Chapter Five: Copper Wings
Year 203 of the 82nd Era, The Era of the Dying Lands; e82-203
Mid Spring
Savannah of Yellow Flowers; Edge of the Yellow Petal River
Thunder boomed overhead, and lightning filled the sky. The storm building throughout the day had broken not long ago, and it only worsened. Torrents of rain fell from the sky, and the wind howled through the trees, blasting against a cliffside. Within an alcove on the side of the cliff, a family of skyborn were huddled.
They were Skyborn, Tail of Nothing, Wings for the Sea, Heart of Embers, Crest of Flames. Large skyborn without a tail, known for their large but simple crests and wide wings that could take them over the sea for many hours during their hunts for food.
Mother and father, blue and ashy-red, were huddled in the deepest part of the alcove. Between them, six newly hatched nymphs were gathered, the last and smallest egg nestled amongst the warmth of its family. The nymphs had broken out of their shells throughout the past few days. The latest hatched was an empress of dusky-maroon. She had broken from her shell just as the storm had broken. The rest of the nymphs were shades of ashy-red, with one blue and another dusky-jasper mixed among them.
"Is that the other…" the ashy-red father questioned, his unsaid question weighing heavily on his dusky-osmium-blue mate.
"I believe so." The mother leaned forward, oh-so-gently brushing the egg with her beak. "It's a bit cool, but the nymph is still alive. I can feel them, Dusk. We'll surely have all seven children in our family."
"Such a big clutch…" Dusk mumbled, another meaning lingering on his words. He raised his faded-tawny beak to the ceiling, watching as the rainwater misted the rocks from outside. A droplet of water fell onto his faded-ashy-persimmon head, sliding down his face before it was absorbed into the ruffle of pale-caramel pycnofibers around his neck.
A caw of another skyborn of their kind pierced the air. A dusky-jasper emperor appeared at the alcove's edge, wings and pycnofibers drenched from the pouring rain. His burnt-gold eyes roved the darkness, first stopping on the six nymphs before rising to meet the same burnt-gold gaze of the empress.
"I missed their hatching? All of them?" His voice cracked. "I promised…I promised."
"There's still one more, Sunstone." The blue empress nudged aside some of the nymphs to reveal the tiny, lone egg. "You've been gone for so long…."
"Is…is it okay? It's so small and…" he hobbled deeper into the alcove and laid a wing onto the egg. "Cold."
"I'm…not sure, but I'm sure it will hatch, eventually, if we keep it warm. But here…" She gently pushed the nymphs toward him with her beak. "Come meet your nieces and nephews, Sunstone." She tapped the head of the last hatched nymph, the dusky-maroon empress. "This is Garnet where Hearts are Enflamed."
"Gar-Garnet? You named her after…." Sunstone's eyes shined with tears.
"We've given you too much grace if you ask me," Dusk mumbled from where he stood over the lone egg, silently watching his mate and her brother.
The empress ignored her mate and tapped each of her other nymphs with her beak, listing their names. All of them were emperors. The dusky-jasper one was Jasper in Earth is Enthralled; the dim-ocean-blue one was Iolite where Twilight is Embraced; the ashy-red one was Rhodolitel in Ocean is Nurtured, the dim-russet one was Beryl within Flames are Enkindled, and the other ashy-red one was Spessartine in Sunset is Illuminated.
"They are all wonderful, sister." Sunstone smiled at his clutchsibling. "Sapphire where Ocean is Reflected, and Dusk amidst Flames is Awakened, you both have produced wonderful offspring. And…and there is still one more left to hatch. One more."
"Yes, Sunstone where Secrets are Veiled. You have kept Sapphire and I's secret, so at least I must give you that. I don't know what we would do if your father found out what has happened between us."
Sapphire nuzzled her mate's neck. "I can't believe we did this." She swept her children close, gathering them around the last egg. "Us. Together. It happened. Not only just…together but with children too. Oh, our wonderful children."
Dusk smiled, but it didn't quite reach his shadowed-moss eyes. "I know, Sapphire. I can't believe this all happened too, but…I can't believe you let your arrogant clutchbrother in on the secret."
"That couldn't be helped. He found us out, and the only way to keep his beak shut was to let him in on the whole thing. Besides, we're keeping a secret for him too." Sapphire gazed at the lone egg that had yet to show signs of hatching. "I'd say we're even."
"You'd get in far more trouble with your father than he would. Not only are you the first hatched and next leader of your flock, but you're the only empress of your siblings. You are the most precious of the bunch. I still can't believe we got away with all of this. You are my everything, Sapphire where Ocean is Reflected."
