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Hey folks! Thanks for your patience and support, it means the world to me! It might seem like I've not been writing at all recently, but that's in fact not true. I've actually been cowriting with fellow nuzlocker @Alxias! I heartily suggest giving her nuzlocke a read whether you care about our upcoming collaboration or not~
Still, I apologize profusely for the delay in updates. But dare I say, I think this whopper of an entry may make up for that a bit. There are fewer joys greater than seeing my beloved husband/editor cackle with glee at the ending of a chapter~
To the many people who have requested to be on my pinglist and have not received a ping from me until now: I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. I do read your messages and they mean the world to me... but I sadly have a lot of trouble wording responses. (Despite how wordy I can get when I'm on a tangent, I actually have a major speaking phobia I'm still working on.)
Enjoy! And, as always, I love to hear your feedback!
Entry 40
We named her Winter.
It was a joke at first, but there was nothing more suiting to name the hatchling I carried swaddled in my scarf. She was an ice dragon just like me, not to mention a pearlcatcher, and as she snuggled closer to me with her head tucked under my chin, I couldn’t help but wonder with a pang of sadness if one of my own children could’ve been like she was.
I thought of Lapis again, and felt my heart sink further as I recalled the pain and fear on her face the last time I saw her. I hugged the hatchling closer to me, and tried to focus on her instead of the memories that were again threatening to overwhelm me.
Her chirps and soft coos at once warmed and broke my heart, and I stopped trudging through the snow just to catch my breath and get a hold of myself before I started tearing up. “Hello, sweetheart,” I said softly, rocking back and forth to soothe her. I was just calming myself, really - she already seemed quite content. I shut my eyes for just a moment, focusing on the cold and howling wind that still surrounded us.
Things will be better once we’re home, I told myself, still rocking the infant gently.
I remained that way until I felt a soft tug on my whisker, and opened my eyes to see she’d taken hold of it. Winter played with it idly before meeting my gaze and reaching out to me. She let out a rather urgent squeak and grasped in my direction until I ducked my head down into her reach. She quickly took my snout in her hands, squealing with delight and pulling my face even closer to hers.
“Cute little thing, isn’t she?”
I jumped a bit at Oslowe’s voice so close behind me, pulling away from the protesting Winter as I snapped focus to him. “Y-yeah, she is,” I replied with what must’ve been a rather half-hearted smile, given the look he gave me in response. “We should be back in the next hour or so,” I added quickly, turning to peer ahead through the blizzard. “Thank goodness for that, I’m exhausted.”
“I feel the same,” the guardian rumbled in response, letting out a sigh. “Shall we keep going, then?”
I nodded and resumed trudging through the thick snow, clutching the fussy infant to my chest for the last of the long trek home.
Our bear stood sentinel at the bottom of the cave’s steps when we returned. Judging by the ice and snow that covered his hide he’d been waiting for us for a long time. He turned away from us to let out a bellow up into the cave before backing out and allowing us in ahead of him.
I was rather confused by his behavior at first, and I could hear my clanmates speaking in the room ahead of us in hushed tones. As I strained my ears to listen, Lily darted down the steps to meet us and bounced excitedly in front of me.
“Wafer! You’re finally back—and you have one too? I mean – we have something to show you, come on!” she said before turning to leap back up the stairs. I hurried after her as Oslowe squeezed his way through the tunnel behind us.
Most of my clanmates were watching me as I made my way into the cave’s main room. I noticed first that the cave mouth that opened over the ocean had been blocked off. Boulders and materials we’d gathered were spread tightly over the gaps between each other like a tarp, with the harsh wind only whistling through a few minor holes here and there.
Cassian and Cerris were tending the fire pit diligently, with the dryads, centaurs, and most of our familiars sitting nearby to keep warm. Nova stood and waved, assorted scraps of fabric falling from her lap—some onto Rill, sitting beside her— as she did so. Anemone was scrambling about on the floor in no clear direction.
Miri was still in the furthest corner from us, curled up and shaking slightly.
“You… weatherproofed? That was a great idea, thank you,” I said hesitantly, unsure of why Lily had been so excited.
“No! Well, yeah, but there’s something else!” Lily explained, gesturing excitedly toward her and Arc’s den. Valen popped his head out first, cradling a sleeping infant mirror that was as small as he’d been the day he hatched. He brought his newborn sibling over to Lily and handed it to her before lying down at Rill’s side.
“This is Violet,” Lily said quietly, holding her daughter out so I could get a better look at her. The hatchling was a pale purple with sea-blue wings. She seemed rather frail, even moreso than Valen had been.
I noticed that Lily was again looking toward her den, brow raised in confusion. “And uh, Arc is supposed to be – oh, there he is. Meet Aria too!”
I heard Arc grunt and cry out before I actually saw him, but once he did pull himself out of his lair I saw what had delayed him. A much, much larger—more around proper size, really—mirror hatchling was crawling up his face and gnawing on one of his crests. I could hear her squeaks and play-growls from where I stood, alongside Arc gently chastising her as he tried to take the energetic infant into his arms.
Lily shifted Violet to one of her arms and made a fist with her free hand, raising it into the air. “I’m so proud of her; she fought her way right out of that egg and was running around within a few minutes! I’ve never seen a kid so energetic!” she paused for a moment. “Except Mira, anyway,” she added with a shrug before resuming cradling Violet in both arms. “I’m very proud of you, too, of course,” she cooed to her hatchling. “Dad and I didn’t think you’d made it at first.”
