Chapter 28: The New Mother's Breakdown
During the first week of raising the three hatchlings, Livia deeply understood why the Dragon Mother had been so aloof back then.
Day One.
Early in the morning, she was awakened by Kalendil's fire-breathing sounds.
"Mother! Look!"
Kalendil stood in the center of the cave, head held high, opening his mouth to let out a pillar of fire. The fire shot straight up to the cave ceiling, bursting into a shower of sparks against the rock wall. The sparks rained down and ignited Valerion's tail.
Valerion was sleeping soundly, completely unaware that his tail was on fire.
Livia rushed over, extinguished the fire on his tail with one swipe of her claw, and turned to look at Kalendil.
Kalendil's eyes were bright: "Mother, did I breathe farther than yesterday? Farther than Aetheriel?"
Livia took a deep breath: "... Farther."
Kalendil's tail perked up, and he breathed out another burst of fire.
This time, he set the bat nest on the ceiling alight.
At noon, Valerion was hungry.
It wasn't ordinary hunger; it was the kind of hunger that could devour an entire mountain. Livia had just hunted a Rock Sheep from outside and tossed it to him. He swallowed it in two or three gulps, then looked up at her, his gaze clear: "Hungry."
Livia stared at his perfectly round belly for three seconds.
That Rock Sheep was bigger than his head. How did he swallow it?
She went out and hunted another one.
He swallowed it.
She hunted a third one.
He swallowed it.
By the time she hunted the fifth one, she was panting exhaustedly at the cave entrance. Valerion crawled over, licked her claw, and his gaze became even clearer: "Hungry."
Livia: "... Aren't you full?"
Valerion looked down at his own belly—it was still just as round, showing no change. He looked up: "Not full."
Livia was silent for three seconds.
Then she got up and continued hunting.
In the evening, something happened to Aetheriel.
He was crouched in a corner, his left eye sparking with fire and his right eye flickering with an electric arc, staring blankly at the cave wall. Livia walked over, intending to ask what he was doing, and just opened her mouth—
Aetheriel discharged electricity.
It wasn't intentional; it was an uncontrollable leak. An arc of electricity shot out from his body, hitting his own leg. It jolted him, causing him to tremble all over, and then he flopped onto the ground with a'snap'.
Livia rushed over quickly: "What's wrong?"
Aetheriel scrambled up, turned to look at her with innocent eyes: "I zapped myself."
Livia: "... Does it hurt?"
Aetheriel thought for a moment: "A little tingly."
Then he stood up and resumed staring blankly at the cave wall.
Three seconds later, he discharged electricity again.
This time, it hit his tail, and a puff of smoke rose from the tip.
He turned to look at Livia again, his eyes even more innocent.
Livia: "... Can you please stop discharging electricity?"
Aetheriel: "I didn't mean to. It just came out on its own."
Livia stared at the spark in his left eye and the arc in his right eye for a long time.
Then she turned around and went to settle accounts with Kalendil.
Day Two.
Kalendil started competing.
"Mother, did Aetheriel breathe fire today?"
"No."
"Then I'll show him!"
He opened his mouth and breathed a plume of fire, which ignited Valerion's tail—Valerion was sleeping again, and his tail caught fire once more.
Livia rushed over to put out the fire and turned to look at Kalendil.
Kalendil's eyes were bright: "Mother, did he see it?"
Livia: "... He was sleeping."
"Then I'll wait until he wakes up and do it again!"
At noon, Valerion was hungry again.
This time, Livia was smarter. She hunted ten Rock Sheep at once and piled them at the cave entrance. She lay there watching Valerion swallow them one by one. After swallowing the eighth one, he finally let out a hiccup.
As he hiccupped, a ball of fire shot out of his mouth—he had swallowed Kalendil's flame too.
Livia stared at the ball of fire, then at Valerion as he nonchalantly continued swallowing the ninth sheep, and remained silent for a long time.
In the evening, Aetheriel discharged electricity again.
This time, he sat next to Valerion, trying to warm his little brother up—it was a bit chilly deep in the cave. He couldn't control the charge and released a direct arc of electricity, making Valerion jump.
Valerion turned to look at him, half a Rock Sheep still dangling from his mouth: "What?"
Aetheriel: "Warming you up."
Valerion looked down at the small patch of scorched scales on himself: "Oh."
Then he kept eating.
Livia lay far away, watching the scene, with only one thought in her mind:
These three brats all have problems with their brains.
Night of Day Three.
She lay in the center of the nest and could finally rest.
The three hatchlings were lined up beside her, taking turns snoring.
Kalendil's snores came with little flames. Every time he snored, a small puff of fire shot out of his nostrils, heating the rock in front of him until it glowed red. The flames flickered, like a breathing light.
Valerion's snores sounded like thunder. That deep, rumbling sound resonated from his chest, shaking the ground. Every time he snored, dust rained down from the ceiling.
