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Zilarin Mintaka was sitting in the living room, sprawled on her side, resting atop a large floor cushion. The drakka had been reading a newssheet, but she looked up when movement came from the window. The balcony doors were open, and the curtains swayed from the downdraft as a dragon landed. Zilarin perked up at the sight of her mate as he folded in his wings and came strolling into their home. "You're back. Oh, finally."

Around Galon's wingtips were tied a pair of pennant flags, emblazoned with the logo of Clan Mintaka but dyed with azure--that bluish-green colour matched Zilarin's own scale shade. Though Zilarin wasn't currently wearing pennants on her own wings, hers were all coloured to match the warm, gold-yellow colour of Galon's scales. It was a longstanding tradition for a drakken mated pair to wear each other's colours.

Galon worked as a senior architect and planner for their clan, while Zilarin was a healer in the city's Medical Division--at least, she was normally a healer, but she was on temporary hiatus because of a condition. Strolling into the dining room, he used his tail to slide the balcony doors shut behind him.

"Sorry I'm late, the department meeting dragged out. I bought groceries and dinner. Are you hungry?" Galon asked.

"Hungry, yes, but bored, mostly. They kicked me out of the medical centre!" Zilarin sighed dismissively, only slightly annoyed that her colleagues had followed proper protocol. "I've been sitting at home all afternoon, bored out of my mind. Lonely too."

"Good to see you too." Galon strode over and bumped his snout gently against Zilarin's. "Although are you really lonely, if there's two of you?" With a grin, he moved across the room and towards a rectangular glass box in which a large white ovoid had been placed. Warm lights were shining on the egg, keeping it at perfectly the right temperature for incubation. Galon peered into the nesting box. "Hello, hello, number two! How are you doing? Growing well?" he murmured.

Zilarin snorted, but she smiled faintly. "It can't hear you yet. Number two is still barely in embryonic stage, too early for the pre-hatchling brain to process anything. There's hardly any active nerve activity."

"It's the thought that counts." Galon stared intently at their egg through the glass. Having just gotten home, his paws weren't clean, otherwise he'd have opened up the incubator box to pat the egg and sniff at it. "A brand new member of our family. A fresh new person! I love it already."

Therein that box was the reason Zilarin hadn't been doing her job for a few months--as part of the process of being gravid, drakka lost their magic until the egg was laid out, because developing an egg required a natural magic of its own. Zilarin had been feeling some of her healing ability return just this morning, and so she'd tried to return to work at the medical centre, but it hadn't stuck. "It's not a person yet. Not medically speaking. It's still just simple cells, not complex enough to be considered a hatchling."

Galon looked amused. "It's about the potential, isn't it? That marvellous potential. Out of nothing but us two, there comes a brand-new life. How wonderful," he cheerfully replied. He strolled to the dining table and began unloading the pouches from his flight harness, which was stuffed with paperwork from the clan offices where he worked, but also with food. "I bought dinner from that store in sector two you like. The one with the roast meat sandwiches."

"Now that is wonderful." The smell of food was enticing. Zilarin kicked her legs and flapped her wings, rolling herself onto her belly and getting off the floor cushion. She went to peer over Galon's shoulder. "Food."

Galon laughed, and his neck frill perked up. "Food," he agreed. He unclipped several pouches from his flight harness and put them on the table. He glanced at his mate. "How are you feeling? How did it go today?"

Zilarin made a gesture--normally a burst of magical sparks would have come from her paw, but now there was nothing. "My magic's gone again. It didn't even last one day."

"I told you there wasn't any point trying to get started with work again."

"All your fault." Zilarin extended her wing and playfully slapped her mate's hindquarters, which made his neck frill perk up.

"Mmh. I will take credit for that, yes." He winked at her, but then changed the topic. "Is number one home?"

"No, not yet. Just after lunch, Jarzyl flew over to a friend's house--Caden or Atlas's place. But she agreed to eat dinner with us, so I expect she'll be back soon."

