"Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another." - Thomas Merton - Love and Living
Responsibilities
One day he was going about his regular business of keeping the peace as much as possible, helping haul lumber and construct buildings, aiding in fishing and hunting, teaching the other younger Furies, and occasionally going on exciting missions against the dragon trappers. The evenings were all similar, go flying either on his own or with others, play with those he loved, eat a quick meal, and fall asleep with his beloved at his side and their tails entwined.
But he had just learned that he was going to be a father.
It would not be just him and Luna up in the cave anymore. There would be another little person that he helped bring into the world and would also be responsible for. He would need to teach the little one how to talk, not to do their business inside, what to think about humans, how to write, how to fly, everything...
It was such a heavy responsibility which he did not feel at all prepared for.
He and Luna had slipped inside Valka's little house to share the good news with her.
"Well, my dears, how are you two?"
Luna happily trilled and nuzzled his neck to give her answer. Seeing that left Valka with a warm grin that was very commonplace on her face now.
"That is very sweet."
Ok, this is go time...
He turned to Luna and hummed at her. She stepped over to the table.
I have egg
Valka stared wide-eyed at the words.
"Really? Are you sure?"
Yes, Luna emphatically purred.
Valka chuckled with a very, very wide grin.
"Well, Luna, Shadowwing, wonderful! Well done!"
Really mom? Gee, thanks, I guess...
Sigh.
"Is there anything we can do to help you both?" Valka asked.
He stepped up to the table.
A sandbox might help for the egg
Something better than only a pile of sand
"True, I will see what we can do. That should not be hard though."
Valka left a moment later to share the good news. Shadowwing and Luna meandered outside toward the nearest fish station to grab some food before the news started spreading. They ate and winged off to a nearby clearing to rest. He let his worries out with a heavy huff.
"What is nibbling at your tail?" she asked.
"I was thinking much about what this means for me. I still must be the Alpha, protector, and the peacekeeper here, but there are other flights that I want to fly..." he groaned.
"The flying to other two-leg nests?"
"Yes, no other kin can do what I do because of what I know about two-legs. It feels like a loss to all for me not to do good out in the world and make more peace."
She walked around in front of him and sat down.
"A loss? To who? Who do you think you should fly your life-flight for?"
"To all the ranges in a way. I can and should make the world better for all two-legs and kin."
"No Shadowwing, you should not fly for them all. The ranges of the world are too big for one kin to change, even for you."
He groaned softly.
"But if I do not find a way to fly this, who will?"
She stared up at the sky for a moment.
"Shadowwing, I never told you about my good-sleep-vision I had as a hatchling, did I?"
"No, what was it?"
"It was after my sire took me up to this world-range the first time. I wanted to fly high and tag the moon. But it flies in a different world-range than we do. I could not tag it. My sire taught me that life-lesson long ago even if I had to learn it again. Know what you can fly and what you cannot fly."
He sighed softly.
"That feels like letting your wings fail you. What are we if we do not try to make a better world be? If we do not hope?"
"What are we? A good and warm sire and dam who will nuzzle, teach, and be there for our little ones and each other, that is what we will be. Is that not enough for you?"
"I," he looked out over the village, "it is warming, but it feels like it makes my life smaller."
She blinked and chuckled at his words.
"As I said that two-legs and kin being together makes life smaller?"
He wondered for a moment before he could reply.
"But that needs peace in the mixed-nests first," he offered.
"And peace and warmth starts in every nest that each mated pair makes," she countered.
He softly hummed as he considered her words.
I guess that makes sense in a way. That is still such a change though. It feels like the same problem that my own dad had. Two different duties, one to me and the other to the tribe. He didn't do the best job balancing them. I will try my best.
He stepped over to her side and put a wing over her back.
"I understand that," he whispered.
Shadowwing landed and bounded inside the cave. He saw Green-Wings resting peacefully at his brother's side while Rain-Eater rested on his father's head. Dawn-Singer and Aurora were nowhere to be seen.
