Sharing Bounty

Story by Cepheus Runeweaver on SoFurry

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#4 of Flight Rising

This was a fun story for a good friend of mine, and my first dabbling in oviposition. Not something I'm good at, but... I did my best :3


The lightweaver had truly blessed the land of Illei and her fleet this day. The maize- and blood-tinted guardian flew high above her clan's territory, casting a broad shadow below that drew the attention of her flight's members. Airborne dragons sharing the sky flew around her in a loving, appreciative dance, and dragons below gazed upwards upon seeing her shadow, and called their greetings skyward. Her massive wings flapped, and a smile crossed her robust maw. She joined her fellow clansmen in a short sky dance, twirling and gliding, displaying impressive agility for her size as she caressed smaller members of her fleet with her wings before falling off and resuming her flight.

Her clan was small, but they loved her, and she loved them back. The sun shone above, and Illei knew the warmth was within her, as well as on her back. Growing in her belly was the product of such love, a romantic consort had recently given her a clutch; one she was more than happy to carry. In time, she would bear the eggs, and her fleet would be bolstered, and love would grow.

She was not the only one, either. Illei descended in a downward spiral, landing near the edges of her clan's territory on a great cliff overlooking a plain below. It was a secluded area, a sort of 'secret', as it was barricaded off by thick forest and could be hard to spot from the sky as well. Those looking for privacy, however, could usually find it here. Today she joined a much smaller, obsidian Skydancer female, covered in gleaming fiery gems. Looking up to see her matriarch coming to join her, the Skydancer lowered her body in a respectful quadrupedal bow, lasting only a few seconds before greeting her in a more casual manner, tail swaying happily from side to side in wide arcs. "Matriarch Illei! It's good to see you, mistress."

"Good morning, Leira! Lightweaver's warmth upon you!" She shook the ground as she landed, kicking up dust and folding her wings before returning the bow to the tiny dragon. "How are you today? More importantly, how is that belly of yours?" The guardian let out a deep chuckle and casually reached out with a large hand and softly nudged the slightly swollen underbelly of the smaller Skydancer with one of her talons. Such physical intimacy was common in Illei's fleet; touching was as common as breathing here, and encouraged close bonds between dragons.

Ticklishly, Leira giggled and squirmed away, twirling in a circle to get away from the playful paw. "My belly and I are doing great! It should be any day now that I lay this nest." She sat back on her haunches and patted her stomach.

Illei laughed softly, bringing her talon back to her body and joining Leira in taking a seat on the cliff. "That is adorable. Tell me, I usually see you courting with the other ladies of our fleet; who is the lucky male? Or, are you perhaps surrogating for a female you wish to mate to?"

"Oh... No, no surrogating, just - You know." Leira looked away shyly, hesitating.

"Was it Luci again?" Illei smirked.

With a huff, Leira feigned exasperation. "I can't help it! Ridgebacks like him are so... dreamy..." She sighed and her wings fluttered involuntarily. "The way he... oooh! Never you mind me, mistress."

Letting out a more boisterous laugh, Illei jeered playfully at Leira, "You just like the way his huge frame coddles your little Skydancer body, mm? I bet he's such a gentle giant to you, no? Those large talons brushing your fur and his horn running over your body, eh?"

"N-no! I-I mean yes! I mean..." Leira huffed and flapped her wings, flustered. "Well, yeah! Just like you enjoy cuddling smaller dragons! Imagine that!" She feigned confrontation, batting playfully at the larger guardian's massive leg.

"You mean like you?" With one swift movement of her large foreleg, Illei lifted a maize taloned hand to push on the chest of the smaller Skydancer, flipping her over onto her back and giving her a soft rub with the underside of her finger. Illei was easily ten times larger than Leira, and she knew Leira loved the affections of larger dragons, so she relished in the ability to make her clanmate so happy. "You know how I love to share my life and loves with my sisters, sweet Leira, and I love to hear of others, too!" She sung.

Just as Illei expected, Leira let out an eep as she found herself on her back, smothered by the warm affections of a giant's hand. She seemed to churr, purring not unlike a large cat, and Illei smiled.

"Oh yes, I know." Leira replied, hugging one of the guardian's large digits. "And with you, I am more than happy to share!" She looked up from beneath the large hand with a bit of a flirtatious gaze.

Illei blushed, as they sat on that cliff together, overlooking the lush green plains below and doing as friends do. They talked about life and love, and all seemed so casual and friendly between a fleet leader and her clanmate, until...

"So, do you think your clutch will be healthy, Leira?" Illei asked; Leira had wound up sitting beneath the larger guardian, behind her massive forelegs, cloaked in the shade of the matriarch.

