[Jaykobell]

It was always surprising to see Palmer showing up every day to check on his hatchlings. Correction — to check on his sons. The Nago never paid attention to his daughter, always leaving her out of activities and never taking the time to talk to her, bond with her. Despite that, Basima kept on trying and trying. Even though her father was continually ignoring her and treating her like a tool, the small Voidbringer, like any other hatchling, just wanted her dad to recognize her. She wanted him to know she was there, and that she could be just as involved as her brothers.

So when he acknowledged both Agrona and Basima, it wasn't really surprising for the small hatchling to make her way next towards her brothers and father. As Basima did just that, Agrona glanced up at the Nago, watching every movement he made and every breath he took. And as their daughter approached him, Agrona noticed Palmer's face shifting into that of disgust and annoyance. That stressed Agrona even more, to think that Basima had been told things her mother didn't know about. What could Palmer have told her while Agrona was away? What horrible things had he made his daughter believe?

But as if Basima didn't even exist, Palmer just went on to speak to his sons, keeping his eyes on the both of them specifically. "Are you boys ready? We're going hunting today," the Nago announced, giving both boys an excited smirk, as if he actually did care the way a father should.

The eyes of both boys lighted up immediately, and Landon especially looked more than ecstatic to be going on such an outing. Roswell looked equally interested, but his brother's expression definitely let it known that the small dark green Nago was beyond excited.

Trying her best to fit in and to be recognized by her dad, Basima tried to act just as excited. "Oh, can I come hunting too?" the small female Voidbringer asked, bouncing a bit closer to her brothers in the hope her father would also notice her.

When he heard her voice speaking out, Palmer's face turned into the most disgusting expression Agrona had ever seen from any Paragon. He tilted his head slightly to the side, raising an eyebrow and making a grimace that told Agrona the Nago had just heard the most ridiculous thing ever spoken.

[Jaykobell]

When their sister joined in to ask if she could come hunting too, both brothers seemed surprised, but also excited at the idea. "That would be so cool!" Landon squeaked out as he bounced about too, eventually landing flat on his belly, his haunches wiggling about excitedly. "All three of us could be hunting!"

While Landon gave the more excited and energetic reply, Roswell agreed more calmly. "It would be nice to do something all together," the blue Voidbringer agreed, nodding his head and grinning at his sister.

"Hahah... No," Palmer answered, the laugh at the beginning of his reply sounding forced and mocking in every sense of both words. "It's only going to be me, and you two boys," the Nago added with a cold voice, trying to make it clear that the little female wouldn't be joining them on their male activity.

Further to that disgusting answer, Agrona was proud to hear both Landon and Roswell question their father's decision. "But why?" Roswell spoke out, looking up at his father questioningly, while Landon looked confused in silence. "If she wants to come too."

"Hahah, no, boys, you don't understand," Palmer added, lowering his head towards his sons to speak with a quieter voice; but the mother Voidbringer was no deaf fool, as the father liked to think. "You see, my sons, females—"

"Can hunt just as well as their male counterparts," Agrona cut him short, capable of hearing quite clearly what the Nago was telling his two sons. Trying to push herself to stand out more, Agrona ignored the aching and whining joints of her tired body to get up and take a few steps towards the small family. "Just like their mother, who's just as talented as their father," the Voidbringer added, giving Palmer a nasty, menacing look that said everything on its own. "Isn't that right, Palmer?"

When he heard Agrona butting into his conversation with his prized sons, Palmer glanced up at her with the darkest eyes she'd seen from him in a long time. Regardless, the female stood her ground and returned the cold glare, making sure to let him know that she wasn't as submissive and gentle as he would like her to be.

[Jaykobell]

The tension rose between the two parents to such an intense level that even the hatchlings seem to notice it. Landon got a quiet and simply looked from one parent to the other, while Roswell simply stayed quiet as well, hunching over a little to avoid receive backlash. As for Basima, whom felt like she was the very source of this tension, she simply huddled close to her brothers for security.

The two parents continued to hold their ground against each other for a few hard minutes, neither letting the other win no matter what. Agrona had a cold, distant, yet determined expression on her face, while Palmer was giving her the most menacing glare he could muster, his lips starting to curl into a snarl.

But eventually, it was Palmer who ended up giving up the argument, and who seemingly agreed to finally be decent. "Humph. Have it your way," the Nago said coldly as he straightened up and met the Voidbringer eye-to-eye. "Fine. I'll take all three hunting; even her," Palmer answered, although his words were forced and oozed with displeasure.

