Hey Keonin how have things been going lately?
Keonin's ear flicked, showing that she heard you, but her focus seemed to be elsewhere. Her eyes were wide and round, anxious and expecting; her heart pounded in her ears, she couldn't hear the comforting murmurs of her matesprit as he walked her through the process. Two cocoons, rich in teal and red, were moving, twitching. She couldn't remember the last time she witnessed something like this.
It took her back to a night of old, roaring with fire and rife with the shouts of angry Trolls. Innocent lives were taken just so they could take hers. But they never did.
She was shaken from her thoughts when she felt Nyctea's hand on her shoulder. Keonin looked up at him. She hadn't realized she had been crying until the Purpleblood wiped the tears away from her face. "Your children need you," he murmured, then nodded to the cocoons Selene was checking over. She blinked up at him affectionately, then turned and hovered by Selene's side.
The walls of the cocoons shifted, and Keonin could see a little hand beginning to poke through the slips. Selene began gently pulling at the parts of the walls that were dead and peeled away to widen the hole the grubs-- no, wrigglers-- were trying to climb through. Then, the hole was wide enough to peer inside, and Keonin's breath caught in her throat.
Beautiful red eyes, looking up at her, already glistening with tears and his brows furrowed in stress. He had the curved horns of an Amrida, and the iconic hair swoop to boot. The grub had turned out to be a beautiful little boy with a round face and a gap between his teeth. "Anxsos," Keonin sighed, relieved. The kid recognized her voice and offered her a shy smile.
"Hi..."
She helped him climb out and immediately wrapped a blanket around him. Nyctea set to work helping to clean the child of cocoon goop. The goop made the room have a feint unpleasant smell, but nobody complained as they helped the two boys move on to their next phase of life.
The next to emerge was the Dioxal, with long messy hair and a curious spark to his eyes. Selene held the walls apart as Keonin helped him out, "Khodia."
"Congratulations!" Nyctea's smile was wide as he helped to clean Khodia, too. "Should I get Kulsot and Omnius on the phone?"
"Let's find them some clothes first, and some food," Selene said with a nod.
"Oh, of course! Everything's already prepared," there was a sheepish smile dancing on the dragon's lips, "I've been waiting for this."
"Oh, thank you! I'll start checking them over for any unexpected complications, then you can show them their clothes and make the call. Keonin, could you get them food?"
"Of course," Keonin still had both boys near her, and there was a part of her that didn't want to be apart from them for even a minute. Her heart went out to them, enveloping them in a metaphorical embrace. She knew she would love them no matter what, though this love had rooted her in place.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Keonin blinked and glanced at Selene. Though half of his face was hidden behind his medical mask, she could see how concerned he was by the pull of his brow and the look in his eyes. She leaned into him and planted a kiss on his temple, "Yes. Never better, love." There was a brief flicker of doubt in his eyes, though Selene knew better than to question it right now.
With a deep breath, she forced herself to let go of the children and make herself useful in the kitchen. Everything felt like such a blur, like she wasn't even there. As she prepared the very first meals these freshly pupated Trolls would have, a smile spread across her face. Though nervous at first, over time pure joy replaced the anxiety of memories.
"Anxsos Amrida and Khodia Dioxal," she said to herself, "Welcome home."