Peeking her head up from between the guardian's arms, Leira looked surprised by the sudden gravity of the question and stammered slightly. "W-well, I certainly hope so. I'm the clan healer, after all, I do hope I'd be able to nurture a healthy nest."

Spreading her forelegs a bit to give the Skydancer a bit more room to move, Illei smiled down at her soothingly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you, or to seem so serious. I was just... wondering something."

"...Something? Something else?" Leira furrowed her brow upwards in confusion.

"Yes... Did you know some dragons used to have a way of... telling?" A slight blush started to form under her light scales. "Oh, listen to me, nevermind! Now what were we talking about before?" Illei cleared her throat and attempted to dodge the topic. A wave of embarrassment came over her for the lewd thoughts in her head.

"No! You cannot do that!" Leira nipped at the guardian's ankles in frustration. "Come now, you know we're close, you don't need to hide from me, mistress Illei! You've aroused my curiosity, you tease!"

Illei shrugged off the teeth of the small Skydancer, lifting her talons to cradle beneath her chest intimately. "Oh, well... Yes, of course." She sighed. "It's just that, sometimes I feel a bit naughty... and I don't want to look too attached to my sweetest clan mates... Even if-" She trailed off.

"Even if what?" Leira grinned across her black muzzle.

Illei lowered her head to the Skydancer and planted a little kiss on her head. "Even if I am. Even if as pure as my love might be, I might like the idea of being a little messy."

Leira giggled and swiped a playful talon up at the larger guardian, glancing off the scales of her chin. Her form of play was always this rough with larger dragons, as her small size made it difficult for her to make any sort of impact; so she would roughhouse with larger dragons with no restraints, knowing that she would have a hard time injuring them. "Now what is it you were going to say? A way of telling something about my clutch? How would one do such a thing?"

"Mm..." Illei hesitated again, drawing a breath as if to relax herself and gather her courage before continuing. "It's an old, archaic practice nowadays, as we've found better means to encourage the good health of our nests... But... Males and females alike, midwives and clawmaids, would test the health of a gravid mother by testing how she... tasted."

Leira paused, then looked up at her Matriarch, squinting through fiery eyes. "...Tasted? They would eat them?"

Illei let out a soft laugh. "No! Well... Not in the traditional sense, anyway." She couldn't fight the slightly naughty grin that now dominated her maw.

"Come now, stop teasing. What are you playing at, Illei?" Leira's tail smacked the ground impatiently.

"Your flower, my dear. Your slit, vent. Your petals, and your honey. How it would taste." Illei stated bluntly, making it as clear as possible to make up for her previous dodging of the question.

Leira froze, looking dumbfounded and amazed for a moment, then burst into laughter. "No! Seriously! How did they do it?" She separated herself from the guardian's shade, returning to her previous position a few meters away. "Really now, I'd love to add the method to my collection!"

"That's it! I promise!" Illei, now free from risk of crushing her Skydancer consort, lied down on her belly in the fine grass of the cliffside. "They would pleasure a gravid female just enough to arouse her, to stimulate her. Her receptiveness, her fluid, and her scent were all indicators of how her clutch was proceeding, and they would use that knowledge to determine how best to proceed."

Leira ceased her laughter, shoulders fell limp and her head tilted, her body going lax in almost complete disbelief. "You're not serious?"

"Dead serious." Illei nodded.

Leira stared intensely, waiting, so sure that the matriarch would burst into laughter any moment and the ruse of her joke would fall.

Illei simply shrugged and nodded.

Leira's maw opened, like she wanted to say something; no words came. She looked around in confusion with her brow furrowed, as if the answer to her confusion could be found in some tangible form on the ground. Then, a realization hit her, and her body reeled backwards as though it had physically been thrown into her. "Wait! You brought this up to me, a gravid female, after inquiring about the health of my eggs. What are you suggesting? You're not implying we should...!"

Illei chuckled, sighing. "Nothing gets past you, dear Leira. Well, given the opportunity that we have here now - you and I here, alone, and enjoying one another's company... I think you can figure it out, yeah?" She shot a suggestive glance to the Skydancer.

Immediately, Leira looked both flustered and intrigued. "R-really...? Er... Right now?"

Illei could tell just by looking at her that she had embarrassed the smaller dragon, but also that she didn't seem entirely repulsed by the idea; perhaps she even wanted it, but was too afraid to say it outright. The two had never been intimate before, it would have been a first, having the matriarch herself advance on the sweet skydancer.

