Hunter shifted as his armored back pressed against the closest egg. He groaned as he allowed himself to slip to the side and he fell to the ground on his side. He closed his eyes out of boredom, as a snort caught his attention and he looked up to find Sorkeno looking down at him.
“What?” He grumbled to the golden dragon. “I’m bored.”
“I can sense that,” Sorkeno replied, his expression unimpressed with the complaining Overlord.
Hunter rolled to his belly and leaned the side of his head against the same egg he had just fallen next to. “I thought it was going to happen when you brought me here. It’s been two days.” He whined.
Sorkeno rolled his eyes and his snout pushed the bored pony away from the egg. “They will hatch when they are ready.”
“You acted like it was dire to get me here on time.” Hunter pointed out as he got to his hooves and stretched. “They were pretty vocal until this morning.”
“It is not out of the ordinary for it to be delayed if needed.” Sorkeno pointed out.
Hunter looked up as Kaiana stirred next to him. Her eyes opened and she regarded him, her eyes laughing at him.
“Are you being troublesome?” She cooed to him.
“Of course not.” He replied and looked away from her for a moment before he went to her snout and flopped over it dramatically. “I’m just bored senseless.”
She laughed at him as he stayed in place on her snout. “Enjoy the free time, my child. You do not often get time off from work.”
“Work might be preferred right now. Time is crawling past me and I can hear it ticking I’m so bored.” He complained and crawled over her nose to sit on it, facing her. “Tick…Tock…Tick…Ugh.”
A low laugh caught their attention as Maranna laughed at his antics. “You have great patience normally.” She jabbed.
“Normally I know what’s going on and am in the middle of it. I’m sitting on my hooves here.” He replied with a laugh.
“As she said, enjoy the time off.” She said with a laugh to him.
“I’m dying here.” He replied to the red female.
“A bit overdramatic,” Sorkeno said to him and nudged the Overlord off the she-dragons nose.
Hunter yelped and fell off the dragon’s nose and landed roughly on the other side of her nose. He sat up and glared upward as the Lord Dragon looked down at him. He opened his mouth to speak when a sound caught this attention and his ears flicked to listen. He looked up as the dragons close to him did the same. The Overlord got to his hooves and looked at the eggs. One had begun to shake and shudder in place.
“Finally,” Hunter called out and jumped over Kaiana’s snout to watch the egg.
He saw Sorkeno shake his head and then nudged the egg to keep it from falling to the side. Hunter put an ear to the egg as the Draglings inside began to call out in earnest. Hunter backed up to watch as the newborn began to break through the shell. A brilliant emerald snout broke through and Hunter waited as another began to call out and the egg began to shake. The stallion walked to the new egg and watched as a red snout broke through and paused to breathe.
“Worth the wait?” Kaiana teased.
“Maybe.” He replied with a coy smile.
She chuckled and nuzzled him as he looked to the other three eggs. The black stallion’s ears flicked as two more began to shake and cry out and he went to stand by them to watch as a dull green came through the shell and it tilted as if to fall to the side toward the ground. Hunter knew enough to know that it might hurt the Dragling if it hit the ground too hard. He got under the egg and pushed it back into place.
“Heavier than it looked.” He commented as he backed up from the egg.
Sorkeno nuzzled him in silent thanks and Hunter looked up as the other egg cracked and a white snout broke through. Kaiana looked to the egg and her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the white scales.
“White?” She said aloud and looked to the Lord Dragon who nodded.
“It has been a long time since we have seen a white scale.” He agreed.
“It’s a sign of good things to come if you believe the old stories.” She replied to him.
Hunter shrugged and watched as the four babies began to work on breaking free of the shells in earnest, eager to be free of them. Hunter went to the final egg and stood close to it as it shook. There was no sound coming from the Dragling inside and he put an ear up to the egg as the Dragling inside moved but remained silent. Hunter listened closely and he could hear the hatchling shifting and moving in the shell as its claws scratched the shells smooth interior. Hunter reared up and set his hooves against the shell and tapped on the outside. The Dragling went still but began to scratch under his hooves and Hunter felt a smile breaking over his mouth as he tapped the shell again.
“What are you doing, Little One?” Sorkeno asked him as the dragon looked to him.
