Dragon slogged his way through the swamp, huffing as he limped. His mind was filled with thoughts which ran in circles; it was more than possible that the encounter with Raheerah had damaged much more than his leg, in the end.

We must be strong. We must grow. We must have more numbers. More strength.

It had been explained to him--even demonstrated, briefly--that the mixture of magic and a portion of a Gembound's stone would create a new Gembound. And from the looks of things, that Gembound would be a hybrid of others.

He'd thought about asking Eve--she was intelligent and sharp, cunning. But she already had a young one, and by her explanation, she couldn't risk a repeat so soon.

That left the other winged ones--Willow, and Tal'at. Willow, however, was nowhere to be found; he had no doubt that creating a child with her would solidify their partnership-in-crime, as it were. But at the same time she would have something to hold over him, and anyway, she had feathers.

He wanted, subconsciously, he wanted to create a dragon. A true dragon. Not the limping wreck that he was--and without the blindness of Tal'at. He was a little worried that the young ones might indeed come out blind. Or worse, blind and wingless. He'd debated whether to simply kill them, if that were the case; it'd likely spare them worse pain, farther on. But then, he could find a use for them, maybe... They should make a few, he decided. Just in case.

That was, assuming Tal'at even agreed. He wouldn't force him, but he thought that the idea of a sighted child might appeal to the bat.

With a rumble, the alligator sloshed up beneath where he thought Tal'at might be--the last place he'd seen him, anyway. The bat spent a lot of time near his spider, yet he still often perched up high.

"Tal'at?" Dragon called, his hiss-bellow echoing over the black water, muffled by the mist. "Are you there? I have something to discuss with you."

Just like that, Tal'at had landed on him--his light, warm weight crawling all over Dragon's back. Dragon didn't mind; he simply lounged there, a "boat" as Bog would have called him, as he began to speak.

"Hello. You're all right? I'd come because I wanted to speak with you. It's about the Children of Rot--I spoke of how we must strengthen, find more? Eve created Oliver, from what I can tell. I wish to make more Children. I can birth true dragons, in flame; we could make small Raheerahs, perhaps. But I need someone with wings. Do you want to try?"

He rumbled all of this out at once, almost aloof from it. It wasn't an emotional request, but a logical one, and if the bat wasn't interested, he'd seek someone else.

He hoped that Tal'at would, though. Something about the bat struck him as intelligent, in his own way, despite how quiet he was. Tactical, perhaps. A strategic thinker? He seemed patient, observant, polite. In Dragon's mind's eye, he saw vast creatures like himself, but winged, with Tal'at's eternal patience and their intelligence, paired. And naturally, able to spew torrents of flames, as he did.

Of course, it could go horribly wrong, and end up nothing like that, but that was no reason not to aim high.

Dragon rumbled in thought, though the bat's excitement wasn't lost on him. Tal'at was not only willing, but eager, and Dragon found himself pleased--it meant that his idea had merit, perhaps. That the bat was vindicating his decision, in a way.

Children of fire, on Tal'at's wings... yes. That was what he hoped for.

"The way it was explained to me, one uses magic to remove a piece of their stone. And then the other parent breathes life into it. I intend to breathe fire. Perhaps you can find a way to remove a piece of your stone, or two--without harming yourself?" he asked. He certainly didn't want Tal'at to be harmed in the creation of new life; that would defeat the purpose.

He gave Tal'at a moment to consider, and during this time he continued to speak.

"I do hope for flame and wings, though I suppose it might come out... differently. But we can try. I think then the stone grows, and houses the new Gembound."

The alligator left it unsaid that the two of them had limited stone. He also didn't start questioning where his own egg had come from: he assumed Aquarian had made him, but with what?

Was he some sick mix of Aquarian and Raheerah...? And if so, what did that make Tal'at? Raheerah and... and a mouse?

Dragon eyed Tal'at, balanced as he was upon his head, and wondered at the image of a mouse making off with a piece of Raheerah's stone--wherever it was.

Dragon tilted his head, slightly, dragging himself through the mud to the patch of stable land that Tal'at had selected. The bat seemed to be in... pain? He was stuttering very slightly, but if it was pain, he was hiding it well.

He started to ask if the bat was all right--but if he wasn't, he wasn't indicating it. The alligator felt that it might be a bit rude to press it, so instead, he simply hauled himself over to the gems, snorting down at them.

"They are perfect," he declared. He couldn't actually see them, but he felt the bat might need a bit of encouragement. ...He assumed the stones were there, anyway.

With a huff, the alligator focused on the stones. He would give them life, now--breathe it into them with fire and fury, and create a new existence, a pair of dragons to guard Cetus, and the Children of Rot.

This would be their gift to them.

He hoped.

The alligator inhaled, eyes glittering, the air feeding into the stifled fire within his gullet. He eyed Tal'at, almost mischievously. This was it. This was when they combined what they were, and created something new.

His heavy jaws opened, and he felt the fire flow forth from his jaws even as something of himself--something of his magic, his flame, his life--coursed out and into the two rocks. And there were two--he could feel that now, for sure, even as he thought he'd heard the two quiet thumps.

Where Tal'at's attempts had been painful and borderline dangerous, Dragon's was smooth and powerful, the fire infusing the stones and making them briefly glow like coals. For a moment they pulsed, lit a dull red-orange in the darkness of the swamp--and then they went still and dark once more.

Yet there was a feeling, now, that they were more than they had been. Something of Tal'at the bat, and of Dragon the alligator, now dwelt within them.

The question now became, what would they become?

Dragon looked from the stones--and he had to tilt his head very awkwardly indeed, to see them--to Tal'at. He let out a low, rough and breathy chuckle, then nodded to the bat.

"What do you think?" he asked.

The alligator stared bemusedly as Tal'at somehow managed to get into the line of quite literal fire. He stared even more bemusedly as the bat, continuing to remain on fire, spiralled off into the mist, a glowing receding ball of screeching light.

The bemusement turned to horror as the light sparked, flared, and the screeching was joined by a horrid squealing. Hurriedly he tried to scoop the two stones into his jaws, having to dig sideways to pick them up, only to find that they had already become fused with the dry earth below. Apparently, then, this was where they'd have to nest, to protect the eggs.

Damn it.

"Tal'at! Bog?" Dragon bellowed, charging off into the mist, following the distant glow of his own fire, and the pained cries of his family.

A few moments of frantic charging and he found them: Czernobog flailing, the flaming bat clinging to his hock.

HOW...?

All he'd done was try to breathe life into the stones, and somehow not only had Tal'at caught fire, but Czernobog too! AND BOG HADN'T EVEN BEEN THERE!

Dragon just stared at the two thrashing and squealing, sudden misgiving seizing him.

Maybe these babies weren't going to be mighty dragons, after all.

Maybe he'd just made a terrible mistake.