The small little corner of the swamp carved out by Dragon, padded by nesting material and watched over by the paternal gaze of a third-time father, erupts with children's babbling and giggling. Half-formed exclamations of 'banana!' and 'father!' ring out—

—but among it all, the last of Dragon's litter is silent. She surveys the scene before her with a quiet sort of content; she has words, she thinks. She could say the word 'banana', too, if she wanted to.

But Father's above her, and the mud rapidly becomes warm below her, bubbling with heat, and she thinks about her environment and she thinks she's pretty comfortable right now.

Hello, little one, Father tells her, and that earns him a soft little 'chirp!'; something like one would hear out of an alligator hatchling, but tending a little bit higher.

Hel-lo, she thinks in mimicry, shuffling her wings about to get herself into a more comfortable position; out of all the places to be right now, in the world that is this little part of the swamp and her siblings and her father, this seems pretty good right now.

...then again, maybe she should get a piece of that banana, before the others snatch it all up. She wants food, too! She's comfortable under her father, sure, but maybe…

...a plan begins to form in her head. A devious plan, one fit for all the possible thoughts in her tiny head so far. Maybe… maybe if she leaves the comfort of Father's form, and goes over to the banana, and drags it…

It's an enterprising train of thought that is put on hold for a moment as one of her siblings waddles forth and begins to push against her. It's a very soft sensation, the feeling of her sibling pressing against her, and her sibling's body is warm, unlike her father's…

She decides, with all the confidence of a newly-hatched toddler, that she will allow her sibling to be in the warm space underneath their father.

Now, to put the plan back into motion. First order of business: obtain the banana.

With calculated movements, she drags herself out from underneath Father's belly. The cool air of the swamp against her scales makes her shiver, and immediately she regrets her decision—but, no! She wants that banana! She wing-walks through the mud, glittering eyes set firmly on that yellow fruit, however smushed it may be. Once she's close enough, she lunges forward and chomps!—jaws clapping shut with an alligator-like bite force. The fruit squishes into her mouth, fruity and slightly gooey. Success.

Now, to drag it back… her eyes now narrow in focus as she digs her wings into the mud and begins to drag the banana backwards, attempting to bring it back to the warm shelter of Father's underbelly.

@Dragon @Brandle @Skein

They scrabbled and scuffled, sputtered sounds and trampled bananas, and proved themselves overall to be perfect children. Not perfect: but perfectly "child" in every regard.

Dragon at once adored them.

One was pushing beneath him--this one was shoving the other's face in the mud but as he reached gentle jwas forward to pluck it away, it had stopped. "Treat one another well," he rumbled--perhaps his most important lesson. "All you have is one another. All we can trust is family."

One--only one--gave him a name, and he parroted the "Bandle," in a quiet and approving thrum of greeting. Skein he simply glanced at; he wasn't sure whether to acknowledge that it had decided to claim 'father' as a name or if, even, that was the case. And Revenant--well, she wanted the banana. An admirable goal, he decided; wanting the food was a good sign of survival instinct.

For a moment the scarred alligator simply lay there, content as his children learned one another and him. Then he spoke, slowly; he doubted they'd grasp much, but hearing language would do them good. "When you are older, I will teach you more," he began, quietly, "-of magic, and hunting, and of the caves. For now, would you like to play?" he asked them.

A wisp flickered into being a yard or so away, and Dragon reflected that he should probably warn them of the dangers of "wild" wisps. "Don't follow these--unless they're mine. This one is mine. Who can catch it-?" he asked, and wondered what they'd do. Ignore it? Chase it? Fight over it? He hoped they wouldn't hurt one another, at least; but the wisp bobbed out, and rose slowly a meter or so into the air before making a lazy circle around him.

@Brandle

Brandle quickly realized the swamp was cold. Well, everywhere except the patch of mud around Dragon. Following his sibling's lead, he slithered closer to Dragon and the warmth he created. He seemed content, at least for the moment, to simply sit half-buried in the warm mud.

Everything Dragon said was met with rapt attention- although less so understanding. Trust? Family? Hunting and magic and caves? Brandle wasn't entirely sure what all of those things were, but if Dragon seemed to like them, then he would like them too. All of those things had to be good things, right?

However, the word 'Play' caught his attention more than the others, seemingly an innate understanding of what the word meant.

Then a pretty, glow-y wisp materialized some distance away, earning an enraptured "Ooooo...." From Brandle. Dragon's warning about not to follow strange wisps went mostly unheard- it was so pretty!! His head twisted to follow the wisp's journey, first up into the air, and then it's gentle bobbing as it began to circle all of them.

Having no legs, he wasn't exactly the best at jumping. However, jumping seemed to be the only way to reach the pretty, glowing bit of light. So, wiggling into position much like a hunting kitten, he coiled into a readied position. Maybe when it got close enough, he could...

Faceplant pathetically in the mud.

He barely made an inch off the ground before falling flat onto his stomach with a wet, muddy splat. Anyone close enough would likely get some mud splashed onto them, but Brandle was now even more muddy than before, if that was even possible. He blinked owlishly in confusion, looking up to Dragon as if searching for an explanation.

@Skein

Skein's head was cocked. Silent, ears straight as a nail. Listening to everything Dragon said with rapt attention."Fffah"Skein began, trying to mimic Dragon's words. "Fffahmle.." Came the word, at last. Skein's attention was grabbed by the Will o wisp. They seemed cautious at first, looking between Dragon and the wisp.

But, when at last Brandle went for it, Skein did as well. Whatever their family thought was safe, Skein did as well. Skein rose from the warm mud, wiggling their tail like a cat. They took off after the wisp, jumping and snapping at the shape. The wisp proved difficult. Skein jumped after the wisp.

They weren't very successful, but marginally better than Brandle. Skein's undeveloped wings flapped with every leap, unsuccessful at achieving takeoff, but the instinct was still there. At some point, the wisp was low enough and Skein's jaws reached high enough that they closed on the orb. Skein landed in the mud, shaking themselves out. "FFaather!" They said, Skein sat on their bottom, suddenly done with play. Their wide eyes glared at Dragon. More a resting glare, than any ill-intent. They were clearly looking for attention or approval at having caught the wisp.

@Revenant