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The Red Dame Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 1:03 pm
{{Set when Grendel/Nashwa brood are hatchlings.}}  
Landing outside Nashwa’s cave, Grendel quickly released the squirming Corn Baby and sidled up to the cave’s entrance.
“ Nashwa? I apologize for coming unannounced, but I was wondering if we might-” Grendel abruptly stopped speaking as a tiny figure appeared in the entrance. It had Nashwa’s color – as far as he could tell – but it was too small to be her. Abruptly the little thing began to run towards him and Grendel braced himself as the little creature charged right into him. Looking down with annoyance, he was surprised to meet the large golden eyes of a Hatchling.
“ Daddy?”
Looking at the Hatchling's suspiciously familiar markings, Grendel felt something click in his mind. Watching dazedly as Laurilen waddled over to the baby, arms flailing in excitement, a single thought crossed his mind.
‘ Oh dear.’
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 3:02 pm
 
Curled up loosely on a low, flat outcropping of rock within her cave, Nashwa was taking it relatively easy and keeping an eye on everyone, making sure no siblingly squabbles got out of hand or in case someone wandered off. Yanai occasionally did a round or two of the chamber to help out with a head count.
White glowing eyes turned to the entrance to her cave at Grendel's familiar voice. A bit of a smile came to her face when one of their daughters went out to see him. By this time their twins had noticed the arrival in a brief pause in a wrestling match they were holding against one another. Zini and Tamsyn moved over to their sister and gazed up at the green male which their mother had described as their 'Daddy'.
Two little pairs of pink eyes blinked up at him, little crooked smiles on their faces. "You're Daddy?"
Nashwa laughed as she rose from her place in her cave and moved out to meet him. "Why hello, Grendel. I must say it's very good to see you again." There was an easy smile on her face, slightly amused that this was the first time that he was meeting their children. "How're you feeling?"
Kenet took this opportunity to crawl up her tail and back to perch on her left wing while she was distracted, looking quite pleased with himself. What wasn't exactly clear was whether if he was proud about being able to climb onto Nashwa's back again or if it was the fact that the kiddies father was finally meeting them.
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The Red Dame Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 4:11 pm
Grendel knew, logically, that he should have expected this. He truly had found Nashwa to be an enjoyable companion, otherwise he would never have indulged himself in that particularly… pleasurable encounter. He found that he was, at best, somewhat awkward around younglings, but even that did not bother him. No, what had forced his tongue was the suddenness of the discovery of his fatherhood. He had half expected to come and find Nashwa curled around a couple of eggs, so to be confronted by Hatchlings…
Gathering his wits as best he could, he glanced down at the three – three! – Hatchlings before him, momentarily freezing again as he admired how they were each a perfect melding of himself and their mother.
“ Erm… yes, yes I am.”
Nasuada’s attention was already elsewhere as she eyed the chubby, bug-eyed thing standing next to her chattering and making happy squeaks, blithely unaware of the thoughts running through her head.
‘ It looks yummy. Would it taste yummy?’
Crouching down, she prepared to pounce on the unsuspecting Corn Baby – who had gone to examine the twins – when a gnarled hand scooped her up.
“ Well there, little one, let me have a look at you!” Her eyes widened comically as she realized she being held by a tree; a talking tree that had not been there mere moments ago. She squealed, immediately attracting Grendel’s attention, who relaxed once he saw that she was in no immediate danger.
“ Telperion, wher- Nevermind.” Shaking his head, he gave the tree a weak glare,“ Be more careful, you scared her.”
“ I mean you no harm, little one.” Holding her out at arm’s length, the Ent’s eyes twinkled as he squinted,” Aye, a chip oh the ol’ block!”
Hoping Laurelin and Telperion would distract the Hatchlings, at least for a while, he slinked over to Nashwa’s side.
“ I am…well, I’m…” Grendel trailed off, for once at a loss for words. Shaking his head, he decided to try a different track. “ What are their names? Genders? Are they all healthy?”
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:19 pm
Zini and Tamsyn beamed and ran up to affectionately paw and lightly headbutt their father's front legs, laughing happily. "Yay!" Their attention was drawn by the chittering and chattering corn baby who had come to look them over. Zini crouched low and sniffed at it while Syn curled behind one of Grendel's legs, not sure what to make of it. It had to be the most bizarre thing she had ever seen. Zini walked right up to it, blinking at it, wondering what it was going on about. Seeing that her brother wasn't afraid, Syn slank up along his side to investigate the corn baby too.
