Colonising [Clever-fox] [Mature]

[Brisinger987]

Veraxitoc knocked on the egg, gradually knocking harder and harder. Nothing. He even took it to a gryphon healer. It was dead as dead could be.

So Veraxitoc took it high above the mountains, and decided to say a prayer for the fallen child.

"May your young wings lay to youthful rest in the valleys of your ancestors young one. May those who bore you find you again, such that you may be reunited, in the canyons of the gods and heavens. May angels watch over your passing, and demons not lead you astray. Find peace in the arms of the heavens. If you were without a name, I name you Quarta, after the angel of tranquillity. May peace be your virtue. Goodnight little one." Veraxitoc shed a single tear as he dropped the egg, and followed it down. It shattered, and it revealed the calcified skeleton of a stillborn.

"May the gods love you, little one."

[Klezmer Gryphon]

The morning light was a pleasant sight for Ajax, who was up in the early hours of the morning training with his sword. Even if he wanted peace, he didn't want to be unarmed, either. Sheathing his sword, he sat down in the castle courtyard and start meditating on his past. It was his morning ritual, and it helped him deal with the stressful memories of his past.

Shamgar had woken up early, just as the sun was rising. He usually didn't wake up until the sun was peering through his windows, but he couldn't sleep. Going down stairs, he was going to the library, which was on the other side of the courtyard. Stepping outside, he saw his father meditating, who motioned for him to come and sit.

"Shamgar, take a look around you. What do you see?" He asked, posing what seemed a fairly obvious question to his son.

"Well, I see a castle, the trees, the sky. Why?" He replied, curious as to the nature of the question.

"A fair answer. Now, look closer. Do you see the fruit on the trees? The individual bricks in the castle or the lightest clouds in the sky?" His father said. Ajax had gone through the same thing when he learned swordsmanship, and now he was passing on the tradition to his son.

[Brisinger987]

Seh'lvah was trying to stop Methusela being a nightmare when Shamgar was gone. Teeth. She remembered growing them. Now Methusela was teething, and even Seh'lvah's damn leg had gotten chewed. Painfully.

She got up not to Shamgar leaving, but to Methusela, who woke up to Shamgar leaving, and decided to chew on her. She gave him a stern scolding, and dragged him outside to see where Shamgar was going.

"Shamgar? Shamgar? Can you look after Methusela today?" Seh'lvah wanted Shamgar to understand that he had to share the teething pains.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Both gryphons looked to see Seh'lvah and Methusela coming outside. Shamgar noticed that Methusela was growing teeth. Oh, great....

"Look, dad, can we continue this some other time? I think Seh'lvah needs my help with Methusela" he said, excusing himself from the conversation. He was curious why his father had asked him the question, but now turned his attention to his own son, who was now teething.

"Of course, Shamgar. Just try to keep the boy out of the courtyard for next couple of hours. I'll be practicing, and Id hate to hurt either of you by accident." He said, getting up, and drawing his sword. He then began his sword routine, which Shamgar watched with amazement.

[Brisinger987]

"All the while you have been gone, he has been teething. Your turn." Seh'lvah nudged Methusela to Shamgar, and watched the hatchling hug Shamgar. Methusela was growing fast. He was about the size a half grown horse now. Nearly as big as Shamgar.

"Just, give him something to chew on. I warn you-" Just as Seh'lvah was about to say something, Methusela chomped on Shamgar, chewing with fresh teeth. "His teeth are very sharp." Seh'lvah gave a slightly worried face as she held up her chewed leg, with lots of bloody scales and bite marks.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Shamgar winced as his son's teeth sank in. He prie his son off, and gave a quick scolding. His shoulder was bleeding, but nothing he would worry about. His grandfather would deal with whether Shamgar wanted it or not.


Ajax paused, and chuckled. "You know, Seh'lvah, gryphons go through a similar time where the tips of their beaks grow as hard as well tempered steel. Generally, the parents would give them something like a large tree limb, or a rock to chew on." He said, then continued his routine.


Shamgar went inside, and a moment later, came back dragging a large log out for little Methusela to chew on.

[Brisinger987]

((OOC: Speak now, or forever hold your peace, I am going to slate Brie the Cheesemaker, and replace her with Methusela, unless you wanted him? And for this post, if you do want him, I will just control him quickly))

Methusela saw the log, and plodded over to it. He had no clue what it was. He gave Shamgar a blank look, and turned to him.

"Daddy... What is?" The youngling had managed to learn a lot. He had comprehensive abilities now, he could speak and hold a half decent conversation. About as good as a 5-6 year old could.

Methusela prodded it with a paw, before sniffing it once.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

((OoC: I don't care. Take him if you want.))

Shamgar sighed, and started think of something to say.

"Well, it's something to chew on so you don't hurt mommy or daddy while your teeth are coming in." He said, being completely honest. He hoped his son would understand it was rude to chew on other people.

Azuma was up on Veraxitoc's peak that morning, trying to council the head elder.

"Veraxitoc, you did what you felt was right, ther was no need to feel guilty." He said, trying to reassure that the unborn hatchling was safe and in the arms of the gods.

[Brisinger987]

((OOC: Ok then, 3 draggies!))

Veraxitoc listened carefully.

"I know, I know, I still feel bad though, it was once a life, with potential. It is just a shame that things happened the way they did." Veraxitoc had consoled with the fact a while ago. He just felt sad.

----------------

Methusela looked at the log, then back at Shamgar, several times. Then he took the log underpaw and began to chew on it, finally getting the idea.

"Can keep?" Methusela still needed to learn to speak properly, and he was looking forward to it.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"Yes, you can keep it." Shamgar said, lightly chuckling. He watched as his son started chewing on the log. He was relieved that he had found something for him to chew on as fast as he did. Ajax sheathed his sword and walked over to Shamgar.