“So, uh, who’s that, there?” Arc asked as he joined his mate’s side, nodding toward the pearlcatcher squirming in my arms.
“This is Winter. We found her egg when we were out in the forest,” I replied, letting the hatchling down to wander around. Anemone scuttled across the cave to meet her and was soon following the tiny pearlcatcher about as she examined her new surroundings.
It was hard to take my eyes off her, but I still returned my focus to Lily as she spoke again.
“She’s cute, real cute. Yeah…” Lily nodded. “I’m uh, I’m proud of us. Two out of three just seems so amazing, especially compared to last time. I think we did a lot better... do you, Wafer? D-do you think we did a good job?”
The look in her eyes was so imploring, as was Arc’s. They were both so urgent for my approval.
I felt a surge of guilt seeing it.
“Of course you’ve done a good job,” I said. “But you did a good job with your first nest too. Losing the other eggs wasn’t your fault at all, it was just… fate.”
I sighed, bothered by my own response. “What I mean is, we’re so cut off from proper nesting grounds, where the Arcanist’s magic helps protect eggs, that it’s amazing you two have managed to keep so many of them alive. I’m very proud of you both.”
Lily didn’t respond at first, her mouth slightly open as she thought over what I’d said. But then, in a quick flourish, she had once again shifted her daughter to one arm and threw the newly freed one around my shoulders. She pulled me in close for a moment, and let go just as quickly, flashing a toothy smile before making her way toward her den with Violet held close to her chest.
Arc took a step toward me, opening his mouth to speak, but Aria cut him off with a screech. I saw her crouch, wiggling her rump before leaping off her father—only to be caught in midair.
“Jeez,” Arc breathed, steadying himself as he tried to wrangle the infant who was still pawing the air in my direction, a trail of drool swinging from her mouth. “Sorry dad, I guess I’ll see you later when she’s sleeping or something.”
He turned, hurriedly pulling himself and the still babbling and shrieking Aria down into the den.
“’Dad’, hmm?” Oslowe rumbled from behind me. I turned to see him peering down with a warm, but strangely off-putting smile.
“Yeah…” I sighed after some hesitation. “I’ve asked him not to call me that, but he seems to slip sometimes.”
“Why did you ask him to stop?” Oslowe asked. “Didn’t you say only a few hours ago these dragons are like your family?”
“It just… feels wrong,” I muttered, not wanting to explain myself then. I took a few steps away, looking about the lair for Winter, who I’d managed to lose track of.
She wasn’t near the fire, or Nova, or any other member of my clan for that matter. I was beginning to fear she’s somehow made her way into Arc and Lily’s den, but then I heard Miri speak.
“What are you looking at?” the tundra asked flatly, staring down at Winter with narrowed eyes. The little pearlcatcher had her back to me, but from what I could tell appeared to be in a staring contest with the snotty tundra. Anemone lingered a bit behind her, imitating her stance perfectly.
“What… is it?” she asked again, her expression softening somewhat as she continued to look down at the hatchling. “Well, at least you’re quiet… unlike that – ”
And then she let out a horrified shriek. Amidst it, I could hear gagging, and then a sickly splatter.
“Holy CRAP,” Valen exclaimed, Nova just looking on with her frills pulsing. Miri was now screaming expletives. Anemone stared with eyes wide.
I dashed toward Winter, who had doubled over, and took hold of her shoulder. Easing her back upright, I could only stare blankly before bursting out in helpless laughter.
“WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING? THAT THING JUST PUKED OUT ITS HEART OR SOMETHING,” Miri shrieked, pointing a shaking claw in my direction.
“N-no she didn’t,” I finally managed, turning to look at Nova. “She made her pearl! Could you throw me one of those rags, please?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Miri spat, gesturing at the great glob of blackness at Winter’s feet. “That mess? It looks more like shade-touched crap if you ask me – ”
I caught the cloth Nova tossed in my direction and gingerly plucked it from the ground, beginning to wipe at it gently as Miri continued on.
“It looks like a lot of things but it sure as hell doesn’t look like a… a pearl,” she quieted, eyes wide as I managed to remove the bulk of the mucus, revealing a sizeable and brilliantly lustrous pearl.
Winter trilled with delight and reached up for it, cuddling it close the moment I handed it to her.
“Every pearlcatcher makes one, usually within the first day,” I explained. “She’s just fine, that was all normal.”
“Children are disgusting,” Miri replied sullenly, sliding back down against the cave wall.
“Well, at least you’ll only see that once,” I replied flatly, rolling my eyes as I lifted Winter in my arms and turned away from the tundra.
And then I heard more gagging.
“
Ohmygodsnoyoulittlemonster GET AWAY FROM ME
NO!”
I turned to see Miri standing on her hind legs, pressed against the wall. At her feet was Anemone and a considerable pile of drool, which the little creature seemed to be trying to sculpt into an orb.
“OSLOWE GET THIS THING AWAY FROM ME I HATE THIS PLACE A SWEAR TO TIDELORD – ” she clasped a hand over her face in rage and exasperation.
I was just as surprised as she was when Oslowe’s immediate response was rumbling laughter.
Huge thanks to @Lochnessmonster for donating Winter's egg, as well as being a lovely person in general.
