[Jaykobell]

The moment she stuck her head out, Taniqua saw what was causing all this noise. Sitting on his usual perch was the rooster, and that was fine. However, right next to him was Koralia, chest puffed out and seemingly the one who'd been screeching after the rooster.

Likewise, the moment the Ambia screeched out to them herself, both the rooster and the Soveris stopped dead in their song to look in her direction. The rooster just stared for a bit before going back to looking at everything else, but being sentient, Koralia remained frozen in place.

Giving a sigh, Taniqua made her way to the small bird, who had actually grown to be bigger than she'd expected. Koralia had ended up growing to be about as big as Slavica and just a few inches under Balthazar's size. She was rather large for a bird, even if the bigger Paragon species were still rather big compared to her. "Koralia, what in the world are you doing?" the Ambia groaned, shaking her head a little to clear the sleepiness away.

The Soveris replied to the Ambia's grumpy mood with a large smile. "Hi, mom!" the bird chirped, calling the Ambia the way she'd always called her: mom. Even if she knew, deep down, that Taniqua couldn't possibly be her real mother, the Ambia had always filled the role perfectly. Paragon or Soveris, it had always felt right to call her "mom". "I was singing with the rooster! How was it?" she explained, puffing her chest proudly.

Taniqua blinked, unsure as to what she was supposed to answer. Roosters were fairly pleasant to listen to, but the screeching of an eagle? How was she supposed to tell Koralia that she should really let the rooster handle his job on his own? "It was... different, honey," the Ambia replied with a sheepish smile, "but it's not fair to take the rooster's job from him." Trying to think fast, the Ambia looked around and noticed a small basket of eggs sitting by the chicken coop. "You already have your own hands full by delivering those eggs to Francis, don't you?" Taniqua pointed out, using her tail to motion to the basket. "Hop on to it, or else they'll be no good by the time he gets them."

[Jaykobell]

At that comment, Koralia's ears drooped against her skull, and the Soveris looked away, a little embarrassed. She loved her mom: she truly did; but there were times where she obviously wasn't honest with the Soveris. Koralia could tell, now that she was older, that Taniqua would sometimes search for her words, and she would give the bird that same sheepish smile every time she wasn't sure about something. She hadn't quite picked up on it when she was younger, but now that she was getting older, she kept seeing those some mannerisms. "You can tell me if you think it wasn't good," Koralia replied quietly, looking away.

Right away Taniqua felt bad for what she'd said. Back then, it worked to just slide that kind of comment, and the Soveris wouldn't question it. Now that she had grown up, however, the Ambia found it was getting harder and harder to really soften her words with the child. She constantly had to take it back and to reword things better. "No, no, that's not what it is," the Ambia assured the bird, craning her neck forward. "Your cry is just more high-pitched: it sounds more like a bird of prey than a rooster. That's not a bad thing, it's just... not for singing in the morning."

Koralia turned to face the Ambia, and her face said it all: she didn't really believe what her mom was saying. Still, just to get on with things, the Soveris didn't push it. "Okay," was all she said before getting down from the rooster's perch, something the male bird seemed to appreciate immensely. She then walked over to the small egg basket, and she was about to pick up with her beak when she looked over her shoulder at the Ambia. "Oh! Mom? Can I ask you something?" There was a question that had been brewing in her head; a question she didn't have a real answer to, but she figured her mom knew the answer.

Taniqua was ready to go back to her den when the Soveris asked her the question, at which she stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Can it wait, Koralia?" the Ambia asked, yawning loudly in the process and tasting her mouth for a little bit before continuing. "The eggs will get bad if you don't deliver them now, and I'm still groggy. We'll talk after, okay?"

Koralia's ears visibly drooped again, but the Soveris didn't push the matter. "Okay," she replied again before taking the egg basket in her beak. She spread her massive wings and with a powerful flap, the Soveris was off and soaring in the sky.

[Jaykobell]

The trip was short and uneventful: just a quick flight over the forest barrier and then she would be in the clearing of the Hive. Yet, despite how short it was, the trip always felt like it lasted longer than it should.

