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A Bit of Brooding
Gunnhild had dropped them all back home, and Kip was a bit upset that his secret lair had been found out. To prove just how upset he was, he was brooding next to the warm crack with Löwenherzchen and his daughter's egg. Ira was off, possibly reading, or something.
Kip couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal, though. He narrowed his eyes at the crack in the cave, which vented warm air. He hated that crack. It made the cave too warm. But Ira had the point in saying their daughter might freeze otherwise. Or turn into something horrible like an ice shard. Kip made a face at the ery thought of that.
Löwen was quietly trying to encourage that thought in Kip's mind. Ice shards aren't that bad. They're honorable bishen, with drive and bravery and -- Shut up, Löwen; get out of my head; I don't want to hear it! -- and there's nothing wrong with that at all! It would be good for the daughter of you two to have a purpose in life and -- I SAID SHUT UP AND GET OUT! -- ............
Kipfel had long ago realized that small voice in the back of his head was the sufan. It took a lot for him to talk back to it, to disobey it. But.... this one time he was going to fight harder than usual. He was angry, brooding even by his own standards. Still, he shouldn't let his little girl see him this way. He turned a mental ear towards her. She was sleeping, though shallowly. He worried silently about her eight brothers and sisters.
Nine eggs. Nine! Blessed be the gods who saw it fit to give those to them. Nine! More than any female had given the realm at one time. But...still. He felt sad pangs for them. They were already getting bonds, already getting new family, new friends. They wouldn't remember him at all. All he wanted for all of them was the best...
It's what you'll give her, then.
*Yes,* he whispered. *It is what I'll give her. I just... Is it wrong to have wanted more? To have wanted all of them?*
Yes. He wasn't sure if that was Löwen or his conscience, or even the tiny voice of Ira that had wormed its way deep into his head. He wondered if all the parents at the realm felt this way. Bittersweet. He had one, he wanted all. His own parents had given their charges to dear friends... sort of. His father had given his sister, Raina Lynn, to a friend of Indyana's, whether he'd wanted to or not. His own mother, to whom he'd been charged, had followed the whims of fate.
Of course he was still bitter about that. Fate indeed! It had taken centuries for Annabel to find him. He was older than any dragon should have been at wyrmhood. It was a good thing he had learned to be patient and not expect too much.
He lay a gentle claw on top of his daughter's egg. *Do yourself a favor, little one. Don't ever expect too much from humans. They are, after all, only human,* he whispered.
Löwen pantomimed a sigh.
*Don't give me that, Löwen,* Kip muttered to his sufan. *They're the ones who never learn! They drop you, just like that! You're lucky you'll never know.* He bent his head tenderly towards the little sufan. It butted its head against Kip's chin and poured warm and happy thoughts into his mind about trying harder next time, about how he could take this, how this was nothing to get upset about. Kip didn't rise to the bait. He refused to get angrier about this anymore.
Instead, he turned his mind back to the egg, who was now listening silently. She wasn't old enough to be able to project thoughts towards anyone through the egg, but surely she could listen. Kip purred at her and Löwen.
*You two are more precious to me than anything in the world. Except Ira. He's up there, too, even when he is a jerk. Bringing his mother to deal with me.* He sighed and touched the tip of his snout to his daughter's egg. *I won't let anything happen to you. You're my precious little pretty one, yes you are.*
You can't coddle her all the time. Why don't you go do something? -- I don't want to leave her alone, someone will find her, steal her, take her -- You're being ridiculous. Go on, she won't mind. Honestly, it's like you're holding her hostage or -- No. I'm not leaving. She shouldn't have to be alone like I was. No one should. So, I stay. -- Then tell her something useful other than how much you love her. -- Yeah? like what? -- Don't you ever listen to other parents? Try a story, you big oaf!
A story?... Well... maybe.
*Can I tell you a story, little one?* Kip asked the egg. Of course there was no reply. *Okay, then... Umm... Once upon a time...*
***
Once upon a time, there was a pretty green terran shrape. She was named Kyna. This was back when the homelands were whole, of course, when there was much to explore, and much to investigate, and you could go places without a bondmate. She was an inquisitive shrape by nature and spent a good amount of time poking around in the bushes of the homelands. It was a beautiful place, full of life and light and dark only at night. There were birds and small animals and beautiful, fragrant flowers unlike anything we have around here. And Kyna loved all of it.
Greens do that naturally, you see. They love the life of the world. They love the goodness and the natural balance. But Kyna loved the plants a little too much. Every now and then, she disappeared without telling anyone at all, even her friends, what few ones of those she had. Spending so much time with nature, she spent little time with the other dragons, even other greens. Instead, she got so caught up in her hobby that she was often forgotten by the others.
That's how it was one day when she was out with her three friends. They went to one of the great fields, which stretched in those days as far as the eyes could see, hedged by mountains on one side, the forests on the other. But in two other directions, they were boundless. Later, the elves and the humans would start a war on the two ends of these fields, but now was not then. Now, now there was a good deal of sunlight. Now there was love and laughter. Now there was fun, and playing, and only tiny villages of the men and elves scattered over the plain.
But little did Kyna or her friends know that the elves of the land were very near. And while they were reverent of many things, they also knew what a feat it could be to slay a dragon. So, every now and then, some of them went out to hunt, usually for food, sometimes for dragons.
