Hatching #1
Angerona'tya and Wykor'zjan's clutch
Notice: This story may be gorey and appalling. These are evil creatures. Faint of heart/stomach beware.
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It was overcast at Arx Atra Mons.
It usually was - why should this day be any different than the rest?
Today, the first clutch of Beasts would be released upon the unsuspecting world.
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Wykorth rumbled in approval at Angeronath’s mass of eggs. There were at least thirty there. She’d laid more, but the imperfect ones had been disposed of one by one - the hydragoness had savored every bite, and no one dare argue with the seven headed beast.
It isss time. she hissed at last. Get them.
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Bekirol advanced on a beautiful woman, arms open in reception and a genuinely wicked smile on his swarthy face. “Ah, my Venus…” he purred, and though she didn’t say anything, her expression spoke volumes.
Angerona’tya hasss called for the bondersss. Mchawith hissed, raising himself up onto his haunches.
Bekirol’s gaze remained on the woman who’d just returned to the Arx.
Ssshe ssshould be there. Mchawith said bluntly.
“The hatching commences, dear one. Mchawith would have you…”
“For dinner.” She interrupted him with a coy smirk.
“…go to the arena as a bonder.”
The woman smirked. “How beautiful. I’ll go.”
“Mchawith - take her. Guard her. If one hair on her head is harmed…”
You don’t need to threaten me! Mchawith snarled, offering a forelimb to the woman who enticed his rider so much.
Bekirol’s gaze turned to Regina, who stood nearby. “You and your beast will convey me to the arena. Now.”
“Anything you like, Bekirol.” Regina said with a feral grin that all three of Fadiaion’s heads echoed.
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Gargavoith, Pollux, Nuath, Solstath, Kogeki and Jubinath worked quickly, depositing 12 more bonders into the arena. Mchawith and his beautiful ward were stationed across from Angeronath, who glared at the blackened beast. Clearly they were of similar stock, but her parentage was completely unknown, and his? He was son of Dohosh and Birana.
While the hydragons glared, the smallest eggs began popping open, spilling serpentine forms about the length and girth of an average human arm onto the dark sands. There were easily two dozen of the sickening creatures - half formed rejects, snakes, and some sort of sick two-limbed naga and some flittery things with only a pair of wings to distinguish them from the snakes. Some had two arms and wings, while the largest of the motley assortment looked like a reptillian puppy. Some fled for the edges of the arena, some burrowed into the sharp sand, and the winged ones fluttered awkwardly, trying to make their escape.
A winged green serpent, about 2 ½ feet in length coiled about Agas’ arm as she laughed maniacally. She was Death, and hardly could be counted as sane. Shurahok, also Death (but from another world entirely) regarded her with contempt. A disgrace to their calling.
The second wave of hatchlings yielded things a bit less… basic than the first wave. Two-tailed ‘puppies’ and two-headed ones, which brought a cry of anguished delight from the assembled. There were also ‘normal’ dragons as well as a three-tailed variety of the same. One of the larger eggs had spilled forth a vibrant and nauseating purple-black beast. It had no wings, four legs, three heads and two tails.
“Not Cerberus!” Agas wailed, disturbing the beast on her arm. It screamed in disapproval and launched itself through Agas’ pet spirit, casting bits of it in many directions. Poor Robbie would have to pull himself together. The three-headed beast advanced on Agas. Not Cerberus. Pleoh is my name. Death stared, and the green winged serpent hovered just out of reach. Mine is Mione. she chirped. I hope Pleoh doesn’t eat me. One of the poison-purple heads snapped at it. Stay here, Agas. I must feed… Pleoh said, suddenly turning on his heel and snatching up a greenish two-headed beast - quick work was made of it by the three-headed beast, who even left a few scraps for Mione - though that may have been accidental. A pair of serpents, one with arms and one without soon followed down the beast’s gullet. Agas squealed with delight at the cannibalistic fratricide, but was much pleased when her new companion returned. Four feet long if he was an inch, Pleoh-hatchling was a force to be reckoned with… for now.
The third wave of beasts brought out slightly more unusual cratures: a two-headed dragon, a two-headed two-tailed dragon… a two-headed wingless beast with three tails, a three-headed wingless beast with three tails… and then what would be called a duowing hatchling, if this was Ryslen. A blood red beast lunged after a smaller creature, displaying 4 ½ feet of sheer viciousness as her twin heads simultaneously latched onto the belly and throat of her kill. Twin tails lashed out, striking deep gouges in the being behind her. Fortunately, Vl’adella had quick reflexes and managed to keep her wings intact. “Enyo, you clumsy little…” the demoness cut herself short. “Nice kill, darling, but watch where you swing those nasty tails!” Vl’adella! I…
A duowing of matching hue leapt over her, scoring a hit on Vl’adella as well, before landing atop a bluish lesser beast, breaking it’s back with a sickening crunch. He tore into it, savoring his clutch mate with obvious relish.
