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ArcAura Next chapter!! Later in the day than I meant it to be, but I had a bit of homework to do. We've got some lovely hatchlings now, and we also get a peek at Ethior's past this chapter. I'll be expanding on that more soon, I'm quite excited for it.
Also, to those who have been tracking this, you may have noticed Ethior is begining to get an outfit! He has a complete outfit designed, but a few pieces are expensive so that's going to be a bit slow going.
The soft hum of distant music graced Ethior’s ears as he sat at the desk, twirling a feather quill between his claws. Neferti and Orlena were in deep discussion on a book series Orlena had been translating; Ethior had no knowledge of it so he had elected to hang out instead of joining in. Having been banned from any hunts with his pack due to an injury to his leg, Ethior was left bored out of his mind and frustratedly limping around the lair. Neferti had graciously stuck by him throughout his annoyance, trying to entertain her possible-mate as best she could.
The week they had spent together was an interesting one, at least from Ethior’s point of view. After the initial meeting and nest, Ethior had been struck by a sudden influx of hunting missions, mostly at the edges of the Sea of a Thousand currents. Drawn away by necessity, Ethior had missed three days with Neferti and his eggs, though he thoroughly enjoyed the unique hunting swift waters and sandy beaches brought him. His leg had gotten injured when Tarien was attempting to teach him how to fish. Ethior--a poor excuse for a swimmer--had launched himself into the water haphazardly, landing almost directly on a submerged rock and banging his leg. The injury on its own wouldn’t have been an issue, but Ethior’s stubborn insistence to swim with it had led to greater damage, and Alaric had flown him back to the clan were Serasorth put him on bedrest.
When Alaric brought Ethior into the nesting grounds, his leg heavily bandaged and a scowl on his face, anyone could tell the mirror was in no mood for socializing. He had simply curled around his eggs protectively, eyeing their silvery-blue shells carefully. It hadn’t taken long for Neferti to show up, her elegant purple limbs shimmering with golden tints in the low light. By then, Ethior was half asleep, but he chirped a soft greeting to her. Ever the wise skydancer, Neferti could tell without question that Ethior wasn’t simply in pain, but rather frustrated with his overall uselessness, not to mention the fact he was banned from the very thing he was literally made to do.
With all the graciousness and care a mate could offer, Neferti began to read to Ethior at nights, coaxing him past his insomnia with her gentle words and perhaps a tinge of skydancer magic. Ethior was eternally grateful, as the extra sleep had hastened his recovery, and he had soon been cleared to limp around the lair. Then he had taken to following his mate around, trying to get a read on the regal skydancer and his feelings towards her. In the end, he only had an inkling of gratefulness among a web of what-the-heck-does-that-mean emotions.
“Ethior,” The gentle voice of Orlena broke Ethior from his reminiscing, and he looked towards the two skydancers with a soft smile. Neferti seemed unusually on edge, though she still maintained a regal facade. “Not to break your train of thought, but I should think it is time for you and Neferti to return to the nesting grounds.”
“Oh? Why?” Ethior cocked his head, genuinely curious, “Is something wrong?”
“Not wrong, no,” Neferti replied, her voice slightly off kilt, “But I can… sense something. A message hasn’t come through yet, but I can feel a disturbance in our nest. I think, perhaps, our eggs are hatching.”
Ethior blinked rapidly for a moment, then leaped to his feet, ignoring the jolt of pain as he banged his leg on the table in his haste. He looked frantically between the bemused Orlena and slightly concerned Neferti, his mouth flapping open and shut like a fish.
“Our eggs? You can sense our eggs,” Ethior yelped excitedly, his tail wagging quickly, “They’re
hatching?! Come on! We have to go watch!”
Hardly waiting for Neferti to toss her book on the table, Ethior stumbled out into the hall, wincing as he tried to run on his injured leg. With a grumble of annoyance, Ethior slowed his steps and walked quickly alongside Neferti, arriving at the nesting grounds just as the first egg cracked and spilled open. Noir was trying to type on the nearby monitor, which kept beeping angrily at her. As the pair entered, the nocturne turned around and beeped frantically, mimicking the monitor in her worry.
