Lago understood Ceral's motions, and began his ascent to the surface. Once he broke the surface, he paddled over to Ceral. "Freaking out? Well excuse us for being a little upset about being left out of the loop", Lago said with a slight growl in his voice.
Lago let out a groan and slapped his claw against his forehead. What in the hell was that water dragon thinking? "Holy shit, this is going to end so badly." He understood why Ivan did it, hell the thought of the facility taking his own clutch away was unimaginable to Lago. He treaded water there for a minute trying to think. "Well...if this going to happen, if we're going to really try to hide these eggs, they can't stay here, and we're going to have to separate them. Any body of water is going to be a priority for Devin and his asshole brigade. I mean, Ivan is a water dragon." He was already thinking of a place to dig a deep enough hole to put some of the eggs into.
He looked back up at Demus, "Honey, we're going to need to play babysitters and keep away at the same time, you game?" He looked back at the smaller cave dragon with a serious look on his face. "Go tell the others, we need to relocate the eggs now, they cannot stay here. Got it?", he said as he dove back to the bottom to start collecting eggs.
Ky followed Nym to the lake seeing Demus and Lago and Ceral. His heart thudding so hard he was sure it was going to burst from his chest. He heard the end of Lago's rant and came up to him. "What can I do?" He asked desperate. Lago's plan sounded good and Ky knew he was no where in the right state of mind to do anything. He was worried sick about Ivan and the eggs and Nym, because he was sure Nym would end up being punished in the end as well for helping. Fuck they'd all be in trouble for this and as much as he hated Ivy, and resented Demus he didn't want them to get hurt. Plus he actually liked Ceral and Lago, even if their mates were douches.
"I was out of the loop until a little bit ago too. No one is special, alright?" Ceral had just done what he'd been told to do. He'd thought about maybe hiding them in a cave further off, but decided ultimately that that was probably a bad idea and had went with the lake after all. It really seemed like nowhere was safe. Ceral looked to frown, still holding his head above water with ease. "I dunno where the others are-" He was interrupted when Ky came around and he relaxed a little. He didn't think it would be safe for all of them to be bunched up together, because if these handlers came wouldn't it just make it easier for them to catch all of them at once? Ceral took a breath and swum back to the bottom of the lake, picking up a few eggs himself and setting them on the edge of the bank. "You think we have time to do anything with them?" he asked to the group in general. Lago looked to know what he was doing, but it still worried Ceral because they had to be running out of time.
"Uh... you've got a plan, Lago?" Ceral glanced over to the swamp dragon the next time he came up. "Those handlers are gonna come, aren't they?" Ceral had yet to have a bad encounter with any of them, so he had no clue how this would go down.
Devin and the other handlers split into 4 platoons, each of them starting at one corner of Avalon and moving inward.
Lago looked around at all the help he had now. He looked to Ky first. "Ky, how good are you at climbing trees? We can hide three up in the taller trees. Me and Demus will take four of them, he'll have 2, I'll have 2. We're good diggers, so we'll be able to dig deep, fast. Demus, I need you to go to the far east side of the enclosure, but not too close to the wall. You know, that one place we like to...uhhh...you know." Even though he was in his dragon form, he thought for sure he was blushing. "I'll go to the far west side and dig into that stupid play sand they put in here for some reason. Ceral...ummm...okay, where else can we hide them?" He knew they were doing all of this on borrowed time. Devin and the guards could come into the enclosure at any moment. He got a good, or half-way decent idea at least, for Ceral and Ivy. "Okay, Ceral, you and Ivy take two more of the eggs and hide them in those poisonous bushes me and her like to munch on. Those bushes are pretty dense, and they're easy to hide stuff in. He finally looked to Nym. "Nym, I know this going to sound stupid, but I need you to hide the last two eggs next to those rocks, right next to the enclosure entrance. Most likely, Devin and the others will pass right on by them. And then I need you to stay near the entrance. You're going to be our look out. As soon as you see the door open, let out a roar as a signal, and get your ass back to the lake. That goes for all of you, get back to the lake as soon as you can."
Lago looked to the others to see if they understood everything he'd told them. Today was going to end badly regardless, but they were going to put up one hell of a fight when it came down to it.
