creaturesaga

[creaturesaga]

I’m so sad I got distracted by life with this one! The pictures for the previous story are gone as is the save since I had to get a brand new laptop, but I wouldn’t be opposed to setting up a different run. Maybe with multiple clans in various biomes? Good? Yes? No?

[creaturesaga]

A Blue Bloodline

While all of these goings-on from before were taking place, Malexa had slipped from the group to visit a place unknown to the rest of them. Not many returned from these solo journeys, so seeing her triumphantly trek back to play with her friend Genevieve was a relief.

This would be the only tranquil lull that the grasslands would see for a little while that fall.

Moments before Malexa had returned home, Dorothy was set to lay an egg, with Bernie as the father. After her return, the egg had been laid.

After she laid the egg, it seemed as though Dorothy’s personality had completely changed. Malexa, a naturally curious norn, had wandered closer to the egg to try and touch it, maybe even pick it up. Without hesitation, Dorothy began to hit Malexa to scare her away from it. Genevieve was lucky enough to know better than to do such a thing, and excused herself from the scene.

Once Malexa was far enough away, Dorothy made a point to carry the egg a little further into the grasslands, among the flowers where seeds and animals were in abundance. Once she was satisfied with the new location, she settled down next to the egg to wait for her first baby to be born.

Meanwhile, Bernie’s and Genevieve’s daughter Pery is born. It didn’t take her long to learn her surroundings and how to take care of herself. 

Malexa was Pery’s first target to her curiosity, planting kisses on her and hanging about her as much as she could for a few moments. Malexa was flattered by the attention and played with the little one until Pery decided to explore elsewhere.

Shortly after, Zennammu, the son of Dorothy and Bernie, was born. He wasted no time exploring the grasslands, keeping more to himself than Pery did.

Thrilled with Zennammu’s birth, Bernie and Dorothy set for a second baby.

Dorothy decided to make the trek closer to where she was born to lay her egg. On the way there, she discovered Pery roaming about the area. There was a brief silence from both of them before Dorothy started to hit Pery.

Dorothy continued to hit Pery over and over, and showed no signs of stopping. Frightened, Pery attempted to duck into the room just behind them, the Learning Room.

As though on a hunt, Dorothy followed Pery immediately to continue hitting her. But before she could take another step, Dorothy was unable to ignore the need to lay her egg any longer, and departed.

The still-terrified Pery was able to learn an extensive new vocabulary thanks to the Learning Room. And, once Dorothy had calmed down, she came back to learn the same material. They stayed with the machine for quite some time, until Pery thought it best to run home again. Dorothy stayed hot on Pery’s tail, following her back to the grasslands.

Perhaps Dorothy didn’t like the thought of Bernie having a daughter that wasn’t her own. Either way, it was a rare occasion of violence that had never occurred until now.

Dorothy’s and Bernie’s daughter, Amanni, was born. She was one of the few norns to learn how to hunt other animals, wasting no time on smaller creatures. The grasshopper and woodpigeon pictured here, faced a similar end. Though young and small, this norn was fascinatingly hardy and much more aggressive than her elders. 

Soon after, Bernie and Genevieve prepared to lay another egg.

Bernie seemed to take enjoyment from Tito not being able to impress anyone thusfar. Tito did his best not to show it, but it was very clear he was unhappy. Fights between the two for the affection of another were rare, but usually ended in Bernie as the winner, leaving Tito to sit quietly on the sidelines to let the victor do as he wished.

And now, after Addy’s demise, the majority of the norns now lived in the grasslands, under the watchful eyes of Bernie. And it seemed like his bloodline would be the most dominant one of them all.

[creaturesaga]

Old and New

Sometimes these sorts of back-to-back losses cause for new additions to make sure the story doesn’t come to an immediate halt. I know that we’re not technically to intervene when things like this happen, but a little nudge here and there will never hurt.

And so, two similar norn girls, Elsinire and Dorothy, are born.

The first to discover them was Devon. Perhaps he heard the babbling and laughter of babies on his way to the grasslands and decided to check in. 

Without hesitation, Devon took the two children to meet Cerise in the hills before the girls moved on to explore the rest of the landscape.

Genevieve, Tito and Bernie huddled together for warmth in the grasslands.Genevieve seemed to be a master at camouflage already without even trying. If anything, maybe she took outstanding notes from Tito who blended in well with the bluebells. Bernie at least attempted the same thing , but he could’ve used some work.

The arrival of the little ones led to a brief meeting between the hill residents and the grasslands residents, who mingled together for the first time in a long while. All except Cerise.

Cerise, who did not move since finding the hills, passed away quietly deep in the grasses. Devon returned to find Cerise there and flinched, not seeming to know what to do next. He ate a meal, played the jukebox, one of his favorite toys, and laid down in the grasses next to Cerise. With a pained, quiet whine, he also passed away.

Back in the grasslands, Bernie became the first to realize that the stylistic lift nestled in the grasses still worked. He took the opportunity to relax away from Tito. The young Bondi norn would consistently play the harp at Bernie (maybe to woo Bernie or just to pacify him. The reasoning is unclear.),  and snuggle up to Bernie all the time much to his annoyance). The lift led him to a treehouse laden with goodies. The piano caught his attention for a little while, although he was admittedly not the next Bach by a longshot.

New arrivals with new genes suddenly take the scene! Nannette and Malexa, the newest Siamese norns, were whisked into the lands. Malexa learned to eat rather quickly, happily eating any critters she could find and catch (grasshoppers and butterflies, mainly), making her a rather good hunter. Nannette seemed to get the handle of playing with the strange gadgets that surrounded them, and learning their functions somewhat. The two gave each other friendly, encouraging kisses as they traveled the lower tunnels of the sparse nursery together.