To be just as bad as he was, Agrona had to admit she enjoyed watching him suffer from such banal things as paying attention to your own blood child. Giving him a cocky grin that showed just how proud of herself she was for making him crack, Agrona tilted her head at the father. "Now, that wasn't too hard, was it? Remember who her mother is — she could very well best both boys if you let her try." She knew just how badly this would hurt Palmer's ego, and the Voidbringer could only giggle to herself inside as she eagerly waited for his response.

And as expected, the Nago was insulted to hear such a thing. "I'll make sure my boys don't fall behind a female," the Nago replied with a hiss, his usually cool and collected silver-tongue voice breaking under the burn of his damaged ego.

Giving a soft chuckle, the words went right over Agrona's head. "Oh, Palmer. You can't control raw talent, daddy," the Voidbringer answered, her grin just spreading more as she craned her neck closer to the male Nago, just to make it all the more intolerable. "If your boys weren't born with the right skills, she could very well best them without breaking a sweat."

"We're leaving," Palmer hissed angrily as he snarled at the mother and turned tail quickly to leave the source of his torment behind as soon as possible. "You're coming with me. All... three of you," he added, the words making him almost gag as he had to acknowledge the fact there would be three hatchlings for the hunt today, and not just two privileged ones.

[Jaykobell]

Agrona sighed as the father and the three hatchlings left her den. Of course, ever since she'd gotten pregnant, the Voidbringer had categorically refused to room with Palmer. While she did find it important for the hatchlings to have a father in their lives — as disgustingly savage as theirs was — she wasn't a masochist. Moving in with Palmer would've meant an endless cycle of torture, and little control over her home. By staying in her own personal den, the Voidbringer had control and could also use it to sleep off her exhaustion. She had the hatchlings much more often than their father, not to mention that she had had to start hunting again recently, which only added to the tiredness.

Now that all four were gone, Agrona found the silence of her den surprisingly soothing, even if a little lonely. Grumbling a little from the aching bones, the white Voidbringer made her way back to her nest in order to finally sleep it all off while the hatchlings were gone. She sighed deeply as she finally laid down in her nest, curling up into a comfortable ball. It didn't take too much time for the exhausted mother to enjoy a good sleep.

It did, however, not take long to wake her up abruptly from said sleep, either.

It had to have been a few hours since the hatchlings had gone with their father when Agrona woke up with a jolt. Opening her eyes in a flash, the Voidbringer felt uneasy, and her ears were ringing from noise that was coming from nearby. Almost all the dens were located in a sort of labyrinth-like area, making the tunnels echo most of the voices and cries of the Paragon inside of it. If one bothered to stay incredibly quiet long enough, they often managed to hear just the soft clinking of claws on the rocky tunnel floors as Paragon made their way to their own dens.

A bit groggy and queasy from waking up so quickly and so awkwardly, Agrona tried to regain her focus so she could determine what had woken her up. Something high-pitched and scared, a noise that was beyond familiar to her, yet the Voidbringer couldn't put her finger on it.

But as her mind started to clear, Agrona realized what the noise had been in a flash. She'd heard Basima, her little baby, cry out in fear from the tunnels.

Feeling something heavy in her stomach, Agrona got up from her nest faster than lightning. "Basima!"

[Jaykobell]

It didn't take long for Agrona to rush for the entrance of her den, flicking her head this way and that as she tried to locate her baby's cries. What had Palmer done to her? There were so many things the mother could imagine that she had no choice but to hope for the best, and that her hatchling was fine. Fortunately, it didn't take much searching to spot the Nago walking down the tunnel, Basima dangling in his jaws from the skin of her neck, with Landon and Roswell following quietly and closely.

Agrona stepped back in order for Palmer to enter her den, his smug face reigniting her hate for him as he stared at her in the most insulting of ways. The small hatchling in his jaws was crying loudly and showed clear signs of bruising and injuries, and her rapid gasps and pants were a clear sign of panic and fear. Despite the pitiful and miserable state of his daughter, the Nago looked pleased rather than concerned, and without even letting him explain, Agrona's lips curled into a menacing snarl. "What did you do to her?" the mother hissed as she spread her wings, agitated to be seeing one of her babies in such a fear-stricken position.

