AN- Hello, ShadowRebirth37 here! Sorry the last chappie was so short! You know how I am; I MUST leave a cliffy at the end of EVERY chapter!XD Everybody seems to love little Orkari. I meant to make him cruel and ill-tempered, but somewhere between my head and the keyboard he turned into a cute little innocent baby.XD My mind is an enigma.XD Anyway, I knew that you guys would kill me if I left you hanging and then not update for awhile. And I don't want you guys to kill me!XP I digress, if you've red my other fic, The Distant Stars, you'll instantly know who the newcomer is. So I suggest you read that fic first if you want to know, or you could just read on.XP Without further a due, chapter 6- The Violet Hatchling! (I know it's sorta weak. So sue me!!XD)
.:Chapter 6- The Violet Hatchling:.
Raven felt something strange, almost like a tickling, on his wrist. At first he thought it might be a lizard or something, because it felt small. A quiet hiss made him fear it might be something dangerous, like a snake. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his right hand. He expected to see a snake or lizard's dull eyes, but he wasn't expecting to see a pair of bright emerald eyes staring right back at him. Seeing a pair of bright eyes staring at you would be absolutely terrifying to most people, but not to him, mainly because of what the eyes belonged to- a small, violet Organoid, barely two feet long.
'Where'd this one come from? Shadow never mentioned anything about another Organoid besides Copper…' Raven thought, looking at the tiny hatching. It squeaked and butted his hand, mewing loudly. Taking the hint, Raven stroked the hatchling's head, careful not to hurt it. The hatchling chirped happily and closed its eyes, purring loudly like a kitten. He couldn't help but laugh at the small, purring metal creature. It looked completely harmless, with its soft eyes, smooth violet armor that was covered in black splotches, and little claws.
The hatchling yawned quietly and curled up on the edge of the blanket, huddling against his side like it was cold. Raven laid his hand on its small body and ran his fingers across its back, which calmed it down and made it purr again. Soon its purr faded into a quiet snore as it fell asleep. He was still curious as to where it came from.
"I'll ask Shadow tomorrow…" he whispered, still looking at the tinny creature.
/Ask me what, Raven?/ Shadow said in his mind as he lifted his head and yawned loudly.
"Where this came from…" Raven said, not looking up from the still sleeping hatchling.
/Where what came from?/ Shadow asked, cocking his head as he looked at him and stood up. He walked over to Raven and followed his gaze down to the sleeping hatchling. He gasped and jumped back, growling loudly.
"Shadow? Shadow, is something wrong with it?!" Raven asked, looking up at Shadow with look of concern.
/Where did that hatchling come from?!/ he shouted, growling loudly.
"I woke up and it was licking my wrist, so I don't know where it came from, why?" Raven questioned the dark Organoid.
/Hatchlings rarely stray far from their parents' sides, which means there might be a mother Organoid nearby, and they can be very aggressive towards other Organoids, and wouldn't think twice about killing a person for no reason. Hatchlings also consume energy. Do you remember what the Red did to you?/ Shadow cocked his head at Raven and glanced down at the curled up hatchling.
"Course I remember what the Red did, it was eating me alive! You don't forget something like that easily!" Raven said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
/He wasn't eating you, Raven, he was draining your energy. While it is unusual for an adult Organoid to feed, hatchling must feed to survive. Until their self-supporting AI fully develops, they must consume energy for their systems to operate. Hatchlings aren't picky and will eat anything that their parents bring them, or anything they can hunt and bring down by themselves or in a pack. Back in Zoidian times they would hunt down Micros, but usually their parents would bring back chunks of a Zoid's Core. If an Organoid only takes small pieces from a Zoid's Core, the Zoid can replace that part of the Core and have few ill effects other than temporary weakness. But Organoids also captured people, and they didn't fair as well as the Zoids did. If the hatchlings consumed too much energy they died. Did the hatchling bite you?/ Shadow lectured, looking down at Raven's wrist when he finished.
"No, no it didn't bite me. I think it was just cold, 'cause it huddled up next to me and fell asleep." Raven reassured Shadow, holding out his unmarked wrist as proof before laying his hand back down on the sleeping hatchling.
/Odd…/ Shadow said quietly, /She's young enough that she still needs to feed, but she isn't showing any signs of aggression… hatchlings are usually terrified of humans, yet this one curled up right next to you and felt safe enough to fall asleep… very strange…/ Shadow rambled, cocking his head at the hatchling.