Nashwa shook her head with a smile. So far they had only known her, their siblings, her familiars, and on occasion her human companion who'd swing by to check everything out and made sure everything was okay. She was glad they embraced him so readily. Nash's head snapped over to the ent and Nasuada when the baby squealed, her wings flaring slightly and her muscles tensing. But once she realized that it was jsut Grendel's Telperion she relaxed again with a soft huff.
Nashwa turned her attention to Grendel when he slinked to her side. She chuckled and nosed him lightly before sitting back to answer. "I'm glad to hear your well. And yes, they are all healthy and I imagine will be very happy to finally get to meet their dad." She took a slow deep breath and let it out with a bit of a grin. "Okay. Everyone. Let's see. The gray one that Telperion is giving a once over is Nasuada, a girl. The twins there are, Tamsyn Hasana, a girl, and Zini Hassan, a boy. And...there are more inside, you know." She gave him an innocent sort of batt of her eyes and smiled.
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:23 pm
 Isis wondered out after her siblings. She sat down right outside the entrance to the den and watched. Her white eyes were then fixed upon Grendel. "Daddy?" she asked quite softly, almost near to a whisper. A grin spread across her face as she got up and trotted over to inspect. Such a curious mind she always had, and usually liked to check out anything that wasn't familiar to her. Isis studied his colors and markings. He seemed to have somewhat quite the same color of green, and orange if not brighter or darker than her own.
Her eyes wandered off to the corn baby, as she went to see if it was playful or not. Begining to lighty whack at its feet, her tail high in the air as she readied to pounce, Isis looked back to see her siblings also having fun with the Ent. Giggling as Nasuada was picked up by the talking tree, she decided to see just how long it would take her to climb up the Ent's legs and into its branches.
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:56 pm
He nuzzled Nashwa back – though loathe to admit it, he did enjoy the occasional affectionate gesture. He dipped his head slightly in apology and was about to apologize for leaving alone for so long when he heard the last part. He choked, managing to stammer out,” More?”
His lackluster childhood had imparted upon him a strong desire to support his future family, yet now he was becoming vaguely concerned that such a task would be more difficult then he had imagined. Hearing another voice, he glanced over in time to see another hatchling emerging.
“ Just how many are there?”
“ Babies, babies! Me babies loves you babies!” chattered the Corn Baby, reaching out its little arms to pat the two hatchlings before it.
Distracted by the sensation of someone attempting to climb him, Telperion loosened his grip slightly, allowing Nasuada to wriggle out his grasp, scamper up his arms, and leap into his branches. Peering down from the Ent’s leafy head, she blinked at her sibling.
“ You coming or what?”
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The Red Dame Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 2:33 pm
Nashwa chuckled and nodded. "Yup, more." She looked over to Isis as she emerged from the cave too. She hadn't expected seven children, but she had time to adjust her sleep cycle and was able to handle them with help from Yanai, who was still inside wrangling the remaining youngsters.
"Seven all together. Six girls and Zini, there. Not a bad brood, if I do say so myself. We did quite well together." There was a definite look of pride on her face and in the way she carried herself. "That one there, who just came out, is Isis. The three inside are Emerald, Rossioro, and Jayashri. They're all wonderful youngsters. You ought to stay a while and get to know them. The company is good."
Zini and Tamsyn sort of blinked at each other before laughing and nosing the corn baby's cheeks and tuft of hair. What an odd and entertaining critter.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 3:26 pm
 Rossioro walked out from the back room, clearly attempting to be graceful and elegant, but only succeeding in swaying rather alarmingly from side to side. She stopped short when she saw the other adult in the cave, sitting down abruptly. "Mamma, who's that?" she asked, tilting her head to one side. "Another friend?" 'Familiar' being too much of a mouthful for the young one, she tended to call her mother's companions 'friends.'
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 7:42 pm
Nashwa looked down at her and Grendel's dark red daughter with a smile and soft chuckle. She lowered her head to give her a nuzzle. "No, baby, not just another friend." She sat up and curled her tail around her. "This is your daddy and his two friends, Telperion and Laurelin." She answered nodding to the ent and the corn baby respectively.
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:06 pm
Isis peered up at Nasuada, then looked to Telperion. She smiled kindly then sat down a few inches away. "You don't mind if I climb up you," she asked in a well mannered voice. "I have to get to my sis," Isis swayed her tail back and forth. "I'll be up momentarily," she replied to Nasuada.
Her white eyes studied the Ent's white bark. Most trees she'd seen had a dark or light color of brown for bark. "You're different from many trees. You talk too," Isis pointed out the obvious. But she usually spoke what was on her mind without thinking. "What are you?" she asked wanting to know, but waited patiently.