Since he was holding the female hatchling and couldn't speak because of it, Palmer added salt to the injury. Instead of just letting his daughter down carefully, the male Nago simply let her drop from his jaws, letting the hatchling drop all the way down on the rocky den floor. Already injured, Basima let out a heart-wrenching cry of pain as her body hit the floor with a loud thud.

That was enough to set Agrona into a blind rage. "PALMER!" With a deafening screech, the Voidbringer lunged forward to tower over her injured hatchling, her wings spread to their maximum. Being seemingly attacked, the menacing lunge had been enough to force the Nago to step back and away from Agrona's crying baby, although his smug, proud smirk wouldn't leave his face. While it hadn't been the intention, even the boys got a scare, both of them stepping away from their parents in order to stick together to the closest cave-wall they could reach.

[Jaykobell]

As the fight ensued between the Nago and Voidbringer, Basima quickly struggled to crawl all the way to her mother's arm, the one closest to the injured hatchling. She was still crying profusely, hiccuping in-between gasps and letting out a few choking noises as she failed to tolerate any of her pain and instead let it out in any way she could think of. Her tiny claws suck into her mother's arm as strongly as they could, latching onto the white Voidbringer as if her life depended on it.

While it relieved her slightly to feel her hatchling clinging to her, Agrona still didn't let her guard down. "You will tell me what you did to my daughter!" Agrona demanded again, roaring at the Nago a second time in order to make it known who was in control in this den. "Right now!"

Despite her aggressive display of rage and indignation, Palmer stayed calm and simply gave the enraged mother a proud, smug grin. "I didn't do anything," the Nago answered calmly, chuckling a little. "You asked me to bring her hunting, and I did just that. It just turned out your little girl wasn't any good at the task." That was but the front story; that wasn't what had happened to the hatchling. Of course, Palmer had no intention of telling the mother what had truly happened.

"Those injuries aren't from hunting! I'm a hunter myself, and I know what kind of injuries you get from hunting!" Agrona argued, that smug expression on the Nago's face not making her mood any better. In fact, the more she stared at that disgusting face, the more she wanted to rip it apart. "Don't take me for a fool, Palmer!" It took everything in her body and mind to keep herself from swearing in front of the hatchlings, but if Palmer continued to upset her, Agrona couldn't promise herself that the censor would be left on for much longer.

Giving a carefree, nonchalant laugh, Palmer gave Agrona the dumbest face she'd ever seen. "Sure, there wasn't only that. I tried, but she's so ugly compared to her perfect brothers that the prey is what went after her instead—"

One last enraged cry from the mother cut off the male's answer, and without giving time to react, Agrona lunged at him. The two parents duked it out, with Agrona slashing and hacking at the Nago in a rage while Palmer did his best to get out of the attack as unscathed as possible. It was made difficult for Agrona considering Basima was clinging to her arm, but the Voidbringer made sure to land a few sure hits on the male.

"OUT! Out of my den!" Agrona screeched as Palmer was finally scared off into leaving her home, the Nago taking a few sidesteps and skips away from the enraged female. "You better stay away from MY daughter!" Agrona screeched out after the runaway father, screaming so powerfully, so angrily, and so loudly that her voice was starting to break from the strain.

[Jaykobell]

Her throat felt strained and sore from so much screeching and roaring, but Agrona was beyond relieved to have her small hatchling still in one piece.

Making her way back and deeper into her den, Agrona sat down and moved Basima away from her arm, instead squeezing the small hatchling into her arms. She hugged the panic-stricken baby tightly, with her wings hovering over her. "It's all right," the Voidbringer cooed to her panicked baby, hushing her to try to calm her down. "I'm here, Basima. It's all right," Agrona insisted, although her words did very little to help the small agitated Voidbringer.

The idea was to ask Basima herself what had happened, but it would probably take a while before the female baby would be in any state of mind to speak comprehensible words. Instead, Agrona looked over her shoulder at the two slightly uneasy brothers, the two of them having kept close to one another during the fight. They looked frightened by the display their mother had shown, but Roswell seemed particularly scared. "Landon, Roswell," Agrona called out, trying her best to keep her voice even despite her lingering rage. She wasn't upset at the babies themselves, so there was no need for her to lash out at them, but it was hard to stay calm when she, herself, was already so agitated. "You're going to tell me what happened."

