Note: I do not own anything in this 'verse. I just like to see them dance to my tune.
Esme sat back on her haunches looking thoughtfully at the open top box with the padded sides. It held four huge almost-blue, almost-cream eggs, each warmed by gentle heat lamps in a bed of fresh alfalfa. Behind her, Jin and Gracie Wong gave her some silent time to herself as she thought about incredible second chances.
"You guys sure it'll be this week?" Esme turned to the two tengu and asked. Jin glanced at Gracie and nodded. "As close as we can be. It's an unusual situation, of course… human babies inside tengu eggs. But the coloration and the consistency of the eggshell would give it a good date range for a tengu fledgeling. We should assume the same for your children, even though human children gestate for much longer than our four months. If we're wrong, then no harm done. If we're right… the babies will need help to emerge, not being born with talons as our children are."
Gracie said, "I am planning to stay here from now until the hatching, Esme. I would welcome you as well. It would be good for them to see both of their mothers when they see the world for the first time. There are still the two beds here from when Jillian and Louise stayed here. And I would like to get a chance to know you better, Captain."
Esme grinned. That had been the first time anyone had used her spaceside title since Tinker had grounded her ship in the middle of a shrouded valley. Gracie was buttering her up. Might as well eat it up. She looked softly back at the crow woman and said, "I'd like that too. They may have come from me, but you saved their lives. That makes both of us mothers in my book." She turned back to the hatching box and added with a smirk, "We need to come up with better names for them too." Each of the eggs had names printed on them over wide, toothy grins… except the one that said, "Chuck" had fangs.
The women had many visitors bringing gifts of food and trinkets to the small loft; in one moment alone, Esme had to shake her head with amazement and reflect that it was not unlike the biblical tale of the birth of Jesus, with Angels and Kings bringing gifts from afar. The community that Tinker and Windwolf were the center of were embracing the concept of four more Dufae siblings with a whole heart. Tinker had saved their world, organized defences and proven to everyone why she was called the Godzilla of Pittsburgh; Oilcan was now a full Domanae and a proven war leader; and the Jil-lo twins were living with their Aunt Lain and carving out large niches for themselves. The prospect of having four more like Tinker running around Pittsburgh had everyone in the town of every race anticipating a future that they could not likely fathom.
The loft had one additional guest, of course… a baby dragon named Joy. In between the frequent food runs the dragon disappeared on, she could be found lying with the eggs, absorbing heat from the lamp and giving off smug but happy vibes. Esme lost patience with the creature one day and asked in exasperation, "Why do you spend so much time here? Won't Louise or Jillian miss you?"
The small dragon's head was shaped more like a dog with a medium sized muzzle than any kind of reptile, with the exception of delicate pinkish scales and a human level expressiveness. She used that ability to look with pity at Esme and say, "Joy HAS to be here! No Joy, No Babies!"
Esme felt some shock at this. "Um, why no babies if you're gone, Joy?"
"I taught them to Dreamwalk! Babies learn fast, had to when they in tiny frozen thing. But can't dreamwalk when they are growing bodies! Bodies need minds! Joy keeps them where they are and growing!" The dragon sighed. "Going to be happy happy when eggs crack. Joy can take time, see what can eat in City!"
Gracie had of course been listening. She lowered herself gently to her knees and bowed profoundly to Joy. "Thank you, great one, for ensuring the health of these nestlings. We were unaware of the danger they were in. Thank you." Joy stood on her hind legs and crossed the forepaws across her chest and tilted her chin up with pride. It made her almost thirty cents tall. "Mine! I take care of!" She flapped/hopped back up to the nesting box and wiggled her way back to comfort. And that was that.
The loft was well within the perimeter of the tengu village, but still outside the militarized zone surrounding and protecting Pittsburgh. Windwolf and Derek Maynard had both sent troops to help protect the area from oni attacks, as one well-aimed rocket propelled grenade would destroy all their dreams. These personnel, however, were practically invisible to the women in the nesting room, so the parade of visitors were really their only guests. Louise appeared the most, either with Jillian or alone, and Esme was always impressed with the self-possession of the nine year old. Windwolf had requested of the Queen to send one of her Intanyai Seyosa, the true dreamers, to train the little Wood Sprite, but had been refused… for now. Once the present emergency was over, a teacher would be sent, if one was still needed.