And as soon as new arrivals show, there’s another loss. Elsinire passed away in the hills, next to an unsuspecting Dorothy. However, what’s still odd about this, is that every last death had taken place up to this point, took place in these hills. Maybe it was a tradition. The sick, old or brokenhearted went here to die.

And on top of that, it was only the hills’ long-standing residents that would die. Never the grasslanders. The reasoning for this is still being determined.

After Bernie returned from his trip to the teahouse, he set to gaining the affection of Genevieve. Whatever he spent his time thinking about in the treehouse, it must’ve been enough to clear his mind for him to try and attract someone. Tito, almost as a payback to Bernie for the interruptions with Ella, immediately began to encroach on Bernie’s personal space. 

Unlike Bernie, however, Tito was unsuccessful. The baby of Bernie and Genevieve would be the second of the next generation. And they would hatch at any moment.

[creaturesaga]

A weird turn of events.

Aside from the Astro norns and their immediate avoidance of one another, life is incredibly peaceful among the entire group. No hitting or running away from one another, and they tend to teach one another things when possible. The two groups hardly venture past their declared territories.

Which is why there was some confusion about Addy returning to the grasslands to chatter at Bernie.

Tito and Bernie had the chance to chat at Addy as she indulged in foods and playing with toys she couldn’t get in the hills.For a while, she hung around Bernie in particular, trying to talk repeatedly. Whatever she was saying, it was important enough for Bernie to talk back to her. Right after that, Addy returned to the hills, reuniting with Devon and Cerise.

Moments after returning, she passed away. At least it looked like she went peacefully.

Time passed and everyone continued to grow. They still didn’t speak anything that we could ever understand, but they were entertaining to watch and listen to anyway. The grasslands became a little more lively as time went on. Tito became more interested in Ella, trying to woo her whenever he got the chance. At the same time, Bernie kept close to her and tried to hit Tito to try and scare him away from her. However, he never tried to court Ella himself, just hung around her eating and playing with toys as they always did. 

Overtime, it became apparent that Ella was uncomfortable with this attention, and she fled for the hills as soon as she could, ignoring the two males.

Ella stayed in the hills for quite some time, getting along well with her two new friends Devon and Cerise. She did return to the grasslands as Addy once did, to sneak in a special meal or two she couldn’t get in the hills.

Tito spotted her before Bernie, and moved in quick. He jumped on the opportunity to play the harp, which can tug at a Norn’s emotions and help them become more passionate.

The first attempt, Ella just stared at him before continuing to eat. He tried again and she finally seemed fed up, heading back to the hills. Even from the hillside, she could still hear Tito desperately playing the harp to call her back. 

Eventually, Tito gave up and returned to Bernie. Bernie didn’t seem too happy that Tito was harassing his best friend and made it known by slapping the mess out of him for a moment. 

Ella returned to the hillside much later on, followed closely behind by Devon. Tito tried his strategy again to woo Ella. Instead, it set the mood for the two visitors. And so Devon and Ella became the first parents in the lands.

They returned to celebrate with their good friend Cerise. Whatever Ella had to say about Devon must have been good. But we can only guess.

Almost in a weird attempt to redeem his failure, Tito attempted to try his courtship tactics on Bernie. Bernie not only seemed disinterested, but hit him as a response. Don’t worry, Tito. Someone’s got to be out there for you.

Way down in the grasslands, away from all the other Norns and hidden in the flowers and tall grass, the egg hatched.

And Genevieve was born. Only moments after, Ella passed away quietly in the hills, just as Addy had in the past.

Devon and Cerise stayed relatively closer after that, looking like they were attempting to comfort one another in the loss of their loved one. 

It seems like none of them have discovered anything outside their little home yet. Maybe the newest addition to the lands will brave the world to find out what else is out there.

[creaturesaga]

The beginning of something weird.

This is an idling story. Creatures hatched by an unknown force and travel the lengths of a strange, lush area. Most will undoubtedly be content with what’s in the forested lands, but maybe some of them will become antsy and work to find out what else is stowed away here.

But that will take time, and a hungry curiosity. Until then, we can enjoy their babysteps.

In the warmth of a strange room, two eggs hatched. Two Astro norns - the blue one named Bernie and the purple one, Addy.

Once they got their bearings and learned how to crawl, they quickly set to work on learning the basics, like eating and playing with items they found in the area. After they’d learned to walk, they came across an egg-shaped item, just down the smooth tunnel. Using it lifted them into a new area, filled with fauna and flora. And more food, too. 

They didn't waste any time getting away from each other at that point. For whatever reason, Addy fled to the hilly area far left of the woods  and Bernie settled in the grasslands. Even when placed together again, they made an immediate effort to get away from one another. 

The others weren't hatched until Bernie and Addy grew up a little. The Siamese norns, Devon and Cerise, got along astoundingly better. Eating and playing side by side, giving each other friendly kisses almost as if to praise one another for doing something good. They even taught each other about drinking out of little cups, careful not to burn themselves. Tea in a peaceful place like this - perfect. Once they’d grown up some, they left to join Addy in her strange dwelling in the hills.

Ella and Tito hatched after that, and unlike the others, are a wildcard pair. Ella's a Fallow norn while Tito is a Bondi. They also got along really well right out of the gate. They stayed together and learned to eat and play, just like the Siamese pair. Tito took the first steps to learning that some animals were edible (like grasshoppers). Ella followed suit and, after the first bug, began gobbling down any other moving bug she came across. 

After learning to walk, they ended up going to the grasslands, too, and Bernie seemed to watch over them carefully. From time to time he was spotted moving after the two if they got too far away, as if trying to round them up so they didn’t run off. 

So now the lush lands are separated - hills and grasslands. (”Leaders” have been bolded.)

Hills:

Addy Devon Cerise

Grasslands:

Bernie Tito Ella