When the question was asked of the two boys, the brothers looked at each other in silence, neither answering the question. It was only when Landon noticed Agrona's menacing eyes narrow that the small Nago finally opened his mouth. "U-um... D-daddy said we can't... tell you," the green hatchling answered, and Agrona quickly picked up on his cocky attitude as he spoke to her. "He said females are too stupid for us to bother talking to th—"

The baby's words were abruptly interrupted when Agrona spun around and slammed a hand against the wall, resulting in a sudden thundering sound and a slight crumbling of pebbles from the wall. The shocking noise made Landon squeal and cry in a panic, the hatchling not expecting his mother to react so aggressively towards him. With the Voidbringer towering menacingly over him, Landon completely crumbled under his mother's dark eyes, curling up into a ball and putting his hands over his furred head for protection as he cowered under her.

[Jaykobell]

Seeing his brother literally shaking and cowering in fear, Roswell tried to be the bigger brother and actually stood up to try to hold his ground against his mother. "Mom!" he called out loudly in order to get her attention, his little hatchling wings spread just like hers had done earlier. "D-don't be mean to Landon! He... H-he's just... U... U-um..." But as Agrona also directed her authoritative gaze to the blue Voidbringer, the older brother also found himself unable to disobey. "H-he's just... d-d-doing what... wh-what daddy t-told us..." the older hatchling managed to blurt out awkwardly, eventually cowering under his enraged mother as well, ultimately rendering both boys unable to utter another word.

"You're going to listen to me," Agrona hissed while the two boys were too scared to argue with her the way their father was so desperately trying to teach them. "Your real parent here is me. I'm letting you see your father because I need help raising you properly. But remember this: I'm the one who takes care of you, who feeds you, and who defends you. If anyone here truly and genuinely cares for you, that's not your father: it's your mother, and that's me," the Voidbringer lectured, her voice steady, but not menacing, yet not soothing. She could only imagine what kind of disgusting values Palmer had been trying to cram into their heads all this time, while she wasn't there to negate them. "Am I clear?"

Both Landon and Roswell nodded their heads faster than almost possible, both wishing for their mother to stop being so menacing and scary. When both answered her, Agrona stared at them in silence for a few moments longer before straightening herself back up, bringing her arm back to hug Basima more tightly. "Now you're going to answer me honestly," the mother added, keeping her voice even, yet demanding. "What happened with your father during the hunt? Why is your sister injured?"

Once again, the two boys looked at each other, unsure of what to answer. However, neither wanted to fall victim to their mother's rage, and so, it was Roswell who decided to break the ice. "H-he... I-it started out okay," the baby started with, trying to straighten himself up as well, as he glanced up slightly at his mother as he spoke. "H-he went through the basics of crouching and lurking. He picked out a big prey for us to try to take down."

"I-it was a huge Serraptor," Landon interjected, since he figured their mother probably wanted all the details of what had happened; and oh, did the brothers know all the details by heart. The small hatchling even spread out his arms to show how big the Serraptor had been.

"D-dad said it would be fine, that he would be there to kill it if we got in trouble," Roswell continued, the hatchling getting more and more uneasy as he continued to tell the story. "B-but that's... th-that's not what he did. When the Serraptor approached, he... h-he threw Basima r-right at it as bait."

[Jaykobell]

Agrona's reaction was to squeeze her daughter even more tightly, with her heart sinking to depths deeper than she'd ever felt before. It didn't matter what kind of words Roswell and Landon used to describe the story, nor did the older hatchling need to continue it. Agrona understood quite clearly that Palmer had actually tried to kill his own daughter by throwing her out to a Serraptor as a food. It wasn't rare for reckless hatchlings to get snatched away by hungry dinosaurs and more primitive dragons that lived in the forest just beyond the Hive. Basima's injuries were now crystal clear: that Serraptor had actually gotten to her.

Seeing his mother's devastated expression, Roswell continued on with the story. "I-I swear to tried to save her!" the Voidbringer cried out in fear, his voice getting high-pitched and scared. "I-I tried, b-but dad pinned me down and s-said to let things play out. I-I s-swear I tried, mom," Roswell continued to say, the hatchling getting so scared and agitated that he was starting to tear up, just like his sister.