"She?" Raven asked, looking at Shadow. He nodded in confirmation. "Well, she didn't attack me or anything; in fact, she actually woke me up and begged me for attention."
/Very peculiar… another hatchling would have fed off you while you slept… I wonder why she deliberately woke you up, played with you, curled up beside you and then fell asleep… she seems to trust you a lot…/ Shadow snorted loudly in frustration, not understanding the little Organoid's behavior.
As if in response, the hatchling lifted her head and yawned loudly. She looked up at Raven and squeaked happily, nuzzling his hand and cooing. Shadow growled lightly, surprising the hatchling, which shrieked and jumped into Raven's lap, mewing loudly.
"It's okay… it's just Shadow…" Raven said quietly, trying to comfort the chick. He stroked the trembling hatchling curled up on his lap, but she just mewed louder and buried her face in his hand.
Shadow cocked his head at the whimpering hatchling in confusion and looked up at Raven, not understanding what was going on.
"You scared her, Shadow… she's frightened." Raven said quietly, not looking up from the hatchling as he continued to stroke her.
/Scared her? How did I scare her?/ Shadow questioned.
"When you growled, she wasn't expecting it and it scared her. I wouldn't like it if I woke up and something a lot bigger than me growled behind me!" Raven couldn't help but laugh at his last sentence.
/I guess you might be right…/ Shadow grumbled, /I am going to go ask Copper how that hatchling managed to get in here, he was supposed to be lookout… oh well, I should have guessed this would happen, he isn't the most vigilant Organoid…/ Shadow trailed off as he walked out into the main chamber, leaving he and the hatchling alone.
"It's alright, he's gone…" he whispered to the still-shaking Organoid, stoking her back and folded wings. She finally started to settle down; here whimpering quieted and her shuddering lessened. After a few seconds, she finally calmed down and lifted her head, looking up at Raven inquisitively.
"That was just Shadow, he's a friend of mine, he won't hurt you, I promise." Raven reassured the hatchling, scratching her under the chin like one would a cat. She purred loudly and closed her eyes, wagging her tail happily.
A loud roar and crash in the front chamber made her jump and squeak in fear. She buried her head back in Raven's hand, whining loudly. Raven recognized the roar instantly and began to laugh.
"Don't worry, that was just Copper. He's even jumpier than you are and is very clumsy." Raven laughed, especially when the thought of him tripping earlier came back. The hatchling lifted her head and looked out into the chamber, cocking her head as she listened to the exchanging growls between the two Organoids. Yawning loudly, she curled back up in Raven's lap and fell asleep again.
Shadow walked out into the front chamber with a few questions for Copper as to why the hatchling had been able to sneak into the cave. Sure enough, Copper was sprawled out on the floor, snoring loudly and pawing slightly as he dreamed.
"COPPER!!" Shadow yelled as loud as he could right next to his friend's audio receptor.
"AAHHH!!" Copper screamed and flew upwards, smashing his head on the ceiling and falling back to the ground in a jumbled heap. He looked around franticly, trying to find out where the roar had come from. That's when he saw Shadow rolling on the floor with laughter.
"Oh, Copper, you're too easy!!" Shadow stopped on his back, but soon started rolling in laughter again.
"SHADOW!! THAT WASN'T FUNNY!!" he snarled at his friend, angry that he was being laughed at. Shadow just ignored him and kept on laughing. Eventually, he managed to stop himself long enough to try and speak.
"Okay… okay… I'll stop… I need to… ask you something…" Shadow managed between laughs as he got to his feet.
"Very well, what then?" Copper asked, clearly very annoyed.
"Oh, I don't know… oh yeah… WHY IS THERE A HATCHLING IN HERE?!" Shadow shouted.
"A WHAT?!" Copper gasped, jaw agape.
"Yeah, how did a hatchling manage to get in Raven's chamber while you were on lookout?!" Shadow snapped, narrowing his eyes.
"Hey, I can't help it if I'm tired! I fought the Red too, ya know!" Copper snapped back, also narrowing his eyes.
"True, but where did the hatchling come from?" Shadow asked, the venom gone from his voice.
"How should I know? Wait… it's in with Raven?!" Copper shouted, now afraid for Raven's safety.
