ORIGIN - home is where the heart is

As soon as they had arrived in Leo, Cadenza had taken to the sky. They were anxious and excited all at once, but any nerves they felt did not stop them from taking the quickest path to reach their yet-to-be-hatched children. They landed nearby, gaze automatically searching for first the chrysalises and then their dragon-dad.

"Dad?" Their musical voice was tentative and worried. They knew that their dad would welcome their presence, that he would never reject them. But still, the anxiety of rejection plagued them always. "I am back."

And then Cadenza paused, unsure where to go next with their words. Did they tell him about what they had learned? Did they apologize for running off without explaining their feelings properly? They wanted to do both, but they had no idea where to start with either.

So they fell quiet.

@Dread

Dread was not the brightest creature in the caves. He meant well--usually--but he often drastically misinterpreted things, or at the very least, ran on instinct. This was one of those situations. Chrysalises--those of children--put his instincts in full "nesting father" mode, becoming, to his mind, something like eggs. Therefore, he'd always sort of assumed that he needed to keep these "eggs" warm. He had kept them hidden--dragged branches down from the treeline, swept sand across the stones--but whenever he wasn't hunting, he was resting, curled up around the rocks.

He hated it. Hated that Cadenza had chosen open beach, of all places, to lay their "eggs." It meant he couldn't sleep soundly--he had to keep one eye figuratively (or sometimes literally) open for danger at all times. Why hadn't they just put them on a sea stack, like any normal dragon?! (OH, he'd remember, at these times: IN CASE THEY NEED WATER WHEN THEY HATCHED. But it still sucked.)

The voice, then, of his returning child, was both a source of irritation as he remembered all the horrors of "sleeping on an idyllic tropical beach," and a deep relief because now, at last, he could stop. "HERE," he bellowed, lifting his head. Sand cascaded down from where he'd used wings to haphazardly cover himself with it; and he shook himself, almost dog-like, and sprayed more in every direction.

Then he was pushing up from where he'd been laying over all three chrysalises, rising on wings and hind legs and gaping his jaws in an enormous yawn. "WELCOME BACK,"" he called.

@Cadenza

Their dragon-dad had been somewhat buried by haphazardly placed placed sand when they arrived, and Cadenza felt a brief levity at the sight of him shaking off the sand before their mind harshly reminded themself that the reason their dragon-dad was in such an odd state was because of their own failures as a soon-to-be-parent.

"Thank you," They sincerely told their dragon-dad, unable to fully express the depths of their gratefulness through simple words, before their eyes trailing over where the chrysalises were, unable to look away for a long moment.

But they turned their attention back to their dad. "I am sorry. I do not regret giving life to my children, I could never regret that, but I should have spoken to you first." They paused briefly before continuing.

"...And I am sorry for running away without explaining my feelings properly. ...I felt ashamed. ...As if I was a failure as a parent already. I am sorry I could not stay and explain that. ...I could not bear the idea of leaving my children, but worse was the thought of failing them through my revealed lack of knowledge. So I left."

Though, that was not all. "And... I am sorry for not visiting, but I could not stand to be here and then leave my children behind yet again. I hope it was not too difficult to keep them safe. I am grateful beyond words that you were here to watch over them."

@Dread

Before Dread could give a more proper greeting, Cadenza was--apologizing? And he, having been dwelling on much other (like kids, and chrysalises, and sand) in the interim of their absence, was left puzzled. He hadn't realized Cadenza felt so awful (how could he have), and he did not really understand why.

Admittedly, there was a lot Dread did not understand, but still...

He debated, for a moment, how to respond to this, past his utter confusion.

"...OKAY," he said, at last, hesitating. Then he squinted, twin threads of smoke rising from his nostrils. "I THINK... MAYBE YOU THINK TOO MUCH. IT MIGHT BE BAD FOR YOU," he reasoned. All this... worry and upset about all of this--had it been eating away at them this entire time? "IT IS OKAY, YOU DID NOT NEED TO COME BACK BEFORE YOU WERE DONE. DID YOU LEARN THINGS?" he went on, in a tone of mostly casual conversation.

