My heart squeezed like I was on a roller coaster. Cobalt’s shoulder brushed against mine, a calming reminder of his presence. This moment we shared was magical, and I was so happy to be here with him.
Finally, the top half of the shell cracked open, and a little blue dragonet exploded upwards with a triumphant baby roar.
The floodgates to my parental instincts burst. Tears of joy sprung to my eyes. Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, I picked up my baby. The little blue dragon whimpered and squirmed, but calmed down once pressed to my chest. A warm, dreamy feeling spread throughout my body. It was a kind of happiness I’d never experienced before—similar to my love for Cobalt, but different. It was deep and ancient and protective.
The instinctual overload tipped me into shifting. Once I was in jackal form, I licked my baby dragonet from head to tail. They protested with an irritable squeak.
Once my jackal soul was satisfied, I shifted back with a sigh. “There we go. All clean.”
Cobalt chuckled and reached for the baby. “Good job, Daddy Muzo.”
I grinned. “Daddy Muzo, huh? I like the sound of that. What are we gonna callyou, Cobalt?”
He smiled as he gazed into the baby’s eyes. “I want to be Papa.”
“Aww,” Saffron cooed.
Aurum snorted. “Okay, even I have to admit, that’s kinda cute.”
A dark figure skidded in the doorway, then rushed inside. Viol breathed hard, like he’d run all the way back here.
“Is the baby—” He stopped, eyes widening when he saw the dragonet. “Oh.”
Every hard line and sharp edge of his face softened. He stepped closer, standing in line with the rest of his brothers as he gazed upon the baby.
“They’re beautiful,” Viol murmured.
I could barely hear him. It was almost like he was talking to himself.
“What’s this cutie’s name? Do you have one yet? Ooh, if you don’t, can I pick one?” Saffron begged.
Aurum snorted. “Nobody wants the crappy names you cooked up, bro.”
“Shut up, they’re not crappy!”
“Nobody can spell Phthalo, let alone say it.”
“But it’s cool, and it means blue!”
Cobalt raised a hand to cool the twins’ argument. “Thanks, you two, but we already picked a name. You know, as a couple?” he added, raising a brow.
Crimson stepped in to grab the twins by the backs of their shirts. “Yes, and now the couple gets to enjoy alone time with their newborn without Thing 1 and Thing 2 bothering them.”
“Hey, I don’t consent to being thrown out!” Aurum pleaded as Crimson dragged him outside.
Saffron was also being hauled out of the room as he cried, “Yeah, we don’t even know the baby’s name yet!”
Cobalt and I exchanged an amused look. I decided to break their suspense.
“It’s Lazuli!” I called.
“Oh shit, that’s an awesome name!” Saffron’s ecstatic voice called back from around the corner.
“Thanks!”
After congratulating us and wishing us the best, the rest of Cobalt’s brothers followed suit until the bedroom contained only our little family of three.
Four, if you counted Blueberry.
