A few grains of sand slipped through the cracks of his shelter and fell over his face. He spit them out and snorted. Someone did bury me! He stated indignantly, though nobody was around to hear him.
Someone dug up his eggs, along with three other previously buried eggs. He rammed the egg shell again, and finally managed to create a hole big enough for him to crawl through, into the outside world.
"I didn't know, Gataraa." He heard someone say to their new dragon, a tree bark-patterned brown female. He looked down at his own paws, and noticed that they were a dark reddish purple color.
He stood up and looked around. There were no more candidates left. He snorted. That's okay, I don't want a bond anyway. He thought to himself. He knew that no mere human was worthy of him, Kuraren.
A kitchen worker came and got him, taking him to his other siblings, who were already eating.
Personally, he thought they were just trying to get rid of him, and he might not have been entirely wrong. It was common knowledge that the male purple from the caer's first clutch was arrogant, bossy, and had a head the size of Xidaver Isle.
Kuraren, of course, had not heard any of this; it was obvious by the simple fact that everybody still had their head attached to their neck.
He was currently laying outside by the nearest lake with his head on his paws, staring into space. He was utterly bored. He was pondering going inside the caer to bug somebody-anybody, he didn't particularly care who-when he glimpsed a black and gold alis gryph flitting around a clutch of small, round eggs.
Kuraren looked up, staring at the eggs interestedly. He had no intention of actually bonding a gryph, but it might be fun to steal an egg and see what happens.
No sooner thought than done, and he was running away from the nest with an egg in his mouth and a screeching alis gryph mother behind him. He took shelter in a small rocky overhang that the mother couldn't get beneath, eyes still shining with excitement. He looked out at the alis gryph, and sticking out his tongue, blew a raspberry at her. Then, setting the egg off to one side, he curled up and went to sleep.
A tickling sensation against his side woke him up sometime later. He creeled in surprise, then looked down to see what it was that had awakened him. The alis gryph egg he'd pilfered had began to rock, signalling that it would soon be hatching. Kuraren's eyes whirled nervously.
Uh oh...He said as he grasped at the egg. No...you're not supposed to hatch now! I'm the only one around for you to bond to, and I don't want a pet! The purple fledgling tried to force the egg back together, despite the widening cracks across its surface and the frantic chirps of the creature inside, but it was useless.
The egg finally fell apart, leaving a happily chirping brown and gold alis gryph cheeping happily at the purple dragon as she insisted on food. Kuraren regarded the female gryph warily, poking her with one outstretched claw. She chirped and rubbed up against his side, purring contentedly.
Kuraren sighed, staring down at the alis gryph. Aww, sh...shells.
Once back at the caer, the alis gryph curled up asleep on his back, he was startled to discover a green dragon waiting for him. He blinked. Who are you? He asked.
The green turned her head to look at him as he approached. 'Name's Rieth. I'm to take you back to Darkling Dawn with me. She said by way of explanation. Only then did she notice the slumbering alis gryph on the fledgling's back. Her eyes narrowed, and she growled in the back of her throat, thoroughly irritated. What's that? She demanded.
Kuraren glanced back at his gryph and shrugged. An alis gryph, haven't you ever seen one before?
Rieth ignored his question and sighed. And I suppose it's going to have to come with us?
Yeah, I guess so. Kuraren answered.
Rieth just groaned and sighed again. Alright, fine then. Come on then, Kuraren and...?
Kuraren hesitated only a moment before answering. Liqua.
Rieth rolled her eyes. Alright, let's get out of here already.
With that, they were on their way to Darkling Dawn and Kuraren's new home.
