Wings of Fury 2

"'A baby' is already male," Guillairme pointed out, in a sentence that made far more sense in the gendered Chunard sentence than in translation. "But I would like to know if they are she or he."

Zaya made a face that perfectly encapsulated the emotion of "Bitch, you live like this?".

"They're neither. Until they're old enough to decide for themselves. If they even decide one or more of our. Mortal concepts of gender are suitable. And. What do you mean, 'a baby is male'? Is this. A Chunard thing? I'm so confused."

"A baby. The baby," Guy said, with the stress on the gendered article. He clearly expected this to mean something to Zaya. "Of course, at some point they will be old enough to declare if they wish a different name and all the rest. But who here can tell the future?"

Guy shook his head. "Until such a time, should we call them a child or a child? That's all that I am asking." Faced with gender, the translator may have hiccuped. He had said 'un fils' and 'une fille'.

Zaya blinked, and something clicked.

"Oh. Wait. Translation charm. Chunard is... a gendered language. For some reason. Isn't it? Zrucanese isn't. So. What you were saying made. Less sense to me. Okay. I get it. Anyway." Zaya pondered. "Both are still... equally wrong. Even on. Standards that conflate gender with certain sexual characteristics. Dragons have none. They're not sexually dimorphic. The only appropriate pronouns for now are gender-neutral. You know. 'They'. I don't know how that translates. Still. One of the worst things we could do is try to force the children into the gender binary just because it's. Familiar."

Guy frowned, as Zaya spoke of gender-neutral language, even as the translation charm filtered it into very gendered Chunard. "...I...believe I understand what you are driving at...but it sounds quite complicated. I shall have to consider how such a thing might be accomplished. I thank you for your insight on this matter, Madame Zaya."

Meanwhile on the other side, across from the gender argument, Brom is pretty happy. He got a pocket-full of gold. And he got a new bundle of joy.

"I think I'll call you...Jackie, after a Jacket Potato." Brom decided, because potatoes are gender neutral. Also everyone fuckin' loves potatoes. He hoped the Babie Dragon would grow up to be wholesome and full of vitamins as that good ol' reliable earth-apple. He goes over to Comète. "I decided to name this dragon, Jackie!"

Grok is halfway through butchering his hunted spoils when Henri walks by with a heavy-looking coinpurse. He smiles awkwardly, motioning for the knight to simply drop the bundle of gold onto the ground next to him. No need to get the damned thing covered in blood. He quickly slices cuts of meat, removing bones and chopping what's left into relatively even pieces. He can see the blue hatchling out the corner of his eye, staring intently as he works. Grok smiles, hurrying to finish the rest of the job. Several minutes later, he's left with a nice assortment of deer meat. 

"More meat here!" Grok exclaims. "Come and grab some for our little friends!" Speaking of, he turns his attention back to the scaley blue rascal that's still eyeing him from the center of camp. He gives a little wave, motioning for the dragon to approach. It does so, if a little cautiously. Grok smiles back to it, holding out a tiny scrap of meat. This seems enough to gain the little one's trust, as it snaps the sliver of food right from Grokzurl's fingers

Rozenn smiles at Caulind.

[Here's some meat, friend! I hope I can find a way of communicating with you that causes you a bit less trouble someday soon.]

Once she's shared some rabbit with Caulind and she's gathered some bits of deer, Rozenn settles in next to the little teal dragon who had caught her eye. Her anxieties continue swirling about in her heart, bubbling and boiling-- until they simply don't. They aren't gone, mind, but the concern for herself has shifted to concern for her little friend. They gobbled up the meat she offered greedily - perhaps too greedily, seeing as they are now having no small trouble swallowing it. It doesn't appear they're choking - just having some trouble. She leans down and places her thumb against its throat in order to help gently massage the meat down its throat.

Once their last gobble has been passed with a gulp of relief, she chuckles to herself.  She may be no mother, but she'll gladly be this child's protector. They need a guardian, and she will happily serve. She hoists the little creature up into her hand and places a gentle simple before them - an extended index finger, pinky finger, and thumb.

[I love you.]

She then spells out a little name for them, offering it to the group along with an explanation.

[Maël. Or Maëlle. Or something different, if they come to wish it. I do not know much about gender, except that it is something they will find when the time is right, and this seems to be a good way of doing it. It is pronounced the same way, and almost spelled the same way, so it should fit. It is a name befitting such a regal little fellow, don't you think?]

