A Truly Egg-cellnt Hatchning - A New Epohh Is Upon Us

[missrecalled_mods]

As many may recall, not that long ago a bunch of mysterious eggs appeared. For several days there was a lot of fun hunting for eggs, trying to figure out where they came from. There were art contests and games and there was fun. Everything in Auradon could be an excuse for a celebration after all. Espcially with Sylvando in charge of morale.

But then, for many, the time passed and the brightly coloured eggs were forgotten. They lay on dressers and desks or under piles of laundry. Just part of the world.

Then one warm sunny noon it began. An egg outside started to shake. Unnoticed under a bush, warmed by the rock it leaned against, the egg shook more and more before cracking down the middle.

A small squirming creature emerged. It was the first. But...

It was not alone for long. All over Auradon, over the next few days the eggs hatched. The ones outside that were never found. The ones in the Castle the Queen had been studying. The ones in the school. In the dorms.

There was a pattern to what colour creatures came from which eggs. But other from that? Some stayed near people, some ran off to hide, indoors or outdoors, wherever they could.

And cute as they are, some became a problem. Because some of them... found the kitchen. And this is Auradon. Where kitchens could be staffed by mice, birds, talking tea pots... so there are ways even for small creatures to get into pretty much anything. Including the dwindling remaining supplies....

As to what the creatures are... if asked the King will say they weren't native to Auradon, and so he wasn't sure. But the Queen... she said they looked familiar, like something she had seen recently. If only she could remember where...

Comments

Nagihiko | OTA

[nadenagi]

Nagihiko had been outside when he felt something in his pocket wiggling. With a gasp and wide eyed he dashed around a corner, looking for a private place. But in his haste he wasn't quite as secret as he hoped as he pulled out the wiggling egg. Excitement and hope quickly became disappointment, then confusion as he stared at the egg in his hands.

"Wh... why this one?" he whispered, his voice pained. But pained changed to something a little like wonder as he watched an epohh come into the world. New life cutting through disappointment.

Aqua | OTA

[aquawayfinder]

Aqua followed the sound of the hatching, figuring it would prove to be some bird. But when she saw what did actually hatch...

Sh lifted the baby gently. "Okay, time to find Enki..." she said, and set off searching for her friend.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki was not exactly hard to find, and he raised an eyebrow as Aqua approached, holding something in her hands. He shifted direction to meet her, confusion growing in his expression. That... was an Epohh, but it wasn't one of his? "Jolan'tru," he said as once close enough, but look, he was distracted.

[aquawayfinder]

"This just... hatched. I suspect congratulations are in order for your friends?" she asked with a small smile as she gently offered the creature to her friend.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki took the Epohh and started scratching, still very much confused. "I don't really know how," he mumbled. "This one isn't even the same breed as either. I mean... umm, I guess magic or something could have been involved." Not like them ending up with him in the first place made any sense either.

[aquawayfinder]

"I wonder then...." she looked out over the grass, contemplating.

Were there going to be a lot more? Was this place so like the other hub worlds?

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki wrinkled his forehead as he continued to pet the baby Epohh. "Wonder what?"

[aquawayfinder]

"I've noticed something close to a pattern on a number of hub worlds like this... and when something odd and magical happens once, it is usually that it has happened far more than once, but I just haven't noticed the rest yet. There... may be more to this than a single hatching, my friend."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki frowned at that. "I like Epohhir, but they are rodents and would be an invasive species here in any quantity. I mean, think about how different the animals here act than Liorae and Hlumir do."

[aquawayfinder]

"Perhaps we... should talk to the king and queen...?"

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki took a deep breath in and then out before nodding. "Ie. I think that would be best. I hope this isn't a big thing, but..."

[aquawayfinder]

"But better to be safe..."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

"Ie. Exactly," he said quietly, worried that if the Epohhir were becoming a problem, this would end with them blaming him.

[aquawayfinder]

She put a hand on his arm gently. "If this is this world's magic being weird, it will probably b temprory, like the feathers."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki nodded, trying to relax a bit but not really succeeding. "I hope so." He didn't want to be responsible for a disaster here... or for hurting Epohhir to prevent one, for that matter.

[aquawayfinder]

"Then why don't we go let them know, answer whatever questions they have, and then start our own investigations?"

Lea - OTA

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea knew something was up when his laundry started moving, followed shortly thereafter by two odd little creatures emerging from it. He recognized them as the same sort of animals Enki had as pets, though he couldn't recall their name just then. They could only have come from those weird eggs they' found awhile back, and given how many eggs there'd been, he was willing to bet these two weren't the only ones who'd be hatching. If even half those eggs had live baby creatures in them...

