New Beginnings and Abandoned Friends
Cotinga was one Norn on a mission to travel, and travel she did! I found her on the desert island, where she had become the loyal companion to Junco. His life force still hung at 30%, which meant he would likely go on living for at least a few more hours. His secret was in how he experienced the world: Although Junco looked around a lot, he conserved his energy and preferred to stay rooted to one spot. In effect, this meant he needed less energy than a typical hyperactive Norn! Sensing this, Cotinga chose him to become a father.
Adaon, the gentle Creatures 1 Grendel that he was, found himself surrounded by plenty of color… Yet he was alone. His best friend, Astrapia, had abandoned him out of the blue. His heart was as empty as the forlorn honeypot, which had fallen over in its emptiness. The poor fellow! There were a couple of other Norns within range, yet I had a feeling none would measure up to his love for Astrapia. They had laughed together, cried together, and basically been tied together through everything going on in Albia. What happened to upset this lovely friendship?
A ticking biological clock pushed Astrapia to leave Adaon. She was hardly old at nearly six hours old, but she only had one child to carry on her lineage in the next generation. Hypocolius and Drongo were on the scene in minutes. Apparently word traveled quickly that Astrapia was looking for a kind, friendly male to make her dreams come true. Both Norns were up to the challenge, and the timing could not have been more perfect. Astrapia stayed loyal to the father of her first egg. Drongo was thrilled, while Hypocolius was thrown to the sidelines.
Oh, Blackcap! When I last spotted him, he was in a rather unusual spot and was unwilling to eat much of anything. Maybe he had caught onto the naming theme of this generation and imagined himself a bird ready to take flight? He sure enjoyed walking as close to the edge of the waterfall as he could! Blackcap continued to turn his nose up to any food, and I had to give up out of fear that I would need to punish him for not listening. While I left him alone, though, he made a marvelous discovery: Tomatoes! It was not the best source of nutrition, particularly because there was only one that grew at a time, but I could have burst with pride. Norns and Grendels often solve problems themselves, though it’s difficult to step back and trust them to take care of their needs. There is always one who just doesn’t understand… At least Blackcap threw off that label!
