Firelizard Freak Out [K'tir Solo]

K’tir sighed for the fourth time as he watched the small eggs shake with the signs of impending hatching. He knew what he was getting into when he approached V’zire and his table covered in firelizard eggs at the last graduation but that didn’t mean he was still entirely happy with the outcome. He had assumed one egg would have been enough but was then easily swayed into getting one for each child. That was fine, he could tolerate bonding to two of the little buggers but V’zire had to go and pout as he suggested a third be taken. He was weak to such faces and K’tir had kicked himself all evening for it as well.

Now he sat at the kitchen table watching the three eggs move with life. We should get the kids! They’ll want to be here for this. Ghaeth sat at the kitchen window, one large eye swirling with his excitement. At least one of them was looking forward to the moment. Oh, to be as happy as a brown dragon! No. I don’t want them to accidentally Impress one of them. Their mothers would kill me and I’m not too happy with the idea of them having such a companion at their ages either. K’tir heard the soft whimper of disappointment but he held his ground. Yes, it would be cute to see their reactions but K’tir wasn’t about to risk it.

After another twenty minutes of waiting, now with a cup of klah in hand, the eggs started to show cracks and lose bits of shell. It wasn’t much longer before the first one began showing progress and finally the ambitious little creature broke free with a creel. His heart skipped a beat and K’tir suddenly wasn’t sure if he wanted to go through with it after all. Firelizards didn’t rank poorly or amazingly with the brownrider though he could understand both viewpoints but he wasn’t sure he wanted that commitment and bother. After all, he already had Ghaeth to look after and that was already a lot of enthusiastic brown hide to keep an eye on!

In the end it was too late and before K’tir knew what was happening, a little green ball was flying at his hand that held a piece of raw meat that had been picked up before wavering on his decision. “You are kind of cute… I guess.” The girl needed to be cleaned up but that could wait until her belly was stuffed and the predictable nap came on.

He was lazily stroking the little green’s head when the next egg cracked open and revealed its contents. K’tir stared at the creature and it stared back at him, neither moving for what felt like hours before K’tir snorted and sat back. “Oh, fuck that!” The little blue firelizard cried out in shock and took off flying in the opposite direction of K’tir, out the open kitchen window that Ghaeth had backed away from in surprise. A blue! What were the odds he’d get something in the same colour that represented the type of men he couldn’t tolerate? Actually, the odds were fairly high given the number of greens and blues that seemed to come from each clutch found but that was beside the point!

K’tir eyed the finally cracking egg. “I swear, if you’re also blue, you’re on your own. The kids can fight over naming the green.” He was practically glaring at the egg, daring it to show it was also blue. When it finally cracked enough for the flitter to make an escape, K’tir actually managed to laugh with relief as he held out some meat to the small brown. “Much better.”

Several hours later, after the firelizards had been fed a few times, napped, and were presentable, K’tir had Ghaeth go collect the kids so they could meet the new family additions. Katiryn was naturally bouncing with excitement and even Kajiran seemed to have more of a bounce to him than usual. It was understandable given how many times both had pestered him for an egg. This was the best they were getting for the time being. When they were old enough to Stand at a Hatching, then he’d consider letting them get a firelizard. For now, they could learn responsibility in smaller doses that, hopefully, wouldn’t bring harm to themselves or the creatures.

“Can I name mine Sweetie?” Katiryn batted her eyes, a trick that often worked when she wanted something. It was a shame K’tir was ready for it and was going to hold his ground no matter what this time. He was not about to be subjected to asking if anyone had seen his ‘Sweetie’ or any other suitable embarrassing name. “How about… Rosie!”

“The lizard is green, Katiryn, not pink or red.” This was going to be a long evening, K’tir knew it and wasn’t looking forward to it.

A lot of pouting followed each ‘no’ given to the endless list of cutesy names before Katiryn found one that worked well enough for K’tir. “Dewdrop? I think that will work and she seems to like it as well.” Actually, he couldn’t tell if the green did or not but the newly dubbed Dewdrop at least stirred from her nap in Katiryn’s arms and looked up at her. It was a good enough sign as any.

Now he only had to wait for Kajiran to name the brown and life would be wonderful.

“Bean!” His adorable son of four blurted out with a beaming smile. It was better than most of the names Katiryn had come up with and it didn’t seem like it’d be too painful to call out when in public. It also made some sort of sense at least in regards to the flitter’s colour. He could say the full name was Cocoa Bean but they shortened it. With a shrug, K’tir agreed with it.

“So Bean and Dewdrop it is. You’ll both come by and help me when they need baths, oiling, and sometimes feeding?” He’d rather the kids continued spending more of their free time playing and working on learning the alphabet and numbers instead of constantly running over to toss food at the bottomless pits. With both kids eagerly nodding, K’tir smiled and sent them off to show Ghaeth their new friends. The dear brown had been dancing around all afternoon waiting to see them again since the first meeting. He’d be beyond thrilled to have the kids attached to the flitters now.

With one final sigh, K’tir stretched out on the couch and finally relaxed. His brats were happy, the firelizards didn’t seem to be too much of a handful – so far – and best of all, that accursed blue flitter hadn’t reappeared. He’d wait a little longer before reclaiming Dewdrop and Bean and sending the children back to their mothers. A little rest alone before his life once again shifted with new additions started sounded nice.