"Brother, I must talk to you."
"Yes? What about?" Was-Grounded answered.
"First, how is Green-Wings?"
"Heavy, she will drop her egg in a pawful of suns."
Shadowwing chuckled softly at his brother's words.
"That is why I want to talk to you. Luna can feel an egg."
Was-Grounded's ears went straight up and his tail started eagerly swaying.
"Liver-truth?"
"Yes."
Was-Grounded laughed softly with amusement and warmth in his eyes.
Oh, please don't.
"Well flown, brother!" Was-Grounded bellowed.
"Thank you for teasing me again."
"Who will if I do not?" Was-Grounded laughed.
Shadowwing lay down before him.
"What should I know? Guide my flight. You know more about caring for a mate who is heavy with or sitting an egg."
Was-Grounded hummed softly and nudged his nose.
"You should bring her plenty of fish and hunts because she will not leave the egg except for very short times. Hmm, you should bring her long-tooth-grass also for when she drops the egg."
"Why that?" he blinked.
"It helps her feel warmer and not hurt from dropping the egg. Trust my flight on that. And you should listen to her song of life."
"Song of life?"
Was-Grounded purred very deeply.
"She will sing to the egg. I will say no more than it will warm your liver very much."
Shadowwing blinked as he considered all he had been told.
"Is that all I must do?"
"Yes, she will know what to do with her egg. She will nuzzle, hum, talk, and sing to it. All that you must do is be there for her. And you will also need to sit the egg also and talk to it. You want your little one to know your voice, yes?"
"Yes, I do."
"The more words it hears even within the egg the better for it. The sooner the little one will talk after it hatches, I think. That is what Green-Wings told me."
"And what else after it hatches?"
Was-Grounded chuckled heavily.
"You will have no free-flying suns at all."
Shadowwing grimaced and gave a wary hum.
Gods, this is very serious. How am I doing to do this now? Being Alphas here is not too bad since we can split the duties, but everything else-
Luna flew over to Was-Grounded's and Green-Wings's den. There was something she wanted to talk about, and it was clearly a good time for them both as she knew that her time to drop her egg was nearing. It was a feeling that she had never had before, to know that she was carrying a precious egg inside.
She gently touched down outside the den and announced herself.
"Luna?" Green-Wings answered.
"May I enter your den?"
"Yes, come see the egg!"
She eagerly bounded inside and walked up to the resting female Night Fury at the rear of the den. Green-Wings had a truly liver- and life-warming thing between her forepaws. It was a dark egg with a blue shimmering haze, almost like mist, on its shell.
"Moon-kin!" Rain-Eater struck and attacked her tail.
Her warm purr echoed through the den as she lay next to the kin Night Fury and gently swayed her tail in an attack at Rain-Eater.
"I wanted to talk to you about egg-sitting. You have done this with four eggs now. What should I know? My dam told me much many season-cycles ago, but you have life-knowing and are here now."
Green-Wings hummed softly and looked down at her egg.
"You know about sitting, singing, and talking. Dropping the egg hurts much unless you have long-tooth-grass. That makes the hurting not hurt. You will know what to do and when is best to drop it."
Luna sighed softly and looked into Green-Wings's eyes.
"I know what to do, but I wonder about Shadowwing. He does not have the unlearned-knowing that most kin would know from their sire and dam. And he still thinks much about wanting to go on flights to other two-leg nests, even though we have not flown to any," she grumbled.
"He will change when he sees his egg and his little one. Nothing will be more important to him," Green-Wings softly purred.
"I hope that is truth," Luna sighed.
Was-Grounded snuggled closer to the egg, putting the soft of his neck against the precious shell and wrapping his tail tighter around it.
Another healthy egg with a strong hatchling within, there was no doubt at all in his mind.
And he was getting quite practiced at all he was supposed to do at this point.
"My little one..."
"Sire?" Rain-Eater hummed.
"My other little one still in the egg," he clarified.
