//Pre-Upheaval, in another place. POV Leda//

We huddle together, protecting the egg. The nest shelters us against the buffeting winds. Only our bodies protects us against the raging mana. This storm is different. Time passes, the howling grows stronger. Hunger, need to find food. How long will it last?

The storm is over. The nest is gone. I nuzzle the egg, it is safe. Good. I cry out in hunger, then leave mate to protect egg. The forest is not broken. This is strange. I fly high. This is not our territory. This is not our forest. I look down, mate is protecting egg. For now, sate hunger.

There is water that way, mountains that way. There are rivers of stone. This is strange. Mountains and trees of odd stones. Strange little ones. They are wary. They are dangerous. We have made a new nest, it is safe.

The strange rivers and hills of stones is the territory of the little ones. They do not leave it. The mountains are the territory of Others. In the forest, our territory is safe and the hunt is good. Sometimes the little ones venture into our territory, but they are wary of us. We do not go to their territory. There are big flying things, they fly high. They seem dangerous, so we fly low, lower than in the other place.

Something is flying, it is bigger than birds but not as big as the big flying things. It has found the nest, and it has turned towards it. No! It shall not get near the egg! I dive towards it, opening my jaws to shut around the not-bird.

My jaws snap together around nothing, but I track it with one eye. I hit its wing with mine as I pass. It falls like a stunned bird, but is not stunned. It levels its flight as I do. It has mana! Few things in this place have mana. This is strange. It is nimbler than me, and turns away.

It will not escape! I throw a blade of air at it, but it uses more mana and falls out of the path. It turns around, going behind me. It is clever. It uses mana again! It has little mana, but the attack stings. It is very clever. I stop myself with a powerful flap and turn to it.

Mate is taking off. Protect the egg! Kill the invader! It stops my air blades? It attacks again, stinging my body. Roooar! My wing! It changes as it comes closer, and I snap my jaws around- It dodges, and hits my inner wing.

I push into motion and snap at it again. This time my jaws close around something, but it is not the thing. The thing is a little one. Curious. A flash, my mouth hurts. I cough blood at the little one, then turn to my mate with a spin. It falls off, good. I am hurt. Mate will kill it. I must protect the egg.

I pass Mate. He dives at the little one with a burst of air. The little one uses a all of its mana, and a moment later it attacks my mate, creating a strange and watery thunder-like sound. I look backwards, it is falling, but as is mate. I turn to the nest to guard the egg. The little one makes their song-sounds, and then something heavy hits the ground.

It hurts, my mate has not returned, but I must protect the egg. Something uses mana nearby, but is hiding. I look around. Where is it? There! It stopped hiding. It is strange. It looks like a little one, but it is also of Us. Curious. I pull the egg closer.

I spit out some blood. It hurts. The little one of Us comes closer, but it is wary. Then it stops, next to me. Its mana is like the little one we fought. It survived? But it is of Us. Why? I don’t think mate is coming back.

It raises its not-wing. What does it want? I lick it. It tastes like blood. It smells like mate. I think it killed mate. I don’t like that. I cannot hunt if mate does not protect the egg. It comes closer. I could eat it, but am not hungry.

It moves in a special way, it wants something. I do not know what it wants. If it will not harm the egg, then it is fine. It’s angry. It wants to help me. My mouth? It uses mana! But… it is warm mana, it will not hurt? I let the mana touch me. Oh, the pain goes away. It opens my mouth. I want it to soothe that pain too. Afterwards it soothes my wing as well, this is good.

When it has soothed all the pain, it looks at the egg and makes the song-sound. It seems sad. I feel sad. Mate will not return, so I cannot hunt. I hope the egg will hatch. The little one killed mate.

It makes the motion to lower my body for it, so I rest my head on top of the little one’s legs. I touches me in a pleasant way and makes song-sounds. It wants something from me, and I let out a cry.

