The more time she spent with Longan, the more she felt like a true dragon.
The months turned into years, time flew the more she began focusing on her family. But it had only been a few years since she had been introduced to Dragon Eye Cookie. The small ball of white and gold had been revealed to be Longan's first hatchling he had brought into the world using his own scales and something more ancient than the magic found by magic wielding cookies.
She didn't view them or her mate any differently, she actually grew protective of them and easily took on the role of being their mother, even if they didn't call her that yet. She didn't mind if Longan already had a kit or not, they were made by his own scales and nagic after all.
Her dragonic instincts had been slowly returning, like how they were supposed to be. But she still had some kind of cookie instincts, still had a gentle nature and personality when it came to those her mate viewed beneath dragons, to those that she saw as equal and a balance to life on Earthbread.
“ Mother, I request your presence.”
She turned her gaze away from the window she looked out of to lock onto her oldest, beautiful red flowers bloomed from her white hair and tail, the end a beautiful gradient of red and orange. Her robes were just like Longan's and Dragon Eye's robes, ivory and gold. But unlike her father, she had orange and yellow markings on her face, the patterns identical to Longan, just in a different colour other than shades of grey. Her horns, too, were different in colour. Instead of gold, they were pure black.
“ Please, come in. I have prepared a fresh brew of herbal tea. Would you like some?”
“ I accept the offer, mother.”
“ There is no need to be formal, my little fire. Please, follow me.”
She spoke, her heels clicked against the reflective ivory floor of her room with each step she took towards the doors leading to the kitchen. And Firethorn followed after she made way for her mother to pass by, her steps graceful with an elegance Mangrove could only compare to Longan. Even Millennial, the cookie she viewed as an older brother, had such elegance with each step he took but Longan seemed to out compete the elegance with little effort.
“ May I amend what is on your mind?”
“ Mother… I had a question that has never left the day Dragon Eye had been announced to be our half-sibling.”
“ What about them, my dear child?”
Firethorn accepted the herbal tea Mangrove gave to her, picking up the cup and took a sip in a respectful way like her father. They really did have a lot in common.
“ What do you think about them?”
That question was not what she expected to hear coming from Firethorn out of all three of her biological kids. What did she think about the small dragon? She felt conflicted, in a way. She didn't view them differently, and her now unlocked instincts that had been dormant for so long surfaced. On the other hand… she felt a strange urge to protect them but didn't know what that urge was about.
“ I think of them as my own.”
She answered after a bit of silence, uncertainty laced her tone, but the dilation of her pupils proved that she had spoken the truth. The rounded blue slits looked oval and soft, like a cat that saw its favorite person.
“ Why did you have such a question?”
“ I have… grown sudden needs to protect them, urges I am unfamiliar with and instincts I had not known I had emerged out of the blue.”
“ Have you talked to your father about this?”
“ Father is busy, and I do not wish to disturb him while he plans.”
Firethorn took another polite sip, sighing as she pulled the cup away from her lips.
“ And I had hoped you would know about these things that occur and what these instincts are.”
Oh but she didn't. Her daughter didn't know about how long it took to develop such instincts, how long she had to endure the trauma of Longan tucking her and her brothers when she was unable to feel those dormant instincts.
“ Oh but I do not have an idea, sweet flame. I haven't… always had instincts like your father's.”
“ What do you mean, mother?”
“ I haven't had dragon instincts before my slumber nor did I have them after it, found by Millennial Tree when I awoke from my slumber. Their magic influenced me, drove my instincts to go dormant and replace it with cookie instincts..."
“ But mother, the cookies are weak and pathetic, aren't they?”
“ Not at all. Those deemed pathetic and weak are the ones that torment the weak and innocent.”
She hummed, before sipping her tea, the silence weighed heavy but not in an uncomfortable way. Instead, it was a pleasant silence as her daughter took in the information her mother gave her before she even became more dragonic in terms of instinct. Firethorn seemed keen on leaving when she saw her brothers giggle when making their way to the entrance of Longan's palace, placing down her empty cup on the table and excused herself, calmly making her way towards her siblings with her heels tapping the ivory floor.