"We'll wait for her, then." Galon nodded. "She was very troubled earlier. I hope with the afternoon to think it through, she'll be less upset."

"Can you blame her? Pah!" Zilarin snorted. "That family meeting we had over lunch... what did you expect? Our poor daughter had no idea what was coming--Mira casually blew up Jarz's worldview, and you went right along with it."

Mira was Zilarin sister, and Jarzyl's aunt. The two families were close, and so when Mira had revealed the news that she, her mate, and their children were leaving Clan Mintaka to join their long rival Clan Taslin, Jarzyl hadn't taken the news very well.

Galon sighed. "It was North's idea." North Mintaka--the prime wingleader of Mintaka--a powerful drake. Also the father of Mira and Zilarin, which made things complicated. "I can't just refuse what your father wants."

Zilarin laughed dismissively. "You could! You know you could."

"Fine, I could, but I won't, because he isn't wrong. It is a good plan for the clan."

"The clan is not the family."

"There's an overlap."

Zilarin stared at him for a time, silent, but judgemental. Galon stared back, and the two dragons observed each other. "You remember, Galon, back when we were first courting--I was already madly in love with you then, but the deciding factor for why I asked you to be my mate was that I thought you would be a good father." Zilarin nodded. "And you are. You're such a good role model. Jarzyl is... incredible, and you put in so much effort to care for her and guide her right. By the sky spirits, I love her and I love you more than anything else in the world."

Galon bumped his snout against hers. "It's a team effort. You're a good mother. And we're far from done. Jarz might be a fledgling now, but she's not fully grown just yet." He paused. "But I know what you're implying! You think that this... plan of your father's isn't good parenting? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes!" Zilarin rolled her eyes. "Jarzyl is loyal to the clan because we raised her that way. For Mira to come in and announce that she's leaving the clan with her family--that goes against the core values that we taught. And for you to even act like you're contemplating leaving the clan too? No surprise Jarzyl was shouting."

Galon sighed. "This isn't easy for me either. But we can't just tell her."

"Why not? She's a smart fledgling. She would understand."

"Yes but it's about protecting her. We agreed--you, me, and North--that Jarzyl should not get involved with this."

Zilarin laughed. "Haha! Oh, nullfire, I don't want her involved in this. Bah, if I had a choice, I wouldn't even want you or Mira to get involved in this clan politicking and scheming," she muttered. "But you saw how Jarzyl reacted. You can try to fool the other clans, but you can't fool her. She knows this doesn't make sense. If we don't tell her the truth, she'll figure it out on her own. Anyway, what are you worried about?"

"I worry that if we tell her the plan, she'll try to get involved."

"Well, tell her but just don't let her get involved. There's nothing for her to do anyway."

Right at that moment, the balcony doors rattled from the wind as a dragon arrived outside the house. Night had already fallen and it was dark, yet Jarzyl still made a fast approach before landing neatly on the balcony. There was more rattling as she fiddled with the door handles before she shoved open the doors and strolled into the living room. "Hey!" Jarzyl cheerfully declared.

The fledgling beamed and her neck frill perked up, but then a second later she remembered to be upset and her smile turned to a frown. "Hey!" she repeated, but this time sounding upset. "I have several things I would like to say, regarding... earlier today!" she loudly announced.

Galon couldn't miss the growing agitation in their daughter's tone. "Jarzyl..."

Zilarin gestured at him. "Let her say her piece."

Galon nodded. "We're listening."

Jarzyl stormed up to the dining table and sat down on the floor cushion opposite them. Years ago, as a hatchling, she had been so small she struggled to even reach the tabletop--now as a fledgling, she was almost as big as her parents. "Right then. This... this family meeting we had over lunch. All this talk about leaving Mintaka? I think that... that it is wrong, and that _you_are wrong, and I do not approve! Why would Aunt Mira do this? Why would _you_do this? After all that the clan has done... I can't believe..."