When she was alone, flying over the forest and towards the holed mountain ahead, the Soveris had a lot of alone time to herself. Time to think, time to dwell on things, time to ponder and theorize. She was far from being a child anymore; she was nearing her adult years, and yet, there were still many, many things that she didn't know. Why was she only Soveris in the Hive? Where were her parents? How had she ended up here? Why did they all treat her differently? While no one was outright mean to her, some Paragon didn't want to really interact with her, and others didn't seem to be interested in truly forming friendships with her. She felt like there were things no one wanted to tell her, or that they wouldn't tell her unless she asked.

This time, the flight felt like it would last forever. She was upset that she hadn't been able to ask her mom the question she wanted to ask. The only way to get her chance was to deliver the eggs and then go back home. That's what her mom had said, right? Deliver the eggs, and then she could ask her question.

She landed gracefully in the clearing of the Hive, careful not to move the eggs too terribly much as she did so. She continued the rest of the trip on foot, and as the early Paragon started to leave their den, the majority of them waved a greeting to her. Although her mouth was full with the handle of the basket, she returned the greeting with a wave of her wing. It wasn't every single Paragon of the Hive that had something against her; admittedly, the vast majority had nothing against her being here. It was just the other things that kept tugging in one of the deep corners of her mind.

She ignored those thoughts as she made her way towards Francis's den, one that was now familiar to her. Taniqua, Francis, and Izotz were the three Paragon that she knew the most, and the three she was the most comfortable with, as well. While Taniqua was definitely the mother, Izotz and Francis were both somewhat filling in for the position of a father. "Francis!" the Soveris called out as she made her way inside the den, all the way to the back. "I have eggs!"

[Jaykobell]

As she reached the end of the den, the older male Ambia came into view. He was carrying some ingredients out of his storage, presumably to make himself some breakfast before starting the day. When he noticed the Soveris come by, though, he stopped what he was doing and turned to her, clapping his hands together excitedly. "Koralia! So good to see you," he greeted as he then used his hands to grab the basket from her mouth. "Let me take care of that for you," he invited as he pulled the basket away once the Soveris had opened her beak.

She sighed with relief once the basket was out of her mouth; it was aggravating after a while to have something stuck in your mouth like that. Dropping it earlier to call out to the Ambia had helped a little, but it was still a relief to have finally delivered it. "Mom said to deliver them now, or else they'd be bad by the time you got them," Koralia explained, sitting down and tucking her wings to her sides.

"Oh! Good to know; I'll keep these in the cold, then," Francis said as he moved the stone slab that lead to the cold storage away. He quickly went inside with the basket in hand, and shortly afterwards, the Ambia was back out into the den with an empty basket. He handed it over to Koralia before turning back to the open mouth of the storage in order to push the stone slab back into place.

As he did so, the Soveris watched him quietly. She was comfortable with Francis, just as much as she was with her mother. She tilted her head slowly to the side, subconsciously, as she watched him do his task. She knew that the Ambia knew her mother from many years before she'd been born. Considering their jobs, too, she knew that they worked closely together. If her mother didn't have time for her question, then maybe the cook would. "Francis?" Koralia called out, and to which she got a curious look from the Ambia. "Can I ask you something?"

Upon getting that question, the Ambia tilted his head, as if to match the Soveris who was talking to him. "Sure thing, little one. What's on your mind?" The Soveris didn't often talk to him personally, but he certainly wasn't against it if she had something to ask him.

[Jaykobell]

Koralia smiled when Francis said she could ask him what had been tormenting her, but when it was time for her to speak, she found it difficult to put her thoughts into words. "Thanks! Although... I don't really know how to phrase it," she admitted, scratching the back of her head as she frowned a little. "I've been... I've been wondering about things, lately," she added, thinking it might help the words come out if she started somewhere.