"I'm a good climber," Ky said glad that someone had things under control. He took three eggs, a gold spotted one, a white one, and a dark blue egg that he could barely see the kit through. His heart warmed as he looked at them and started to beat faster in fear. These were his. His kits. He just hoped that at the end of the day when they hatched, he'd be there with Ivan so that they wouldn't have to come into the world all alone and vulnerable. He hoped with every breath that they didn't hatch to see Han or Reva or god forbidden Devin as the first thing they saw. He climbed into the canopy and hid all three eggs in nearby trees, close enough that he could reach all of them within minutes, but far enough away that it would take the humans a while to search the area. He nuzzled the last egg, the blue one, probably a water dragon like Ivan, the egg was even smaller than the others. It was physically painful to walk away from his eggs, but knew he had to.
Ceral went ahead and took another blue egg and the speckled one he was still debating a name for. He scooped them up gently into his mouth, keeping a light hold on them before he leapt off for the bushes that Lago had described. Luckily the poison didn't bother him, and he hoped that maybe it would bother the humans if they were to make their way inside the enclosure. He placed a few twigs over them, thinking it might shroud them more. He didn't really want to leave them, like he supposed the others felt too, but he'd be putting them in danger if he stayed. Ceral made his way back to the lake when he was done, sitting at the edge and watching his surroundings warily.
"Oh... That spot." Demus gave Lago a rather sultry look as he shifted back to his bipedal form. Eggs were much easier to keep grip on when you had fingers. He smiled a bit. "Yeah I'll head that way, lemme see a couple of those eggs..." He scooped up two as directed, and then started off east, only glancing back once to give a firm look to Lago that very clearly said 'be safe'. He then didn't hesitate to dart off, hugging both of the eggs tightly to his chest. It had been a while since he'd been around eggs... Or kits, but suddenly having this little ones warm and fluttery in his arms, it brought back memories of the prairie and the kits he'd had before. If wasn't racing against the clock to the these two eggs hidden, then he may have stopped to ponder about his past two clutches, and where they might be and what they were up to.
But, there wasn't time for that now. Demus had a job to do. As soon as he reached he and Lago's 'hangout' he immediately began search for the best place to dig... Somewhere where it wouldn't be too obvious that he had just dug up fresh earth. Brows pinched together he finally decided on digging amongst some tall grass, in hopes it would give some cover. He set down both eggs gently, and then switched to his dragon form once again. Once he was satisfied that he had dug a sufficiently deep hole, he rolled both eggs in and covered them loosely with dirt.
"Hell, I hope this works..." Demus let out a breathy sigh, blowing his hair out of his face. He was nervous for when Devin's troops began storming in here... These people, these scientists and staff weren't a joke. He'd learned that the hard way... A few times.
After a few moments of hesitation Demus decided to head back towards the center of the enclosure so he could be aware of this new little burrow from a distance, and perhaps touch base with Lago again. Surely sticking too close by to the eggs would cause unwanted attention towards they were hidden.
-----
"The entrance?" Nym looked fully skeptical. Lago's reasoning sounded good on paper maybe, but what if the eggs were found within the just few minutes by a keen eyed handler? "I-" Nym looked hesitant, but it seemed as if Lago knew what he was talking about. He seemed to be the most rational of the group right now... At least he had some sort of plan....
"Alright." Nym finally nodded and then took his two designated eggs. "Get to the entrance, hide them, and guard... Right." Nym was determined to be on full alert. "I'll be back here as fast as I can as soon as I see anybody."
AS Nym dashed off towards the gate, he hoped desperately that they weren't too late, that handlers weren't already scouting, and if they were that they would already be past the gate so he could be unnoticed. They needed to be careful, he was sure that the enclosure was being scoured by camera. Of course there were plenty of blind spots in Avalon, but one misstep out of one and this would be all for naught.
Once Nym had reached the clustering of rocks by the gate, he was almost fully out of breath. He wasn't sure if it was from panicking, or from running, but he was glad to see no sign of Devin... Yet.... He tucked both eggs away amongst the rocks, noting clearly where each one was hidden and then stalked off a few feet away, trying to look nonchalant, like he was up here because he was merely lounging, knowing that the very moment that there was any suspicious movement anywhere that he was going to up and running again.
Lago nodded his head in satisfaction. Everyone seemed to know what he was talking about. He caught Demus' stern look and nodded back to him. Lago also shifted back to human form and carefully scooped up the last two eggs. His dragon form was slightly faster, but he didn't trust carrying the eggs in his mouth as he bounded through the forest. He reached the western most area and spotted the huge mounds of sandbox dirt that were curiously put here in the enclosure.
