Chapter Eight 2
Six years later.
Nanitha landed with Orwon next to her. They had dropped to the surface, but their shuttle was waiting in low orbit.
“Are you sure?” she muttered as they walked through the valley.
“I am positive. Out of the ninety-three drakes questioned, this was the most likely spot. So, let’s just ask.” He kept a hand on her back, and they walked along the path until they were standing in front of a neat house which sported a lovely garden with waterfalls and a wall to keep out predators. The front gates were currently wide open to let the sun in, and a couple were working together, talking softly.
The couple looked up, and Nanitha froze. Orwon kept his hand on her back and continued their approach. “Excuse me, but we have some questions regarding a drake egg abandoned a few centuries ago in the Nyath sector.”
The woman with the mint green hair gasped, and the man with the crystal hair and opal eyes looked hopeful. He whispered, “We were coming home and under attack. The egg was lost.”
Nanitha whispered, “It was found, and the shell was used for currency. The occupant survived but took longer to mature.”
There was silence, and she lowered her hood. “Hi!”
The woman gasped, and the man smiled, but his eyes were shining. “Hi. We didn’t think you made it, or we would have gone back for you.”
“I am stubborn. Oh, I am Nanitha, and this is my mate, Orwon.”
Orwon smiled. “She is the devourer, and I am the dark star.”
They looked at each other and smiled. “Would you care to come inside? There is a lot to talk about.”
Nanitha paused. “May I have a hug first? I have really gotten into hugging.”
The woman wiped her hands on her apron and then blew fire on them. “I thought you would never ask. Come here, baby.”
It was the same gentle fire Nanitha had used on Abil.
Nanitha walked forward and hugged her mother, the drake. Her father wrapped his arms around her, and she felt the dragon in the Nekkordan.
“Oh. Oh! You are having a little one.” Her mother leaned back.
“Not so little. Due in two months.” She smiled and rubbed her belly.
Orwon chuckled. “This was our last chance before the healers recommend that she stay planet-bound.”
“Come in, come in.” Her mother led her to the house that had a dimensional effect. It was huge on the inside.
Nanitha was settled in a chair, and her father got two more as it was obvious that her parents lived alone and liked it.
Her mother sat close and kept a hand on her, pressing for information on her upbringing and adulthood. She mentioned her adoptive family, being sold, making a run for it, and spending blissful centuries eating her way through the stars.
Her father stared. “That really was you? They put alerts on travel in those regions. They recommended against it.”
Orwon smiled. “That is Nanitha. A caution.”
She grinned.
Her mother smiled. “You chose not to bear in your original form?”
“At present, I am close to ten kilometres long. I don’t think he could find it, and I certainly couldn’t feel it.”
Her father laughed. “Thalina got pregnant in her biped form and was stuck during one shift, and from then on, it was egg all the way.”
“Mordon was in my mouth when we were trying to transport you from where labour had hit to our home. We wanted you here, but we were under attack. They fired at me, but when they fired at my jaws, I had to protect my mate. I am sorry, Nanitha.”
Orwon smiled. “It is understandable. She was an idea; your mate depended on you.”
Nanitha smiled. “I really do understand. Did you have more children?”
Thalina shook her head. “No. You were all of our hopes and dreams, and we left you behind. I left you behind.”
Mordon shook his head. “You did nothing wrong. You had to choose.”
Thalina looked at Nanitha. “I think I chose wrong.”
Nanitha smiled. “I survived and have reconstituted most of my shell. It has been transformed into sculptures, tablets, tables, chairs, hair combs, jewellery, and a tea tray, along with several raw samples. Do you have a com?”
Thalina smiled. “We do.”
Nanitha rubbed her belly. “Do you travel?”
Mordon smiled. “We can.”
“We are intruding, and you have much to settle, but I would like you to see your grandchild in their first year. You are invited to stay, and we have a quiet country home not too different from this one. There is a garden, there are fountains, and there is peace.”
Orwon smiled. “Until the three little ones that we have adopted run in, and then, all bets are off.”
Nanitha smiled. “And on that note, we will be off. I hate being away from them, but this was so very important.”
Thalina got up and fell to her knees in front of Nanitha. “Thank you for this chance. Thank you for seeking us out.”
Mordon nodded.
“Nanitha is all about giving chances.” Orwon waited, helped her up then walked carefully with his hand on her back.
They were escorted to their pickup spot, and as Nanitha put on her four-winged form with the two tails, Mordon started to cry as his own four wings and two tails manifested.
They exchanged com data and flew up to their shuttle, returning to the stars.
When they were on their way, Nanitha wiped tears away. “I wonder what they will say when all of our first three are Nekkordan.”
“I think they will enjoy their new grandchildren and enjoy the one that is coming.”
Nanitha smiled and looked at the stars. “Is it bad that I want to bite a volcano?”
“I have heard that Abil said they are spicy.”
Nanitha laughed and looked at her mate. “They are.”
He grinned. “By the way, I would have had you spit me out to protect the egg.”
She looked at him ruefully. “If you don’t know by now, I don’t spit, I swallow. You just would have had roommates, but we are not them, and I have no idea how large Thalina’s beast is.”
He snorted, hugged her, and got back to business.
Orwon made a portal, and they transferred back to home space. When they returned to their house and the guards that looked over her little ones, Nanitha’s heart swelled happily. She knew where she came from, so now, she could plan where she was going. A thousand possibilities and asteroids to eat loomed in her very long life. It was a delightful thought and one for the ages.