Two months later saw the Vyly and Aedelian-- plus a rather odd, serpent-like blue dragon named Seimei-- ensconced in a pleasant little dragoner suite on one of the main residential decks. There wasn't much in the way of furniture yet as Aedelian's purse, though extensive, was not endless, but apparently none of them really needed much in the way of furniture. Seimei, for one, managed to make himself a nest out of things Aedelian would have marked as junk and holed himself up in the smaller of the dragon-sized rooms. The first and larger room came with it's own couch for sleeping on, with plenty of room for the couple to curl up together on, and they simply didn't make many tables and chairs big enough for dragons on this space station. Dragons here weren't often of the type to use them, anyway. So, the only furniture Aedelian had bothered to purchase were for the tiny human-sized suite on the other side of the apartments, and not much of that: a table with two wooden chairs, one shabby armchair, and a bed, in case Vyly ever got tired of him sharing her couch, or he needed to escape.

Escaping, after all, might well be necessary. Aedelian remembered when Merenada was pregnant; her mood swings were drastic and even frightening. So far, though, all Vyly had tried to do was talk his ear off, which he didn't really mind very much. It got worse as she got heavier, less able to take to the skies and sneak around the station. Somehow Aedelian hadn't thought through the consequences of a flight, though he knew he should have, and when he first realized Vyly was pregnant it had quite surprised him. Not Vyly, though; somehow the ladies always knew about those kinds of things, and accepted them. Meren' had.

It was about two months into the pregnancy, and Vyly was much rounder than he'd expected her to be a full month from clutching. Avengaean dragons, after all, rarely had more than two children at once time; Vyly looked like she was housing three times that many. Still, he wasn't particularly alarmed, not at first, because he remembered that other dragonesses tended to have more than that. He was a little concerned, not at all certain that he and Vyly could raise six offspring, but not at all alarmed. That came later, when he made his first attempt to touch the slowly-developing minds of the growing offspring. That was when he realized that they really needed to talk about a few things.

::Vyly,:: he began politely that afternoon, filling in a lull between different topics in her near-constant mental chattering. ::I was wondering... can your kind of dragon bond?:: His own didn't, of course, but if hers did... well, that could solve their problem quite neatly. They hadn't spoken much about her species, since he was aware it was a touchy subject with her, but just now, he needed to know.

::I... don't know,:: she finally said, after some deliberation. She'd just been complaining about how small the couch was getting, and this sudden change of topic was a leap she couldn't quite follow. ::I don't think so,:: she added. ::I've never felt an urge or need to share my mind, but....:: She trailed off, and he could sense her contemplating her difference from other dragons at Star City. ::Why do you ask, Aedel?:: she asked, then, putting the thought aside and starting to preen her wing feathers. Aedel was tempted to let the subject lie and help her, using his own fingered forepaws to help, but that would only be putting off the inevitable, and he knew it.

::Because... well, it might be easier if our children bonded,:: he admitted. ::My own kind... we only have one or two at a time, that's all I know how to raise at once. But now, Vy-- you're carrying fourteen, and I don't know, but I think that might be too many even for us to care for....::

Her head shot up, wings and feathers forgotten, as she understood the number. ::What?!:: she demanded, no longer relaxed and at ease. Adelian cringed, just a little, in both regret and apology. ::How in the blazes am I carrying four-teen?:: she all but exploded, emphasizing each part of the number with shock like a starburst. ::I've looked, no one has that many kids at once! Not even those giant monsters that keep coming in from off-world-- well, maybe a couple-- but, agh!:: He let her rant, almost afraid to interrupt, but when she suddenly relaxed and looked back at him, her eyes holding a hint of pleading, he wished he could say what she hoped for.... ::Oh, you had me,:: she said, ::You're just kidding me, right? That's a really rotten joke.::

::I... wish I was. I wanted to talk to them, our children, like most psionics on Avengaea do, introduce myself, that sort of thing. They have minds, even so young-- but Vy, I was expecting maybe five, at most, but I counted. There's fourteen.:: Watching her head droop was heartbreaking, and he nuzzled her neck as reassuringly as he could manage.

::You've got to be kidding me,:: she said, but without any hope that he might agree with her. She shifted to glare at her belly, round with what they both knew now to be fourteen eggs, as if it were now something different, something alien to her. ::Well, this is just great. And if I'm not the bonding sort, then these little monsters certainly won't be, either. Oh, Aedel,:: she cried, tone changing from anger to despair, ::what are we going to do with them all?::

Since Aedelian was wondering the same thing, he didn't have an answer for her. He caught the fleeting impression of fourteen dragonets piling over Sehmei, an unfortunate baby-sitter, crossing her mind, out of place and uncalled for, but couldn't muster the amusement to laugh. She managed a short chuff of a laugh, without much humor, and added desperately, ::I don't think I could handle that many brats screaming and trying to jump off of ledges and fighting and-- but we can't ask to take up the sands... can we?::

::We could,:: he admitted, ::but it wouldn't do much good. If neither of us can bond naturally, then they certainly won't, and you can't send newly hatched dragons off with other people unbonded... it just... isn't right. It feels too much like abandoning them, adopting them out without their say-so in the matter.:: Even so, his mind was working. The mention of the "sands" of Star City reminded him: some Avengaean dragons did bond....

As if she were reading his mind, rather than the other way around like it usually was, Vyly suddenly asked, ::Wait, Aedel, didn't you tell me that your granddaughter went off to bond? But you said that your type couldn't....:: There was hope in her mind-voice.

::She did, and normally, we can't... but at the capitol city, there is a program doing it with magic, in the hopes that bonded pairs will fight more efficiently against demons. I was just thinking about that, actually. I might be able to... but I can't promise... oh dear. I don't suppose you could do without me for a few days, Vy?::

A not-quite-hysterical laugh came through mentally as her jaw gaped in silent parody. ::Do without you for a few days? If you can manage to bring back help, I think I could manage.:: She wrinkled her muzzle, then, and added, ::Though I don't know what I'll do with just Seimei for company. He's good for talking, yes, but he'd never get off of his tail to get me anything.:: With the kinds of random foods she'd been demanding as of late, Aedelian could only chuckle and privately agree.

::You know,:: she added, half in jest, ::this is all your fault. If it weren't for your deadly good looks, I wouldn't be churning out little hellions right now!:: To further her point, she bapped him lightly with her tail. He just caught it and ran his fingers through the fur gently, grinning at her.

::But you're not churning them out yet,:: he teased lightly. ::And besides, I think I recall that the challenge to catch you was made by a certain lovely young lady.::

::Well, I might as well be,:: she grumbled, submitting her tail to the combing. ::I can hardly fly with a belly this fat. It's a pain. And... I swear this couch is getting smaller!:: Back to where she'd started before he had brought up the number of her offspring; he could tell that she had put off worrying about the eventual burden of laying fourteen eggs at once, and he let her get back to her chattering and complaining, at least for now. Tomorrow he'd head back to Avengaea and have a talk with the bonding mistress about his many, many offspring....

Chapter Five

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