Aetheriel's snores were mixed with the sound of electricity. Not just any static, but the buzzing hum of high-voltage wires, occasionally punctuated by a crackle or two. As he slept, a blue light would suddenly flash across his body, illuminating the entire cave.
The three sounds intertwined, so loud that even the Lava Lake trembled.
Fish on the lake surface floated belly-up, sank, then floated up again—they had been stunned by the vibrations.
Livia lay there, eyes open, staring at the ceiling.
She suddenly thought of the Dragon Mother.
She remembered how, whenever she sought affection from the Dragon Mother as a child, the Dragon Mother would coldly push her away: "Go play by yourself."
At the time, she felt the Dragon Mother didn't love her.
Now, she understood.
It wasn't a lack of love.
It was just an intense desire to kick them out so they could be independent.
Day Four.
Kalendil started challenging authority.
"Mother, can I breathe fire farther than you?"
Livia glanced at him: "No."
"Why not?"
"You are too small."
"So, I can when I grow up?"
"... Yes."
Kalendil's eyes lit up, and he turned to blast the cave wall with fire. He kept going for fifteen minutes until he collapsed from exhaustion, then turned to look at her: "Mother, am I grown up now?"
Livia: "... No."
Kalendil was stunned: "Then how do I grow up?"
"Eat more."
Kalendil turned to look at Valerion—who was currently eating his eleventh Rock Sheep.
He was silent for three seconds.
Then he got up, walked over, and snatched half of Valerion's sheep.
Valerion looked up at him, his eyes confused: "Don't you not eat sheep?"
Kalendil: "I eat them now."
Valerion: "Why?"
Kalendil: "To grow up."
Valerion thought for a moment, then lowered his head and continued eating the remaining half.
Day Five.
Aetheriel invented a new skill.
He was crouched in the corner, his left eye sparking fire and his right eye arcing electricity, staring intently at the tip of his own tail. Fire and lightning simultaneously erupted from the tail tip, the two energies intertwining to create small sparks.
He turned to look at Livia, his gaze clear: "Mother, look."
Livia glanced over: "Mm."
"Is it pretty?"
"... Yes, it's pretty."
Aetheriel smiled, and the tip of his tail sparked even more wildly.
It sparked for three seconds, then suddenly there was a 'bang'—the tip of his tail was scorched bald.
He looked down at the section of his now-bald tail, then looked up at Livia, his innocent expression seeming to ask, "Am I amazing?"
Livia stared at the bald section of the tail for a long time.
Then she said: "... It will grow back."
Aetheriel nodded and continued playing.
Day Six.
Valerion swallowed something he shouldn't have.
A stone. It was the size of a fist, hard, and he had pried it off the cave wall. Livia didn't see him swallow it, and by the time she noticed, the stone was already in his stomach.
He lay there, a lump protruding from his belly, his gaze lost: "Mother, my stomach hurts."
Livia rushed over and pressed the lump.
It was hard.
She was silent for three seconds.
Then she flipped Valerion over and began performing the Heimlich maneuver.
The method for rescuing a dragon was different from that of a human. She placed both claws on his belly and pushed upward forcefully. After three thrusts—
"Pfft."
The stone shot out.
It slammed into the cave wall, embedding itself three inches deep.
Valerion lay there panting, looked up at her with clear eyes: "Mother, what were you doing just now?"
Livia: "... Saving you."
"Oh."
He got up, walked to the stone, looked down at it, "Can I still eat it?"
Livia: "No."
Valerion looked disappointed and walked back to lie down.
Three seconds later, he pried off another piece of rock.
Day Seven.
Livia lay in the center of the nest, summarizing the results of the week:
Kalendil had burned the ceiling seven times with his fire breath, burned down the bat nest twice, and scorched Valerion's tail once.
Valerion had swallowed thirty-seven Rock Sheep, five stones, and one of his own baby teeth—he swallowed the tooth when it broke off, and Livia found it in his droppings the next day.
Aetheriel had zapped himself forty-three times, scorched his tail bald once, and shocked Valerion three times—two of those times were intentional, he admitted it himself.
She lay there, staring at the three sleeping hatchlings.
Kalendil's snores came with flames, Valerion's snores sounded like thunder, and Aetheriel's snores were laced with the sound of electricity.
The three sounds intertwined, shaking the entire cave.
She suddenly stood up.
The three hatchlings woke up simultaneously and looked up at her.
Kalendil: "Mother?"
Valerion: "Hungry?"
Aetheriel: "What's wrong?"
Livia stared at them for three seconds.
Then she lay back down: "Nothing. Go back to sleep."
The three hatchlings exchanged a look, lay back down, and continued sleeping.
Livia stared at the ceiling, at the scorch marks left by fire, at the cracks left by electrical discharges.
She suddenly understood the Dragon Mother.
That feeling of wanting only to kick them out so they could be independent.