"Grr," Rain-Eater growled and pounced on his back to begin some backfin gnawing.
Was-Grounded endured the attack and waited patiently for Green-Wings to get back from a quick and necessary departure from the den.
"What a world you will see when you hatch, little one. The winds and skies of life will be warm always. You will never go hungry or fear long-tooth-sticks. You will not need to fly far to find a mate. Your life is here, waiting for you."
He purred to the egg long until he heard wings approaching.
She landed, bounded inside, and ran up to him.
And my flight here is flown.
He got up and stood aside as his mate retook her place of privilege and wrapped the egg in her tail. He considered her, a question on his mind.
"My mate, what do you think about this range now?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I remember all that you said about two-legs when I found you in your old range. What now? We have both seen how warm the two-legs are to us and to our little ones."
She purred back at his words.
"Yes, they are to Dawn-Singer and Aurora. The young two-legs see them almost as kin of their own. And the other two-legs are warm to their bond-kin. I wonder what will happen to those kin after many season-cycles being two-leg-bonded."
A wary hum followed.
"I would not say the two-legs are kin to me such as Kin-liver, but they are warm to us all," she added.
He nuzzled her nose at that, quite agreeing with much of her thoughts. But there was something else that needed to be brought up to get her thoughts on.
"Shadowwing told me where Luna is from. She was hatched in a hidden world under the ground."
Green-Wings blinked at that and gave a curious warble.
"Yes, it is a world with no two-legs, and the two-leg nests do not know about it."
A moment of silence passed between them as they both saw understanding in the other's eyes.
"You are thinking about if we should nest there instead of here," Green-Wings whispered so that Rain-Eater would not hear.
"I was. We are a part of this twisted range now. I am an Alpha for the kin, and our little ones hold some of the two-legs close to their livers. But we do have a place to fly to if we must. If the danger becomes too much here."
"That is good to know. I will talk with Luna about that world and learn more about it. How many suns now do you think it will be for them before Luna and Shadowwing have their egg?" she wondered.
The question alone brought out a thrum from them both. They had taken to the skies together in the new-life-season well before Shadowwing and Luna had apparently become mates in her distant home-range.
"Any sun now," he answered.
Shadowwing walked into his cave after the end of another long and trying day.
Finally, time for some rest and-
"I am hungry," she announced.
"But I just flew back here."
Luna stared at him coolly and, seeing that he seemed unmoved, grinned gummily.
He groaned and hung his head in total defeat.
"You win that flight. Again. I will fly to get fish for you. Any preferences?"
She thought about it for a moment.
"No."
What! Every day it is something different! This fish one day, that fish another, different sizes of fish, different numbers of fish, different colors of fish, different combinations of fish, smoked fish, live fish, plain fish, and grrrr! You change your mind after sending me on my way to get what you wanted first. Now you don't have any preference at all!
Females…
He very wisely said none of what he was thinking out loud.
"I will get you some fish."
He watched her carefully lay back down on their rock bed before he bounded out the entrance and took flight.
Well, any excuse for more flying I guess.
He spied Was-Grounded, Aurora, and Rain-Eater, now a yearling, off in the distance on a small grassy plain. Dawn-Singer was likely back in Haven and talking to or playing with his friends. Green-Wings was surely back at their home cave and tending to egg number four at the moment. That hatching could happen any day.
They were a happy, growing family.
Is that what it will be like for me? I hope so.
Luna had told him that it could happen any day now. He had no reason to question her pronouncement. She certainly looked ready if he was any judge of such matters, which he most definitely was not.
He continued on into town and landed at the nearest filled station. He spent a couple minutes digging through the available selection before finding an adequate couple of fish. Not wanting to lose any more time and risk her frustration, he flew off a moment later and hastened his flight home. He landed and bounded inside.
"Luna, I have your fish."
He missed her and looked around for her. She had walked away from their sleeping-rocks and was sitting motionless at the rear of the cave. Back on the nest-box filled with sand. And she had her nose buried in the dragonsbane that he had brought to her over the last few weeks.