"I... I got scared for Basima wh-when the Serraptor started hurting her," Landon continued, since his brother was getting too emotional to continue the story. "So wh-while dad was holding Roswell down, I-I ran to go grab her and take her away," the Nago described, although he also started to get agitated like his siblings. "I-I didn't understand why dad was l-letting it happen, b-but then he said we couldn't tell you about it." Soon enough, even the Nago started tearing up, putting his hands over his head again as he stared at the ground below him. "I-I was scared so I-I just l-l-listened to h-him. I-I'm sorry m-mom."

"W-we really d-didn't w-want to make you up... upset," Roswell choked up afterwards, now with both boys so agitated and scared that all three hatchlings were crying out to their mother as if they had just hatched from their shells.

Agrona, who had remained quiet throughout the story, used an arm to drag her two crying boys into the confines of her hug, squeezing the three babies tightly against her chest. "Shhh... It's all right," the mother cooed quietly to her hatchlings, again wrapping her wings around them to calm them down and make them feel more secure. "I'm not upset at you. I'm proud of you both; you acted like big brothers should and you protected your sister, and you saved her. It's all right."

[Jaykobell]

It took a while for all three babies to calm down, but eventually even Basima was cradled and comforted to the point of a light slumber. Landon and Roswell also eventually snuggled into their mother's arms and snoozed off into a calmer, more peaceful state of mind.

Unfortunately, it was but the opposite for their tormented mother. The nerve of that Nago to do such things to her children, to go so far as to call one of them ugly and to the point of even trying to kill her! Not only that, but unbeknownst to Palmer, he'd even put his sons into a state of fear. Agrona had raised them all equally, where neither the sons nor the daughter were above or below the other party. That was probably why Landon had been so confused at his father's actions. Despite getting upset at both of them earlier, Agrona couldn't be prouder that both boys had tried to rush in to save their sister. It was living proof that her teachings hadn't gone to waste, and that she'd managed to give her hatchlings a few good values.

However, the problem remained that Landon had spoken rudely to her because of what his father had told him. Agrona wouldn't have control over her hatchlings forever, and the more their father would try to interact with them, the more he would teach them things behind her back. Not only that, but she could no longer feel safe after what had happened today. Agrona could only wonder if anything akin to Basima's attempted murder had happened behind her back, and anxiety clumped into her stomach into a hard ball. Not only that, but how many secrets had he forced his sons to keep from her? How heavy were their minds with terrible secrets that they were too afraid to say, for fear that their father would forever disown them?

It was unavoidable that all three of them would suffer at Palmer's disgusting values and attitude — even his precious sons that were, supposedly, so very important to him. All the Nago cared about was upholding a certain image of himself, regardless of what it took to preserve it. It was because of that horrid mentality that the Nago was so sickeningly repulsive to the Voidbringer. If killing his daughter meant for Palmer to keep only his prized sons without having a third wheel, then the Nago was willing to go through with it.

How could a Paragon go to such lengths? Hatchlings were considered sacred, the very future of the Hive. While they started out a tiny, defenseless little eggs, they grew up to become fearsome Paragon, each with their own unique abilities and personalities. Regardless of him seeing females as tools, how could Palmer be so devilish that he would actually sacrifice a hatchling for his precious little image?

The thoughts haunted Agrona's mind all night as the hatchlings slept soundly in her arms. All the Voidbringer could think about was how to avoid letting her hatchlings be the victims of such a miserable upbringing. That was the hardest question to answer: how?

[Jaykobell]

Agrona had been so insulted and so upset at Palmer's behavior that the Voidbringer actually refused to let the father see the hatchlings for days. Every time he would try to come and take them away, Agrona would hiss and growl, baring her teeth and even slashing away at the male like a mother bear. The strategy worked for a while, but the Voidbringer did eventually let Palmer come again. The sole reason had been because the boys were genuinely getting upset at the fact that they couldn't see their father, and as the one who raised them in the den, Agrona had no time to teach them skills like hunting and fighting. Because of that, the Voidbringer had to swallow her pride and let Palmer had quality with them, although it was very limited quality time.

And of course, Agrona categorically refused to let Basima leave with her father. Although her brothers were able to help her the first time Palmer had tried to literally kill her, there was no telling if both hatchlings would be able to do it again. Every time the Nago would ask if he could include his precious little daughter in their family activity with that cocky grin of his, Agrona would simply reply with a threatening roar and the spreading of her wings. That smile meant nothing good, and the mother could only imagine what kind of other sickening murdering plans the male had in mind for his daughter.

