Maugon sent a strong breeze through the cave to see the hatchlings’ reaction. Both twins faced into it, closing their eyes as they enjoyed the feeling. Maugon sighed to himself. He’d hoped the twins would have flown by now. Of course, they were developing faster than most hatchling leaders. Leaders should hatch with their wing because the twins learned faster from each other. Chila snapped her wings open, and Bakuin squawked as she lifted off the ground. He jumped after her, his own wings snapping out to stop his fall. The hatchlings drifted back to the ground. They continued to jump into the airstream as Maugon’s heart pounded. He’d been nudging the twins to try things sooner than other hatchlings.
The breeze faded as the hatchlings showed signs of exhaustion. “Well done, little hatchlings! Soon you’ll be soaring through the skies. But be wary, for you are different and others will not understand.”
He hesitated as he considered telling them the rest. Heart twins, dragons from the same egg, were so rare few protectors allowed them to live, especially dragons of younger ages. They claimed heart twins were unnatural, an abomination of nature. Maugon, however, disagreed.
He shook his head. He’d said enough for this moment; the hatchlings will learn soon. Instead, he’d train them to be the strongest clutch he’d ever protected.
“Take some time to rest now.”
The Differences in Leadership
Instead of sleeping as expected, the twins turned to their own pursuits. Bakuin ran over to the stalactites and stalagmites Maugon had shown them when teaching the twins how to breathe fire. The burning rocks fascinated the young hatchling.
“Remember to focus on your target when you breathe out, Bakuin.”
The hatchling crouched, took a deep breath, and shot a ball of fire at the nearest stalagmite. Heat exploded from it, and Bakuin trilled in delight.
Chila rolled her eyes at her brother’s antics and raced to the pile of moss and dried grass Maugon stocked in the cave. She pulled out the softest items and took the pile to the nest.
Maugon settled in the cave’s mouth as the twins worked on their preferred pursuits. At least with the twins, he didn’t have to force them to learn every aspect of leading a wing. He remembered the time he’d spent arguing with hatchlings over needing nests or why defence mattered in a fight. The twins’s diverse interests made it easy to teach them.
Once Chila perfected her nest, she turned her focus on another abysmal attempt Bakuin had made. Maugon had taught both twins to make enough nests for the eggs yet to hatch, and while Bakuin tried his best, his nests were a poor sight compared to the quality construction Chila had done.
Twins Fighting (or not)
Bakuin spun in excitement as he breathed, lighting the nest Chila had just finished on fire. A deep rumble came from Maugon’s chest as Chila attacked her twin. The hatchling deserved it, as he’d set three of Chila’s nests on fire when he forgot to aim. Maugon placed the nests on a rock shelf where hatchlings had to fly to them. Maugon sent a gust of wind at the twins; their small wings flapped as they regained their balance.
“Bakuin, be aware of your surroundings. Training is good, but not when you might destroy your nest. Chila, I moved the nests to safety.”
Smoke billowed from two pairs of nostrils. Chila’s tail whipped back and forth as she considered attacking her heart brother again. Bakuin eyed her, waiting for the attack.
Maugon slapped his tail between the feisty twins. “Enough.”
Chila turned her anger on Maugon as a crack resounded through the lair. Chila’s anger cooled as she turned to find the source of the noise. Bakuin climbed Maugon’s tail to check on his heart twin. A chill ran down Maugon’s spine as he placed the twins by the nest of eggs. He’d been waiting for this moment ever since Bakuin and Chila hatched, the moment the leader meets the rest of his or her wing. He would protect many more clutches and witness this special moment.
Meeting a Wing
A golden crack ran along the dark red and purple-splotched egg, spreading as the egg rocked back and forth. Bakuin and Chila danced around the nest when – Crack! The female hatchling crawled out of her shell to meet her leaders.
Startled, the twins stumbled back, then tumbled over each other to meet her. Time slowed as Bakuin and Chila touched snouts with the hatchling, and three pairs of eyes glowed.
Maugon moved the hatchling to a nest on the rock shelf. “Hello, Lynnor.”
Lynnor spun in a circle to pat down her bedding, then curled into her nest and fell asleep.
The blue-grey egg cracked next. A shiver of excitement ran through the heart twins, but the egg didn’t move. Would they lose this little hatchling? He had to check the heartbeat of the egg, yet he felt as though mud caked his claws. The mottled brown egg rocked, but no movement came from the blue-grey egg. Chila snuffled at the still and silent egg, her keening breaking Maugon’s heart. Bakuin smacked the shell with his tail before Maugon reached it.
The male hatchling blinked awake as if someone had interrupted his sleep. A weak rumble escaped Maugon’s chest as Bakuin and Chila greeted Rahendranax.
Maugon lifted the hatchling to his new nest. “Do try to move, Rahendranax, or else you will worry them.”
Rahendranax stretched and yawned in response, then curled into a tight ball.
Maugon looked back, and a mottled brown hatchling crawled through the remaining shells. He picked up the curious female, and she tried to climb up his arm. He placed the energetic hatchling on the nesting shelf. She pounced into a nest, sniffing and pulling apart the soft bedding.
“Careful, Ramelba, Chila won’t want to see this mess.”
Ramelba huffed and soon followed Rahendranax to sleep.
The lemon, lime green, and orange egg hatched a splotchy, feisty male. Phyrustix jumped at Bakuin as soon as he saw him. Unfazed, Bakuin put Phyrustix on his back, and the twins marked him as part of their wing. As soon as Bakuin released him, Phyrustix hid behind Chila. Chila smacked Phyrustix on the back of his head with her tail. Maugon rumbled deep in his chest as he placed the exhausted hatchling in the last nest. Neither twin would have issues leading their wing once he left.
The Countdown Begins
The twins turned to inspect their wing only to find them on a shelf they couldn’t reach. As one, they turned on Maugon.
“Your small claws and weak fire will not work on me. Find another route to your wing.”
Maugon curled up in the lair’s mouth as the twins turned their efforts to the cliff. Bakuin jumped, wings flapping, and smacked face-first into the cliff. He’d made it halfway. Chila backed up, took a running start, then flew up to the edge. She’d stopped beating her wings just a smidge early, but clawed up the rest of the way. Once Bakuin joined his wing, Maugon closed his eyes.If something went wrong, Bakuin and Chila’s racket would wake the Great Dragon.
The smell of acrid smoke woke Maugon with a start. White fiery flames burned the egg nest he’d built. Chila and Bakuin shielded their wing from the fire, but Maugon knew why it burned. A clutch leader must purge any trace of other dragons from their nest. The elders hadn’t been wrong. Destiny had great things for these twins, yet sorrow and pride rose in their protector’s heart.
How long will the twins allow him to live in their lair?
Maugon swept ashes out as Bakuin and Chila settled into the first nest. The egg protector returned to the mouth of the lair, though his thoughts banished sleep. He’d scratched the surface of everything he needed to teach the clutch. By the time light streaked through the cave, Maugon had a plan.
Rahendranax woke first, his small cry waking Bakuin. The heart twin checked on him as the rest of the wing woke. Bakuin and Chila flew to the food stores and dragged the largest carcass they could back. Maugon lifted carcasses to the rock shelf as the twins had just learned to fly.
“Little hatchlings, you have much to learn. Listen as you eat and learn the history of our mighty race.”
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