There was nothing on the smooth, opaque eggshell of opal to indicate that life moved inside. The gem had only grown- and grown, and grown, enveloping the ground and binding itself through magic.

Inside, life stirred. She dreamed, first, of light- shapes and colors, all taking forms incomprehensible to her, swirling in her vision and dancing through her mind. How long had she slept? It was all she knew, and she had no scope to know what emotion that made her feel.

She simply was.

But, all good things must come to an end. A spark of life, and the being within gasped in amniotic fluid, her lungs expanding and contracting as her muscles awoke. In the light's place was darkness in her eyes. No, no, this was wrong- and she gasped again, her limbs reaching out without reason.

Outside, the egg bulged. It cracked, very minutely, and folded away, a wet, tan wing draping outside of the coffin. What was slowly emerging was a bird who'd just grown in their flight feathers, who looked just about ready to find food for itself- inside, was Evelyn.

Ungracefully, she tumbled out of her chrysalis, feeling the cool, strong wind hit her wet feathers. She shuddered at the feeling, wheezing out as she blinked her eyes, wincing at the relatively bright light. She hadn't noticed anyone around her yet- and, for now, she lay with her torso outside of her egg, simply getting accustomed to life.

@Assistant @Cortex (open to all laboratory members, if anyone else wants to join?)

INCIDENT REPORT:

If coffee existed, that would be what Cortex was carrying. But alas, all he had was water, and it wasn't even hot. He'd take what he could get, though.

He hobbled along on three feet with one of his forepaws clutching a rock hollowed out to make a cup, his ears drooping and eyes squinted from a lack of sleep as any good scientist was prone to. He rounded a rock and paused, staring at the egg with narrowed eyes.

> Update: The egg has hatched. New directive, alert Researcher of this new development and investigate the subject.

Cortex took a sip of his water and scuttled forward, rounding the egg and staring at the dove with a brow raised. Not a dragon, not a lesser from what he could tell, and not as cool as he'd thought it would be.

"Hello, disappointment," he said, and then paused. He didn't mean to say that, oops.

"I mean... tiny creature," he said slowly, nodding. That was better. See? He could be nice! Sometimes...

Cortex reached out to the creature and brushed gross chrysalis fluid off of it, hoping that the action would make it move or something. He hoped it hadn't choked to death or whatever, that would be unfortunate.

"Wake up, tiny creature," he said, "I have some questions to ask you."

@Evelyn

It wasn't long before she curled her back half out of the chrysalis, too, her wings tucking in closer as she blinked open her eyes. "Ahh-" came the tiny exhale, and she rose one wing to cover her face.

A voice. A new sensation- sound- and she split her wing-feathers to peer at what it was. "Dissa..." It was a strange sound. "Issa-... poinymen." Her voice was barely a whisper as she explored it trying to figure out what it had meant.

She flinched at the touch. It was the second thing she'd felt, other than the cold wind, and it was... Strange, too. Her wing dropped as she blearily followed the hand that made the gesture. Was this wet stuff bad? Slowly, she pulled a wrist closer and wiped it down her breast, watching as the feathers moved.

"Wake..." She tested that on her beak. Her voice was louder, then, and she now fully looked at the being that stood over her. Was it also alive..? "Ques-ions, to.. to asssk you."

Was that right? That sounded right.

@Cortex @Assistant