The flower dragon - final chapter - The hatchling
Yes, this is the final chapter to The flower dragon. I needed to finish it, so I can finish other commitments I have. I hope you enjoyed the story.
Warnings can be found in chapter one or the tags, as always.
Neal continued to get better and built up strength and soon, he was up to his old standard. His coat looked vibrant and almost glowing. Peter started calling out for him again and Neal could see that Peter found him mesmerizing once again, no that he was healthy and fit again. He was still cautious around Peter, but with his increase strength, he wasn´t as afraid of Peter anymore as he had before.
Peter had explained to Neal that he didn´t want to hurt him or the egg, so there was nothing to fear. Peter left the cave to once again engage in normal dragon life. El took care of the family and Neal, he waited…
He got bored, now that he wasn´t sick or weak anymore, he got bored easily, but he didn´t dare wonder outside the cave, because he wasn´t sure what he could en could not do with the egg in his pouch.
So he asked Mozzie to keep him company and tell him about Peter´s life outside, his family, his victories and Mozzie was happy to tell Neal as long as he was allowed in Peter´s wine cellars. Peter´s daughters and wives also entertained Neal by pampering him, and telling him how Peter was as a father and husband. So life in the Peter´s household went on.
El tried to find out more about Gulkhandan eggs, how long did they need to incubate, how would they know when it would hatch, what did they need to expect? But little was known, so they just had to wait and see.
* * *
After an excruciating wait of a hundred days, Neal felt something strange in his pouch, he peeked in and almost let out a girlish squeal. The egg finally started showing cracks, Neal was delighted and freaked out all at the same time and called out to Peter and El. He had placed the egg in the bassinet, not sure what to do with it. Mozzie was fetched and Neal and El had placed the bassinet closer to the entrance of the den, so Peter could see it from his position.
The struggle inside the egg took most of the day, but finally a carbuncle appeared in one of the cracks and the egg broke apart. A pair of the most amazing blue eyes looked into the world. The hatchling was gorgeous; it was a grayish color that almost looked silver, he had little stumps on his head where his horns would grow. He was so cute. When he tried to get out of the remains of the egg, they could see that his little feet seemed to be too big for his body.
It started gaping right away, Neal looked around, not knowing what to do, but El was prepared, so she gave some meat to Neal who placed it in his son´s mouth. He happily ate it and looked around curiously. He staggered to his little feet and wobbled trying to stand up. His little wings unfolded and started to fill up. He flapped them like he was ready to take to the air, And Neal jumped forward to prevent his baby to fly away. Peter and El only smiled at the sight, knowing that he wouldn´t be able to fly for a couple of weeks to months, depending on what sort of dragon he would be. They knew so little about Gulkhandan babies, El made a mental note to talk to the Elders to see what she could find out now that the baby was here.
Once he steadied out, he started testing what he could do and he started investigating the den, sniffing around, licking things, eventually wandering to the entrance, where Peter was lying and watching the scene. Everybody held his breath when the hatchling was suddenly confronted with a very large muzzle and two peering brown eyes.
It first startled and took a few steps back, but his curiosity won and he shimmied closer to Peter. He first sniffed Peter and then gave a lick with his small tongue. Peter´s heart melted there and then. His son. This was his son, his heir.
“What will you name him?” Neal asked Peter.
“He will have my name, like I have my father´s name.” Peter said. “His name will be Peidearan Niell Draco.”
“That is a strong name, I like it.” Neal looked fondly at Peidearan, who was now looking at Mozzie, trying to figure what to make of him.
As quick as Peidearan had wandered off, as quickly he fell asleep. He had dropped down on the spot. El picked him up and gave a kiss on his head while placing him in the basinet.
“He is beautiful, Neal, congratulations. I will go prepare some dinner, will you join us Mozzie?”
* * *
Within a week, Neal was exhausted beyond believe. He hadn´t realized that the hatchling needed feeding every two hours, day and night. It would crawl onto places it was not supposed to and he was awake when Neal wanted to sleep. Neal quickly learned to sleep when the baby slept.
It seemed a day job, just to stay on top of Peidearan. He would crawl onto things and jump off, flapping his little wings that were nowhere near big enough to carry him. He would wonder through the cave looking for food, it seemed like he was always hungry.
Neal would find treasures everywhere in his den, as Peidearan hoarded every shiny object he could find, so all the girl´s little treasures ended up in Peidearan ´s bassinet.