Caulind inspected the coins, racking his brains to correctly assess how long this would last based on what lifestyle. He hadn't thought about it until it was in his hands, before just nodding and tying it around his belt. "Thank you umm... Sir." Unsure on the proper term in this language but, giving him a quick shoulder pat. "Impressive skills displayed today. It was a pleasure to see, hopefully others will again."

That done, the meeeeeeaaaaat. He was sort of hungry himself actually. Once the translation had been made, he nodded thoughtfully before offering- "We can communicate quite easily actually. One of the first skills I refined was communicating between minds through the third song. Some people find it a bit... too personal for their liking admittedly. Honest, forthright sorts tend to be more okay with it I find, those that speak their minds typically. So it's no problem at all if you wish to try it out if you haven't experienced it already?"

He glanced back at Guy and Zaya and the other dragons and their conversation, ears twitching a bit as he honed in briefly. "It at least does excuse misunderstandings normally, for good or for ill, normally." Walking back over with a little secretive smile at Rozenn as he thought of those who could think otherwise, the expression twisting a bit after turning away before brightening up over it.

He sat down by the dragons and took up his necklace again, giving it a little jingle jangle to catch attention. Then he ate a piece of the meat himself, chewing, swallowing before throwing out some strips too, showing he was taking part in the feeding.

Rozenn nods! She trusts Caulind. He seems like a straight-forward fellow, so what could it hurt!

Once the mind-link is established, Caulind understands words coming from her - not in a voice, but the *intent* of words.

<Is this working, now? I hope so! This should much easier than having to use Guy as an intermediary! It's nice to make your acquaintance a bit more formally, Caulind. I'm Rozenn!>

Caulind was humming softly, at the beginning it was a little erratic, like he was searching for something, trying to tune in on a frequency as the jazzish style flowed apart before locking in on another point, a little deeper and smooth, like a river, a synchronicity beginning with Rozenn. At first, it was like another sense had been opened to notice Caulind, then it refined further as an innate understanding swiftly grew with the hum. A gentle pressure seemed to tap on her mind, and if allowed, that new sense seemed to suddenly click with her inner language.

<Hello Rozenn. I'm Caulind> Smiling goofily at going through the formal steps again as he held a bigger piece of meat in the air that the silver drake wrenched and pulled at like a gory pinata. <It is VERY convenient, yes. You have an interesting inner music, it took me a moment to figure out. My apologies if it feels a little crude or anything for now, it's never quite thoughtless at the best of times, especially with a new accompanist.>

The sound of Caulind's inner music was quite nice! She hadn't quite imagined SHE had any, but hearing it through him was quite the experience.

<Oh, it doesn't! It's like talking with someone else who knows sign - but maybe a bit quicker! I hope we get to talk more sometime. It looks like the night is wearing on, but I'd love to coordinate with you before we set out.>

There was a brief pause as she looked at the silver child he'd been feeding.

<Have you decided on a name for them yet?>

<Coordinate as in, set up ways to keep in contact? You seemed very set on that earlier. And yes, it should be as natural as thinking, roughly. Not quite, it's hard to speak perfectly like this when actually thinking you know?> With it came a sensation to explain that was like... To explain it was similar to when your hand jumps away from a hot stove, or when you look to see what's wrong when someone's crying, or when you clutch for someone beside you when startled. A complicated note was hummed with it, hard to get across otherwise.

<No, not yet. Naming is a tricky thing. My two children were named by their mother so, I don't even have that experience to go on. She was good at that kind of thing, it was like she'd known their names before they even arrived.> There was a small flash of faces, a boy and girl, overlapping like flickered pages as they matured and a deep sense of pride and absence. His face darkened slightly, and the humming sound became a little more composed. <My apologies, I'm quite tired and there can be overflow if not careful during this communication.>

The discussion of gender largely concluded, Zaya sat by the fire carving up some cuts of meat. She decided she should probably get some interaction in with the hatchlings before too long - particularly the little purple one. On some level, knowing more about dragons made her more nervous about the whole thing - driven to get everything just right, whatever that would even mean. She had one of her books open beside her, casually studying an entry on infant dragons as-

Zaya's hand shot out, instinctively, and grabbed an unfortunate little purple dragon that had decided that maybe a book was actually food. She held the squirming child up carefully, a confused look on her face as her brain caught up.