She had been looking between her two parents, but now her gaze focused more on her father. "You helped design that new city sector, expanded Mintaka territory by the greatest leap in four decades, and... and now you just throw everything away? What even...? I'm not going to Clan Taslin, and you... I can't believe you would even contemplate going to Taslin! The cousins, going to Taslin--no, no, no. It would just... I can't... I do not approve! Blllarggh!" Leaping back to all fours, Jarzyl paced around the room.

Zilarin had the faintest of grins on her snout, and she glanced sideways at Galon. Though she didn't say anything, Galon knew that Zilarin agreed with Jarzyl. Galon gestured for their daughter's attention. "What Mira and Decarn choose to do is their choice for their family. But for us--"

"But for us, I'm not a hatchling!" Jarzyl interjected. "Maycor and Demaeter? Sure I get that no one cares what they think! They hardly even know what a clan is, of course they don't care which clan they are in. But I care!" There was an adolescent, righteous passion to Jarzyl's words, and she glared furiously at her parents, daring them to argue back. "So are you just going to leave me behind in Mintaka? Or are you going to get me dragged into Clan Taslin, against my will?"

"I acknowledge that this is an important matter for all of us to be in agreement about. There is no scenario where we leave you behind. Our family..." Galon gestured at Jarzyl, Zilarin, and even the unhatched egg incubating silently in the nesting box. "...is sticking together. And we won't go to Taslin unless we all agree that it is the right decision. Your mother and I, and you too, must all agree."

Jarzyl agitation reduced slightly--part of her anger had derived from a sense of being ignored. "Then we're not going to Taslin. I don't want to leave Mintaka. Mintaka is the best clan. Grandpa would... we can't leave Mintaka, and leave him behind. That's not right!"

Zilarin leaned over and murmured to Galon. "We should just tell her. That's the right way."

"There's no right way out of this," Galon sighed, and Jarzyl noticed.

"What are you two whispering about?! Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, we hear you." Galon sighed again, longer, and then he stood up and walked across the dining room.

Jarzyl kept staring at him, tracking his movements. "Hey! Where are you going?!"

"Jarzyl," Galon growled, putting a firmer, authoritative tone to his words. "Ask the right questions." Jarzyl glared at him, but she didn't yell again. Going over to the balcony, Galon pulled the balcony doors firmly shut--Jarzyl had left them open after she'd arrived. It was unlikely that their conversation was loud enough to be heard by any of the neighbouring homes, but better to play it safe.

Meanwhile Zilarin started unpacking the food on the table. She took out a bread roll and extended it to Jarzyl. "Is being hungry making you angry?"

"Yes." Sitting down at the dining table, Jarzyl swiped the offered bread roll and munched down on it. She stopped mid bite to continue ranting. "But I'm still angry anyway, because I am not leaving Mintaka. It doesn't make sense. None of this makes sense. It's a ridiculous idea, and I can't believe that--"

"You know it's not my idea, right?" Galon cut in. He sat back down at the table, at his own floor cushion opposite their daughter. "And before you ask, Mira leaving Mintaka wasn't her idea either. Not that she seems to mind going to Taslin, but she was perfectly happy to stay in Mintaka."

"Oh." More of Jarzyl anger dissolved into confusion. "Really? But then whose idea was it?"

"Take a guess." Zilarin took out several large sandwiches wrapped in waxy paper, and slid one to Galon, then to Jarzyl, then unwrapped one for herself. "You know it obviously wasn't me either."

Jarzyl took her sandwich but didn't unwrap it. "If it wasn't your idea, and it wasn't Mira's idea, then... Uncle Decarn? Wait, no. Grandpa?"

Galon dipped his head in a nod.

"Why?" Jarzyl demanded.