He would fall asleep with the girls, who all took care of the only boy in the family, while Neal returned all of the stuff Peidearan had collected during the day.
And when the family couldn´t find Peidearan, they didn´t have to look far; he would be sitting with Peter, who would tell him stories, about ancient dragons and wizards.
But when he was really tired and needed a safe spot, he would always wander back to Neal and try to crawl back in his pouch, which wasn´t possible anymore, so Neal would gather him up and curl around him protectively.
He would take care of his son and would raise him to be the proud and worthy heir to Peter´s family.
Epilogue
As per tradition, El and Peter organized a naming ceremony within thirty days after the hatching. During the ceremony, Peter would give his son his name and take him as his heir. Officials, family and friends were invited on the big day and the ceremony would take place in the meadow in front of the cave. The meadow had been decorated by Peter and El´s daughters and a large buffet had been made to provide food and drinks for all the guests.
The Elders had been informed that the baby was Peter and Neal´s and when both parents had presented their son to the Elders the ceremony had been performed. Peter now had an heir and had promised to protect and take care of him and to raise him in the way of the ancient dragons.
Once the ceremony had taken place, Peter called out to Neal who was drinking a glass of wine with Mozzie.
“Neal, can you come over here?” Peter looked serious.
Neal looked up at Peter with confusion, they just had the naming ceremony for their son, what else could there be? It was time to celebrate.
All the guests had turned silent as they sensed the wariness between Peter and Neal. When Neal was close enough, Peter pulled Neal towards him. El was standing next to him and Mozzie took hold of Peidearan who wanted to see what was going on.
Peter looked Neal in the eyes with a sincerity Neal had never seen before.
“Neal, I want to take you as my mate, I want to remove the collar that binds you to me, and I want you to stay with me because you want to stay, not because you have to stay. Will you do me that honor?”
Neal looked baffled from Peter to El, who gave him a small nod and smiled. Neal could feel tears building in his eyes.
“Yes, yes, I do.”
Peter took a dagger and cut of the binding collar and replaced it with a gold necklace, the same El wore.
“Then with this gold necklace I make you my first dracone as El is my first draikana. I will take care of you both and promise to honor and cerise you as equals.”
Neal was speechless, so he did the only thing he could think of, he gave Peter a big deep kiss.
The end.
Warnings can be found in chapter one or the tags, as always.
Neal continued to get better and built up strength and soon, he was up to his old standard. His coat looked vibrant and almost glowing. Peter started calling out for him again and Neal could see that Peter found him mesmerizing once again, no that he was healthy and fit again. He was still cautious around Peter, but with his increase strength, he wasn´t as afraid of Peter anymore as he had before.
Peter had explained to Neal that he didn´t want to hurt him or the egg, so there was nothing to fear. Peter left the cave to once again engage in normal dragon life. El took care of the family and Neal, he waited…
He got bored, now that he wasn´t sick or weak anymore, he got bored easily, but he didn´t dare wonder outside the cave, because he wasn´t sure what he could en could not do with the egg in his pouch.
So he asked Mozzie to keep him company and tell him about Peter´s life outside, his family, his victories and Mozzie was happy to tell Neal as long as he was allowed in Peter´s wine cellars. Peter´s daughters and wives also entertained Neal by pampering him, and telling him how Peter was as a father and husband. So life in the Peter´s household went on.
El tried to find out more about Gulkhandan eggs, how long did they need to incubate, how would they know when it would hatch, what did they need to expect? But little was known, so they just had to wait and see.
* * *
After an excruciating wait of a hundred days, Neal felt something strange in his pouch, he peeked in and almost let out a girlish squeal. The egg finally started showing cracks, Neal was delighted and freaked out all at the same time and called out to Peter and El. He had placed the egg in the bassinet, not sure what to do with it. Mozzie was fetched and Neal and El had placed the bassinet closer to the entrance of the den, so Peter could see it from his position.
The struggle inside the egg took most of the day, but finally a carbuncle appeared in one of the cracks and the egg broke apart. A pair of the most amazing blue eyes looked into the world. The hatchling was gorgeous; it was a grayish color that almost looked silver, he had little stumps on his head where his horns would grow. He was so cute. When he tried to get out of the remains of the egg, they could see that his little feet seemed to be too big for his body.
