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sidewaysTitle: Birthing
Rating: G
Genre: Fantasy
Wordcount: 1016
A/N: Well, this is an old one - just over two years, apparently. It could probably stand to be polished a little, but I'm still rather amused by it.
Rating: G
Genre: Fantasy
Wordcount: 1016
A/N: Well, this is an old one - just over two years, apparently. It could probably stand to be polished a little, but I'm still rather amused by it.
The sharp crack of thin eggshell splitting horizontally was almost drowned out by a breathless, gleeful squeal. Paul hastily clapped a hand over his younger brother’s mouth, tugging the kid closer.
“Hush,” he whispered, mouth next to the boy’s ear. “If you make it uncomfortable it’ll take longer to come out.”
Nathaniel was bouncing eagerly on his toes despite the firm grip around his face, eyes wide and fixed on the gently wobbling egg. “Mmrfner!”
He decided not to bother trying to translate that, and simply turned his own gaze to where the pale, no longer smooth egg lay, nestled in a curved wrap of warm material. It gave a sharper jerk, the crack creeping further along the speckled shell. There was a certain amount of pride beginning to grow within him, he realized, swelling in a mimicked motion of the egg as one side of it bulged, the creature within pushing against its now undesirable prison.
His brother tugged his hand down and spoke, remembering to keep his voice quiet this time. “Should we help it?”
Paul shook his head firmly. “It has to come out on its own, Nate. You know that. They have to prove they’re strong enough to survive, and they can’t do that if we’re doing all the work for them.”
An impatient sigh and a restless fidget was his only answer. Paul knew the kid wouldn’t be content until the newest arrival was fully out and ogling the world around it, but perhaps having something to do would make him feel better. At the very least, it’d stop him scaring the poor creature back into its shell.
“Why don’t you go grab some water?” he suggested. “And a clean towel. It’s usually a good idea to give them a quick wash down when they come out.”
As he’d suspected, Nate was delighted to be able to take some action. “Okay!” His brother wriggled away from him and darted towards the stairs that would take him up to the kitchen. The young male paused just before the bottom of the staircase, hand resting lightly on the metal banister. “You’ll call me if it breaks all the way out, won’t you?”
Paul almost laughed at the anxious look in Nate’s eyes, though he supposed he couldn’t blame him. This was Nate’s first experience with a Birthing, and it was a rare privilege for one so young to be present at all. But his parents had let Paul know they thought his brother was ready, and he wasn’t going to dishonour that. “Of course I will,” he assured him. “Just be quick. And make sure it’s warm water!”
He sat back, listening to the loud thumps of his brother’s footsteps as the boy pounded up the stairs and along the upper floor. A few rattles and clanks sounded out as Nate searched for a suitable container, then at last the hissing gush of liquid from the taps.
As though encouraged by this sudden activity on its behalf, the egg rocked harder, small chips beginning to fall away. With a brief leap of excitement, Paul realized he could see faint traces of colour, contrasting sharply with the near whiteness of the shell.
“Come on,” he caught himself murmuring. “Not much further now.”
There was another series of thumps, and Nate reappeared with a heaving gasp, a bowl of warm water, and a fuzzy towel draped over one arm. “How…?”
“Go take a look.”
His brother placed the bowl and towel on a nearby table, shifting a stray calculator out of the way, and padded over to the egg tentatively. There was a moment of complete silence as egg and boy regarded one another, and then Nate sprang back with a stifled squeak. He turned to face Paul, face alight with wonder. “It looked at me!”
Paul was over by his shoulder in two strides. “You saw an eye?”
“Uh huh! And it blinked!”
Both brothers bent down in tandem, beaming joyfully as another chunk of shell dropped away, revealing a splash of crimson scaling. There was a muffled chirp, and the egg rocked harder, as though the occupant was now becoming frustrated with the time this process was taking.
Paul chuckled. “It’ll be a willful one.”
The initial crack widened abruptly, and with one last, violent heave, the creature flopped free into the world. It snapped grumpily at Paul’s fingers as he eased it out of the remains of the egg, pulling it onto a clean section of the blanket. Nate whirled around to grab the bowl of water and the towel, slopping some of it onto the tiled floor in his hurry.
As Paul accepted the implements and began to gently clean away the sticky mucus clinging to the newborn, Nate peered over his shoulder. “A perfect little British dragon,” he whispered, awed. “Draconis albionesis.”
Paul smiled at that. His brother’s class had been looking at scientific terms at school, and Nate had picked up on them remarkably quickly. A sudden thought came to mind, and he deftly twisted the small creature around, ignoring its grumbled protests. His smile broadened further. “She’s a female!”
Nate was back to the gleeful bouncing he’d been doing at the beginning. “Mum’n’Dad will be so pleased! I can’t wait till they get back from work!”
“Yeah,” Paul agreed, scooping up the newest arrival in a wrap of fuzzy blanket and scales. He poked her nose, careful not to scratch her. “They’d been hoping for a daughter.”
The grin on Nate’s face was so wide you could see the sharp canines arching downwards. “This is so cool! Wait’ll Zac hears I actually got to watch a Birthing! He probably won’t believe me though. No one believed Jemma when she said she could fly already – but that was because she was lying! And I’m not lying. Do you think Mum and Dad’ll let me take a bit of the shell to school to show-and-tell…?”
