Wings of white fire

Chapter 1

-Zara-

I wrapped myself around the two eggs nestled cosily together in the middle of a dusty earth and brush nest. The two pearly eggs, a little smaller than a chicken egg, were covered in a layer of dark dust, letting them blend into the shadow of the nest better. As a first time mother, I had to get a lot of advise from other Dragonets. After nearly 15 years of habitation within Kymari walled cities, we had finally been able to experience parenthood. As humans turned dragonets, we knew barely anything about our own physiology, let alone our descendants. The few things we had learnt from experience was that eggs wouldn't develop or hatch in enclosed areas. They had to have a source of natural light as well as a secure nesting area. For me, this was under a prickly, thick expansion of blackberry bushes. The dry dirt was dug out and a nest had two eggs in the middle of it. I lay lining the edge of the ditch and watched over them.

Over the years, we developed new instincts when raising hatchlings and one key aspect of Dragonet raising we discovered was the use of fire. Dragonets, although a fraction of the size, did breathe fire like the creatures of legend. And we found that fire could be used to warm the egg's internal temperature.

It was getting late in the day and there were stretching shadows under the blackberry bush. I could feel a chill in the air, and I angled my wing to curve around the eggs, I blew a stream of fire onto the eggs, the dry ground and my wing preventing the fire spreading. I blew for a few seconds. I stopped the flames and nudged the eggs with my nose, they were warm to the touch. I settle back down and rested my eyes. Having spent nearly 4 weeks under this bush, looking over these eggs, I was restless, but at the same time, I couldn't leave them.

I heard a rustled in the surrounding brush and brought my head up in an instant. There was a glimpse of blue and a face pushed its way into the nest. I relaxed at the sight of my mate. We nuzzled noses and Kai laid beside me, spooning both the eggs and I in his larger body.

"How are you doing, Sweetie?" Kai asked me in our mindlink. I gave an exasperated sign and just nodded my head on my folded front arms. I closed my eyes again, in proper sleep again this time, with the assurance of my mate looking out for me. Ever since the eggs had been laid, I had been having trouble sleeping without Kai wrapped around me.

I was nudged awake what felt like a few minutes later. The light of dawn was streaking through the trees and bushes and Kai had to leave again. Although we had tried to take shifts protecting the eggs and going out and gathering food for the other, I got so worried when I was away from them, I never managed to eat anything and just hovered nervously nearby. Instead, Kai spent most of the day stock piling fruit for when the young ones hatched and getting me food. From other's experiences, I knew that after nearly a month, the eggs would be hatching any day now. Dragonets developed quite fast withing the eggs, but once hatched, they grew extremely rapidly.

I hoped after the eggs hatched that I would be able to be more active again, but comments from other parental Dragonets painted a picture of even more overprotective instincts. They said that the vulnerable hatchlings triggered the parental instincts, especially for mothers, so strongly that they wouldn't let an inch come between them. I'd be an obsessive mother for another few months. Brilliant.

I stayed alert after a decent night's sleep, but I was still twitchy. I felt the pull of the morning sun, the sun was rising, and I hadn't sung for days. The morning song was one thing that we had to take turns at. Prolonged periods of time without the morning song led to depression and worse. One Dragonet had first-hand knowledge; a gold female was the first to be domesticated by the Kymari. She had been taken after a broken wing and been unable to witness the sun for days and her mental state had down spiral. Even if a Drgaonet is unable to fly, just being able to witness the sun rise and feel the pull of the morning song invigorated our spirit and will to pursue life.