Book One: Onnu and Pannu

Scrambled Eggs

The eggs began rocking before Steel's reconnaissance was finished. Onnu and her helpers were relieved, because the eggs were so small, it was hard to keep them from being sucked up. Even with a dragon covering them, some rolled out from under her when the winds swept down. It took a team of little kin crouched under her, holding them still all night. Since they, too, had to sleep, they figured out that they could sit facing out, and lean against the eggs that were most likely to roll. They'd tried rotating those inward, but there were always a few places that were more vulnerable.
   The eggs cracked at nearly the same time. It didn't seem to matter that they were different sizes, textures, and shapes, or where under the dragoness they'd been. Temperature didn't seem to play a part at all, which defied "simple biology", as she'd called it.
   True to their speculation, the elongated eggs contained centaurs and gryphons. They were leathery, to account for their hooves, claws, and long bodies. The chicken egg shapes held all of the humanoid shapes. The largest ones cracked open to reveal giants and gargoyles, and the smallest ones yielded dwarves and elves. It was bizarre to see catkin inside of chicken eggs. The birdkin were the least odd.
   It shouldn't have surprised her that there wasn't a single greyskin, because she already had a dragonkith. It did surprise her, though, because every group they'd seen had one. Plus they didn't know that each dragon had a single dragonkith. Not for certain, anyway. It was only a guess.
   And then there was the fact that Pannu hadn't had a dragonkith when he arrived. Even if he'd lost his in their travels, wouldn't he have been... given..? one? Huh. I can't make myself think of kin as things to be given. But the point stands, he doesn't have one, and a bunch more kin just hatched. Do we need them? He doesn't seem to be any worse off for not having one. How symbiotic is it..? I don't feel particularly tied to Firmen, any more than I do other kin besides... are they just calling him Dragonfriend these days? I think that's become his name, at this point.
   She thought it silly to name him based solely on their friendship. Dragons had lots of friends. How did one differentiate one from another?
   It wouldn't occur to her that the little kin might not see her as their friend. They talked freely, and even joked around. Why would it ever enter her mind that they saw her as an authority figure, and not necessarily a friend? At least, not a friend first.
   She looked out over the newly hatched kin, wondering if she was supposed to think of the tiny creatures as her children. They would never grow as large as she was; not even close. Besides that, they didn't act like children. The majority of them wobbled for a bit, and walked just fine. Only the ones with inhuman anatomy struggled.
   That told her that these were full-grown kin. And if they were full-grown...
   "Tribulations." The word slipped out before she could stop it. Were they looking at people who'd died believers during the Tribulations, on Earth-that-was?
   "You don't think..." Dragonfriend said, but he couldn't even finish the thought.
   "I don't know. Have you got a better explanation?"
   "They look pretty scarred, too. Like they've seen some sh..."
   "Shards."
   "Right," Grim amended, "shards. It does kinda fit..."
   "That's why there aren't any kids," Dragonfriend said in a flat voice. "They would've been in our... uh... generation?"
   Onnu shrugged. "It doesn't fit perfectly, but technically speaking, I did lay their eggs, so... kind of..?" It didn't sit right with her, but as usual, they couldn't find another explanation.
   "What do we do with them?"
   "I dunno, Tandy. I guess they can stay here for a bit, get acclimated, but I'd have to stay with them until we can be sure they'll sleep in the niches. Can y'all make do without me for a bit longer?"
   "I can bring her to ask Pannu," Grim offered.
   "Yes, do. Now the question is... who gives them The Talk?"
   The littles looked to each other, as if to say "who's gonna tell her?"
   As was oft the case, it fell to Dragonfriend.
   "I mean, you're the easiest to hear, and you did lay their eggs..."
   "Clay might want to save their shells, by the by," Tandy interjected.
   Onnu sighed. In this instance, above almost all others, it really was her duty. Whether or not these were biologically her children, she was obligated to teach them the ways of this new world.
   When the last egg had hatched, and the littles were milling about in a mostly coordinated fashion, she stood where they could see her.
   "Nothing is the same," she began.