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 Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 9:28 pm
 It was truly hard to believe just how much time had passed. It seemed not so long ago that it was spring and he had first met Kindle. The summer season practically flew by and by this point all of their kids were adults. Toshiro's eldest daughter (biologically speaking) had even found herself a mate and left the herd already. Now, however, there were to be some new additions. And it probably wouldn't be very long before they hatched.  It was late afternoon by this point. The family had already eaten and at the moment they were pretty much just enjoying themselves. The eggs had been wriggling a bit more than usual today, so everyone was pretty close by. "How are we supposed to tell when they're going to hatch or not?" Jiyuu remarked out loud, growing slightly frustrated with the waiting. "Earlier that brown one was moving a whole bunch, but now it's just still again. Did we do that a lot in our eggs?" Truth be told, the young stallion was quite concerned with the well-being of his soon to be younger siblings. This was his first time ever dealing with eggs, so he honestly didn't know what to expect."Patience, Jiyuu," Toshiro replied with an understanding smile. "They'll hatch when they're good and ready."
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 9:46 pm
 "The watched egg never hatches." Embri grinned as she teased her younger foster-sib. "You're so impatient Jiy. I bet once they're out, you'll be wishing they had stayed in their shells a bit longer!"
Languidly the young mare stretched out her forelegs in the sand, rolling over to scrub her backscales. Turning to look at her adoptive father, Embri arched an eyebrow. "Picked out any names yet? I've always wondered if Kirin are born with their names or if their parents name them." One more odd thing that makes me different... With the barest shake of her head, she banished the thought. This was a happy time, no need to drag up old memories.
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 9:55 pm
"We have a few in mind, yes," Toshiro answered, giving each egg a soft nuzzle. "As far as I am aware, parents usually name their children themselves. Although, I am not sure what the case is for abandoned eggs. Perhaps they name themselves ." The brown stallion had been born as part of a herd, so he had never really thought about some of the various trials that lone hatchers had to face.
Jiyuu listened quietly to the small exchange while contemplating whether to take his foster's sister's words seriously or not. With one last side glance at the two eggs in question, he turned away and busied himself with preening his wing feathers. Not that they really needed it at the moment, but it gave him something to do.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 11:37 am
 Kindle shot her son an amused glance. "Is it so bad? Embri's right. The real work begins in a day or two when they hatch. We spend the next few days trying to put them back in. When we finally give up, we merely accept our fate and abandon ourselves to their whims."
"Hmm?" Her attention turned to Embri and Toshiro. "Nothing definite yet. I suppose we'll see when they finally come to meet us." She smiled fondly at the pair of capering eggs, her gaze growing immediately tired. It wasn't as hard as the first clutch, but it had left her just as exhausted.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:18 pm
Toshiro moved away from the eggs and back over to his mate's side, giving her an affectionate nuzzle. "Are you alright dear?" he asked gently, his eyes expressing concern. The labor process was truly quite harrowing, and seemed to always leave the mare a bit drained for a while after.
As if to prove Embri's earlier sentiment of "the watched egg never hatches," as soon as Jiyuu had turned away and Toshiro had left the brown egg began wriggling in the nest once more. In it's earnest to break free, it bumped into it's sibling egg a couple off times in the process.
Hearing a soft 'tapping' noise, Jiyuu paused in his preening to look back at the wriggling egg. How about that. Embri was right. Not wishing to jinx anything, he 'casually' looked away again, taking occasional peeks back at the two to see if there was any progress.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:44 pm
Embri was simply pleased the ordeal of waiting out her adoptive dam's labor was over. If anything, it had only cemented the fact that having foals was not in her own destiny. I don't know how Kindle manages... still she chose to have another clutch after Chione and Jiyuu. I wonder what Chi's up to. With a soft snort the young mare rolled upright again and looked out at the sea. The soothing sound of lapping waves on the shore drifted up, punctuated by the cries of the sea birds.
"I don't know if anyone named me. I just... knew who I was." Eyeing her impatient brother, Embri had to smile. "I hope they're not going to be as much trouble as you, Jiyuu. Thank goodness they'll have me as a proper role model for sibling behavior." Rolling her voice with sarcastic humor, she flicked her mane back over her wings, shaking out the loose sand.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 5:46 pm
Kindle smiled, her eyes closing as her mate fussed. So cute when he did that. "I'm fine, Toshi. Still just a little tired." Her gaze turned to Embri. "A memory, perhaps? Of some time forgotten?" It would hardly surprise her. There was more to Embri than any of them knew, perhaps even Embri herself. It blanketed everything she did. The way she spoke, the way she held herself, each graceful movement belied her youth.
The mare's gaze moved to the eggs. "Hmm?" The brown was for all the world doing a jig. It seemed to set the other into motion, for the white and pink was now wriggling right alongside. It fell still for a brief moment before the ghost of a crack formed on the shell.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 6:00 pm
Jiyuu scoffed a bit at Embri's words. "Role model? Sheesh, you and Chione always make me out to be some sort of misfit." He shook his head lightly. Must just be a sister thing. "They can learn just as easily from me too you know."
Toshiro merely rolled his eyes at the two. It wasn't unusual for the siblings to pick at each other from time to time. Or rather, for Jiyuu to be picked on more precisely. He took it well enough though. Smiling softly at his mate, he gave a small nod in reply. "If you say so then. Just don't hesitate to ask for anything." The older stallion turned his gaze back onto the two wriggling eggs. It looks like the time is upon us.