It was on that day that an elvan youth was out hunting on the fields that Kyna and her friends went to that same one. They were playing together for a good long while before Kyna got distracted by a small bug and started following it away. She easily got lost in the tall grass, and her other friends, two terrans and a blue arboreal, soon realized they should get home soon.
However, they had lost Kyna. And they tried very hard to call to her, to get her attention. She would not reply. They fanned out, searching for her. However, they could still not find her.
It was misfortune, then, that the arboreal was struck with an arrow of the elvan youth. The arboreal fell from the sky, wounded but not mortally so. He shouted a long, shrill cry of terror, "TREEEE!", as he fell. The other three quickly converged on the spot. The elvan youth thought it must be his lucky day to get not one, but four dragons.
The other two terrans began to blame Kyna. *This is all your fault!* they told her. *If you only stayed with us, we would be safe and home on no time! Our friend would not be hurt!*
Kyna, however, noticed a beautiful white flower in the grass. She knew from various experiments that it eased the pain of others. She snatched it up as the elvan youth approached.
*She's doing it again!* the two terrans said to each other. *She's incorrigeable! There's no hope for her!* But such was not the case. She yanked the arrowhead out of her blue friend's chest and pressed the flower against the wound. Then, she packed it with dirt moistened with her own saliva.
As soon as she was finished, the elvan youth pushed through the grasses and came upon them. "AHA!" he shouted.
The three friends let out shrill cries of terror. Kyna hesitated only a moment. Then, she let out what sounded very much like a challenging bugle. *Get out of here, all of you!* she told them.
*But what about you, Kyna?*
*I shall draw him off!* The youth attacked, and Kyna dodged, snapping at him to distract him while the others escaped, the two terrans helping their wounded friend. *Hurry!* Kyna shouted.
The three friends looked back just once, when they heard a series of sharp, anguished cries. But they saw nothing. They never heard from Kyna again, but she lived deeply in their hearts forever after that. Some say she survived and achieved deeper magic than the clan had known before then, perfecting her knowledge of plants, and became a wandering shaman. Most, however, do not doubt that the elvan youth got his prize that day.
Regardless of her fate, Kyna was remembered, not for her dotty tendency to go off on her own, but for her quick-thinking and selfless bravery that saved her friends' lives.
***
*The end,* Kipfel said gently.
*That was an awful story to tell,* Ira said behind him. He shook newly-fallen snow off his wings and onto his mate and lover, who stood protectively in front of the egg.
*It most certainly was not,* Kipfel said defensively.
*The heroine died. How is that not terrible?*
*It's a story about self-sacrifice and how sometimes, other people are more important than yourself,* Kip said indignantly.
Ira laughed oddly. *And you told her this story?*
*Well you weren't around to tell her.*
*I was being useful. It's coming down pretty hard out there. It's going to be a hard winter. We're going to have to move back to town, or else we'll get snowed in.*
Kip narrowed his eyes. *You go back if you want to. I don't like it there. It's too claustrophobic.*
*Kip, I'm not going anywhere without you, but hunting's going to get pretty spare soon with the snow coming down hard as it is. And it's soft. It won't hold your weight, I know.*
Kip tapped his talons patiently. He didn't want to leave, but he didn't want to get stuck in here, either. He let out a soft growl. *Maybe it won't be that bad.*
*Kipfel, it's a bleeding blizzard! Of course it will be 'that bad'! Both Tor and Clarinet saw this coming, and Xylon says it's too big for him to do anything about! All the sensible ones are already bunking down and getting ready for a long, hard snow!*
*We can take it,* Kip snarled.
*Kip, we have our da--*
*Grrenough!*
This smacks of pride, not bravery or boldness.
Kipfel was silent a moment while he had his mate's full attention. He considered this just a moment more. It did smack of pride, didn't it? *Fine.*
Ira let out a breath of relief.
*We'll leave tomorrow morning. I trust you found us somewhere safe?*
*Your basement in Annabel's house can be opened easily, but it'll be bitter cold, probably too much so even for you.*
*I can steal someone's fireplace,* he mused sullenly. He hated the idea of depending on the town. It really rubbed him the wrong way.
*Or you can shack up in the Tower with me and Tor and Xylon and Oberon.*
"Pff," Kipfel said out loud. *Oberon. That sad excuse for a black anything.*
*Clarus aren't the same as we are, Kip. Just... be nice, okay?*
*Fine.*
Ira smiled and let out a soft crooning as he touched the end of his snout to Kip's, a move of affection which always surprised the black. *Mmm. You're warm. You should stay back here more often,* Ira purred, something he'd somehow picked up from his bondmate.
*I was being mindful of our daughter,* Kip said, though maybe he would tolerate the warm spot more often, because he did love to make Ira happy.
*Mm-hmm,* Ira purred, curling his serpentine body around his mate while cradling the egg with his wing. *I wonder if we're doing the right thing sometimes,* he said softly.
*What?*
*Won't she be lonely? Without a bondmate?*
*I don't think so. Besides, this way, she'll not have to worry about people and getting hurt.*
*Right, so all her choices will be on our heads.*
*We can take it, Ira. We're not all terrible.*
*I don't think we're terrible even a little bit,* Ira conceded. *In fact, I think you're wonderful, and I'm so proud of you.*
*What? Why?*
Ira let out a small smile. *Because. You've been thinking of other people lately.*
Kip huffed. *I most certainly have not!*
Ira crooned gently and leaned his head at the joinder between Kip's neck and shoulders. *Whatever you say,* he said, unable to keep the laughter out of his voice. *Whatever you say.*
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