◜ . the circle of life ┊ hatching . ◞

[EGG]

It's a wonder as to how the rather large egg managed to survive after days of being left alone with no mother to care for it. What was even more of a mystery was how its assumed siblings had either hatched before it or... had unfortunately met death before they could even begin life. Whatever happened, the egg had been the sole being left by itself in the territory's swamp. It had been brought back to the clan's camp where a few individuals had taken it upon themselves to look after it and incubate it.

Now, a few days later, the egg began to wiggle in its makeshift next. It even rolled to the side, and it was obvious that the egg had survived. A small crack suddenly split onto the egg's surface, a clear indicator that the time had come. It was now just a matter of the creature inside of the shell breaking free into the world. Perhaps Tanglewood was not where it was originally meant to be born, but it would turn out to be the first home that it would ever know.

[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

One of the several tanglers that had taken it upon themselves to watch over the egg was Aurum, a member of the swamp-dwelling group that was damn near famous for his ability to Dad over anyone. When the egg had initially been found, Aurum had sort of played hero while Crowley panicked over what the hell he was supposed to do with an egg. Both Aurum and Melantha – along with a slightly awkward Crowley – had brought the egg to the main camp, and Aurum had made it a sort of habit to occasionally visit, granting the egg warmth and company. Occasionally he would talk to it, the egg nestled against his belly as he just sort of babbled to it, telling it about his day and trying to teach it stuff. He was sure that a few people thought he was crazy for doing such a thing, but he didn't really care, and he occasionally even brought Roy along so that the tiger could help out. He had been on the way for one of these visits when he noticed the egg shaking, and suddenly it had rolled onto its side. His eye lit up excitedly, and he trotted over a bit more quickly, gently brushing his nose against the surface of the egg before calling out, "Hey, guys! That egg we found is finally hatching!" He wasn't sure who exactly he was calling out to, but he knew at least Melantha and Crowley knew what he was talking about, along with a few others. He was watching the egg excitedly, wondering what would end up emerging from it.

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[fulzanin]

WE'LL MAKE A WAY WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR PLACE
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The concept of life was foreign to Feza when it came to how it was created. An innocent being, Feza. She knew what eggs were, though, and that usually they were for eating. The snow leopard had not been around when the egg had been discovered. Such was likely due to her being away in her home, crafting some festivity in order to lighten the mood. It was a constant need, considering how terrible things constantly were. She had to be a joyful and wonderful and happy person in order to combat the terribleness that was always around. "An egg? Since when? Is it a chicken egg?!" Feza's shrill voice announced her arrival. Her wings flapped as she came bounding over, and flapped harder to cease her momentum so she didn't go bowling forward into another present to witness the egg hatching. "Oh, look at that, it really is hatching!" The snow had never seen a hatching before. It was odd. It was both confusing, and something thrilling to see. Her tail swung sharply behind her, startled and equally as amazed at the sight.

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THE EMPTY CHAIRS WILL BE RESERVED FOR OUR PITY

[arcy]

-

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//retrOOOO to injury

To be quite frank ... Crowley had been checking on the egg semi-obsessively, though he'd always hesitated to actually interact with it. Crowley was good with children, but never infants or ... eggs. He'd never been entrusted with either, somewhat surprisingly considering the very long time he'd been on this planet. They were all so terribly fragile, weren't they, though? Crowley wasn't the most graceful creature around, and he wouldn't even know where to begin, anyways.
Needless to say, though, Crowley was quick to respond once he heard Aurum's call. He tries not to look too much of ... anything. Excited, nervous, whatever. It's fine, he wasn't feeling too much of anything to begin with, absolutely, he was just ... fascinated, see? .. Contrary to this, Crowley's tail continues to sweep nervously as he trots over.
"Just a few days," Crowley tells Feza, and promptly doesn't continue. It's not like he knows anything else. The serval stops abruptly to crouch next to Aurum, ears turning nervously on his head even as he stares at the green-spotted egg with .. almost unnerving intensity. "How long should it take?" He had very carefully avoided looking up anything on eggs, after they'd found it. Just a few minutes? Hours? The answer wouldn't matter much to the serval, as he'd probably be here for the majority of the time regardless, but it still felt important to ask.

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[suvi.]