Francis sat down and crossed his arms as the Soveris started to talk. "Oh? What have you been thinking about?" he urged on, uncrossing his arms already in order to clap together, giving the bird a smile. "Just tell me outright what it is that's bothering you. My expertise is food, but I can try other things, hahah," he invited, giving a hearty laugh before crossing his arms again, seemingly unable to stay still for too long.

Koralia looked up to the Ambia, and his smile and words inspired some confidence in her. She smiled back, a little sheepishly, and went on to take the leap of faith. "Well... It's a bit silly," she confessed, the smile growing a little more sheepish the more she spoke. "It's hard to really explain. I was just wondering... who I am. Or, I guess... what I am." She paused and tapped a toe to her beak. "Why am I the only one... like this?" She spread her wings and got up, displaying herself to the Ambia. "You guys all look alike, but I'm not... like any of you. Why?" She sat back down and turned to the Ambia, tilting her head and frowning with a little bit of worry. "Even though you all have different species, you still look alike, but... I don't."

The more she spoke, the more she got the feeling that Francis was growing tense. His expression had changed, and his usually agitated self was more static than before. He didn't answer her right away, and even his initial answer wasn't very insightful. "Oh... Is that... what you've been thinking of?" he finally replied, and he gave the Soveris a large, insecure smile. "You're you, Koralia: there's nothing more to it. Don't worry about the fact you don't look the same: that's what makes you truly unique in the Hive."

Although his answer wasn't exactly untrue, the Soveris was displeased at the way he obviously trying to cover whatever they didn't want to tell her. She looked away, trying to give the Ambia the benefit of the doubt. "I understand I'm different, but... what am I? How did I get here?" She paused before sighing. "I know Taniqua isn't my real mom."

[Jaykobell]

The more she spoke, the more nervous Francis got. When Koralia had said that she wanted to ask him something, he'd expected something light-hearted and cute. He hadn't expected this kind of philosophical question, one that he didn't really feel comfortable answering. Taniqua should've been the one to answer the child that, not him. How come she was asking him, and not her mom? "What... what are you saying, now, Koralia?" he questioned when the Soveris flat out said that she knew the female Ambia wasn't her real mother. "Of course... Taniqua is your mother. Who else would it be?" he asked, giving the Soveris the largest sheepish smile he'd ever mustered. He could feel his sweat almost coming in waterfalls.

It only got worse when Koralia narrowed her eyes, and she gave his answer some thought. "She doesn't look like me. Why do I look like this when she looks like one of you?" Francis was starting to try her patience; this wasn't the first time he'd pulled the strings just like her mom. She wanted honest answers as to why she was the only one like this in the Hive, and why she was here. If she were the one and only Soveris in the clan, then where had she come from, originally? Why was she here, and not with other ones of her kind?

Francis was on the edge of hightailing it, but he couldn't do so while they were in the den. He bit his bottom lip as he tried to think fast. "Well, you see... You are like us, just... you have a different appearance. Th-that's all." He didn't know what to say anymore; he could only hope the Soveris would be happy with that, or that she would just up and leave and drop the responsibility of telling her everything to Taniqua.

The stuttering was the only proof she needed. Koralia narrowed her eyes, and her ears curled behind her head; for a moment, the Soveris looked truly frightening. Still, despite all the talk from Balthazar that the birds were known for being aggressive, Francis knew Koralia wouldn't attack him or anybody. "Why... why do you all think I'm stupid?" she asked the Ambia, and the question, admittedly, surprised him. "Why do you keep lying to me?"

"L... Lying to you?" Francis questioned, his smile quickly fading to be replaced with worry; he was a horrible liar, and he was only making his fate all the worst. "I don't know what—"

He was abruptly interrupted when Koralia screeched at him, the eagle-like cry making the Ambia jump just ever so slightly. "Stop lying to me!" Koralia cried out afterwards, getting upset the more the conversation went on. "Why won't you tell me? I just want to know what I am! And where I come from! Why won't you tell me?"

[Jaykobell]

Francis could only stare in silence at the Soveris's outburst, something he hadn't witnessed before. Koralia was quiet and hard-working, and typically shy with strangers and Paragon she didn't know very well. He couldn't remember seeing her get this worked up over something, and that made him realize how much she'd been thinking about these questions. If she had so much pent up frustration over it all, then she'd probably been thinking about it for quite a while.

