* Hurry, Guardian. The egg moves� * Kashi�s voice trailed off, filled with wonder and anticipation. The egg, moving? It dawned suddenly to her that the egg was hatching, and without regard for anything but speed, she bolted from the cottage, letting the door slam against the outside wall. It was night outside, as any other, and Insei hurried through the moonlight to where the nest resided. In the time that she had lived here, she had grown accustomed to the perpetual moonlight, and had even grown to love it.
She found Ihen and Kashi both kneeling next to the blue egg, watching it as it rocked slightly inside its nest. Soon a cracking sound could be heard as the egg quivered more violently. Insei went to Ihen�s side, and watched with them as the egg began to break.
A thin, but visible crack appeared at the top of the egg, and slowly made its way to the bottom of the egg. More cracks and splits branched off from the main one, sectioning the egg of into large fragments. Then a tearing sound emanated from the egg as a small snout began to push upon the egg. Insei gasped with wonder as a small snout made its way through the thick layer of shell. Kashi immediately leapt to the wyrm�s aid, pulling the remains of the egg away from its small body. Insei and Ihen finished the job, picking the shell�s shards and moving it out of the dragons� way.
Inside the nest a small wyrm lay, looking up at the three of them with soft, black eyes, blinking in the moonlight. The soft light of the moon reflected on the still wet scales, adding a shimmer to the newborn. The wyrm�s eyes quickly found those of his father, Kashi, whose responded with a warm light. The wyrm snaked his way across the nest, and came to where his father stood. He crooned before wrapping himself about Kashi�s leg, where he crooned once again. Kashi stroked his son, happy that now he had someone in the world who would call him �Father�.
* He needs a name * Kashi curled around his son, who with sleepy eyes, began to lapse into sleep. The wyrm�s two guardians looked to each other, eyes questioning.
�First, let�s see what his coloration is,� Ihen said as he pulled out the thin book of the Forest�s Dragons, turning to a well-marked page. Kashi�s picture was there, next to a brief description of the Bishen�s history. He scanned through the chapter; eventually he stopped on the page titled �Varieties�.
�Well, the little one is blue, although he is pale compared to others,� Ihen said, glancing at the small wyrm.
Insei looked upward, searching her memory for names. �I�m just going to run some names by you two, stop me if you like any of them.� The other guardian and dragon nodded, while Insei looked upwards again.
�Aoi� Nama� Rach� Idaten�� Insei was trying to think of names that meant pale, or blue, anything that might match the little wyrm. But, so far, none of them seemed to match the wyrm curled around his father�s leg. So, she thought of other names, ones that would suit the wyrm himself. One instantly came to her mind, and she said it aloud. �Toshida.�
The little wyrm�s head picked up, and he crooned at the sound of the name. He seemed to smile, his deep eyes lighting up.
* So, let it be. My son�s name shall be Toshida. *
***
�Anything new?�
�Besides Toshida�s hatching, nothing.� Desiree flipped through papers on her desk. Insei sat in a small, but comfy chair on the other side of the small desk. Insei was visiting Desiree, as she did once every week, to keep Desiree updated. It helped the busy Desiree, who was in charge of safeguarding all creatures living in the Forest, all one hundred and twelve of them. Insei did not envy her position. She had enough taking care of just one.
�A letter did come for you, though,� Desiree continued, still rifling through her papers. �If I can just find it�� She continued to mutter while Insei silently sipped her tea. Eventually Desiree found what she was looking for, a small white envelope. She handed it to Insei, who in turn put it into the side pocket of her long coat. Insei stood, setting her teacup aside, and prepared to take her leave.
�Before you go, one more thing.� Desiree opened a small cupboard to the left of her desk, taking a small object out, wrapped in silver cloth. �A gift from the Forest, to the wyrm Toshida. A hatching present.� She put it into Insei�s hands, who was surprised at the object�s weight. Although it was very small, it was weighed heavy in her hand. She put that in her pocket to, and bade Desiree goodbye.
Outside the sun was bright, shining brightly in the noon hour. She blinked, adjusting her eyes to the bright light of the sun. Living in moonlight left her eyes weak to the bright light, but lasted only temporarily, so she didn�t mind. She passed through the Forest�s Clearing, waving a friendly hello to the Clearing�s guardian, Keibi. He had visited the young wyrm the day before and Toshida had had fun stealthily chasing the small dragon about. For such a young wyrm, he moved surprisingly swift and silent.
She followed the small trail that led to her home, thinking about the letter sitting in her pocket. Who would write her? All ties to her previous life had been destroyed, utterly and forever broken off. She pushed the dark thoughts away, and let the tranquil sounds of the forest wash away her anxieties. Forgetting the letter, she entered her home, lovingly nicknamed the Realm of Moonlight. A dark sky filled with stars replaced the blue, the bright moon replacing the sun, and the final touch a sea of moonlight that flooded the area, giving everything a glow created by the moon.
She found Ihen and Toshida at the edge of the large lake, Ihen laying on his side and looking into the water. Toshida was perched upon his head, looking into the silvery water from above. Both were locked in concentration, not noticing as Insei walked up to the both of them, and sat down next to them.
