Scenarios

Tidbit # 9

"Joey." A voice speaks in my head while I'm doing dishes. I think it's Treejinue. I stop to listen. "It's time. Her egg is hatching and she says she wants you here for it." "Serena! I'll be right back!" I call. She's in the basement. I teleport to Ealandor's cave. I run through into the mouth of the cave, and down into the depths. It's dark, but that's no problem for me. I run into the chamber where the roc keeps her egg. Inside are Treejinue, Ealandor, the roc and the firedrake. "Joey. You're just in time," Ealandor says, glancing over. I walk up to the nest to see multiple cracks in the egg. A large piece starts separating and falls away revealing a white eye. Looks kind of like the firedrake's eye. The eye closes and the egg starts shaking. More of it falls away until the baby struggles free. I'm surprised to see that the infant is not a roc at all. It looks like some kind of hybrid. It's got a long, snake-like body, with two good sized wings halfway down it, and then a snake's head with a beak instead of a snout. It's body is a pale grey-ish orange, as are it's wings. It's color is the mix of the roc's grey and the firedrake's orange. And, as I saw a moment ago, it's eyes are white, and reptilian, like the firedrake's. It squirms in the nest, making little screeching sounds. It's eyes close, and it keeps them shut tight. The roc hops forward and nudges it with her beak, cawing softly. The baby faces up and opens it's mouth so the roc can feed it. "You're the father?" I ask, looking to the firedrake. "I had no idea." It's a roc-firedrake hybrid. "She's the first of her kind," Ealandor says. "Brii." "What's that?" I ask. "It means 'beaut,.'" He explains. The roc makes another quiet cawing noise. "Really? I think it's perfect," Treejinue says. "What?" I ask. "Her name is Brii," She says in my head. "Brii," I repeat softly. "I agree. It suits her." The firedrake makes a hissing-chittering sound and looks right at me. He cock's his head to the side. "Do you want to hold her?" Ealandor translates. "Can I?" I ask. The firedrake bobs it's head once. I step forward and pick up Brii near her head. She squawks and squirms. Her body is about three feet long and hangs down as I lift her up. My hands wrap all the way around her and my fingers can just touch each other. Her scaley skin is slimy from just hatching, but I don't care. I curl her up in my arms and hold her close. She opens her eyes again and looks up at me. I smile. "Hello, Brii," I whisper. Her tongue sticks out and flicks trough the air, smelling me. She starts squirming in my arms and squawking, so I set her back in her nest. She stretches out her wings and screeches loudly. Her wings are about a foot long each. She screeches again, and the roc bends down to feed her again. "She's beautiful," I say. "She'll be a new experience," Ealandor says. "Lots of mysteries surround her. Like when she will become active. Firedrakes start flying just a few months after hatching, but rocs can't even stand up until at least a year old," He explains. "Well, this was an experience. I'm grateful you decided to have me over for this event," I tell the roc. She nods once, and goes back to watching the baby. "I think I'll be leaving," I say. Treejinue turns and rubs her head against me. "Visit again soon," She says. I smile. "Of course," I say. I turn to walk out, and then teleport back home to tell Serena the good news.