A wide open area of flat, grassy land and rocky trenches, supposedly a wide range of ancient civilizations once lived here. Species that like wide, open areas, such as Gyrophants, Serraptors, and Sahound, thrive here, though only the agile survive. (+3 Speed)

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Postby Jaykobell » 01/05/2014 3:17 AM

Taniqua quietly looked at Francis, and then back to Koralia, slowly withdrawing her hands and clasping them together. "Oh," she whimpered quietly, looking torn at the decision she had to make. "All right. If Francis says they're good kids, you can go... Just be careful!" Without giving the Soveris a chance to answer or leave, the Ambia bent down and wrapped her child in another hug.

Koralia returned the gesture, even if only with one leg. "I'll be careful. They know I'm injured, so they said we'd fly slow," she said, hoping that would ease her mom's nerves a little bit. "I'll be back before dinner!" she said as she broke the hug and started heading off.

Not seconds after she was gone, Taniqua suddenly called out to Koralia. "Oh, Koralia, wait!" the Ambia cried, suddenly remembering something. "You said you wanted to ask me something yesterday morning," she reminded her daughter, and her face changed to guilt. "I felt so bad when I realized that you hadn't had a chance to ask me! What is it that you wanted to ask?"

Koralia blinked, and it took her a bit of time to remember what her mom was talking about. When she remembered, she just stared back at her mom for a bit before smiling and shaking her head. "It's okay. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I already knew the answer. Don't worry," she assured her mom as she stretched her wings and got herself off the ground. "Bye! I'll be home by dinner!"

"Oh... She's gone," Taniqua whimpered as she let her hands drop to the ground, while Francis's hand remained on her shoulder. "I hope it really wasn't all that important. I'd feel horrible if it was something she really wanted to ask me this whole time."

Putting two and two together, Francis smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm sure she would've asked if it were really that important," he assured the other Ambia, patting her shoulder as they watched the small bird head off with the two Paragon.
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Postby Jaykobell » 01/05/2014 3:33 AM

As Taniqua watched Koralia fly away, a strange feeling washed over her. She'd always fond it strange to hear mothers say, "they grow up so fast". The Ambia always thought that sounded so strange; how could you be so caught up in things that you didn't notice your children growing up? But now that she'd had her own child to care for and to raise, she now realized just what the phrase meant. Although Koralia was still young, she could tell the Soveris was no longer a little baby. She could go out on her own, she could work on her own, she could live on her own. She fight for herself, and she would get injured and make mistakes as she continued to grow up. It felt like just a few days ago that she was freaking out over what to feed her, how to take care of her, and how in the world she would manage a baby of an unknown species.

"Do you think I was okay?" Taniqua mused to Francis, still looking away at the sky, even after the Soveris was gone. "She seems to be happy." She hadn't heard the child complain about having the Ambia for a caretaker, and when she thought about it, she did call her "mom", despite them not being biologically related.

Francis turned to look at the Ambia, a puzzled look on his face. "What do you mean? Koralia?" he guessed, and the other was so entranced that she simply nodded without looking back at him. As if to follow her train of thought, Francis turned to look up at the sky, where one could see the faintest tint of twilight. "Heh, I think you were great. To think that you never wanted hatchlings!"

"Oh, Francis," Taniqua picked up, shaking her head as she finally looked back at him. "After raising her, it made me realize how I regret never settling down with anybody." She let out a heavy sigh that was filled with regret and longing.

"Well..." Francis trailed off as he looked back at her as well. "You're getting a bit old, but you could still get a few hatchlings if you tried."

"What? Are you out of your mind? ... And did you just call me old?" the Ambia called out, eyes widening in shock and her mouth hanging open. "I had one that nearly killed me! More than once! Never again," the Ambia said, shaking her head and looking away. "I'll get a heart attack if I have to start all over again at my age."

Francis stared in silence, looking slightly puzzled. "But you just said...?" Giving it some thought, he figured the topic was best left alone. The cook chuckled and just shook his head. "All right, if you say so. Have it your way."
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Postby Jaykobell » 01/05/2014 3:56 AM

"Hey! Hey, I thought we were gonna fly slow!" Sequoia called out as she struggled to follow after the Soveris, and she was flying at her fastest. She'd steeled herself for a slow flight, but the bird was ridiculously fast!