Wait.
He dropped the pair of fish and ran over to her.
"Are you well?"
She hummed, "the egg is coming."
He completely froze, not knowing what he was supposed to do.
"What should I do?" he whispered.
"Stay with me. I know what to do."
"I will."
He remained at her side, put a wing over her back, and began nuzzling her neck to take her mind off everything as the minutes passed and faint tremors shook her. Though she did not seem terribly disturbed by it so far.
"Does it hurt?" he whispered.
"It would, but you brought me long-tooth-grass. That helps much, and you brought it without me asking for it," she purred.
Shadowwing softly hummed back to her.
Good thing he knew what he was talking about.
The faint trembling that he had felt in her body was gone, and she relaxed against his side.
"Done," she whispered as she stepped away.
They turned around as one and stared. There on the sand was a perfectly shaped egg. It was mostly black with several streaks of white throughout.
She was the first to move. Very slowly, as if stalking prey, she crept closer to the egg. She lowered her nose to the egg and gently nudged it, carefully rolling it over on the sand once. Apparently satisfied with something, she lay down with her forearms on either side of the egg. She carefully lay the soft of her neck against the top of the egg.
She started to sing.
He was completely transfixed by the song. It was completely unlike anything he had ever heard before. The melody was slow and calming without any clear words. But he still felt a burning on his scales and his heart and remembered vivid images in his thoughts.
A hidden nest of light wings and play...
Glowing green light and rocks in the dark...
The wide open sky above...
Season-cycles of searching all alone...
Curiosity and a trap...
Darkness, badness, wrongness...
Freedom, healing, and a dark wing filled with warmth...
Warm life-fire, kin-bond two-legs, and safety...
Protection, hereness, life-giving, and hope...
A future waiting for you...
Her song ended, leaving only their shared croons in the cave.
"Shadowwing, come here," she whispered.
He stepped toward her, and she lifted her head so that he could better see the egg safely tucked away between her forearms.
"It lives," she hummed.
"I… it is… you are… this is… very warming," he sputtered.
"As well-spoken as always," she teased.
She turned back to the egg and began to lick the slime from its surface. Its white streaks stood out all the more vividly as it was cleaned. Finally, she finished and looked up at him.
"Shadowwing, you have... given me what I thought I never would have."
"It was my... pleasure, I would do it again," he answered slyly.
She chuckled back at him and gave a very great sigh of relief.
"You will many times. I am very warmed that we can make life together."
He stared long at the black and white egg just a couple paces from him. It was just a matter of keeping it warm. That tiny little shell was all that would protect the baby within for about another month. Well, that and both of their efforts. How hard could that be?
The weight of responsibility suddenly felt crushing. What if something bad happened? How would his child take to learning? Would he have a son or a daughter? How much would this impact his life's mission from now on?
"Should we move it now?" he asked.
Valka and a couple of men from down in the village had come up to the cave and built another small sandbox near the main fireplace. The new sandbox was deep enough for the egg to rest in its bed of fine sand and was more than sturdy enough for one of them to lay upon to stay with the egg when they sleep. There were also several rocks that could be regularly heated by the fire and put in the sand to help warm the resting place.
"Warm the sand first," she instructed.
He did so with a wide, streaming flame on the sand for several seconds. The sand felt quite warm to the touch, and he purred in satisfaction.
Even though he had seen Green-Wings do it before with her own eggs and children, his breath still caught when Luna bent down and fit her gummy jaws around the egg. She carried it, carefully set it down in its new sandy nest, and curled into a tiny ball around the precious egg.
Oh gods, what have I gotten myself into now.
"Yes! Of course I want to see it! Don't tell me anything!" Valka cried aloud in joy.
She was on his back seconds later as they flew up toward the cave on this warm autumn morning. They landed, and she eagerly hopped off at his side and ran inside with him.
"Luna! Kin-liver wants to see the egg."