"Yes, but she hasn't harmed him. She seems unusually trusting; she actually woke him up to play. I've never seen a hatchling so trusting of a human. I'll keep my eye on her, because she is young enough that she still needs to feed, so she could still be dangerous." Shadow assured his friend that Raven was okay and that the hatchling hadn't hurt him.
"Very strange… never heard of a hatchling doing that before. We still should keep a close eye on her, though, because you never really know with hatchlings, they could be cute and playful one second, then aggressive the next." Copper said seriously, doubting this hatchling Shadow was rambling about was really as harmless as he made her seem.
"She was terrified of me and she looked very thin and sorta sickly, I think she may have been abandoned or separated from her parents." Shadow said, again on a serious note.
"Poor thing…" Copper said quietly, "Can you be lookout for a few minutes? I'll be right back." Before Shadow could answer, he spread his coal-black wings and shot out of the cave.
"Humph… wonder why he's in such a hurry…" Shadow mumbled to himself, turning back towards Raven's chamber.
Raven watched the frail hatchling fall asleep in his lap. 'Baby Organoids are just like puppies, all they do is play and sleep…' he thought with a smirk, 'Except puppies aren't metal and don't look like dragons…' he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes with a sigh. He was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep.
Just as he started to fall asleep, he heard the hatchling whine and nuzzle his hand. He opened his eyes and looked down at the chick. She was staring at him with her light-green eyes, before she mewed loudly. Trying to calm her down, Raven scratched her under the chin, like one would a kitten. Instantly, she calmed down and closed her eyes, purring loudly. Suddenly, the hatchling's eyes flashed open and she squeaked loudly, cocking her head and staring at his arm.
"What? This?" Raven said quietly, holding out his arm so she could see the large slash he had received from the Red. The hatchling chirped and cocked her head, looking at it closely. Purring quietly, she started licking the wound; much like Shadow had his shoulder earlier. He cringed at first, but the pain faded as the hatchling spread some of the silvery-clear fluid over the wound. Cooing as she lifted her head, the hatchling chirped again and rubbed her head against his arm, much like a cat would.
"Thank you, I feel much better…" Raven said quietly and patted the chick's head. She closed her eyes and squeaked happily, wagging her thin tail like a puppy.
/Copper was sleeping on the job… again…/ Shadow grumbled, shaking his head as he entered the chamber.
"Is that how the hatchling managed to get in?" Raven asked, although he could pretty much guess the answer.
/Yeah… how is she? Has she bitten you or anything?/ Shadow asked, looking at the now-standing hatchling on his lap.
"No, in fact…" Raven held up his injured arm, "… she cleaned the slash on my arm."
/Let me see…/ Shadow said sternly, leaning down to get a better look at the wound, /Do you feel dizzy or lightheaded at all?/
"No… why?" Raven asked, not really understanding why he was asking.
/Well… a certain type of Organoid, called the Ago doku koori, can produce a powerful poison that looks harmless, but can knock you unconscious for hours. You sure you feel okay?/ Shadow asked again, narrowing his bright eyes slightly.
"Shadow, I feel fine!" Raven said again, thinking Shadow was just overreacting to the fact the hatchling had cleaned his wound. The chick squeaked loudly at Shadow's figure, but didn't panic like last time.
/If you say so… if you need me, I will be out in the main chamber waiting for Copper to return. You should get some rest, you need to keep your strength up/ Shadow said as he walked back out into the front chamber.
Raven leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes again. The hatchling yawned and curled back up on his lap. Soon both of them were fast asleep, and Shadow was having a hard time keeping his eyes open as he waited for Copper to return. Eventually, his eyes too closed, and his quiet snores filled the cavern. With everyone asleep, no one saw the dark figure of an Organoid approach the cave from the darkened, thundering sky…
.:End of Chapter 6:.
AN- Yay!! Long chappie!!XD Me and my cliffies…XD Isn't the new Organoid the cutest!!XD I love her to death! And you guys thought Orkari was the limit of my OC cuteness factor!XP It may take me a little longer to update, mainly because I'm going to my dad's tonight and I have to work from my mom's laptop. I'm sorta upset because there was a huge rock festival in Columbus over the weekend, with every band I love from Red to Shinedown!! And I couldn't go!! T.T I digress, I've also been sick the last few days. Please leave a nice review for me! As always… all flamers will be fed to my Organoids!! Please review; I want to know how I did and what you guys think so far!XD
Ibeyla:P