Mm-hm...yeah...okay. See you then. *hangs up phone* Oh hey everyone. Midnight here once again. I was talking to an old friend of mine. Anyways, we're gonna have some new faces and possibly some familiar ones as well.

CHAPTER 1

Decisions Decisions

The two eggs were in their mushroom boats (mushroom caps) and they were doing nothing but floating down the river. Side by side, day and night, the water carried them through swamps, plains, and cities. Everything was fine until they approached the rapids. The rapids were fierce and showed no signs of mercy as the white water slammed the floating caps against several rocks. The caps were beaten so badly that they were at the point where they could not stay afloat. Surprisingly, they had managed. The eggs stayed close together through the strong currents. That is, until their "boats" slammed into a large rock. No longer did they float side by side. The current had split in two at the rock and were carrying the eggs further and further away. The egg with the sky blue spot disappeared into a dark forest where the water flow was calmer whilst the other egg flowed into more dangerous parts of the rapids. The water was fiercer than what it was before the forked path and had more rocks. Unlike the other rocks that were perfectly smooth, these were incredibly sharp and jagged and can rip a boat to shreds in seconds should collide into one of those rocks. Not only that, the only way the egg could continue was through the narrow gaps in between the rocks. However, the egg got by with a few minor scratches on the mushroom cap as the currents pushed it out the deadly rapids and into calm water. Further down the river, there was another river path. As the egg was carried down the river, an egg came from the path. It wasn't just any egg; but the egg that got separated at the rapids. The water currents brought the two back together and carried them further down the river.

Twelve days later, the two midnight blue eggs came to rest near a forked path. One path lead to a small cave whilst the other lead to a dark forest. Their rest would soon be cut short for the water was beginning to get rough. The winds were slowly picking up and small drizzles of rain began to fall from the gray clouds.

Not far from the eggs were tall mountains with a few caves high in the mountains and in one of those caves, there was a family of griffins. One had green fur, orange eyes, and three scars on its chest. The other had dark purple fur, hazel eyes, and was clutching a light green egg.

"It's going to be a fierce storm," said the green griffin as he sat on his haunches and stared out the mouth of the cave whilst listening to the howling winds echo through the cave. "It might be like this for a few days."

"There is no need to worry yourself, my love," the dark purple spoke absently. "We're safe from harm."

The green griffin sighed deeply and looked back at his mate and their egg. "I know, Sara. It's just..."

Sara looked up and her eyes met his. "Quit worrying," she had cut him off in the middle of his sentence, then looked back down at the egg. "Our son can sense your fear." she finished as she gently rubbed the egg.

The green griffin snorted and walked to the back of the cave and laid flat on his belly next to Sara. Soon, the sky grew dark and the cold wind roared outside the cave. Rain fell heavily to the ground and lightning would brighten the skies for a brief moment before it went dark again. In fact, it was so dark, anyone would think that it's night time (even though it was still daylight). As the cave grew colder, Sara curled her body around the egg to keep it warm. Her mate helped a bit by huddling closer to her and draped his wing over her. The green griffin was about to fall asleep when something came to his attention.

"That's odd..." he muttered.

"What is it Dairu?" asked Sara.

Dairu looked to either side of him. "Where is..." was all he could say before they jumped in alarm when they heard someone shouting "Mother!" and "Father!" just outside the cave. Both griffins looked in that direction and saw a small female griffin whose upper body had a dark purple color and the lower half had a purplish-green color and had hazel eyes. Her fur was dripping wet, she was out of breath, and had a frightened (more like a worried) look on her face.

"Maria! What in God's name were you doing outside?" Dairu was furious. His voice sounded more demanding rather than questioning. This cause Maria to tremble a bit but she somehow managed to regain her composure. She caught her breath and began.

"Father, I found something near the river that requires your attention..." she paused and stared at her father who was glaring at her. She waited for him to say something but he gestured to her with a nod, telling her to continue. "I found two eggs. Both are in danger of being swept away." explained Maria. Sara was in complete shock by these words but Dairu only sighed in irritation under a facepalm. Little did he know that she was in fact telling the truth.

"Maria, this is no time for your childish games." Dairu growled. "You know very well that it's too dangerous to be outside in a storm like that...especially when you're afraid of thunder and lightning."

Maria cringed at this. She was mad, hurt, and nervous at what he said. She stayed at the mouth of the cave. "B-But father, I do not lie! There are two eggs that are stuck at the river bank!" her voice was starting to rise. "You have to..."

"Don't!" he snapped and Maria was instantly silent. "Don't you DARE raise your voice!" He and Sara saw her eyes begin to water. Her small echoing sobs overpowered the howling winds as she hung her head low and began to cry. Sara pushed Dairu away and walked over to her daughter and gave her comforting nuzzle.