[align=center]— T͏O̴G͠ETH͏ER̕ ÁT̴ ̸T̕H̶E ST͏ART̶ O͏F̀ ̵TI̡M͏E —

Oh.  The anticipation in the air felt thick.  The petite vixen felt her ears flick back.  Confusion filtered through her unmatched hues.  As Tanglers began to gather, the medic slowly padded forward.  What could warrant all this...?  An egg?  Oh.  Kiira felt silly, recalling vaguely a word about an egg recently found in the territory.  This must be that egg.  And hatching.

Kiira breathed out softly, inching a little closer despite the prickling in her fur from so many others near.  She glanced at Crowley for a moment, pondering the question.  How long should it take?  "Har-hard to say... If no one knows wh-what type of egg it is."

✯ — suvi kiira ní faoláin. female. medic of tanglewood. beta of the typhoon. arctic fox.  ref. bio.

[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

The first to approach was Melantha, another one of the Tanglers that had first been there when the egg had been found near the border. Aurum offered the female a glance and a nod as she approached, a similar grin appearing on his face as he saw that he was far from the only one who was excited for this. Tail flicking absently from side to side, the guardsman pointed carefully with a paw at the small crack that had marred the egg's surface, rumbling "Yep, right there. That's the first sign of the beginning of the hatching! I wonder what it'll be..." He also wondered what it would be like, but... he supposed that no one could really know that until whatever emerged from the egg was old enough to speak, or do more than just be doted on by everyone as it grew. Regardless of what it ended up like though, the child inside of the egg was a Tangler, at least until any sort of parent showed up. However, he had a feeling that nobody would, considering it had already been several days with no signs of anyone. The lion then looked up when he noticed the approach of Feza, Crowley, and Kiira. It was a bit hard to believe that Feza hadn't found out about the egg at all, but he shrugged it off, figuring she had probably just been too busy with some kind of strange convoluted plan she had been stirring up. Since Feza didn't really actually seem interested in any sort of answer to her former questions, too caught up in the excitement of the hatching, he instead turned his attention towards Crowley, while offering Kiira a nod. Letting his tail touch gently to the demon's back in order to calm any nerves, Aurum shrugged and mumbled to his companion, "Kiira's right. We can't really know how long it'll take yet since we don't know what kind of creature it is. If it's strong and has something like a sharp egg tooth, it could be pretty fast, but if it doesn't? Who knows." It was a bit of an annoying truth, getting so excited for something like an egg hatching and then realizing you'd have to wait until the child could actually emerge, but it wasn't as if they were going to just drag whatever was inside out.

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[EGG]

Tap. Taptap. Tap. The sounds became more aggressive as the little one contained within the egg worked to break itself out. The head of the egg split under pressure, revealing icy blue hues and a wriggling, curious nose. The first glimpse.

A drawn-out, high-pitched groooaaaannnn emerged from the creature's maw, and was quickly followed by a quick grunt as the egg rolled onto the other side and hit the floor. The baby grunted and pressed as hard as he could, eventually shoving his stubby leg through the shell itself and proceeding to crack open the rest of it. He was revealed to have ebony scales with white markings splotched all over his body, including the tips of his wings and his tail fins.

A dragon hatchling.

Little was he aware of the mystical, regal, and even feared reptilian he would grow up to be. For now, just like any other newborn, he was exhausted from literally breaking out of his shell. After surveying a glance over the crowd watching him, he stretched a deep yawn and plopping down onto the broken egg shells, making a noticeable crunch. He proceeded to close his big, blue eyes and huff as if nothing else in the world mattered.

[torren]

serendipity (n.)

---

A rising symphony caught the wildcat's attentive ears.  An unusual excitement lived through the myriad of voices and Torren, drawn to the sound, blinked in pleased surprise as he became witness to a true marvel.  The privilege to welcome a new child to the world brought a wide smile across his face.  Eyes bright, he cast the smile at the new hatchling, enticed by the wonder of the moment.

While a simple page in the books of everyone present, this bore the first for the infant dragon.  Torren rumbled a deep purr in his chest before furrowing his brows in careful thought.  How do mother dragons care for their young? As a reptile, the child hardly required milk but the consideration possessed momentous consideration.  Of every place in the world, the young prince felt confident Tanglewood may find the capacity to properly rear a dragon.  To ensure he grew big and strong, found the nutrition he required and even learn to fly.

"I imagine breaking out of his egg took a lot out of him." The hatchling certainly appeared content to rest for the moment.  Cute.  "We'll need to find out what he eats soon."  Least the hatchling begins to starve after hardly experiencing the world.  "And prepare a place for him to sleep." And... And so much more.