“The eggs are hatching, I tried to contact you but the system seems to be broken here!” Noir hurried to their side, peering into the nest cautiously.
Before them was a small mirror dragon, bright purple scales like his mother, with the bird-like markings of his father. His wings sparkled and shifted in the light, sending cascades of glittering light off them. Dim grey markings drew over his limbs, tracing his bones like his mother’s own.
With a disgruntled squawk, the young male staggered to his feet, only to tumble back to the floor. He turned towards the dragons peering into his nest, crawling forward with tiny claws, mewling at Neferti, who quickly swept him up in her wings.
“He’s adorable, be-” Noir declared, trying to quell the beeping that had not left her yet.
“Quite, tiny and strong,” Neferti replied in a soft tone, nuzzling his head. The young male purred softly, squeaking with indignance when the skydancer passed him off to Ethior.
“Another son of mine, another strong boy,” Ethior murmured fondly, watching as he nuzzled into his chest, “Though perhaps not the typical mirror strength. He seems more… gentle than that. More like you, Neferti.”
“It’s the skydancer in him,” Neferti replied a soft smile on her face, “But he is strong, I agree. If I may, I offer the name Amis for him. Soft, and reminiscent of authors from before the Dragon age.”
Ethior smiled softly, only nodding in response as he didn’t trust himself to speak. Amis… a beautiful name.
The mates cooed over their son for a while, but soon the other egg began to crack, quickly splitting open and letting a deep blue mirror spill out. She bore the same markings as her brother, though without the ghost. Instead, her belly was a darker, purple-grey, matching the blue-grey of her fins perfectly. Her scales were an unsaturated blue tone, blending nearly perfectly into the sparking grey of her wings. Though she lay still, perhaps shocked by her arrival into the new world, she stood on unsteady paws and began to stumble towards her mother.
“A beautiful girl,” Neferti said, reaching out to stroke her head gently with her paw, “She reminds me of twilight.”
“She reminds me of the storm clouds,” Ethior responded, gently setting Amis next to his sister, “All those swirling blues, greys, and purples. The amount of time I’ve watched our skies, feeling the presence of the Stormcatcher above us… it doesn’t compare to this, but she reminds me of it.”
“You speak fondly of the Stormcatcher,” Neferti began slowly, eyeing Ethior with a blank face, “Is there a reason?”
Ethior felt his muscles tense, images flashing through his mind unbidden. Soft beams of light, amber waves of grass flowing towards great white pillars. His heart clenched, and he closed his eyes, shaking the memories from his mind. He knew Neferti could read his discomfort, as she inched closer to him, gently laying her wing over his back in an attempt to help, though it did little to quell the rising storm in his mind.
“He is a God of my heart,” Ethior said simply, opening his eyes to focus on his children. Something pure, soft, good. “That is all I can say.”
Neferti was silent, allowing Ethior his moment to recover, reassemble his mind. It was silent in the room other than the soft growls of their children, tumbling in their clumsy wrestling.
“Let us name her Gale,” Ethior said softly, “After the storms above.”
Neferti said nothing, though she nodded her acknowledgment. Ethior was glad she would not argue on this with him.
They stayed in companionable silence for a while, watching their two children tumble about, their final egg with a single scratch and not further movement. When ten minutes had passed, Noir left, Mitzuaki having claimed her mate for some relaxation time. When half an hour passed, Ethior began to get antsy, his concern about the final unmoving egg mounting. He could tell Neferti was trying to keep them both calm, her muttered reassurances seeming less and less valid as time went on. When it was nearing a full hour since movement, Ethior gave up his hope and raced to the medical den, yelling frantically for Serasorth. The imperial, though treating Nylite’s persistent breathing problems, put his apprentice to his current task and quickly followed Ethior back to the nest. Neferti had lifted their two healthy children from the nest, placing them in an empty one with Orlena watching over them while she curled around the remaining egg.