She didn't add anything more, and all the Ambia could do was sigh and feel helpless. "I don't... I don't think it's fair for me to tell you all this... Your mom... Taniqua... should be the one to tell you," the cook finally answered, head drooping and sighing. "You... You're not a Paragon." There, that was one part that was done and over with. He figured that would be an answer that would be hard enough to take, so he stopped there to give Koralia some time to dwell on it.

Now that Francis was actually willing to be honest with her, Koralia tucked her wings back to her sides and calmed herself down. She took a deep breath and exhaled, looking a little upset at herself for bursting out like that. "I... I know I'm not a Paragon. That's why I've been wondering what I am." She narrowed her eyes a little again. "I... I thought it was obvious that I wasn't one of you, from the beginning."

Francis blinked at how quickly and easily Koralia had taken the news. He'd expected her to maybe cry out in despair, or to wonder why she wasn't a Paragon despite having been raised by one and living with an entire clan of them. Maybe Koralia was right: maybe she really wasn't a baby anymore. "Oh... I thought maybe you would be surprised to really hear it from the horse's mouth, as it were," the cook explained, scratching the back of his head. "If you really want to know what you are... According to Balthazar, you're a creature called a Soveris." He paused there, again to give Koralia time to let the news sink in.

She narrowed her eyes at the name, this time more in wonder than in anger. "A So... veris?" she echoed, the word unfamiliar to her and sounding a little strange. Although she always had doubts that she wasn't a Paragon, she had never really known what to expect. No one else around these parts looked like her at all, so it was a surprise to hear a term be applied to her. "Where... where do I come from?"

[Jaykobell]

So far, the talk of their different species seemed to have gone fairly well. Koralia seemed happier now that she had a species to attribute to herself, but Francis wasn't so sure that the next part was going to easy. How would he have felt, learning that his true parents and clan had left him behind? Considering Koralia was still with them, it was proof that her family and clan had never bothered to come looking for her. She was the only Soveris they'd seen, either then or now. How was she going to react to that? It broke his heart to have to tell her such a thing, but it was just as bad to lie to the bird's face.

With a sigh, he looked back up and faced the Soveris. "We're not sure," he started with, and already he could tell that the Soveris thought he was lying to her; but he was really telling the truth, this time. "Our best guess is that you fell in the river by the farm and got washed up all the way here. Taniqua found you in her chicken coop all wet, cold, and alone. Your eyes weren't even open yet." Telling her the story was a little like a wave of nostalgia. That time when Taniqua visited him that one fateful morning, carrying a tiny griffon baby in her arms. Now, that same baby had grown up, and she wanted to know what had happened, that day. "That's all we know. We... You're the only Soveris we're ever seen around these parts. No other one ever came by the Hive."

With the story over, the Ambia watched for any reaction from the Soveris. Koralia had been listening carefully, and while her face had initially shown displeasure, it was now showing something entirely different. She seemed confused and hurt, yet relieved to finally know where she came from; as little as the story told of her origins, anyway. Her ears were curved against her head, and she seemed unsure what to think or what to say. She eventually narrowed her eyes and frowned, letting her head drop just a little as her darted this way and that in deep thought. It felt like several long minutes before the Soveris finally spoke again. "You never... You never saw any others?" she asked, lifting her head and looking at Francis with sad eyes, yet one could tell she was trying to hide how hurt she truly was. "They never came? Ever?"

Francis put a hand on his head all the while biting his bottom lip. He could tell the youngster was hurt by learning that her true family and kin had never tried to come look for her. No Soveris had ever come close to the Hive, so Francis couldn't even assume that they'd tried at all. Their home couldn't be that far if the baby had managed to be salvaged down the river. Despite all that, they never came. He closed his eyes and let his head droop, all the while sighing sadly. "They never came. Izotz and Taniqua had agreed that if your true family ever came to get you, we would give you back to them. They didn't want to leave you to die in the wild out there, when you were so little that your eyes weren't even open. Part of them hoped your true family would come... but they... they never did." He paused for a moment, before looking up at the Soveris. "I'm sorry, Koralia."

