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The sardonyx chrysalis had been up on the roof of Leo for the last four cycles, and barely noticeable until the last two. It stood out against the rock, banded gold and brown, white and black, but it suits the cave it grew in with it's sheen. It's... small, really, and high enough up that a drop would seriously injure or even kill whomever would be in this jagged and blade sharp structure.

It seems the creature within is also very aware, as a crack begins to form on the side facing the heat of the volcano - a slight chip, chip chipping before bits flaked away like too thick eggshell. At last, what seems to be an innermost layer of crystal gives way to a gush of the amniotic fluid that holds whomever within for as long as they need, and may as well again before this being dies.

Small, gold and pale white... hands pull at the chipped edges, then, slightly soft but quickly hardening talons scrabbling for purchase to pull and push away splinters and plates of stone, to leave an opening loud enough for gold and teal slit pupils to glare out of.

"A.... ah?" tentative noises come from the child, for it is a child... a young one at that, within the chrysalis and blinking at the cold of a breeze against wet skin, hair and feathers.

They hum, then, chewing at a finger in some sort of contemplation as they gaze out over Leo from their drained nursery. Something in them, the same something that had told them when to wake, when to pull at crumbling crystal, where to chip at from within... also tells them to try something new with fresh lungs.

"Ah... AAH." This is almost a word, what we would recognize a yell, but the small face scrunches in frustration at what seems to be the wrong noise.

"A."

Ouch. There.

Sardonyx rings with the almost bell like echo of this... what is it really? Like something between the sharp chirp of an eagle and the screeching chime of a bare throated bellbird. It's meant to call attention, and let's hope it does so.

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After a long while of silence - or at least a long while to them, but what is long to a being who just started thinking anyway - they decide to call out again, this time leaning out of the hole they'd made in their chrysalis and letting out another echoing, resounding -

"A!"

Maybe there isn't... anyone else out there...?

Morganoth had wondered about the gemstone. Having seen it long before they left for the Deathmatch, they'd decided that they'd keep an eye on it, just in case whatever being within didn't happen to hatch with functional wings like they had.

As they approached, their great wings flapping hard to keep them aloft, they knew at once that something was up. There was a strange sound coming from the chrysalis.

"It's awake," they mumbled softly, hovering beneath the chrysalis, their main head held steady because of a natural gyroscope in their head, keeping it steady as they held themselves aloft.

"You've awoken. Hello, small one," they said softly, offering their nose to the tiny little creature to rest on, their head so massive that it would provide the perfect place to lay on.

@Renasci

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Oh, they tilt their head, mouth now only partially open and blue-gold eyes wide as they stare at the face outside their little perch. Every beat of Morganoth's massive wings gets a twitch of their feather crested ears, and then the little gre and gold child tries something - to lean out a bit further to see what exactly is making that thumping noise. Small grey wings almost buzz in irritation when they realize they can't get any further without falling, something their instincts smack into their brain very quickly, and so they return to staring evening at Morganoth.

You know, as small children do.

Two tiny, gold plated hands come up, then, and uncurl from their resting position so they can place the palms on Morganoth's snout and not sock this seemingly kind being.

"...Ouh?" they murmur quietly, and then they test out their mouth again to yell- "H-woooah!" at the many headed beast, trying to mimic the easiest word they'd heard so far. Give the baby a bit, they need to learn about their face for a bit, but right now they are much more interested in learning about Morganoth's face.

What? Lots of teeth, shiny, smooth? Much cooler than theirs by a long shot, or at least they're pretty sure.

@Morganoth

’So small...’, they thought with wonder, staring at this tiny creature in awe.

Six more heads rose up, giving them different angels to perceive them, each one curious and aware. Very carefully they pushed their head up further, making it less of a drop to reach them, though it was awkward with their massive horns.

"It's alright, little one," they said softly, "Come, I'll bring you down to the ground where it is significantly safer."

They'd worry about food and the like later, when the small child was no longer in danger of falling to their death.

@Renasci

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They tilt their head back and forth some more, staring at Morganoth's main head, and when the other eyes appear to stare from other positions they finally move to look at them all, expression wide in awe and slitted eyes sparkling. Finally pushing up to their feet, they waver for a small bit and beat their wings some more in a futile effort to stabilize themselves, and little arms wiggle a bit to do the same.

"H... who..." a frustrated crinkling of the nose and they ball up their hands once again at not being able to spit out what they want to ask. Small golden fists open once again, and they step forward to touch the eldritch dragon's face and sort of lean on them. "You? Who you? How?"

