Whitebark Stream The blurred world is filled with dust

GOOD MORNING, YOU IS BORNEDED !!

Seclusion.

Following the news of Salvatore’s death, she grew sparse; she could not determine how to feel, or how she might handle what she was feeling. All thoughts of what her family may be like, the dream of her children having what she did not—a father—flew out the window. She was alone in this, like Asterr before her, and she was worried—for her hatchlings, for herself, for the future. Would she be a good mother? Or would her children take after their estranged aunt, abandoning her just as Airi abandoned their mother? She worried over things she knew she should not, and those worries drove her to remain at a distance—to remain alone.

Restless and pacing, there was little else to do when the Draconid found herself awoken and unable to return to sleep early in the morning. Something was amiss—but only when she felt a pain shoot through her abdomen did she understand what: they were coming. Settling down near the back of her den, she struggled to find how to lay that proved comfortable. No matter how she shifted, nothing felt quite right, and she was forced by another wave of pain to simply accept that, that was how it would have to be; she regretted having yet to stock her supply of herbs, having nothing within her reach that might be safe to ingest with her hatchlings on board.

For how long she remained there, sprawled out on her side and panting, Kaori couldn’t be sure—but when the contractions grew more frequent, closer together, she was relieved to know it was time. Her body acted on its own, the need to push filling her mind and, moments later, she was gently removing the sac from @Toshi and licking him clean, stimulating her first hatchling. Already did she feel a fondness for her son—as well as relief, realising he was not female, ensuring that her mother’s life was not at risk. A sigh slipped out her maw, content, as she nosed the dark-furred boy towards her teats. Part of her wanted nothing more than to encircle her son and give him all the attention she could muster but, she knew, it was not yet time for that. Already were the contractions coming again, steady, followed not long after by her efforts to expel another hatchling—another boy, she realised, removing the sac from the lighter @Kiyoshi and licking him clean. Two boys, the latter of which was nosed towards her stomach as well, encouraged to stay near to his brother. All the while, Kaori could not rid herself of the overwhelming joy and relief she felt.

How long passed afterwards without another contraction, she lost track; long enough for her to realise that she would have no more than two sons—and this she was content with. Eventually, once she was sure, the young mother drew her body around the hatchlings, encircling them in the same manner as a dragon might her hoard—protecting them, keeping them warm, and keeping the rest of the world away from their defenseless forms. That is how she would remain, offering them space to wiggle and hardly anymore than that, as she also rested. Later, she would murmur to them their names but, for now, all she wanted to do was rest and hold them close.