Dragon had perched atop the nest, off and on, for the full cycle. When he had moved to eat, he hadn't gone far: he'd lurked in the water just nearby, snagging a fish now and then, or even--once--a cave deer that had drawn too close to the water's edge. But mostly he'd guarded the growing chrysalises.

Some of them were larger than others. He was fairly certain that at least a couple of these children might reach his size. It didn't matter, mind; he loved the little ones just as much as the behemoths. Maybe moreso; Merrow was a much more agreeable child than Hunger had ever been.

He was eager to see who these children would be. Eager to nurture and protect them, to teach them. He was a good father, all else aside; he couldn't wait for these children to hatch, and grow.

He did try, once or twice, to breathe hot air over the gemstones. The last attempt, he'd choked. So--they were cold, for now... and Dragon's maw was burned. That would make things very awkward, when it came to introductions.

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@Wyrm (so I myself don't forget) @Sliken @Ketrex and if the other parents would like to be present, and Jay wants to finish the Final Child! @Yanyue @Sniffles

Sniffles approaches the nestsite after Dragon's burning issue - and doesn't pay it any mind. Instead they wrap around themselves nearby the crystals - some quite large, they also notice. They eye dragon with their many sets of eyes for a few moments.

"Soon?" Is it time already? It feels like they'd just created the nestsite not too long ago! Sniffles still isn't used to the timing involved with everything - but they'll figure it out.

The onyx was ready.

A day late, but it was ready. No: she was ready. The voices outside were pleasant to the ear: a reassuring sound, if dim and muffled by rock. She squirmed, eager to be free: eager to meet whoever it was just outside. They sounded... nice!

Claws scraped stone, the squiggly form within the chrysalis twisting around itself. She was... flexible, she knew now: able to flip around her own body, serpentine. Behind the thinned sheet of black stone, several fiery eyes opened, peering up--oh, and there were SHAPES up there! ...Cool!

A tiny mouth opened, and a little blast of hot... fluid? was enough, with her claws, to finally crack her chrysalis. The critter that spilled out, gills flaring and eyes blinking, was a little stinky and Oily but very childlike: the big eyes, the oversized head, the giant 'paws.' She coughed a moment, then peered up, tongue flicking out as she blinked from one parent to another.

"He'o?" she tried, a bright chirp of sound.

A few sudden shakes, here and there. Clawing could be heard from the chrysalis. One final claw, out popped a chunk of the rock. A swift shake of her head, bright purple eyes curiously turned to the creator. Stubby alligator paws pressed against the rest of the chrysalis, forcing a piece away for her to stumble out.

Out came a weird... thing. She had the head of a chicken, the body of an alligator, but the wings of a seaslug. The chicken head turned to the side, she let out a pitiful caw. More like screech. After she was done? She went to peck at a shard of her chrysalis. But a blasted heat of fire came from her beak. Startling her slightly.

---

"Speaking"

( @ none needed to tag)

He shoved against the side of the chrysalis, demanding to be released, demanding freedom, and soon it shattered, plopping him rather harshly onto the ground below. Emotionless eyes blinked a few times, taking in everything around him. There was two large creatures watching them, one that looked like him in many ways. Then, there were two others, newly emerged beside him. Were they his sisters?

His attention though, turned to the large form in front of them, not liking that attention wasn't on him. He was important too! And so, with a little half hearted growl like garbling sound, he began to heat up his body, burning his feathers and scales slightly to cause smoke to billow from his back, making him look much more threatening than the tiny little thing really was.

Even small, he was long, having the potential to grow to look like his father in form.

In between enjoying a visit to his native Pisces, enduring Nemean's infuriating shenanigans, and flinging himself one step further up the ladder to magical enlightenment, not much time had Fahl to spare for tending to any emergent matters in Cetus. If anything, daring to trudge through the cave's muck this time he'd planned to be only a brief excursion to demonstrate his continued commitment to the Children of Rot. Gathering a bounty of fish to add to Aquarian's offering pile had been the idea before setting forth for the destination that had weighed on his mind ever since collapsing in exhaustion mere steps beyond Polaris' boundaries: flush with pride, he'd wanted to journey down to the Palace for a surprise visit to Imp and see if he could manage to flaunt the newfound power coursing through his veins.

Therefore, it was pure chance that the iguana caught the stench of smoldering feathers hanging in the air or noticed a thinning of the surrounding fog in the distance. Almost fully submerged in swamp water excepting his dark head, he propelled himself toward this sight with a flick of his finned tail. Growing proximity allowed murky eyes to pick out silhouettes, some small and others larger. One in particular struck him as familiar, and his pace quickened to reach damp but mostly solid ground. He'd be a fool to not recognize Dragon, even if the rest remained complete strangers.

"Dragon," he rumbled, no attempt made to conceal his presence when approaching good company while clambering up the bank. "How are you? Are these more Children of—?"