He gave a thoughtful look at the two little eggs in his hands and felt the fluttering inside. "Oh you two are going to be little cuties, I can already tell", he whispered as he set them down and got to work. Shifting to dragon form, he dug as fast as he could. The nice thing about this play sand was that it all looked the same. If he dug deep enough, it would take a good long while for the human to find the eggs. Any lumps or hills in the sand really wouldn't stand out.
Gently lowering the eggs into the sand, he covered them up as quickly as possible and bounded off back towards the lake. This was doomed to failure, he knew it. No matter how long it took, Devin and his men would find the eggs. But honestly this wasn't about that. The dragons of Avalon, hell the facility, needed to make a statement that they were not to be trifled with. He was worried about Devin though. Their history could cloud both of their judgements. Lago couldn't help but feel fear at what the man was capable of doing to him and the others, but at the same time relished the idea of going toe to claw with him again.
Devin's platoon was heading in from the west after jumping the walls when he got a call from Reva. "They're all by the lake," he called to his troop. "Get ready these dragons are the tamed pets you're used to. They're wild and they will main and kill if they feel like we've backed them into a corner. Our job is to protect the assets so we're at a advantage there."
--------------
Ivy heard the sounds of trucks a freaked out. Ceral was protecting the eggs. What if he got hurt defending them or if Ivan's kits got injured. To damn with acting inconspicuous. She shifted and flew over the enclosure seeing Ky, Ceral, Lago, and Demus all by the lake and one, two, three platoons... no four. Moving from the sides inward.
Act inconspicuous. Okay... Looking around at the others, he did think it would probably look weird with all of them just huddled at the lake. Maybe they could get away with explaining how they were mourning over the loss of the eggs. This certainly didn't look like any mourning session Ceral had ever seen, but it was better than nothing, wasn't it? He was tempted to shift back into his human form, but if these handlers were indeed coming, maybe it'd be better to stay in his usual beast body so he might have some kind of advantage if things were to go astray. He could spit poison, and instead of fire he was able to mask his surroundings in some kind of throat clenching black gas, although he didn't want to use the latter with the others around. The last thing he needed was for any of them to get hurt over friendly fire.
When he saw Ivy fly overhead, and he half wished he was able to fly with her. So much for large wings that couldn't do anything but help with swimming. Ceral sat down on his side by the edge of the water, ultimately waiting for the inevitable.
Just as Lago got back to the lake, he heard and smelled the guards, but they were...coming over the wall? "Huh, clever", Lago smirked. "Everyone, we got company coming." He lumbered over to Ky, trying to catch his breath. "I want you to know, they probably will find the eggs", he said with a solemn tone. "I just...I want you to be prepared for that. We are a bit outmatched here." He put his hand on Ky's shoulder trying to comfort him. "We'll try all we can to protect them."
Ky's stomach clenched, but he nodded. "Thanks Lago." He knew it was inevitable. Things were going to end up the exact same as if Ivan had done nothing. Except Ky hadn't got to be there for the birth, they were all going to be punished, and their eggs were probably going to be taken away much faster than if Ivan had left well enough alone.
---------------
Devin and his crew neared the lake. "Shift back to human form and no one gets hurt," he called.
---------------
Seeing Devin move toward her family Ivy dived down, landing in front of Ceral in a splatter of mud and grass.
Lago, let out a chuckle at Devin's threat. "Oh Devin, Devin, Devin. Since when has not shifting to human form stopped you from hurting any dragons." He could smell all the protective gear he and his men had on. Deciding to play a little coy, he quipped, "So what seems to be the problem anyway?". He knew they meant business. He knew they were all in big trouble. That didn't mean he couldn't have some fun with his tormentors.
"You know damn well what the problem is Swamp demon," He moved forward gesturing for the others to surround the dragon. "We want the whore's eggs."
Ky stiffed, his muscles bunching under blood-red scales.
Ivy quickly quipped "They're dead you idiots." She fluttered her wings, keeping Ceral behind her and hopefully discouraging him from joining the confrontation.
Nym, who was still intently watching the gate, was starting to becoming worried at why he hadn't seen any sign of any handlers yet... It was eerily quiet near the entrance of Avalon, nothing but the early morning sounds of small creatures in the brush...