The last visitors before the hatching were Windwolf and his Domae, her headstrong daughter Tinker. For once, she was dressed as an elf, with exposed shoulders and upswept, though short, hair, some beautiful jewelry, mostly Wind clan blue in polished silver settings. The dress was bronze, to match her husbands', but had lace peeking through from the underdress. Tinker was on her best behavior, and Esme, not used to this from her Scarecrow, was wary. After watching the eggs for a while, Tinker drew Esme to one side of the room and talked softly."I've been talking with Lain. Or rather, she's been talking at me. She says… well, she says that I need to grow up about you. It's safe to say that I and the twins have some issues, abandonment issues about you. We know in our heads that you were doing as you were guided, we know it with our heads, but our hearts just know that you popped us out and scooted out of the solar system, not looking back. I just wanted you to know that I'll make the effort to make things right with us. I never had a mother, and I, I don't want to waste the time I'll have with you." Tears were forming in Tinkers' almond shaped eyes and slowly rolling down her cheeks. Esme reached out and drew the girl in and they knelt there together, silently weeping.
After they cleaned up, they joined Wolf and Gracie, who had been talking softly in front of the box. After a few minutes, Tinker whispered to Esme, "I envy them; they're going to know their mother from the beginning. You, on the other hand, I don't envy at all. I was a holy terror growing up, and Jillian told me pretty bluntly that the twins would have been burned at the stake for all that they were doing if they hadn't lied their butts off."
Esme whispered back, "I don't think that will be a problem, hun. This set of Dufaes will be double and triple teamed growing up. Lain can handle the twins, Gracie and I are going to whip these fledgelings into some kind of shape, if we can keep your elves away from them. Elves are just too tender-hearted about their kids to make them good parent material for four more genius troublemakers." They both laughed softly, and an hour later, Tinker drew Wolf away and left.
The long watch for the women ended the next day. Gracie carefully monitored the condition of the shells, and in the early afternoon simply said, "It's time." She had some specialized instruments with her, and as cracks appeared in each of the eggs she carefully applied them, pulling at the edges and widening the gaps in the thick shells. Chuck was first, as they might have guessed. As her face was exposed, Gracie rolled her onto her back and opened her mouth, blowing into it and her nose. The baby started breathing and coughed weakly, and Gracie handed the blunt oversized tweezers to Esme and moved to the next child. "The fluid in their lungs is absorbed just before hatching, but I want to make sure the breathing reflex starts properly. In human births, babies are squeezed out and that starts the reflex. Not so here!"
In preparation for the hatching, the Tengu doctors had prescribed a herbal tea for Esme and Gracie that had them lactating two days before the eggs started cracking. It was a good thing, too, as all four of the babies were born hungry! As the two mothers started to take care of that chore, the news of the hatching spread through the community. Tengu medicos flew in and checked over the children extensively. They were a trifle undersized for human kids, the birth weight coming in at two and a quarter kilos to just over three. But the most surprising thing was what happened when the babies were fed and put back in the warm box, this time filled with soft blankets. Joy, who had been mostly quiet and out of the way during the process, stood over each of the children and put a paw onto their foreheads and looked deeply into their eyes. Babies are not known for a great deal of focus post birth, but each of the quads were captured by the warm dark depths of the young dragons' eyes. When each of the babies had gone through this process, the dragon staggered a bit and then curled next to Nikola and started sleeping exhaustedly. Gracie looked at Esme and just shrugged.
Esme walked tiredly away from the onlookers to her bed and picked up the tablet once more, the one that she and Gracie had finalized just that morning.
Nikola (Nick) Tesla Dufae; Charline (Chuck) Norris Dufae; Roberta (Bobbie) Joy Dufae; and Gwendoline (Gwen) Providence Dufae.
Esme grinned fondly at the names and wondered if Elfhome had room for so many Godzillas