When the Dragon Tribe celebrated the first child born in their new home, the future looked bright. The strange tree that stood near the top of the abandoned village was still very sickly, and the village itself still stood in ruins. But with Sting well on his way to becoming a Master Scientist before his eighteenth birthday, Aku finishing building his hut and helping Anua with the farming, and little Pip doing his very best at finding mushrooms and flute-heads, everyone was sure that their future was set in stone.
And thus, when Epeli gave birth to a boy who was given the name Lock, the Dragon Tribe celebrated. Lock's father Otuu would never see his son, as he had stayed behind in the City, but Lock had Aku and Sting to teach him to grow, and he looked up to Pip as an older brother.
As time went on, the news was announced that an event would soon take place, an event which everyone in the small tribe had teasingly foretold. Aku and Anua were soon to become proud parents. Aku took over farming completely to give Anua the chance to rest and raise their small child- the second boy born in the new village. The small lad Taki was certainly not much to look at, which placed the proud parents on the receiving end of more teasing. After all, two of the tribe's best looking, producing a son like that? It was unheard of.
It was when Aku and Anua's second child, Daku, was born when the tribe began to have concerns. Daku was a handsome lad, unlike his older brother. But... he was a boy. The third boy born in the Dragon Tribe. The future was a little less certain now. How would their tribe survive if they could not be certain of their posterity?
Holding an emergency meeting, the next course of action was decided by the adults in the tribe. Aku and Anua settled to have their third child, while Sting, now a master in sciences and a very adept builder, was finally of age to have a child of his own. And so Sting fathered a child with Epeli, the mother of Lock. Their population had now reached ten villagers, including the two coming infants, and Sting continued working on building another hut, to support more villagers should the two young children both be boys.
The children sensed the anxiety of their parents and wondered at why the beautiful island seemed so strange and full of danger now. Lock searched the island for mushrooms in an attempt to help keep the bin stocked, as Aku began to notice the rapid depletion of berries on the bush. Taki stayed close to his mother and her infant when he wasn't looking after his brother Daku. While Pip took to his old habits of wandering the island and staring out to sea.
Though no one asked his thoughts, they all knew the boy was still looking for his parents, though the orphan had lived with the Dragon Tribe for nine years, not having seen another face within that time. If he remembered anything about the four years of his life before joining the tribe, he never spoke of it. And now with Sting building a hut for their future and Aku gathering what berries he could find, there was no one to continue in research. So Pip knew that come next year, when he was fourteen, he would give up his dream of fulfilling his apprenticeship as a farmer in order to start his own journey as a scientist, to help his family the Dragon Tribe.
And so the future, although planned carefully, was uncertain at best. And everyone awaited the days of the new children's arrival with much anticipation as they worked, daring to hope for a Daughter of Dragons.
Finally, the day came for Anua's child to be born. The entire tribe gathered around the campfire eagerly, waiting for Aku to come and tell them the news. As the man walked up to them, the answer was written plainly on his face.
It was a boy. The fourth boy born in the Dragon Tribe. The news was received with disappointment, but they all still offered their congratulations to Aku. After all, in any other circumstances, fathering three strong healthy boys would be cause for much joy. But their congratulations were bitter, and the note of anxiety was made all the more evident by the fact that no one mentioned the small one's looks, which rivaled those of his eldest brother Taki.
Now, their hope rested with Epeli and her coming child. They had been blessed with many sons. Would they finally be blessed with a daughter?
Pip's sacrifice allowed the village to gain enough technological prowess to further their ability to farm, ironically enough. The village supposed that despite their line of sons, they'd still learn to survive. After all, they now had hard fruit to eat as well as blackberries, and Sting was almost done with the new hut. But still, all eyes looked to Epeli. For the hope of the Dragon Tribe.
The Dragon Tribe rejoiced. For Epeli had given birth to a girl. A beautiful little girl, the daughter of Sting and Epeli. The village breathed a sigh of relief, and the children found their island to be a beautiful place once again. For the future looked bright once again.
And the child? They named her Kikaida, which means: The Hope of Dragons.
