Wheeling Gull Isle you're a child, not a man

yay, welcome to the world lil seadragons! <3

as evening stole across the horizon, the world began to change; the air heavy with the knowledge that it was the evening. she doesn't invite him inside the birthing den and he watches her disappear into the darkness that waits for her with waiting arms, engulfing her. the seconds stretch into minutes, minutes to hours. she cries out for him, or rather, his name and he is alert, muscles tense and then after feeling like he might burst if he sits still he paces, wearing a trail at the mouth of the birthing den as his world changes. atausiq witnesses their births from the outside — passive. the strange smells, the strange sounds — hua's labored breath and then each small squeak and mewls of them.

one, two, three —

four. four names.

he feels like a coil wound so tight. his nerves are frayed. an ear remains cocked towards the den waiting, waiting, waiting.

and then

then hua invites him in.

atausiq, come see your children.

he turns towards the mouth of the den then, a lump of unknown emotion lodged in his throat. that she called them his. that he was allowed inside. holding his breath, atausiq crawls inside the den on his belly, imperial jade gaze discerning hua's shape and then the four cubs nestled against her belly. they are so small. fur still wet from being cleaned. he blinks slowly, staring at them with a softly furrowed brow.

they're so ....měilì? he breathes the word uncertainty, lets out a small partially frustrated and partially apologetic huff. beautiful. and ...and small. and they had that puppy smell that he found delightful. little seadragons. he murmurs to them in hushed tones, full of swelling affection that he can't help but feel.