“Maybe he needs a little guidance.” Hunter replied and tapped the shell once more.
“If you think he does then continue.” The dragon said to him as the other babies began to break through more of the tough shells and they were crumbling under the Draglings assault.
Hunter smiled and tapped the shell as the Dragling mimicked him and began to push against the shell. The Overlord tapped the shell and the egg shuddered as the Dragling scratched at the shell and began to break through it.
“Come on,” Hunter whispered and tapped harder on the shell.
The shell cracked and the Dragling began to dig at the spot under Hunter's hooves. The Overlord pushed off the shell and whinnied in encouragement. The Dragling gave a loud cry and the shell opened to reveal a dark scaled snout. Hunter walked up and pushed off a piece of the shell to see black scales shining back at him. He smiled at the sight and the Dragling breathed through the small gap and rested in place.
“Hey Sorkeno, he got it open,” Hunter called out and pointed a hoof to the small black scaled snout.
Sorkeno looked to him and his eyes widened at the sight of the black scales. The Lord Dragon reached out with his nose and pushed Hunter away from the Draglings egg and kept him back. The dragon’s eyes looked down at him and the Overlord was surprised by the dragon’s response.
“Stay back, Little One.” His voice rolled over the room and the others looked up to him.
“Why?” Hunter asked and tried to go around the dragon’s snout, only to be pushed back again.
Hunter watched as the others came forward and looked startled at the sight of the black scaled snout that poked through the eggs thick shell. Kaiana stared at the Dragling for a moment before she looked to Hunter.
“Are you all right?” She asked him, concern etched in her gaze.
“I’m fine.” He said to her and once more tried to go back to the Dragling but was stopped once more. “Okay, what the hell is going on?”
Sorkeno looked at him and allowed him to stand closer but still at a distance. “Black scales are a bad omen Little One. They bring evil to a Lair.”
“You’re kidding right?” Hunter chided at the dragon. “It’s a Dragling.”
Sorkeno picked him up and held him back in his paw. “Stay back Little One. We will tend to the egg.”
“Tend to it?” Hunter asked. “What does that mean?”
“It will be removed and placed elsewhere,” Sorkeno said to him.
Hunter’s eyes went wide as the implication hit him. “WHAT!?” He thundered and the dragons looked to him. “You’re going to take that Dragling out of here and dispose of it?!”
“It will be fine, child,” Kaiana said to him, trying to soothe him.
“No.” He snarled to her and she backed up from him at his tone. “You would condemn that poor creature just for his coloring? It’s a Dragling that has done nothing wrong and does not deserve to be abandoned with no one to watch over him. Have you all forgotten something?”
Maranna looked to him as she stood up from the other eggs. “What have we forgotten?”
Hunter’s horn lit, his magic covered the armor around his body, opened the buckles, and he tossed off his armor to show his own black fur. “I bear black fur. Does that mean you would have thrown me away?”
Sorkeno startled as the armor fell to the ground at his claws, the sound deafening even over the babies cries. Hunter’s eyes were fierce and his expression enraged. The other dragons looked to the ground at his words. Kaiana hung her head and stared at the ground as he spoke. Sorkeno shook his head and lowered his paw to the ground, allowing Hunter to jump off. The Overlord went back to the egg and tapped it once more, encouraging the Dragling inside. The Dragling chirped and began to fight the egg once more. He began to push on the shell, trying to break it in places to help the infant within break through it.
Warm breath against his back made him stop his work and he looked over his shoulder to see Kaiana’s nose behind him as she pushed him gently aside. Her claws carefully pushed the Draglings snout back into the shell and she broke it down the front to help the infant break free of the shell. Hunter’s magic gripped it as well and broke the shell to the side and the Dragling slid from the shell to the ground at the Overlords hooves.
“Thank you,” Hunter whispered to the she-dragon and nuzzled her nose.
The she-dragon licked over his exposed fur and then began to lick the Dragling to encourage it to move and breathe freely. Sorkeno also began to tend to the black scaled infant as Hunter ran his hooves over the Draglings head. The newborns all looked the same and would not develop horns or other features until they were a few months old. Their eyes were still closed as they chirped and called out. The black was silent as Hunter ran a cloth over his scales to help dry him off. The empty eggs were moved out of the way and the babies were tended to by the adults. Hunter stayed with the black and Sorkeno nuzzled him off to the side. Hunter allowed the dragon to move him and he glared at the golden dragon laid down in front of him.
