Shells
Legacy Name: Shells

Shells In Her Home Art by SoraNoRyu

When this lain was first born amongst her brothers and sisters in the nest of their mother, it was clear that she would become an explorer. She would always venture further than her mother would have liked in terms of safety and had to keep a much closer watch on her than the other chicks. When she learned to fly the problem worsened and eventually she strayed so far from the woodland that she found herself at the edge of the trees, facing out onto the most beautiful thing her little eyes had ever seen; the sea.

To her, she felt more at home than she ever had in the forest and the sound of the waves washing up on the shore comforted her to an extent. Her first steps on the white sands as she landed unsteadily were ones of adventure and she could feel it down to her core. The trees were not for her; this new-found place was! It wasn't long before she began to notice a few odments of shininess here and there, scattered far and wide across the huge stretch of beach. She decided to begin collecting them, carrying them in her small talons (and sometimes dragging them with her beak when they were a little bigger) back to the edge of the forest where she had made a small nest of them amongst some rocks, hiding her from the view of predators and humans.

Some days later, her mother finally ventured far enough out to reach the beach too, looking for her. Afraid of this wide-open space much unlike her daughter, she hung back within the safety and shade of the trees, her beady eyes spotting the small lain's hiding place and flying over to it. Landing gracefully, she poked her head inside amongst the rocks. What she saw surprised her; piled inside as much as could be fitted were shells of all shapes, colours, sizes and varieties. Some were shiny, some dull, some rough, some smooth, some colourful and some not. And curled up asleep on top of the small pile with her head under her wing was the little lain.

Although initially her mother had been worried, the worry subsided. Here her daughter had found a place to call her own, a place she was happy and a place where she was safe. That was all that mattered and quietly, watching the small lain's chest rise and fall gently, she spoke. "I suppose the best name for you, little one, would be Shells."