[SpringsSong]

The forest was quiet that morning.  There were very few people--or animals--out just yet.  It was early even for some of the birds.  All was mostly still...

...except for two Ambia Paragon.



(I will be roleplaying Katalmach as though he has the wings currently on order from Evo-Lux.)

Although both of the Paragon had lucious, feathered wings that could put most other Paragon to shame, they were walking around the jungle, their steps mostly muted by the moss and other plants underfoot.  The male was clearly larger than the female, although maybe by only a few inches or so.  Both of them carried themselves as though they were in charge; this, of course, was true--although their clan was still a little small to be called a "clan" now.

They did not mind this, however.

"I cannot wait until we finally have scouts to do this," the male said.  "It would be more fitting for them to do the morning patrol, would it not, Kalach-cha?" he asked.

"Oh, come off it, Katalmach," the female--Kalach-cha--replied.  "We're not doing a morning patrol; we're simply going for a walk."

"Nevertheless," Katalmach said in response, "it would be more fitting of the leader and his mate to patrol around the actual nest, not the grounds around it."

[1/1][1/1]

[SpringsSong]

"Oh, but this walking around the territory is a wonderful chance to see the territory right now, Katalmach," Kalach-cha said sternly.  "There will not be much longer before we cannot do this anymore."

"Kalach-cha... we are the only ones that are in the Clan right now," Katalmach said, sighing.  "And if others come to join the Clan, it is most likely because they literally cannot go anywhere else."

"We're not the only ones, Katalmach.  And we will not turn any away just because they seem as though they are unable to contribute at first," Kalach-cha said.  "That is part of what makes us unique, no?  We accept those whom others would be loathe to accept.  There is nothing wrong with that, now, is there?"

"Well, Caitria's a flower spirit, supposedly," Katalmach said.  "Honora's a water spirit; again, supposedly, and that odd Placid and Ambia pair..."

"They're... well, the Placid, as could be expected, is already honing her healing abilities, while the Ambia... I think he's still trying to figure out where his abilities lie," Kalach-cha said.

"Okay, well, we know that the two Fairies are apparently able to use powers of fire," Katalmach said, continuing to walk along the forest ground.

"And the Pipe?" Kalach-cha asked.

[SpringsSong]

The two Ambias continued to walk through the forest, making a loop around the area that they had claimed as their territory.  It was not a large amount of space, but that did not matter in the Clan's den.  While most of the Paragon who lived in the Clan had wings, their den was decidedly subterranean.  They'd had the assistance of a couple of the Paragon now within the Clan in digging the basic structure, although they were still digging new dens as the occasional new Paragon came into the Clan.

"Surely you jest with me, Kalach-cha," Katalmach said as he flapped his wings gently.  "Do you not remember how she was the one who helped Honora gather up the waters so that the dens would not flood when we got deep enough?"

"Is a woman not allowed to forget these things?" Kalach-cha asked, laughing.  "I meant, aside from her gifts with water and air, has she picked a niche to settle into?"

"Ah, you mean if she has shown any specific abilities, like the Placid has," Katalmach said.  "You must remember, my dear, most of our clan are Ambias--masters of but one element.  For Caitria, it is the earth.  For Honora, it is the water.  For the male, it is light--as far as I have seen.  The others... we need to see their abilities more."

The two Ambias continued to walk around for a little while longer.  The sun was starting to rise higher, and the Matches and Magistrey were beginning to awake and fly around.  There were not as many Paragon flying around; no, they would all just be waking up beneath the ground and stretching their wings gently before emerging from their dens to meet at the watering hole.

"We ought to return," Katalmach said.  "We need to discuss the business for the day."

[SpringsSong]

It was not a long walk to where the entrance of their nest was.  What was the tricky part was finding their way in without revealing the entrance to the other life in the forest.  They had not seen many other Paragon roaming the area, but they could never be too cautious, as they had learned in the past before they had met each other.  They had called each other Katalmach and Kalach-cha ever since they had met one another, and no one ever questioned why they called the other that.  It was merely how they addressed each other, and the other Paragon in the Clan did not need to know what their actual names were.

"Ah, there you are," a feminine voice said.