So, Illei went ahead and saved Leira the awkward task of finding her courage to accept. With a soft, affectionate rumble in her throat, Illei shifted her gargantuan body closer to the smaller dragoness, and offered her snout to her shying frame, resting it lower than the skydancer's chin and nuzzling her nose into her chest.

Leira hesitated, but didn't outright retreat or decline. Reaching out a tiny hand to the larger guardian, she began to stroke the top of her snout, eyes full of uncertainty. "G-good...girl?" She swallowed, choking out those two words.

"What's the matter, sweet one?" Illei spoke softly and carefully, so as not to startle or damage the little dragon with her voice. Her warm breath breezed through the feathers and fur of the skydancer as her words carefully caressed her. "I thought you'd be a little more excited."

"I-I..." She quivered a bit, leaning forward carefully in a little hug on the guardian's snout. "I don't feel I'm quite... worthy of the matriarch's attention. Especially because..." She looked away and fell silent.

There was a pause between them as Leira trailed off. "Because why? Because you're pregnant? Because I prefer males?" A smile crossed her maw, and her large, wet tongue slipped from between her jaws to surprise the smaller dragon with a slight lick to her chest fur. "Whatever the reason, perish it. You are of my clan, and therefore, your joy brings me pleasure. It's not a matter of worthiness, dear Leira. I love you like I love all my fleet."

Leira looked comforted by her matriarch's words as a smile came to her own visage, and her muscles relaxed visibly. "I know. You're right... Be honest with me, mistress Illei. Did you make that up, the thing about the... pregnant females? Just to seduce me?"

"I did not." Illei laughed lightly.

"Huh. Heh." Leira chuckled too, still having a bit of a hard time grasping the idea. "I had never heard of that before, though I guess something like that might be considered a bit too personal these days to talk about." She finally raised her eyes and locked them with her guardian matriarch, now stroking the sides of her snout with both small paws. "Though 'too personal' isn't a problem for us, now is it?"

"Absolutely not, sweet Leira." Through her grin, Illei's tongue came forth again, wide and long, giving a much heavier lick to the skydancer's obsidian underside, the breadth of it nearly spanning the entire body of the smaller dragon.

Letting the guardian smother her, Leira could barely restrain a soft moan as she shivered and withdrew her talons from Illei's white snout, and allowed herself to lean backwards, positioning herself on her back. Arms folded against her chest and her legs open provocatively, she presented herself to her clan leader. "I do want it, mistress... And I will confess, not entirely for my clutch."

Displaying a planned and surprising amount of care for such a large creature, Illei scooted forward and cuddled the entirety of her wide head on the skydancer's belly. With a warm smile and a soft chuff from her nose, she allowed Leira to hug her head while she lavished her. "There's nothing wrong with that, dear one. I think you and I both know that you'll be having a nice, strong nest of eggs... But why not 'make sure'?" She smirked and lifted her head, tilting her nose downward until the tip of it nudged against Leira's chest, soon to again be greeted by the guardian's massive tongue.

Leira could only find a murmur in her throat as she felt joy overtake her, as well as Illei's affections. Beyond just foreplay now, Illei's tongue practically blanketed her, lapping fully between her thighs and up her belly to end at her chest, smothering her all the way. By the second full stroke of her tongue, Leira was already starting to croon and moan ever so softly with delight. Such a warm, pleasing sensation, to be enveloped by the tongue of a larger dragon; it was Leira's greatest weakness, the quirk that made her give herself to the greater breeds so easily.

With a bit of amusement, Illei paused and watched as her skydancer lover's head fell back and her body relax in bliss so early. "I do so enjoy seeing the way you love larger dragons, my sweet."

"Mm-hmm..." Was all Leira could reply with, her arms still curled against her chest. She was already far too gone in the euphoria of the sweet, sweet affection.

Knowing that she relished so much in the attention of bigger lovers - and especially other females at that - Illei resisted the urge to tease her lover and pull away in a little game, instead deciding to continue her intimate washing. With a gentle softness and a clear and growing desire, Illei scooped the smaller skydancer up in one of her taloned hands, holding her delicately within her maize-colored palm while she lapped up the length of the female's belly, paying special attention to her nethers. Each stroke of her tongue would hang around her exposed pink vent for barely a moment, spreading it ever so slightly in the process, before traveling up the rest of her fuzzy body.

Before long, Leira's content sighs and gasps escalated to full moans and happy whimpers. Her scent started to permeate the air around her and bless Illei's nose while she glossed her privates wetly. With legs beginning to wiggle and kick, and wings starting to flap helplessly at the air, Leira was fully submitted to her matriarch now, and happy to be that way.

