A low growl escapes my throat as Avalon falls on top of me. Our bodies are covered in sweat as we catch our breathes. Avalon holds onto my neck, and I gently stroke her back. Her silky ombré blue hair sticks to her skin. She hums softly while her head rests on my chest. The beautiful quicken beat of her heart relaxes me.
Her heat has been active for five days now. Today, it seems less intense which means it should end tonight or tomorrow. We have been staying in one of the mating suites in the mountain. There are several mating suites in different areas of the mountain. They are also protected by ancient magic. This is to prevent unmated men from attacking the couple. A dominant male would not allow an single male to attack their mate.
I rarely spend this much time away from the clan. When I do it has been to attend Council meetings. It is on the sacred mountain, and fairly far. The flight from the den takes a day if there are no stops. In the past, I would not stop until reaching the mountain. However, from now on I will have to stop to insure Avalon's comfort. I plan to take advantage of our remaining privacy. When we return I know mother will take Avalon to the healers. She will want the elder healers to check Avalon,
"This room is so pretty and relaxing. It is a shame we are only allowed here during my heat," says Avalon.
I chuckle, "I agree but it is tradition. If you would like I can remodel our bedroom".
Avalon looks up at me with an arched eyebrow. "Would you be willing to do that? It is not like I do not like our bedroom," she says.
"My treasure I want you to feel that it is our bedroom. I am aware that it has a lot of my personality," I tell her.
Avalon nods,"There is not much that I would change. I would like to have a little reading area by the window. Oh and some little decor items".
I place a kiss on her nose, which makes her laugh. "We can go look for things together after your heat is over".
"Thank you Vul! As much as I have loved our time here I want to return home," said Avalon.
I chuckle,"I feel the same yet please be prepared for mother. She will want you to have checkups until we know if you are carrying hatchlings".
Avalon smiles as a strand of hair covers her face. My hand moves and brushes the hair out of her face. "I can actually check before we leave the cave. My heat has to be over for it to be accurate," says Avalon.
"How are you able to tell so quickly without a healer?"
This is rather different because female dragons require an elder healer. The healer is able to connect with nature and our clans magic. This allows the healer to sense new life at early stages. Males become protective of their mates when they are expecting. This is due to females having a weakened state. In ancient times feuding clans would target pregnant females.
"My people have a strong connection to the location new life is created. We return there when it i time to give birth," answers Avalon.
I nod since female dragons are the same, and give birth in special caves within the mountain. "Is this magic or an ability of your people's reproduction?"
Avalon hums as she runs her fingers up, and down my chest. "Hmm I believe it is a combination. We have a strong pull to birthing grounds. If we conceived a child the waters in the cave will make it known".
"I see well that may quiet down mother a little bit," I say.
"Both of our mother's will be persistent. I am certain that they have been talking".
I would not be surprised to learn that our mothers have talked. They must be overjoyed to be reunited after so long. Mother made sure to get my mother-in-law's contact information. They often speak on the phone or through text messages. Avalon has mentioned that they are quite active on social media, and comment on posts.
Avalon yawns as she rests her head on my chest. "We will deal with that tomorrow".
My arms wrap around her waist, and I lower my chin on her head. Avalon's eyes flutter closed, and I listen to her breathing. She is asleep once her breathing becomes softer and even. The sound relaxes me, and I find myself drifting to sleep. My sleep is peaceful and dreamless. I do not know for how long I have slept. All I know is that I suddenly wake up. The soothing weight of Avalon's body leaves mine. I hear footsteps rushing, and then a loud splash. My eyes open and quickly adjust to the dark room. Our bedroom in the cave has no natural lighting. However, there are dim lights that are activated by sensors.
When I get out of bed I notice the lights are on. I follow Avalon's scent, which leads me to the large pool. While it may appear to be a modern pool the water comes from the mountains natural hot spring. These caves were remodeled with care when my brothers and I were hatchlings. Apparently, father convinced the elders it was not to modernize. During the same year the den also began renovations.
I stop walking once I am at the edge of the pool. My eyes scan the calm water, waiting for my mate to surface. I do not have to wait long before she comes up from the water. Her naturally wavy ombré blue hair is wet, and sticks to her skin. Beautiful shades of blue scales cover head body in patchwork. The scales shimmer softly due to the light. Avalon hums as she floats on her back, and then rests a hand on her stomach.
"Are you well my treasure?" I ask as I sit down near the edge of the pool. My feet dip into the warm water.
She turns her attention toward me, and gives me a small smile. "Yes I am fine and sorry for waking you. I had a sudden strong need to be in the water," she says.
I raise an eyebrow since this need to be in the water may mean she is with a hatchling. I have always wanted to have a family with my mate. Some individuals may assume otherwise due to my persona. As a clan leader and CEO I tend to put on a colder appearance outside of the den. Of course I would never do that in the presence of my mate. I would not deny Avalon who I am in any environment or situation.
"Do not apologize for waking me up. Are you feeling well otherwise?"
Avalon turns over and swims over to my side with ease. When she reaches me Avalon rests her chin on my lap. My fingers run through her cold wet hair. She leans into my touch and hums softly. We stare into each others eyes and enjoy a pleasant silence.
Suddenly, Avalon's scales begin to glow against my touch. She grips onto my leg, and looks at me. She whimpers softly, and I gently rub her upper back.
"Well it seems like we have our answer," says Avalon.
Before I can question what she means, Avalon swims backwards. When there is enough distance I can see a light golden glow near her stomach. Avalon has a big smile on her face as she looks at her stomach.
"There is probably more than one guppy, but I would like the healers to confirm that," says Avalon.
"How are you able to tell if there are multiple hatchlings?"