Meanwhile, while the boys were out and the daughter stayed to nap by her mother's side, Agrona would sit and think to herself; think of a way to save her three babies from the influence of their father. There were so few possibilities; the Hive was a huge clan in retrospect, but almost everybody knew everyone in the mountain. Giving the hatchlings to another pair to raise wouldn't keep their real parents from visiting and interacting with them. What else could she do? She couldn't ask the hatchlings to go off on their own and live their own lives, since they were still too young for such a huge thing. Speak to Izotz about the situation? Regardless, even if the leader himself put on measures to keep Palmer from touching or approaching his hatchlings, everyone knew how benevolent and gentle Izotz was. A Paragon as devilish and conniving as Palmer wouldn't fear someone like Izotz, even with the title of leader in play. It felt so helpless; the only way for Agrona to constantly look over her hatchlings was for her to have clones, or to be capable of functioning without sleep.

But after a lot of thinking, an idea did come to her. It was a disgusting idea, almost to the point of their father's level, but the Voidbringer had no other option. It was a risky plan to do, but the mother was determined to have her hatchlings be free of the stress and sickening attitude of their father, and there was only one thing open for her if she truly wanted things to go her way.

[Jaykobell]

In order for her plan to go into motion, Basima first had to heal her injuries from that fateful incident. All three hatchlings had to be fit for it.

When the fateful night approached, Agrona felt her heart pounding. It was such an outlandish decision; something she would've never, ever done otherwise. However, considering the situation, the Voidbringer figured that, after the attempted murder, her hatchlings could be safer anywhere so long as they weren't here.

Palmer had dropped the boys back, and the Nago made his exit quickly. The two boys were tired, and so was Basima; it was perfect for to finally put her plan into action.

As the boys settled themselves to quiet down for the night, Agrona pulled them closer to her so that all three hatchlings were close. "Babies," she called out, looking from the boys to Basima, and back, "if you're up for it, would you like to go flying with mommy tonight?" Agrona had offered flying sessions for the babies a few times. Their wings were too small and frail to really allow flight yet, where they could only hover and glide, and actually fly for very short periods of time. Instead, the Voidbringer carried the three in her arms, letting them take in the scenery below, around, and above them.

When they were proposed a night flying session, the three babies squeaked with excitement. "Now? At night?!" Landon cried out happily, ecstatic at the idea of flying in a different sky. It would be completely different from flying through the white puffy clouds!

"Will we get to touch the stars?" Roswell asked, his eyes glittering just as much as Landon's, but in a different way.

Pulling up a delighted, yet sad smile, Agrona shook her head at her blue hatchling. "No, Roswell, you can't touch them; but you can certainly look at them from much higher up. Is that a yes, then?" the mother asked, once again looking at all three in order to confirm they were all onboard. Of course, regardless, the mother would force them to come along, but she had very little interest in forcing them in any way.

Fortunately, all three hatchlings agreed for a nighttime flight session. And at that point, there was no turning back.

[Jaykobell]

With a heavy heart, Agrona grabbed all three babies into her arms and spread her wings wide. It wasn't quite nighttime yet, but a sort of transitional period of time where the sun was setting, but it was still considered to be mostly daytime. Soon enough, however, it would be nighttime. "Hang on tight," Agrona told the three excited hatchlings as she gave a strong push of her wings and lifted herself up, moving her wings and body about afterwards in order to orient herself into the right direction.

The small family flew in the sky for what felt like forever. They passed by a multitude of landscapes and saw a whole different array of wildlife and animals down in the darkening plains. As the stars started to show, Roswell tried to paw at them despite his mother's words, while the other two were gazing at the glowing stars with fascination and awe. They changed their focus to a whole slew of things, going from the glowing stars to the moon, and from the animals on the plains to the different landscapes like pounds and underground tunnels.

For a very long time, the hatchlings were successfully distracted. Agrona remained quiet as she flew, her wingbeats rhythmical and consistent. The Voidbringer was steeling herself for the inevitable, and it was the hardest thing to do for the mother to stay strong. This would be the hardest decision of her entire life, and there was no telling if her hatchlings would understand why she was about to do such a thing. "Babies," the mother eventually called out, although she didn't have the strength to look down at them. "There's something I want to tell you. No matter what happens, I want you three to always remember that you're siblings. I want you three to help each other, and to always take care of one another." Swallowing hard, the mother looked down at her hatchlings, with all three staring back at her from below. "Do you understand?"