It takes mana, and reaches towards me. Curious, what will touching this mana do? I touch it with my mine. The little one has so little mana, so I give it more. It flows badly, it is not good, and then the little one shakes and howls. I stop the mana. Does it not want the mana?

For a while it relaxes, it gets better as it expels my mana. Is my mana dangerous? But I am fine? The little one is weak. That must be why. I moves the not-wing over my head many times, this is good. Sometimes it makes the song-sound.

After a while it pushes me away and stands up with a song-sound. Then it makes more song-sounds. I think I like the song-sounds. It does something with its mana, and then it changes. It looks like a whelp, but also a little one.

It turns to me, and makes something else with its mana, reaching towards me again. This time it touches me directly. It is strange. What will it do? I do not know. I want to know. I let it affect me.

It connects us, like the little one wants. It takes: our territory, the other territories. Not what it wants. It wants to know, know of me and my mate. He is dead, he protected me. The little one does not want to kill, but protected self. It hurt me. Does not want to fight. Healed me, regret. It wants to learn more. About Us//wyverns, me and the egg. It seeks a nest for itself. It is weak, but also strong. The little ones’ cleverness lets them do much.

It breaks the link. It was a magic link, connecting two minds. Curious, strange. I know of that thing, but new? The little one take, but do not give. I also take.

｢Do you mean me?｣

Strange. I know that. But it is not me. Different me. It is the little one.

It makes a different song-sound. Laughter. ｢Haha, {joyful}it really works!｣

It gives fast, like the lightning. I want to take more. More knowledge. I want to learn. Yes, I can learn from the little one. Where is little one’s territory of hunt? Strange, I cannot take that, but I can give.

｢{Uncertain}Do I think too fast for you? {Impressed}She learned how to use this quickly. {Apologetic}Sorry, I am learning how to do this.｣ Always so fast. Thinking. It is curious, I am curious. We both take, we both give. Learn, teach. We both learn and teach. So much to learn! Curious. I like this!

｢I also learn.｣ I give. Giving is strange. Teaching. No, different. Telling. ｢{Urging}Little one give too fast, I cannot follow.｣

｢You asked about my territory to hunt.｣ it gives. Yes, slower, better. ｢Little ones, like me. We are called humans. I use magic, to become like others, like you.｣ It gives something strange, flying back to the little ones//human territory, to the stone roads and hills. But it is still here?

｢Humans.｣ The little ones. They are humans?

It thinks of forests and grasslands, of small colorful things. ｢We eat many things. We make much from the earth and plants.｣ This thought it holds for a time. ｢{Uncertain/questioning}Do you understand?｣

I don’t understand. That is no place and many places, is that their territory of hunt? It knows that I do not understand, and then it gives//shares knowledge, images of many things. Some are the little ones, ｢Humans.｣

Others are the human territory which has few stone hills and rivers. Houses and roads. It shares images of humans eating. They eat the little colorful things, but also meat. Strange. ｢Human food.｣

It shares//shows itself, and a big house in the human territory. ｢This is my- home. I do not need to hunt, but I hunt in the eastern forest.｣ I do not understand, but then it shares knowledge and I understand. This is strange.

｢{Confused}Little one confuses me. Little one has nest, but wants a new one. {Questioning} Does little one seek a mate?｣

It is sudden-scared. Is there danger? ｢Not quite.｣

It wants to explain, and for a long time it does. Humans, human things, human places. It knows so much! It wants me to stay away from human territory. It becomes hungry and leaves. The mind bond breaks. This is sad. It has so much knowledge, and I want to learn.

When it returns I make a new mind bond. It seems surprised. Why would I not be able to make it? It makes a fire on the prey, and the prey tastes differently. I like it. After eating, it tells me again to not go to human territory. It wants magic tree. I know where that is!

Later, a human thing which makes noise and flies comes. There are little ones in it, and they meet the human. Then they come closer, and the human makes the little ones like Us with mana. Curious, I will learn that. I make mind bonds. What strange knowledge does the little ones have?