Feeling her own excitement starting to swell at the coming of Leira's scent, Illei smiled and instinctively buried her snout harder into the smaller female, licking and coddling faster, and rougher. Each time her long tongue rippled up Leira's slit and belly, the moans of pleasure that followed sent tinges of desire through Illea's spine. Such a small creature produced such a great sound that was like music to her ears. Her tail began to sway, and in her throat she began to rumble, sending vibrations through her neck and snout that seemed to serve in exciting Leira even more.

With a particularly sharp gasp and a wing-flutter of slight embarrassment, Leira twitched from a sudden surge of pleasure. "M-mistress..." She crooned, giving way to more soft moans. She licked her lips and moved her maw as though she wanted to speak more, though couldn't find the words. Her talons started to rake softly at the guardian's tough scales, and Illei could feel her trying to push her gaze further downward, wanting more attention given to her privates.

Picking up on that subtle gesture, Illei stopped running her tongue up the greater length of the skydancer's body, and focused intensely on her nethers. As Illei began to softly sweep over and into her vent, she immediately noticed the bittersweet flavor of her fluids beginning to flow quite heavily. With a sound in her throat of both surprise and mischief, Illei turned her eyes upward, but didn't cease her tender licking, not wanting to stop the flow of her skydancer's pleasure. She wanted to see just how far she could take this, hopefully...

As expected, Leira shivered and let out a content, lewd song, wings spreading limply over the ground as her tail swished beneath Illei's chin. The small talons no longer pushed the guardian away, but clawed at her own furry belly as if trying to bring her lover in deeper. "P-perfect!" The swoon was audible in her voice. "Right there! Please... Don't stop?"

The combined sensations of the skydancer's surprisingly thick scent, the sounds of her moaning, and the feeling of her soft flesh between fine fur drove Illei to even greater heights. Feeling herself begin to salivate, she did nothing to stop it as she slobbered between Leira's thighs with her huge tongue, even trying to slip it into her, ending up only spreading her wide enough to flick at her most sensitive spots.

Kicking her legs in the air helplessly, Leira squirmed and writhed in the larger dragon's grasp, at the complete mercy of her matriarch, growling and fluttering with delight.

Losing herself in the act, Illei completely missed Leira's warnings of a coming orgasm. Lost in lust, Illei could hear Leira begging, pleading something, though the words were incomprehensible by the rushing of blood in her head. Only when Leira slapped a black paw down onto her snout at the exact same moment that a flood of that bittersweet honey gushed from her vulva was Illei snapped out of her lustful trance and took a couple more slurps before leaning back to admire her work.

Going limp in her large paw with eyes shut, Leira panted and tried to catch her breath as she hung off the sides of the guardian's hand, exhausted from Illei's affections. Her lower body, thighs, and tail were all soaked now, with a mixture of saliva and spilled nectar from her sex. Her fur shimmered in the sunlight, matted in some places where Leira had brushed herself back down, and completely ruffled up in others.

Carefully laying the smaller Skydancer back down on the ground, Illei licked her lips and scooted herself forward to curl her body around her exhausted lover. With a gentle talon, she started to scratch at her belly softly. "I think you'll be having a fine clutch, Leira. You were so sweet and receptive; you accepted my love so heartily!" She leaned in, putting her face just above the other's head and whispering. "And you taste amazing..."

Still struggling to catch her breath, Leira managed a couple weak, cracking chuckles, sounding like she'd been bred silly. "Thank you..." She crooned weakly, only finding the breath to speak between huffs. "Now, I feel - like I need - to repay you. - Mistress..." And she made a half-hearted effort to hoist herself up by grabbing and pulling Illei's paw, to no avail. She plopped down on her back, wings still outstretched and limp on the ground. The orgasm had completely rocked her and sucked the energy from her; her legs were almost completely inoperative.

Illei giggled as she watched her lover struggle cutely to gain her footing. "Oh? What did you have in mind, my little flower, hmm? How would you please your mistress?"

"H-hold on." Leira panted. "I'll think of something..."

With another little laugh, Illei rolled over onto her back beside the skydancer, lifting a wing over the female's head to avoid smothering her with it.

After a few minutes of sweet-nothings in pillow talk and dirty praises about the skydancer's flavor, Leira regained function of her wobbly muscles long enough to stand on all fours. With a smile and a kiss to the larger dragon's snout, she hopped up onto her belly with a quick light flap of her wings, eager to return the favor that Illei had been so kind to give her. "Now then... It's only fair I shake your world, just like you shook mine, mistress..." She giggled, the lewdness of her comment belying her typically cute and innocent demeanor as a clan healer.