"Now that's the right question." Galon shrugged, flicking his wings. "Jarz, you trust me, you trust your mother, yes? And you know that no matter what, we have you best interests in mind?"

Jarzyl nodded, as if this were obvious, but she also looked distracted by thought. "Grandpa asked Aunt Mira to leave Mintaka? But there's no benefit to that. She's one of our best shipmasters, why would it be of any good if she left the clan? Unless... unless the benefit is in her joining Taslin." The fledgling's gaze suddenly sharpened, and her eyes lit up with imagination. "Oh! Mira went to Taslin to work in their airship fleet--she's going to spy for us, learn all about Clan Taslin's operations, then we can somehow undercut or... or do a hostile takeover of Taslin?"

Zilarin laughed. "A hostile takeover?"

Galon drummed his claws against the table. "Listen to me. First--do not share anything about this to your friends, your classmates, or with anyone. This is serious. Rumours could cause serious damage to the clan."

Jarzyl nodded earnestly. "Ok. I can keep a secret. But... we're doing a hostile takeover of Taslin?!"

"Not hostile, and not even a takeover--an alliance, maybe a merger. We collaborated with Taslin for the sector forty-nine project, and that turned out well. Building off that, our clans are in advanced discussions for future integration. I assume you've heard that Taslin and Hasilt clans once were going to merge, but their merger has been stalled for decades now. But thanks to the joint construction project of sector forty-nine, our clan has links with Taslin. There are communication channels that were set up, professional and personal relationships that formed, and even financial and accounting ties. Even the fact that the brand-new city sector is co-owned helps our clans work together side by side. A potential alliance structure is planned between Mintaka and Taslin, and we've both started transferring a few wingleaders and other senior planners across clan lines."

"Oh...! We're actually doing a merger?" Jarzyl looked intrigued. "Really? Wow!" she exclaimed.

"Much as she has an independent streak and might have you believe she can run her airship however she wants, your Aunt Mira is very much part of Mintaka leadership. As a shipmaster, she represents the best of our clan's leadership and engineering cultures. Now she's commanding a Taslin airship, leading dragons from Taslin, and that is another step forward in our possible merger."

"Why didn't you just tell me this earlier today? Why the secrecy?"

"Because it is supposed to be a secret, and nothing may come of it. It is also to both clans' advantage to appear weak at the moment, to not give any hint to other apex clans that this is a possibility."

"Oh ho! Wooh!" Jarzyl leapt to her feet and paced around the room, but now looking eager rather than angry. "How exciting! I get it now. It all makes sense."

Zilarin sniffed dismissively. She spoke between bites of her sandwich. "It's just routine clan politicking. These sorts of ploys happen every decade or so, with one or a few of the apex clans trying for a power play. I don't expect anything to change."

"But Mintaka and Taslin? If we actually merged, we would _own_the city," Jarzyl said. "It wouldn't be close. We would be the most powerful clan for sure."

Galon tried to dampen expectations. "Nothing is confirmed, though. There's a reason the five apex clans have been stable for a century. This alliance and merger could very well fall apart due to disagreements. Top leadership from both clans wants to move forward--or at least, _Mintaka_leadership wants a merger, and Taslin leaders seem to agree. But you have to remember that an apex clan is enormous, and merging two apex clans requires a vast amount of negotiation and compromise on both sides. Legal department, financials, operations, strategy planning, socials, all the departments, in every part within each clan has to work something out. It all has to be sorted."

Jarzyl nodded. She clearly understood what her father was saying, but he wasn't sure if she understood all of it. "But it would be better for both clans to merge? We'd have more power!"

Galon chuckled. "Not that simple. What's a good way to explain this?"

Zilarin piped up. "It's like choosing a mate. You could theoretically pair up with almost anybody to pool resources, but no, you won't do it randomly. You have to take your time and really know the other person before you can make a wise decision. Same with clans."

Jarzyl flicked her neck frill. "That doesn't help me understand this at all. I know nothing about choosing a mate. And I don't want a mate anyway. I am perfectly happy on my own."