Mangrove called out, humming as she calmly began to continue the tea, no rush in enjoying good tea on a lovely day. But the questions ate away at her dough, the questions of what instincts she felt towards the white and gold dragon that resembled Longan a lot more than Firethorn. Speaking of the little dragon, they floated around just outside her room, seeming a little… distressed? Her brows furrowed, the cup in her hands placed down and forgotten when she made her way towards the small dragon.
“ What is wrong, my dear?”
“ I am so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, dear.”
Mangrove held her chest out of the habit of calming down her racing heart after a scare, her eyes trained on the little dragon that seemed relieved to have found her. But the instincts… the instincts told her to protect the little thing from whatever caused them to reek of distress.
“ No one wants to give me attention!”
The little thing nodded, but Mangrove could tell that it was only the surface of what was the true reason for the little thing to be so distressed, that they had not told her the truth. But she wouldn't pry at them to open up and reveal what was really causing them such great distress. Perhaps some pirate cookies? Maybe Lychee showed them something they shouldn't have seen?
And the urges returned, the urges of wanting to protect the kit from harm, from whatever had caused this unhappiness.
“ Can…can I call you mama?”
“ Of course, dear. You are like my own, the very kit I have raised out of love.”
“ Can mama… tuck me away? Papa is busy…"
Was she even worthy of tucking the little thing away? Was she CAPABLE of doing such a request for the little thing? To be able to protect them? Her instincts would surely help guide her, right?
She wasn't even able to finish her sentence when the kit jumped into her arms, nuzzling her. Instinct told her to take them in, to allow her body to act as a shield and place for them to rest until they are no longer in distress. But would she be able to do such duties as their stepmother? Would she even be able to keep them safe in her body without hurting them? She didn't want her body to harm them, truly.
She took a deep breath, picking up the little thing into her arms.
“ Let's… let's do this in private, my dear.”
She held them close to her chest, already opening the door to her chambers and slipped inside, closing it behind her before making her way towards the nest she mostly used during her naps or when she was sleeping.
Being careful, she slowly sat down in the center, tail curled along the edge of the nest as she held Dragon Eye in her grasp. Oh dear witches she hoped she was doing it right. Maybe she should've asked Longan about this, how to ensure she sent living beings to her pouch.
But something itched at the back of her head as she brought the little kit closer to her maw, jaws parting to reveal teeth that are sharp but also blunt. Was it instinct? Most likely with how she had a distinct idea on how to do this when Dragon Eye placed their paws inside her jaws, her tongue wrapped around the limbs to protect the fragile dough from being harmed by her teeth. Their taste was… almost sweet but not too sweet, perfectly balanced like her herbal tea.
A soft hum escaped her as she gently began to take in the kit, her body automatically knowing what to do as more of Dragon Eye began to enter her throat, and she felt their paws slowly enter her… it couldn't be her stomach, her stomach was much lower than where Dragon Eye was. Was this the pouch she had?
A gentle swallow from her allowed the kit to slowly enter until only their hair- or tail- was left. One swallow and they were almost fully concealed within her dough…
She purred, hands maneuvered away from the tail and gave a soft swallow, the last of Dragon Eye finally inside her pouch.
She huffed, not out of annoyance but out of the freedom to finally have air flow through her system.
“ Are you… okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?”
“ Mama didn't hurt me! Mama soft!”
“ I am happy to hear that.”
Was this what Longan felt whenever he tucked her and their kids away? Just pure contentment, relaxed and just happy to be able to protect?
A yawn escaped her, and she couldn't help but start to lay down on her side, evidence of Dragon Eye being inside her dough could not be seen. And it seemed Dragon Eye had the same idea of taking a nice nap.
It wouldn't hurt to rest for a bit, right?
When she awoke, Longan was holding her close to his chest, blissfully sleeping. She could still very much feel Dragon Eye-
Panic settled in for only a few seconds before she calmed down. The fear of them being… oh she couldn't bear the thought. But they were safe, still sleeping peacefully.
Was she now able to do what dragons did? Maybe, but until she gets used to it, she would only do so with her family. The thought of the instincts not helping her would never sit well with her. Or did she need to ask Longan for information?
That can wait, she thought as she got comfortable again, ready to doze off to join her family in the realm of dreams. For now, she will sleep it off until she wakes up again.
