Chapter Text
The grass rustled as the small silver object rolled in circles. A low chirping noise sounded from it, calling into the deep labyrinth of tall trees surrounding it. The three shining moons in the sky glimmered in their full beauty. Moonlight reflected off the thin, shiny surface of the object, revealing the ever so faint silhouette of an unborn dragonet, restlessly waiting for the right time to hatch. Wing beats came from ahead, the leaves of the treetop canopy rustling. Gentle, curious footsteps landed next to the moonlit egg. A pale red and blue dragon curiously inspected the egg, taking great care to be as careful as possible as to not harm the the delicate thing. It was nothing like any egg he’d seen before. The rainwing eggs were colorful and dull, this one was a shining silver, as if the one of the three moons itself had laid it.
On second thought, that sounded wrong in multiple ways he didn’t want to count.
The rainwing shook his head to clear it of that thought. That’s the last thing he wanted to ponder further on.
The rainwing suddenly made the realization that there was no parent nearby. ‘Maybe I should leave it for its parent to find? But what if a predator like a jaguar gets to it first? What if it’s not safe? What if whoever dragon finds it doesn’t care for it well?! The anxious rainwing’s mind spiraled down through the path of everything that could go wrong if he were to leave the egg. He stared at the egg for a few moments before ever so carefully picking up the silver egg and taking to the canopy with a tight grip on the egg, but not tight enough to damage it. His wings carried him through the rainforest canopy almost on autopilot, allowing his mind to wander. What does he do with the egg? Where does he take it? What does it do when it hatches? Does he have the skills or knowledge to take care of a dragonet? He shook his head, glancing down at the egg cradled in his arms. ‘Stop worrying Mahogany. The others will help you… right? What if they think something’s wrong with it for being different? What if-’ Mahogany took a deep breath in an attempt to clear his mind. He landed on a suspended wooden platform, gently placing the egg in a soft pile of leaves far from the edge. The pale red and blue dragon tiredly fell into a sitting position next to it. His head snapped up at the sound of a voice and approaching wing beats.
”Mahogany? Whatcha got there?” A dragon of varying shades of blue landed on the edge of the platform, a look of curiosity in her emerald eyes.
Mahogany exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding in relief, “I found this…egg…farther out on the rainforest floor,” He said, gesturing to the moonlit egg nestled in the leaf pile. “I don’t know where it came from, but it looks like a dragon egg.”
”So… are you taking it under your care?”
”…three moons, did I just adopt a child, Lotus? What do I do? Why do I suddenly feel so responsible for it’s care and safety?!”
Lotus nodded at Mahogany in understanding, holding back a chuckle. She opened her mouth to speak when a crack was heard from the egg’s direction. Mahogany walked over to the hatching egg, looking over it anxiously. “Calm down Mahogany, I think it’s just hatching.” Lotus said in an attempt to ease her fidgeting brother. The silver egg cracked a few more times, Mahogany’s nervousness growing with each sound the egg made. With a final crack, silver fragments clattered from the egg. With a soft chirp, the remnants of the eggshell tilted, and small purplish-black dragonet fell out. The dragonet’s eyes blinked open, a bright blue-green. The two rainwings made a noise akin to purring at the sight of the small dragonet.
”Do we… are we allowed to name it?”
“It?”
”I don’t know!”
Lotus scoffed lightheartedly. ”Anyways. Yes!! Let’s name her! Ooo maybe… Papaya? Toucan? Perhaps… Azalea?”
Mahogany simply stared into the night sky peaking through the trees for a few moments. The dragonet beside him seemed to be staring at the moons.
”Something on your mind?”
Mahogany glanced at the dragonet before returning to looking at the sky. “Moon.”
”Wha—?”
”Her name. Moon…Moonwatcher? I think I heard something about the kind of dragon she is having two word names… Nightwings—I think they were called?”
Lotus nodded. “Moon… I like that. Did you get it from the way the moonlight hits her eggshell?”
Mahogany chuckled. “Perhaps. Just feels… right.”
The dragonet chirped happily.
”Oh. I think she likes it too.” Lotus said, a smile stretching all the way from one end of her snout to the other.
“Well, as much as I want to stare at this dragonet all night with you and make sure she’s okay, we’ve gotta sleep at some point.” Lotus yawned as she climbed into a nearby hammock. Mahogany opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by Lotus. “And no ‘but’s.”
Mahogany sighed and gently picked up Moon and placed the dragonet in a hammock near his, tying the sides of the hammock a bit to build “walls” of sorts so the dragonet wouldn’t fall out, and to make the space smaller to properly fit her. “Well… goodnight Moonwatcher…” Mahogany placed her in the soft red cloth of the hammock and began climbing into his own hammock. Lotus was already fast asleep. Before laying down, he turned.
”Welcome to the rainforest, little one.”