The Dragon's Nest

Chapter Two

  Monosia stood. "I will go wake the others. Find something for Mina to eat." She shook slightly and ventured deeper into the cave. Theran smiled at Mina before getting up to get her some food.The female alpha found the three snapper dragons in their little ball as they slept. "Nazumi, Tanima, Cocona, up now." Monosia ordered as she nudged the three dragons. Cocona was the first of the three to even move and get up.
 "Why are you waking us up, Monosia?" Cocona whined. He was the male of the three. Cocona was the father of Tanima and the mate of Nazumi. His childish, stubborn nature reminded the alphas much of a needy hatchling. Monosia chuckled. "The three of you have someone to meet." She turned to walk back to the front of the cave. Cocona raised his rocky brow. "Is it Kurenai? Toma? Have they come home?" He asked. By the time he did, Nazumi was stretching. "We've already met them, Cocona." She yawned.
 "No no, they haven't returned yet. We are still waiting their arrival. It's a child that I prefer you meet today then be surprised later." She started off and Cocona followed. Nazumi woke Tanima. "Come on, young one. We haven't got all day to nap." She said and nudged her daughter again. Nazumi was Tanima's mother, who was a very gentle dragon. She had the will of killing a whole army. Tanima had gained this from her mother but also gained Cocona's childish nature.
 The two snappers met Monosia and Cocona at the front of the cave, where Theran was trying to convince Mina to eat the food he found for her. Mina refused to eat the raw meat. Theran was confused of this. "Monosia, she is refusing to eat, why?" He asked confused. Monosia chuckled. "The meat is raw, Theran. Humans can't eat raw meat." Theran seemed to understand. "So I must cook it?" He looked at Mina, who was smiling.
  Eventually, Theran had a small fire going. After trying to figure out how the fire worked to humans, he gave up and breathed on a circle of dry leaves and twigs. He held the meat over the fire as Mina looked hungrily at it. It became a juicy brown after a few minutes. He set it down on a slate of rock. Mina started blowing on the hot piece of meat. "What are you doing child?" Nazumi finally spoke up.
The three snappers had been quiet, observing the child as she acted. Tanima was confused of the child, was she here to stay? She didn't know as she walked beside the young girl and sat. Mina looked up at her with a mouth full of meat and a smile. "What's your name?" She muffled out, giggling as juice dribbled out of her mouth. Tanima grinned at the child. They were roughly the same age as far as aging years go. "I'm Tanima! What's your name?" She asked as Mina swallowed. Mina gave a toothy grin. "I'm Mina!"
  Meanwhile, as the two talked, the adults of the group watched them. "They are getting alone so well despite being different breeds." Cocona pointed out. "Well, Tanima has never been that great around other hatchlings. That doesn't mean she isn't good around humans." Nazumi smiled. Monosia and Theran stayed silent as they watched the dragon child give the hatchling some of her meal. This made all of them smile as they watched their indivisual child getting along.
  Later that day, Mina and Tanima were wrestling and giggling in a pile of dirt. They had been playing for an hour. Monosia, Nazumi, and Cocona had gone to hunt, fish, forage and the like. This left Theran to watch the two little ones as they played. Of course, it meant baths for both of them after they were finished. Dirt doesn't come out on your own. Theran layed down and looked up at the sky. Night was starting to fall, the sky filling with an aurora of colors.
Tanima and Mina, both a giggling mess, laid on their backs and stared up at the sky. "It's pretty, isn't it Tanima?" Mina smiled up. Tanima nodded. "Yeah, do you ever wonder if we could reach those puffy orange things up there?" She asked and looked at the human girl. "Of course you can! As long as you have the courage and belief to do it, you can do anything!" Mina said confindently. Tanima grinned. "Yeah. I guess your right." She looked back up.
"I have a question Mina."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Do you wanna reach the sky with me? Adventure with me?"
"Forever and Always Tanima."
Theran smiled as the two conversed. They were still both children but had the mindset of an adult. Already looking forward to their dreams while knowing the hardships of life. Theran could hear every word of their conversation. It was heart warming how much they got along. Theran could remember when he had a bond similar to that. He missed, even to today, the human he bonded with. He had only been a hatchling, like Tanima. The one he bonded with died too soon. When you bond with someone, that bond can't be broken, not even in death. He still felt alone without him some days.
The hunt went well for the dragons. They had enough food to last them for weeks, even with everyone's diet. It helped in Mina's case too, since she could eat meat, some plants, and fish. Humans had a wide variety of food they could eat, as long as it was prepared right. Mina looked hungrily at the food, having not eaten since morning. Tanima had about the same reaction to the food, except Tanima eyed the fish they brought back. There were tons of fish. A snapper dragons normal diet was plants and seafood but when times were desperate, they would eat other things in replacement.
Tanima and Mina found their food and went off to a different spot to eat and talk. The adults gathered in a circle, known as the Conference Circle. "Any sign of Toma or Kurenai?" Asked Theran, who was eating a bush that Monosia had brought back. Nazumi shook her head sadly. "Not as of yet. We recieved a message from them. They sent Tamera. They won't be here until possibly two weeks from now." Theran shot his head up. "Why not? They're departure from the Ashfall Waste was supposed to be three days ago!"
Nazumi sighed. "Yes, we are aware of that, but the elder Ciara of the Timberland Falls died with a nest of hatchlings still unborn. The Fire Summoner has ordered them to wait until the hatchlings are born, that way they won't go on without a chance in life." Monosia stated bluntly and tore as her meat. Theran looked at her. "Ciara? You mean the snake fae? I didn't know she had another set. How many?" He asked. Monosia smiled. "Surprisingly enough, she only had three this go around. They are all fine. Kurenai did some tests and they are all snake fae as well."
"What, so this means we will have snake fae in our clan?" Theran asked.
"Yes, and we will have to name them."
"Well I know that, but what Fire Gaurdian names will we give them?"
"Well, in the tests, there were two boys and a girl. So, depending on their looks, they will be named." Monosia said and smiled. "Well if they look anything like their mother, they won't have any problems attracting a mate." Theran chuckled. "Certainly not." Cocona grinned. They talked for awhile more before they went to their ends of the cave. As Theran and Monosia went to their end, they found Tanima and Mina curled up together, Mina snoring soundly. Theran went to get Mina when his mate stopped them. "Let them sleep, they will be safe." Monosia reassured. Theran nodded and laid down not too far from them. "Sleep well." They said in sinc as Monosia laid down. They both drifted off into slumber.