  We study the dynamics of the discrete nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger lattice
initialized such that a very long transitory period of time in which standard
Boltzmann statistics is insufficient is reached. Our study of the nonlinear
system locked in this {\em non-Gibbsian} state focuses on the dynamics of
discrete breathers (also called intrinsic localized modes). It is found that
part of the energy spontaneously condenses into several discrete breathers.
Although these discrete breathers are extremely long lived, their total number
is found to decrease as the evolution progresses. Even though the total number
of discrete breathers decreases we report the surprising observation that the
energy content in the discrete breather population increases. We interpret
these observations in the perspective of discrete breather creation and
annihilation and find that the death of a discrete breather cause effective
energy transfer to a spatially nearby discrete breather. It is found that the
concepts of a multi-frequency discrete breather and of internal modes is
crucial for this process. Finally, we find that the existence of a discrete
breather tends to soften the lattice in its immediate neighborhood, resulting
in high amplitude thermal fluctuation close to an existing discrete breather.
This in turn nucleates discrete breather creation close to a already existing
discrete breather.
