Submission (#7623) Approved

#83 Draw or write about your elnin or kittom looking after and caring for one of the fey-touched eggs that they have mysteriously appeared all across Eyre.

The sun peeked through the clouds, waking Quetzal far earlier than she would have liked. Yawning, she stretched and made her way out of her small tent, carefully stepping over her younger sister and father in order to not wake them. The past three days she had been traveling with her family down from Zevija to Bellmoril for the spring session at the academy in Il’durahan. They had passed through some of the worst of Kyendi’s jungles the day before and Adinah had insisted on taking a detour to visit the region’s floating islands. Quetzal could see them in the sky now, floating on the horizon, with rivers flowing off the edge of the cliff faces. Adinah was endlessly curious about how the islands stay afloat and Quetzal had to agree with her sister. It was curious. Where does the water keep coming from? It’s not like it can be connected to an cave stream like in Zevija.

Lost in thought as she gathered sticks to make a morning campfire, she stumbled as her foot made contact with something heavy and round. 

“Ow! What was that?” Looking down and brushing away the dirt, she saw a small stone in the shape of an egg. That itself wasn’t too strange, but the leaves wrapped around the stone secured with a ribbon stood out to her. Picking it up, Quetzal turned the stone round and round, following the strange patterns that seemed carved into the surface. Campfire quickly abandoned, she ran back to the tent and flung open the front flap. “Dad! Adinah! Look what I found!!”

It took her some time to rouse her family, shaking them and waving the stone in their groggy faces. “I think it’s magical! Dad, can you check?”

Slowly sitting up, Lyulf took the stone from his daughter’s paws and turned it over, examining the patterns just as she had. “It’s quite peculiar… Hang on.” He handed the stone to Adinah as he turned and dug around in his rucksack. Pulling out a magnifying glass, he took the stone back and peered closely at it. Quetzal held her breath as her father tapped on the stone, measuring the surface and scribbling in his journal. Finally he handed the stone back to her and began packing his bag again.

“Well? What is it?”

“I haven’t the foggiest. It’s possibly magical, but it could also be a trinket made by another elnin.” Lyulf pulled out some breakfast and divided it between his children. “You should hold onto it for now, Quetz. We can have someone take a look at it when we get back to the academy. Most of my tools are in my lab anyway. Or we can stop by Illrian, they should also have a pretty good analysis department.”

“I’ll take good care of it! Maybe it’s an egg and some fantastic beast will hatch out of it!” Instead of eating the food offered to her, Quetzal began to hunt through her pack for materials to keep her new egg safe.

“Suuuuure. And I’m a giant purple elephant.” Adinah rolled her eyes as she ate.

“Shut up. You got spooky magic after meeting that witch, why can’t I believe that this egg is something special.” Quetzal pulled a long scarf out of her bag and began to wrap it around herself, fashioning a sling for the egg so she could keep it safe while climbing up the floating islands. 

The day passed without much fuss and the three elnin continued their march towards the islands floating tantalizingly on the horizon. Shortly after setting off, Quetzal began to narrate to the egg, recounting everything they saw.

“We won’t pass the Kyendi elder tree until after we go to the islands, but it will be spectacular. Right now, we’re passing through the jungle. It’s super easy to get lost in this part of Kyendi, but it's great for treasure hunters cause there are so many ruins. Oh! There’s an ancient temple there. It’s got this really cool crumbling belltower. I wish you could see it, it would be so fun to explore together. The last time I went to a Kyendi ruin we got chased out by a ghost because Adinah was a scaredy cat.”

“Hey! Shut up! Don’t tell the egg I’m a scaredy cat! It’ll get a bad first impression of its aunt.” Ahead of her on the trail, Adinah had turned around, face now red with embarrassment.
“I thought you didn’t think it was an egg.” Quetzal smirked.

“I… I don’t. But just in case…”

“Awww it’s ok, you can just admit that I’m right. I know it's hard for you, so I won’t even make you say sorry.”

“How dare you!”

“Girls.” Lyulf’s clear voice cut through the squabble. “The trail is getting tough here, I need you to stick close to me. I don’t want either of you getting caught up in a vine tangle.”

“I’m trying, Dad. The egg is just kinda heavy.”  Quetzal ran to catch up with her father and sister.

“Have you considered putting the stone in your shadow with your pomu? I’m sure there’s enough room in there.”
“But Daaaaad. What if it breaks? Besides, I wouldn’t be a very good mom if I just tossed my baby in my shadow anytime it was inconvenient.” She paused, considering her options. If she put the egg in her shadow, she knew something bad would happen to it. Her pomu Chan was… less than delicate with items that she stored, and more often than not she would pull out an item with a new chip or crack. Adinah’s shadow was also out of the question, ever since it had become sentient. Her father’s pomu was the most careful which made sense since he was an adult, but his shadow was probably too full, since he was carrying lab equipment and stuff from home. That only left…“Dad! Can you carry the egg for me? You’re strong so it won’t slow you down.”

Lyulf looked down at his daughter and sighed. “I’m only going to do this because I want to make it to the floating islands on schedule. Once we get to Bellmoril, you’re back to carrying the stone. If it hatches into some strange creature, it’ll be your responsibility.” Quetzal quickly nodded her assent and helped her father fix the impromptu sling to his chest. 

“Thanks dad! I love you!” Quetzal, now no longer burdened by the heavy egg, took the lead walking down the jungle trail, continuing to rattle off details of the trees, plants, and occasional native animal that crossed her path.

“The things I do for my children,” Lyulf grumbled as the three headed towards the towering mountains and the islands floating in between them.