It started gaping right away, Neal looked around, not knowing what to do, but El was prepared, so she gave some meat to Neal who placed it in his son´s mouth. He happily ate it and looked around curiously. He staggered to his little feet and wobbled trying to stand up. His little wings unfolded and started to fill up. He flapped them like he was ready to take to the air, And Neal jumped forward to prevent his baby to fly away. Peter and El only smiled at the sight, knowing that he wouldn´t be able to fly for a couple of weeks to months, depending on what sort of dragon he would be. They knew so little about Gulkhandan babies, El made a mental note to talk to the Elders to see what she could find out now that the baby was here.
Once he steadied out, he started testing what he could do and he started investigating the den, sniffing around, licking things, eventually wandering to the entrance, where Peter was lying and watching the scene. Everybody held his breath when the hatchling was suddenly confronted with a very large muzzle and two peering brown eyes.
It first startled and took a few steps back, but his curiosity won and he shimmied closer to Peter. He first sniffed Peter and then gave a lick with his small tongue. Peter´s heart melted there and then. His son. This was his son, his heir.
“What will you name him?” Neal asked Peter.
“He will have my name, like I have my father´s name.” Peter said. “His name will be Peidearan Niell Draco.”
“That is a strong name, I like it.” Neal looked fondly at Peidearan, who was now looking at Mozzie, trying to figure what to make of him.
As quick as Peidearan had wandered off, as quickly he fell asleep. He had dropped down on the spot. El picked him up and gave a kiss on his head while placing him in the basinet.
“He is beautiful, Neal, congratulations. I will go prepare some dinner, will you join us Mozzie?”
* * *
Within a week, Neal was exhausted beyond believe. He hadn´t realized that the hatchling needed feeding every two hours, day and night. It would crawl onto places it was not supposed to and he was awake when Neal wanted to sleep. Neal quickly learned to sleep when the baby slept.
It seemed a day job, just to stay on top of Peidearan. He would crawl onto things and jump off, flapping his little wings that were nowhere near big enough to carry him. He would wonder through the cave looking for food, it seemed like he was always hungry.
Neal would find treasures everywhere in his den, as Peidearan hoarded every shiny object he could find, so all the girl´s little treasures ended up in Peidearan ´s bassinet.
He would fall asleep with the girls, who all took care of the only boy in the family, while Neal returned all of the stuff Peidearan had collected during the day.
And when the family couldn´t find Peidearan, they didn´t have to look far; he would be sitting with Peter, who would tell him stories, about ancient dragons and wizards.
But when he was really tired and needed a safe spot, he would always wander back to Neal and try to crawl back in his pouch, which wasn´t possible anymore, so Neal would gather him up and curl around him protectively.
He would take care of his son and would raise him to be the proud and worthy heir to Peter´s family.
Epilogue
As per tradition, El and Peter organized a naming ceremony within thirty days after the hatching. During the ceremony, Peter would give his son his name and take him as his heir. Officials, family and friends were invited on the big day and the ceremony would take place in the meadow in front of the cave. The meadow had been decorated by Peter and El´s daughters and a large buffet had been made to provide food and drinks for all the guests.
The Elders had been informed that the baby was Peter and Neal´s and when both parents had presented their son to the Elders the ceremony had been performed. Peter now had an heir and had promised to protect and take care of him and to raise him in the way of the ancient dragons.
Once the ceremony had taken place, Peter called out to Neal who was drinking a glass of wine with Mozzie.
“Neal, can you come over here?” Peter looked serious.
Neal looked up at Peter with confusion, they just had the naming ceremony for their son, what else could there be? It was time to celebrate.
All the guests had turned silent as they sensed the wariness between Peter and Neal. When Neal was close enough, Peter pulled Neal towards him. El was standing next to him and Mozzie took hold of Peidearan who wanted to see what was going on.
Peter looked Neal in the eyes with a sincerity Neal had never seen before.
“Neal, I want to take you as my mate, I want to remove the collar that binds you to me, and I want you to stay with me because you want to stay, not because you have to stay. Will you do me that honor?”
Neal looked baffled from Peter to El, who gave him a small nod and smiled. Neal could feel tears building in his eyes.
“Yes, yes, I do.”
Peter took a dagger and cut of the binding collar and replaced it with a gold necklace, the same El wore.
“Then with this gold necklace I make you my first dracone as El is my first draikana. I will take care of you both and promise to honor and cerise you as equals.”
Neal was speechless, so he did the only thing he could think of, he gave Peter a big deep kiss.
The end.