In the midst of the chaos of the third wave devouring the first and second, Regina uncoiled her lasso and began to swing it over her head. She released it with a whoop, sending the loop out into the arena and snaring one of the two-tailed ‘puppies’ from the second wave. She pulled it out of the path of a three-headed beast and hauled it up to the spectator level. His hide was a blackened smoggy blue, and his tails were tipped with poison barbs. “Hello darling.” She purred, holding him by his bound limbs and tails. “How about you stay with me and Fadiaion?” The beast tried to squirm out of her grasp. “You’d rather go back and be dinner for that three-headed nasty?” He went limp in her grasp. “That’s what I thought. Don’t you even think about betraying my good will…”
“Or she’ll give you to me.” Fadiaion’s left head began. “…and I’ll eat you.” Said her left head. “That’s if you’re lucky.” The third head sneered. “If you really piss her off, she’ll skin you alive and then I’ll eat you.” The smog beast looked faint.
“Your name?” Regina prompted. Czcibor.
“Czcibor’zjan. Welcome to the ‘team’.” Fadiaion laughed.
Finally the duowing looked to his chosen with eyes of flame. Saalis… The blood duowing purred. My perfect match. Stealth… speed… The young man looked to the beast who’d spoken, the serpentine beasts skewered on his dagger forgotten. “Harhas…” The red beast came to him then. Remembering his kills, Saalis tipped the corpses from his blade one at a time, and his bonded disposed of them in a series of crunches.
The fourth wave of hatchlings brought out creatures stranger yet. There was a wingless beast with four heads and three tails that went racing kamikaze towards a pair of bonders who clung to each other like terrorized leeches. A two-tailed duowing with hunger in his eyes followed suit. They were soon joined by a pair of two headed duowings, and under the swirl of 4 ½ to 6 foot long hatchling bodies, the bonders vanished. Their squeals of pain and anguish lured other hatchling beasts to the bloody feast, and many of those became relish for the youths that became a terrorized first meal.
A golden-black creature - one with three heads and two tails - steered clear of that entanglement, choosing instead to dine upon several of the wriggly serpentine creatures who’d come up from the sand in hopes of joining the feast. With the oily hatchling’s help, they succeeded, though their accomplishment landed them in the pit of her stomach. The beast stalked down two winged serpents who thought they could hide behind a blonde woman, whose eyes spoke volumes. My tasty friends… do not hide… the beast hissed, eyes narrowed as she tread forward on large paws. “Hathor, leave them.” Shurahlok said, naming the beast that advanced on her. “They can be our minions…” Yes… the beast said, then snarled at the serpents as they coiled about her upper arm and neck. Startled, the smaller of the two, a muddy brown, began to strangle the woman. Stoppit Coren! the ashy gray one squealed from her arm. The brown sheepishly uncoiled his tail and took to wing. I’m Loret… she admitted, though it didn’t stop Hathor from looking at her like a tasty treat.
A smaller beast, also ashy in color, watched from afar as Death’s sister turned beast after beast into towers of ash as they approached her. Maniacal laughter was echoed in all six of her eyes as the beast charged, leaping into the air and trying her wings, her trio of tails flying behind like banners. 4 ½ feet of beast crashed into Nyvaniiox’s chest, throwing her backward into the sand, knocking the wind out of her. Three mouths latched onto her upper arm, and did not release. Gotcha, Nyvaniiox! the beast roared triumphantly in her mind. “Zeruiah, if you do not release me…” the woman snarled, her threat left open. But Nyvaniiox… The woman roared, and the hatchling opened her jaws and then skittered backwards - a mistake. A three-headed wingless beast pounced upon her, and went for her throats. Snarling in rage, Zeruiah fought back, scratching deep gouges in the other beast’s back with her barbed tails, and attempting to latch her teeth onto his body. Being smaller, she had an advantage in agility, but not in brute strength. Suddenly, her attacker crumbled in her grasp. She blinked ash from her eyes, and then Nyvaniiox pulled her to her feet. She’d been rescued, but not before the other beast had bitten her shoulders painfully. “You’ll have to learn to fight better, Zeruiah.” The woman chided.