["Sneaky little bastard, aren't you?"] she said with a smile, shifting them into a more comfortable holding position than "sack of potatoes". ["Come on, that's not food. Got a whole deer right here. You'll like it better."]

Zaya spent the next while speaking softly to the dragon and feeding them hastily-cut scraps of raw venison. She'd need to name this dragon soon. But that part was... hard. Still the easiest part of dragon parenthood. After a while, she looked up to Comète and Brom. "Seems like you two are. Taking well to this?"

Comète gave Jackie a warm, motherly smile. "Hello, Jackie. This is Faustine." She motioned with her own dragon baby in return and watched to see if the two interacted at all. At Zaya's voice, she glanced over with a nod, gently rocking the reptile.

"...Children are a gift," she said in a way that indicated it was a very practiced, almost pointed statement. "No matter the species, the bond is what matters." Smiling wistfully, Comète looked off to the side as she held Faustine, thinking through all the things she'd need to do once she got back into the city and had to set up with the shop.

Holek is aghast! Tears leak from his shiny eyes, but his face is beaming with joy. He looks at the black dragon that extends its long snoot towards him. After some cautious moments of hesitation, he gently paps the dragon's head with the puppets hand. "Welcome Pepper... welcome".

"Oh yeah, Zaya -- I'm taking this along pretty dang well! I mean I already had an empty nest syndrome for decades," Brom chuckles. "Barring that aside, a child is an unique and exceptional miracle! It is our duty to make sure they can be eased into the cruel and uncaring world with much moral responsibility and encouragement!" He adjusts his glasses, and puffs his chest/fur out.

"Makes sense. I mean. I've thought about kids. Talked about it with Xenia. Uh. My girlfriend. Mostly just. Hypothetical though. We're both always... out on. Adventures, I guess. Going to be a surprise for her. ...Need to find a way to get back to Salin soon."

Zaya held up the yet-unnamed child. ["Going to be a handful for both of us, aren't you? But it'll be worth it. I hope."]

The dragons eagerly devoured the rest of the meat. Every time they'd get full, it only seemed to last for a little while before they were ravenously ready to feast yet again. Fortunately, two deer and some rabbits were more than enough to keep them sated for the night. Watches were set, and before long the adventurers and their dragons alike were fast asleep. Except for Terzi, of course, who sang her song through the night to help Henri's stupid ass heal. For his part, he DID offer her ten more livre in gratitude for her services.

The next morning was a bright and sunny one, and following a nice breakfast and the packing of camp it seemed to be approaching time for the group to head out. Just in time, too, for a goblin shepherd had been seen by the morning watch grazing their sheep about a mile from the camp. They didn't seem to be approaching the fortress ruins, thankfully.

"Well," Henri said following breakfast, looking a lot better following the night of healing. "It has been an honor traveling beside you all, but I believe this is where our paths part. Terzi, I shall send word to my father to speak with the cousins about the University of Mavillon. When next you are in the capital, they will likely be expecting you."

He gave Terzi a courteous nod, then looked to everybody else.

"Should any of you have need of me, feel free to send a message to Beaumont de Montenay's estate outside of Montenay. From there, the letters shall surely find me. Be sure to keep me updated if your residences change, as I do seek to drop by and visit wherever you all end up. Guillairme, if you wish to travel with me back to Montenay, then I shall certainly not turn down your company."

At this, he went to mount his horse. If anybody had any questions, reservations, or anything else to bring up with Sir Henri de Montenay, now was the time.

Comète approached Henri's horse and extended a hand for him to shake. Looking into his eyes with a yet slumbering Faustine resting on her shoulder, she opened her mouth as if to say some heartfelt goodbye.

"...Make sure to tell your knight friends about the Observatoire Metallique."

And with that, she turned and set off, taking such a pace that she wasn't exactly crawling, but anyone walking her way could catch up and accompany her easily.

Rozenn's ears perk up at the sound of Comete leaving! She doesn't much mind losing contact with Henri after this, but Comete is most certainly a friend she hopes to keep.

She jogs up to Comete, scribbling away furiously all the while. Once she's got her attention, she grins and hands off one more note!

"Thank you again for all your help, Miss Comète! I'll be visiting your store once I get the chance :D If you end up changing locations, please mail Enora and Gaera af Quillard at Castle Quillard, Aldenard Isle! They are my mothers, and they'll be sure to let me know when I come back."