[Jaykobell]

His words seemed to be very little to comfort the Soveris. Upon hearing that, Koralia let her head droop, but not only in sadness: also in anger. Why had her kin never come to find her? Why had no other Soveris ever tried to find her? Was it because she'd been unwanted? Had she been born a mistake? Was she deformed by her kin's standards? Had they actually thrown her out because they wanted her to die? Was that why they'd never come for her?

Seeing the Soveris brooding like that, Francis took it upon himself to try to comfort her. That was why he'd been reluctant to tell her her story, because there was no telling how she was going to take it. He wasn't the best at comforting others or giving good advice; all he was really good at was cooking. He didn't have a lot of interaction with his fellow Paragon, and he'd never been very good at the emotional stuff. He was vocal and gesticulated a lot, but that kind of happy demeanour was the complete opposite of the kind of heavy material he'd had to cover with Koralia. He didn't really know how to handle any of it.

He walked over to the Soveris and sat down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We didn't know when or how to tell you because we didn't know how you would react," the Ambia said, but clearly that wasn't going to be enough to comfort the bird. "But hey, it... didn't turn out that bad in the end, did it? Maybe we're not Soveris like you, and maybe you're not a Paragon like us, but... we're here for you, right? We raised you because we cared: we didn't want you to be all alone, or to get caught by a predator. Taniqua was always sick with worry about you... She's much older than your average Paragon mother, and she didn't know what to do with you," he continued, giving a hearty laugh as he remembered the times of the female Ambia's stress and panic-filled days. "But she wanted to try: for you. We're not the same species, but... we care." He tilted his head to the side so that he could get a better view of her face which, sadly, hadn't changed much at all.

His words seemed to get Koralia's gears working, but the Soveris didn't say anything. After a time, she jerked her shoulder away from Francis's hold before shifting a bit so that her back was facing the Ambia. She wasn't exactly upset at him, but she wasn't happy, either. She could understand why they'd kept it all a secret from her all this time, because she could admit that she didn't like this story. She didn't like this truth that she'd been seeking for the last few months. The questions that had been turning around in her head all this time: that wasn't the answer she'd wanted to hear. Even if she could accept that the Hive Paragon were there for her, it remained a fact that her original parents had never tried to come and find her. She was nothing to her kin, wherever they were, and she was an outcast to the Hive. She felt like she did have a home here, but did she truly belong with the Paragon? How was she going to survive, species-wise, if she was the only Soveris of the clan? Was she just not meant to go beyond herself?

The answers she'd gotten had created more questions, ones that were more painful than the previous onesl but unlike those other questions, these new ones would never get any answers, because her kin was never going to come for her. Ever.

[Jaykobell]

Koralia's sudden movement surprised the Ambia, but he didn't try to push her. Francis simply sat down quietly next to her, ready to be there if Koralia had something else she wanted to ask, or if she wanted to say anything about what he'd told her. He didn't really want this conversation to drag on, but they'd already started it all. There was no point in stopping it dead in its tracks anymore. "Is there anything else you want to ask me?" the Ambia eventually asked, trying to give the Soveris a little smile. "I'll... I'll try to answer you as honestly as I can." He wasn't sure if she had anything else she wanted to ask, but at least the offer was there.

He didn't really know what to expect, but Koralia eventually got up from her spot. She slowly turned to Francis, although without lifting her head or meeting his gaze. "I'm all right," she replied quietly, her tone contradicting her words, but Francis didn't call her out on it. "I'm glad you told me," she added, this time lifting her head and meeting his gaze. Although she was trying her best to hide it, the Ambia could see a lot of turmoil inside those blue eyes, and he wasn't quite sure how to help her make it any better. "Thank you. I just need... time. Alone." She walked off towards the small basket and picked up in her beak. Without giving Francis much of a chance to answer, she turned around and headed off towards the exit of his den.