In the moment, the youth realized Tanglewood possessed little to no children; a number of younger members, such as himself, of course, but he was hardly a child.  But we'll figure this out.  Tanglewood found no shortage of intelligent, compassionate beings.  Relaxing, the feline sat back, unintentionally brushing his fur against Kiira's. "I am glad he has a home here."

[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

Nearly immediately after Aurum had finished reassuring Crowley that the egg would hatch at its own pace, the child inside seemed to have decided that they were ready to see the world right at this moment, if the soft and curious taps and almost shy poking out of a nose were anything to go by. Curiosity immediately piqued by whatever could emerge from the egg, Aurum's one blue eyes focused on the child as he pushed his way free of his eggshell shaped prison, the tiny dragon's body shaking free of the bits of shell still clinging to it. The guardsman found himself stunned for a moment, having encountered a dragon before, but never one freshly hatched. He really was stunningly adorable, with the hatchling's eyes lazily surveying all of them before the child evidently decided that it was time for some more rest. Aurum couldn't say that he blamed the kid, truly unable to imagine what it must've been like to shove your way out of an egg and out into the bright excitement of the open world. When he heard Torren, he couldn't help but just flick an ear in acknowledgement, staring in an almost dumb astonishment at the tiny creature.

After a couple more moments of just taking in the child's monochrome patterned scales, Aurum was broken from his thoughts by a sort of frantic anxiety. He had never met a young dragon before, which meant he had absolutely no reference for what they ate, or what conditions they were raised in. He had been prepared for nearly any possibility... except for this one. None of his old storybooks about dragons had ever mentioned anything about them when they were hatchlings, and even if they had, they certainly hadn't gone into an in depth discussion about how to raise them. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, the angel glanced over at Crowley for some sort of reassurance before he nodded at Torren's words, rumbling softly, "...Yes, we should all be glad that this little one has a home here. It means that we can all help out and make sure he gets raised right..." He faintly sank his teeth into the inside of his cheek for a moment before continuing, glancing around at the large group that had gathered for the exciting event, "Torren is right, though. We'll need to prepare... does anyone know what a baby dragon eats? I'm not sure if they would start off with solids right off the bat, or if they're like cubs, and they drink milk for a while..." He glanced over at Feza curiously, since she was the only one present that he knew of to have a dragon form, albeit a small one. That didn't mean she would know what the child ate, of course, but it was as good a place to start as any.

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[fulzanin]

WE'LL MAKE A WAY WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR PLACE
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Feza's tail had been rapidly flicking behind her as her gaze flicked back and forth. Her attention was mostly centered on the egg, but she was trying her best to keep up with the conversations that were being spoken around her. The sharp movements of her tail only grew more rapid when she noticed the cracks deepening, the taps, kneading at the ground with anticipation. What came from eggs, her mind derailed to ask her that question. Chickens, like she had asked upon her approach. Didn't bugs also come from eggs? Frogs, too. Other birds. Birds were the most notable and her mind made it clear to repeat such to her a few times over. When the actual hatching took place and the creature inside was revealed, the partythrower jumped a little in surprise. That was.. not a bird. Or a pelican. Or an insect, unless it was a very odd one. Her head tilted a little, for a moment befuddled as to what had just hatched from the egg. Then, realization hit. It was a dragon, a small one - of course it was small, Feza ridiculed herself, it had just hatched! "Aww, look at that, it's so small!"

Of course the snow leopard was not about to acknowledge about how her own dragon form was likely smaller than this fresh hatchling was, already. Her dragon form stood at a solid near six inches in height, and Feza had to guess this hatchling would topple her already. Didn't matter, it was so cute and the snow leopard was pacing in place with excitement. It was a hard emotion for Feza to keep under wraps, and it showed itself through her rapid, sporadic pacing and twitches of her wings and jagged swishing of her tail. Her ears swiveled when the topic of consumption came up. "Oh, oh!" Feza had sharply shrieked when she noticed that.. someone was looking at her. Was she expected to help? She could do such a thing, surely. "Well, whenever I'm in my dragon form I can pretty much eat the same stuff. Just gotta cut it up to be smaller 'n yea. Not sure if they've got teeth yet. They probably need to be mushed up, whatever meat we c'n get for them. Don't want them choking." Of course Feza rambled, lifting a paw to wave it through the air as if it somehow would help her points be conveyed with further ease. She was grinning, happy to be providing some sort of help, resuming her energetic bouncing movements shortly after.

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THE EMPTY CHAIRS WILL BE RESERVED FOR OUR PITY