"What- Is going on?" Nym muttered to himself as he slowly turned around a few times, not sure where to look all of the sudden. He was getting the strange sense that perhaps he was watching the wrong part of the habitat. His gaze snapped around as he heard a sharp crack. Something that sounded like a boot on a branch, and then a flash of the red uniform that was un-mistakenly clad upon a handler. They had come over the wall.... Nym froze, trying to remember what Lago had told him to do? Roar? Yes that had been it. Nym immediately shifted and let out first a throaty growl which inclined into a roar, something he hoped the others would be able to hear from where he was and then started running. Lago had said to go back to the lake... But he was sure he was going to have handlers on his tail now, so Nym chose to head for the lake in the most round about he could think of. Through thickets and forest, that had to slow them down, didn't it? When he finally burst out from the brush however, it seemed as there were handlers already at the lake. So much for being of any help. He let out a deep growl and backed up a bit.
-----------------
"Ah shit! There's one! Go!" Ben roared out his command as he caught sight of a dragon. A grey and white one. "Shit he's heading for the bushes! Go go!" Ben wasn't interested in losing sight of the dragon off in the trees somewhere, so he took off at full speed, crashing through brush and branches as he went, the rest of his group behind him.
"Oh-" When Ben came out into the clearing by the lake he could see that Devin was already there... And obviously ready for confrontation. He gave a sharp glance to the dragon he'd been chasing, bristling just a few feet from them, looking unsure of where to go next. "Stop-" He turned to stop the other men from going forward, not wanting to interfere with Devin, whatever he was about to do. "This is about to get interesting.
----------------"
Lago!" Demus was sputtering by the time he got back to the lake. He was a a pretty speedy sprinter, but this much running back and forth and digging all at once was going to be taxing if it kept up. "My two are hidden-" He started and then clapped a hand to his mouth as he realized that it wasn't just Lago and the others there anymore.
"Devin!" He snapped, eyes flashing. "What the fuck is your filthy mouth spewing now?"
Ceral's focused shifted to Ivy when she came down beside him. No one else had yet to change, so Ceral kept to his dragon body despite the warning. He hadn't known these handlers to be so naggy... Everyone seemed to hate them, which was understandable and Ceral could sympathize to their resentment, but he felt like there was more going on here that he didn't know about. None of the handlers had done much to him yet, so he didn't have a strong opinion about them either way in that regard. Ceral pushed himself up to stand, stepping up beside Ivy, the beginnings of greenish-brown liquid oozing from his jaws. Poison, but all these handlers seemed to have protective garment on. Ceral licked his chops, the deadly spit pooling at his feet. "Should we stay..?" he queried towards Ivy. He wanted to help, but he didn't know what they could do until an imminent fight broke out.
Lago simply shrugged his thick scaled shoulders. "Don't know what to tell you captain, it's like what Ivy said. Poor little babies are dead. His attention was ripped away as Demus stumbled back to the lake, threatening to spew out their plan. Lago, simply closed his eyes and slowly shook his head in frustration. One of these days, when leaned how to use human thread and needle, he was going to sew Demus' mouth shut. And just then, Nym came into the opening with other handlers on his tail. Well, this was going down about how Lago had imagined it, horribly. "So Devin...how's the arm doing?". He wanted Devin's attention on him. The more the handlers focused on the dragons, the longer it would take them to find the eggs.
Devin ignored Lago's comment. Though his shoulder twitched and his eyebrows bowed into a scowl.
His eyes flickered to Demus and he smirked. "Hidden huh?" He stalked closer to the lake. "You know what guys? I was having a really nice dream this morning before I got the call to deal with you scum, so I'm fairly cranky. I suggest that you make my job easier and fucking shift and tell me where the eggs are or things are going to get ugly."
-------------------------
"Yeah, I saw three other groups roaming about from overhead. Maybe we should cause a distraction?" Ivy said, still trying to nudge Ceral behind her and out of Devin's view.
"Ah, Devin... You're terribly cute when you don't know what you're talking about." Demus smiled as the man's gaze was turned on him, determined not t let his blunder about mentioning the eggs phase him. "C'mere why don't get a little closer so you can bat those pretty eyes at me." He smirked and shifted back fully to his human form, as he had been in somewhat a stage of transition before. He wanted to be right on Devin's level. He knew well what the man was capable of... While Devin had never physically hurt him, he had been one of the handlers who had wrestled him into isolation, and he had never been particularly friendly.
Demus continued, keeping his posture loose while already thinking of the million ways that this man could hurt move to one them and how to counteract it. He glanced from Lago, to the man's mentioned arm. "Why don't you just relax, Dev?"