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"Summit?" Embryo said the next morning after they had given the MudWings their thanks, before setting out again. She expected to feel herself blushing again, thinking about it, how her feminine Egg Laying self was so out of place in the contrast of Summit's male non-Egg Laying self, but strangely she didn't. Maybe she was starting to get used to sharing these kinds of things with Summit, that they were starting to feel less embarrassing than they used to. "About our conversation last night..." she said, turning her mind back to the subject she wanted to speak about, "Thanks for understanding."

"Well, I, uh, try." Summit was honored that she felt he could trust him with these awkward conversations, he just hoped with his overwhelming crush and everything, he was handling it all respectfully. "You deserve to be looked at as more than just someone whose very presence rises up this kind of crush in me. I know I can't control how I feel, but I worry it's not fair of me to see you that way."

Embryo gave him a light side bump. "I think it's cute that you have a crush on me, though still a little awkward at times. Like you said, you try, and at least if you do have feelings about me that are kind of awkward," she blushed, "at least you're polite about it."

Embryo was glad that her and Summit could now trust eachother with these conversations, but somewhere inside, she felt a sort of sad emptiness where her embarrassment had once been. It'd actually been kind of funny her and Summit's awkwardness around eachother, she just now realized.

She shook her head. Surely trust was better than awkward amusement any day.

---

As they took off again, things started out pretty normally. But as they flew East over the MudWing Kingdom, bluffs and farmland turning into marshland and swamps, Embryo started to feel the emptiness inside from earlier being replaced by a new sensation.

Embryo found herself filling with some sort of amusement, and from time to time, found herself laughing to herself.

"What's so funny," Summit asked eventually, confused.

"Nothing," Embryo replied. And thinking about it to herself, she couldn't quite place what had amused her either.

As they landed in the swamp for lunch, Embryo could feel that "something" increasing. She knew somewhere in the back of her mind she was taking in all the atmospheric qualities of this new place, how the sticky humid air closed in around them, the annoying mosquitos swarming around them, trying to eat through their scales but failing miserably, and all the new swamp smells and such, but she couldn't help but be distracted by all the new feelings swirling inside her, by Summit, how handsome he was, how good he looked with every step he took.

"You're hot," she told him, "And not just because it's humid. Must be because you're a SkyWing. You know, because SkyWings breath fire." She giggled to herself at her joke.

"Okay..." Summit replied, not sure how to respond. Him and Embryo may have been beginning to adjust to their awkward feelings around eachother, but this... was a little awkward.

After a lunch of crocodile, they took back off again, but now, the whole flight, Summit kept hearing Embryo giggling to herself as she flew along beside him.

"Are you okay?" Summit finally asked.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Embryo replied, before giving off another giggle.

That Evening, they found another MudWing group of sibs that was willing to take them in. As they made themselves comfortable in the hut, they noticed the MudWings were moving about, like they were getting ready to head out.

"We're going to the monthly MudWing gathering," the bigwings informed them, "You're welcome to come with us if you want to."

"No, uh, I think we're good," Summit replied awkwardly.

"Why don't we," Embryo said, stepping up to him flirtatiously, so her snout was close to his, "we might like it."

"Seriously Em," Summit answered, gently nudging her away with his talons. As strong as his crush on her was, this was getting to be too much, "Are you okay? You're not acting like yourself."

Suddenly, Embryo snapped, "What makes you think I'm not okay?! Of course I'm okay! Just because I suggest trying new things doesn't mean I'm not okay!"

Summit stood staring at her in shock. The MudWing sibs exchanged awkward glances knowingly. Suddenly, Embryo shrunk back inside herself, realizing how "off" she sounded, her old self once again returning.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I don't know what's come over me, of course we shouldn't go. I'm sorry Summit."

With that, she retreated to her place to rest.

---

Embryo's emotions only got more unstable over the period of the next few days as they made their way toward the East Coast of Pyrrhia. There'd be wild giggling one moment, followed by angry outbursts the next. Summit tried not to imagine what thoughts Embryo must be thinking about him to make her giggle like that. With how Embryo was acting lately, he guessed his embarrassment levels probably wouldn't be able to take it. He was going to have to be careful not to take the lead anytime soon.

Now aware of her mood swings, Embryo would keep apologizing for them, sometimes in fits of tears and humiliation, which kind of was a mood swing in and of itself, which only made Embryo feel more guilty.

"I'm sorry!" She'd wail, "I don't want to be this way, but I am! You don't deserve me as a traveling companion." And Summit could only try to sooth her, and tell her it was all okay.

Another time as they were flying, "Imagine how terrifying it must be to wait upon an egg," she giggled, "knowing you're about to go through the most excruciating pain imaginable, and have to go through it anyway, only to instantly forget about it later when you've made it into a delicious Omelet." Suddenly, her eyes filled with anxiety, "that's not going to happen to me soon, right? I can't imagine the stress of knowing that was about to happen to me. I don't think I'm ready for that kind of stress."