Once Comète has read that note, Rozenn passes over a second, much smaller note.

"Have you named your dragon, by the way? :O"

Zaya, a sleeping dragon curled up in her lap, scribbles down ten notes in surprisingly neat handwriting. When she's done, she quickly moves The Baby to her shoulders and moves about the camp to hand one note to everyone before they run off. As with the one given to Grok earlier, each one read:

ZAYA-VIEL MADINA
APT. 4511, STARVIEW BLOCK, DIVISION 5
STEMSPIRE, SALIN

Unlike before, she'd made an effort to translate what she could into Chunard, with somewhat mixed results. Still, she tried! She noted that people could pay beetleship sailors to deliver messages, though it was likely to not be cheap.

With that done, Zaya said some goodbyes and began walking away from the camp! Not at a hurried pace, and in a vaguely similar direction to Comète, so anybody who might have wanted to say something to her had a chance.

Comète smiled at the note and nodded. She took the note and wrote down "Faustine Clothilde Révolte. Yours?" on the paper before handing it back. She reached up and affectionately put a hand on Rozenn's shoulder. "Always welcome to come by," she said.

Avag woke up super early, as long-time travellers often learned to do. By the time people were talking about leaving, he had already been sitting and playing with the bronze dragon for a while, mostly by making silly faces at it. "Everyone's heading out?" he said, looking up. "So soon? We're not even back down from the mountains yet, though I guess that does help avoid people spotting us moving together with the dragons. Probably safer that way, even if I'm going to miss all your company. This has been an exciting few days, and I hope we can all keep in touch, just so these kids get to stay in touch with their family as they grow up!"

He looked towards where Comète, Rozenn and Zaya were already a fair distance out of camp, then called out after them. "You guys know where to find me, right? I told you where I live! Send letters! They're going to end up with a lot of extended family! Travel safe! Talk to you soon!"

Turning back to the camp, he lowered his volume. "If any of you need a place to hide out while you work out where to go next, I wasn't kidding about crashing at my family's home. There's plenty of space for a lot of you, and we could probably keep a few dragons hidden there for a little while, grab meat from the forests, give them a little space to stretch their legs. I'm certain I can talk my family into putting you up for a while, and helping with hiding the dragons. At least while you work out where to go long term. How you're going to get there if you're going somewhere far away. That kind of thing." He was being earnest as ever. "If you don't have anywhere else to go where you can hide a baby dragon, I could even talk to them about something more long-term! Though that's a little more shaky, it'd still definitely be something to give you time to look into other options, maybe leave the kid with us for a while if you need to go somewhere else to try and secure somewhere to stay, or go where it'd be too dangerous to take them." He scooped up the bronze dragon again, cuddling it as he talked. "I think this is the sign I was looking for to retire from this adventuring life for a while, so I'll be there to help look after them, and so will the rest of my family. I just want to make sure you know that the help is there, if any of you need it."

Guillairme had been aware that one lost sleep while caring for infants--but mere awareness does not prevent one from falling victim to it. It seemed to him that he had awoken at every change of the watch, and fallen back to sleep with difficulty only once the chirping hatchlings were sated. But come the morning, the golden nestling was so soundly asleep that he was able to pick them up and tuck them into the tied sleeve of his herigaut without much of a stir.

Brulie had been, as ever, delightfully patient as he loaded supplies on her back, both his and Henri's. If there was any leftover meat, he would take a bit, but Henri would likely need to hunt for the dragon before too much longer. Or they would need to buy meat from a nearby farm. "Aye, luckily for you, I also have business at your father's estate. Lest I might have cause to say 'Sir Henri has left me with child and run off,'" it was said mildly, but the joke itself was one that could cause heads to roll were one not certain of the lord's disposition and favor. In this instance, it was clearly a reminder to Sir Henri of his initial purpose in hiring this crew: to spread word of his valiant battle. He should make certain everyone left happy before simply riding off.

As Zaya went to leave she felt a light hand on her shoulder. "Madame Zaya, I do still wish to assist you and the one you are entangled with...though unfortunately I fear I would not be of much use today. Still, if you would travel with Henri and I...or, perhaps it might be better if you headed directly for the village of Cassecour--it's to the north and west of Montagnac. Senior priests of the Hushed Refrain have decades of experience helping restless spirits; they will surely know how to disentangle the two of you."