I greet the human, and then I greet the little ones, but the little ones become scared and one makes a bad song-sound. The human wants to know that I connected to the little ones. It calms down the little ones, but it takes a while. And then they leave.

The human stays. It likes sitting next to me and petting me. It thinks a lot. It is philosophical. And I talk to it, with our minds. It wants to give me a name. Leda. I like it. Does the human have a name?

｢Lars.｣ It thinks, and make a song-sound. The song-sounds are words. They are used to talk//communicate.

｢Lars and Leda sounds pretty good. Like a pair. Companions. How about it, we can be companions?｣

This is good, it//he can hunt, he can protect the egg. Maybe I can see the whelp hatch. ｢Then we will be mates.｣

Mate Lars is not here very often, but I do not starve. He guards the egg so that I can hunt. He gives me a task, a Quest to learn to live in human settlements. This is good, then I can go to his nest//home.

｢Alright, I said I would give you a way to hunt with the egg.｣ I look up from the prey.

｢{Triumphant}Tadaa! If you put the egg in here, you can easily carry it around!｣

What is that? A bag? It’s different, but the same. ｢{Confused, worried}Carry the egg?｣

He shows me putting the egg in the bag. ｢[Force Magic] is good for that! Or I can make you a harness to use.｣ He points to the little harness he put the little Tåke in, then shows an image of using a bigger one to hang the egg-bag on me.

Is he leaving? Does he want me to move nest? ｢{Confused}Moving nest?｣

｢If you carry the egg, you can hunt even when I am not here. I can’t go here every day.｣

But if I can move the egg, then I can move nest. ｢{Decisive}I will move to Lars nest!｣

I get to go to little one Lars’ nest! But I have to be little like him. I look around when we land. ｢{Curious}Strange rock-stacks. Where is nest?｣

He becomes human and point at one of the rock-stacks. ｢There.｣ He transmits, then show an image of the inside of the strange stone hill. It is box-shaped. This is interesting.

｢Lars//little one live in rock-stack?｣

He blows out in a different way. ｢{Resigned, tired}Come, I will show you.｣

I don’t like being small. This place is too small. I don’t like this nest. Home. No difference. But this is interesting! Lars put magic on this things and now they take mana from everywhere. It feels nice, I want to do it too!

｢You interested in [Enchanting]?｣

Yes! ｢{Eager}Lars share! Leda learns!｣

We eat, ut the food is so small. I want out. But then he shares, teaches, enchanting. You put spells on things. Then things can do spells! I know one spell. But he teaches another, less dangerous, maybe. I don’t understand, but then I learn, so I put the spell in the soft thing. And then it glows!

｢{Joyous, eager, proud}Leda//I made an enchantment!｣ I hold it up so that he can see it better, but he pushes it away.

｢Bright! {Reprimanding}Don’t shove it into my face!｣

But… I maed dis! He looks at me and feels bad. ｢{Apologetic, proud}I did not mean it like that. Congratulations! You did well. Just, it hurts my eyes if you hold it too close to me.｣

Okay. I hold it up, but not so close. This is fine. ｢{Eager, curious}Share ability//[Enchanting]!｣

He laughs and then he shares the entire ability, and I learn more. I want to learn all the things! He gives a new task so I am learning. But then good sound comes. I like it. This is good. It sounds happy, like flying over the water. Then another good sound comes. It is the same but not the same.

I open my eyes, Lars makes the sound. ｢{Relaxed, happy, surprised}Lars knows good sound!｣

He stops the good sound and makes almost-laughter sound. ｢It’s called music. You should be able to learn it, too.｣

Yes! I want to learn. ｢{Joyous}Ability share!｣

｢I can’t teach you to make that sound,｣ Lars makes a motion to the soundmakers. ｢-but I can teach you singing, or at least humming, like so.｣ The music starts over, and he ‘hums’ along with it.