Then later that night, "I can't believe I laughed at the pain other Egg Layers face earlier today," Embryo cried, "how insensitive of me. Is that what I'm really like?"

Only to burst out giggling the next day, "Egg Layers," anyway. "How embarrassing."

Summit tried not to get too annoyed, and instead felt a little bad for her. It must be hard having all these extreme feelings inside and not knowing what to do with them. Summit tried to think of a time when he might have been in a similar situation, but he couldn't recall any.

"It's because I'm a girl, isn't it," Embryo finally said one night, remembering how dragons in her village would sometimes act, "I'm a girl, so now I'm doomed to be a moody and emotionally unstable mess." It didn't matter how she felt anymore sharing these kinds of conversations with Summit, she didn't even know how she felt anymore. Probably everything.

Summit thought about it. He had heard rumors of instances where girls would sometimes have periods of extreme emotional mood swings for a certain length of time or something, but he'd never actually paid attention, his natural tendency to blush just at hearing anything female related didn't need that kind of encouraging. But now with what was happening with Em, perhaps this knowledge could be useful. "You know, I think this might be normal."

"Of course it is," Embryo pouted, "Girls get all the weird stuff. First we lay eggs, then we make milk and fruit, and now this."

How did the world function if girls did this all the time? Maybe they learned to suppress themselves. Summit actually felt bad, nobody should have to bottle such emotion all the time, how could one handle it. Maybe Embryo was just experiencing it harder than most being her first time and all. Or maybe dragons just didn't go through this that often. Summit looked for something encouraging to say. "Being a girl can't be all that bad can it? I mean, look at all the places you've been. You flew over towering mountains, visited swamps, ate crocodile, befriended lots of interesting dragons... You've done lots of cool stuff."

"Yeah, well, you don't need to be a girl to do that stuff. You're proof of that."

"But being a girl didn't stop you did it?"

Embryo stopped, turning to look at Summit's sincere expression.

"Yeah, well guys can do all that stuff, and they don't have to deal with these problems like me."

Summit sighed. He really didn't want to go here, but he figured he had no better option. "Guys don't have it all perfect either," he started, he could feel himself going red just knowing what he was going to say, "Accidentally hit me in the wrong spot, and I go down in an instant. You don't have to worry about that."

Suddenly Embryo's eyes lit up. Great, he'd just triggered her giggly side, not the side of her he was intending to encourage. "Ooh, can we try it?"

Summit shifted his talons, "Uh, let's not."

Embryo tried to suppress the emotions once again, "Yeah, I know, sorry."

But it was too late. He'd just put the most embarrassing thought one could think about himself into both of their heads. But as much as that made him want to hide his face for the rest of eternity, Embryo finding that funny somehow made her seem all the more cute to him. Oh, why were crush emotions so complicated?

And as much as Embryo tried to bury the thought, she couldn't get the humor of the idea out of her head. The thought would probably run through her head again and again for the rest of the night. And into tomorrow. Eggs, she'd probably remember it for the rest of her life.

And she wasn't the only one, Summit probably would too. And what was worse, he almost found that image of him being dropped by something so embarrassing kind of funny too.

Wow! Thought their hosts, who couldn't help eavesdropping. It was a good thing MudWings never had to deal with romantic problems.

Embryo watched Summit sitting there uncomfortably. Maybe there were some benefits to being a girl.

Still...

"At least you don't have to lay eggs."

Summit sighed. He guessed there wasn't much more encouragement he could give. "Maybe some rest will help."

Feeling tired, Embryo rubbed her talons along her head hard. She was really out of whack right now.

---

The next morning, all Embryo's excess emotions were mysteriously gone, with the wind, like they'd never been there at all.

But with their absence, a whole new feeling had come over Embryo. Exhaustion.

As Embryo tried to pull herself out of her bed, she felt all her muscles within her feeling droopy. Her eyelids felt heavy, like they kept wanting to slide back down, her talons felt like they had weights attached to the bottom of them with chains. She tried to pull herself up to join Summit at the doorway of the MudWing hut where he was waiting for her as usual, watching birds, but she couldn't.

"Summit," she called groggily, "I can't get up."

Summit looked back, startled by her voice.

"Em, are you okay?" There it was again, but this time, Embryo felt no irritation, she was just drained.

"Just help me get up."

Summit came up by her side, and let her lean on him as she got to her talons. She yawned. "Why am I so sleepy?" She drawled.

Summit felt a little concerned, but she didn't seem sick, just tired. "Let's just get moving, you'll wake up as we go," Summit assured her.

But as they took off through the air, with every wingbeat she felt as if she was being weighed down. She flew the whole morning just like in a daze, just one beat after another, so tiring.

