Moonbeam: A Timeline series companion

chapter 38 teaser

Ok so I forgot if I've contradicted this before, but whatever: I've decided Scorpion has two siblings, and we get to meet them on this chapter, because they both come to the palace for SandWing Fourth of July, basically. (It's called Liberation Day, or the Night of Broken Crowns, and it's the anniversary of when Scorpion took the throne.) 

By the way, fun little Scorpion lore: she had twelve siblings, but they're the only three who survived Queen Gila's rule. So. That's fun. She's the eldest, Cicada is a few years younger, and Dragonfly was one of the youngest siblings, so he doesn't remember as much.

Anyway now they're all grown up--Cicada is the mayor of Scorpion Den and has seven dragonets, Scorpion is the queen... and Dragonfly is a travelling salesman who invented the bendy-straw and whose businesses Scorpion is constantly having to shut down, he definitely tried to start a pyramid scheme. Right now he's selling knockoff Darkstalker inventions, and he's dabbled in knockoff Clearsight merch. I haven't gotten to writing him yet, but I want him to have a scene like, "Look, Scorpion. How much would you pay for this cup? Maybe, like, one bronze, right? Now, what if I put Darkstalker's face on it. It's a luxury item now, you see, and I can quadruple the price. That's what I call magic." He tries to sell Way shitty pencils with his parents' faces on them and Way and Precocious totally fall for it. He's so dumb and I love him with my entire heart, and it's even funnier when his sisters have these big, important careers, meanwhile he's like "Scorpion look at my newest invention that de-spikes a cactus."

Also this is an Epiphany chapter :)

***

I hear the sound of crying dragonets down the hall. Like, a lot of dragonets. "MOOM! COYOTE BIT ME!" one shouts.

"MOOOM! Are we there yet!

"MOOM, I'm hungry!"

"Mom, Jackrabbit's being grooooss!"

Scorpion takes a deep breath, rubbing her temples, and counting down under her breath. A dragon with a soft, rounded snout, more golden than dusty yellow, with little speckles on her wings, and a scar on her chest. She looks like an alternate universe Scorpion, or something.

"Scorpion!" She calls. "All right, darlings, go say hi to Auntie Scorpion! So sorry we're late, I underestimated how long the flight would take."

"Yep. It's fine. Uh... Hey there, Beetle. Nice to... see you again..." She forces a smile.

"Auntie Scorpion! Do we get presents this year?" The eldest asks—she's what, maybe two years old?

"Um. Maybe." Something tells me Scorpion definitely hasn't bought them presents.

"Awesome!" She chirps. "I love you, Auntie Scorpion!"

"Oooo, who are you?" A wide-eyed dragonet asks me. "Is that your real leg? So cool. OOOO, what's this?" He snatches a copy of Scorpion's notes for the meeting. "Can I colour on it? Mom says I make the best drawings, I'm gonna make you a million!"

I'm about to give him a very funny quip about how actually it's an imaginary leg, only he and I can see it, but he darts away to bother someone else before I can deliver it. Hrrmph.

"Are you a NightWing?" Jackrabbit gasps, poking Gaze's shoulder. "You're so pretty and shiny!"

"Cicada, could you, um... maybe... take them somewhere else?" Scorpion winces. "I love... your children very much. They light up my life. Just not in the council chamber, maybe?"

"Oh, of course. Darlings, run along—Beetle, I'm expecting you to be a role model. You know where our rooms are, right?"

"Of course, Mom! Good luck with your meeting. Bye, Auntie Scorpion! Bye everyone!" Beetle chirps, herding her younger siblings behind her.

"COYOTE, I see you there buddy! Get out from under the table, and go with your sister!" Cicada shouts, pointing at the door. "This is your last strike. You're being very rude today—do you want your present to go to Beetle? I'll do it. I won't hesitate."

"You're no fun," the little dragonet mutters, stomping off with his big sister.

Cicada clears her throat. "Sorry about that. Dragonets are a blessing." She smiles, bowing elegantly. "Princess Cicada, sister to the queen. Representative of the Scorpion District, and mayor of Scorpion Den. Mother of seven wonderful dragonets—they're not usually like that, by the way. It's lovely to see you all."

Scorpion rolls her eyes, muttering something like "overacheiver" under her breath.

"Prince Wayfinder," Way says, a little shakily, following suit. "Um... son of... Darkstalker and Clearsight." He fidgets nervously with his talons.

"Oh. You didn't tell me about him," Cicada says, shooting her older sister a significant look.

Scorpion rolls her eyes. "He's part of some ambassadors Darkstalker and Clearsight sent. That's Precocious, and that's Gaze, and this is Epiphany. Unrelated to the ambassador thing."

Cicada gasps. "Oh my gosh, you're finally a mom! Epiphany, you can call me Auntie C, I've been waiting for this moment for years! How long since you signed the adoption papers?!"

I shake her talon hesitantly. "Um, no, I'm not... her daughter. I just live here."

***

Bonus scene:

Scorpion lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank the moons, thought I'd never get rid of her. Say, you lot are young—what do I get seven dragonets whose names I have written down on a list so remember? What gift says small children do not make me want to run for my life? And, like, especially I love you so much, you're the greatest, to the four girls who could kill me one day? But also could be read by Cicada as I think it's unreasonable your children expect gifts every time they visit, I dropped out of school when I was three and committed a very long list of crimes, most of which you don't even know about, so you could go to school for a few more years before you had to join me to help take care of Dragonfly, and now thanks to me you are very well-off, can't you  buy them gifts yourself?"

"Wait, you what?" Way asks her with wide eyes.

She shrugs. "I was the eldest of twelve dragonets. Dad got into debt with a gang, it was a whole thing. Anyway, only four of us lasted very long. Jackal got sick a second time when we were, like... I don't know, right before I took the throne. After he died, that was the last straw. Cicada seems innocent, but trust me, I've seen her in action, she's not someone you want to mess with. For a while, we thought she might take the throne, but I thought she was too young at the time, so... that's a weird alternate timeline for you."

"Wow." Gaze breathes, this weird look I can't quite place in her eyes.

"Anyway," she says breezily. "Gift ideas?"