"Oh? Show me then, my sweet, show me-! Oooh!" Illei crooned and startled slightly as she felt something she had not felt before. Leira had slipped her thin and furry, yet prehensile and flexible tail into her vent without so much as a warning. Almost instinctively reaching up to embrace the smaller dragon, she gently clutched her around her back beneath her ornate wings and could already feel her body tensing up. "O-oh my...!"

Using a combination of her body and her tail, she wiggled and squirmed, smiling a bit mischievously from underneath the guardian's large paw. Her body lowered, forcing her tail in further, deeper, the thicker fur along the spine of her tail brushing oh so delicately against the most sensitive corners of the gentle giant. Turning and twisting up and down, Illei found herself surprisingly captivated by the light, but powerful touches to her wet cavern. Leira slid down just a bit further, letting Illei hold her as she used her own hands elsewhere. Raking down the larger dragon's scales in a lustful manner, she reached down with her paws and spread the guardian's slit a bit wider, stroking and massaging the tender fleshy walls inside. "Don't let me fall now... I don't have a grip anywhere." Leira giggled. Indeed, her legs were hanging off the guardian's haunches, her tail was inside her, and her hands were occupied with her nethers as well.

Illei felt a strange tinge of guilt for using one of her clanmates as a toy in such a manner that she had to hold her up to be pleasured, but also arousal in feeling like she herself was the toy of the smaller dragon, taking orders and moving her around as she desired. Arousal won out, and she leaned her head back, slightly tightening her grip on the skydancer and gently brushing her talons through Leira's fur as she had her way with Illei.

Clearly, Leira had plenty of experience with larger dragons, females especially. While not a stranger to the occasional clutch from a male, her skills in pleasing her fellow females was unparalleled. Buried between the scales of the guardian and nestled between the soft pink folds was Illei's sensitive clitoris, on a large dragon like a guardian, it was easily the size of Leira's head. Once Leira found it, she knew right away what to do. With both of her skillful hands, she squeezed and toyed with it, knowing just how much sensation a small touch could bring.

Just as Leira expected, Illei couldn't help but give a slight squeeze to her lover in her grasp as her sensitive nub was suddenly gripped and caressed by the dextrous little skydancer. Letting out a little moan of delight, Illei's legs started to wiggle and kick in the air, and her wings fluttered as her little lover sent jolts of bliss up her spine.

"See?" Leira said with a giggle, still tail-pleasing and fondling her guardian matriarch, more than happy to be held so close. "I can do some pretty nice things, don't you think?" She crooned a bit, becoming overwhelmed by Illei's growing scent, and her tail and paws quickly getting soaked by her arousal, all of it coming together to incite more desire to please in the little skydancer. Helped by her mistress' lubrication, she lapped a bit of it from a hand before returning to the guardian's clit, her slick and agile paws working even better when wet.

"Y-yes! I can... I can see that!" Illei tried to retain some semblance of regality and composure, though her tiny lover was doing an excellent job at shattering it. Without a second thought, Illei began to roll her hips back and forth, toes curling in the air as though it were another male of equal size pleasing her. She may have been small, but Leira's tail was getting into corners that no male had before, and no comparably sized dragon could ever coddle her button as well as Leira did - and it showed. Despite her attempts to remain silent and not look too excited, Illei didn't notice in the throes of her pleasure that she had been moaning quite sensually, as pointed out by Leira.

"I love your songs, mistress... You seem so delighted~!" She trilled, a mixture of sweetness and naughtiness in her tone. "It's such a high praise to hear you enjoying my touch so much."

"Mmphh..." Illei immediately felt her temperature rise with a slight embarrassment. "H-hush, you, and please your mistress..." She huffed and arched her back, shuddering with pleasure as she already felt herself begin to teeter on the edge of orgasm.

With a little laugh, Leira took her command as a challenge and punctuated her statement with several firm, long squeezes to her clitoris. "Mm! Well then, I shall, my matriarch. Anything to please you." She leaned her head forward, letting her furry body graze over her outer lips. "Anything." And with that, she lowered her head into the guardian's spread vent and began to fondle her button with her tongue.

Illei's resolve immediately broke again, and she let out a howling moan, large dragon legs spreading out wide as her call echoed through the valley below, but was luckily drowned out from the rest of the fleet by the trees that concealed them.

