Maze

The first tremors of hatching were shuddering through the eggs, and Maze was trying very hard not to panic.

Panicking would be totally understandable! It was his very first nest, after all. In fact, it was the first time he'd ever even seen a hatching. Most of the swarmlet had never been to a hatching before either, so only Meren and Moth had any real idea of what it was supposed to be like. And Meren was so frozen with tension under the queen’s intense stare that she’d barely been able to uncurl herself from around the eggs.

Shadiya’d had good reason to be mad when she’d found out about the nesting—they wouldn’t be able to travel for their mission until the hatchlings were grown. But as Moth had calmly pointed out, the time didn’t need to be wasted. This land was strange to them, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to stake out a home territory for a while until they’d become more used to its differences and dangers. Small scouting teams could still be sent out, and they’d have a safe place to come back to. After a lot of huffing and snarling, Shadiya had eventually surrendered to Moth’s reasoning, but she was still Not Happy. And when the queen was Not Happy, things were...uncomfortable.

And Maze knew that he wasn’t the smartest of dragons, but he wasn't dumb either. He’d figured out that the eggs probably hadn’t been a complete accident. Even if Meren hadn’t actively been trying for them, it was still the result that she’d wanted. She really did hate the traveling. So she’d used him, maybe, and maybe he should be angry about that, but...he was going to have children.

He was going to be a father.

Only if the eggs actually hatched, though, and he didn't know what happened next, what they were supposed to do—

Moth raised xir wings, held them for a beat, then began a low drone. Almost desperate with relief, Maze shivered his wings as well, letting Moth’s vyrm lead him, matching his vibration with xirs. Then Needle came lilting in at a higher pitch, and the others joined too, the hum rising and falling and rising—Shadiya as well, taking the lead note, come, come, come. There was a quaver in Meren’s tone that opened an aching resonance inside Maze’s chest—edging nearer, he butted his head up under her chin, and she turned to press her muzzle into his mane with a ragged chuff.

Together they hummed, all seven of them, until the egg sang back, until the shell shook and splintered and the hatchling came tumbling out—striped in blue with a lavender and cream mane and fluttery, sticky wings, and oh, it was so small....

Shadiya stepped forward, and the droning softened until it was nearly subsonic as she cupped a hand around the baby’s head. She bent to sniff at it, her antennae flicking as she read its vyrm; then she nodded and stepped back. The egg hum rose again, calling and coaxing until the second hatchling, vivid green and pink, had joined the first. After Shadiya had investigated that one too, the rest of the swarmlet moved in to greet the hatchlings, while Maze bounced on his toes, tail flicking and wings buzzing even though the rest had all fallen silent. Finally they were done, and he slithered into the nest, quick as a mantis striking, although he and Meren got a little tangled up when she dove for it at the same time. After a kick or two, they settled, curling up around their children: two babies, male-sexed, healthy and beautiful. Maze purred his joy.

When he glanced up some time later, after the hatchlings had had their first meal of soft grubs and fallen asleep, he saw Shadiya watching them. Noticing his attention, she snorted and lifted her chin, staring down at him as if daring him to comment. But he’d seen the softness in her eyes, tasted the acceptance in her vyrm, and he tucked his head down with a smile.

“Welcome, babies,” he whispered to the little ones. “Welcome to the swarm.”

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shell/loop/capsule


skink/spinner/capsule


wasp/bee/capsule

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