Matt watched her carefully, watching her hide her laugh. A small smile curved on his lip's. At her offer he pretended to be surprised. " Me? On your panther? No... I couldnt. " But he climbed on anyway's. " Hope? You coming? " He asked as he settled on Nox's back. Nox's fur was like silk and Matt restrained himself from petting it. He didnt know what to do with himself so he crossed his arm's expectantly.

Hope nodded, climbing on in front. "You can pet him, you know, he doesn't mind you two." she said with a small smile as she noticed how he restrained himself from petting Nox. She looked to Kai, knowing she had her own panther. "When you're ready, come back to camp, alright?" she said, knowing it was risky to trust her to come back. She then gently patted the panther, nudging him slightly, and he took off into a gentle, smooth lope that took them away from the village quickly, and should be easy enough for Matt to ride without falling off. They entered the forest and slowed down, following the path that led to camp. Hope wanted to figure out what the egg was so she could figure out how to care for it as soon as possible. She dismounted from Nox, who crouched down to allow Matt to get off his back, and went into her tent. There were maps of the different kingdoms laid out on a wooden table, along with one of the castle on top of all the others, which she would be using for the plan. She carefully rolled them up and placed them to the side, and placed the egg on the table. It was about the size of a large pineapple, and was pitch black, with strange electric blue streaks through it, and and oddly scaled look. She went back out of the tent to wait for Matt and make sure no one else entered the tent. She just wanted to keep it between she Matt and Kai for now. The others were all off hunting, scouting, sparring, or gathering information for the plan.

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Eris walked back to the inn with Ignis on his shoulder. He entered the stable and retrieved Obsidian. He figured he'd better begin to board Obsidian at the castle, so they knew he was there. He talked him up and mounted him, then walked him out of the stable. The pitch black hippogriff then took off, circling above the village before flying to the castle. He landed in the stable yard and took him in, noticing the princess and her older brother speaking, and he bowed. "Your Highness." he said formally to the both of them, before moving on to the stall where Obsidian would be staying. He untacked him and took out a brace of ferrets that he kept in a bag of food for Obsidian, and fed him one, before putting the rest in the feeding trough and filling it with fresh water. He gently stroked Ignis' feathers before giving Obsidian one last pet and walking out quickly. It seemed the two royals of the land were having a private conversation. He began to walk back towards the villages, to get to know more people around there.

Matt looked away from Kai. " You sure? " As they started moving Matt clung to Nox, stroking him. He sighed, almost falling asleep. He opened his eye's and straightened himself, still dtroking Nox. he let Hope dissembark first, slowly slipping of of Nox. He put his head to Nox's and murmured a quiet thank you. He followed Hope into the tent, seeing her clear the table. He moved to his cot, reaching under the pillow, hiding where he hid it. He didnt want anyone stealing his only personal item. He looped back to Hope, placing the book down gently beside the egg. He reached for the egg, then pulled his hand back. " May I? "

Nox gave a rumbling purr to Matt in response to his thanks, then wandered off around the camp, and into the forest to hunt for himself. Hope looked up at Matt, seeing him reach for the egg, then pull back, and she nodded her consent. "Of course." she said, as he was one of the only ones in the group that she would trust with the egg, or with anything, for that matter. She wondered what it could be, and why a palace guard had it. Was it something for the royals, or something one of them asked the guard to watch over? Did they even know the guard had it? All these thoughts ran through her head. She was glad Rowan had been taken away a few years back when he was caught. No doubt he would have either forced her to destroy the egg because it could be dangerous, or he would have used it against her. He only remotely cared about her, but when it came to power, he constantly reminded her that he was above her, no matter what that could mean. She eyed the book, then looked back at Matt. "Look....I know this might not be the best time, but I have something to tell you." she said, and paused for a moment before continuing. "It wasn't me......it wasn't me who kidnapped you. I was only three years old at the time.....It was my much older brother Rowan. Nox's parents were the ones who......" she let her voice trail off, knowing that was a sensitive subject. "I've just been trying to repair the damage my brother inflicted. After this mission is over, we could split the money, is what I was planning. Between you, Kai, and me, and whoever else wants any. We could be free.....all of us." she said, telling the truth to try and gain his trust. Besides, it was just them two in there, it's not like she was letting her intentions show to everyone.

Matt picked up the egg gently, flipping through the book. He stopped on a page and looked between the egg and the image. Matt paused as she spoke. Looking away he responded. " I dont want to talk about it. " He looked back at the egg, stroking it slowly. " I just... I just thought it was you because you... Because your related to them... You look a lot like them too... " He sighed, placing the egg down gently. " It's a demon phoenix. Native to this kingdom only. There are only a few hundred still living. " He said with another sigh. The book was empty otherwise. I would love a pet one day.

Oops, I just finished editing it a bit, sorry! You want to edit yours do be a bit more in context with mine?

Yup! edited!

Hope nodded. "I get it." was all she said in response, then looked over his shoulder at the book. "A magnificent creature, for sure........does it say what we need to care for it?" she asked, glancing at the egg, then noticing Matt's sigh. 'Hm....' she thought. 'Seems like he has a liking for creatures.....maybe he'll get his own one day......either with his own money, or I'll get him one.....I have a lot to do to get rid of my brother's cruel legacy, and gain their trust, and it's a long shot, but maybe even their friendship.' she thought.

Matt smiled. " Thank's. It is a beautiful creature. " He skimmed the page once more. " All it really need's is the basic care's for a phoenix.... except it need's someone to center it, mentally and spiritually. " He looked back at the egg, which had a light shine in the sun. How much would one of these be worth? I would love to have one. I've always wanted a phoenix and even more a demon phoenix.

Hope looked over at him, notiving him admiring the egg while smiling, and an idea popped into her head. "You know.....I have a bit much on my plate, with planning and such, keeping this group in control a bit......and I noticed you have an affinity for creatures." she said, with a pause. "How would you like to be the caretaker of the phoenix?" she asked, looking at him expectantly, with a soft, genuine smile on her face. Nox padded in and gave a rumbling purr, having just come back from hunting, and came over, nudging Hope with his head, and she put her hand down and scratched his head gently while waiting for Matt's answer.