They didn't make it that far that day. Summit decided to call it a day before Embryo fell out of the sky.

As Embryo laid down in their guest MudWing's hut, she rolled onto her side yawning, "What is wrong with me?"

Summit had no answers. Maybe she just needed rest.

They didn't make it that far the next day, or the day after that. Even though Embryo was able to get a good night's rest, and ease her fatigue a little bit, there still felt like there was a constant weight inside her, growing each day.

"I'm sorry," Embryo apologized to Summit again one evening, "I'm slowing you down, you wanted to be at the coast by now and I'm holding you back."

"Take it easy," Summit said, "We can reach the coast when we get there."

"It's because I'm a girl, isn't it," Embryo said, "Girls aren't cut out for heavy long distance flying like guys. I'm lazy and weak because I'm a girl. We're supposed to be good for Omelets and stuff."

Summit looked at her, baffled. "You flew here all the way from the Claw of the Cloud Mountains. That's not lazy and weak."

"Well I did," Embryo replied, "And then my girliness caught up with me and made me weak."

Summit sighed, "Just rest, we're not far from the coast now anyway, I don't mind taking a few more days."

The next day, Summit suggested they rest, their MudWing hosts didn't seem to mind if they stayed another night, but Embryo insisted on flying. She didn't want to be any more of a burden to Summit, but she couldn't make it that far that day either.

But finally, though taking more stops than planned, they finally made it to the coast.

Embryo, still in her exhausted daze, landed on the beach the sand suddenly shifting as her weight slid onto it, her wings furling onto her back. She kneaded at the sand gently, letting the feeling of it passing through her talons sooth her. She took in the ocean air, breathing deep, long breaths, letting it rejuvenate her, salty but open, like it went on forever. Embryo sighed, opening her eyes, feeling a bit refreshed.

"Look over there" said Summit, pointing with his talons, "The Bay of a Thousand Scales, see those islands over there? I hear they're covered with lots of beautiful plants and birds and stuff."

Embryo followed the direction of his talon with her gaze, trying to focus on what he was pointing at. She could just begin to make out the islands he was referring to, spotted in the endless ocean. But focusing was such hard work. She tried harder, narrowing her gaze. Yeah, she could sort of see-

And then she fainted.

---

She came to a few hours later in a cave Summit had found along the coast. It was dry and not damp as one would expect coastal caves to be. Summit must have chosen one high enough to avoid high tide, which considering they had three moons could be interesting. Summit was standing by her, tending a fire, watching her with concern.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Summit asked yet again.

Embryo rested her head back down. "I don't know what's wrong with me," Embryo said, her eyes beginning to tear up, "first I act all crazy, and now I can't even keep my eyes open anymore to do anything. It really is because I'm a girl, isn't it?"

Summit didn't know how to comfort her any more than he already had. "I don't know. I just... don't know," he answered, bowing his head.

"It's just, there's just so much going on in me. I feel so much anxiety and so much discomfort in the pit of my stomach, and I can't help but think it's because I'm a girl, a weak Omelet producing girl."

At her words, Summit suddenly went still. "Pit of your stomach?" he asked. He didn't know a whole lot about girls before Embryo, but he began to think that maybe he knew what might be going on. "Em, do you mind if I look at you?"

Embryo looked at him, "Aren't you already looking at me?"

Summit blushed, "I mean feel around. Uh, your stomach and stuf- I mean, not "and stuff", just your stomach. Like a doctor. Not because I know anything about doctors or anything - which I guess would be pretty bad if I was operating or someth- but I'm not operating, I'm just feeling around. Because... I have a thought. And stuff."

Embryo sighed with resignation. She almost wished she could feel amusement by Summit's antics right now, but she just didn't have the energy. "I don't see why not."

Summit stepped up to Embryo and gently placed his talons on her belly. Embryo flinched at the feel of their touch, why do I feel so sore? And they were also unexpectedly cold. But as Summit began moving his talons calmly along her stomach, she began to ease into it. It was a little awkward of course, but what else was new?

As Summit felt around Embryo's belly, Embryo took out the carved Peregrine Summit had gotten her earlier. She stroked its smooth edges, feeling the beauty of the work that was put into it.

"It's just... I came out here into the world hoping I could be something more, hoping to discover that I could be more than my village expected a girl like me to be. And I did. I flew halfway across the continent, and saw wonderful things. But now..." Embryo sighed, "here I am, just so tired and useless, no more than I started, and... Have I really become more than just an OmeletWing?"

As she talked, Summit continued to feel around, being as gentle as possible. At first, he wasn't sure what he was looking for...

And then he felt it.

Summit's head went up and he looked into Embryo's eyes gravely.

And then he delivered those words that made her heart catch in her throat.

"Em, I think you're with egg."