While the words were a bit strange to hear so suddenly, the babies didn't put too much thought into it. Their mother was known for being the more serious type, so they didn't question her sudden conversation topic. Agrona was glad to see all three of them nodding, with Landon nodding the most. "I get it! I don't want anything to happen to Roswell or Basima!"

"I'm the older brother, so I'm going to take care of you two," Roswell piped up, giving his younger brother a face.

"Nuh-uh! I'm a better hunter than you!" Landon argued, sticking his tongue out jokingly at his brother, just to annoy the small blue Voidbringer.

Basima didn't add to the conversation, but the small female did seem like she'd understood the message, considering she'd nodded to Agrona's question.

"I'm glad," the mother answered quietly, looking back up from the three shuffling babies. "Never forget that, do you understand? You'll go far if you stay together," Agrona added, her face changing to something akin to sadness, although it wasn't possible for any of the hatchlings to see it.

[Jaykobell]

Even by the time it was almost halfway through the night, Agrona and the hatchlings were still flying.

By that time, they were far beyond the Hive's territory. It was a place unknown to most of the Hive, and an area she'd heard of from the cartographer and map-maker of the Hive. A somewhat old fellow, the male had travelled in his younger years, and he was the one who had devised the majority of the territory as the Hive knew it today. It was rumored to be peaceful, and to be an area that didn't have very many Paragon predators.

It was the perfect place.

Agrona's wings were starting to ache from the long flight, along with the extra weights they'd had to carry all this time. The three hatchlings were sound asleep into her arms, not even the feeling of their dangling feet or the small turbulences strong enough to jolt them awake. While it was more heartbreaking this way, it would certainly make things easier for the mother.

The Voidbringer surveyed the area quickly to pick up scents and traces of predators or dangerous life. Nothing smelled of danger; the small forest actually felt serene and peaceful, with the quiet sounds of chirping crickets and a few fireflies flying about the small growing trees. It was a beautiful place; that alone lifted some of the pain from the mother's heart.

The only thing she picked up from her scouting was a small group of Paragon; a strange thing to pick up, but not all that surprising, considering there were, in fact, wild Paragon in the world. They, too, did not smell of danger; from the faint smells, Agrona could pick up that they were all females. The Voidbringer was relieved; there would be no need to ever come back to this place with this kind of opportunity.

Quietly, with the grace and silence of a skilled hunter, Agrona lowered herself all the way to the ground, a little ways away from the small group she'd noticed. The Voidbringer landed without a sound, and immediately she tucked her wings against her sides in order to avoid grabbing onto things unintentionally.

[Jaykobell]

Despite the darkness, Agrona could clearly see the peaceful sleeping faces of her three hatchlings. Soft breathing and barely any movements, all three of them having no idea what was happening. They were probably imagining their mother flying them back home, bringing them back to the clan they had known all their lives so far.

But no. No, their mother wouldn't be bringing them back home. The three hatchlings would probably never be going back home, they would probably never see their parents again, and their parents would probably never see them again.

As she reminded herself of such things, Agrona slowly started feeling her resolve breaking. Her arms refused to let go, knowing what would happen if they dared to let the small babies lay gently on the grass below. Her entire mind and body knew what was going to happen, and the Voidbringer found herself doubting her decision, and fighting herself over it.

But then the mother remembered: what would happen if she did bring them back home? Only misfortune, only misery, and only pain for both the mother and her hatchlings.

Regaining her resolve only long enough to do the deed, Agrona bent down quietly and slowly to the ground and let the small hatchlings lay on the grass gingerly. Their small bodies did no sound as she let them down, only uttering a soft rustling of grass coming from below them. While they wiggled from being moved and mumbled some noises, none of them woke up, instead cuddling together and finding each other in their sleep, until all three were keeping one another warm and safe.

Seeing them so peaceful, so far away from their father's grasp, Agrona came close to choking on her emotions, and on the tears that were starting to fall from her eyes. The Voidbringer's heart stopped, and once again, she felt her resolve wavering, her heart and soul begging herself to stop, and to just bring the babies back with her. That everything would get better as they got older, that they would be able to stand up for themselves.

But again, the mother had to keep reminding herself that they were but foolish, hopeless thoughts, and that nothing would ever make the Nago be decent to his hatchlings.

And the only way for them to be safe was for them to be as far, far away from their father as possible.