mother of stars, mother of dragons

babies are welcome <3

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If four had been tiring, six were exhausting—but the matriarch managed, and managed well, thanks to the added eye of her mirror image; they were growing, not quite so small as they had been the first day she had laid her eyes upon them and brought them to this world. As ones paws kneaded against her belly—Draco, she observed, the hungriest of them next to Nysa—Hydra looked to the others, some having just finished a meal of their own and falling asleep from the exhaustion of that task.

What she would not do for these children. They did not know it yet, but her love for them was as fierce as it was endless. Irritated with them though she may be for keeping her stationary for long periods of time, that feeling was revealed in that she did. True, she had Alya to assist as a wet nurse when she did need to stretch her legs... but still, Hydra could not range or hunt with the pack. She accepted all morsels brought, happily so, to keep the young beasts fed.

Hydra wanted for nothing, and neither would these babes. She moved to begin to groom one, trying to think of the time that had passed since the day they had come and now. They could not do very much yet, but the truth of it was that Hydra did not mind that. She and Dirge both would have their paws full once they were mobile, so she was content during these days and had learned to embrace them. A gentle pattering sounded outside, and Hydra knew it was the rain she had scented but hours before having arrived. It would not get into the den, which Hydra had situated so that the elements would be no bother to them at all. She withdrew from her task to consider her handiwork, and satisfied, moved onto the next cub—her darker daughter.

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Skippable

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 The eagle had not actually seen the brood. He had heard them, and it seemed their arrival had excited everyone on the mountain. The predator had not seen any of the little animals at the mouth of the den, and so the queen had not needed to worry about him swiping one.
 Instead, the raptor had busied himself with picking away small birds and rodents, carrying many of his catches back to her site and dumping them toward its entrance. At least one member of her pack had done an okay job with clearing out the small bones and bits of fur that had littered the exterior, even though the eagle kept sending more packages.
 That day, it rained, but it did not stop the bird from flying down to pick at old carrion. Whatever it was before — perhaps a goat? — there was little left of it apart from tendon and cartilage. The ravens had already fussed over it. The eagle pulled bits from it, vaguely eyeballing the hole where the queen stayed.

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Born into the world, it was rather cold at times. Unknowing the season was shifting, and being higher up in the mountains, a chill would come through. Yet when it happened she would find herself snugged into another, mouth pressed upon the suckling of a delectable - and then simply falling asleep next to the other warm bundles. Whenever she would find herself though too hot, Ara often cried out, and tried to move away. Likewise, when too cold, she would cry even louder and find the source of warmth to go for.

Generally, she cried for everything.

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Smaller than most of his siblings the young boy hungered deeply. It was not always a struggle to find his way to the source of nourishment, but traversing over the larger bodies made it no easy task. However, it left little other discomforts at their current stage. He could easily burrow beneath his siblings for warmth in the chill of the night and he lounged along cool stone during the day at his mother's feet, sleeping away hours of his life. Compared to his siblings, he was actually rather silent, only crying for his deepest needs or if he had lost his way from the pressing bodies.

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Much like his brother, Scorpius was a peaceable child - crying only when he felt slighted by some kick of another, or when he sought for nourishment but found no place to latch and suckle as every newborn desired, and needed, to do - unfairly displaced, that is, by his other siblings. But today was a good day. Today he slept within the pile of his siblings with a full belly, having crawled his way into the warmest space between their huddled bodies to promptly drift into slumber. He was yet unaware of the dangers beyond him. Those would be cares for an aged mind. For now he was content in the ignorance that childhood provided, having known nothing beyond this, and not quite having the reason to know anything else.
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We can fade this here if y'all prefer <3

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She watched the darkest one shift, still for a moment while she did. Ara was quite fussy, and at this age there was no demands Hydra could make that the young one would comprehend. It was up to Hydra to discern the need, and by now the matriarch was learning what each pitch and whimper meant. The language between mother and cub was an intimate one, that would remain even once they were grown. When her daughter did not fuss, she moved toward Raiden to begin to groom him. He did not cry, but Hydra still ensured that all of his needs were satisfied; should he need to release his bladder, she would be prompt in the cleaning of it.

Her larger son, Scorpius, was next to be groomed. He slept, as most of them did, while she worked, but if he too needed to release his bladder she would ensure that he did. The rain continued to fall, and Hydra thought she heard movement; a flick of her ear told her it was no wolf, but another frequent visitor she permitted who brought her food as the rest of the pack did. No doubt he had come to figure out that her brood was healthy to the point of not needing sacrifice, but had she seen anything amiss the first day Hydra would have provided him that in knowing they would not live long in any case.

But as she groomed her young, she observed each perfect little paw, each properly formed limb, and knew that Empyrean's first brood were fit and healthy. Their sizes varied, but none small enough to warrant concern. Even the smallest of them fought for their place at mealtime, and she knew each of these little beasts were survivors. Useless things now, but having raised more than one litter she imagined what might be in store for this one—what sort of beings they would grow into.

Strong ones, she predicted, and as she had much to do with it the matriarch had long since decided to see it through, as she had for all her cubs.

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