Chapter 26: First Feeding
The first pull was a shock—a deep, sharp tug that seemed to connect directly to some core part of him Taichi hadn’t known existed. He gasped, one hand flinching back before settling shakily on the delicate, scaly back of the golden-eyed hatchling. Its tiny body was warmer than he expected, humming with a fierce, vital energy.
“Easy,” Ryuu murmured, his voice a low vibration against Taichi’s spine. His hands didn’t stop their gentle, coaxing massage. “Just breathe. It’s as new for them as it is for you.”
Taichi tried. The initial shock faded into a strange, profound pull. It didn’t hurt, not exactly. It was intense, overwhelming in a way that bypassed thought and went straight to instinct. A golden warmth blossomed from the point of contact, spreading through his chest and down into his belly. He looked down, mesmerized. The hatchling’s jaw worked in a steady, rhythmic pulse, its slitted eyes half-closed in bliss. A thin trickle of iridescent fluid, not quite milk and not quite light, escaped the corner of its mouth.
“Holy shit,” Hana whispered from the edge of the moss-lined hollow. She had her phone out, then shoved it guiltily back into her pocket. “I was gonna take a picture, but that feels… invasive. Also, my battery’s dead. Taichi, you’re… glowing. A little.”
He felt like he was. The ambient glow of the cavern’s veins seemed brighter, the hum in the air tuning itself to the quiet, sucking sounds of the feeding hatchling.
Then the second mewl came, more insistent. The silver-scaled twin had waddled closer, her cries pitiful and sharp. She butted her head against Ryuu’s knee, then tried to climb Taichi’s leg, her needle-like claws scraping.
“She’s hungry,” Taichi said, the words feeling thick.
“They both are. Your body will provide,” Ryuu said, but a flicker of something—concern?—passed over his face. “The first yielding is always the most demanding. Can you take the other?”
Could he? The golden-eyed one felt anchored to him, a living, feeding weight. The idea of doubling that intensity was terrifying. But the silver hatchling’s cries tore at him, a primal itch he had to scratch. He nodded, unable to speak.
Ryuu carefully pried the first hatchling away. It released with a soft, wet pop and a squeak of protest, momentarily sated and drowsy. Ryuu gathered it into the crook of his arm like a pro, his large hand cradling its entire body. He guided the silver twin up Taichi’s chest with his other hand.
“Guide her. Let her find the source.”
Taichi cupped the tiny, frantic head. Her scales were cooler, smoother than her sibling’s. She nudged blindly, her snout wet and searching, until she found what she sought and latched on.
The effect was instantaneous and double.
A twin current of that pulling, draining, connecting sensation. A wave of dizziness washed over him, not unpleasant but deep, a sudden and drastic expenditure of something fundamental. He swayed back against Ryuu, who held him steady, a solid wall of heat.
“There,” Ryuu breathed into his hair, pride and a fierce tenderness saturating the word. “See? You are magnificent. You nourish a dynasty.”
Taichi couldn’t form a reply. He was a conduit, a vessel being emptied and yet somehow filled with a torrent of raw feeling. He watched the silver hatchling’s tail whip back and forth in a frantic, happy rhythm, and a love so acute it was painful lanced through him.
Hana crept closer, kneeling a respectful distance away. “They’re really… drinking? That’s not normal milk, right? It’s all… sparkly.”
“It is ichor infused with his essence,” Ryuu said, his gaze fixed on the scene. “The magic of his carried gestation alters his biology. It is what they need to become strong. To become true.”
“Fair enough.” Hana shook her head, a faint smile on her face. “Just when I think I’m used to the dragon thing, you guys go and reinvent breastfeeding. Taichi, you okay? You look kinda pale.”
“Feels… weird,” he managed. “Deep. Like they’re drinking from my soul’s battery pack.”
“Apt,” Ryuu chuckled, the sound rich. “And they will drain it. You must be replenished. You will need to eat your weight in steak tonight.”