“You said it’s been an hour since activity, correct,” Serasorth said as he entered, quickly lifting the egg with delicate paws, “That was the right thing to do. Not all eggs hatch quickly, but an hour is plenty long enough for movement to occur at least. This crack, is it natural?”
“As far as we know, yes,” Ethior said frantically, trying to peer over the imperial’s broad shoulders, “We got here after they first began to crack, but Noir didn’t mention the egg getting hit.”
“Noir isn’t known to be forgetful,” Serasorth said soothingly, “I can safely assume it is natural. That’s good news, it means whoever is in here is alive, just tired. We shall help the little one out a bit, nothing too difficult. I’ve done this before, please calm down Ethior, I’ll need some room and peace to work.”
Ethior retreated to the edge of the cave, pacing back and forth with a more pronounced limp, his eyes darting between Serasorth and his two children. Neferti sat silently, picking at the scraps of nesting material and avoiding Ethior’s gaze. With a steady hand, Serasorth began the procedure, purposefully allowing Ethior and Neferti to watch if they wished. With the tip of his claw, Serasorth carved several more cracks through the egg, slowly deepening them until his nail just barely pierced through the surface. When he was sure it was safe, Serasorth removed the first section of the egg, then set to work on carving out a second and third hole. Now big enough to fit his paw through, Serasorth reached into the egg and gently lifted out the curled form of a third mirror child. This one was not necessarily smaller and carried the same markings as Amis. His scales were a paler blue than Gale’s and his wings a soft pink, but the blue of his ghost had some discolored, orange areas on his jaw.
Serasorth looked over the child carefully, Ethior once again hovering over his shoulder, soon joined by Neferti. Pulling out a soft cloth from his bag, Serasorth gently rubbed the hatchling’s chest, cradling him in his other paw.
“He’s breathing, which is good, though it is a tad too unsteady for my liking. He’s not underweight or malformed, which bodes well for him, though he does seem unusually… soft. His muscles seem almost like fat tissue. No, Ethior, I don’t know what that means in the long run yet, but I think it might explain why he needed some help out of his egg. For whatever reason, I believe his muscles formed incorrectly, and while all hatchling’s are weak at first, his are particularly so. It would also explain his struggle to breathe, but that is something I am more knowledgable on treating than soft muscles. I will get him some breathing treatments, and we will identify what has caused this problem and if there is a cure. But, Ethior, Neferti,” Serasorth turned to them both, tucking the hatchling into a warm pocket on his shawl, “You must know, I have no way to know if there is a cure, or if this will be a life long issue he has to manage. Be prepared for that.”
Both dragons nodded, dumbfounded, and Serasorth swept out of the room with a parting glance of pity. In a sort of stupor, Ethior and Neferti moved to their two children, Orlena kindly taking her leave and allowing the dragons some peace.
“I… He’s alive. He’s alive,” Ethior said softly, feeling his muscles lose their tension slowly, “He’s alive, everything else can be fixed later. He’s alive.”
“He is,” Neferti confirmed, tucking herself around the two now sleeping hatchlings, “We should name him, he’s here and he deserves a name, regardless of what comes next.”
“Magnar,” Ethior replied without hesitation, “His name is Magnar.”
Neferti looked at him strangely but did not question his insistence. He knew his eyes were tearing up, memories of a soft-bellied imperial boiling to the surface despite him trying to shove them away. He knew he needed help, to rest, to reset himself, but he still shied away from the gentle paw Neferti offered in his direction. To her credit, she did not seem offended, instead simply staying quiet.
“After we know Magnar is safe and completely out of the woods, I think I will be leaving,” Neferti said softly, “Though my week here has been fun, I do not think we are… meant to be. You have a good heart though, and I know you will find who you need.”
“And you,” Ethior said, feeling a tinge of sadness, but not regret, “There is someone out there for all of us, and I think you will find your someone one day.” Ethior was silent for a moment, then he slowly tucked his legs beneath himself and offered two soft words, laden with emotion.
“Thank you.”
~
