The Hatching

"Archun," Bright said singsong, "I really think you should be spending more time with the egg!"

"I am...' how much more time do you expect me to spend with this... thing?" Archun held up a small knitted bag that held the egg. "I already carry this stupid thing everywhere I go... even when I... you know..."

"Heehee," Bright smirked. "I just think that the more tie you spend trying to treat the egg as a being, the closer you two will be whenever he is born!"

"Bright, that may work when you're catering to pregnant Cyen..."

"No seriously," she stopped working in her garden which they had been sitting in for the afternoon, "You know me, and you know my business, you'd think you'd understand that I knew what I was talking about!"

"Of course you do," archun replied. He stood up and stretched his arms behind his head and turned away to face the fading sun. "I think I'll go for a walk." Archun began to walk through the little gate that led to the southern path that flowed into the main artery into Hearth.

"Don't forget your EGG!" Bright called. Archun face palmed and held out an arm without turning his head, "Oh, how could I forget..."

Archun walked for a bit off the path. He started heading north with no particular place to go. He'd been everywhere and nothing seemed like it was new to him. The little bag that bright knitted for Merik dangled around his lanky neck. It was knitted with a cyan blue and pink string. Bright just loved making senseless objects, and Archun played along.

It was so hard dealing with Bright. She seemed to ignore the troubles in her life by creating cute things to distract her. She was an expert in her field of study, the upbringing and care of animals in local Hearth, and loved doing it. Residents from all over the neighboring villages and town flocked for her advice on raising stock animals to caring for household pets.

Lately, he noticed that she complained more about the care of the vegetation around the areas. For the sake of the animals, she began researching other lands in Rhul.

She found that with the high population in Auste and the neighboring Eldora cities and landscapes, many of the natural animals that made their homes there were losing their food sources and available land.

Eh, he saw it coming. He remembered Aille telling him once that this was they way things went. Old books don't spoil, but the binding gets old and harder to keep the pages together. Maybe this was what was happening with Eldora. He remembered how the sun use to set in the east and how shadows would cast themselves on the walls of the great mountains. Today, the sky was perpetually dark gray and tasted of smoke.

The Seques were very intelligent beings, they knew this but this never stopped them from creating more, wasting even more and doing little to stop their expansion. He could not even believe that over the many generations, flying was banned. Why? They believed it was arcane. He rolled his eyes, the creatures had wings for Aille's sake!

The larger moon had risen in the sky and a light blue light shone down on the area. He had made his way to a large field. He groaned thinking of walking all the way back to Bright's cottage, but then mentally slapped himself and transported back to the porch.

"Archun!" Bright Promise hissed, "Where've you been? I've been calling your name for hours!"

"I've been walking! I don't need you keeping tabs on me constantly!" he retorted, he liked his independence, he always had and he wasn't about to change that.

Bright rolled her eyes, "C'mon! We are going to travel to Eldora right away!"

"Why?" Archun cocked an eyebrow.

"Do I need to explain? A traveler came into Hearth today while you were gone and told terrible stories of the conditions of the landscape. We can do something, don't you understand?"

"I understand, but what do you expect me to do?"

"Well," she approached the spirit, "first, transport me to the city of Auste."

Without hesitation, Archun grabbed Bright's shoulders and they were transported to the city.

In the days following their arrival to Eldora, Archun and Bright spent most of their time in the countryside, or what was left.

"If I can find some way to restore this landscape, I would feel fulfilled."

"Hon," Archun turned to her as they walked with a few flowers in their hands that they had decided to plant, "You say this about a lot of things..."

"Yes, and I can't stop until I feel I've made it right."

Earlier that day they had spent their time assessing the damage to the countryside. Many trees had been destroyed and they had no way of replenishing the entire landscape alone. They were unable to illicit much help from the city itself, but the neighboring Taeds that lived on the countryside were eager to figure out some ways to help their failing land.

Bright and Archun finally reached their destination. They had chosen to start on the most eastern corner of the mountains that overlooked the great northern sea. Life still bloomed here and they thought it was their best bet to try to revive the plants that still existed and try to move it outwards.

"Ah, the simple life." Archun smiled. He asked for such a life again. After searching with a life consumed for hatred of his previous life, archun welcomed such minimal tasks.

"I knew you'd like something like this," bright replied, digging her hands deep into the soil, tilling the land so that the flowers would have the best sitting place.

A few Taeds wandered the landscape, looking confused and helpless trying to figure out how to plant things. Bright giggled in her usual tone, "I think i will have to work with them next on how to take care of their belongings!" she diverted her attention from the plant and noticed Archun, "Why the queer look on your face?"

"Uhh, I think the egg is moving?" He put down the plant he was ready to plant. The bag that bright had made was hung around his neck, as always, and was shifting slightly. He carefully used his thumbs to lift the strap from around his neck to bring the egg to the ground.

"Oooh, how wonderful! You really have taken care of the egg well!"

"What? All I did was carry it with me everywhere!" He looked down with a slight grimace and expression of "Ok, what do I do now?" as a few cracks appeared on the surface. "C'mon egg, hatch already!"

"Shhh... don't yell at him, c'mon, we'll finish planting and by the time we're done, he'll be ready to pop out of his shell."

Pyyon They decided to to place the egg in a neat patch that they had begun to plant. Every 15 minutes or so they checked back and the little wyrm had moved more and more out of the egg until finally its entire body lay tired on the pink flowers.

"How darling," Bright whispered as they packed up their tools for the evening. "Go ahead, pick her up."

Archun lifted the little creature in his hand as it breathed heavily. "Whoa, wait a minute, you called him a her."

"Well of course, it is a girl after all."

"No way", he said. "The egg was green, it was a male!"

"Obviously, nature has a way with playing with our minds, no?" she held the wyrm up, publicly displaying that it WAS a little girl he was holding.

"Well I'll be an old hammock. What do we do now? The name I chose has no business for a girl."

"I think that's you to decide. What would you name her instead?"

"I don't know! It took me long enough to decide on the first name!"

"Think of something!" she retorted, "What do you think of when you think of her?"

"Gender confusion."

"Gah! Let's be serious here!"

"Alright, alright." Archun scanned the landscape and his eyes fell on the broken shell pieces by the flowers. "I think pink."

"Pink?"

"Yes, pink. She was born on pink flowers," he pointed with his free hand to the area he watched.

"That's a good start, so the name is Pink?"

"No, I'll name her Pyyon, or Pink in the old language. It is much more elegant than what you Hearthans speak."

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