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The Coming of Dragons

Chapter Nine

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Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

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The warmth of looking down onto a nest of eggs did not sit well with Santino, her tail tucked around her feet as she considered, everything tense about her, even her horns that were still straight and pointing back from her head. She'd never even considered being a father, considering her inclinations in life, but all of that had changed. She could not look at any of the dragonesses with interest in that way, but did see them all as sisters.

Yet, amongst her coven, she was, in a way, still alone. She was as she was and the nuances of what her heart wanted no longer seemed to matter.

"What's wrong?"

Ah, Isla-Rae. She had seemed to take more gently to the notion of being pregnant, though she had admitted to her that she had never honestly considered it before, not back when she'd been a human. But that life seemed like a long time ago, the dragoness nosing at the light, gentle swell of her belly, marvelling at it once again.

"Nothing, Isla-Rae," she said, settling down near her, though a shake of Santino's head told the dragoness that her friend was holding more back. "But you look well."

She smiled.

"You're quieter, Santino, I can tell. And I was just thinking that it's strange I'll never be able to feel the eggs shift in me, like I would have if I'd had a human baby. I guess that's not something you would have thought about, considering..."

Santino bobbed her head with a little sigh.

"Yeah... I never thought I'd have kids."

Santino's stomach had grown too and it was a strange comfort to see it changing, yet a confusing one all the same. Isla-Rae settled against Santino, offering the warmth of her body in turn, though the dragon could not settle, not even with the happily pregnant Isla-Rae, the one of them who seemed to have slipped into their new life so easily.

Could it be that easy for her too? Could it really be that easy?"

"I'm sorry, Isla-Rae..." The rise of her pregnancy would not leave her alone, reminding her all the while what she carried with her, the sweetness and terrifying prospect of new life. "I've got to go. I've just got some things on my mind."

Of course, Isla-Rae let her go. But if she knew Isla-Rae, the dragoness would find her again, offering her that quiet comfort and company, even if she was not able to do anything about it. Santino liked that about her and the maternal nature of the dragoness only seemed to come through more and more as her pregnancy showed, the eggs developing inside them.

Slipping into the water of a lake to bathe some distance from where they had made their home, she sighed, relaxing into the water. If she was remembered, she'd find a way to put it to rights one day. But the sensations of the moment promised to wash away any trouble that lingered there, regardless of how she felt.

Wing-beats tampered with the air, the peace that she had eased into, and she opened a lazy eye, only her head remaining above the surface of the water. Though she was more surprised to find Anniyah and Jenson there than other dragonesses, perhaps Arya and Brent, who seemed just as close and even bolder than the elders of their odd little tribe.

"I didn't think anyone else came out here," Santino said with a yawn, rolling over so that the bulge of her belly showed above the surface of the water, wings extended so that she could remain floating. "But you're welcome to join me."

After all, she had not gone out to the lake on a sunny day to push anyone away but simply because her scales itched and had become clogged up with dirt. It didn't seem to take much to make them feel heavy and ungainly, though they were such small things, intricately layering their bodies from head to toe, and the thought of even taking a bath in the dust made her shudder. No - no, thank you! That wasn't for dragons even if other creatures found them appealing.

"Oh, we didn't mean to disturb."

Yet Santino meant whole-heartedly that they were welcome and allowed them to join her, the couple crooning softly to each other, keeping a respectful distance. Santino watched, observing lightly, though there were not any social conventions at play that made such staring "wrong" in any way. It was only a lingering humanness to her that made her think that, perhaps, she should not stare so.

"Do your horns ever get caught on anything?"

The question came suddenly as Jenson started and chuckled, the water splashing up around his neck as he used his wings to float in a more conventional position. It was a fair question, to be honest, considering how big and bull-like they were. Out of all the dragons, they extended to either side of his head the most.

"That's a strange question... And, yes, they do. I didn't think they'd be so easy to hook, what with the round of them...but, yes."

Anniyah chuckled, sweeping her head back and forth through the water, letting the crystal-clear depths flow into her maw and swirl around her teeth, chortling bubbles.

"Yes," she added, raising her head with water streaming, sparkling, from her scales. "He got caught on the trees when we were going through the forest, once, but that was not something that you could say that either of us were expecting!"

Jenson laughed and Santino was struck by the belly laugh that erupted forth, the water churning around his chest and neck as he reared a little higher out of the water.

"Yes, that was, ah, quite a moment."