“I am sorry, Little One,” Sorkeno whispered to him.
Hunter was silent as the dragon spoke. He could still feel the anger that had washed over him when he had realized that the black would have been abandoned due to the color of his scales. “Would you have thrown me away?” He snarled.
“No,” Sorkeno said to him.
“But my fur is black.” Hunter accused.
Sorkeno looked to the ground and closed his eyes at the clear anger in Hunter’s voice. “You were not born a dragon Little One.” He said aloud.
“What does that matter? Black is a color. If you think of black as evil then I fit the color more than that Dragling does. I carry evil Sorkeno. I will be the one to pass it on to my own foals. If you want evil then look no further than me.”
Sorkeno cringed under Hunters scolding, his eyes still closed. “You are not evil Little One. And you are right to be angry. We did condemn that one before allowing him to try. That is our fault. You were right to save him.” He added and his eyes opened, sorrow within them.
Hunter breathed out and tried to push the anger to the back of his mind. His breathing was ragged as he tried not to be angry at the dragons. He knew that they were only acting as they had been taught by the ones before them. He could not seem to push it away as the anger bit at him. His heart broke for the Dragling and he walked away from the golden dragon and went back to the black scaled infant. Kaiana nuzzled and licked him as he sat down to pet the Dragling once more.
“You did well to protect him from our foolishness, my Child.” She whispered to him.
Hunter looked at her and her expression was soft and gentle. Her tongue went over the infant as she gave him as much attention as the others. “Would you really have…?”
She nuzzled him hard enough to stagger him to stop him from asking her and he glowered at her as a smile went over her muzzle. “It matters not now. He is safe and we will tend to him as if he were any other. They are equal.” She assured him.
He nodded and went back to petting the babies around him. Kaiana moved them gently until they surrounded him, allowing them to get his scent. Sorkeno had not moved from his place behind them. Hunter was still upset at him and he seemed to have chosen to stay back.
Sorkeno looked to the young Overlord as his back was still to him. He could feel how angry Hunter was about what had happened and he chose to stay back. He looked up as Kaiana joined him. His eyes once more went to the black stallion, who sat among the babies and was running his hooves over their scales.
“We failed him for a moment.” She said aloud to him.
He cringed and nodded slightly to her. “We did not fail so much as we became a great disappointment.” He replied.
“That’s true. I have never seen him throw away his armor so readily before now.” She said as she gathered the pieces into her paw and set them beside his pack. “That tells us how upset he was with all of us.”
Sorkeno nodded. “We should have known to listen to him.”
“We should have yes. But at the same time, we acted as we always have. We did not have to worry about our hatchlings meeting him before since they were different colors and he was among them as a sibling. These hatchlings will know him as the one that stands above us all.”
Sorkeno nodded once more as he sat up, his eyes still staring into the floor. “He is the one that will command them if needed.” Sorkeno agreed. “We should have known better.”
“Yes. You and I above all. We are always with him and we did fail him in that regard.” She pointed out. “We will have to rebuild that faith with him now. He knows that we were not trying to hurt him. But that does not change the fact that we did.”
Sorkeno sighed deeply and looked to the others as they fussed over both Hunter and the infant dragons. “That little black will no doubt bond to him. Even in the egg, it answered to him.”
Kaiana laughed at his words. “No doubt. But at the same time, I think that is how it should be. He saved that one’s life from us, who wished to see it ended.”
Sorkeno winced at her wording and he tried to reach out to Hunter but was met with an angry wall. “He is quite upset at us.”
“He is blocking you?”
“Yes. Though in his defense I do not blame him. I would be angry as well. I had not thought of his coloring when I spoke.”
“In your defense none of us did.” Kaiana pointed out. “I had in truth forgotten his coloring. It’s so often hidden.”
“While that is true, we hurt him still.”
“We did yes. So now it falls to us to heal that hurt with our actions. Come, Lord Dragon. You are not meant to be sulking in the background. Go to him and show him that you hold no fear or anger toward the hatchling and he will start to come around as well.”