"It's okay little one. I'm here." Sara whispered. Her voice was so soft and soothing that Maria stopped her sobs but tears continued to run down her face as she buried her face in her mother's front left arm. Sara then glared daggers at Dairu. "I would like to have a word with you Dairu...right after I come back." she said coldly. She heard him stuttering. "If you have a problem with it, then I will take my children elsewhere and find a new mate." that shut him up real good. Sara smiled dominantly then turned her attention to Maria who was no longer crying. "Point to where they are young one." Maria then pointed out towards the river. A bolt of lightning flashed and it was enough to see where she was pointing at. Sara took off in the general direction.

Normally, it would take nearly three minutes to reach the river by flight, but because of strong winds and the heavy rainfall in was more than the original time. Sara was a strong and fast flier but even she had her limits when flying. Her wings were drenched and felt extremely heavy, almost to the point where they can literally snap right off her back. The wind and her wings had dramatically dropped her speed almost to a snail's pace. Earlier, she had tried walking but that turned out to be a lot slower than flying. Sara made sure she was not flying too high in the sky and not too low to the floor. If she was too low, she would have difficulty see exactly where the eggs are, and if she was too high, chances are that she'll be more likely to get struck by lightning. She was beginning to wonder if she'll make it to the river. Just then, a few bolts of lightning startled her as they struck some of the trees on the other side of the bank and they burst into flames. The winds were spreading the flames all over the place. Lucky for Sara, this had made finding the river a lot easier. She looked down and realized that she was hovering right in front of it.

"I can't believe that it took me almost thirty minutes to get here." Sara mumbled irritably. Her attention was caught when she heard a loud snap. Despite the strong winds and heavy wings, she was able to move out the way of a flaming falling tree. She watched as it fell and by luck, it had revealed the eggs Maria had mentioned before. They were up against a rock that prevented the water from carrying them any further. She smiled inwardly but it quickly faded away when the tree she evaded had splashed and caused a large wave of water and pushed them out into the raging water. The burning trees on the other side of the river dimly lit the river. The eggs were separated and the current was pushing them at breakneck speed. Sara flapped her heavily soaked wings towards the forked path. On the way there, she saw the path that led to the forest had a large swirling whirlpool. A horrifying thought came to her mind. She could only save one. One egg was being carried to the whirlpool whilst the other was being carried to the cave. The entrance was small enough for the egg to easily slip through. She came in low between the eggs. She then stretched her arms to either side in a desperate attempt to grab them both but no avail. The further they went down the river, the more the eggs became distant from each other.

"I have to choose!" she yelled in her mind. She was hesitant; her mind was rushing with thoughts of what to do. She realized that as she was thinking, the eggs were on the verge of being lost for eternity. She made up her mind and went for the egg heading towards the whirlpool. The raging water splashed up in her face and in her wings as she flew lower to the egg. Just as soon as she was within reach, the egg was quickly pulled in by the swirling vortex. She cursed to herself and looked behind her. The other egg was already gone.

"I'm not loosing this one now." Sara hissed to herself and went into the whirlpool and hovered in the center near the bottom. The river was so deep that she could barely see the egg up top. The whirlpool itself was eight feet in diameter and she was hovering almost twelve feet deep in it. She only had one shot at this. The egg was drawing closer as it swirled around faster and faster. "I can't afford to mess up." she muttered. Down and around the egg went. It was seconds away till it would be within Sara's reach. She held out a paw and waited. In two revolutions, it came within her and she quickly snatched it out the water. Both her paws and the egg were soaking wet that it slipped out of her hold and she was fumbling trying to get a good hold on the lone egg. Once she did, she struggled to fly out the raging vortex as it was slowly starting to close.

"Oh no..." Sara soon realized that she wasn't going up, but more like the opposite. Her wings were soaked to the bone and she was exhausted after flapping her heavy wings for so long. She screamed for help but her voice was overpowered by the sound of the storm as well as the swirling water. Sara knew this was the end for her and she could not believe it. She went through the trouble of flying in such rough weather to save two unborn eggs. She failed to save the first one and now she was going down with the other. The dark purple griffin held the egg close to her as she continued to flap her wings hoping that she might miraculously survive. Just when things seem to be bleak, a faint voice was heard. It sounded as if they were crying out her name. She then let out a loud cry hoping that her voice would be heard. Her hopes were brighten when she heard the voice was closer than before but sounded too familiar.

"Dairu! Help!"

Gliding over the raging river was a Dairu. He became worried and flew out to search for her. The weather seemed to calm a bit but was still dangerous. The green griffin looked up then realized that the wind was eerily calm and the rain seemed to let up a little. He figured that it was the eye of the storm. Some would say "The Calm Before the Storm" but many prefer to say "Eye of the Storm" since it's a bit shorter.