The two adult drakken exchanged a look. "Oh, really?" Galon asked.

Her mother just laughed. "Happy on your own? I don't think that's accurate. You are constantly surrounded by your friends, and you enjoy that--which is all the better, because good relationships are required for a healthy life. And now that you're a fledgling, it's perfectly normal for you to start thinking about romance and maybe even considering dating. I know you spend a lot of time with--"

"Stooop!" Jarzyl squeaked, with her voice cracking a little. With an embarrassed wince, she used her paws to cover her face and wrapped her wings around her head. "I'm not talking about this! Don't change the topic! We were talking about clan politics, not about what I do in my free time! Which isn't romance, anyway!"

"Alright. But you know you can always come to me or your mother if you need advice or support with anything--" Galon said.

"Yes-fine-thank-you-I-love-you-too-dear-parents-but-I-do-not-need-or-want-dating-advice!" Jarzyl muttered in a rapid stream of words. "Tell me more about the exciting clan drama with Taslin!"

Zilarin chuckled. "It's not exciting clan drama. It's negotiations, proposals, and endless meetings and analytical papers and tedious correspondence. Very boring stuff." She glanced at her mate. "Honestly I don't know how you stand any of it."

Galon shrugged. "You're not wrong. It is a lot of paperwork."

"But Taslin! Aunt Mira went to Taslin, to fly one of their airships. And... you said you were considering going to the Taslin planning department?" Jarzyl asked curiously.

"Oh, now you're not so upset by the idea of changing clan to Taslin?" Galon asked drily.

"Well it's different if we're going to Taslin with the intention to be infiltrators trying to absorb their clan into Mintaka." Jarzyl frowned. "Not that I want to go. But... but it might be exciting, if it were temporary."

Galon shook his head. "We're not. We're not going to Taslin anyway. Your grandfather asked us to consider the move, but I also share your preference to stay in the clan." Standing up, Galon went over to the side of the living room where the incubator box was placed. Peering in, he placed a paw on the glass. "Mintaka has better benefits for egg and hatchling care. If I transfer to the Taslin central planning office, it would be expected for me to take up a new architecture project right away. Whereas staying here in Mintaka, I can glide along on the sector 49 project, just riding the success as we tidy up the project. I have more time to spend with family."

Zilarin nodded eagerly. She had finished off her beef sandwich by now, whereas Jarzyl had been too engrossed to even start eating. "More free time for you to spend with us. And for you to keep that egg warm," she muttered fondly.

"Eh. Boring," Jarzyl muttered, but she sat down and finally start to eat her dinner. "We have an incubator box. The machine can do it all. Why waste time nesting that egg manually?"

With a laugh, Galon strolled away from the incubator box and went to sit down beside Jarzyl. He put his wing over her back. "Many years ago, we were both busy with work and we had to leave your egg to be incubated in the medical centre. But for the final month before you were about to hatch, we had you at home and it was such a joy to keep you warm the natural way."

Zilarin nodded. "We played music and read books to you, or even just talked. And you talked back--soft little peeps and chirps through the eggshell. Then when you finally hatched... it was so fast, like you couldn't wait to burst out of the shell."

"Eh." Jarzyl rolled her eyes, but she didn't pull away from her father's wing warmly placed over her back. "You can do what you want to number two. Just don't expect me to be babysitter or helper when that egg hatches. I made no agreement to this. You two unilaterally decided to make that egg."

"We are one family, all in this together," Galon insisted, but he nodded. Standing up, he went to the other side of the table and put his wing around Zilarin. "There will be times where you will need to be responsible. But yes, we're doing the parenting, not you."

"Responsible? I don't want to be responsible. It's bad enough that sometimes Aunt Mira asks me to take care of my cousins. Having to take care of a hatchling that lives in the same house is worse. How come you trust me?" Jarzyl said.