The feeding seemed to last an eternity and no time at all. Gradually, the frantic pulls slowed to lazy draws. The silver twin detached first, her belly round and taut, emitting a tiny, smoky sigh. She curled against Taichi’s stomach and was asleep in seconds. The golden-eyed one, roused from its doze, took her place, feeding more slowly now, with deliberate, contented pulls until it, too, had its fill and slumped into satiated slumber.
The sudden absence of sensation left Taichi feeling hollowed out and weightless. A profound exhaustion crashed down, but beneath it thrummed a bizarre, euphoric buzz. He was trembling finely.
Ryuu carefully gathered both sleeping hatchlings and placed them in a deep, warm hollow lined with what looked like gossamer and down. He then turned his full attention to Taichi, hands running over his shoulders, his arms, his face. “You did it. My heart. You incredible, mortal miracle.”
Taichi leaned into the touch, too tired to be embarrassed by Hana’s presence. “Are they… are they okay?”
“They are perfect. Their hearts beat strong. Their magic is stable. Thanks to you.” Ryuu’s thumbs stroked his cheeks. “Now, you are my priority.”
“I’m just really tired.”
“It is more than tiredness,” Ryuu said, his golden eyes sharp, assessing. “The yielding takes a physical toll. You will be feverish. Your muscles will feel like water. Hana,” he said, turning his head without letting go of Taichi. “The bag by the entrance. Bring the black vial and the water.”
Hana scrambled up, glad for a task. She returned with a sleek metallic bottle and a carved stone flask. Ryuu uncorked the black vial. A pungent, herbal scent, like crushed pine needles and dark earth, filled the air.
“Drink this. All of it.”
Taichi didn’t argue. He tipped the vial back. The liquid was thick, bittersweet, and burned a warm path down his throat to his stomach. Almost immediately, a stabilizing heat spread through his core, pushing back the worst of the dizziness. He chased it with long gulps of cool water.
“Better?” Hana asked, hovering.
“Yeah. A lot, actually.”
“Good,” Ryuu said, but the line between his brows remained. “The remedy is temporary. It fortifies your spirit, but your body must heal from the inside. The process has… accelerated.”
Taichi blinked slowly. “What process?”
Before Ryuu could answer, a vicious, cramping pain seized Taichi’s lower abdomen. It was a fist of ice and fire, clenching tight. He cried out, doubling over, his forehead hitting Ryuu’s shoulder.
“Taichi!” Hana yelped.
“It’s too soon,” Ryuu growled, the sound holding an edge of panic Taichi had never heard before. His arms tightened around him. “The clutch was large. Your human frame… it adapted for the carrying, but the release has triggered the final purge too violently.”
Another cramp, worse than the first, stole Taichi’s breath. A hot, alarming wetness soaked the loose linen pants he wore. He looked down, his mind blurry with pain.
The fabric was stained a deep, startling crimson.
“Ryuu?” His voice was a thin thread of fear.
Ryuu’s face had gone pale, all his ancient composure shattered. He lifted Taichi into his arms as if he weighed nothing. “The nest has done its work. The Healers must do theirs now. Hana, with me.”
He moved not toward the cavern entrance, but deeper into the mountain, into a passage Taichi hadn’t even noticed, his stride swift and desperate. The glowing veins on the walls pulsed erratically, mirroring the frantic beat of Taichi’s heart.
“It’s just… it’s just like afterbirth, right?” Hana panted, struggling to keep up, her voice high with fear. “This is normal, right?”
Ryuu’s jaw was set so tight it looked like it might crack. “No,” he said, the word final and heavy as stone. “This is not normal. His body is rejecting the final change.”
He looked down at Taichi, whose vision was beginning to tunnel, the pain a constant, rolling wave. The awe and joy of the hatching was gone, replaced by a sharp, metallic fear.
“Stay with me,” Ryuu commanded, but it sounded like a plea. “You have given life to my heirs. You will not pay for it with your own. I forbid it.”
The darkness of the passage swallowed them, the only light the frantic gold in Ryuu’s desperate, furious eyes.