"Where is she?" he thought. Dairu flapped a little to gain a little altitude. Earlier, he had been flying all over the grassy plains between the mountain and the river where Sara is currently at. The eye of the storm came a few minutes after reaching the river. The once crystal clear water was now murky and full of debris.

"Sara!" Dairu called out. Dairu had reached the forked path. Obviously, he knew that he nor Sara could not fit into the small opening of the cave. So he took the other path that led into the semi-dark forest. Semi-dark because most of the trees were burned by the lightning strikes and the sky was a bit dark but bright enough to see for the time being. In there, the water was a bit calm than outside but was still rough. His flying came to a snail's pace as the green griffin looked to either sides of the bank. He was beginning to become desperate.

"SARAAAA!" he cried out. As soon as he said that, he got a response.

"Dairu! Help!" Dairu's heart began to race. He flew fast and down the river as he repeatedly called out Sara. After calling her two or three times, Dairu would hear his name being called. Soon, he realized that she was close by. He stopped and ironically, was hovering over a closing whirlpool...with Sara and the egg.

"Down here you idiot!" Sara yelled. Dairu looked under him and was mortified. The whirlpool had closed in on Sara. Her eyes were shut tightly as she was spinning like crazy (imagine a washing machine on its spin cycle but 5x fast) holding the egg up high as she struggled to stay above. "Take it! Take *Blub!* the egg!" she ordered.

"Sara! I can't leave you! I WON'T leave you!" Dairu was on the verge of crying but held his tears back.

"Dairu, I don't want to leave you either, b-" water smacked her in the face and nearly swallowed a mouthful. "*Glub!* Take it! Hurry! I-*Gasp!* can't stay up forever!"

"I can save you both! There-"

"If we die, then who'll care for the young ones?" Sara scolded. Dairu opened his mouth (beak) to speak but he couldn't find the words to counter. He knew she was right. She didn't know they were in the calm before the storm but she could sense that it was going to get a lot worse. She then spoke softly but loud enough for Dairu to hear. "Listen Dairu. You have to go on without me. You, Maria, and our child, as well as their adoptive sibling. Please Dairu, I'm asking you to do a favor for me. Take the egg and raise it with care. Raise them with love and care as I would do to them. Consider it...as my last wish."

Dairu was able to see Sara smiling weakly through her rapid spinning as she was neck deep in the water. He could no longer fight back his tears. His eyes were burning as he felt salty tears run down his face. He flew low to her and took the egg out of her grasp, careful of not knocking it in the water by accident and held it closely to his chest.

The storm suddenly became incredibly deadly as the sky went pitch black once again. Maria, who was kinda pouty and still upset about earlier, was standing beside the egg and watched the world be destroyed by Mother Nature's wrath. She had been waiting for her mother to return but her father decided to go out and search for her. It felt like hours since they had been out there. She was becoming worried but tiredness seemed to take over. She quietly yawned and her eyelids felt heavy. She curled her tiny body into a ball and closed her eye.

To Maria, it felt like she had her eyes close for nearly ten seconds when she was awaken by the sound of faint sobs over the howling winds and roaring thunder. She groggily lifted her head and opened her eyes then scanned the cave. Sitting near the mouth of the cave was her father, Dairu. She could sense the sadness that loomed over him. She got up and stretched her body and walked over to him.

"Daddy?" Maria softly called him. Her father did not turn to look at his daughter.

"I'm...I'm sorry...dear Maria." Dairu spoke somberly. Maria was slightly taken aback by his words. She was curious as to why he was acting like this; that is until she began to wonder where Sara was.

"Daddy, where's mommy?"

"I'm sorry Maria...for yelling at you earlier, for not believing you, f-for not going after the egg, and I'm sorry f-f-for..." Dairu hesitated a bit. He was unsure of how Maria would handle what he was going to say. He then looked at her and saw her eyes beginning to water. Dairu came to a conclusion that his silence was enough to make her think the worse. "The winds...were too strong for her...and to me. She was blown away and I lost her. I...I..." He lied. He was lost in thought. He did not know what to say next. However, Maria failed to notice that.

"Did...did you save...the eggs?" she quietly asked.

Dairu hung his head low then sat on his haunches. He reached to his side, gently grabbed the egg in his paw, and showed it to her. "Only one. I'm sorry." he murmured. He carried the egg over to the green egg and gently set it down. He laid next to it and Maria came and laid next to the eggs and fell asleep, not wanting to hear the rest of her father's tragic story.

"I will keep my promise my dear Sara. I will see to that they are raised with the love and care you would give them." He thought as he watched lots of debris fly pass the cave. Eventually, his eyelids grew heavy and he succumbed to sleep.

So what do you all think? Please R & R. Till next time. C YA! ;)