"I am confident," Zilarin murmured, "that just as you are a good cousin to Demaeter and Maycor, you will be a loving, caring sister to your siblings too."

"Whatever." Jarzyl flicked her neck frill. She kept munching on her dinner, then paused mid bite. "Sibling, you mean. Not siblings."

"No, I mean siblings, plural." Zilarin nodded. "I just tested a few days ago, and I'm gravid again."

Jarzyl froze for a few seconds. "What?!" she exclaimed so loudly and suddenly that she spat out a chunk of bread she had just bitten. "Why?! How?! What?!"

"Number three... made the same way number two was made. And we've definitely talked with you before about how an egg is made."

"I'm not a hatchling! I know how eggs get made," Jarzyl sputtered. "But I mean... you were just... it hasn't even been one month since you laid number two, and you're gravid again?! I thought being in heat is supposed to be a once a year, or once every two-year thing?! How did you do it so fast?!"

Zilarin shook her head. "It's a clutch cycle. Do they not teach this to you in school? After a drakka lays an egg, there's a decent likelihood she goes into heat again right away. Because if you're already having to take the time to nest one egg, you might as well nest two together. Or three. A whole clutch of eggs."

Jarzyl glared at her parents. "Why?! Would it have been so hard for you two to just... not mate for a while? Unbelievable! If you knew this could happen, why were you not being more careful?! Why not use heat suppressors so there wasn't any risk of this?"

The two drakken laughed. "Oh, it wasn't an accident. This was planned."

With a groan, Jarzyl again wrapped her wings around her head. Her voice came out muffled. "Not just number two, but number three as well. This house is going to be so noisy. Number one does not approve!"

"You'll get used to it." Zilarin patted her belly, which wasn't yet showing any hint of the egg that was quickly growing inside. "Don't you complain. You're not the one who's going through the stress of being gravid again. What's wrong with having another sibling?"

"Cursed nullfire antimagic take me," Jarzyl muttered under her breath. "Please tell me you're done! Number two laid and incubating, number three preparing to be laid, but no number four, right?"

"No number four. Yet." Galon started clearing up the sandwich wrappings from dinner, though he left Jarzyl's half eaten sandwich. "Maybe in the future."

"This is a very exciting moment for our family."

"Very exciting," Galon agreed.

Zilarin piped up. "Oh, Galon, we should discuss the room planning?"

"Right, yes! Thank you for the reminder." Galon tapped his paw against the table for attention. "Jarzyl, are you listening? We're going to need to make some changes to the house. I'm going to shift some of the walls in the coming months. There are a few options. I mainly want to create a new nesting room which will eventually become a bedroom for your siblings. But for that I'll need to move the left wall of your room, so your room will be around one third smaller than before."

Jarzyl flinched as if physically struck, and she muttered a swear.

"Mind your language," Galon told her. He gestured at the nesting box, with the egg inside it. "Don't set a bad example for your sibling. Or your siblings." Zilarin laughed.

Jarzyl muttered something else, too soft to be audible. She unwrapped her wings from around her head to glare at her parents again. "You're shrinking my room?!"

"We're shrinking our bedroom too, by more than yours, and repurposing the storage room in the corridor," Galon explained. "Alternatively, I could expand your room using that free space, if you were willing to share your bedroom with your siblings? That's the other option."

Jarzyl neck frill went flat against her neck. "No, that is worse. I am not sharing my room with a couple of pesky hatchlings. Between the two options I'd rather have my room wall moved but... is there no other way...? We can't just have them live in the dining room? No? Uuugggghhhh..." She let out a long groan and slowly sank down from the table, landing on the floor with a thump.

Galon chuckled. "I'm drafting out the new room layout diagrams already. I'll show them to you later. But you understand how this is necessary, yes?"

Jarzyl just groaned.

"And start brainstorming for names for your new siblings," Zilarin added.

---

END