"As are you to me, Dusk amidst Flames is Awakened." Sapphire nuzzled her mate's neck, cooing softly. "Our younger brother will take over. He'll be a far better leader than Sunstone or me."
"I am beside you, Sister," Sunstone grunted. "I can hear everything you said about me. I can't believe you couldn't see me as a perfect leader. Say, I would unite all skyborn, and we could rule the world one day. You've heard of those strange, wonderful, magical crystals before, yes? Shards?"
"I don't want to hear any more about it, Sunstone," Dusk mumbled under his breath, shooting the other emperor a sharp glare. "No more of that nonsense." The ashy-red male leaned over the last of the eggs, covering it with his wing as he locked eyes with his mate's brother.
"Pterano!" A strange bellow called out. "Pterano!" It wasn't in the tongue of the skyborn, not Thundertongue or Lightningtongue. It was one of the languages of the earthborn, Leaftongue.
Dusk's gaze narrowed, a 'tsk' slipping from his beak. "I still can't believe you gave yourself a ridiculous name like that for the earthborn to call you. Sunstone or Sun would have been just fine. But…Pterano? Where in the sky's name did you come up with that?"
"A dream." The dusky-jasper emperor waddled to the alcove entrance, peering at the creature below. In Leaftongue, he called out to the female. "I am all right, Mrs. Longneck, and so is my family. You keep your eggs safe now. The storm is getting worse."
Below, a dark-ashy-scarlet whiptail longneck stood. Beside her was a nest of four eggs. Two elder longnecks stood beside her, along with two crystalborn, one an adult and one a child.
"A very curious family if you ask me," Sunstone noted, switching back to his native Thundertongue. "But very caring." He stared out the alcove, watching as lightning lit up the darkness of the night. "My, my, what brutal weather we are having, but we needed the rain, didn't we? And it's nothing to keep me out of the skies, but first…." He turned to the lone egg, finally taking it in as he stood over it.
The rest of the nymphs stared at Sunstone with blurry eyes, not quite understanding what was going on, but seeing as neither of their parents was concerned about him, they let him beside the last egg.
"Look," Sunstone breathed, pressing his washed-honey beak to the top of the egg. "I see a crack." He looked up at his sister, burnt-gold eyes gleaming with pride and hope. "It's still alive. It'll hatch, and we'll have one big happy family."
The family huddled around the last egg, breath-baited, waiting for a quiver in the shell. Sapphire gently prodded the egg with her beak, carefully picking open the tiniest cracks that had formed. She cooed softly to the nymph inside. A soft chirp replied, but the egg stayed still.
"It seems they don't want to come out of their shell," Sapphire mused, leaning back in confusion as she gathered the rest of her children around her.
"Maybe they know…." Sunstone mumbled. He leaned close to the egg, giving his own soft coo. The egg shifted a bit, and the topmost part of the nymph's beak emerged from the shell. Thunder boomed, and the beak immediately withdrew. Still, Sunstone stared at his sister, tears glittering in his eyes once more. "They now." He mouthed.
"It doesn't matter. I'm their mother, and I will care for them just like the rest of my children, no matter who they turn out to be. Now, come on, little one. No need to be scared. I know there's lots of noise, but your siblings are waiting for you. Your mama, papa, and uncle are waiting. Come on." Sapphire pulled the egg close to her soft body, gently humming a tune.
Nonetheless, the family waited for some time. Thunder boomed, lightning flashed, and the wind howled. Some of the oldest hatched nymphs began to doze off while the younger ones shifted around, a bit more confused about their surroundings. The youngest, Garnet, chirped at her mother, hunger dancing in her eyes.
"I know, my little Garnet. I'll get you some food as soon as your sibling hatches. I want to ensure they are okay, and then Papa and Uncle will go out and get you some food. Does that sound good?" Without waiting for a reply from the nymph, Sapphire nuzzled the top of Garnet's head.
Finally, chips of the eggshell fell away, revealing a faded-tawny head. Before Sapphire could stop her brother, Sunstone was upon the egg, chipping away the rest until the hatchling was between his wings. The nymph looked so much like him. The same faded-beige ruffle of pycnofibers around their neck, faded-tawny skin, and washed-honey beak. Even their dusky-copper wings were closer to his dusky-jasper than Dusk's ashy-red wings.
"He looks so much like me. Could…could I name him, sister?"