My eyes focus on her stomach, and I am somewhat able to detect new life. There is the sound of a faint additional heartbeat. The only reason I can sense the hatchling is because I am the father, and a clan leader. At this early stage I am not able to identify how many hatchlings we are having.
"The glow is slightly brighter and the pain I felt should have been more mild. That could mean multiple guppies or one very powerful child," explains Avalon.
I smile at the thought because either option would make me proud. Well, I will be proud of my children regardless. If father was still alive he would no doubt be bragging about our superior genes to his friends.
"Were you able to sense the hatchlings after I touched you?"
Avalon nods as she swims back to me. "I was able to sense them more after that. Guppies tend to have a strong reaction to their parents".
"The same is for our species, and they have a rather strong attachment when they are hatchlings,: I tell her.
Avalon hums, "Yes, and I will cherish that time with them, because it will become less as they age. I am close to my parents but I became a little distance in my teenage years".
I laugh as I recall my own wild teenage years, and the many arguments that I had with my father. "I can only hope that our children are not as defiant as my brothers and I were during our teenage years".
A playful smirk appears on my mates beautiful face, "They just might inherit that from their father. They do share half of your DNA".
We enjoy spending our remaining time in the mating cave for the remainder of the morning. I hop into the water with Avalon, and we enjoy the warm water. I laugh as Avalon swims circles around me. She clearly enjoys being in her natural element, and I really need to work on upgrading the dens pool. Our children may have a connection to the water thanks to Avalon. Water dragons are a little rare, and our clan only has two. More water loving dragons may come from our children, and Neri and Roark's children as well.
After our swim Avalon and I take a shower and dry off. When we are sure that her heat does not linger we get dressed. Avalon decided to wear lighter clothes, a blue sundress with white daisies, and white converse. While, I get dressed in a navy t-shirt, black jeans and black converse. Our food supply has run out since today is the last day of heat, and we would have had to return to the den. It seems that Avalon has rather long heats, because she said her heat always lasts seven days. It is moments like these that i thank the Gods for being born a male. However, I am thankful to Avalon for having the ability to bring life into the world, especially a life that we have created together.
"How are you feeling now that your heat is over?" I ask Avalon as we walk out of the cave.
Avalon hums as she holds my hand as we walk down the carefully carved stone steps. "I feel more like myself again. I have not always been a fan of my heats, because I feel like a total siren," she says.
I cannot help but suppress the chuckle that escapes my lips at the thought of Avalon being a siren. There is no doubt that she acted rather wild, and lustful during her heat. However, I do classify that as her own actions, but rather her bodies. She was acting based off her instincts, and what her body goes through during heat. Also, I have learned that the term siren can be a rather poor term to the merpeople. Avalon has told me that this has a negative impact on actual sirens. She says there are decent sirens that do not wish to act, and live off their natural being. This makes it rather difficult for them to seek employment in mer cities with different career choices. This was rather unfortunate to learn given the times that we live in now. I can only hope that with time, and individuals with proper intentions in power change things.
"I am excited to be heading home now, and I would like to see the healers before seeing anyon else, "says Avalon.
"Would you be excited if it turns out we are expecting more than one hatchling?" I ask as I carefully lead us down the steps.
Avalon nods her head,"I would be and it is quite common with merpeople to have twins or triplets. My parents did not have multiples, but my two older brothers are born about a year apart".
I nod my head as I process this because this is no longer common among dragons. Twins, and tripplets are considered a gift from the Gods. If we are having twins I would thank it to Avalon's fertile mermaid genes, as well as a blessing.
"I am happy with however many child we are blessed with," I say.
Our clan may not be as religious as oher clans, but we follow the old religion. We continue to participate in prayer and hold festivals. As clan leader it is my role to lead prayers and festivals. Avalon also has an important role as female leader. She is to remain at my side, and oversee her duties. I am looking forward to the upcoming festival before the Council.
"Do you think it is cliche that I got pregnant during my heat?" Avalon questions as we step down a narrow set of stairs.
"I suppose so but your people have a higher chance to reproduce during heat," I say.
"Yes that is true," she says quietly.
The walk back to the den does not take long. When we reach the garden we are greeted by several clan members. Once we are inside we are created by cool air conditioning. Since the weather is sunny and warm the living room is empty. We walk past the living room, and then the large staircase. At the end of the hallway we turn left, and enter the medical wing. Ou clan has a rather large medical wing.
"Good afternoon Master Vulcan and Misters Avalon," greets Hera.
"Good afternoon Elder Hera," I greet the elder healer.
Elder Hera is a beautiful woman that appears to be sixty. I do not know her actual age. However, I know that she has been a clan member since my grandfathers time, She smiles at me as her silver hair sways.
"Good afternoon Elder Hera, we hope that you could help us today," says Avalon.
Elder Hera claps, and then gestures us to follow her. "Of course! Is this to check over your hatchling?"
"Yes, Avalon would like to see if you could determine if we are having multiple hatchlings," I say.
Elder Hera bums as she instructs Avalon to sit on the medical table. "Well it is clear to my eyes that Mistress Avalon is pregnant. We can see about multiple hatchlings," she says.
A smile appears on my face as I look at my Avalon. She returns my smile as she holds onto my hand. Elder Hera spreads a liquid onto Avalon's stomach. Then, lays a gold crystal in the center of Avalon's stomach. Elder Hera places her hands on both sides of the stone. Her blue eyes begin to glow as she channels her magic. The stone begins to glow as the magic in the room intensifies. Avalon whispers softly, and leans her side into my touch. I lean down and place a kiss on her forehead. There is not much more I can do while Elder Hera checks over Avalon. Several minutes pass before the glow disappears.
"Congratulations Master Vulcan and Mistress Avalon, you are expecting twins," says Elder Hera.