Part of the reason that Leira loved large dragons as partners so much was the way she could immerse herself in them, almost literally. She was surrounded by her matriarch's warmth, while being cradled in her paw, and feasting on her most sensitive parts to be rewarded with a sweet nectar. The envelopment of Illei's lustful scent and careful embrace, and the way Leira could make her moan with delight drove her to melt more into her lover, getting more and more forceful with her movements. With wide head motions and a long, skillful tongue, Leira slathered circles around the larger dragon's nub, alternating positions around the large sensitive area with her paws as she ran circles around it. Meanwhile, her tail continued it's agile lovemaking, curling beneath Leira's body and plunging deep within Illei's. Her fuzzy tail flicked at each tight corner and brushed at every ridge that the length of her tail could reach. Sensing Illei's impending climax, she let herself become more and more vigorous, slipping her tail in and out and grinding her body against the guardian's vulva, letting the fur of her body join her paws and her tail in overwhelming the most pleasurable senses of the big dragon.

Leira's sudden surge of movement and action was met with an equally large surge of success. With a jerking motion that caught the small skydancer off guard, Illei howled out loudly, and quickly pulled Leira into a hug against her chest, yanking her tail from her vent and quite surprising her little lover. Twitching, moaning, and wriggling around in the grip of her orgasm that didn't seem to stop for several moments, Illei moaned and grunted, legs kicking and tail flapping until finally her orgasm ceased. Looking down after a few minutes, out of breath, she locked eyes with a dazed and bemused Leira, who was taken entirely by surprise to have traversed the length of the guardian so quickly. "S-sorry... I get sensitive very quickly after climax..." Illei laughed nervously.

"I... I take it I did well, then?" Leira licked her lips with a soft giggle, cleaning up some of the fluids that had gushed onto her snout.

Illei released her small lover, giving her a soft stroke down her body with a couple careful talons. "Y-yes... Why don't you see for yourself, hmm? I'm so sorry I pulled you up like that... I get twitchy when I... 'burst' like that..." Illei looked away, slightly bashful.

Giggling softly, swaying her soaked tail from side to side, painting the guardian's underbelly with her own honey. "I can see that now, my dear mistress, believe me..." And slid herself down her matriarch's body once more to her nethers, standing on her tail as she returned to her sensitive vulva. Without hesitation, Leira braced her small hands on the guardian's large rump and began to clean up her mess - and what a mess it was. With a surprising amount of spread and volume, Illei had managed to gush quite plentifully onto her tail and the scales surrounding her vent. Crooning with delight, Leira had no qualms in grooming her mistress, evoking many soft moans and lewd praises from up above. "Maybe it's best that you hugged me just in time, mm? I'd have to take a bath if I'd been in the way of this flood!"

After most of the mess had been cleaned up - though they'd have to have a hot bath to really remove all the hints and musk of their lovemaking - they went back to their casual lounging on the cliffside. Illei postured on her side, with her loyal skydancer Leira enveloped beneath her arm. Breath eventually returned to them, and after several kisses and licks to each other's snouts, they were satisfied in their afterglow.

"You know..." Leira broke a silence with a trailing thought. "I think your clutch will be perfectly fine, too."

After a moment of pause, a revelation dawned on Illei. She was only recently impregnated, and she hadn't told Leira of her pregnancy yet. Blinking a couple times, her gaze snapped down to the skydancer, bewildered. "H-how did you...???"

Leira's eyes didn't meet her matriarch's. A slight, hinting grin crossed her muzzle as she looked out over the cliffside.

"I'm the clan healer. I could tell."

* * *

A week had passed between Illei and Leira's frisky encounter at the cliffside.

Today, on a particularly lazy and sunny day, they had run into each other again, without any prior planning at a lake within the clan's territory.

Leira was bathing herself, shimmying and grooming her fur in the water, using her own fiery elemental affinity to warm the pool to a more cleansing, soothing temperature. As Leira submerged herself to clean her face and crown, Illei appeared on the scene from the skies with no warning and an earth-shaking rumble as she landed on the ground behind Leira.

Intrigued by the shaking of the ground and pool that she was bathing in, Leira poked her head of the water and looked around. At first she saw nothing, until Illei cleared her throat. Spinning around and yelping, Leira stammered backwards and slipped, almost falling beneath the surface of the water until she came down from her scare and gasped, clutching her maw. "Illei!! You startled me! Don't do that! Where did you come from?"

Illei laughed, resting on her haunches beside the heated lake. "I'm terribly sorry, dear. I couldn't help but say hello in a big way. It's been a while since we've been alone and I... Missed you, a bit. I'm sorry for intruding on your bath, dear one." Her voice was regal and majestic as ever, even despite her playful mannerisms. Clearly visible now was her growing belly, heavy with the eggs that she'd been blessed with a week prior.

Sighing as her heart caught up to her, she returned to her grooming, finishing up the final touches on her crown and head feathers. "Oh... It's no trouble. I'm a little anxious today, to be perfectly honest with you, mistress Illei."

