Nishiki
Broodingeggs was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Probably because neither of my bodies were made for sitting on eggs.
Obviously, brooding the eggs in koi form was out of the question, so I had to settle for my human form. Ever tried to sit on a pair of eggs without smushing them? Weston assured me the shells were tougher than they looked, but that didn't stop me from being anxious every time I curled them against my body.
Of course, I wasn'tliterallysitting on them. I mainly laid on my side in the nest and pulled the eggs gently against my midsection, wrapping my limbs around them for extra security.
I sighed. Weston was off hunting for fish so it was my duty to keep the eggs warm. The smooth surface of the eggs used to tickle my belly but I'd grown used to it in the past weeks. Now it felt natural to hold them.
Although never in my life did I think I'd be brooding a pair of koi-osprey hybrid eggs. Since I had lots of free time to think while I cared for them, my mind wandered to fantasies of what they would hatch into. Would they be a koi and an osprey, the way that Lupa and Leveret were a wolf and a hare like their fathers? Or would they both be one species? I imagined two little koi fish, or a pair of fluffy osprey chicks, smiling to myself.
What about Zak?I thought. Even though my nephew was Nautilus's grandson, he still looked like a normal wolf, except with his underwater breathing ability. I had no reason to believe my children would have any special powers beyond that, either.
Father had been a little cagey when talking about the fates. Then again, he was a spirit who liked to speak in riddles, so who knew if it even meant anything?
"Well, whatever," I mumbled to myself, wrapping my arms around my eggs. "As long as you're happy and healthy, that's all that matters. Right, little eggs?"
The eggs did not respond.
But then one of them wriggled.
I stared at it. "Um..."
Weston was still gone so I couldn't ask if he'd seen that, too, or if I was just seeing things. That was something eggs did, right? Wriggle around?
I watched it closely, trying to see if it happened again. It was the smaller of the two, the first to be laid. I chewed the inside of my cheek anxiously, trying not to blink as I stared at it.
It wriggled again.
"Ah!" I cried. I scanned the sky for any sign of Weston desperately but he wasn't there. I was on my own.
"Has it already been a month since they've been laid?" I asked myself, counting off the weeks. Indeed it had. Weston had been right about the time flying by.
"Oh, what am I supposed to do?" I mumbled. Should I have held the egg closer or given it space? I'd never seen anything hatch before except in horror movies and I didn't think those were credible information sources.
I bit my lip and let out a whine. The egg continued to wriggle at closer intervals. Something was coming out. But how long would it take? I hoped Weston would return before it hatched.
It pipped. I gasped.
I didn't see what made the tiny hole in the egg's shell. Did it have a beak or a claw? It couldn't have broken through it if it were a fish, right? Or was it a human baby smashing it with a finger? I had no idea.
Human babies don't come out of eggs, idiot!I scolded myself.
But then, what was it?
I glanced to the second egg, the larger one that Weston had difficulty pushing out. It wasn't moving yet. I frowned, a bit concerned. Was that supposed to happen? I held it closer to my chest where it could feel my rapidly beating heart.
The first egg jerked and tumbled onto its side.
"Oh, God, I hope that's normal," I mumbled.
Judging by its incessant wriggling, the baby inside the egg didn't seem to be hurt. The nest was also lined with soft materials so I doubted it was unsafe. Weston wouldn't let his babies get injured like that.
Watching the egg jostle around strangely calmed me down. It had a ton of energy, apparently, which meant the baby was healthy and strong. I smiled and even laughed at the egg rolled completely over and bumped into my chest.
"Hi, sweetie," I said. "Did you want to be next to your twin?"
I observed the two differently sized eggs. Did that mean they were fraternal twins like me and Nero? Surely they'd be the same size if they were identical.
