shellphones | video

Type: Video
Sender ID: Khalid |

deepstar
To: General
Subject: Hatching Time
Warnings: None

[ Initially, only Claude's face appears on the feed, alongside is wyvern. She is resting her chin on his shoulder and that hand of his is giving her a pat pat pat. So much patting. ]

I'm sure you all remember me talking about this several moons ago, but hey! The time finally came. I was starting to get a little worried, considering I have no clue what the incubation time for wyvern eggs are here. Everything went smoothly though, I promise. They actually hatched a few days ago, but I wanted to give them some time.

[ Now the video feed shifts, away from Khalid and Azita, and onto the little baby wyverns. Special guest star Leona is also present, already holding a small lizard in his arms. Seems like it's already attached. There's another one, in Claude's arm. ]

Leona and I are going to be co-parenting these kids for a little while so -

[ Unfortunately, Claude gets cut off. With Leona shoving the man's face, ears folded back. ]

Don't say it like that.

[ Too bad Khalid is unbothered, catching Leona's hand and winking. ]

Sorry, gorgeous. I meant co-parenting the hatchlings. [ Another laugh and moving right along. He's looking at the camera once more, ignoring the grumbling from behind him. ] As you all can probably tell, one little one is spoken for. I don't know about this one, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Ironic that they'd hatch while we're having issues with wild wyverns.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I heard a bit about that, though I think a baby wyvern and some guy you have a grudge match with are two different things.

Maybe you should ask him why it likes him so much.

Oh believe me, I will, though there is a chance he will be rather stubborn about actually answering me honestly about it.

[Same for the other question Azul wants to ask right now, but... for now, just openly shittalking Leona because that's the normal thing Azul Ashengrotto should be doing instead of asking about that...]

"Rather stubborn" is kind of putting it mildly. Who knows. You might be surprised.

Oh, I know I could have phrased it a different way, but I don't think he would have appreciated it otherwise.

[Azul, Leona can see and hear everything you are literally saying right now as we speak...]

Ah, you should just come right out and say it. The expression he'll have is priceless either way.

Say what? That he's obstinate, uncooperative, or as ornery as a mule, or however the land expression goes when it comes to a dear classmate trying to get a straight answer from him? That might be too rude of me to say here...

[Except he literally just did, because Azul knows exactly what he's doing here.]

Honestly? I think you might've been a little too nice about it.

Oh? Then, what words would you have used instead, if what I said was considered "too nice"?

Trying to get him to say anything sometimes is like pulling teeth. Other times you'd have an easier time threading a needle with an elephant than getting him to open up. He's so set in his ways and mindsets that not even the sweetest siren song could get him to change his mind?

Threading a needle with a... is that another land expression? I don't think I've heard that one before.

[... does azul even know what an elephant is, actually, now that I'm thinking about it... yana toboso I need to know, this is in fact vital lore information I need now--]

... Regardless, the point still stands in that you are indeed correct about all of those things, Khalid-san. Even with as many songs I've tried to sing to get him to change his tune myself, if you'll pardon me for borrowing that particular phrasing in this instance.

[though, calling himself a siren is perhaps a little too much, even if he is a merman from the sea... but if its for the purposes of making a joke at Leona's expense, then why not]

The actual term is "camel," but I've already had to explain what one of those are to someone and I'm not sure that I want to do that. Also, an elephant is bigger so I wanted to make the analogy even more implausible.

[ Vital lore information, ah huh shore. ]

So wait. Are you like. A siren or something?

[Azul proceeds to give Claude the blankest look... there is equally a chance that Azul does not know what a camel is either in addition to elephants.

But anyway, moving on--at that question, Azul frowns a little.]

You already know what I am.

[......... but after a moment, he answers vaguely--]

Music is a large part of our culture, so it's uncommon for there to be one of us that is incapable of singing or at least playing an instrument.

[Or even capable of both, in Azul's case.]

Well yeah, sure. Music is a large part of most cultures, isn't it? That's not what I'm asking though.

Do your sweet, dulcet tones have a hypnotic effect? A soothing one?

Oh no, not at all. I may be able to sing, and certainly I'd like to think that my quality of singing can be soothing depending on the song... but that kind of hypnotism you're thinking of? That's not really my thing.

I don't know. That's usually the tale that sailors speak of involving certain things that come from the sea. So I figure I'd ask you instead of assume when you say that. Makes more sense that way.

[Azul's not saying it can't be done, but it would require a mer that not only has the magical aptitude for it, but was born with magic capable of giving their voice a hypnotic quality. Or one that can cast a complex spell or brew an intricate potion to temporarily give themselves that kind of singing ability, which Azul can do if he wanted to... but he isn't going to mention that.]

To be fair, it is a convenient tale to tell when trying to keep those sailors from intruding on the territories of far more dangerous denizens of the sea with their ships... not that it ever seems to really stop them, given the amount of sunken ships that can be found at the bottom of the ocean once in a while.

You know... I was going to say that it's just a myth where I come from anyway. Sirens and merfolk don't actually exist.

And yet I'm pretty hesitant to actually day that.

Really? Interesting...

[Azul thinks he can remember the Ramshackle prefect saying that merfolk did not exist in their own world either before they ended up in Twisted Wonderland. Just myths about them... it seems that distinction is a lot more common than he had thought.]

Interesting in what sense?

Hearing people say that mermaids don't exist in their own world... you're not the first person to have told me that. I must admit, I wasn't actually expecting for mermaids to be considered that rare among some individuals, given the fact they exist here, and in my own world of course. It's interesting, and a little surreal, I suppose...

Imagine me hearing that about wyverns. They're standard where I come from and yet so many places don't have them.

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