[Jaykobell]

Everyone had been congratulating her, giving her pats on the back and telling her how happy they were for her. They were telling her how beautiful they would, how they would be terrific, being her babies. Everyone was asking when they were due, when they could expect the eggs to be here. Everyone was saying how excited they were to welcome the new hatchlings, considering how skilled and powerful their mother was.

Despite all the feelings and the fake, forced smiles she'd returned, the Voidbringer thought only the opposite.



The Voidbringer sighed as she finally reached her solitary den, the emptiness and quietness of it all being very welcomed after her long, hard day. Stomach heavy with those eggs, the white female sat down in the middle of her home, huffing slightly and being thankful that she was finally back home. Walking around with the sore legs and back, together with the extra weight in her belly, was a lot harder than one would think. The Voidbringer found herself frowning and grimacing as the eggs inside gave her some cramps, and rubbing the bulging stomach did very little to help her.

The whole situation did very little help her. If she had to be honest, the Voidbringer would admit that she absolutely no interest in the little ones growing inside of her. They were unwanted: they were accidents. The eggs should've never been made, and she had been the fool for having let such a thing happen. She was a strong, independent female who could certainly take care of herself. Still, there were times when she was weaker, tired, exhausted, and just wishing for a break. It was impossible for a Paragon to be constantly on the look-out, and it was precisely because of that that the Voidbringer was now pregnant with eggs that never should've happened.

How was she going to fix this?

[Jaykobell]

The idea was to get some sleep before the next day. There would be yet more Paragon who would wish her the best, wish her happy and healthy hatchlings, and who would ask her what she would name them, and so forth.

Fortunately, the one important question hadn't been asked yet. The one question the Voidbringer wanted to avoid, and so far, no one had been curious enough to ask it. And that was quite fine by the new mother.

Sighing, the Voidbringer was steeling herself to get back on all fours in order to make the final stretch to her nest. She was about to do just that when she was interrupted again, so soon after just coming back to her silent, lonely den.

"Agrona!"

The voice was but too familiar to the Voidbringer, and the white female knew exactly who had called out her name. Grumbling loudly, Agrona looked over her shoulder slightly. "What?"



The rusty Voidbringer had the biggest grin on her face, eyes sparkling with pride and excitement... just like all those other annoying Paragon. "Oh, I'm so happy for you!" the rusty-red female squeaked happily as she skipped over to the white Voidbringer, actually bumping her head against Agrona's shoulder and rubbing against her. "I'm going to be an aunt, too!"

Agrona gave the most disgusted grimace she could muster as the Voidbringer — Teofila, her older sister — rubbed against her. Not only was the physical contact just unsettling, but here was yet another Paragon who had nothing better to say other than "congratulations on getting knocked up." She had been so close to just laying in her nest and sleeping all of this off; sadly, it seemed like sleep would have to wait.

[Jaykobell]

Gently, but still abruptly, Agrona pushed Teofila away from her. "Sure, I'm happy for me too," the white Voidbringer replied quickly, the reply meaning absolutely nothing despite her words, said in the fastest, most emotionless way possible. "And I'm happy for your new aunt status too," the Voidbringer added, trying to cover as much ground as possible. "But right now—"

But the mother didn't get around to finishing her sentence before the other Voidbringer retaliated with more physical touchy-feely hugs. "I bet it's just the hormones making you so agitated and upset," Teofila replied as she hugged her little sister as hard as she could, giving the biggest grin of all times. "I'll leave in just a minute... I'm just so glad you actually did find a good male for you."

The rusty Voidbringer knew better than anyone how picky and independent Agrona could be. From the very beginning, the white female had refused to get friendly with any male, instead settling for chasing off and denying any Paragon that so much as tried to talk to her about a relationship. To think that a male had finally caught her eye — or, well, all four eyes of hers — was the greatest thing to hear. "So, who is the lucky one? Why did you never tell me about him?"