Luna lifted her head and hummed softly at Valka. She lifted her tailfins from her side and waited as Valka slowly knelt next to the warm sandbox.
"Look at it. The white streaks... so beautiful," Valka giddily chuckled.
Luna warmly hummed at her without moving from her place. Valka stepped back and leaned against Shadowwing's side.
"So that is what a Night Fury and Light Fury egg looks like. What will the hatchling look like?"
Only one way to find out
"Is it here yet?" Was-Grounded's voice called from outside the cave.
"Yes!" Shadowwing answered him.
There was a brief moment of silence or surprise. A scrambling Night Fury dashed inside the cave at full, eager speed. He ran up to them both and sat down on his rear as he beheld it, plainly visible at Luna's side. His warm croon joined the other two in the cave as he closely inspected it.
"That looks different. None of ours had any white marks on it," he chuckled.
"Green-Wings is not a Light Fury," Luna laughed.
"No, she is not. I am warmed for you both."
He spun around and nudged his brother in the shoulder.
"Well flown..."
"Did you need to say that again?" Shadowwing groaned after rolling his eyes.
"Yes," Was-Grounded toothilly grinned.
Her warming hum never stopped.
Perfection and goodness.
That was all that the world was now.
Everything went into this one, most important flight.
Warming and singing to the egg and little one within.
Stoking the embers of the life inside.
"You will be something new and special, my first. Here you are, growing and becoming and learning even now."
"Your sire is... very twisting in his thinking and warming in his liver. His great secret though, no, that will not be told. I still think he always had the life-fire of a kin. Two-legs..."
She gave a heavy sigh and breathed on the egg.
"... you have much to learn about them, and you will in this strange and twisted range. But for now..."
She closed her eyes.
"Rest now little one... make not a sound... you will fly above the ground. Small you are now... you will grow and see... how great you will be. Moon of mine... dance and play... all your chills away. Rise and hunt... laugh and sing... then sleep under my wing. Strong and free... you will fly high... with the clouds in the sky."
She was still singing when he returned to the den, walked over to her, put a wing over her back, and lay himself down to stare longingly at the egg along with her.
Valka sat down between Dawn-Singer and Aurora while Rain-Eater lay on her lap. Was-Grounded and Shadowwing stood next to each other before Green-Wings.
They were all watching it happening.
The egg with an almost shimmer on its shell was very cracked.
"It is a female. I know it!" Aurora hummed.
"How do you know?" Dawn-Singer asked.
"You are a male. You cannot understand."
Dawn-Singer rolled his eyes.
"If Kin-liver was not between us, I would pounce on you now..." Dawn-Singer hissed.
"You would try... and I would foul your flight!" Aurora muttered.
"You are foul, yes. You need a bath," Dawn-Singer answered.
"Brothers..."
"Sisters..."
Shadowwing chuckled deeply at their silliness.
The final break happened. A large chunk of shell fell away as a tiny head without any frills emerged. It took a few more moments before the little female fully escaped the shell. The completely healthy, sleepy, and well-fed hatchling was snug under a green wing shortly thereafter.
"Another girl, you have a sister now Aurora!" Valka laughed.
I needed help against my brothers
"Oh, do you?"
Aurora smugly purred.
"Do you have a name yet for her?" Shadowwing asked.
Was-Grounded and Green-Wings hummed for a moment.
"Her egg was almost like it was covered in mist. Maybe Mist-Wings?" Was-Grounded proposed.
Green-Wings purred in consent as she bent down to nuzzle her newest hatchling.
"Mist-Wings..." she hummed.
"Think you could help me heat this up Hic?"
Who is that Gob?
The blacksmith gently flicked a large ear that was within striking distance.
"Oh, come on we don' have forever. And ya don't want ta keep the... light o' yer life waiting on ya ta get back, now do ya?"
Fair point I guess...
He stepped over to the furnace and added his fire to it, an intense blue flame that seemed to be able to hold far longer than should be possible.
"That'll do just fine. Thanks, nothin' quite like dragon fire ta give Gronkle iron that extra special touch."