Dusk shifted beside his mate, but Sapphire softly nodded to her clutchbrother. "You may."
"I would like to name him Copper through Wind is Whispered." Sunstone held Copper close, a lone tear slipping from his eye. "He's so small. Are you sure he'll survive the night?"
"Don't think like that, Brother." Sapphire took the last hatched nymph from Sunstone. "He'll survive, just like all of us have. He might be small, but I'm sure he'll have the same courage and strength to live on." Sapphire raised the hatchling to eye level. He shrank away, more shivers of fear raking his body. "I know, little Copper. I know."
"You know…" Sapphire looked up at her brother. "Mother always said that you were this small when you hatched. Now look at you. I'm sure Copper will do just fine."
"Sapphire is right. You were born small." Dusk muttered, taking Copper from his mate and pressing him to the warmth of his belly. "I was old enough to remember your hatching."
Sunstone huffed. "And to think my sister produced offspring with an old bastard like you."
This time, Dusk simply chuckled, some tension drawn away after seeing the last egg hatch. The emperor still couldn't believe that he had created all these children with the love of his life. The love of his life who was from a rival flock. Not only a rival flock but the daughter of the commander. And he…he was an outcast, flung from his flock when he disobeyed his father and allowed something terrible to happen. He was barely an adolescent then, and it weighed heavily on him nearly every moment.
Dusk shifted his wings, feeling every scar that littered his body. Some were clearly visible on his ashy-red back, only a thin layer of pycnofibers covering his dorsum. Others were covered by the thick, softer faded-ashy-persimmon pycnofibers of his torso. Even his face wasn't left unmarred, but at least he still had his eyes.
The emperor turned to his mate, smiling softly at her as the memory of their first meeting bubbled to the surface, pushing away the horrible memories of his banishment. He had been late into his adolescence, some years after Dusk had been banished from his flock. Sapphire was just beginning her adolescence. He had been surviving on his own and had even joined a loosely formed flock of other rogue skyborn like him. Most were at least Wings for the Sea, like him, but not all. The flock performed horrendous deeds, but Dusk had nowhere else to turn. A flock was better than being a loner.
One day, Dusk had been scouting for his new flock when he saw something. It was another skyborn and one of an exotic blue color. A small sharptooth stood before her, posed to strike, but she couldn't escape, her wing trapped under a rock. Dusk divebombed the sharptooth, leaving a nasty gash in its back. Again and again, he attacked until the empress freed her wing. Instead of flying away, she joined the assault until the sharptooth relented and sprinted away.
There, the pair introduced themselves. They did not part ways until night had nearly fallen. Dusk had learned so much about her but had given little information about himself. Nonetheless, they bowed to meet again in the coming days, and so they did. Eventually, Dusk revealed his past to her, and Sapphire was understanding of his past actions. A strange form of romance kindled between the two. It was hesitant, but both could feel the passion shared between them. There were just so many obstacles holding them back.
The ashy-red emperor couldn't stop himself. One night, he posed the question — he asked if Sapphire would be his lifemate. Obviously, she said yes. Still, there had been so many issues with that answer. Not only was the blue empress the only daughter of her flock's leader, but she had also been arranged to become mates with a male from another flock. Either way, it seemed everything was working out so far. Still, Sapphire had to return to her flock by morning, unable to tell anyone but her clutchbrother what had transpired. Dusk hoped that the rain would last into the morning so that his mate had an excuse to stay longer with their seven children.
Dusk's eyes locked on the dusky-jasper emperor sitting at the entrance of their alcove. Sunstone… The male was arrogant and kept just as many secrets as his clutchsister. Dusk thought nothing of those secrets, for they were Sunstone's problems, for the most part.
Still… The ashy-red emperor ushered some of his children to the warmth and softness of his belly, a worry gnawing at the pit of his stomach. Sapphire would have to leave her children sooner than later, whether tomorrow or the next day after. She would have to leave and act as if nothing had happened. She and her brother would have to go about their duties as children of the flock's commander, and she would eventually have to meet her arranged lifemate in the upcoming moon-cycles.
Those thoughts left a heavy sigh gusting from Dusk's lungs. Morning would bring forth the next issues of the day, and he and his growing family would deal with them as best as possible. Sapphire had plans of leaving her flock soon, and Sunstone seemed to have other, strange plans in mind for himself that he didn't quite reveal, even to his sister.
Dusk stared out the alcove, watching as lightning flashed and the boom of thunder shook his hollow bones. He just had to enjoy the current moment until it ended.