Tranth

Gshar stared into the soft green shade of the nesting hollow. "Othwy." She called over she shoulder, not taking her eyes off nest. "We have two eggs."

A wind gusted through the grass as a bulky and armored Guardian dragon thudded to earth behind her, giant wings whooshing as they were folded back.

"That is so!" Othwyrd said proudly, giant head dipping down to join Gshar at the nest. "Like emeralds shining, our fine clutch, one and two!"

Gshar's crest struggled to rise. She forced it to stay still, feigning calm. "Three."

An eye as large as Gshar's head blinked at her. "Three?" Othwyrd did something with her face, a contortion meant to signal confusion. Then she looked into the nesting hollow. "Every day I count them, and every day there is one, two-"

A pink and blue green hatchling stared back at her, curled snug around Gshar and Othwyrd's clutch.

"...three." The Guardian's voice petered off weakly. Golden jaws fellow open. "Oh."

Restraining a nervous wing rustle, Gshar nudged Othwyrd's head back a little. "Close your trap. Don't scare them."

The hatching, a Skydancer with plumes of it's half feathered wings still partly downy from fledgling, rolled over and waved it's legs in the air, tufted tail catching leaves as it swiped across the ground.

"Not scared!" It squeaked as it flopped around. "You're nice. You feel nice, and the eggs like it when you talk. I like your eggs- They're happy, like you. I wanna see what they look like when they come out!"

"And I want to see your parents." Gshar glanced warily up at the empty sky.

"Have you become lost?" Othwyrd asked, low voice carrying easily even though she'd moved back nearly the length of her own body.

The Skydancer hatchling lolled it's head back and forth. "I came here on purpose. I can fly on my own now, I'm all grown up!"

Suddenly Gshar had a bad feeling about this. "Go home then." She spread her crest loosely, letting them flush with dark soothing shades. "Come back later. Visit. If you want."

"No." Tucking it's wings the hatchling wiggled to it's feet. It began prancing around the eggs, singing, tail and wings bouncing with every step. "No~ No~ No~"

Leaves crunched as Othwyrd took a step closer. "Your parents will become worried-"

"No they won't!" Feathers flashed pink in the sunlight as the hatchling did a midair spin. "They know I'm okay. They worried a little, before they felt here and before they felt you see me, but they're happy now."

Gshar sank her claws into the ground, trying to fight off the dizzy turns this strange talk was taking. "Don't understand." She looked back at Othwyrd, lost. "I don't understand."

Othwyrd was standing frozen, huge bulk a still as if scales had turned to stone. At Gshar's glance she shifted, slowly, raising one wing tip as the other drooped to the grass below.

She lacked the crest to complete the gesture, but Gshar knew was she was trying to signal- Confusion. Helplessness. Othwyrd had started to learn signaling a matter of days after meeting Gshar, but this young Skydancer had left her just as lost as Gshar.

Well then. If they were both lost, then one of them should at least pretend not to be.

Gshar turned back to the hatchling, crest upright and rippling in a show of confidence and reassurance. "Explain."

Puffing up, the hatchling sat back and flared it's wings proudly. The gem on the forehead seemed to gleam. "I'm your third!" It said. "My name's Tranth. I'm mostly fledged and all gown up, and I can't WAIT to see what my baby siblings look like!"

For a long moment Gshar considered that. "Hm."

Othwyrd crept up to the nesting hollow, armored fins folded tight as she tried to look small, blood red beard dragging across the ground.

The little Skydancer caught sight of the beard's trailing tips. Instantly the hatchling's rear end went up, forelegs spreading in a bow as it locked in on the flicker. It wiggled.

Othwyrd froze again. Too late, the hatchling pounced with a squeakily trilling cry.

Gshar watched it immediately vanish into the beard, thrashing gleefully and already tying knots in the locks she spent an hour every morning and evening determinedly combing out. She drooped her wings, signaling more defeat than she felt honestly.

"Thee." She told Othwyrd, as the Guardian tilted her head to glimpse the hatchling tangled in her beard. "We have three."

Othwyrd thrummed. "And we did not even need to think of third name."

Tranth stuck their head out of her beard. "I'm hungry." They chirpped. "When do we eat? Do I get my own cave in the den? Can I name the eggs? When are you going to the practice grounds next? Can I name ONE of the eggs? I wanna help you fight in the Coliseum! I'm big enough! Do you think I'm a good dancer? Everyone else says I'm not 'elegant' enough, but-"

Taking a deep breath, Gshar looked warily at the two peaceful-looking eggs. She suddenly had the feeling they wouldn't be staying peaceful for long.