The Eggs Story
27 Fashanos, evening:
The egg was restless. The birds were restless. Rafferty was restless.
When the peg-legged parrot landed on his shoulder to harangue him about hatching and argue about who did or didn't lay the egg, the birds seemed almost normal. But all too soon, the sparrows were mobbing like they had the night before, eyeing him hungrily. The parrot flew off, chased by a flock of ravens. Rafferty managed to deflect the attention of the sparrows with promises of seed and insects elsewhere, but he knew they'd be back. He'd best find more food for them if the local avians were this stirred up.
The egg rocked in its pouch. He suspected its agitation had something to do with the birds acting so strange. Was it projecting, or did they sense something amiss?
While he looked for suitable bird food near the river just north of Solhaven, he sent out a thought, asking if anyone else had seen any odd bird behavior lately. Soon, others joined him to see what the fuss was about. Whick in particular seemed entirely too entertained by the disturbance and indicated some understanding of impending doom that he cryptically refused to elaborate upon.
The group was set upon by several ravens. After fighting off the enraged birds, a parrot's screech was heard from the direction of town. Rafferty led the group back down Tumbledown Lane and along Bayside Road before they were cut off by sparrows.
A large flock of larger than normal ravens can be seen circling high up in the sky, as if looking for something. The egg continues to shake. Whick loudly calls, "Yoohoo! Birdies! The expectant father's right here!" You hopefully say, "Maybe that means she's found a place to hide." You stare at Whick. You try to roll Whick over, but he isn't lying down. Speaking to Whick, you hiss, "Shut up!" Whick grins at you wickedly.
Tanai yells, "Don't poop on me!" A present drops from one of the ravens and onto Tanai. Tanai stares off into space. Tanai angrily exclaims, "Gross!"
They were unable to find shelter or proceed further into town to ensure the parrot's safety. The egg grew increasingly restless and, with others standing guard, Rafferty withdrew it from its neckpouch-nest so that it had room to hatch.
Meanwhile, Whick shared champagne and was far, far too amused by all of this.
As the egg began to hatch, the group was attacked by waves of ravens. The others fought them off while Rafferty shielded the egg. Between waves, he encouraged the egg's occupant to peck its way out. (He may have, at one point, been caught absently munching on some raw meat. He was as surprised as everyone else.)
More pecking can be heard from the egg, a small hole forming as a tiny beak tip appears to break through. The egg shakes again, more pecking as the hole starts getting a little larger. The hole in the egg is just big enough and a large yellow eye peers out of the hole. The eye is slit-pupiled like that of a reptile and a cross between a bird squawk and a hiss can be heard coming from the egg as the eye darts back and forth.
An enormous shadow blots out the sky. A pair of talons suddenly appears from the darkness and clamp down on Whick's shoulders, lifting him away into the night. Whick just disappeared. Leiana exclaims, "Oh no!" You stare upward. Leiana glances up. Sdathea glances up. Leiana yells, "Whick!" Tanai exclaims, "Oh hooray!" Sdathea shrugs. You say, "Wow. That was..." Sdathea waves. From nearby, you hear Whick yell, "Ack!" You admit, "...pretty awesome." Dazen giggles. Dazen applauds. You belt out, "Learn to fly, Whick!" Tanai yells, "And keep him!" Ulvian says, "On second thought, don't learn to fly."
After Whick was carted off by a huge bird, swamp owls attacked and were defeated by those present. (Whick, unfortunately, returned not long after.) The egg continued to slowly hatch, and while still in the shell, its occupant let out a loud screech, calling for something. Shortly after, the peg-legged parrot flew in, safe and sound after all. Another screech from the egg's occupant preceded a wave of rampaging cockatrices.
>The egg suddenly breaks open completely, inside is a slightly down covered ugly little creature. It looks like a cross between a parrot, with its hooked beak and more or less like the cockatrice that just came through.
The hatchling hopped down from Rafferty's hand and the peg-legged parrot followed it to get a closer look. The parrot was not at all pleased, and asserted that it wasn't its baby. In response, the hatchling glared at the parrot and turned it to stone.
In an attempt to distract the hatchling from causing any more casualties, Rafferty fed it many bits of raw meat. With each bite, it grew larger and larger. After gorging itself, it abruptly took to the air, ominously announcing that it was time to really feed, and then swooped back down to attack.
>A shadow passes overhead as a deformed hatchling soars into view!
The group was careful in fighting it off. Rafferty tried to talk it down while the others worked to disable the beast rather than kill it outright. Finally, the hatchling calmed down.
Speaking to you, Whick offers, "I could help teach you to train it." Speaking to Whick, you say, "You can get bent."
The hatchling finally responded to Rafferty's appeals to its better nature and, abashed, promised it would go far away. Rafferty invited it to come back if it could behave. The hatchling acknowledged with a nod and nuzzled Rafferty before flying off with an apology, and the other circling birds that had been so riled up followed after it.
After a short while, the peg-legged parrot reverted from stone to flesh and returned, dazed, to Rafferty's shoulder, where it fell asleep. With the excitement over, the group dispersed, leaving Rafferty to brood.
Bonus round: pre-conclusion banter with the parrot.
The parrot blinks at Rafferty, "Who said I was a parrot? I might have been cursed.. You could always kiss me on the beak and see if I turn into a princess or something." It cackles out a squawk. You roll your eyes. You dryly say, "Nice try."
The parrot squawks, "Or maybe I am some magicians familiar and this is his or her voice you are hearing." You scratch your chin. You allow, "Okay, you've got a point there." You pointedly say, "If that's the case, someone is -really- bored." You warn, "And if I find out you're actually a familiar and some mage somewhere has been screwing with me this whole time..." You crack your knuckles! You note, "I've been told I got a mean right hook."
You mutter, "Crazy bird." The bird squawks, "Who's the crazy one, the bird or the one talking to the bird?"
And finally, thanks to Skhorne for the entertaining story arc, and to everyone who joined in on the fun throughout and at the end. You all have been making Plat a lot of fun to play. :D
-Rafferty