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Silvercloud. That was the name they had picked. When the egg hatched, there would be a new dragon in the world, and his or her name would be Silvercloud.
At first glance, their egg was black, the same as every other NightWing egg, but, according to Fatespeaker, “if you look really really close you can see it’s a bit purple, and I think there are some silver dots, but that could be just the light.”
Starflight was mostly adjusted to being blind, but this new part of his life felt like his eyes being burned all over again. He would never be able to see his own dragonet. Sometimes, late at night, curled up next to his mate, he would worry. How can you be a father if you can’t even see? A small voice whispered in the back of his mind, How can you take care of a dragonet if you can’t take care of yourself?
But he shoved the voice away, repeating the mantra he had practiced since Fatespeaker told him she was with egg.
Everything will be okay. You have a great family, a wonderful mate, and soon you are going to have a dragonet. Being blind can’t stop you from living, unless you let it. Everything will be fine.
Standing next to Fatespeaker on the vine-covered platform, only a few steps away from where their child was hatching, he had to keep repeating that mantra. He felt that the moment the egg hatched, that very moment, the world would either end, or begin again.
Crack.
Craaaaaaack.
Thip.
A bit of the egg had chipped off, falling onto the soft vines.
Cra-craaack.
Thip. Thip.
Crack crackcrack. Crack.
Starflight heard a huff of air to his right as Fatespeaker let out the breath she had been holding. “He’s out. Oh, Starflight, he’s out! We have a son!”
Starflight felt a brief moment of panic, quickly followed by elation. He stepped carefully towards the noise, and felt Fatespeaker wrap a guiding wing around him. Another step, and he felt his claw bump against something. Someone. His son. He reached out, finding the new-hatched dragonet, and gently picked him up. He felt small claws reach out to touch his face, accidentally poking his snout.
Starflight laughed breathlessly, leaning against Fatespeaker. He felt her talons wrap around his own, and he let go, allowing her to hold Silvercloud.
“Ooooo, hello, little Silvercloud,” she cooed, “I’m your mummy and this is your daddy. We’re so happy to meet you. You’re just the cutest little thing, aren’t you? Yes you are!” she continued babbling nonsense, and Starflight relaxed, just enjoying the moment.
The next day, Silvercloud was familiarized with his father’s adopted family. Starflight had initially worried about the damage he might be inflicting by introducing his son to Tsunami and Glory at such a young age, but he figured it would be outweighed by the benefit of meeting Clay and Sunny. Besides, Fatespeaker didn’t seem concerned, she even mentioned she might want to have Silvercloud meet Flame, Ochre and Squid (though personally, Starflight didn’t think this was a good idea).
While the others were greeting Silvercloud (and the accompanying Fatespeaker), Starflight pulled Glory to the side, finally gathering the courage to ask the question that had been bothering him.
“What does my son look like?”
Almost instantly, he felt Glory twining her tail with his, which was quite a display of affection for the RainWing queen. She paused a moment before answering.
“His scales are black, but there are also some dark purple ones mixed in, like Fatespeaker, and he has a ringlet of silver scales around both of his front legs. When he opens his wings, the undersides are dark purple speckled with silver scales, but more than I’ve ever seen.”
She laughed a little, “I guess he’s living up to his name, because he has quite a lot of silver. He has Fatespeaker’s horns, and…”
“And?”
“He has your eyes.”