Upon being asked the forbidden question, Agrona grimaced even more, this time in complete disgust and shame. Of course, it would be her sister who would ask the one question the Voidbringer absolutely refused to answer. Even though the father would reveal himself on his own in due time, the Voidbringer couldn't bear the thought of others knowing who the father was. Unfortunately for Agrona, the Voidbringer knew Teofila wouldn't just drop the subject, nor could Agrona just walk away. If it had been in the clearing, she could've feigned ignorance or just ignored the question entirely. With Teofila, there was no way Agrona could get out of this conversation.

Her lips curling up into a malicious snarl, the Voidbringer's all four eyes narrowed to slits. "Palmer," the female answered, her mouth tasting like dirt and shame as she uttered the name of her eggs' father.

[Jaykobell]

Initially, Teofila's reaction was just to loosen up the hug a little in order to look at her sister.

Afterwards, the rusty Voidbringer just giggled and laughed at her white sister, whose eyes had turned to glance at the giggling female. "You're just being moody with me," Teofila complained teasingly as she raised eyebrow at the white Voidbringer, certain the mother was just trying to be funny. Even though Agrona's expression wasn't changing, Teofila was certain she was just keeping up with the joke. "Really, tell me. Who's the father?"

But despite the rusty female's reaction and thoughts, Agrona thought quite the opposite. "I just told you, Teofila," Agrona hissed quietly, showing teeth to her sister. "I'm exhausted right now, so please don't make me repeat myself," the Voidbringer threatened, although they were empty threats. The two sisters were on excellent terms, it was just that Agrona wasn't in the mood for this sort of discussion.

When Agrona answered her, Teofila was, admittedly, taken aback by her sister's harsh reply. The rusty Voidbringer let Agrona go completely, just staring at her sister with all four eyes wide open. "You... you're not pulling my leg?" the older sister asked, her face still plastered with utter disbelief. While Agrona refused to answer, her unmoving expression was the only reply Teofila needed to confirm that her sister really wasn't messing with her. "Pal... mer? The Palmer? But I thought you—"

"Hated him?" Agrona finished for her sister, her voice still sharp, but not as harsh as it had been earlier. "You're right, I do hate him. You might even knock that up to me utterly despising him."

[Jaykobell]

The concept of Agrona being pregnant with Palmer's eggs was the equivalent of Teofila bearing Tapio's eggs. Tapio was the resident metallurgist Lavamancer, and he was determined that the rusty Voidbringer still had ties with hers and Agrona's insane mother. As a result, the Lavamancer and the Voidbringer hated each other equally, the chances of them even just being acquaintances was beyond possible.

So hearing such a thing as Agrona bearing Palmer's eggs flew right over Teofila's head. Palmer was arguably the best night hunter the Hive had; a skilled, talented Nago Paragon who displayed legendary skills. A lot of females were love stuck with him, and a lot had already given him eggs. So why did Agrona — and Teofila, for that matter — despise him so much, if everyone else loved him? The problem was the Nago's attitude; being so talented and skilled sprouted an ego boost in the hunter, and Palmer was nothing short of despicable.

When she'd first joined the Hive, Agrona had the displeasure of meeting Palmer. The Nago got interested in the Voidbringer for her hunting skills, which rivaled Palmer's. He was determined that the two would have hatchlings with skills of a legendary level, and that they would shine brighter than everyone else in the whole clan. Unlike all the other females who'd willingly offered themselves to him, Agrona had actually denied the night hunter, popping the Nago's ego bubble with a loud, deafening bang. Ever since then, the Nago had been trying to convince Agrona to mate with him, leaving the Voidbringer to avoid him at all costs.

To Teofila's knowledge, Agrona had been doing good, but it finally clicked in the older sister's mind that Agrona had been acting strange for about a month or so. There came a day where the white Voidbringer had suddenly gotten edgy and moody, and even anxious. Her temper had been cut short, and even Teofila had had her share of arguments with her sister, despite being on such good terms. "What did he do to you?" the rusty Voidbringer whispered sadly, knowing very well what could've happened in order for Agrona to be bearing eggs.

[Jaykobell]

Another question Agrona would rather not answer. Just remembering the night of that traumatic experience was enough to make the Voidbringer feel queasy and disgusting, tainted with shame and dirt. Her face twisted with disgust, and the Voidbringer was trying her best not to let the emotions get to her. She was upset at him, she was upset at herself for letting it happen, and now, most of all, she was upset that hatchlings had to brought into this mess.

