It was late in the evening and Scyleia was laying on her bed in her wooden hut, her eyes darting to the egg laying in a nest of furs and close to her fireplace. It had been days after that dreadful encounter with her father's murderer during patrol but it was still ingrained in her memory. She still hadn't completely forgiven herself for not saving the other egg. She wanted to go after it but couldn't do that by herself, it was too dangerous. The Queen hadn't allowed to send other Amazons with her to get it either, it was too risky just for an egg. Amazons didn't seek trouble, only protected what was theirs to protect. Scyleia understood but her personal feelings made her disagree. However, the Queens will was law and she had to obey her, she didn't want to perform insubordination. She took comfort in the fact she at least saved one of the two, the same egg that was now staring at her. The Queen had allowed her to keep the egg, for now but was hesitant too. The Amazons didn't know what would crawl out of the egg and what it would do to the Nation. Was the creature inside an asset, or trouble?
A knock on the door took Scyleia out of her inner thoughts and she answered to come in. Her best friend Shelala stood there, smiling at her.
'How are you and how is the egg? Has it showed signs of hatching yet?' the blonde asked curiously.
'I'm good but I don't think it showed any signs yet' the brunette answered. 'I have no idea if it's even still alive, and if so, when it's supposed to hatch or what's inside it' she added.
'Well whatever it is, it should grow big if this is the egg size' Shelala opted.
There were speculations on what could be in it. There always have been stories of creatures, it even reached the outskirts of the Amazon territory. Stories of creatures like gryphons, dragons or more recently, great feathered beasts. Some Amazons grew weary of those stories with the egg being in their possession but others, especially the younger generation, were pretty ecstatic on what might be inside the shell.
Shelala saw Scyleia was in her inner world again, probably thinking of Kyon again and wanted to distract her.
'Lets go spar for a bit, alright? Blow off some steam before going to bed? I know you'd like that' the blonde friend winked and a small smile crossed Scyleias mouth. She was about to agree but her attention went to some movements in the corner of her eyes. Her hazel green eyes veered to the egg and Shelalas grey orbs followed suit. The egg was moving!
'It's hatching!' Shelala called out and both friends scouted closer to the egg. Cracks started to appear across the pale egg and it kept moving. The cracks became bigger in size and small pieces were starting to fall down. As the cracks heightened in size, a horn like structure seem to pierce parts of the egg, nails probably. Then another horn like part was seen higher up the egg, it was a different structure than the supposedly nails or claws and sound were heard by now too, it sounded like small shrieks. More heartbeats went on and the egg cracked completely, revealing a form covered in egg slime still and therefore covering the body itself again some more. Scyleia and Shelala held their breaths at the miracle in front of them, the hatching of the mysterious creature inside the saved egg. Than the baby shook its body, expelling the egg mucous from it and opened its eyes. Deep forest green orbs locked with Hazel green and also grey and it squeaked. The Amazons now could see what was inside. The inhabitant of the egg had a bird like body, but more so owl like than any other bird. What was even more strange was that its anatomy veered from the usual owl. Its legs and neck were longer, it had an elongated tail along with the usual bird tail and even a claw like finger on each wing as thumb. Its body was also more developed than the bird hatchlings they had encountered before. It was white with wings, tails and part of the legs dipped in silver along with an auburn colored circular marking around the head. Its beak and claws had the same auburn color as its head marking. It already had feathers but not at all flightworthy yet.
'I guess this counts as the feathered beasts we have heard stories about?' Shelala said to pierce the silence. Scyleia acknowledged her friend with a glance and nod in agreement before the brunette moved back to the bird dragon in front of her. Shelala gave her some space since her friend was the one taking care of the egg day and night, she deserved this special moment.
Scyleia was overwhelmed by a warm feeling that could be described as maternal and she was intrigued by the baby beast in front of her.
