(no subject)

[pensnest]

Prompt 2: Eos
The dawn goddess Eos was almost always described with rosy fingers or rosy forearms as she opened the gates of heaven for the Sun to rise. Eos had a team of divine horses to pull her chariot, providing daylight as they climbed the arc of heaven scattering sparks of fire across the sky (she was also sometimes depicted aloft by the power of her own wings). Eos is known for having had many lovers, which has led to Eos being known by some as a goddess of joy and pleasure in addition to being the goddess of the dawn.

Well, I've been pondering rosy-fingered dawn for ages, as per the second prompt for the Sunshine Challenge, and don't seem to have got very far. I think the bits that resonated with me are the wings, and the sense of a fresh beginning that goes with the dawn, which leads me to If You Want To Fly, a story of mine which is about new beginnings, definitely.

*

As an alternate thought involving wings, there is a fascinating livecam feed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze-8kMRqyZI on a nest of two kestrels and their four offspring, which are at present floppy little fluffy white lumps. Mum (brown head, striped tail) and Dad (grey head) seem to be doing all right, and have produced some interesting chunks of food for distribution. It's really rather fascinating, though I find myself wishing for a murmured Attenborough commentary to explain, at times, what the birds are doing.

Comments

[enemytosleep]

First, I don't know why the floppy little baby kestrels are so funny to me, but I enjoyed peeking into the nest and seeing one of them bobble around while the others, I assume, slept under mom.

The story was such a fun blend of mundane and fantastical in the best way. There is the barest hint of Dragosong vibes to it (I think the flyers and stables), which was familiar and helped me sink directly into this universe as they tend to the dragons (and a quartet).

[pensnest]

Thanks for reading! It was an odd story, and my 'origins story' for the group, told twice. I've always been very fond of it.

[lightbird]

Thanks for the link to the livecam feed. That's so cool!

Bookmarking the fic for later. :)

[pensnest]

Isn't it just! The chicks are visibly livelier today. Dad was on parenting duty when I started watching this afternoon, and as soon as Mum came in he was OFF. She has now managed to gather them all into ensnuggledness, and is calling, presumably for food.

[pauraque]

Aw, cute fluffy babies! When I checked the feed, Mama was carefully tearing off bits of food to pop into their waiting mouths.

[pensnest]

They seem to have been doing quite well for sustenance, though they've been left alone quite a bit lately. I love seeing how they snuggle!

[turps]

Your dragons are a good fit for this challenge.

And look at those kestrels! Such balls of fluff. Though, only one baby seems to be around right now.

[pensnest]

They've grown! I'm quite looking forward to seeing them produce proper feathers.

[frausorge]

Aw! As I write this, the baby kestrels are piled up in such a heap of fluff in the corner that it's impossible to tell how many there are. So cute!

[pensnest]

It's really hard to say which knobbly bit of fluff belongs to which chick!

[icecheetah]

I do like that dragonlore you built in that story! And I think it was conveyed well.

[pensnest]

Thank you! I'm still very fond of that story. Though I didn't know what would happen to Clena until it did.

[icecheetah]

Ahh, that's kinda cool!