"He assaulted me when I came back from the hunt," Agrona started quietly, trying her hardest to keep her voice from breaking in front of someone else. "I was especially tired, both mentally and physically. He grabbed me by surprise..." There she had to pause, her face twisting into something that encompassed too many emotions to list them all. All four eyes also started to water, despite the Voidbringer's efforts to keep them dry. Putting both hands to her face in order to cover her shame, Agrona sighed deeply. "That's all there is to it," she ended quietly and quickly, knowing her voice and facade would both break at any second.

"Why... why didn't you tell me anything?" Teofila could remember Agrona refusing to say what was wrong, constantly saying that everything was fine. The older sister had gotten upset with her younger sister because of it, since it had been clear from the beginning that something was wrong. Now that she had heard the story, Teofila felt bad for ever trying to force her sister to talk about it. Had she gone through the same thing, Teofila would've probably done the same thing and refused to talk about the event.

"What would you have done?" Agrona whispered through her hands, her voice getting dangerously high-pitched. "There... there was nothing to do," she added, letting her hands drop all the way down to her swollen stomach. "Now... now th-they will suffer as well," she finished sadly, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to keep the tears from falling, but in vain. As the darker sister put her hands on Agrona's shoulders to comfort her, the white Paragon's tears fell both down on the ground and on her stomach and hands as she let out a long, shaky sigh.

[Jaykobell]

Seeing her sister agitated was one thing; but seeing the white Voidbringer break under the pressure of her own emotions left Teofila in distress. The rusty Voidbringer was weaker than her younger sister; she was agitated easily, and got upset easily. Agrona, on the other hand, always showed a strong face. Her words were always encouraging, always hopeful, always the right words you were waiting to hear to keep going. It was so rare for Agrona to be the one in distress, in need of advice. When it did happen, Teofila was too inexperienced and ignorant to give her sister any help, which left both sisters helpless.

"It... it might not be that bad," the rusty sister tried to reply, the words coming out of her mouth just as soon as they appeared in her mind. "There's me, and there's Sanjiv and Sequoia who can help with your babies. It won't only be you and Palmer." She knew what Agrona was afraid of: babies born to parents who wanted nothing to do with each other, ultimately putting the hatchlings right in the middle of their feud. Not only that, but Palmer was far from being a role model, and his male hatchlings were notorious for turning into unpleasant Paragon like their father.

"It will be e-every possible shade of 'bad'," Agrona answered with a shaky voice, but the Voidbringer was starting to pull herself back together. "He's not... interested in the fact I'm bearing his eggs. They're his, and already he's not d-doing anything!" She couldn't imagine what kind of miserable life the babies would have. She would be forever reminded that they were his, and she would always fear for them and the disgusting values their father would try to teach them. He would cram his teachings into their heads, try to turn them into gross, disrespectful Paragon who would feel entitled to receive everything they wanted.

When Teofila had nothing to answer, Agrona moved away from her sister's touch to force herself to her nest. While the rusty Paragon tried to grab her sister again, the Voidbringer thought against it. Agrona had mentioned that she was already exhausted, so perhaps this discussion was only going to go around in circles. "I'm tired," Agrona spoke up quietly, her voice muffled by her muzzle being shoved into her nest.

While her mouth was constantly opening and closing, no words were coming out as Teofila wanted. Eventually, the rusty Voidbringer sighed quietly to herself before getting up on all fours. "Just remember that... I'll try to help you, okay?" the older sister said as she slowly started turning around in order to exit the den. "It'll be fine," she added just above a whisper, the words almost only for herself, as a note. The two had to think that way, or else it would really never get any better.

[Jaykobell]

Throughout those painful pregnant months, Agrona was left on her own to deal with the pain and body aches, and all the other miscellaneous side-effects. Regardless of the fact Palmer had fathered the eggs, the Nago was never anywhere to be seen around her. In fact, now that she was pregnant with his eggs, the Nago had seemingly lost all interest in her. Never before had the Voidbringer been left alone so often by the night hunter. To the hormone-saturated, egg-bearing female, that was actually a very insulting thing for Palmer to do, and the hate meter just kept on rising and rising for the Voidbringer.