"I wish I had been with you when you were like that, Shamgar" he said, nodding towards Methusela, who was chewing on the log. He deeply regretted leaving, but he was glad he was now spending time with his son. He went inside and left his son and grandson in the courtyard, and went to the library. It been too long since he'd read any of the great works of the philosophers.
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Azuma curled up around the very tip of the mountain and looked at Veraxitoc.
"When you've lived as long as I have, you'll know what truly is sad. Rejoice in the fact that the child is with the gods. Do not mourn for an empty shell." He said in a sagely manner, "And, yes, it did have potential, Im not denying that. However, it was the fault of the parent who laid that egg and let it die. You have nothing to feel guilty about, my friend"

[Brisinger987]

"Daddy... Who that?" Methusela spoke while chewing, making it slightly muffled. He was in a combination of the "who, what" phase. He would question everything.

-----------------

"True. That egg had been there hundreds of years, exposed to the elements. Methusela had at least the cover of water and shell. He would have laid dormant instead of dying." Veraxitoc sighed. Such a poor waste of life that egg was. Shame on it's parents if they abandoned it.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Well, Methusela, that's your grandpa." Shamgar said. He put it simply so the not-so-little dragon would understand. He sat down a short distance away, and pulled one of his little tinkerings a out if his satchel and started working with it some more. He made sure that he watched his son as well as pay attention to his work.

-------

Azuma started pondering something. He was one of the last of his kind, not counting his daughter or Shamgar, as they were half-breeds. In a way, it was a time of despair, as there was much of the ancient ways of the mighty Oirthir dragons that remained lost or unrecorded. In another way, it was a comfort, as when his time came, he would be with his fallen comrades.

"Veraxitoc, did you ever think about what the world would be like when you die? Before Methusela was born, I mean."

[Brisinger987]

"Grandpa looks like you Daddy." Methusela stopped chewing to burp, and spewed a large burst of flame everywhere. He wasn't close enough to burn Shamgar, but it was certainly attention grabbing.

-------------------

Veraxitoc listened to Azuma intently.

"I thought I was alone after I killed Loreiaka. I thought that I should die, then and there, make my species extinct, leave my species to die. I thought that the world would not miss me. I had nothing to care for at that point. Nothing to love. No family. No friends. One lone enemy. I didn't really want to live. But of course, my enemy didn't want to kill me. So we slept, she apparently woke up several times."

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Shamgar nodded, and laughed softly. He thought about what Methusela said for a moment. "Well, I guess he does."
When the plume of fire came, he just blinked, and was prepared to put out anything that caught fire. He was used to it by now, and luckily, nothing did catch fire.

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Azuma nodded.

"You see, Veraxitoc, I truly am the last of my race. Sure, my daughter, and to a lesser extent, Shamgar, shared the blood of the Oirthir dragons, they are not dragons, obviously. When my time comes, the ancient power of the Oirthir will vanish. My daughter would have had some of my abilities, being half Oirthir, but Shamgar I'm not so sure about." Azuma said. He was going to say something else, but then a sudden thought hit him

"Veraxitoc, have you seen anything strange about him lately? Any thing that seemed odd or unusual for Shamgar's behavior?"

[Brisinger987]

Methusela laughed, but then cringed as a pain came on, and immediately went back to chewing the log. A fair amount of wood chipping was on the floor now.

-----------------------

"In some ways, I wish Methusela hadn't been a Nightspinner. If he is truly the last, then I can rest. But finding him stirred my mind, I can't help but wonder if my race can truly revive. It will take a few years of rather tyrannical selected mating, but it would purely be for the sake of survival. Until my species was diverse enough again." Veraxitoc rested in the mountaintop snow, watching two dragons dancing in the distance. The dance was of a pair of Thunderblacks, playing and displaying mating signs.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Azuma shook his head. He thought for a moment on what to say.

"Veraxitoc, suppose there is new generation of Nightspinners, starting with Methusela. Don't take it as a sign to be dreaded, rather, use it as an opportunity to preach your message of peace and equality to a new, willing generation." He said finally. He hoped that he didn't offend Veraxitoc, but he needed an answer, "but, still, you didn't answer my earlier question about Shamgar. Was he acting strange in any way these past few days? Any sort of anger problems or the like?"

If he was right with what he was thinking, he would have to do something.

[Brisinger987]

"I know it is not to be dreaded. I just want a certainty for once. And Methusela stirred up uncertainty." Veraxitoc sighed, in indication of the end of that conversation.

"Now that you mention it, when I was teaching him to fight, he lost his temper and went into a frenzy. Quite effective as a fighting strategy, needs more control though." Veraxitoc observed it as though natural for gryphons.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"Going into a frenzy isn't normal for Shamgar at all." He said, "And frenzying isn't a gryphon fighting strategy, not by a long shot." He recalled talking with his son-in-law about war, and he specifically remembered Ajax mentioning that most gryphons used martial arts, not frenzying, and a few, such as himself, used swords.

Azuma needed to know more in order to act. Shamgar could very well be in danger from his own heritage.
"Were his eyes glowing, Veraxitoc?"

[Brisinger987]

"I didn't see. I was getting clawed and pecked and bitten. You know?" Veraxitoc thought the question was rather stupid really. He never looked into an opponents eyes.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"Are you sure? Well, regardless, I think there is something wrong with Shamgar." Azuma said, feeling u easy about what he was about to say. "Before I say anything else, there is something I need to tell you about the Oirthir dragons."

He would wait for Veraxitoc's response before going on. He wanted to make sure the head elder was listening.