"But I am flying slow!" Koralia said as she stopped in mid-flight to turned around and wait for the two Paragon to catch up. They'd decided to fly over the side of the Hive, where it wasn't too crowded, and where the view was absolutely beautiful. It was better than to fly over the clearing or towards the hunting grounds, since they'd come across a lot more Paragon there.

"I can't keep up with you!" Sequoia cried out indignantly as she beat her wings furiously to try to catch up to the bird. Her wings were awkward and clunky enough as it were, and trying to fly faster than they could manage often resulted in the Sparkdrake flying off in awkward directions.

"I think she's flying slow by Soveris standards," Sanjiv pointed out as he buzzed along, his Insectile wings being surprisingly powerful despite their frail-looking appearance. They glowed all sorts of pastel colors as they beat just as fast as an insect's wings, buzzing along and flickering colors this way and that.

"What? I thought we were gonna fly slow by Paragon standards!" the Sparkdrake whined, letting her body droop as her wings continued to beat, as the two Paragon finally caught up to the Soveris. "They're the only standards I can fly by."

"Heh, well... Maybe we can fly slow by Soveris standards..." Koralia invited, just as she started to get ready to fly off again, "... and fast by Paragon standards! See you there!" she cried as she made a dash for it, letting her wings guide her away.

"Ah! Nooooo, come baaack!" Sequoia cried out indignantly, stretching her arms forward to try to grab the Soveris. "Sanjiv, I can't keep up with her!" she added as she did her best to fly after the bird, but she was already way too far behind to catch up.

"You fly faster than I do! What makes you think I can catch up to her?" Sanjiv pointed out, but as was typically of the female, she just ignored his own indignant comment to focus on flying away. The Carapace had no choice but to roll his eyes and to follow suit after the Sparkdrake, who tried to follow the Soveris in hot pursuit.
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Postby Jaykobell » 01/05/2014 4:04 AM

As Koralia flew high above the trees of the forest, she looked up towards the horizon, where the sun was starting to set. It washed the plains over in beautiful colors, including red, orange, gold, purple, and blue; and many more. It was a beautiful sight, and the Soveris found herself slowing down in her flight to be able to enjoy the scenery. She sometimes sat down with her mom to enjoy the scenery, and to look back on things.

To think that so many things had happened over the last day. To think that a simple errand to deliver a basket of eggs could turn out into an entire adventure. The part where she'd met Alcippe and Juro wasn't quite a good memory, nor was the race where she'd been critically injured. Still, even in her misfortune, some good things had come out of it. Alcippe had been found guilty of all those accidents, and although he'd been punished as well, Koralia could feel comfortable calling Juro a friend. After it all, she'd gotten to meet Sequoia and Sanjiv, and the two of them sounded like great Paragon to hang out with.

Part of her mind returned to her thoughts of her being a Soveris raised by a clan entirely made of Paragon. It returned to her thoughts of her original family never coming to find her, never coming to claim her back. What would've happened to her had Taniqua not found her? Beyond that, what would've happened if she had refused to raise her? The Ambia could've refused, considering Koralia had been the first Soveris they'd ever seen. She'd been lucky to stumble upon the one chicken coop that truly mattered. She'd been blessed to spend her life with one of the greatest Paragon the Hive had to offer.

The thoughts that were initially so negative and crippling for her were starting to go away. So what if her family had never looked for her? So what if she was the only Soveris in a whole clan of Paragon? So what if she was different from all of them? Some questions still hurt, and some questions were still left somewhat unanswered. Still, at the end of the day, Koralia could look at the setting sun and remember what the last two days had taught her. She could stay still in the sky, wings flapping slowly, as time slowed down almost to a stop, as the voices echoed inside her head.

"Maybe we're not Soveris like you, and maybe you're not a Paragon like us, but... we're here for you."

"Just remember we all love you, all right? We may be different species, but family goes beyond just blood and kin. We all love you for who you are, and not for what you are."

"You asked them, and they answered. They'd rather tell on you — tell the truth — than to go against Koralia. Koralia's not a Paragon, but she's still a member of the Dragon Hive."

And she knew, if she kept telling herself all these things, everything would be all right.

Everything would be all right.
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