The tale of the fox and the dragon egg

Chapter 3 - Mother

And then he felt it. The slight ruffle of his fur, the movement of something just between his shoulder blades. He registered the slight pressure on his spine. The feeling of something snuggling close, pushing itself more into the cuddly warmth underneath.

Wei Ying cried.

"Radish? Little radish, is that you?"

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Wei Ying was starving.

The feeling was not new to him. At least for the longest time. But now it settled heavy again, the rumbling of his stomach long gone to leave a painful sting in its wake.

At first, his eyes refused to open themselves. Then, the next heavy burn cramped his muscles, shooting up from his bottom towards the spine, settling in his neck. A whine escaped him. Every limb refused to move. He knew this, it was familiar to him. Only once did he feel it.

Back then, after the loss of his golden core. When he lost four of his precious five tails. When he lost the warmth within his meridians.

Then there was the smell. The smell of decay. Something was rotting within the cave.

He didn't have to look at his tails to know what was going on.

He gave too much, was his first thought.

No, he gave too less, was his next.

It was worth it. Losing one tail, out of his eight, was a simple trade. A trade his subconscious knew beforehand. This was what he gave. He could at least hope that his child did receive.

His child!

Everything hurt as his paws touched the icy stone beneath him. Wei Ying pushed himself up. Seven tails followed his command as he felt a painful snap along his spine, then the sound of something hitting the floor and then the burning.

He didn't care.

Seven tails curled towards him, silver eyes always watching.

There was no weight, he thought. There was no weight!

Panic returned to him, doubled by the silencing pain along his spine. Soft tinkling noises echoed inside the cave as his tails pushed against something, next to the whine he let slip. What was this noise? What shoved against his tails?

A glow, something reflecting the blazing sunlight from outside through the crack. The sharp edges of a round form, no, many tiny pieces. Both? He wasn't sure.

Wei Ying pushed his nose against it, inhaling the scent. It was strange. He never smelled something like this. It was fresh. A pleasant smell. And as his snout touched the strange object again, it was warm. Warmer than an object should be.

The fox examined it again. Until his heart stopped for a moment and realization hit him.

Those patterns, those rills... He knew them. This was an eggshell.

And then he felt it. The slight ruffle of his fur, the movement of something just between his shoulder blades. He registered the slight pressure on his spine. The feeling of something snuggling close, pushing itself more into the cuddly warmth underneath.

Wei Ying cried.

"Radish? Little radish, is that you?"

Breakdown. No breakdown. No, no, he won't. It was safe.

The movement stopped for a second. The being hiding in his fur was content there, he was sure. But it seemed that it felt the irritation, the fear and the anxiety spilling out of the fox in waves. There was this sudden warmth engulfing him, spreading again.