Other than the sinuous form of Sniffles wound nearby and the main alligator himself, the remaining beings here appeared nothing more than juveniles. Chirps and growls did little to dispel this impression. Scales flashed a mystified violet and white as Fahl froze in place, dumbstruck. He searched for words and choked on his own bafflement before finally forcing cooperation and speech into a leaden tongue.

"Children. These are children?" The emptied chysalises around them supported the conclusion. He squinted, discerned alligator scutes on more than one of the hatchlings, and followed up this question with another. "They're... yours?"

Was he witnessing a whole gang of Imp's littler siblings?

Dragon offered a friendly dip of his head--a sort of nod--to Sniffles; it was indeed 'soon.' In fact, it seemed 'soon' was already here.

Dragon backed up enough to make room for the hatching children. The first looked distinctly like Sniffles, and he was pleased to see that she was blasting heat as she emerged, bearing the typical powerful fire of their family. The second, too, came out blasting, but... Well. She was cute as heck, to be sure, but Dragon fretted a little that she might have issues with moving. He couldn't quite tell what was going on with her anatomy, there. The third, too, came out swinging with magic, though of the smoky kind rather than the heat-breathing kind.

"Careful, children," Dragon advised. The fire--all the fire they were using--had a tendency to burn, to hurt even if it would heal later on. "There's no need--I'm--we're not here to hurt you. I am Dragon. Welcome to the world." Then he turned to Fahl.

His expression, softened by paternal joy, was placid. "I am good, Fahl; and you? -Yes, these are more Children. They are mine--and theirs," he added, turning and nodding to Sniffles. "Some of them are from stones that I found." There were others, still not yet hatched, but Dragon felt that they'd join their new-hatched siblings soon enough.

Dragon turned back to the children, watching them indulgently. He was curious to see if any of them would speak, beyond the brief attempt at a greeting managed by the first one. "Hmm," he rumbled. "Do any of you have names?"

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@Sniffles (idk if we should do a posting order?)

It stirred, ever so slightly at first, but soon writhing within its casing. A prison, one that was chipped away from the inside out by a sharp, sturdy beak. A small stream of fluid escaped the tiny hole, before the creature was able to summon the strength to push itself out of the weakened chrysalis. With a gross, wet noise, they were able to slither free onto the ground beneath, taking a few, quick gasps of the cold air.

The spawn choked, shivering, pulling its wings close to their body, curling its tail as tight as it could. All too suddenly, it became aware of voices, growing ever-louder as the fluid slipped free of its ears. Language was unfamiliar to the creature, but easily grasped the concept as the conversation continued. It wasn't quite ready to speak, however, still coming to its senses.

Blinking its two sets of eyes fully open, they pulled themselves upright on two, almost comically stubby legs, claws digging into the ground for balance. Slowly, it began to process what (or who, really) was around it. A large alligator was speaking to a smaller iguana. A large snake was curled around other chrysalis', most of which were broken already. There were other, wet things here. Bird-like, and dragon-like. The spawn felt a sort of kinship between these creatures and themselves, which was more than a little confusing.

The alligator asked a question. Still largely confused, and trying its hardest to come to terms with what an alligator was, it stayed silent, all four eyes fixed blankly on the large reptilian.

After a few moments, everything starts unravelling around Sniffles. Babies coming out in bursts of flames, some more aggressive than others. It takes some of them longer than others to hatch, but Sniffles is fairly confident that means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

"Hello!" They say to the group of newly hatched children.

Hatchlings. Their instinct provides. A bunch of new hatchlings. Small for some time - potentially big in the future. Sniffles can't wait to see what the future looks like if they all stick around. Them and Dragon will keep everyone safe. And the others, too. There's one here already! That Sniffles has not personally spoken to, but they carry the familiar scent of the Children of Rot.

Notably, there is still one left unhatched. Sniffles knows that sometimes things take longer for some - or that some may never hatch at all. It's sad to think about, but they have hope. Things have just begun, after all. Sniffles lets Dragon take the lead on asking for names - perhaps they will just know the names they want.

@Wyrm

Her name-?

She blinked far too many eyes, none of them simultaneously. It was sort of a mess of rippling eyelids for a moment as she got the hang of it, her tongue flicking in a half-thoughtful gesture. But that gave her a scent of the air, too: of charring smoke and rotting mud. The smell, she'd come to think of it, of home.

Oh--but a name! She was about to say "Dragon." That was who she was--but the big one (Father?) had already claimed it. Her mind, the faint magic of the hatch--that which granted them all their link to language--reached for something else. Something related; a dragon, but long and noodly, like she was. "Wyrm!" she decided, and then looked around her.

She was struggling to parse everything, but excited rather than overwhelmed. She did her best to classify what she saw. She came up with "parents," "maybe parents?" and "not parents." One of the not-parents was gooey, green, and feathered; Wyrm immediately wanted to play, but one of her siblings was oddly motionless and the other one was... on fire? Smoking, her mind supplied.

So she jumped for Sliken, instead: a playful pounce, clumsy as a new kitten. "Hyah!" she said, and it was half a squeak. She almost tumbled even with the jump attempt, but in her mind, playful baby time was a go.

@Sliken