G
W
A
I
H
I
R

Click click click click….

The egg had been clicking all day. Megaera had first noticed it on her morning patrol and it was now approaching late afternoon. The hours since it had started had seemed to stretch, on day they seemed like two, and Meg was growing more and more restless with each passing minute. The egg was small, no bigger than her hoof, a creamy white mottled with brown spots, and it was terrifying to the bold mare. For nearly two weeks she had kept it tucked safely underneath her wings but until today she hadn’t really stopped to think what her rescue of the egg would mean. It had merely pulled at her, some unseen force or guide that had compelled her to dangle over the side of a short cliff and snatch the thing from a ruined nest.

She thought of all the companions she had met along with their equine counterparts. Mara, Inari, and even Veci (though she had to take Hector’s word that the mysterious creature was actually there) all had had a connection, had formed a lasting bond and partnership with the ones who had found their eggs, would the same thing happen now, to Meg? Or had she just picked up a stray bird? Either way, she couldn’t forsake the little creature now.

Click click click click….

With her duties done for the day, Meg had been unable to stand still in the rapid upswing of anticipation. Bustling about the edge of the oasis, she had gathered a large pile of leaves and grasses and tried to shove them together. The result was a sorry excuse for a nest, but it still made a soft place to lay down her little charge while she paced around it. She’d chosen a shady spot, but the Desert summer has hot enough to keep everything at what she assumed was an appropriate temperature. She surely didn’t know much about hatching eggs, but Meg knew enough about Dragon’s Throat to know sticking a newborn chick into direct desert sunlight would probably roast the poor thing.

Click click click click….

A flicker of movement brought Meg’s pacing to a dead stop and she scampered over to stand above the makeshift nest. Captivated, she held her head low, watching, waiting, as a spot on the creamy shall twitched and then fell away to reveal a tiny hole and a small. The mare held her breath and the egg emitted a sharp “Charrp!”

- - -

“Megaera Speaking”
“Gwaihir making adorable eaglet noises”

Notes: Anyone's welcome and encouraged to join!