The little filly continued to struggle against the confines of her egg, no longer able to stand the cramped space. Pushing as hard as she could, there was an audible crack that resounded when her tiny horn broke through.
By this point the speckled stallion gave up in his efforts not to watch and fixated his attention on his siblings eggs. It looked like this time wasn't just a false alarm, and there was no way he was going to miss it.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 8:24 pm
Embri heard the crack too, rising to her hooves she moved up beside Jiyuu, giving him a friendly nose-bump. "See? Told you they'd hatch soon enough." The mare grinned, staring at the eggs. It was going to be her first hatching that she would witness, bar her own.
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 4:41 pm
Kindle's attention turned to the brown, a curiosity lighting her eyes. It wasn't all that long ago that Chione's egg had first hatched. She watched the tiny nub of horn emerge. "So, Toshi... about those names..."
Almost in tandem, the little colt pressed his forelegs against the confines of his shell, forcing his head up. It gave a little. Another push and shell chipped away. The egg fell still after a moment as the tiny creature inside paused for a short rest. Sound washed over him, a little clearer now than the muffled noises he'd heard just a few moments ago.
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:26 pm
 The little filly had to squint her eyes closed from the bright light that penetrated the shell. Even with the new levels of intensity to sight and sound however, she only paused briefly before continuing on, determined to be free."Looks like we'll be needing to decide sooner rather than later," Toshiro replied with a chuckle, continuing to watch the two hatch.With a strong push a big portion of shell broke off, leaving the brown filly to half-tumble out of her egg and onto the ground. She let out a small startled sound before slamming her lids shut again, eyes still not used to the brightness.Just as he had done when Chione was born, the stallion immediately moved forward to behind cleaning off the small filly. She shivered just the slightest bit under the licking, but otherwise made no complaint. "Hmm... How about Chococo for this one?" It seemed fairly fitting with her coloration after all.Although Jiyuu wanted to step nearer for a closer look, he decided to give his new sister a little space until she had adjusted. Meanwhile, the other egg looked like it was about ready to split open as well. "Chococo? Well, sounds good to me. You guys can decide for sure though."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 8:14 pm
So tiny and fragile looking... all legs. Was I that small too, once? It seemed hard to believe, now. Embri wasn't much smaller than Kindle, her wings longer but narrower. The dark brown filly was taking shape under Toshiro's ministrations, fluffy little mane and wings drying in the warm sea breeze.
"Looks like we have another sister, Jiyuu." Embri smiled at Chococo, eyes still scrunched shut. She fanned out her creamy wings to shade the nest. "Must be quite the shock, to come from complete darkness into the full day sun."
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:57 pm
 Kindle chuckled softly, her gaze moving up to her mate. "Sooner." At the suggestion, she looked to the thatched roof of their shelter and pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth in consideration. "Chococo. A good name." She watched the fussing with a smile, then cast a conspiritorial glance at Embri. "They say that the fillies all belong to their fathers. Now, what do we do about-" Her head snapped around at a sharp crack.The pink egg rolled, a hind leg splayed out. It gyrated in the cold air, a disgruntled and somewhat distressed sound escaping the egg's occupant. Another push and a foreleg appeared. The tiny nub of horn came next. He had to get out. He could feel the air, he could hear the voices, deep and booming over him. They seemed excited somehow, and he wanted to know why. He forced his head up, shattering the last bit over his head. Craning, he tried to get a good look, but all he could see were hooves and fur. And something about his size being attacked by a giant pink something-or-other. Curious. He let out a startled whine as the egg rolled.Grinning affectionately, Kindle turned the egg gently with her muzzle. "Well hello there..."Staring up into giant eyes, the little colt relaxed. A third leg popped free, taking most of the rest of the shell with it. He bleated as his mother began picking at the fragments that clung to his back and sides, then nipped at the tongue that assaulted a moment later.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 1:52 pm
"Yeah, that would be a bit of a shocker," the speckled stallion replied, giving a nod of agreement to Embri's words. "Takes a moment or two just to adjust in the mornings even."
Toshiro had to chuckle as her paused the grooming to watch his son hatch. "Quite the feisty little guy, isn't he," he said with a small smile, observing as Kindle groomed him. "Which name do you think fits him best, dear?"
Once the licking stopped, Chococo slowly peeked out through her lids to discover that it wasn't quite as bright as before. Slightly confused by this, she looked upward and noted the creamy mare shading her with a wing. The filly tilted her head a tiny bit as she observed her before her attention was quickly diverted by her brother's hatching. "=o?" At least he appeared to be small like herself. She 'eep'ed in surprise when she suddenly found herself being nosed by another stallion.
"Easy there, sis," Jiyuu said gently, a soft smile playing on his lips. Since the brown filly seemed to be settling down a bit, he figured that now was as good of a time as any to move in for a closer look.
The small filly titled her head and peered back at her older brother, eyes alight with curiosity. Reaching out with her muzzle, the two touched noses very briefly before she nipped him.
"Ouch! >.<"
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 4:29 pm
Embri chuckled, soft feathers ruffling in the breeze. She couldn't help it. "Little one, as tasty as Jiyuu looks, his nose is not a teat. I'm afraid you won't be getting a meal out of him anytime soon." Being entirely the wrong gender, not to mention location.
Embri regarded the second hatchling fondly. "Ah, looks like you'll have to give up your crown as the youngest colt after all, Jiyuu." This one had much more of Kindle's color in him than his sire's, lovely green wings and scales mottled like his older brother.
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