Anyone who didn't know that dragons could not blush would have said that that was exactly what Santino was doing at that moment, a chortle rising forth but behind something else. And Santino could not help but latch onto that brashly, a grin stretching her lips wide, showing off her teeth.

"Ah... Now, I didn't think you old folks took such private time for each other anymore!"

It was not her old, brash self, not in the way that she had been, tossing crude joke about after joke as if they meant nothing at all - but it was something. It rose in her chest as if her heart was lifting, loosening a little, even though she did not quite know what that meant or what she was supposed to do about it. Maybe in time, she would understand but, for the time being, it was alright as it was.

Maybe that was all that things had to be.

"You shouldn't jest, Santino, you know we'd have never talked about these things before! This wasn't done!"

Santino cocked her head.

"Nothing at all? But what about doctors?"

Anniyah covered her face with a wing.

"I didn't let Jenson be present for that. And only ever a female doctor for anything...down there. It shouldn't be a struggle to get the words out now, we know differently, but it still is. Have you ever struggled with something like that, Santino?"

Santino could only shake her head. Not when it came to the bedroom... No, that side of life had always come very easily for her since her sexual awakening. Yet her curiosity was perked even as Jenson diligently changed the subject.

"So, Santino, was there anyone back home that you're looking forward to seeing again? You must have been halfway through your studies?"

"Yes, dear, I'm sure they'll make allowances for dragons if you want to complete your studies, though I've afraid our lives have changed so much that they may no longer be something that you'd like to pursue."

Santino twisted, rolling onto her front again, but that was only to buy herself time as her heart pounded.

Someone waiting for her? No... No, she wasn't ready to look at that yet. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

"No... Well, family. That's what you meant, wasn't it?"

Her tongue seemed to tangle within her muzzle, the dragoness tripping over herself in her effort to get words out, any words at all. Anything would do, as long as she could keep them from going down the wrong path.

"Yes, my mother, my brothers... When we work out what's happened, what we can do, they'll be so relieved to know I'm alive!"

Her words sounded false even to her own ears but, wisely, Jenson cut in before she could rattle on any further, shaking her nerves loose from her very own scales.

"It's hard to lose family. They'll be missing you greatly. It should not be long until the eggs are laid though."

She raised her muzzle, the scales sparkling silver in the light of day, glittering like the world's finest gem, staring off into the distance as if Jenson saw something there that the others could not.

"I feel it..."

Maybe the elders knew something that the youngest could not understand, something in motherhood tugging at the dragoness, in the pit of her belly. It was an age-old need as she swept her gaze across the lake again, taking in the expanse of sparkling water. Alan and she had deduced that their memories would be passed down to their offspring, if what was in the cave carvings was true. On the off chance that such a thing was possible (and that was very much a possibility considering that they had, well, become dragons), she wanted to implant as many beautiful memories as possible in her mind for her little ones. They would counteract the bad, the twisted truths of humanity, that may have otherwise been overwhelming present.

But there was nothing she could do about that.

Anniyah broke the mood, splashing her in the face, and Jenson took chase in a relishing snarl. Santino was part of their fun too, not quite a daughter but a sister to both of them - a younger sister. Splashing and cavorting, they explored the limits of their body in the crystalline embrace of the lake, twisting and turning, luxuriating in delight that was entirely theirs to claim for their own. There could be time for such serious worries, such serious conversations, at another time - but for the here and the now, it was all for them to enjoy, to embrace the gift that they had been giving with water swirling softly over their scales.

High above, Kelvin watched them bathing, waiting for them to leave so that she could do the same for herself. She wanted to make sure she was clean, clean and fresh, even if she was not about to put her plan into action that night. That would have to wait a little longer, but just a little, so close that she could almost taste it, tongue flickering from her muzzle to lick at the air.

"So close..."

A little more, that was all she had to bear through. And that would be enough for her, enough to change the path of her fate. She could wait that long for Casey, couldn't she? Her old life would be there for her, in a new way, if only she could enlighten those that were close to her as to what had happened to them.

If she'd learned one thing from all her time assisting Alan down in the caves, after all, it was that there was power in learning. There was power in knowledge. And she had the knowledge to give and share with others, for once, even if they may not have been expecting it.

The old pang rose again in her stomach, but she ignored it. She expected it was the same for all the dragonesses.

"I'm coming."

Below her, Santino splashed with the two older dragonesses, their cries of delight echoing forth, water sparkling as the afternoon wore on. Kelvin did not join them.

Little did they know just how close Kelvin was to making the leap that none of the others could have found the bravery to do.