'Hey there, little one' the brunette started and placed her hand closer to the chick, not touching it but letting the owlet make contact with her in its own time. Scyleia used her knowledge of gaining the trust of horses and training them. She was in training as an apprentice to the current Ilarches of the Nation. Once the current one would retire, she would take over the comment of a wing of cavalry. After some heartbeats, the chick touched Scyleias hand and the Amazon warmed even more inside. It made her very happy the chick seem to recognize her. Maybe it had heard her voice while still in the egg. Scyleia then took the next step, gently scratching the chick underneath its beak and it closed its eyes while emanating a soft humming sound, the owlet was trilling. Scyleia forgot the world around her and only had eyes for the baby in front of her, observing it and stroking it, trying to gain its trust. After the scratching, the chick opened its beak and Scyleias head moved back a bit at what she saw.
'What is it?' a soft voice was heard behind her. Shelala had approached her again gently.
'Its, its beak has teeth inside..' Scyleia said confused.
'What?' Shelala replied and moved a bit closer to check it herself and indeed, the open auburn beak had little but seemingly sharp white teeth inside. 'That means it eats meat and not like how birds normally do. They only use they beak to slice into their prey and eat the slices whole. This seems like it can chew too..' Shelala continued, using her own knowledge.
The hatchlings beak closed again but it started playing and nibbling on Scyleias still close-by hand, emanating whining shrieks.
'I think its hungry' Scyleia assessed.
'You stay here, I'll get some meat. We have some skinned rabbits left' Shelala suggested without waiting for and answer of her friend, she was already gone. Scyleia moved her head from looking at her huts closing door back to the hatchling.
'It's just you and me now' Scyleia began. 'So, what are you? You look like an fledgling of an owl but much bigger and some different perks anatomy-wise' Scyleia mused, trying to distract the chick until food was here. She started chatting to the bird dragon. The owlet chittered back almost each time Scyleia said something. It was enjoying the sound of her voice.
Soon, Shelala came back with the promised meat. She handed pieces to Scyleia so she could feed the chick. It gobbled every piece up with vigor, it really was hungry. Halfway through the meal, a new knock was heard on the door and Scyleia called for the visitor to get in without actually looking who it was. The visitor was an older woman and Shelala greeted her with a nod. The chick hadn't even noticed the new presence, too invested in the food.
'So it is true?' a voice said and made Scyleia turn her head.
'Mom, hey. The egg hatched' Scyleia answered and let her mother approach closer. This time, the hatchling did notice and watched the new person with curiosity yet some caution due to the seemingly stern look on her face but that was the face Elyria frequently wore without actually feeling that way. Elyria watched the hatchling and noticed she scared it a bit so she tried to make her face appear more gentle. It seem to work because the chick relaxed more.
'I have heard of this creature before. Merchants told me about them. Scyleia, this chick you have here is called a DracoStryx, Stryx in the common norm' her mother explained.
'A DracoStryx..' Scyleia copied.
'Yes and there are different types. From what she looks like, I'd say you have the Tyto variant since she resembles an owl' Scyleias mother continued.
'She? How do you know it's a she?' Shelala asked, catching on and Scyleia looked at her mother too for an answer.
'I'm pretty sure from the way her body looks like. Males are more bulky, even from birth according to what I've heard, she is more lean' Elyria explained.
There was a silence while the Tyto chick kept eating but everyone in the room thought the same. The Stryx had hatched, it was healthy and had already eaten but was she allowed to stay at the Nation? The Queen would decide upon that. Scyleia knew this but she would do everything in her power to keep her if the situation called for a discussion. There was something inside her, an instinctual force that made her wanting to keep this new hatched life. Elyria picked up on the tension radiating from Scyleia.
'A Stryx could be a great asset for hunting and fighting if trained properly' The mother started. 'Tomorrow, you should talk to the Queen. Tell her what happened and ask her if she could stay at the Nation. Maybe it'll turn out fine' she added while showing a small smile as encouragement.
'Well now, I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning again. Goodnight' she finished and turned after the friends said goodnight too.
'So, what are you gonna do with her now?' Shelala asked.
Scyleia looked between her friend and the light colored Tyto Stryx. She by now had finished eating her meat and apparently her attention was caught by something as her head had turned but not towards the Amazons, no towards a window from Scyleias hut. The brunette followed the line of vision and noticed the chick was fascinated by the Moon and smiled.
'I'm going to give her a name' the brunette saidwhile she kept her vison aligned to the Tytos before turning to look at herfriends gentle grey eyes. 'Her name is going to be Artemis..'