Paul let his brother’s babble drift over him, and curved his golden, slit-pupilled eyes at the newborn dragon gently. “Welcome to the family, little sister.”
“Hush,” he whispered, mouth next to the boy’s ear. “If you make it uncomfortable it’ll take longer to come out.”
Nathaniel was bouncing eagerly on his toes despite the firm grip around his face, eyes wide and fixed on the gently wobbling egg. “Mmrfner!”
He decided not to bother trying to translate that, and simply turned his own gaze to where the pale, no longer smooth egg lay, nestled in a curved wrap of warm material. It gave a sharper jerk, the crack creeping further along the speckled shell. There was a certain amount of pride beginning to grow within him, he realized, swelling in a mimicked motion of the egg as one side of it bulged, the creature within pushing against its now undesirable prison.
His brother tugged his hand down and spoke, remembering to keep his voice quiet this time. “Should we help it?”
Paul shook his head firmly. “It has to come out on its own, Nate. You know that. They have to prove they’re strong enough to survive, and they can’t do that if we’re doing all the work for them.”
An impatient sigh and a restless fidget was his only answer. Paul knew the kid wouldn’t be content until the newest arrival was fully out and ogling the world around it, but perhaps having something to do would make him feel better. At the very least, it’d stop him scaring the poor creature back into its shell.
“Why don’t you go grab some water?” he suggested. “And a clean towel. It’s usually a good idea to give them a quick wash down when they come out.”
As he’d suspected, Nate was delighted to be able to take some action. “Okay!” His brother wriggled away from him and darted towards the stairs that would take him up to the kitchen. The young male paused just before the bottom of the staircase, hand resting lightly on the metal banister. “You’ll call me if it breaks all the way out, won’t you?”
Paul almost laughed at the anxious look in Nate’s eyes, though he supposed he couldn’t blame him. This was Nate’s first experience with a Birthing, and it was a rare privilege for one so young to be present at all. But his parents had let Paul know they thought his brother was ready, and he wasn’t going to dishonour that. “Of course I will,” he assured him. “Just be quick. And make sure it’s warm water!”
He sat back, listening to the loud thumps of his brother’s footsteps as the boy pounded up the stairs and along the upper floor. A few rattles and clanks sounded out as Nate searched for a suitable container, then at last the hissing gush of liquid from the taps.
As though encouraged by this sudden activity on its behalf, the egg rocked harder, small chips beginning to fall away. With a brief leap of excitement, Paul realized he could see faint traces of colour, contrasting sharply with the near whiteness of the shell.
“Come on,” he caught himself murmuring. “Not much further now.”
There was another series of thumps, and Nate reappeared with a heaving gasp, a bowl of warm water, and a fuzzy towel draped over one arm. “How…?”
“Go take a look.”
His brother placed the bowl and towel on a nearby table, shifting a stray calculator out of the way, and padded over to the egg tentatively. There was a moment of complete silence as egg and boy regarded one another, and then Nate sprang back with a stifled squeak. He turned to face Paul, face alight with wonder. “It looked at me!”
Paul was over by his shoulder in two strides. “You saw an eye?”
“Uh huh! And it blinked!”
Both brothers bent down in tandem, beaming joyfully as another chunk of shell dropped away, revealing a splash of crimson scaling. There was a muffled chirp, and the egg rocked harder, as though the occupant was now becoming frustrated with the time this process was taking.
Paul chuckled. “It’ll be a willful one.”
The initial crack widened abruptly, and with one last, violent heave, the creature flopped free into the world. It snapped grumpily at Paul’s fingers as he eased it out of the remains of the egg, pulling it onto a clean section of the blanket. Nate whirled around to grab the bowl of water and the towel, slopping some of it onto the tiled floor in his hurry.
As Paul accepted the implements and began to gently clean away the sticky mucus clinging to the newborn, Nate peered over his shoulder. “A perfect little British dragon,” he whispered, awed. “Draconis albionesis.”
Paul smiled at that. His brother’s class had been looking at scientific terms at school, and Nate had picked up on them remarkably quickly. A sudden thought came to mind, and he deftly twisted the small creature around, ignoring its grumbled protests. His smile broadened further. “She’s a female!”
Nate was back to the gleeful bouncing he’d been doing at the beginning. “Mum’n’Dad will be so pleased! I can’t wait till they get back from work!”
“Yeah,” Paul agreed, scooping up the newest arrival in a wrap of fuzzy blanket and scales. He poked her nose, careful not to scratch her. “They’d been hoping for a daughter.”
The grin on Nate’s face was so wide you could see the sharp canines arching downwards. “This is so cool! Wait’ll Zac hears I actually got to watch a Birthing! He probably won’t believe me though. No one believed Jemma when she said she could fly already – but that was because she was lying! And I’m not lying. Do you think Mum and Dad’ll let me take a bit of the shell to school to show-and-tell…?”
Paul let his brother’s babble drift over him, and curved his golden, slit-pupilled eyes at the newborn dragon gently. “Welcome to the family, little sister.”
