpless than before. The spotted alien slowly crawled across the stone floor, completely ignoring Eythan now and solely focused on the black-and-white bird. "Daaaad?" They chirped again, slowly blinking upwards towards Damask. Slowly, they picked up one of their scissor-like arms and bumped it gently against her feathers, if she allowed.

At the touch they suddenly scrunched up, many eyes squeezed in concentration, as if they were expecting something to happen but nothing did. "Daaad..." they grumbled sadly and pouted-- well, the best you could pout with a beak. They looked back up at the bird, and then back at their father, and all the people inbetween, as if only just realising they were all here to see them.

@Eythan @Damask (for visibility) @Giggle @Ashtoreth

Giggle offered short, warm nods to each of the others already-present, and arriving. But her attention was mostly consumed by the baby.

When it began calling 'Dad,' she smiled indulgently; when it scuttled to Damask, she gave a soft laugh. "...Close enough, I suppose?" she murmured, careful not to be too loud.

The kid's body was... interesting. Multiple eyes? Not-... that "two" wasn't "multiple," but more than two? Strange; and then the scythe-like limbs... The bioluminescence. Was this what came of the oily stones-? Odd, alien creatures? Giggle didn't hold it against the child, not at all, but she was wondering vaguely if there were any health problems they might have to be aware of. Did it need any odd or special food? Did... scythe-arms need any kind of particular treatment? She wasn't sure, but she noted it in the back of her mind to remain aware of, in case something unusual did crop up.

She sat back, shuffling her rump a little farther backward to make space, and spoke quietly. "Whenever you're ready for the first reading, let me know," she offered, quietly. Not that she was trying to butt in, or anything, but that bit was at least her job.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

warning warning ongoing unhappiness i'm so sorry

damask's attention fell from eythan to his parcel. blink by blink, the hatchling cast away a layer of sleep, coming awake, coming alive. observe!: four eyes, four wings; twin sets of horns and scythes; and a pattern of neon rosettes, glowing slightly in the chambers' half-light. now, who did all of that remind her of? alpha. both were primeval, unusual, almost otherworldly, yet far from entirely alike. she hadn't asked where the chrysalis came from, but see, it hadn't been hard to infer; its oily sheen matched that of a stone eythan had found several weeks ago, taken from a dead stranger's hideaway. something about it had unsettled her at the time. now? that was the least of her problems. she ground her teeth, fought the urge to look away. no signals. no instructions. best to follow the law of inertia.

for a moment, the kitten-chick lingered on eythan. then, they glanced in turn at giggle, ashtoreth, and her, only to go back to square one. at last their mouth opened and set loose a single, stammering syllable, their very first word, a cry for their father — ... no, their father, the hatchling's. damask's uncle. heh. now, isn't that sweet? a few minutes out of that shell and they're already bonding. he's always had it in him. just not for you. she kept up the smile, but — it was getting heavier. another call whined in her ears, buzzing with reckless, childish joy. out came an arm, followed by another. they were shooting straight for a certain black-and-white bullseye — not quickly, not gracefully, but inexorably nonetheless. well. that wasn't great. damn, you good? not even gonna think about moving away?

"daaaaad?," and bump!

damask stiffened at the touch. no flinch — (not safe) — no grimace — (not safe) — just a deep freeze, beating heart her only move. dad. out of all those present, what made her their instinctive pick for that position? the taste of vomit stung in her throat. what's wrong with you? damask. it doesn't matter. she forced it down, leaving a bone-dry ache in its place. yeah, kid, you're keeping it cool. no feelings here. nothing at all. stone-cold, get it? her chest felt ... terribly tight, all of a sudden. sort of like that smile, actually, except that it'd since evaporated into thin air. "no, not me," she told the neonate. it came out quiet, a little strained, not as trim as usual. her head shook slowly down at them, the movement so rigid it was almost mechanical. "let's try again, all right?"

they were still someone, just ... a very small, very new someone in their most formative moments. not to be babied or talked down to, nor ignored or pushed away. (but oh, boy, would you love to.) damask sidestepped, rounding the hatchling by forty-five degrees. a wing snapped out to indicate her uncle. "there's your dad." she motioned towards him with her muzzle — even sent a weak breeze to stir the dust and swirl along his feathers and fur, help drive it home. "then here's giggle, and here's ashtoreth." a gust of wind and a gesture for each, respectively. the accipiter exhaled and folded her wings back at her sides.