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The Red Dame Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:32 am
Grendel had seated himself, something for which he was profusely grateful when Nashwa said that there was seven children, else wise he may have stumbled. He glanced over at Laurelin, who gave him an innocent look in return, causing him to grumble,” I will never, ever again eat food offered to me by a stalker.”
Laurelin ignored – or at least, didn’t hear – Grendel’s complaint. Instead she lightly poked the twins on their noses, then ran as quickly as her short legs would carry her, head bobbing as she succumbed to another fit of giggles. Glimpsing over her shoulder briefly, she checked to see if the twins had understood her invitation to play “Tag.”
Shoving down the urge to throttle the Corn Baby, Grendel turned his attention to red Hatchling, shaking his head.
“ At times I find them to be nuisances, but should you ever want a ‘friend’ I will find you one; within reason, of course”
Attempting to do something fatherly – he assumed finding familiars for his children could be considered fatherly – went a long way to helping him recover from his shock. He had missed the beginning of their lives, for which he felt a pang of regret, but he was determined to stay.
“ Yes, I will stay. I will send word to my denmates later with Telperion.”
“ I am an Ent and Telperion is my name. You are most welcome to climb me, if you would but tell me your name.” Here he paused, swaying slightly as a long-fingered hand reached up and gently prodded Nasuada,” And I did not catch your name either.”
The grey Hatchling giggled, the Ent having poked a ticklish spot,” I’m Nasuada!”
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:55 am
Nashwa chuckled softly at his words with a bit of a nod. "A wise choice indeed, Grendel. Although, you have to admit, the outcome is something to feel a bit of pride over." She looked over the four youngsters that were outside then over her shoulder to the three inside, which were keeping Yanai busy. She smiled before returning her glowing gaze to Grendel.
Zini and Syn blinked at having their noses poked. Zini shook his head in a sneeze while his twin giggled. Tamsyn grinned and took off after Laurelin. Zini glanced between then before taking off too, laughing. "We're gonna get you!" They never missed a chance to play, especially with a new playmate.
"Good. I'm glad to hear that. I'm sure the young'uns would love to get to know their daddy." Nash nonchalantly stretched her wings, brushing Grendel's side before returning them loosely to her sides. "Besides, it'll be nice to have a little help with them. I hope your denmates won't mind your absence."
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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:31 pm
Isis took in all of the information she was given, and took a moment to relook it all over. "An Ent," she stated rather than it sounding as though it were another question. "Telperion, a name perfect for someone as you," Isis smiled. "I'm Isis," after giving her name she jumped the highest she was allowed, and managed to get half way up. Crawling the rest of the way to her sister.
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:35 pm
 Nila had gone out to explore and had been surprised to come across a family of Sandpainters. She thought the introduction to the father seemed strange, but maybe that was normal. Hesitantly, she started walking down toward the cave, curious, but not wanting to intrude at an inopportune time.
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The Red Dame Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:06 pm
“ Sayuri might be unhappy with having to hunt for herself if she wants meat, but other then that I see no problems. As for feeling proud… yes, I can confess to that.” Although it was apparent that he was trying to hide his emotions, he couldn’t quite keep his feelings from showing in his eyes. “ I also confess that I look forward to the day they become teenagers with apprehension; we’ll have our claws full.”
Laurelin continued to run until she came into the shadow of what she thought to be a small moving hill. Blinking her large eyes in confusion, she glanced up at the dark blue Painter and pointed a small finger at her accusingly.
“ Not baby!”
Hearing the Corn Baby’s statement, Grendel looked and saw the newcomer. The female’s body language was not especially threatening, and Grendel liked to believe that he could defeat her in a fight if necessary, so he did not become unduly alarmed. However, he still thought it best to get closer to the Painter, so that should anything happen, he’d be nearby. Standing up, he approached her at a languid pace, the slow swishing of his tail the only evidence of his misgivings.
“ Greetings. What brings you here?”
Telperion heard the going-ons, but was more interested in the happenings on his leafy head. Nasuada sat, seemingly perfectly patient, up until Isis joined her; then she burst into giggles. This was a common occurrence with the little gray hatchling, these seemingly random giggle fits, but never before had one struck her while in a tree. It was for this reason that, while giggling, she swayed and began to lose her balance, making her laughing immediately an dig her claws into the branch below her.
“ Sorry.” She murmured, patting the sticky, sap-coated wound of Telperion’s branch as she withdrew her claws.
“ Nonsense! You do what you must to survive, after all, an now that you have you should let nothing go to waste. Drink up! Only like some common tree, my sap is rich and sweet and good for the body.”
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