The birth was Agrona's misery and agony alone, once again with the father missing in action. While the birth had taken a while and the eggs were seemingly not coming out, thanks to Pernelli's help, the Hive's midwife, the new mother delivered her clutch safely. Three beautiful eggs, all healthy with beautiful shining eggshells. Pernelli told the gender of each egg shortly after the birth, and Agrona found her heart sinking when she learned that one of the eggs would be a female. Considering Palmer's attitude, the Voidbringer had very little hope for the girl to stand out in her father's eyes. At the time, though, it was more important to get the new mother back to her den with the eggs safely, in order for her to cover them and keep them warm.

Even with the eggs born, Palmer was nowhere to be seen. It was almost like the Nago had forgotten that the Voidbringer even existed, and as if the eggs weren't actually his. Oh, but the unusual eggshells proved quite the opposite; that blue could only be Palmer's, and the same applied to the dark forest green egg. There was no mistaking that the two boys were his, whereas the female, so far, displayed colors more akin to her mother.

As she spent more time alone in her empty den covering the eggs, Agrona once again fell into a depressing state of mind. She was especially worried about the female that would hatch from the clutch. She knew for a fact that Palmer would make her life miserable, and that she would never be proud to call herself one of his hatchlings. Of course, she was also worried for the boys, but in a different way. Palmer would certainly treasure them and pamper them, but it would come to the price of both boys being raised as disgusting players. They would be raised with their dad's mentality and values, and they would turn out just like him.

But there was hope in the Voidbringer's heart. Perhaps Palmer had really lost interest in her, and that her blood mixing with his had been enough to disgust the father away. After all, Agrona remained one of Jezebel's daughters; a daughter to the previous leader of the Hive, and the one who had gone insane with power. Now, these hatchlings carried that tyrant's blood in their veins, just like their mother. Perhaps Palmer would continue to stay away, and perhaps Agrona would actually have the monopoly on how to raise her hatchlings.

[Jaykobell]

After what felt like the more boring period of time in her whole life, Agrona's eggs eventually cracked. Leaving their shining shells behind, three little hatchlings finally poked their noses out of the shells, squeaking and calling out for their parents. Despite their father, even the Voidbringer had to admit that all three were beautiful, all of them carrying unique colors.

Unfortunately, things started to turn sour right after the eggs had hatched. Since Agrona was determined that Palmer wanted nothing to do with his hatchlings, the Voidbringer had taken it upon herself to pick names for the babies. Sadly, the mother had been wrong: the father did come around to interact with his hatchlings once they were hatched. While he had had no interest in everything prior to their hatching, now that they were sentient and moving, the Nago had finally found interest in them. While it left Agrona feeling bitter, the Voidbringer gave the Nago one last chance to redeem himself. Now that he was actually showing his disgusting mug, Agrona was giving him one more chance to act like a civilized, intelligent Paragon.

Unfortunately for her again, the Nago did quite the opposite of just that, and in more ways than one.

It was one of those days. Agrona had stayed in her den, tired from raising the hatchlings, while the babies were enjoying themselves. She left them to play on their own, to interact with each other, and to become good friends. As long as she could hear the little squeaks and cries of the three babies, the Voidbringer was happy, and she could sleep with one pair of eyes open. They were always a handful, but for now, they were happy with just playing together instead of trying to force their mother to play. All things considered, the mother liked it better this way.

[Jaykobell]

Beyond their completely different designs and colors, all three hatchlings had completely different personalities. Even now, Agrona was still discovering exactly what kind of personality the three babies had, but they were already unique in their own way.

Even with her eyes closed and her mind wandering, the Voidbringer could still recognize one squeaky voice from another, and she could imagine exactly what kind of game they were playing.

"Come on! I'll try to catch you!"



