Book One: Onnu and Pannu

Awakening

Steel reported no egg laying that he could see, when he returned. However, some sort of subtle change had come over the Holds that he scouted.
   "What do you mean?" Onnu asked.
   Steel shifted slightly. He wasn't prone to such motions, so she took note of it. "It is... hard to describe. In the course of a day, the Holds got a lot more colorful. We looked more closely, and it was clothing. Don't ask how, but they've suddenly taken a notion to wearin' clothes."
   "Maybe they've had better luck taming peryarns," she shrugged.
   "It's not just that, though." He was clearly uncomfortable. She let him gather his thoughts before speaking.
   "I couldn't see much of the littles, but the dragons began perching on their spires and... If I didn't know better--mind you, I don't--but... I could almost swear they were... preening? The ladies were giving me a look I haven't seen since Earth-that-was."
   Grim perked up. "How long ago was that?"
   Steel didn't have to think long. "Two days before we left, so three days ago. It made me so uncomfortable, I beat feet... err... wings back home. Spent a day just..."
   "Gathering spoons?" Onnu suggested. That prompted a quick explanation of spoon theory, but he emphatically agreed with her.
   "By the way, Grim, why did you ask?"
   The gryphon's feathers ruffled. "Ever since the eggs hatched, I swear Tan started tryin' to crawl inside my hide. Greta and Clay got weird with their bickerin', and Todd and Solara got reeeeeeal cozy all of a sudden."
   Onnu's brow furled. "You mean... huh... Maybe with a new generation born on the planet, the Big Guy's decided we are no longer as children..?"
   Grim shivered. "How come we gotta suffer for your egg-layin'?"
   Onnu's head shot up. "I beg your pardon? It's not like I asked to be the bearer of the next generation! I didn't even know it was happening at the time! We were doing just fine without having to worry about where the heck to store clothing!" Her teeth clacked with irritation as she spoke. Her eyes lit a sallow color.
   Grim was one of the few little kin who wouldn't back down in the face of a riled dragon. Not that she minded, of course. She hated scaring people.
   "And besides, all we have are theories. How do we know there weren't other dragons laying eggs when I did, but so far away that we can't reach them in a day? We don't even know if this is all happening on the other planets, or just this one. There's so much we don't know! Don't blame me for this sh... shrapnel!"
   The riled dragoness set the newest generation on edge. They were far more wary and shell-shocked than any of the pilgrims in the neighborhood. They had nightmares that they couldn't remember upon waking, but seemed to plague them during the day. This generation was slow to laugh, quick to startle, but very grateful for everything they had.
   When Onnu saw them outright fleeing to the niches, she settled her scales and dropped to her keel. She let out a sigh so long and drawn-out, steam was produced.
   Tandy made note of it for the craftskin.
   "Apologies, little ones. I am merely frustrated with circumstances. You are in no danger from me, save the occasional misstep."
   They didn't leave their niches for quite some time. Onnu decided to fly up into the gases to refill while they recovered from her outburst.
   She further decided that they might do best being placed in Holds with smaller dragons. She did, however, insist on ferrying them to their new homes. They needed to be able to trust a dragon, and she had given them life. She felt she owed them that much. They would see her, still, from time to time, and perhaps grow accustomed to her presence. That seemed to be the best she could hope for.
   When they'd all been distributed wherever they wished to go (having been instructed on the strengths of each Hold), there was nothing left to do but return home.
   It took time, which brought with it forgetfulness. She missed the look Steel gave her when she left her children with him. The littles in the Holds she passed through were small enough, in relation to her, that she missed their altered behavior.
   She could not, however, miss the almost aggressive head butting she got as greeting from Pannu. His horns scratched her neck where she couldn't reach, and she could almost swear he nipped her.
   If it made her uncomfortable, the vulnerable little kin were suddenly very invested in pursuits near the walls of the Hold!
   But their dragoness had recently laid eggs, and was not interested in such things. She sat down, tail curled rather pointedly, and suffered his antics as long as she was able. When he'd tested her patience to its end, she blew a long stream of steam at his neck, and found a spot of wall that wasn't too occupied to lie down against.
   He couldn't possibly have missed her signals, and yet, he still practically plastered his body to her side. The side in question, along with its twin, heaved in the largest whuff to date.