Sorkeno nodded and got to his paws. He followed Kaiana back to the Dragling and reached down to nuzzle each of them, allowing them to learn his own scent. He watched as Hunter watched him closely as he also nuzzled the black scaled and his tongue went over the black as well as the others. He made sure to treat each one the same and he found himself nuzzling the little black a bit extra.
Hunter watched as Sorkeno nuzzled each Dragling in turn and he tried to put what had happened out of his mind as the hatchlings began to cry for food. Hunter got to his hooves and hopped out of the way as the larger dragons began to bring food to the babies. Kaiana bumped Hunters hip and he looked back as she held a large chunk of meat in her teeth and she motioned for him to take it to the babies. He took the meat from her and slung it over his back.
“Feeding them will help them to learn you as more than just a scent. They will depend on you as they do us.” She reasoned to him and he nodded to her.
“Got it.” He said and trotted the few feet back to the babies.
He jumped back among them and began to tear strips from the chunk of meat to feed them. He ensured that the black was getting enough to eat since the others were louder and more insistent than he was. Kaiana and Sorkeno brought more to him and fed the Dragling as well to make sure that Hunter could go to the others as well. The dragons tried to include the little black in the feeding but the others kept stepping on him as they followed the food. Hunter frowned as the black got trampled once more and he started to reach for the blacks scales to pull him away from the group to eat.
He stopped when Sorkeno reached down and his claws picked up the black scaled hatchling and set him in front of Hunter and Kaiana. Hunter looked to the golden dragon and a small smile played on his muzzle as he gained the babies attention by holding the meat in front of his nose.
“This will ensure he gets enough food for now. Once he gets his bearings he will be able to hold his own a bit better.” Kaiana said to him and she nuzzled and called to the Dragling.
Hunter nodded in agreement. “Is he smaller or just a bit less coordinated?”
“They had longer out of the shell and were able to gain a bit more of a sense of themselves. I am looking at him now and he might actually be a bit bigger than they are.” Sorkeno said to him. “He is slimmer of body but longer.”
Hunter gave the Dragling another strip of meat and looked at the now stretched out Dragling and nodded. “I think your right.”
“Well done.” Kaiana praised as the Dragling began to chirp to the Overlord for more and the pony sighed and rolled his eyes at the insistent calling. “You will make a fine parent one day.”
Hunter spun to look at her, his eyes wide. “I think that is a long ways off.”
“Perhaps. But you will do well at it.” She replied. “It will wait until you have a strong bond with your own mate first.”
“Need a mare for that part.” He added. “You shouldn’t count your dragons before their hatched.”
She laughed at his phrasing and nuzzled him as he broke off another strip for the infant at his hooves. “That is true. For this hatching, we have five.”
Hunter snorted at her and his gaze went back to the black scaled infant. At the moment the Dragling in front of him looked like a long plain lizard. There would not be any big changes for a while so, for now, it was just the scales that set each one apart. The black stallion was quiet as the Dragling ate as much as possible and went quiet, his eyes still closed. The hatchling called out to the others and they called back to him as they also began to curl up to sleep, their bellies full. Hunter turned the hatchling around and guided him back to the others, allowing him to push amongst them and fall asleep quickly.
“When will their eyes open?” He asked Kaiana when he rejoined her and Sorkeno.
“In the next few days. They do not stay closed long.” She answered him and laid down beside him. “I am curious about what their colors will be.”
“Any bets?” Hunter asked them.
Kaiana laughed and looked thoughtful. “I am not sure. Each one is different. What about you’re little black?”
“My little black?” He replied to her, his voice questioning. “Since when is he mine?”
“He was yours the moment you saved him,” Sorkeno said to him. “Perhaps red?”
Hunter laughed. “I doubt it.” He replied. “He’ll be okay, right? The others won’t hate him for his scales, right?”
“No. They will be taught that scales do not make the dragon who they are. A lesson we were taught today.” Kaiana assured him. “It is an old belief that should have been thrown away a long time ago.”
“So white is really lucky and black is unlucky?” Hunter asked them.
“Yes,” Sorkeno replied. “Essentially that is what we were all taught in the beginning as well.”
“How did that get started anyway?” Hunter questioned further.
