Spring had arrived quietly in the valley between the mountains. Snow clung like a stubborn child to the peaks above, but below, the valley had softened into color and motion. The valley stretched widely, going between the mountains and the streams sparkled like liquid glass as the sun rose. Wildflowers painted the grass, in many vivid colors, colors that didn’t look like they belonged to the world. The air around the valley was warm and if someone listened closely, it carried echoes of melting ice and songs from the birds as it moved, it was a harmony that was hard to explain while listening to it.

Archen stepped out from what he called his home, or rather, where he slept when he wanted to be alone. His sleeping place was built low against the slope, half-grown, half-crafted by magic. The structure was made out of the mountain stones, living vines around it that climbed and curled together, almost like they had agreed on the shape they had taken. Moss softened the stone edges and coated the ground and small blossoms had started to claim parts of the walls, tilting the direction where the sunrays normally reached them.

Archen snorted, spread his wings to full length once he could and gave his whole body a shake. Shaking through everything, getting petals and moss out of his feathers, shaking his sore limbs and blinking slowly. His coat was a deep black color, with deeper black markings over his bum. The contrast to his coat was his wings. They ran in vibrant colors of blue, red and yellow. The spring light caught his feathers when he spread his wings, almost giving a soft glowing effect to it.

He straightened, folded his wings back to his body, and then, lightly, he started to walk forward, through the low grass of the valley. From time to time his hooves brushed the flowers, but he didn’t crush them, each step precise and intentional. He was just enjoying the early, quiet spring morning, ears flickering, back, forth and to the sides, listening. For a moment, it was just.. Simple, the world was simple, wind, light and vivid colors.

Until, he heard a sound, a sharp, unfamiliar chirp and his ears flickered. Head lifting slowly towards the direction the sound came from, and he again heard the sounds. That was not a bird, not at all, that was nothing that was supposed to be so far out of the spring market that was going on in the center of the valley.

Archen frowned, before he started to walk, quicker, curious by the sound, wondering if it could be what he thought. But what did an Owlkitten do so far from the market? Suddenly he stopped, stopped and looked inside the hollow tree trunk in front of him. Eggs, colorful eggs, inside the tree trunk. The eggs was shimmering in vivid, swirling colors, blue, red, silver, gold. A few of them had small cracks, others looked like they weren't close to being ready.

He heard the chirping again, then a tiny beak broke through the shell of one of the eggs with a sharp and quick tap. His head lifted in surprise, nostrils flared and ears pointing forward. His head lowered, muzzle touching the beak with curiosity before his head lifted a little to look around again.

’’Fae’s…’’ he said flatly. That was the only explanation he could think about, because, with spring Fae’s came. The idea they had of ‘cleaning’ so very often involved relocating things to the most weird places possible. Like, inside of a hollow tree trunk. He came back from his thoughts when another egg cracked open. Seeing the two, small, fluffy owlkittens breaking free. Blinking with their oversized eyes and chirping like they were greeting the world. The tiny wings fluttered and they wobbled as they tried to stand up amongst the other eggs. Then two more eggs hatched and he started to realise that this soon would turn into a problem, especially as the ones which hatched first started to try to climb out and he knew they'd manage soon.

He was right, because soon the two first had made their way over the edge and out and the others weren’t late to follow as more of them hatched. Then Archen felt something bump into his hoof and he looked down with a deep exhale.

’’This is a problem.. A problem I all of suddenly need to sort’’ .

The owlkitten chirped up at him and he couldn’t help but lower his head to inspect it closer. The feathers were so tiny, fur puffed here and there, very uneven, and again, those large eyes that were way too big for the tiny face that looked at him with complete trust. He frowned as it did ’’You are not supposed to be out here’’ Archen muttered.

He knew he needed to get them back to the market, to the ones who had a better and deeper knowledge with these kind of creatures, to someone who knew how to handle them and find their place. Before he started his plan, he felt how one started to climb his leg, one starting to pull at his tail feathers. For a moment, he closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and for a split second considered to just leave them, to just turn around and go. To let someone else handle this and to just ignore it himself.

Acrhen opened his eyes, looking down on the bundles of fluff now surrounding him and he sighed. ’’Alright then, lets het this going before you all driven me completely insane’’. Then he folded his wings as good as he could,creating a cradle against his sides before lowering his body some as the owlkittens immediately jumped up into the feathering cradle to nestle. Three on each side and he glanced at the eggs still in the trunk. A slight glow came around his horns, as a light blue dusty cloud appeared. Carefully wrapping around the eggs in the trunk, before lifting them up. He snorted, pleased with it for now as he turned around and carefully started to walk towards the market, going to get these back.

He quietly stepped into the more quiet side of the market, moving for where he knew the druids were, for sure they were the right people. The little owlkittens chirped, some lifting their heads to look excited to look ahead, some wiggling in his feathers and he exhaled deeply. Here we go, he just needed to sort this out, then, he could continue to bask in the sun, to enjoy the spring and to come back to the market when it was less crowded when he could mind his own business.