S13-7
Family

Another night in Avalar... and it was raining hard. Unlike everywhere else in the realm, it was snowing in Winter Tundra... which made sense, since it was always winter over there.

"It's raining in Summer Forest." Spyro remarked, looking out the window to his balcony.

Elora was taking off her yellow leaf jacket, having just recently returned home with the bipedal dragon from a trip to the Artisan Homeworld. "Why is that so surprising for you?"

"Summer rains. You can never predict them." At Spyro's choice of words, Elora cracked a smile and snickered, stifling a laugh.

Because of the harsh rain, Sparx couldn't make his way back home, so the little dragonfly had to stay with Hunter and Bianca. "Don't worry, Spyro. He'll be OK. Bianca knows how to keep Hunter in check." Elora reassured the dragon standing at the window.

Spyro couldn't help but worry. "I know, but... he's the first friend I ever had. He's been with me for as long as I can remember, and if something were to happen to him out there-" He stopped, feeling a fuzzy hand on his shoulder. "You're right, Elora. He'll be fine." Even after all this time, Spyro still didn't 100% trust Bianca, but he still trusted Elora's word. He turned to his adored faun. "How're you feeling?"

"Well... My food cravings subsided a while ago. Nausea's gone. But I still feel tired, so I'd say I'm... getting better." She said, sitting something on the bed. It appeared to be a large, purple egg with splotches of the same color as Elora's chestnut fur.

"I'm just glad you're alright." Spyro pulled Elora into a loving embrace.

It was then that the two noticed the lack of noise. Spyro and Elora looked out the window, seeing that the rain stopped just in time for the sunset to shine through the clouds. Their gazes turned to each other, then to the dragon egg on the bed.

"Dragon eggs generally take about six or seven months to hatch. Nestor said something about it being a girl." After a moment of silence, Spyro pulled Elora into another hug. "We're gonna have a girl!"

Elora chuckled. "You only got excited now?"

"I was too preoccupied worrying about you."

"Yeah, I wasn't sure I'd get through that experience." Elora shuddered, trying not to think about the pain she was in during that procedure.

Spyro hugged her again. "But at least it's over now. And you're OK."

Smiling at her bighearted dragon, Elora looked back at the egg in contemplation. "But I'm still questioning how I ended up harboring an egg. Wasn't it supposed to be live birth or something?"

"Do you really want to go through all that again?" Spyro wondered, worry obviously present in his voice.

Elora kissed him. "For you, I'd go through Hell and back. Twice at least."

"But I'd prefer it if you didn't. I'd like you to stick around." Spyro smirked.

A week later, Spyro was pacing in the bedroom, with a very concerned Sparx watching him. "(I can't shake the feeling you're barely managing to stop from freaking out like nobody's business.)" The dragonfly buzzed.

"I can't help it, Sparx. I'm gonna be a dad!"

"(And for that, the Elders and I congratulate you. But I think you need to take a deep breath, calm down, and approach this rationally.)"

Spyro took in a deep breath to calm himself down and ease his mind. He turned his thoughts back to the egg in the bedside nest he and Elora made for it. "I'm still worried beyond believe. What if-"

"(Nope! She's gonna make it! That baby dragon will make it to hatching time!)" Sparx knew Spyro's worries, so trying to ease them felt like a good thing for him to do.

It was then that Elora walked in, carrying a bag of food. "Can you believe it? I met the Master Chef on my way to pick up a few things for dinner, and he offered to make us a meal! I'm actually glad he stop trying to cook turtles and went with chicken instead. We are in for a treat." Her voice seemed to snap Spyro's attention from the egg. Well, that and the smell of fried chicken that now permeated the room.

"Aww... I was looking forward to your culinary excellency."

Elora chuckled. "Alright, Mr. Fancy." She pulled a box out of the bag and handed it to Spyro. Inside of it was a chicken sandwich. "Ready to try something new?"

"I got over my dense phobia of all things love for you. I think I'm pretty familiar with 'new'." Spyro's words made the faun break out into uncontrollable laughter.

"(No doubt about it.)"

Five-and-a-half months went by, and while taking a stroll through the Beast Makers domain, Spyro had a question for Elora. "Did you ever figure out how you basically spawned a dragon egg?"

"Not sure. But the Professor had a hypothesis." The purple dragon gave the faun his full attention. He was listening intently. "He said specific parts of my genetic code had been magically rewritten to how it would've been had I myself been a dragon, and that once the egg left me, my DNA had begun to revert."

"Let me get this straight. In order for you to give birth to a dragon egg, the union of our innate magics temporarily turned you into a sort of dragon/faun hybrid?"

Elora chuckled. "That's one way to put it. But it was only what was absolutely necessary."

Spyro nodded. "That's understandable. But wasn't that painful?"

"Not really." The faun shrugged. "It just felt... weird. I don't know how to describe it more than that. But I should be completely back to normal by now." And she was suddenly pulled against Spyro's chest. Her dragon was hugging her. "I'm OK, Spyro! Jeez!" She was laughing with a reddening face. "I love you too, you big dork."

When it became time for the egg to hatch, Spyro, Elora, and Sparx watched it eagerly and patiently. Not even half an hour passed before it began to crack. "(Look...! Here she comes...!)"

In seconds, the cracking egg shattered from the inside, leaving a baby dragoness among the fragments. Her scales were the same color as Elora's chestnut fur, her underbelly was the color of the inside of a tree, and her eyes were a leafy green.

"She's beautiful...!" Elora cooed.

Spyro looked her way. "She got that from you." That earned him a kiss on the side of the snout. "I have a feeling we're gonna be a great family."

FINALLY! I've returned to this story! Took me long enough. How long has it been? A year? Two? Jeez.

Anyway, say 'Hello.' to Gaia, the daughter of Spyro and Elora!

We'll see this family next time, and I will see you there.