Book One: Onnu and Pannu

Travel Mercies

He was mercifully quick. Whether it was guilt, or mute apology, he did what seemed to be required with as much efficiency as possible.
   They would later theorize that she could store copies of their DNA... somewhere... thereby making it unnecessary to fly across the Verse if one of them died. None of them was particularly fond of the methodology, or how it impacted their personal relationships, but it made sense. Far quicker to pop out a replacement, if she already had their respective DNA codes in some sort of storage bank. Many animals in nature had such receptacles, and could store samples for years, if necessary. A lot of those were deep sea creatures, which would meet another of their species roughly as often as the Elder Dragons would see each other in person.
   :Wait, does that mean we'll have to meet up every few years and... ugh, I hate to phrase it this way, but... refresh the samples?: she asked, gliding toward her new goal.
   As soon as Dwayne had done the deed, he'd nudged her in a new direction, toward another glowing planet. It was still quite far away, so they had time for conversation along the way.
   :I don't know, but I hope it's not an annual thing.:
   Onnu heartily seconded the sentiment. Trey was strangely silent on the matter.
   :I guess I don't remember exactly how long things like anglerfish can hold it in, but I think it was years plural. Since it seems instinctual, I guess we won't know until it... needs doing again..? Ugh, this is all so strange! I know He said nothing was the same, but... programmed polygamy wasn't on my bingo card for this.:
   That startled a laugh out of both of her Brothers.
   As she neared the planet Trey was on, she saw that the glow was a different color than Dwayne's World was. While Dwayne glowed a lighter shade of his bronze hide, Trey's current planet had a hazy silvery glow. The difference was subtle, but she was fairly certain she would be able to tell them apart, from now on.
   :Oh, hey Michael. Just passing through. Good feeding lately?: She tried to sound calm, but it was difficult. She had nearly missed him, covering a planet she was passing. He was the largest Charon, so it sounded absurd that she would not have seen him, but all Charon blended in with the starry sky beyond the bright gases of the Fortnight Worlds.
   The Charon didn't lift his head, but she did feel a sort of acknowledgement as she glided past. Had it been Gabriel, she would have been delayed in her journey by a barrage of questions, but Michael simply noted her passage and kept feeding.
   She passed David closer to her destination, but he, too, ignored her in favor of feeding. She was perfectly content leaving them be. The thought of encountering a Charon in flight gave her all kinds of shivers. Though David was the smallest of the three, he could still swallow her whole. Even the chatty Gabriel would be intimidating, as dark as he was. No, Onnu never forgot what they were, or what their purpose was.
   Trey was waiting for her, just outside atmo; as Dwayne had been. :First time on a new planet?: he asked.
   :You know it is.: She wasn't annoyed, so much as tired. The longer she'd flown, the heavier she'd felt. Even the zero gravity environment Above seemed to drain her of energy, until she felt like she was swimming through mud.
   :I passed David and Michael, so Gabriel should be around soon. We shouldn't dally.:
   Trey eyed her in a way she didn't particularly enjoy. :Looks like you've done enough dallying for one day. Think I'll abstain.:
   Onnu's head tilted quizzically, but he didn't elaborate. Instead, he maneuvered his body beneath hers, as if she would fall if he didn't.
   :Come on, then. Let's get down there before you fall out of the sky.:
   Her head jerked back. :I'm a bit tired, that's all. You've flown across the Verse, you know darned well how exhausting it is!:
   He dropped lower, and waited. :I find it invigorating, actually. Come on, you haven't got much time.:
   She had all kinds of questions, but he didn't seem keen on answering any of them. She growled and launched herself at the planet below. Trey scrambled to stay below her, and also guide her to the landing site he'd prepared for them. The independent dragoness would not be so easily corralled, tired though she was. He had to work to keep her on the trajectory he wanted, which didn't allow him the luxury of staying under her. He just had to have faith that she wouldn't fall. There was only one of him; he could either keep her aloft, or keep her on the path to a safe landing. He couldn't do both.
   He had to change her course without showing his hand, or she'd buck the other way. She was in a contrary mood, and they needed her to be in one specific place. He'd gone to all the trouble of making it safe and secure. They didn't need it all wrecked by a headstrong dragoness. Had he simply told her that he had somewhere safe, she would have relented, but he didn't know that.
   The struggle left him as tired as she was, but at least he got her into the egg hold he'd spent days preparing. He'd been given precise measurements of the width, depth, and height of spires, and it had taken several attempts to get it just right. He was every bit as cranky as she was, when they landed.
   "All right, now drop 'em."
   Onnu looked at him, face totally blank. "Drop what?"
   "Wait, no, get under the narrow end of the spire first. It's gonna be hard enough to protect them, as it is." He walked her backward, until her tail bumped the narrow end of the oval, and she stopped.
   "Are you going to enlighten me any time soon?" she snapped.
   In lieu of a reply from him, she dropped involuntarily into a trance.