Biosynth 19 Hatching

With eight eager Synth-parents, seven inquisitive firstborn, and twenty-one eggs lying around the moss, Bravo Bay felt a little more crowded than things usually did at hatchings. The audience was as packed as ever, sure, and there was no shortage of candidates over on their part of the Bay floor, but usually Dr. Schroeder and his aides didn't have so many others supervising the hatching with them. Not that it was a problem--an ex-hangar had plenty of room for people when it had once held spacecraft--but just an observation.

Catrice, leader of the Bonding Society, stepped away from the rest of the Kilandaian dragons--who were fairly captivated by the firstborn, even if some of the firstborn themselves didn't think much of the attention!--and approached the doctor.

"Are you certain they'll all be shifters?" she asked sharply, looking across the rocking, cracking eggs. The firstborn themselves couldn't shift yet, as was only to be expected considering their young age, but the lack of proof troubled the Forest dragoness.

Schroeder gave her a mild look in return. Though he was not bothered by what he had gleaned of the dragoness's motivations, outside of what she had directly told him at their interview three months back, her scathing attitude still left much to be desired.

"As certain as we can ever be when latent genes are in question," he answered agreeably. "But we did not tamper with them in any way beyond the natural mixing, so if all Garyki are shifters as you say, then these will be as well."

Catrice didn't appear to find this answer satisfying, but it was too late to do anything about it. The eggs had started releasing their furry little occupants and whatever they would be was already set in stone--or at least, flesh and blood. All she could do was return to the brash little kit that was the firstborn of her offspring and had chosen to remain with her, and watch to see what the rest of the Garyki kits would do.

It wasn't long before the Bay was swarming with brightly-colored kittens, tottering unsteadily on their oversized paws before finally figuring out what they wanted to do with themselves. Except for the River kits, which had the aquatic hindquarters of their draconic mother, they were all wingless and entirely feline in feature--forgiving those that had reptilian tails, horns, or fins, of course. Every face was whiskered and catty, regardless of whether it was furred an ordinary tawny brown or a bright purple-green calico.

Two of the firstborn remained beside their draconic mothers--Catrice's and Iryane's--while one pounced upon Dr. Schroeder's heels before being hustled off to the feeding tables. The others moved out on the candidates along with their newborn siblings, the Rivers steadily pushing themselves over the moss with their hind flippers, while the rest bounced or trotted or padded sedately along as their personalities dictated.

Some of the kittens ended up needing help choosing their sponsors, either indifferent or indecisive regarding the options available to them--or, in the case of one sweet little fellow, simply unable to make such a decision--but all in all the hatching went as hatchings were always expected to go. At the end of it, each dragoness from the Bonding Society had one of her own offspring at her feet, and the simpleminded Goprin Liatha, who was other-mother to all seven, was bouncing happily from kitten to kitten.

"Is there no way at all to tell if they can shift?" Catrice tried asking one last time, as the new pairs gathered at the feeding tables and the ship archivists checked off the matches.

Schroeder looked to the purple-spotted kitten by Catrice's paw. "Feel like you can shift, Nasjice?"

The little Garyki shook her head. "Not for lack of trying," Nasjice answered plainly. "But I'm not even three months old yet, after all. I'm sure I just need to keep growing and trying."

The doctor nodded in agreement, looking back up at Catrice. "Just be patient, my dear. I'm sure it will all work out as it's supposed to," he told her.

The Forest dragoness just looked back at the rest of the Bonding Society and their new children, thinking heavy thoughts.