Book One: Onnu and Pannu

But Why, Onnu?

The smaller kin must have thought her bereft, because they found ways to include her in the smaller things. They also asked her some bigger questions that they had either been too afraid to ask, or she never seemed to have time for--or they didn't have time for. Now seemed the time to ask, in case she never came back. They thought she knew absolutely everything, which she kept telling them she didn't. The problem was, she was often proven wrong.
   One question she probably should have answered months ago, but it hadn't come up yet: Why, if they were reincarnated people from Erdewaz, did babies not immediately walk and talk?
   Onnu laughed. "A new body will always take time to adjust to. One never knows how long they've been in Heaven, or Abraham's waiting room, or... wherever they were, before being given another chance at perfection. That's why you'll reincarnate. Have I covered that? It's how His children become perfect. I suppose, in a way, the Elder Dragons may never reach perfection." She thought on that for a while.
   "Besides," she said, almost visibly snapping back, "do you really think you're speaking English right now?"
   "I thought I was speaking Ojibwe," Bones said.
   "I thought we were all speaking French," Maggie said shyly.
   "You mean it's not Arabic? Then how do we all understand each other?" Burt Rock asked.
   "We are speaking Tupin. And in the beginning, some of you couldn't understand draconic. Even so, we were all transmogrified, or transfigured, into bodies that could comprehend Tupin. Babies born here must learn an entirely new language, in addition to remembering how arms and legs move. You will, however, note (if you've had children before) that they do not spend as long totally helpless. They can lift their heads sooner, crawl sooner, all of it."
   Bones was nodding, Maggie wasn't. That was roughly how the ratio went: half were nodding, half weren't. They had been different ages when Rapture happened, even if they'd all been roughly reset to the same age on Tupino. As such, some of them had been older, like Onnu and Stan; while others had been quite young, like Marla and Maggie.
   "Even dragons must learn to walk and talk on Tupino, when they hatch."
   For some reason, that got her words to stick. She was afraid they thought dragons superior in some way, and constantly sought ways to teach them otherwise. They were teachers, yes, but not necessarily better. Teachers could still be taught, she was oft saying. If someone taught her something new, she would always tell them that she did not previously know it.
   The thing was, once word got around that dragons were knowledge repositories--Elder Dragons doubly so--they began teaching her absolutely everything they knew, or learned. Those who knew about the other worlds would sometimes ask "Do the other worlds know to fold their hems?" or "Have they found cave yeast yet, for their bread?" or "Have you told them how to make glass?" Her Hold took it upon themselves to teach her, that she might teach the other worlds. It made her proud.
   This day, she half smiled. "Do you know, I'd quite forgotten that at one point, I wanted to be a teacher? Vet, too, and I guess I do a bit of that. I also tried to go to seminary school. The funny thing is..." She chuckled ruefully. "I never once thought about becoming an astronaut."
   Those who were in earshot laughed with her.
   "It's funny, sometimes, how He uses our dreams and talents."
   "He who?" Leo asked.
   Tandy elbowed him. "God, silly! Who else?"
   "Oh. I'm sorry, I forgot. With you leaving day after tomorrow, things just got all jumbled..."
   "Well," Onnu said calmly, "that's what dragons are for. I was told--or Told, with a capital T--that the word dragon was synonymous with 'rabbi', and 'teacher'."
   "You were?" Sage asked, awed and confused.
   "I was." Onnu smiled down at her son, then looked up (well, still down, but further up) at the rest of the kin. "I had said, while I was Above, that we really needed a word for kin who do what rabbis, pastors, reverends, and the like did on Erdewaz. He said the word was 'dragon'." She chuckled, half to herself. "Every time I think 'I'm not in charge, they can do as they like, as long as it's not harmful. Then I'll step in. Surely, that is what something as big as I should do,' He reminds me that..." She looked at the sky without truly seeing it. She sighed that way, aimed away from a passing gryphon. Then she looked down at the kin around her. "I think of it as 'momming', because I really don't feel like a leader. I never wanted power, just... the ability to guide, or teach, y'know?"
   Dragonfriend put a meaty paw on one toe. "The best leaders are those who don't want the power. I've told you that how many times?"
   She whuffed quietly. "It still doesn't feel... right, somehow. Sure, I know things, and maybe I can help, but... leading? It feels like clothing that doesn't fit right. Does that make sense?"
   "Dragons don't wear clothing," Clay said. It broke the tension. They chuckled with uneasy laughter, but at least they were laughing.
   "The thing is, we need strong leadership," Bones said. It almost sounded like he was scolding her.
   "Oh, I've got plenty of strength, I just don't want to use it wrong. Whether you meant that physically or mentally, my answer remains the same. If I am too strong of character, I will not bend. Those who do not bend will break. It is a fine line, knowing when to hold firm, and when to relent. I am counting on all of you to keep me on that fine line, you know. All of you. Even Clack. Maybe especially Clack."
   She paused for another moment or two, looking around. "Call it leadership, if you must. I will call it teaching, or momming. If you had an involved parent, that should suffice, I believe. Whatever it is that I do, it will continue through the lifespan of everyone standing here, at the very least. If stability is what you need, I hope that it helps."
   "Even our lives?" Sunny asked.
   Onnu gently booped her daughter with the tip of her nose. "You will not be here for your entire life, my child. I will always be available for questions, no matter where I am, and that is enough."
   "But what about Pannu? Will you be here for his entire life?" Tandy asked, notepad in hand.
   Onnu sobered. "That... I do not yet know."
   Dragonfriend slapped his face with his paw. "That's why you phrased it that way! He went outside for a bio-break, so he's not standing here."
   Onnu's eyes swirled to an uneasy blue. She could not speak, so she simply nodded. A pair of tears dropped on Sage's head, which she swiped away before his father could return.