DAY 34
Pull: Writing, New Dragon
"THEY'RE HATCHING THEY'RE HATCHINGTHEY'REHATCHING!!!!" Gloria was bowled over by an overexcited Zeta. "GLORIA THEY'RE HATCHING-" She smacked him with her tail.
"Calm down."
With a huff, Zeta shut up. Gloria made her way over to the eggs, where Carmen was awaiting with bated breath. The eggs were already trembling and starting to crack, a strange faint humming emanating from within the shells. Then one by one, the shells split, curious Banescale babies peeking out from their former homes.
They waited for the third to hatch, but it never did. The third egg wobbled, shook, cracks spiderwebbing all around the shell, but the hatchling within never saw the light of day. Zeta and Carmen were silent, unable to face the last unhatched egg. It was Gloria that picked it up with gentle talons, quietly bringing it away for a proper burial.
The two remaining hatchlings waddled over on unsteady legs, nudging and clamouring for attention, incredibly innocent-eyed and pure bundles of joy. Gloria returned, watching the happy family, and a smile played at her snout.
~~~
Komar groaned in pain as her vision came back to her in blotches. Her innate Wind magic seemed... wait, what had happened to it? She reached deep into herself for the swirling vortex that she knew had always been there, but she came out with nothing but a gaping, empty void.
Her heart ached with the loss of her magic. That had to be the Shade. Nothing else could be so oppressive, so ravenous. But... what was that other heat signature she'd seen in the shadows?
It was as she struggled with her thoughts, head pounding, that she noticed the smaller figure a distance away. Obsidian scales, cloudy wings, bone markings etched into her hide, and a pair of eyes so crimson that she couldn't help but shudder.
The small one was looking straight at her.
"You're awake."
Komar was unable to respond. Her tongue had tied itself into knots as the object of her fear approached, blood-red eyes burning holes into her metal scales. "You feel fear too, don't you? No one has stared into my eyes without feeling the deepest sense of dread." She felt a strange pang of sympathy for the young dragonet, and wondered how she'd feel if everyone who looked at her felt the same way.
"I... I think... I think I can get used to it," she forced out.
Breathe in, breathe out. The Pearlcatcher blinked, surprise written in her ruby gaze. "I don't want to be yet another who views you with terror and shies away." The red-eyed dragonet shifted nervously.
"My name is Hecate. My siblings and I were sold to another clan soon after our birth, but I was thrown out almost immediately after. No one could stand my gaze. I was tossed inside a portal and ended up here, where I saw you blacked out on the ground." Komar nodded. Secretly, she was slightly taken aback by the age of Hecate. No dragon so young would normally have such a mature tone.
"You must be wondering why I speak with such maturity." Once again, Komar jumped in her skin. "I host another spirit within me. A dark, ancient one. She gave me my name, and my powers. I am her reincarnation." The Mirror felt something crawl under her scales, a feeling of vague discomfort. But the kindness Hecate had showed her in not abandoning her unconscious self needed to be repaid.
"Well. It seems we're sticking together for the time being, then."
I HAVE RETURNED WITH MANY NEW DRAGONS WOOT
But the family seems to be growing, as this is what I got for 4 consecutive days: apparel-apparel-familiar-apparel 0.0
I will... uh... get more dragons after I clear lair space :)
You can really tell my state of mind from this very very terse author's note and the hatchling update XD I'm trying I promise...
Meanwhile, here's the last hatchling of the clutch:
It's been two weeks since they hatched and I only managed to post today. *facepalm* anyway, Sakura is the only one why inherited Zeta's Arrow secondary! She's quite pretty too.