Illei's face quickly shifted from joy to concern and she lowered her head slightly. "What's the matter, dear Leira? Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Today's going to be the day I lay this nest, I just know it. I've been having random contractions, my mood is swinging, and I feel... I don't know! I just feel the urge to make a nest." With a couple flaps of her soaked wings and kicks of her feet, she propelled herself to the shore beside Illei and climbed out of the water.

As Leira began to dry herself off, fluttering her wings like a bird and shaking out her fur, Illei tilted her head in concern. "Then why don't you? You needn't look good to your eggs, my dear."

"No but it's healthier, right? That, and I still have things I need to do! Earlier today, Neair managed to hurt himself on a hunt, nearly got his wing torn off by a wild animal! I think he's trying to impress a female because that creature was so much bigger than he was and ugh! Ahh but he's so sweet about it; he kept apologizing left and right because he was taking me from my nest and-"

As Leira talked, seemingly oblivious to the world around her as she went on her tangent, Illei groomed her with a couple long strokes of her large tongue before scooping her up gently in a mighty taloned hand, and placing the small skydancer on her head, sat comfortably between her horns. With a spread of her massive wings and kick of her hind legs, she was skybound, with a small black dragoness on her head.

"-I'm clearly very pregnant and due any day now, and I really should be taking care of that like you said but, I'm compelled to fulfill my duty, right?" She continued on. She grabbed a hold of Illei's horn as she took off without a second thought. "And I know I don't need to look good for my eggs, but I don't want to look like a stray with a nest; I have to at least keep up a little bit on my appearances. I mean, how can I be a respectable healer if I don't even look hygenic while nursing?"

"Mmhm." Was all Illei said as she flew, doing her best not to break out in open laughter, as the little skydancer didn't even seem to notice they were airborne yet.

"Speaking of which, why did you come here anyway? It surely wasn't just for me; if you wanted a hot bath I could- Wait, where are we going?" Leira patted Illei's head with her free hand before clutching both horns, suddenly wary of her surroundings and that she was being carried by a larger dragon.

"Goodness, love, you really are feeling the effects of pregnancy today. We're going to the nesting grounds, so we can build you a comfortable nest, dear Leira."

"O-oh... I'm so sorry."

"No need to apologize, my dear." Illei couldn't help but laugh more openly now at the endearing way her skydancer consort had acted.

Near the very heart of Illei's territory, the dragons of her fleet had carved a safe and quaint nest amongst some ruins where they could lay their eggs in safety from the elements and nosy dragons. In a couple areas, there were already some clutches spread around, being watched over by some of the other fleet members; none had yet hatched, so the area was mostly quiet.

Illei came to land near one of the open, vacant nests previously claimed by a dragon whose clutch had now hatched, leaving the nesting and material behind for others. Lowering her head to allow Leira to depart, she helped her clanmate settle down.

Leira was already showing equal parts satisfaction, and feral anxiety. Her instincts were starting to show as she began clawing at the ground and growling as she could feel her muscles contracting in her belly. She hastily scurried around, gathering up the material from the outer rim of the nest, bringing it in closer to her. Scooping up dirt, twigs, and soft grass, along with a few scattered egg fragments, Leira muttered and mumbled to herself as she compiled her burrow until she was enveloped within the fabric.

Knowing full well what it was like to be about to lay a nest and the sudden onset of emotions and discomfort, Illei stood back a respectful distance and took a lying position a few meters away as she oversaw Leira's nesting.

Sure enough, Leira curled into a ball within her collection of twigs and brush, and her gaze went aimless and blank as she began to lay her clutch. Her muscles contracted, her vent would open, and accompanied with a plentiful amount of lubrication and strained breathing, Illei saw the eggs begin to drop. Wet, and shimmering slightly, they emerged slowly, painstakingly. Grunting and clenching her teeth, Leira whined a bit as she forced the eggs from her small body. Considerable in size, the first egg was the hardest, even as Leira had laid nests before, this one stretched her painfully, as her body had to acquaint such a large load again. With great effort, the first egg fell, followed more smoothly by it's siblings over the course of several minutes; all while Leira clenched her eyes and teeth, shunning Illei from the scene while nature took it's course. The final two eggs clacked against one another as Leira deposited a reasonable clutch of three eggs together in a nice collection. Upon realizing she had finished, she coiled herself tightly around them, hugging them to her belly and looking quite pleased with herself after all the work. Within moments, the eggs began to display the signature trait of those being born in the Lightweaver's gaze; they began to glow brightly, radiating a golden light that bathed their mother and the nest they lied in.