The Fairy Paragon before them carried herself with an air of elegance, each footstep carefully placed as she walked towards the leader and his mate.  She had been slightly younger when she had met Katalmach, and she had shadowed him ever since.  When the Clan began to form, she soon found him and had begged for a position within the Clan.  He, of course, had welcomed her.

"Yes, Morina," Katalmach said, dipping his head to the slightly smaller Paragon.  "Did something happen while Kalach-cha and I were gone?" he asked, his voice urgent.  The Fairy Paragon chuckled as she shook her head.

"No, Katalmach," she said.  "There have been no happenings.  The digging is continuing under Caitria's supervision, with Honora and Ilessani's assistance when they encounter water in the ground," she said, and the two Ambias nodded slowly as they listened.

"That is good," Kalach-cha said calmly.  "If they keep up this work, we may have to make them our den-makers... they've done an impressive job so far, wouldn't you agree, Katalmach?" she asked.

"Yes, we may have to," Katalmach said.  "We will need to gather the Clan, soon, and discuss where each Paragon will feel comfortable.  Morina, I trust that you will be able to gather them?"

"Yes, Katalmach," Morina said, dipping her head before she turned and leapt off of the ledge she was standing on and glided to the bottom of the nest.

[SpringsSong]

The other Paragon in the Clan were beginning to awaken, even if it was slowly.  Katalmach and Kalach-cha strode past the dens; many of them were empty, but there were a few that were taken.  They passed a green-and-orange Ambia with wings like a butterfly's, a blue Ambia with wings like theirs, and a few others.  There was a larger den that they passed that was decidedly empty--eventually, they planned on using that as the den for the young hatchlings, but none of the Paragon in the Clan had any hatchlings, nor was there an appropriate den mother to care for the eggs and hatchlings while the other Paragon worked throughout the day.

Slowly, the other Paragon began to awaken.  Those who did not were soon awakened by the cry of the Fairy Paragon, telling them to gather so that Katalmach and Kalach-cha could address them.  Katalmach could not help but laugh at the pep in the Fairy Paragon's voice; she would definitely make a fine morning scout, as it did not take much to get her up in the morning.

Regardless, the procession was still slow-moving.  The only den that had more than one Paragon in it was the den of the healer and her mate; while they had not insisted on a den together, their connection had been evident from the beginning, and they were assigned a den together.  As Katalmach and Kalach-cha passed that particular den, they noticed that they were still sound asleep, with his slightly larger form curled around hers and their wings covering each other.

"Isn't that sweet, Katalmach?" Kalach-cha asked, smiling as she looked at the pair.  Katalmach laughed as he draped his wings over hers, pulling her close to him.

[SpringsSong]

The assembly of the Paragon had soon ended.  Their new assignments had been given, and some of the Paragon had already gotten to work on their duties.  Katalmach and Kalach-cha had taken to patroling the nest every morning and night.  It was always amusing how they were all so thankful to their leader and his mate.  Caitria, Ilessani, and Honora had to be the most grateful of them all, and after a couple of weeks, they had requested a meeting with the two Ambias who led the Clan.

[SpringsSong]

"Ah, Katalmach, Kalach-cha; it is so good to be able to see you," Caitria said, her orange mane flicking about slightly as she spoke.

"It's good to be able to converse with the three of you," Katalmach said, smiling.

"Now, you mentioned something about wanting to discuss plans for expansion?" Kalach-cha asked.

"Yes, we did want to discuss plans for the expansion of the nest," Ilessani said, her voice majestic and almost ethereal.

"We have discovered that there is a cavern not all that far from where the expansion would end," Honora said, "and we would like permission to expand down to that cavern and utilize it for the Clan."

[SpringsSong]

"A cavern, you say?" Katalmach asked.  "How long would it be until we hit it?" he asked.

"It would not take us that long to reach it, if we continue digging," Caitria said.  "Honora and Ilessani could hold the water until we can release it into the cavern, where it would continue to pool naturally, creating an even larger common area for us to gather in."

"About how far away is the roof of the cavern?" Kalach-cha asked, and the blue Pipe and Ambia cleared their throats.

"It'll only take us... not even half a day of digging to be at the rock," Ilessani said.  "You could say... we're literally feet away from the top of the cavern."

"I can feel the water flow not all that far from here," Honora said.  "Additionally, there are natural formations in the rock that could serve as dens, as far as we can see."