Aelar gives her a gentle smile.  His mother had taught him this one, when he'd first told her about meeting Kallista, not with words but with actions.  "You can only love someone if you love yourself.  My mother taught me that.  It's all about them, Kallista, and not at all about you."

Raia looks to the rest of the group for a moment, then speaks.
"It could happen again, yes. This world is full of powerful spirits and agents, some benign, others... not so much. When the Guiston titan manifested in her, it was obvious; others, however, could be far more subtle. It's important that you all not only watch out for one another, but know each other well enough to recognize inconsistent behavior." she says. "That is the point of me telling you. Manifestation can happen to anyone, as you well know, Aelar. The spirit of Baha chose you, it was not coincidence. We're fortunate that the titan returned Kallista to her natural form... if it was more malevolent, it could have done far worse."

Kallista's face pales a bit at the mention of something worse could have happened and her tail curls around her leg, but doesnt say anything else. She looks around for Grimbuld.

Aelar just stares at Raia, then, Why not hit her over the head with a sledge hammer while your at it.

He tries to keep his mental voice even and calm but knows very it came out petulant and childish.  Everything she'd said was right and while maybe she could've used a little more tact, she was still right.  He just didn't want her to know he felt that way...and knew just as well he'd failed there too.  He turns his back on her.  So there!

"Let's go dance, Kallista." He grabs her hand and tries to pull her to the dance floor.

Fine, he sends with the equivalent of a huff.  He's being childish and knows it, which only makes him cross.  But then he thinks of his father and color rises in his cheeks.  I know you're right, Raia.  I just don't like it but I will deal with it.

Raia looks to Kallista.
"Best not to think about it... you may find a way to overcome it.. in fact, I'm sure you'll find a way. For now, allow yourself to be proud of what you accomplished here." she says.

It's about this time that Grimbuld lurches his way through the doors to the saloon. While he can walk under his own power again, he's clearly still recovering from his injuries. He wouldn't allow Sister Daar to spend all her healing on him when so many are in need right now, and accepts limping about just fine. He holds under his arm a cage, while his free arm leans heavily on a carved bone cane.
"Found it, Hyre. At least some of my old falconing equipment survived the attack." the old ranger grumbles out.
"That egg should be just about ready to hatch. Then the real work will begin." he states, though he realizes what he said and prepares for Hana chewing him out for digging around his shop when he should be resting.
Hyre's egg is completely shell now, the protective covering having totally fallen away. It's been kept warm in a makeshift nest in his room, and lately there's been signs of life wobbling around inside.

Its obvious that the only thing Kallista can think of in the moment is just what Raia told her not to. She, somewhat reluctantly, lets Aelar pull her away when Grimbuld returns. "I would have helped you Sir," she says, before she remembers. "That little girl, is she okay? What about her father?" She didnt know exactly what was wrong with the girls father the first time, but the idea of him not surviving the attack made her nerves start swimming in her stomach.

(Didn't he already give Hyre a cage? I'm pretty sure he did, and even have it in the equipment on the character sheet.)

"That's great news!" Hyre perks up excitedly. "Should I take it to your shop - or Sir Geoffrey's house - when it hatches? So you can show me what exactly I need to do until I learn to do it myself." Hyre isn't sure how he'll manage to care for the hatchling while taking classes, but he'll try to find a way. "Oh, I should probably go up and wait for when it hatches, correct?"

Aelar leads Kallista over to the dance floor and dances with her, nothing serious, just a couple of friends moving for fun.

Performance 6

((Oh right. Well, we'll change that to a nursery pan rather than a cage.))

When Kallista fusses over him, Grimbuld waves that off.
"If I don't at least do some of this myself, I really WILL become an old man, Kallista. Besides, I have Daar and Hana both trying to treat me like some kind of crippled old codger." he says.
Before Aelar carts her off, he informs her too of the fate of the girl and the dwarf.
"They're both fine, thanks to us. She even asked me if there was a potion to give her wings like you. Seems you have a fan." he chuckles, then winces, then chuckles again, more quietly as he puts the pan down, clenching his jaw.
"I'll leave the pan here; the hawk's talons can't find any purchase on the pan, so you can use that for feedings and de-lousings should little biters find it and latch on and make the chick ornery and struggle, and parasites love to target fledglings, and the talons on chicks are like little needles." he grunts out, straining as he straightens up and takes weight off the cane to walk under his own power again, though he takes a seat shortly afterwards to watch the kids dance.
His attention turns back to Hyre's questions.
"Did you say you saw the egg wobbling the other day? In that case, we may be able to do a little trick I know to check on it so we can tell if it's time to get things together so you're the first thing the chick sees when it opens its eyes."

Did he say that? Well, perhaps the old man really did know how to read others' minds. It won't be completely impossible, probably. "Ah, well, it did. It also looks like a completely normal egg now. How do we check what you said?" 

(By the way, do we each have our own room now, or are we still sharing rooms?)

((At this point, you all definitely all have your own rooms while the manor the group can live in while they train is prepared for them.))

Grimbuld gestures with his cane.

