tempting newborns

Of course they had seen the giant bird before. Especially the ever inquisitive Dusk who was always sticking her nose into something new. Her parents had told her all about her big, feathery brother and she was dying to meet him. Being let loose in the castle was such a mental stimulant, however, that the tiny black inkblot completely forgot that her bird brother existed!

Without an ounce of grace, Dusk slammed into the stones at the bottom of the stairs. It was a good thing that puppies were bouncy and she uttered little more than a huffy Oof before she was scrambling across the stones once more. Fire opal eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open in awe as her gaze landed upon the massive avian.

"Woooooowwwww..." she whispered, eyes twinkling as she approached Zephyrus. "Big brother, You're so pretty! Can I touch your feathers? Can I have one? Do you think I could grow feathers some day? What are you doing down here all by yourself?" The little soot stain began to wiggle excitedly and soon couldn't help but start bouncing around in circles like a lunatic. "Do you wanna play with me? What can we do?!" Yeah... Dusk had a lot of energy, but she was just so excited to be alive and to have such a cool big brother!

"Dusk Carpathius"