“We were told that the white brought about peace and prosperity to those that are around it and the black brought death and evil upon those that were unfortunate enough to fall under its gaze,” Kaiana said to him.
Hunter was quiet as he processed what he had heard and he looked to the pile of hatchlings, sleeping soundly under the watchful gaze of the adult dragons. His heartbeat easily within him as he looked over the peaceful setting before him. He leaned against Kaiana’s jaw and sighed.
“I didn’t mean to be cruel to you about that whole thing.” He said to her.
“You had every right to be cruel to us,” Kaiana said to him.
“She is right,” Sorkeno said as he laid down close to him. “We needed to be shown the error that we were about to commit. We needed to have it shown to us in plain language.”
“I just…I couldn’t let him get left out all alone. I know how that feels. Sitting in the dark hoping someone comes. And trying not to think of what could happen to you in the dark.” He said to them.
Kaiana nuzzled him and crooned to him. “You were right to act as you did. Sometimes one cannot see what is wrong until one is slapped in the face with it. Our desire to abandon that hatchling was cruel and we needed cruelty to show us the error of our actions.”
Sorkeno nodded and pressed his head close to the Overlord and Hunter ran his hoof over the golden scales. The other dragon’s looked to him and Maranna got to her paws and approached him. She laid down and pressed her snout against him, her breath warm against his fur.
“Maranna?” He said to her.
“Please forgive us for what we nearly did.” She whispered to him.
Hunter got to his hooves and hugged her snout. “I just want you to see him as a hatchling and nothing more than that. Your all going to have an impact on his life as you have impacted mine. Black is only a color, it is not a state of mind unless that is what you make it.” He said to her.
She pressed her nose closer to him and a smile went over her muzzle. “We will love him as any other. He will be allowed the same guidance as to the others. We will guide him and I hope that you will guide him as well. Your words struck true and we will listen to them as well. They will all benefit from your own wisdom.”
Hunter snorted. “I have been called many things but wise is not one of them.”
Maranna laughed at his tone and she looked to the pile of Draglings. “They will need you the same as us as they grow.”
“They will have me,” Hunter assured her. “They’re the first babies born with me around, they're stuck with me around.”
Maranna chuckled and went back to the others. Hunter was quiet as he sat back down between Sorkeno and Kaiana. He ran his hoof over the golden scales and leaned his chest against Sorkeno’s scales.
“I forgive you.” He whispered.
Sorkeno’s eyes closed for a moment and he opened them to look at the Overlord. A smile tugged at the dragon's jaws and he pushed against the stallion’s body. Their connection returned to its normal state and the dragon nearly picked up the pony to hold him close.
“Thank you Little One. I will not fail you again.”
“You didn’t fail me. You just…made a really bad decision.” He replied as he pushed off the dragon’s snout.
“That is a failure to me.” He replied and bumped the stallion with his nose. “I will make sure the little black is treated the same as any other Dragling. Though he will have you at his call as well.”
Hunter furrowed his brow for a moment as he understood what the golden dragon meant. “Shit.”
Sorkeno laughed out loud at the stallions annoyed expression. “You are stuck with him now.”
“So are you,” Kaiana added.
“What?” Hunter said to her, his eyes wide.
“You are one. He bonded to Hunter, which means he has bonded to you as well Lord Dragon.” She explained.
Sorkeno blinked at her response and Hunter turned to him, a wide smile on his mouth.
“HAH!” Hunter shouted and pointed a hoof at the golden dragon.
Sorkeno grumbled under his breath and seemed to be trying not to laugh at his own misfortune. “You will have to make more trips here to make sure that he knows you well. I will be here during the day and then you should make several visits until he is old enough to know that you are not leaving him so much as you are working.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll make sure Gnarl knows. I’m here now so that will help.” Hunter replied.
“He will have your heart to guide him,” Kaiana said to them. “Given the time that little one will repay the favor.”
“Hopefully not,” Hunter replied with a laugh. “That would mean I got myself into trouble at some point.”
“That’s true. But still, he will be at your side as we are.” Sorkeno added.
Hunter nodded in understanding. He sat down between them and watched as the Hatchlings slept deeply under the protection of the adult dragons around them, with the Overlord watching over all of them.