"your family."

Others filtered in to his calls - Giggle, Ash, Damask, each varying degrees of enthralled by the child. The Seer was easily the most captivated by the little one, trotting up and slowing down to briefly nuzzle them and offer her welcome to the world. The corners of Eythan's beak quirked up at the gesture - as far as they could, since he was already smiling at the tiny scythe-hand clutching his one foot and those dazzling eyes. So many odds. What a strange little baby he had.

He nodded to Ashtoreth and Damask both, tossing his head with a clear cue of you can come closer. It wasn't a forceful movement, though - if you want added sort of like punctuation. No obligations. No pressure to make an approach if they didn't want to, y'know?

But, the little cub-alien was glimmering awake now and on the move. They buzzed and chirped in the smallest voice imaginable, mimicking the sound of dad numerous times and squirming out from underneath him. All initial required comfort done, Eythan pushed himself up to let them out and scurry around the family circle. He could get a better look at the little one, then, and - was that two pairs of wings? They looked almost... butterfly-like. Ethereal and alien in their own respect.

Their trajectory took them right towards Damask, and as little arms came up, Eythan had a thought: oh no. Her smile vanished in an instant, and while stiffness was a completely normalized feature of her posture, the gryphon couldn't help but to grimace. Her voice was strained and motions almost mechanical pointing the little one back to him. Eythan's ears pricked back at the indicating breeze.

His gaze moved to Giggle as she spoke, and he nodded briefly. Pushing to his feet, Eythan crossed over to his kids - because shit, he was meaning to give Damask the chance. The chance he hadn't given her before; that he kept meaning to but wasn't. He leaned down to pick up the child and pull them across the ground, muttering around their scruff to Damask, "sorry."

Setting the little one back down, the Eythan chirped to them, "I'm your dad, okay?" He gestured towards himself, "Dad." With that established, he tilted his beak towards his other child, "and that's Damask - Dam-isk. She's your family, too. We're all together." Bright eyes flickered to her for a moment, briefly furrowed with thinly-veiled concern.

A moment passed, and the gryphon looked back at Giggle. Right before scooping the newborn up, he called, "now's as good a time as any for a first reading, I think." His head dipped. Lead the way.

sorry for the delay in posting! :')
@Avi @Ashtoreth (anotha one -!)

Ashtoreth paid little mind as others came filtering in to see the new kid; she was enjoying her corner to watch. She gave a shake of her head when Eythan encouraged her closer with a nod, tail patting the ground next to her comfortably.

But Damask caught the corner of her gaze, stepping closer to fill the empty space that usually surrounded her. Another twitch of her lips, and she nodded back. Hey, Dammy, she greeted in return, the subtlety of motion communicating between them. She mirrored the motion of feathers, flexing her wings a touch farther, holding them there for emphasis before shuffling them back against her side. It's been a whole minute. She stretched her legs out under her, splaying out in a casual manner that welcomed her niece to settle down with her.

The kiddo was bleating 'dad' and 'daddy' like an absolute champ; watching them stumble about made her think about her own youth, about her own dad that sung her lullabies. Hah. She blinked back the tidal waves that swept up to the forefront of her mind, and was immediately distracted by the kiddo toddling their way up to Damask, babbling the only word they knew. It was... cute.

Her chocolate eyes watched silently as the scene unfolded, raising a paw just in case she needed to step in. Dammy handled the embarrassing mix-up with poise, and she nodded at the newborn when she was introduced, finding no reason to force herself to speak. She did however reach out her paw, outstretching it to gently bap the baby on the shoulder. A little, good job, kid. Daddy Eythan was there in the next instant, scooping up the kiddo.

Ashtoreth did, however, shoot another look at Damask with a slight tilt of her head, a curling of her lips with another silent, unbidden laugh. With her snout she gestured at the little one again, and though no further signage came to give away her thoughts, it was probably clear as day on her chortling body language that kids say the darnedest things. She didn't push or pry, stars knew this wasn't the time or the place. Better to laugh it off.

@Avi sorry for the delay <3