"Well, crap," he said. He quickly dumped out the laundry basket and plonked it over the creatures before they could get too far, putting a couple heavy books on top to trap them. "Now you guys stay there. I'll be back soon, hopefully with a few more friends for you."

And with that he headed out into the hallway in search of more creatures. And more things to use as makeshift traps.

I've got a hutch this might yet work

[missrecalled_npcs]

Ben and Mal have been working with Enki, Aqua, and whoever else has shown up to help corral the epohh epidemic after this announcement. But Enki is the only one who knows what he is doing, it seems! Care to help? Or do you need help as well?

(Feel free to make your own top levels off of this!)

Enki - OTA

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Enki stayed busy setting up make-shift pens, sealing off any area where eppohir might be able to escape or too easily gnaw through.

And on top of that he was trying to let his shields down for eppohir and only eppohir so he could get a sense of where they might be. It wasn't entirely accurate, but he was focused enough that he could ignore the people and other animals he sensed. And he was also trying to think of things they could collect to entertain them so they would be less likely to try and escape. He kept specifically checking for Mallia, because she could very much help with all of these temporary fixes.

All that to say, if anyone wasn't sure what to do, well, he had a list of possible options, and if they were visibly lost after coming in he would approach them with a suggestion of where to find eppohir or items to look for. Was that strange for him? Ie. But right now he had a task to do and part of that task was directing others, and none of his normal anxiety made it into that. (There would be time for that later.)

incoming enabler!

[queen_butterfly]

At least she'd caught on quickly enough, after the tiny creatures started hatching. By the time she ran into him, she'd taken to carrying a large, covered sort of woven basket. It didn't take a telepath to sense multiple little creatures inside it; the sounds of them playing around in the grass she'd lined it with, munching away on conjured fruit, and making little vocalizations to each other made it through the thin bits of woven wood easily enough.

"Oh, Æn'kae! There you are!" She smiled, though she seemed a little sheepish. "I'd guessed that you might already be preparing something for these. I don't suppose I could propose that you take the ones I've found so far, in exchange for a bit more gathered magic...?"

She'd indicated the basket as she spoke... and then, shifting it to one hip, pulled something out from somewhere, a small bottle of what had simply been water, but was now glowing gently. He'd surely recognize her work and habit by that point: she'd regularly been doing what she could to gather energy into whatever was convenient, to pull off those spreads of breakfast for everyone, and play with it with him later... so for her to offer him this now? Oh, she was an enabler indeed, but didn't the situation call for it? With this, he could summon fruit for the hungry hatchlings, or patch a hole in the pens, if temporarily. Allow him to summon small bowls and baskets to trap them, before they could escape, perhaps? In a pinch, it might prove quite useful.... She hoped so, at least.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

The offer stunned him, but he had too much to do to spend overlong confused. Instead he took the basket and released the babies in with the others, taking time to give each some scritches before standing again. He offered the basket back to her with a smile.. "I... thanks, but I think you could use it more efficiently than I could."

[queen_butterfly]

"Perhaps so, but how is that not all the more reason for you to keep practicing with it?" She took the basket, but quickly reached over and slid the little bottle into his hand as she did, then pulled back half a step as she turned slightly away, leaving him holding it without an immediate way to pass it right back to her. "I can gather more. There's no scarce supply of sunlight!"

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae closed his fingers around the bottle, uncertain. "I uh... thank you," he mumbled. He didn't think it was a good idea to practice with an immediate need in front of him. But refusing after she had handed it to him was belittling her gift and judgement, and he had no interest in being that rude to his friend.

So instead he looked around at the makeshift enclosure, trying to figure out how best to use this. Honestly? The best bet was making it entirely secure and providing enough things for them to do and places to hide that they wouldn't try to run away, that way he could go out and search for more himself. So. That was a starting point, and a use for this gift that he could focus on.

[queen_butterfly]

"Try not to overthink it; just trust that it works. I know you've natural talent! ...But maybe don't leave it unattended too long; it'll need maintenance eventually."

She gave him more of a smile, heading back to the doorway with her basket. "I'll be back when I've found more."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae let out a breath of air as she left, shaking his head in amusement. He didn't know how long would be too long to leave any constructs alone, but he didn't really plan on leaving the tiny Epohhir alone too long regardless.

So for now the question was exactly how much he could manage to do? Guess the only way to find out was by starting to do anything that looked like it needed doing until he couldn't... which probably would make it more likely his first order of business after would be a break with the Epohhir rather than searching for more.

Not a nap though, he still was not about to fall asleep where people might randomly come up to him, no matter how tired he got.