The little green one was Landon, and he was the only Nago of the clutch. Not only that, but the boy was the one who looked most like his father, thanks to his dark green coat. His small red wings were more akin to his mother, but overall, he was like a miniature version of his father, appearance-wise. He was also the most hyperactive of the three hatchlings, always on the move and constantly wanting to play. He often sounded and looked like an endless bundle of energy, but there always came a time late at night when the small Nago would collapse and finally go to bed.

Otherwise, he was always trying to play with everyone, often mimicking his parents' hunting moves. Belly flattened against the ground, his little haunches and tail were waving about eagerly as he waited for his brother to cooperate with the game. "Come on! It'll be fun!"

[Jaykobell]

"I don't want to play this game."

The unexpectedly blue hatchling was Roswell, and he was one of the two Voidbringer babies. Unlike Landon and his sister, Roswell was the one who looked the least like his parents. Although it was common for parents of certain colors to have hatchlings with brand new colors — such as blue and red parents giving birth to a purple hatchling — Roswell had seemingly inherited his main coat color from his father's Nago genetics. His black wings were almost similar to his father's colors, making him more akin to his father, yet completely different.

Unlike his brother, Roswell was more reserved and more passive. He wasn't as excited, and he was more mature than the green hatchling, although both of them were hyperactive and extremely playful. Still, when it came to listening, Roswell always respected his mother's orders; he stopped when she asked them to stop, and he went to bed when she told them it was bedtime. He was the easiest of the three, and the calmest.

"I always have to play what you want to play," Roswell complained as he refused to play the role of the prey just to please his brother.

Getting antsy, Landon straightened his body and humphed grumpily. "Humph, fine! I'll ask Basima to play with me, then!" he squeaked unhappily as he turned around towards his mother and his sister, whom had remained close to their mom. "Basima! Come and play!"

[Jaykobell]

When Landon called out her name, Basima, the little white-and-orange female Voidbringer, raised her head to look back at her brother. She was the middle child of the clutch, with Roswell being the oldest, and Landon being the youngest. Being the middle one was a strange little thing, considering her personality was somewhere in-between Roswell's quiet personality and Landon's hyperactive attitude. She was quiet and obedient, yet she also had a certain spunk to her, where she could get nasty when she was tired or displeased. Overall, she was mostly reserved and obedient, much like her Voidbringer brother.

But despite that, Agrona's insecurities had, in fact, come true. While she had a good personality to become something good for the Hive, Basima kept getting brought down by her father. They were just little comments, small gestures, and things that, to a child, often went unnoticed. However, Agrona was no unobservant mother, and the Voidbringer made sure to make a mental note of every single thing the Nago told their daughter. Because of her father's tendency to ignore her and to only pay attention to her brothers, Basima had grown a little more reserved, to the point where she avoided really interacting with them.

"I don't really want to play," the sister replied a little hesitantly, with her mother understanding that the little female sounded like she did actually want to play.

"Awhr, come on!" the small Nago squeaked indignantly, bouncing up and down impatiently. "One of you has to play with me!"

"Landon," Agrona called out, lifting her drowsy head from her nest and turning it over her shoulder to give the Nago a small stare. "Don't force your siblings to play. How about you play nice and let Roswell pick a game this time around?"

The white mother saw her oldest son brighten up, a huge toothy smile showing on his face. Landon, however, wasn't quite as please, his cheeks puffing up in a pout. "But his games are boring!"

"And your games hurt!" Roswell retaliated, with the blue hatchling now making a face as well.

"Boys," Agrona called out, this time a little bit more briskly. "Play nice together. It's Roswell's turn to pick a game," the boys' mother insisted, and while Landon wasn't pleased about it, Roswell's grin came back full force.

[Jaykobell]

Agrona hadn't forced the boys to play together just to go back to her nap in order to get her beauty sleep. She had cut their argument short because she wanted to talk to Basima, whose behavior had changed slowly, but steadily, ever since she'd hatched. She had started very energetic, yet calm and quiet; now, she was reserved, and she even avoided playing with her brothers, although her voice indicated the complete opposite.

They were small things Agrona could tell, being these hatchlings' mother. "Basima," she called out, lowering her head down closer to her girl. "Why won't you play with your brothers?"

