Saphira allowed the smoke from her nostrils to stream as she glared at the hatchlings before her. They seemed wholly unconcerned with her authority, and no matter how often she tried to discipline them...
"Enough, hatchlings," she snarled, snapping her jaws at the two male hatchlings who had gotten into an argument over the leg of a deer she'd brought for them.
The cobalt blue one lifted his head, blinking at her with dark eyes. A flurry of images and feelings came across the telepathic link as the dragon questioned why she cared if they fought.
"Because there are not yet enough of our kind for either of you to kill each other over a leg," she retorted, throwing another leg from her own kill towards the pair.
The amethyst one sniffed the leg, then flicked his tongue at her. Feelings of gratitude washed over her from him, and she snorted.
Fang's younglings were spirited and, in many ways, seemed different from the other hatchlings. The magic that her kind could not consciously manipulate seemed to burst from them with every heightened emotion, resulting in Eragon separating them from the other hatchlings. So it was that Saphira would need to watch them until they were large enough to roam on their own.
Her eye locked onto the last egg from Fang's clutch. This one was to be given to the riders, and the hatchling within dreamed silently.
"You must choose names, hatchlings," Saphira eventually said, looking over at them.
They both emitted feelings of curiosity as they paused from gnawing on the bones to look at her.
"Names are power," she said, puffing up her chest with pride. "Choose your names wisely, for they will be how your legend will grow."
The hatchlings looked at one another, then resumed chewing on the leg bones with thoughtful grunts.
Saphira then shared the names of every famous dragon throughout their history to the seeming indifference of the hatchlings.
"Then there is Fang, your mother," she said. "And your sire, Thorn."
"Ënurfala," the cobalt one looked at Saphira directly.
Saphira was rather impressed that he had chosen to communicate by sharing the memory of her speaking the name.
"Ënurfala? That is a good name, little one," she said warmly. "And what about you?"
The image of a talon flashed through her mind. One chose the name of a legendary dragon from myth, while the other chose to follow in his mother's footsteps.
"Fang and Talon... mighty weapons of any dragon," Saphira chuckled. "Ënurfala and Talon. I look forward to your legends in times to come. And I am eager to see what kind of rider your sister will choose."
The hatchlings looked over at their sister's egg, chirping as they both curled around the egg.
"Our kind thrives," Saphira thought fondly, looking out her cave towards the sky, where a green dragon was slowly flying towards them. "And while we will never forget the scars that Galbatorix has left on us, there is hope for us to grow stronger yet."
YOU ARE READING
Age of the Dragon Chronicles
FanfictionA collection of short stories that run parallel to the main storyline. If there is a specific character you want to see something from, I'll try to include it. Otherwise, I'm just going to follow the dopamine...
