"Is it supposed to look like that?"
"I will remind you that I have only hatched one egg and that Eko's egg is much different than this one," she retorts. It is true enough. This particular egg shares the same stone like quality as Eko's, but it is also covered in ice courtesy of Kaldr and looks to be totally frozen. She does not dare touch it in fear of freezing her own fingers off.
"Still, it has been enough weeks, right?"
Iza narrows her eyes at her husband, smoothing a hand over her stomach with a pointed look. "This conversation feels oddly familiar."
"And as I recall Carlisle had a similar answer," Edvard says, hoisting their three year old son up on his hip. "The baby will come when it comes. I just assumed a dragon egg might be different."
"Evidently it is not," she says primly. With a sigh, she looks at their son, his coppery hair falling into his two-toned eyes. He rubs his eye sleepily and smiles at his mother, and internally Iza melts with adoration. "He should be sleeping."
"He wanted to check on the egg, says that he has to be there when his dragon hatched, just like his mother was there when her dragon hatched."
Iza taps her son's nose. "Silly boy, you know that dragons choose their riders, not the other way around."
"But I know that's my dragon, mommy," he says with a small lisp. His eyes are fixed on the frozen egg, even as they droop heavily.
Iza smiles. "Well, your dragon will still be safe in its shell until morning, so off to sleep for you."
Their son tucks his face into Edvard's neck and lets himself be carried off to his own little bed, a recent achievement now that he is a big boy and I can sleep on my own. Iza watches with her lips tipped up, tapping her stomach when the baby kicks at her through her womb. Then she looks to Eko, who is watching over her egg protectively while her mate is off in search of food.
Is he right? She wonders to her dragon.
Eko's eyes lift for just a moment. Perhaps. He does share your blood, so perhaps he would know.
He also shares his father's blood, and Edvard has never found a dragon willing to bond with him.
He has me, Eko says. He does not need a different dragon.
It is not the same, and you know it.
Eko's side of the bond hums in agreement, and then they fall silent. It has been interesting, both of them carrying children at the same time. They have not flown together for months for the sake of safety and they each miss sharing the skies together – but soon enough they will be in the clouds.
Perhaps the next time they fly, they will be sharing the clouds with their bonded children.