Now they they've started to get a grip on their mouth, it seems, they are full of questions and their mouth is curled happily around a smile and some sharp pearly whites.

Renasci is balanced so that, if Morganoth were to move, they'd have to either reel back to jump up to sit on the creature's snout, and seems much more likely to do the latter.

@Morganoth

The eldritch being (or god, they thought privately) smiles, lips drawing back to show rows of sharp teeth. A laugh left their mouth and they shifted, moving so that the fledgling had to land on their snout. It was more than big enough to support them, and as long as they didn't throw themselves off their head, it would be fine.

"I am Morganoth, He of a Thousand Heads, The Heart-Eater, The Soul-Devourer," they said, though their mostly monotone voice ruined what grandness the names had, "But 'Morgan' is just fine."

They were quickly growing tired from hovering for so long. They were heavy as well as big, which kind of came with the territory, so they had to pull away so that they didn't cramp and send the both of them crashing into the sea. At least Morgan would be fine, being a good swimmer and able to breath underwater, but still.

Morgan let themselves drift forward and coasted along the updrafts wafting off of the sea, letting their wings lock in order to allow them some rest. Their head would remain perfectly level, shifting only to keep stable as they flew so that Renasci wouldn't fall.

"Do you have a name?", they inquired.

@Renasci

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A soft "Oof," as they half-jump-half-fall onto Morganoth's snout, and they turn around and sit up to face the big set of eyes they now perch between, and look at the other heads. They twist to glance back at their chrysalis, the sardonyx eruption slowly falling to bits and pieces as the two pull away.

One foot has a grip on a large, blade like shard of said chrysalis, and it seems like the hatchling wasn't aware that they'd grabbed it until they look back down to see where they are, and what they are sitting on. The shard is grabbed, and they curl their arms protectively and carefully around the sharp crystal that rings gently against it's sister gem in their chest.

Morganoth - because that's their name, all the other words seem like they describe the friend more than anything - is very interesting, and they smile before looking around with a new sense of awe as they glide above the water, and massive wings slowly fall still to hold them aloft. There's a bit of silence as Ren tries to put together the noises they want to to describe themselves, noises to make a name and maybe titles like Morganoth has!

"Neme..." they murmur, having a hard time crinkling their lip to get the more nasal noise an A requires. "Rrrr... Ren....Rrrensii.... Renahsee." they sound out the words bit my bit, as if tasting the new noises and feeling if the word fits them. Crinkled nose like a growl, open mouth like their call, then that hissing like feeling of the last noises... sounds like how wind feels. Something new, and little do they know that to us it's something like rebirth and wind and fire rolled into one.

"Me. I 'hm Renasci. Nothin else yet." With the final word spoken like a promise, and they grin at one of Morgan's many heads before patting an open palm to the massive head below them. "Morgun. Moremore."

Of course, their stomach takes that moment to make a strange noise, and they squint down at their abdomen in confusion. They're hungry... hatching is hard work, after all!

@Morganoth

Morganoth flew down towards the sea, their legs lowering like the landing gear of a plane, dragging across the water as they flapped to slow down. They folded up their wings like a swan's, feet and tails pushing them through the water and leaving a wake behind.

"Renasci," they repeated, two heads diving beneath the waves to snap at fish swimming below, trying to catch a meal for this little hatchling.

They snapped up a whole school and set a couple flopping silver fish in front of Renasci, offering them to him while they scarfed down the others.

"Moremore," they agreed, laughing deep in their chest, "You may call me that. You are hungry, yes? Eat, I will swim to shore."

@Renasci

Renasci

A sharp nod of their head punctuates a content noise as Morganoth repeats their name, and they look pleased as punch, giggling softly and turning themselves around to face the direction the two seem to be going.

Landing in the water gets a sharp squeal that quickly trickles into more giggles, and they attempt to lean over and stick their open hand into the spray, before their pupils contract to slits at the flash of scales and- smack they pin the fish to Morganoth's snout with that palm instead.

"Uh... oops. Sorry, dn' meannuh do that..." Grey feathered ears flatten back and gold-blue eyes turn to stare at the nearest set of the eldritch dragon's they can see, and they grimace an apologetic smile. Which is quickly replaced by a sharp grin at the agreement to their nickname they'd given them. "Moremore, hungry too?"

This gets them to lift one of the fish with a hand, studiously ignoring how it wiggled. It's supposed to wiggle, right? Otherwise Morganoth wouldn't have given them it... right? Anyway, they stick one of the smaller fish between their teeth, and once again lift one of them to offer to Morganoth. They aren't aware they the titan had swallowed the others...

"Fshh."

@Morganoth