by HopefulMonster » Sat May 16, 2020 3:31:07 pm
Shadra - Azulon x Venom
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Azulon huffed, squiggling back and forth impatiently. Worry furrowed the Teacup's brow. He had dug up and reburied the box at least 20 minutes ago, but still there was no sign of Crowley. He was beginning to think the tatter winged wyrm wasn't going to show up, when the smooth voice spoke behind him and he jumped.
"Well hello, wee man. Long time no see. How'd things work out with your lady friend? Nest filled with the squiggle squiggle of your darling little babe, I take it?"
Shaking off the startled feel, Azulon whirled around, confusion and anger in his face. Despite his uneasiness around the much larger wyrm, he tried to put on a brave face.
"Crowley! I've been waiting here forever! Something went wrong, and I don't know how to....I mean....YOU have to fix it!"
The Mini arched a swirled brow and smirked. "Oh? Is that a fact? Exactly *what*, prey tell, do I need to fix? I held up MY end of our agreement. You and your venomous mate hatched an egg, didn't you?"
He began to slither, leisurely coiling his body around the Teacup and staring down at him. His eyes seemed to gleam with an inner fire. Azulon shuddered and shook his head furiously.
"NO! I mean....well, YES, we did hatch an egg. But it's all gone wrong!! The child is...that is to say....they're just....all wrong. He gulped, summoning his courage, and continued.
"The egg was huge, and Venom had a really difficult time. She was exhausted afterwards, so I took care of the egg while she recovered. When she was rested, we took turns keeping the egg warm. And it hatched! We were so happy. But then..." here the little blue wyrm shuddered before continuing. "Then, when the baby came out of the egg, we could tell right away something was wrong. They were huge! And had too many eyes. And huge fangs, and this massive.....neck, flap.....thing. Like a cobra's hood! But the worst part was they......they echoed. When our baby speaks, its like there are multiple voices speaking at the same time! It's really creepy!! And they won't eat gems, they keep hunting small animals around the den! The first time, it was awful! They....they LUNGED at a field mouse, bit it, and the poor thing started to foam at the mouth. It died in front of us, like it was poisoned! Thats not a Gem Hunter trait! What IS this thing??!"
The distraught Gem Hunter slumped, feeling exhausted and utterly confused. Crowley smiled, though to Azulon it felt more like a predatory baring of teeth than a friendly smile.
"But you got exactly what you asked for," the larger wyrm purred. "You and your lovely mate.....Venom, wasn't it? You got the child you deserved. A lovely blue child, or rather, children, who take after their mother in a rather....literal...way. "
"Children?! What do you mean.....we only hatched ONE egg!?" Azulon spluttered.
"Well yesssss, but you both TRIED to hatch so very many eggs, now didn't you? Four years, according to your beloved mate. So many tries, so many spirits sparked into existence, only to be snuffed before they ever got to experience the world. A tragedy, really. Couldn't be left to stand. So, *I* fixed the problem! Of course, there was only the one feather, so that meant only one physical body to speak of. Still, I feel I did a rather bang up job, limitations considered...." Crowley preened, looking pleased with himself, while realization dawned on Azulon's horrified face.
"W...Wait.....you mean.....all...all the times Venom and I tried to have children...."
"Each and every time sparked the summoning of a young nature spirit, yes indeedy! All those wee souls, crying out for a chance to live...and now they can!" The toothy Mini smiled wide at the little Teacup, flashing bright, gleaming white teeth. With a fluid shrug, he continued. "Of course, it'll be a bit...crowded, in there, but well, can't have everything, right? I'm sure your precious, venomous bouncing baby will manage to figure out how to take turns at the wheel, so to speak. I mean, sure, there's a chance they'll just go mad, but what are the chances of that with such LOVING and devoted parents? Just.....watch out for the Terrible Twos.....that offspring of yours is packing some fairly potent toxin. Wouldn't want them to have a tantrum and bite mummy or daddy, now would we?"
With a harsh laugh, the Mini spread his huge, torn wings and flew off into the night sky, with a haphazard "Congratulations...Daddy!" tossed over a wing.
In moments, his dark fur blended into the night and he was gone.
Azulon shivered, realizing that he had left Venom home alone with their very, very dangerous new child. His face paled to light blue, and he turned and began to squiggle home as fast as he could, heart pounding in his chest. That hungry gleam in their baby's many eyes when it struck the mouse made him wonder what *else* their child would consider food.....