"I have a lantern that's strong enough to illuminate the inside of the shell. If we can see feathers on the shadow, the chick is fully formed and we may help it along if the room is sufficiently warm, to be sure you are the first thing is sees. Some chicks are shy and take their time, but there's no danger of moving things along by a few hours." Grimbuld says.

"Do you have it here with you? I wouldn't ask you to go all the way back and then here again just to fetch it." Though he is excited, Hyre isn't sure how he feels about speeding the hatching up. The more he thought, the more benefits and downsides he could find for each option, and he started to get confused by overthinking. Eventually, he decides to leave it for the expert ranger to decide.

Aelar keeps Kallista dancing as long as she's willing, trying to get her spirits up with fun exercise.

When they are finished and moving back to the table, he asks, "Thanks, Kallista.  That was fun!"

As they sit, he gets a mug of plain water, not wanting to get too fuzzy.  Then, Raia, when will you have the strength for the ritual, do you think?

Grimbuld nods to Hyre.
"Naturally I have it with me." he says, slowly rising to his feet.
"Let's take a peek, shall we?" as he hobbles towards the stairs to the rooms.
It turns out that this 'lantern' is a simple glass bead that he keeps in one of his pouches. With a command, it glows brightly, and Grimbuld simply puts the egg on top of the bead, the powerful light and the state of the shell giving the pair a clear look at Hyre's chick.
As the hatchling inside moves, Hyre can both see clearly the outline of feathers and that it's fully formed.
"It's strong. This should be more than safe enough to do." he states, and puts his bead back.
"Go ahead and make a tiny opening at the top of the egg. That's all we do, we let in a little more air, and it'll do the rest." he says. "Just be gentle, we want the chick to come out on its own, not do its whole job."

((Dexterity check, Hyre))

Aelar laughs, "No, I don't think we could!"  Where do we have to go?  I thought we could do the ritual anywhere.

Hyre thinks for a moment, then picks up the quill he got from the farmer, back then when they just arrived at Guiston. It was also immediately after he met Barna, immediately after he found this egg. However, all that he thinks in retrospect. At that moment, he only picked the quill because a sharp object will be more precise than his fingers. 

Dexterity: 23.

OOC: wouldn’t he get advantage with Grimbuld sitting there coaching him?

((I was basically just rolling to see if he totally botched... it was close, though.))

Hyre successfully cracks a little hole into the shell. In just a few moments, the bullet hawk beak can be seen poking at the opening made, spurred on by the fresh air pouring into the shell.

((Time for you to find out what kind of animal you have, Hyre. Roll 1D6 on these 3 tables))

Bullet hawk personality:

1) Affectionate--the bullet hawk is very friendly and may even get jealous if Hyre doesn't pay attention to it.
2) Aloof--the bullet hawk prefers to be on its own and only comes to Hyre if explicitly commanded.
3) Ornery--the bullet hawk may not always obey Hyre.
4) Haughty--the bullet hawk takes great care of its appearance and will spend a lot of its time preening, leaving it distracted.
5) Stoic--the bullet hawk will be particularly disciplined and will patiently await commands, ignoring everything else.
6) Goofball--the bullet hawk will be very playful and may get into trouble being overly curious about... pretty much everything. Kallista's rock collection will definitely be a target.

Bullet hawk traits:

1) Warrior--The bullet hawk follows its orders without hesitation in battle and will have advantage against fear or charm effects once told to fight. It will attack without reservation or restraint. If it gets a nat 20 for initiative, its first attack will hit with such speed and ferocity that it will count as a rogue's surprise attack.
2) Scout--The bullet hawk has a natural affinity for stealth and reconnaissance. When flying, it has a passive stealth value and won't make a sound until it returns to Hyre. Hyre will be able to interpret the hawk's body language to discern where threats are ahead. In addition, it will have keen sight and +5 to perception checks.
3) Swift Hunter--The bullet hawk is more agile and adept, making its dive attack do more damage and it gains +2 to its AC.
4) Bird of Unusual Size--The bullet hawk is abnormally large, allowing it to carry a small creature in its talons for 30 meters before needing to drop it, and gives +2 to its base attack rolls.
5) Cavalier--The bullet hawk's 'stone' state is exceptionally hard. If clinging to Hyre's arm, he may use it like a shield if the hawk's wings are extended and the hawk will remain unharmed unless struck by powerful magic. For particularly strong impacts, the hawk may become dislodged from Hyre's arm.
6) Raptor--the bullet hawk's legs are very developed. It may, as a bonus action, strike with its talons after a bite attack and may be commanded to grapple a small to medium sized enemy, taking away all DEX bonuses from their AC.

Bullet Hawk ability score deviations--your bullet hawk has the following base ability scores: 6 STR, 16 DEX, 8 CON, 4 INT, 15 WIS, 8 CHA.

1) You may raise any ability score by 2 but must also lower another by 1.
2) +2 CON. Your bullet hawk is extra hardy, giving it 4 HP rather than 2.
3) +1 DEX. Your bullet hawk is extremely swift.
4) +3 INT, -1 DEX. Your bullet hawk is unusually intelligent but isn't as good of a flyer. It can understand complex commands and be far easier to train.
5) +2 CHA. Your bullet hawk has a very strong personality.
6) +2 STR, +1 WIS. Your bullet hawk is unusually strong and cunning.