Scooting closer to the smiling Leira, Illei offered one of her mighty talons for her to cuddle against. It was perhaps a bit wrong, but Illei felt like she was the second mother to this clutch, and Leira had been her partner for it. Some of it was the glow the eggs gave off; it tended to bring viewers a sense of calm tranquility, and these were no different.. "Good girl," She said softly, "As matriarch, I will assign a caregiver to you, to watch and warm your nest, should you be called away." She said with a smile. "I... I may even volunteer to watch over them, myself."

Leira returned her tender expression with one of her own, looking somewhat weary, and relieved. "Thank you, mistress - for everything. For the care, for the flight here ... And for making sure my nest is healthy." She looked away, back to her eggs, in an attempt to hide her mischevious grin.

"Oh, you." Illei laughed softly and reached out to stroke her small clanmate's crown. With a gentle caress, she brushed her crown of feathers and down her furry neck.

Leira crooned softly, curling tightly around her fresh nest. "Illei...?"

"Yes, my dear?" Illei continued to stroke her.

The skydancer hesitated for a moment, then: "I love you."

With a soft exhale, Illei paused for a moment, not quite stunned, but not expecting those words either. Her heart fluttered a bit, but tried not to let it captivate her too much. Her whole fleet loved her, true, but very few ever actually said it, or with such sincerity. As Leira said those three words, a tug in Illei's heart made her realize: she wished sometimes they would say it more, for it was a glorious feeling. A surge of emotion inspired Illei to lift a wing and drape it over Leira, shielding her from the sun, while embracing her and illuminating their world beneath her wings with the light of her eggs.

Illei had expected Leira to lay her eggs within the day, but didn't expect to be so captivated by them, or her. She'd mothered her own nests, she'd overseen others in their laying, but something made this one... special. Perhaps there was more to the 'sampling' of gravid females than just checking up on the health of the clutch? Perhaps it was an old-time method that served not only that purpose, but also to strengthen bonds between mothers and consorts? Caregivers to their matrons?

Maybe it was an archaic practice, but maybe it wasn't entirely outdated just yet. Thoughts filled Illei's mind - thoughts of making unions like the one Leira and Illei had shared more official. She imagined all the new loves and bonds that would form, and the happy, healthy nests that females would produce. Love and affectionate touches were already commonplace, what if pleasing the pregnant females was too? Oh how much love would bloom!

Illei didn't realize that she'd lost herself in her thoughts, and never responded to Leira's confession. Snapping out of her trance, she looked to Leira. She looked slightly downtrodden and remorseful, as though she may have said something out of line, or offended her mistress.

A slight sense of panic fell over Illei as she immediately fretted for her skydancer lover's sensibilities. Eager to dismiss those troubled thoughts, Illei coiled her body around Leira's tightly, holding her body against her belly as she did with her eggs, still covering them with her large, shielding wing. "Oh Leira... I love you too. You got me thinking with those words, my sweet. Not many of my clan say that so sincerely, and, well... It's warmed my heart. I feel like this nest is... well, ours, and I'm overjoyed to see you with it. To see us with it."

Leira looked up at the guardian coiled around her, eyes glimmering slightly and a soft smile on her maw. "Really, Illei? Do you mean that?" Her obsidian tail flickered a bit, perked up by her matriarch's words.

"I do." She nodded.

"Heh... I never in my life thought I'd be the consort of a fleet leader. Especially not one as lovely and kind as you, mistress." Leira looked back to her eggs. After a moment's pause, she looked back to Illei. "Have you ever thought of surrogating for a female mate? Raising a clutch with two mothers?"

"I admit, not before our little adventures, little Leira. Now, though, it sounds like it could be... rewarding, don't you think?" Illei blushed a bit beneath her light scales, shyly looking to her lover's eyes.

Leira hid her face behind one of her own wings. "Mmm, indeed! Maybe we should have another check-up on your own clutch before you lay them, mistress... Purely professional, of course."

Illei laughed, and opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind. With a laugh and a head shake, she came out openly, "No, my sweet. I want to make love to you again for the sake of sharing pleasure. I don't think there'll be anything professional about it."

With a chortle and a nudge, Leira teased. "Such lewdity, my mistress!" Pausing only a moment before finishing. "Your idea sounds much better."

Illei fretted for just a moment before Leira finished, and then she joined her in soft laughter. "So... If you're up for it, and not busy... Tomorrow?"

The small, sweet, obsidian skydancer locked eyes with the larger guardian, a twinkle in her eyes that belied her gentle nature.

"Tomorrow, my mistress. We do it all again."