As she started heading off, Francis got up on all fours and took a few steps towards her. "Koralia!" he called out, but that wasn't enough to stop the Soveris. "I'm sorry. Just... just remember we all love you, all right? We may be different species, but family goes beyond just blood and kin," he added, and he was surprised to see Koralia stop in her tracks when he said those words; but he took the opportunity to continue. "Taniqua loves you like she would love her Paragon hatchling. Izotz and I are proud of who you've become, too. You're a kind girl who has grown up to become hard-working, diligent, and reliable. We all love you for who you are, and not for what you are." He paused, seeing the Soveris still standing ahead of him, her back turned to him. "You know that, right?"

Although she initially hadn't wanted to listen to Francis's words anymore, they had been too powerful for her to ignore them. Koralia stopped in her tracks and let the Ambia say his speech, and she felt her heart split in half. She felt emotions well up inside her, although she was quite sure what they were: sadness, anger, indignation, confusion, happiness... there were so many that came to mind. They were making her choke, and she could feel the tears falling down her cheeks. "I know," she replied weakly, with her voice on the brink of tears and sobs. With everything said and done, the Soveris started walking out the den, picking up the basket in her beak again to head back home. She had a lot of things she needed to talk about with her mother; but she would have to calm down first.

[Jaykobell]

The trip out of the food den felt like it was taking a very long time, too. Once again left to her own thoughts, Koralia felt like the den was quite a few miles in length. Just how much time until she got out to sunlight? Ah, there it was; she finally spied the mouth of the den leading to the clearing. Although she wasn't planning on going back home right away, she wasn't the type to stay in the stuffy rocky dens of the Hive mountain. She liked the fresh air, and she preferred to be outside to fly and—

Her thoughts were interrupted when she bumped into something, and from the size of it, it had to be another Paragon. She felt her balance wavering for a bit, a sharp pang resonating in her head. The basket had been sent flying in the process, and Koralia turned around to try to find it again.

"Hey!" She was interrupted in her search when a voice called out to her, and judging from the tone, it wasn't quite happy about the Soveris having bumped into her. "Why don't you watch where you're going, squirt?"

Koralia blinked at finding not one, but actually two Paragon standing right in front of her. One was a small female Placid, and the other was a bigger, more intimidating male Nago. Both were dark, and while the male looked laidback and neutral, the female was clearly unhappy with the bird.

"Sorry," Koralia apologized as she took a few steps back from the Placid, so as to not cause more trouble. "I wasn't paying attention," she admitted, knowing full well she was at fault in this case. She'd been so lost in thought that she'd paid attention to where she was going.

The Placid seemed like she was about to say something, but then her face suddenly changed. "Hey, I know who you are. You're that griffon squirt everyone's been talking about for the last couple of years." She narrowed her eyes and eyed the bird from head to toes. Koralia didn't quite know what to say or what to do, and so she simply frowned confusingly while staying immobile. "Can't say you're as impressive or as threatening as they made you out to be," she finally spoke, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, as she turned to her friend. "What do you think, Juro?"

[Jaykobell]

Although she could tell that Placid was no friendly Paragon by any stretch of the mind — she'd also heard of some bully Paragon that seemed to match that Placid's description as well — Koralia simply tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at the female. She'd expected rumors to float around the Hive about her, considering she the one and only Soveris, but to label her as impressive or even threatening? Perhaps impressive in terms of her being a different species, but threatening? That was uncalled for. How had she ever been threatening or dangerous? Or was this Placid just messing with her.

Her friend, Juro, quietly stared down at the griffon, raising an eyebrow at the teenager. "Eh. She's a bird," he answered flatly, shrugging it off literally. "Are you done picking on her, Alcippe? I thought we were going to practice flying," the Nago pointed out, wrinkling his nose impatiently at the Placid. Although his partner enjoyed picking pointless fights with every Paragon — or creature — she could find, he didn't enjoy that kind of hobby one bit.