As he spoke, he shook himself off fully, moving aside with a peer down at the half-covered chrysalises. He made room for Cadenza to come over and inspect them, if they so wished. "IT WAS A BAD PLACE TO LEAVE THEM, BUT I REMEMBER YOU SAID ABOUT WATER. BUT IT IS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO REST. THERE ARE THINGS THAT WANT TO KILL DRAGONS AND TAKE OUR STONES." He paused, glancing to Cadenza, suddenly more... serious, than usual. "THEY TRIED TO KILL SVARTIS. I FOUGHT THEM. BUT THEY WANT DRAGON CHILDREN." He'd not thought to warn Cadenza of such things, because he'd had no idea in advance that they'd planned to reproduce, but... perhaps some of his paranoia about protecting these 'eggs' was warranted, after all--at least in his own mind.

"YOU'RE WELCOME BUT YOU DON'T NEED TO THANK ME! THEY ARE--THEY WILL BE--FAMILY." He settled in, a little, a body's width from the stones, basking on the sand, for now--eyes on Cadenza.

@Cadenza

Cadenza had to resist the urge to laugh at their dragon-dad's response. He wasn't wrong. They did think entirely too much, and it often devolved into fretting which was bad for them. His easy acceptance, however, eased any concerns they were feeling at the moment. "It probably is," Cadenza admitted, but their musical tone was lighthearted, compared to before.

"I did!" Cadenza eagerly answered the question. But, where to start with regard to their newfound knowledge? They had indeed learned quite a lot, but it was hard to summarize it all. "I learned a lot," They stated, instead of explaining individual parts yet.

As their dragon-dad moved, Cadenza indeed moved to inspect the chrysalises, one by one. But their attention snapped to Dread as he mentioned a threat to dragon children. A fierce sound rumbled, and it took Cadenza a moment to realize they were the one growling. It shocked them and did not simultaneously.

"I do not like fighting. I do not like hurting anything... But I would kill to protect my children, if it came to that," They stated with a narrowed gaze. "Who are those that hunt dragon children?" They resisted the urge to bare their teeth in a snarl. Violence was not characteristic of Cadenza, but their hoard was their family, their children most of all.

That reminded Cadenza of another threat. "Eridanus has been infested by 'Order'. I was not there when it happened, but I saw the aftermath," They told their dragon-dad.

@Dread

Order? Dread blinked. He'd been listening to everything Cadenza was saying, but that little tidbit drove all other thoughts, for the moment, from his mind. "I FOUGHT ORDER ONCE. I BURNED IT. IT BURNS VERY WELL," he added, and then cocked his head in thought. "THEY PAID ME GOLD THINGS TO BURN IT. MAYBE THEY WILL PAY ME AGAIN. TO DO IT AGAIN," and this idea seemed to please him.

Maybe, once the children were hatched, he'd go and seek all this out--see if anyone was willing to trade him some shinies for the use of his flame.

"I WILL PROTECT THEM TOO," he assured Cadenza, speaking now in response to their growled words. "THEY ARE THE THINGS WITH TOO MANY LEGS, AND GREEN EYES AND SPIKES. THE ONE IS CALLED VARGAS," he went on. "ASTRAEA SPOKE TO US AND TOLD US TO KEEP OUR CHILDREN. WE ALL WENT. ALL OF THE DRAGON FAMILY. WE TOLD HIM THAT THEY CANNOT HAVE OUR CHILDREN!" He'd never had time nor chance to explain all the histories of the caves, as he'd experienced them, to Cadenza. To speak of the various battles he'd been in, or the opening of the new caves, or the news of Hydra or--in this case--the vast meeting of dozens of Gembounds bringing their concerns to Astraea, backed by Vargas, in Orion. It hadn't ended conclusively, in Dread's mind; there was always the chance the idiots from Draco would come and try again.

Anyway. He settled in a little, thinking, glancing at the chrysalises as a little more smoke threaded thoughtfully from his nostrils. "...WHAT DID YOU LEARN?" he asked, at last.

@Cadenza