Hatching
Disclaimer mini-fic:
Me: Peril, do the disclaimer.
Peril: Why me?
Me: 'Cause I'm writing this story and you have to do as I say.
Peril: *Narrows eyes dangerously* What If I don't want to?
Me: Then I'll say that you were a brute and that Kestrel disowned you and-
Peril: *Breathes fire*
Me: *Yelps and dives behind desk* Alright! I don't own you! You can do whatever you want!
Peril: Ooh, Nachos!
Me: NOT THE NACHOS!
It was the brightest night. The three moons were full, casting a bright silver glow that lit up the dark. The stars glittered coldly above, distant and unreachable, adding their light to the moonshine that illuminated the five glowing dragon eggs in the rock nest. Blood red, deepest blue, pale white with an iridescent rainbow glow, midnight black and purple, and a warm gold, all rocking with the movements of hatching. Webs peered at the other guardians. Dune, put on dragonet duty because he was too crippled to fly or be valuable, scowling down at the gold egg. He had said that he had second thoughts about the SandWing egg, because what SandWing was bright gold instead of the color of desert sands? And it was smaller than normal. It was probably a runt and would never hatch. And if it did, it would die immediately. Webs, however, wasn't so sure. If it died, then how would the prophecy be completed? And Kestrel. She was glaring at the eggs, smoke curling out of her nostrils and up around her horns. Her own dragonets had been twins, born from one egg; the female had too much fire and the male had too little. Knowing that her twins wouldn't be allowed to survive, she attempted to flee with them, only to be stopped by Scarlet and her guards. The queen said that she would allow Kestrel and her dragonets to survive if she killed one, but as soon as Kestrel killed the dragonet with too little fire, Scarlet changed her mind and ordered her warriors to kill them. Kestrel attempted to flee with the remaining dragonet, but the fire in the baby's scales burned her and she was forced to leave her dragonet at the mercy of Queen Scarlet. When offered the opportunity for dragonet raising, she accepted, knowing that there should be a SkyWing that she could raise as her own and hopefully forget about her own hatchlings. But the SkyWing had been killed, and now she would have to live with remembering her dead dragonets every day for the rest of her life.
A loud cracking noise alerted Webs from his musings. He looked down to see that the red egg was hatching, splitting down the middle. A MudWing fell out, blinking his large brown eyes and peering around. He spread amber-gold wings, then rushed at the SeaWing egg, ramming into it, clawing and beating at it with his wings. Webs froze in shock for a moment. But not Kestrel. With a roar, she snatched the hatchling in her ruby-red talon and hurled him into the river. The MudWing bounced off with a squeak and fell into the freezing water. Webs raced over, horrified. If he was dead… He reached the river and peered around anxiously for a small brown body. The hatchling bobbed to the surface of the stream and climbed out, shivering. Web breathes a sigh of relief and grabbed the dragonet by the scruff of his neck, carrying him over to the nest. By the time he got back, the SeaWing egg was rattling violently. As he watched, a dark blue SeaWing dragonet burst out, ramming her head forward, lashing her tail, squeaking a battle cry. Kestrel snorted and picked the dragonet up. The SeaWing opened her little mouth and attempted to claw Kestrel. Kestrel looked at her, grumbled "We may have a fighter here," and plopped her into a basin of water. The dragonet splashed happily and swam in circles, lighting up her scales to what roughly translated as: aoirhvpquihgnerl. Webs glanced at the nest and watched as the RainWing egg hatched, depositing a regal-looking dragonet onto her back. The dragonet let out a squawk of indignation, baring two viper-like fangs. She turned a bright, angry red as she swung herself up and looked around. Curling her tail over her paws, she watched as the NightWing egg broke open. The little dragonling within bolted to his feet, spreading star-spangled wings and looking about nervously. When he relaxed, he started to wander around, poking his eggshells and then comparing it to the others curiously. Dune grunted and growled, "Looks like a braniac. Glad you brought scrolls or I would have to keep the wyrm buisy." Webs replied, "We need well-educated dragonets anyway. They have to learn to read scrolls or the war would never end." Dune grunted in reply.
Webs watched the little gold egg anxiously. Almost an hour later, and the SandWing egg showed no signs of hatching. He poked it with a claw and was relieved to see it wobble slightly. The little dragonet scratched at the inside, rocking back and forth with effort. Webs watched a bit, then reached out and gave the egg a firm clout with his talon. It broke open, and a tiny gold dragonet flopped out at the feet of the NightWing, who backed up so quickly that he almost fell out. Webs stared at the prone body with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Dune was right. She was a runt and she was bright gold and she didn't have a poisonous barb and she was dea… Webs gasped as the dragonet opened her eyes and took a deep breath. Webs picked her up joyfully and gazed into her gray-green eyes, feeling the warmth radiating off her scales. "She's alive!" he roared, ecstatic. The other watchers looked on, unimpressed. "Yaaay," Kestrel grumbled. "Now we need to feed the brutes." She disappeared into the other cave and returned with a few fish and a bloody cow haunch. She tossed the fish to the SeaWing and plopped the leg in front of the others, who began to eat immediately, the MudWing more enthusiastic than the others. Webs picked up a fish and gently began to feed it to the little SandWing. He had a feeling that she would need more care than the others. "So… what will we call them?" Dune snarled, "Call them whatever you want. I didn't want this job anyways." Webs turned to Kestrel, but before he could ask, se interrupted with, "I don't care about them. I don't care what you call them. They hatched, so now I'm out to report success to the Talons." She opened the door and flew off into the night. Dune disappeared into the inner caves, and Webs sighed. "I guess it's up to me, then." He said softly. He studied each of the dragonets. "Clay," he murmured to the MudWing. He was the color of the clay, anyway. "Tsunami" for the way the SeaWing had burst out of her egg, fierce and unstoppable. "Glory" for the elegant RainWing. "Starflight" for lack of anything else to call the NightWing. And Sunny for the sweet, cheerful little SandWing with the glowing golden scales.