Alcippe looked up at her friend and raised an eyebrow before turning back to Koralia with a cocky grin. "Right. She's a bird. It's true that she's not much more than just that," the female added, and then she chuckled just a little. "All right, all right; we'll get to flying. Come on, then," she added as she started heading away, with the Nago following along.

"Excuse me?" Koralia called out to the pair just as they started walking off. "What does me being a bird have anything to do with anything?" she asked, frowning at the words the Placid had told her. "I've been a productive member of the Hive ever since I've been here." There was no reason for any Paragon to call her out for being a different species; if she did her part for the Hive, then species was of no matter.

At being called out for her words, Alcippe stopped in her tracks and turned around to face the Soveris. She narrowed her eyes at the bird before rolling them. "Right. You've been a productive member ever since you were adopted here, squirt," she corrected, putting the emphasis on the fact that Koralia was, in fact, not originally from the Hive. "And what have you been doing? Playing with other birds and chasing pigs? Give me a break," the Placid growled, snarling at the Soveris, although she had to give the bird credit for not backing away. "I bet you don't even know how to fly," she added, giving a hearty laugh.

[Jaykobell]

Although the words about her being adopted had hit home, Koralia did very little beyond frowning. It was still a sore spot for her, but she wasn't going to let this bully see her cry or crumble under the weight of what she'd just learned. Despite everything else, she knew that she had people who cared for her here, despite her being a Soveris and not a Paragon. She was also confident in what she'd been doing this whole time in order to play her own role in the Hive, just like all the other Paragon. If anything, the Placid's words were aggravating because none of them were true.

She let her anger subside a little before speaking back to the black Paragon. "Right. I wasn't actually born here; I realize that." A painful fact, but there would be time for self-pity later. For now, she wanted to place that bully back in her place and move on. "Tell me, what have you been doing all this time? I've been carrying produce all this time from the farm to the Hive. The food you eat in the morning? At lunch? At night? You wouldn't nearly as much of it if it weren't for me doing my part and delivering the food every single day," she pointed out, her tail twitching this way and that. "I do know how to fly, as a matter of fact," she added, spreading her massive wings open. "I'm a bird, just like you said. Birds were born to fly." She withdrew her wings and tucked them against her sides. "I'd even say I can fly much better than you. Being a bird, or a natural flyer. Not like a bulky Paragon."

Alcippe probably wasn't used to hearing other Paragon talk back to her empty words, because the face of shock on the Placid's cocky mug was priceless. Koralia wasn't one to start arguments, but she was already irritated and nervous, and she wasn't going to let some generic bully talk down to her about things that were entirely unfounded and untrue. "What did you just say, squirt?" the Placid growled, snarling dangerously at the Soveris. "There's no better flyer in this Hive. I'm the best flyer there is here!" she spat angrily, and the Soveris smiled inwardly.

Koralia heard an exasperated gasp coming from the Nago. "Alcippe, really? Drop it," he grumbled, stepping next to the Placid and trying to convince her to stop. "You provoked her, so what did you expect? She's just pulling your leg." He was consistently at Alcippe's talent for starting pointless fights and then getting upset when her victims talked back to her. The only thing she was right about was that she was pretty much the best flyer around, and the Soveris probably knew.

"I'm not pulling her leg," Koralia replied, smiling confidently and tilting her head to the side. "Birds are natural flyers. You may be the best Paragon flyer, but that means very little to a bird." If she wanted to pull strings, two could play at this game. If she had to fight for her rightful place in the Hive, then she would do so. She had full confidence in her wings and the power of flight that she had.

[Jaykobell]

When Koralia continued to insist that she was a better flyer than the Placid, the female's face turned white as snow — and in a bad way. The black Paragon's face started to contort into that of unfiltered rage, and her eyes were burning right through the Soveris's soul.

The Nago, unlike his friend, looked more concerned and foreboding than angry or menacing. "Watch what you're saying, kid," he warned the Soveris, knowing full well that Alcippe wouldn't hesitate for one moment to prove the tyke wrong. He didn't know if the Soveris was so out of her mind that she wanted to get beaten to a pulp by the Placid, or if she genuinely thought she could outfly the female. One way or another, this wasn't the point of anything. Alcippe could be the better one of the two and simply walk away and go back to her business.

