One more egg and Starfish could stop worrying about it. She could hardly imagine a dragonet popping out of it, but she had to stay strong. Maybe it would hatch and she wouldn’t have to explain death to her dragonets. Maybe it would hatch and she wouldn’t have to explain that the world isn’t full of happy dragons and sunshine and rainbows. Maybe it would hatch and she wouldn’t have to tell them that not everything works out for the better.

Days went by, but they felt like weeks. The sun slowly inched across the sky, letting the summer heat blast throughout the surface of the Kingdom of the Sea. Starfish and her children were supposed to pack their things and move to the summer home, the one under the sea, to escape the midyear heat.

But she couldn’t, of course. She had to keep three non-SeaWings alive, ones who didn’t know Aquatic, couldn’t speak it, didn’t have gills, and couldn’t swim. Nothing was more tortuous than having to keep herself in the summer heat, hot and miserable, until she could find homes for the hybrids.

Less than a week later, Starfish was cleaning the hut while the kids played outside when she heard something squish. She spun her head towards the last egg, but it was as still as ever. Then she heard it again, and thought she saw the egg twitch the slightest movement ever moved.

She paced towards the egg, eyeing it suspiciously. Her heart pounded as she poked it with her claw, and was surprised to find that the eggshell wasn’t hard like it should be. It was soft, and made a wet dent where she had touched it.

Panicking, Starfish rushed to her room to grab the parenting scroll she had gotten when she was pregnant with the twins. She skimmed the scroll, looking for anything that explained soft shells. When she couldn’t find what she was looking for, she rushed for Bubble’s Book O’ Tribes and flipped through the pages. At this point, she was sure that the egg was half Pantalan. After reading the first section on Pantalan eggs, she let out a soft breath.

SilkWing eggs get soft when they’re getting ready to hatch (They do this so the egg doesn’t roll out of the webs their parents weave for them to keep them safe. They get soft and sticky to attach to the web so there aren’t any casualties.) Starfish continued reading the page. SilkWings need help hatching, plus food right away, and sun immediately after.

Not wanting to have the dragonets miss it, Starfish carefully picked up the last egg and a mandarin on her way outside.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“You’ll never guess what’s about to happen,” Starfish called to her dragonets. They were trying to build a sandcastle while Melt, Weed and Ripple tried to splash water onto everything nearby. The SeaWings turned their heads in immediate excitement while Starfish brought the egg to lay in the sand.

The smaller dragonets realized their older friends were gone and trampled each other to join the circle. Weed squeaked at the mushy egg, as if asking what it was.

“Oh, I was right!” Bubble exclaimed. “It is part SilkWing!”

“I thought so too,” Drown said, nudging her smaller brother. Droplet made a face at the egg, then turned away in disgust when it moved, making a sloshy sound.

“Ohhh, that’s so gross!” He said, covering his snout.

“It’s only natural,” Drown explained. “The SilkWing eggs get like that so they stick to the webs and don’t fall to their deaths.”

“It’s still gross.” Almost immediately after Droplet’s comment, the egg rolled over, revealing a small tear in the eggshell. Droplet almost lost his lunch, gagging at the egg. Starfish opened the tear wider, trying to help the youngest dragonet. A small prehensile tail poked out, as pink as the sunrise that morning.

“Part RainWing?” Bubble questioned.

“Likely so,” Drown responded. Starfish opened the hole and pried the dragonet out. The eggshell was sticking to her like glue, so she carefully washed the dragonet in the water. Slightly, her eyes opened, revealing the light green in her irises.

Starfish gasped. She was beautiful. Her wings glistened with brilliant pinks and aquamarine and forest green. All along her body was blue faded into green faded back into blue freckles, covering her from snout to tail. Even the younger dragonets silenced at the newest presence, hushed into awe.

“Mommy..” Bubble squeaked.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Um.. I was thinking, maybe you should name her, since we all already named one.”

“I thought so too,” Drown agreed again. “What are you thinking?”

Starfish took a minute to think. She was beautiful, the new one, and her eyes reminded Starfish about a land plant that grew on trees.

“Lichen.”