The fifth wave of hatchlings was decidedly smaller - four hatchlings. The first was a smoggy blue-black duowing with twin heads and a pair of barbed tails. The second was larger by almost two feet, and was a deep blood red, and it had a third tail. The third was about the size of the first, four heads, three tails, and two wings. The last was ashy gray, and had no wings at all - it did however, have four heads and four barbed tails. The third screamed in pain and terror as it’s siblings decended on it, tearing it limb from bloody limb before turning to smaller prey. The wingless gray one stormed towards a small beast hiding behind a tall man, darting through his legs and gouging him with sharp tails as his four jaws latched onto three feet of hatchling. The man screamed in pain, and then grabbed the tails, hauling the beast up off the ground by sheer determination - powered by adreniline, but otherwise unaided. “Breasal, you evil little…” Tialdusk began, then laughed. “I bet you’re better than anything Tiasser could ever find, my war-pain bond…” Breasal munched contentedly on the beast in his multiple jaws, and that was that.
The bluish beast opted for a more exotic meal, charging towards a beast a bit larger than himself - unfortunately, the white-blue wolf was far more experienced in the arts of war, and easily avoided the hatchling’s attack. Stand still while I eat you! the beast snarled, turning to face the wolf again. I think not! Frostbite snarled in reply, lunging after the beast. Two heads tried to latch onto the detheren, but only got fur and feathers. Frostbite crashed into the hatchling, toppling it to the sands. It tried to scramble to it’s feet, but Frostbite was upon it far too quickly for that. I should kill you… Frostbite snarled, his massive jaws upon one of the beast’s necks. I should like to taste the blood of hydra-beasts… Then let us hunt together, Frostbite. the beast said, quite rationally, though his death loomed. What? The detheren snarled. Ally myself with a creature I’ve beaten? Ahh… but we could rule…
The detheren considered, and then stepped back, shifting swiftly to his less-preferred human form. Tall and icy eyed, he surveyed the sands. “Another time, perhaps Einar. Now is not the time to hunt…”The red beast roared in fury, killing beast after beast as he moved across the sands, but eating very little. He advanced on the few remaining bonders with hunger in his eyes. One saw the potential in the beast, and stepped forward. “Meremoth.” Satan spoke, and both heads of the beast oriented upon him. Who calls my name?! he snarled bitterly, stalking closer to the man. “I, Satan, the conqueror…” Satan spoke, standing his ground as six feet of snarling fury moved closer. “You will be mine, Meremoth.” The beast continued to snarl, but did not speak. It sat at his feet and glared back down the path of destruction it had wrought; content.
Two eggs remained unhatched, and when the shells shattered, eyes were glued not to the silvery-black four-headed, four-tailed dragonlike beast, but to the three-headed duowing, who was the deepest of black. Choose quickly, brother, lest I eat your bond. she said, pausing to break the back of a blood red beast at her left.
The silvery beast strutted vainly forward, collecting attention as he moved towards the only remaining male bonder. I know what I want, Hedoro… and once we make things right… There was vengence and bloodlust in the hungry hatchling’s voice, and the dragon-human hybrid felt it echoed too strongly within his chest. “Eat, my beloved Cheran. You’ll need your strength.”
The blackest hatchling almost floated across the sands towards a female who quivered with fear. Nearly 7 ½ feet long, this beast was the largest to hatch from the clutch, and judging by the triumphant roars of Angeronath, her favorite. The hatchling moved so seductively, that even Mchawith dropped his guard - but only for a nanosecond. What a sweet thing you are… the hatchling purred to the girl, licking her cheeks with three forked tongues. Without warning, the hatchling sunk her vicious teeth into the girl, who screamed, making the blood hotter in the hatchling’s mouth. Bite by bite, the monster devoured the child, and then turned towards the one standing unphased in Mchawith’s shadow. All that carnage, and yet you smile… You are clearly the one for me. The beautiful woman grinned. “Duvessa, my dearling.” She said, stepping forwards, wiping the blood from the hatchling’s multiple muzzles. “Did you have a nice feed?” Of course.
Welcome to Arx Atra Mons, Duvessa’kha. Mchawith hissed, honoring the queen of the clutch.
It would be no welcome without your presence, Mchawi’khan. Duvessa hissed back, meeting the huge black bipedra’s gaze.
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After the pairs were retrieved from the arena, a feast was laid for the bonders, who clearly felt their beast’s hatching hunger - and were not bothered in the least by the bloody slaughter that passed for a hatching in this dark place.
“All of you will be under my tutelage.” Regina said, addressing every newly bonded pair as she tapped a barbed riding crop in the palm of her left hand. “You’ll all be staying in the barracks until I say different…”
“Except for you.” Bekirol purred as he placed a sapphire necklace around the beautiful Duvessa’s bonded. “You’re welcome to share my quarters - indulge yourself in my silken luxury…”
The beautiful woman clung to his arm, lightly. She was not one to be trifled with, despite her innocent appearance.
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Agas’s Slime #3 Mione (F) Shurahlok’s Mud #3 Coren (M) Shurahlok’s Ash #3 Loret (F) Second Wave:
Third Wave
| Fourth Wave
Fifth Wave
Final Wave
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