Sparks Form

When bringing back creatures from long dead bones and stones, mistakes were bound to be made. Especially when you wanted something to be as accurate as possible. Many “flawed” batches and mistakes were made before the perfect specimen and formula was found. Most of these mistakes were never alive in the first place, the flaw spotted before they were even fully developed. However, some were not caught until the specimen was fully developed at which point they were sealed far away, deep in the facility with no other thought cast to their existence. 

That was the case with this attempted batch of TAP-T339, Tapejara decaelo. Too much bird DNA had been put into their batch, resulting in an “unnatural” abundance of feathers and a much smaller size than preferred. The mistake had been caught too late, no one realizing until the hatchlings had burst from their shells. Quickly they were stored away, sealed into cryo chambers deep in the facility where no one could stumble upon them by accident. And there they stayed for years- past the abandoning of the islands, past the freedom of the other flyers, past the storms. Finally, after the labs were finally broken into and the backup power was shut off, the storage was finally accessible. 

But even then, it was not a quick awakening. It was not long before a desperate carnivore found the room no longer obstructed by a powered door, and made its way inside. There it found the unguarded cryo chambers- an easy feast. Nine pods were broken into, nine hatchlings were consumed before they could even wake up for the first time. The only reason it did not become 10 was because the predator made a mistake- while trying to break into one chamber, it broke another open in its frustration. Falling to the ground, the chamber groaned and cracked as its door finally fell open. 

Ignis was born in the cold. It was all he knew- cold filling his lungs, his eyes, his mouth. Suddenly he was, where he had never been- not since his first moments, struggling out of an unforgiving eggshell alongside his siblings. Coughing and sputtering Ignis dragged himself out of the still freezing pod, desperately pulling himself to his feet and flapping his wings in small bursts in an attempt to feel them again. Where was he? It was so cold, and so dark. Where were his clutchmates? He had known them, felt their still damp feathers press together as they clung together after their hatching to dry. Where were they? Why were they not by his side? 

Slowly, Ignis became away of a crunching sound as an especially loud sound rang out, causing him to stagger back and look around in confusion. What was that? Peering around, the first thing he caught sight of was something. Something much bigger than him, tall and lean and covered in scales. Its head was stuffed into a pod, similar to the one he had just come out of. As he watched, Ignis became aware of a strange scene of the air. It was horrible, metallic and overwhelming and no matter how much he shook his head he could not shake it off. The hatchling squeaked in distress, calling out for his siblings. Where were they?

The other creature suddenly moved backwards, seemingly becoming aware of Ignis at his sound of distress. Ignis stared as its head back out from the metal shell, swiveling around to stare right at him. In its mouth hung a wing- small and splattered with darker spots and stripes of brighter colors- a wing near identical to Ignis’s own. Alarm bells were going off in the hatchlings head as he backed up slowly, nearly fully overcome by fear. The creatures eyes were hungry- over its head hung a large crest, curved and making it all the more menacing. With a single toss of its head it threw the rest of the wing into its mouth before suddenly exploding into a motion with a roar, throwing itself at Ignis.

Panicking, Ignis ran. He was slow, oh so slow, but he was small and unpredictable. A breath of fowl air hit him as the creature missed, its jaws clamping down a mere inch from Ignis’s wing as he threw himself out of the way. Its claws came next, but they were unable to reach low enough to grab the hatchling as he bobbed and weaved. Desperately, Ignis looked around for anywhere to hide, anywhere he could be safe. There- between two slightly glowing pods, a gap big enough for him to squeeze into. Quickly Ignis slid his way underneath, a loud metal thud ringing out as the carnivore slammed itself into the pod in an attempt to reach him.

Furious, the carnivore snarled as it claws and bit against the metal pod in a fit of fury. One of its hits smacked off a loose panel, allowing it just enough room to reach a forelimb in but revealing a nest of wires. Ignis shrieked as a claw scraped him, thankfully hooking only feathers. There was nowhere left to go. Pressed against the wall, Ignis looked up fearfully as the claw descended back in. 

However, something went wrong this time- wires tangled and looped around the creatures claws, causing it to snarl and pull back in frustration. And there must have been some power left in the system- because sparks flew. And the room was far from considered fire safe anymore.

Ignis watched as the creature screamed in pain as a new scent filled the air- nothing like the smell of blood earlier but hot, burning, scorching flesh. The breaking of wires had caused an electrical burn, scorching the arm of the creature as it struggled to break free. The more it struggled, the more sparks fell. And eventually a fire blossomed, catching onto various abandoned materials that had been scattered at the base of the machine. With a final scream the creature managed to tear itself free, staggering away and fleeing from the room as smoke started to fill the room.

Ignis didn’t move, however. He stared at the small fire, transfixed. The flame was beautiful- red and orange, as fiery as the markings on his own wings. The smoke was irritating, but for the most part it went up- allowing him a small pocket of safety. There was not enough material for the fire to burn long, and it was only a few minutes later that it sputtered out, casting the abandoned room back into darkness. Cautiously crawling out of his makeshift shelter, Ignis stared at the dark burn on the floor. The heat and flame, so different from the cold, had defeated the creature. Ignis no longer felt the cold- he felt warm for the first time, the heat warming the ends of his wings and making him feel safe for the first time since he hatched. This fire… it was important. Already the coolness of the room was creeping back in. Part of Ignis wanted to poke and prod at the wires in an attempt to start another blaze- but no. It was time to leave. Maybe he could find more of this fire elsewhere…