Upon being asked the question, Basima blinked all four eyes at her mother, but the smaller Voidbringer didn't reply, instead looking down at the ground below her. "I just don't really feel like playing," the baby answered, but being so young, her voice was clearly betraying her real intentions, and that was something Agrona could easily pick up on.

"You sound like you do want to play with them," Agrona pressed, rubbing her muzzle against her baby's back and head to comfort her. "So why won't you go play?"

Either she didn't feel like keeping up the charade, or Basima had already been found out. Being a hatchling, the female wasn't quite experienced in the ways of hiding what was wrong. Shuffling about awkwardly, Agrona felt like the baby was going to say something, yet the little Voidbringer wasn't uttering a single word. "You can tell your mom what's wrong, sweetie," Agrona urged on, trying to motivate the girl to go on and to say what she wanted to say.

Looking embarrassed and even scared, Basima grimaced a little. "U-um... b-because... daddy said I couldn't play with them..." the hatchling even answered, finally spilling the beans.

[Jaykobell]

While that wasn't the answer she had been expecting, Agrona couldn't say she was surprised to hear it. "Your father told you you couldn't play with Roswell and Landon?" the mother asked, repeating it just to make sure she had heard right.

Basima nodded slowly and briefly when Agrona repeated her words. "Uh-huh... H-he got upset I was playing with males," the small Voidbringer continued, shuffling her small forepaws together. Just from that habit alone, Agrona could tell Basima was anxious and nervous, although she couldn't tell if it was because the words hurt Basima, or because the hatchling was scared to be telling her mother.

"Don't worry about that, Basima," Agrona comforted, rubbing against her small baby, the size different so striking that the small Voidbringer got rocked back and forth as the mother snuggled against her. "Your father doesn't know what he's talking about. You have every right to play with your brothers," she added, feeling her heart sink as she felt the little hatchling nodding weakly beneath her.

"Basima," Agrona added right after, lifting her head from the hatchling's body, "what else has your father told you? Has he told you anything else that hurt you?" The mother could only imagine what kind of disgusting things Palmer could've told these hatchlings, especially Basima. Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to protect them twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week, Agrona had to sleep and recently, she'd had to start working again. Because of that, the mother wasn't always there to watch over her hatchlings like a hawk. She didn't put it past Palmer to visit them while she was away from the den, or even while Agrona was sound asleep from exhaustion.

[Jaykobell]

The more Agrona tried to press Basima, the more uneasy the hatchling got. She could see the baby shuffling about and avoiding eye-contact with her mother, along with continuing to shuffle her hands together. That was enough to confirm to Agrona that Palmer had been saying things to their daughter while Agrona wasn't around to hear them. It also confirmed that Agrona had been right about Palmer, and that the Nago had no interest in being civil towards his hatchlings; or more like the fact the Nago had no interest in being civil towards his daughter.

With the hatchling growing quieter and quieter, Agrona tried to nudge her baby some more. "Basima," Agrona called out, the calling of the babies' names usually helping in getting them to talk or pay attention, "has your father told you anything else? You have to tell me if daddy told you anything that hurt you." She didn't want the little female to think what her father was doing was acceptable. Many females before Agrona and Basima had gone through that verbal torture, and Agrona certainly wasn't going to let her daughter fall prey to her father's dirty words. "Trust me, Basima. You have to tell me when he tells you bad things, all right? Mommy can defend you."

Basima listened to those words carefully, and at the end of it, the small hatchling looked up to her mother. She still looked scared to say what she did know, but when she was about to open her mouth to say something, she was interrupted by the loud squeaking of both boys.

"Daddy, daddy!" both boys cried out in unison in high-pitched voices, bouncing about at the entrance of the den as a large Nago made his entrance.



Upon being greeted by his prized boys, the Nago chuckled briefly. "Heheh, my boys," Palmer greeted as he gave the two males a grin, his eyes eventually trailing all the way to Agrona and Basima. "And my... females, of course," he added, although the tone used to describe Agrona and Basima had been significantly more forced than when he'd greeted his sons.

It flew right over Basima's head, but Agrona gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes at the disgusting mug of the three hatchlings' father.