He looked around the forge with a great sigh.
"Alright, out with it. What's wrong?"
It is so much Gobber
The new egg, being Alpha, the trappers
And the baby will take so much time
"Yeah, so? Sounds like what every new dad in the history of eh, ever, goes through."
But peacemaking is what I am good at
Even if I know better now
Not everyone can be reasoned with
Gobber crossed his arms with a frown.
"Ok, what is wrong with doing that here? Being happy with where ya are and protectin' the peace here at Haven. Gods above, there is plenty still ta do here. I mean, just the other day we had the Rumblehorn incident. At least the trappers are not really doin' anythin' and we've been able ta pull back all the patrols a bit."
True but
Gobber put his hand on his shoulder to interrupt him.
"Ya don't owe the whole world yer life. Ya have a beautiful wife... mate, yeah... who is head over tail for ya, a tribe that loves ya, and yer brother and his family are all here with ya, I canno' see what the problem is."
A quiet moment passed between them until Shadowwing sighed heavily.
I guess change is hard
"That it is for sure, but that's life. Ya move on and have different priorities. Every day ya don't change is a day ya dinno' grow. Ya have no idea how much yer father changed after he married Val. So much stupid stuff he stopped doin'. He learn'd what really matter'd."
Gobber sighed and looked around the forge.
"I think I can handle it all from here. Ya should go to yer Luna. Ye've been gone a long time today, and we got through most of the work."
Shadowwing nodded with a sigh.
"Oh, ya might want ta take her some fish, just a hint. I don't think dragons care fer flowers."
Shadowwing huffed and chuckled softly.
I will
Thanks for the advice
"Don' mention it. Just get ta it."
He spun around and darted out the forge to return home, picking up some fish on the way back.
As usual, she was curled up around where the egg was hidden.
Her head lifted at his arrival, and a warm croon filled the den. He bounded over to her and bent down so she could take the large salmon from his jaws. The fish vanished in one piece. He brought up another freshly-eaten fish from his belly and let her eat it as well.
He was rewarded with a neck nuzzling that always filled his heart with warmth. And there was a twinkle in her eyes.
"My mate, how was the working this sun?" she asked.
"Long and tiring."
"You chilled Alpha, I have more work for you now."
"What?" he groaned.
She got up and bounded away from the sand, leaving the egg sitting there on the warmed sand.
"You sit with it."
His eyes went very wide in surprise and alarm.
"Hhhhhow?"
"By sitting."
He blinked.
She blinked.
"I will relieve myself and fly to warm my liver. Learn by doing!"
And like that, she spun around, gently stroked his head with her tailfins, and was gone.
He turned and stared at the egg sitting there on the sand.
Oh gods.
It seemed to be taunting him even as it remained motionless.
Ok, how to do this?
He carefully hopped up onto the sandbox and lay down with the egg between his forearms. He curled his tail and tailfins gently around the precious shell.
Silence followed except for his soft and completely involuntary purring.
I might as well.
He slowly bent down and put an ear to the warm eggshell. And he gasped at a very, very faint heartbeat.
My little one.
"This... is... amazing... whatever you will be. You will be my first... son or daughter. I truly do not know these skies that I will fly with you."
He sighed.
"I will show you the world and the winds of life. I will be there for you."
The egg faintly shifted. It was just slight enough that it was almost not noticeable, but he saw it and felt it in his heart.
She waited barely outside the den after having returned from her flight. There was nothing more important at the moment than watching her life-mate as he curled around their egg, hummed warmth, presence, and care to it, and whispered words to it.
The little one is getting stronger and stretching itself now. Was-Grounded and Green-Wings had Mist-Wings hatch several pawfuls of suns ago. Ours should be soon.
She eventually answered the need to retake her rightful place and bounded inside. He stepped aside and waited as she coiled the egg in her tail. He lay down next to her and put a wing over her. They fell asleep together while filling the den with warm, peaceful croons.