�Uh� Ihen?� Ihen looked up startled, noticing her presence.
�Ah, hello Insei! Toshida and I are trying to catch a fish,� Ihen said with a smile, with Toshida nodding his small head.
�Neither of you are going to catch a fish just by staring at them,� Insei replied, standing up. She walked to their cottage, looking over her shoulder. �Where is Kashi, by the way?�
�Kashi said he had to go get something from his own home, he should be back soon,� Ihen replied, looking back into the water. Toshida had climbed down from Ihen�s head, and was hanging over the water�s edge. Below him was a shallow area, and the small wyrm slipped silently into the water. He kept his head above water, testing the shallow depth.
�Hey, look, Toshida�s swimming,� Ihen said excitedly when Insei returned with a large net. Insei smiled as the small wyrm slowly navigated the shallow area, but was careful not to go into the deeper waters. It would be a while before he would be able to swim the deeper depths. Insei brought the net right above the water, and stood ready to capture a fish.
�See any?� She asked Toshida, who pointed with his snout to an area not far from him. Insei looked, and saw a small school of fish, moonlight reflecting off their scales. She quickly dipped the net into the lake, and drew it quickly through the cold water. With a large torrent of water, she brought the net into the air, a large fish quivering in the net�s grasp. She held the net tight until the fish began to still. Toshida chirped, and slithered out of the lake�s waters. He came and sniffed the fish, and gave a draconic smile, his deep eyes shining.
�I caught it, you cook it,� she said as she handed the fish to Ihen. He grimaced, but took the fish.
�I get the fun part,� Ihen said cheerfully, as he headed to the small ring of stones that they used for fires. Insei built a small fire as Ihen began to prepare the fish, letting the small fire light the area. They tended not to make fires, rather wanting the moonlight to light the clearing, but it was needed now.
A noise behind Insei drew her attention away from the fire, looking for the source. Toshida crooned as Insei realized that the noise was Kashi, dragging behind him a small basket. He brought the basket to the fire�s edge, settling it next to Toshida.
* I brought some things for you, Toshida. * Kashi smiled upon his son, who slithered into the basket and began to inspect the objects within. * Most of them are my old toys, which I think you would benefit more from than me. * Toshida had found a wrapped object within the basket, and was currently pulling on the silver cloth, trying to free it. Insei helped the little one, revealing the object to the little one�s eyes.
A small crystal, shaped like a shining star, emanated a pale blue light. The light reflected in Toshida�s eyes and the small wyrm crooned in delight. He curled around it, letting the light pour around him.
* Glad you like it, * Kashi began, a large smile upon his draconic features. His chest puffed out in pride. * I made it myself. And it floats, so you can play with it in the water. * The wyrm crooned again.
Insei snapped her fingers, remember the small object that Desiree had given to her. She took it out of her pocket, and took the black cloth from it. In her hands was a small orb, in a myriad of colors, and she looked closely, wondering what the picture in the orb represented. It took her a while for her eyes to pick it out, but she soon realized that the orb was a tiny representation of their home. She settled it in the basket next to Toshida, who crooned with delight once again.
�The orb is from Desiree, a gift from the Forest,� Insei said, as she watched the happy wyrm begin to play with his newfound belongings. Ihen had finished preparing the fish, and now began to cook it, letting its tantalizing smell whisper through the air.
***
Insei cradled the small envelope in her callused hands, letting her eyes flit across the unsealed letter. Her head rested upon Ihen�s shoulder, with his arm wrapped around her own shoulders. He had been equally mystified about the letter, just as clue less as she was. Kashi slept at the opposite end of the cottage with Toshida wrapped about his neck, who slept peacefully.
Insei sighed, and turned the envelope over in her hands. Her fingers slid the envelope open, and looked within. Surprisingly, there was no letter, not even one scrap of paper. But something at the bottom of the thin envelope shimmered, and she dumped it out onto her hand. A thin gold bracelet looked back up at her, catching the light of the moon as it poured through the window above them. It was old, and well worn, and it was obvious that it had seen better days. She pushed it around her hand, listening to it clink softly, when she realized what it was.
It was the bracelet she had given to Misora as a friendship gift, when they were both but the age of ten. Misora had immediately put it on, and had never taken it off in their long years of friendship. It fell through Insei�s now deadened hands, dropping to the floor in a soft clink of metal, the moonlight pooling about it.
�What�s wrong,� Ihen asked, looking into Insei�s eyes. Tears began to form as Insei remembered Misora at the Tower, the look in her cold eyes. Ihen pulled her into his embrace, giving her the solace that she needed.
Insei noticed a tug at her boot, and looked down through her tears to find Toshida looking up with worried eyes. Insei smiled as the wyrm slowly made its way slithering up her arm, finally stopping on her shoulder. He crooned gently, and curled around Insei�s neck, the little creature trying to give solace to the crying Insei.
Our bishel dragon has come from Bishen Realm, no stealy!
Images for this dragon home were made by me,
do not use unless you ask.
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