Of course, the Placid wouldn't have it any other way. She pushed past Juro and hissed at the Soveris with bared teeth. "You'll regret crossing me, bird," she spat, spreading her wings and sinking her claws against the rocky floor of the Hive. "You think you're a better flyer? Prove it," she challenged, and then her rage turned to that of pure satisfaction. As if the Soveris would be ridiculous enough to accept it.

Koralia calmly watched the Placid make a fuss over something as trivial as flight, but the Soveris figured she could humor her. "Try me," she replied, and she immediately saw the two Paragon's faces change. Alcippe was getting red with rage, and Juro looked truly surprised, but also concerned. Part of him seemed to say that Koralia shouldn't get involved, yet he didn't say anything to stop one or the other from doing anything.

"You're a fool! I'll put you in your place, you birdbrain," Alcippe hissed as she gave a powerful flap of her wings and flew up high. "Let's see if you can even follow me to the flying course... if you even know where it is!" the Placid taunted, laughing it up. If the Soveris couldn't keep up, then she had already lost: it was as simple as that!

Koralia listened quietly, and she stretched her own wings after Alcippe had challenged her to keep up with her. "Show me there, then," she told the Placid, narrowing her eyes and giving her own powerful flap to get herself off the ground and into the sky.

[Jaykobell]

No sooner had Koralia taken off the ground that Alcippe started flying away, and to her credit, Koralia couldn't remember ever seeing a Paragon fly this fast before. The Paragon nearly left a trail of red down her path, and the Soveris was momentarily surprised. She blinked up until she realized that she had to keep up with the Placid, and she wouldn't do that by just flapping her wings in place. Stretching her wings further, the Soveris started flapping away, and she, too, sped away through the sky and in hot pursuit of the Placid. Juro had watched from the ground, and with an unhappy growl, the Nago flapped his own massive wings and followed suit, nearly matching the speed of the Placid.

In retrospect, maybe challenging that Placid had been a mistake. Koralia had never seen a Paragon fly that quickly, and if she had to be honest, she mostly knew the older Paragon. She didn't have a lot of acquaintances with the younger generation. Perhaps this was how fast they could all fly, and maybe she'd been way too cocky. It would look silly to give up then, but Koralia wasn't so proud that she couldn't admit it when someone was better than her at something.

Or so she thought. Although the Placid had gotten a headstart, Koralia quickly found herself catching up to the Placid as she got a better feel for the wind. She could feel the slightest change through her feathers, her fur, her ears, her tail: through every single inch of her body. As a bird, her body was in tune with the wind and the clouds high above, and her body could tell her of any change in wind force or direction. She knew where to fly to get more speed, and she knew how to flap her wings to slow down without sending herself careening out of control through the air. It was all based on her instincts: her Soveris instincts, which no one else in this Hive had but her.

She followed the Placid all the way to the edge of the mountain. While the Advisor's Den and the Healer's Den were on the extreme right of the Hive, the Placid was leading the Soveris to the extreme left of the mountain. It was another one of those secluded areas of the Hive, where all Paragon knew of it, but one that very few really cared to visit. Koralia watched Alcippe land on the edge of the mountain where the rocks curved down to make a flat surface, much like a plateau. The mountain, of course, kept going up and up, floors upon floors, but certain areas of it were longer and stretched further, making for a few plateaus here and there where Paragon could lay down and relax on warm days.

A few dozens of seconds after the Paragon had landed, Koralai followed suit, landing just a few feet away from the bully. Juro followed seconds after, dropping behind the Soveris. From his spot, he stared at the Placid, and he shook his head from side to side. She couldn't challenge the Soveris; he'd just flown behind her, and she was going to outfly Alcippe. If he couldn't catch up to her, then she was either just as fast as Alcippe, or even faster. It would be better for this whole ridiculous thing to be called off entirely.