Work Text:
Hisashi gazed at the tiny egg before him. Tiny compared to the giant sea dragon that hovered over it. It was tucked securely in a soft bed of fine sand, the nesting ground carved out in the middle of the expansive reef Inko had chosen. The egg was perfectly round with a luster to it that reminded him of a pearl.
He reached out with a single finger to touch it. Barely brushing it. Scared to accidentally break the fragile shell. This single egg was what Inko had given up her life to have. Sea dragons could have up to five eggs per clutch. But his beautiful Inko had only produced one. The consequence of daring to have children for any female sea dragon was the relinquishing of their life.
And so he was left alone once again.
Hisashi looked up at the shimmering light in the water that filtered down to him. His face somber. He hasn’t felt this alone since losing his brother. The brother who had hatched much smaller than Hisashi, and with an unfortunate weak constitution. Hisashi glanced at the colorful and bustling reefs around him. Would his brother have survived if they had grown up here instead of his freezing homeland? Where food was scarce and light was a luxury.
He glanced down again at the egg that was left for him. The shell had a luster like that of a pearl. Gleaming like the scales Inko had been adorned with. He curled around the egg again just at the reminder of his mate. He was thinking too much of the ones he has lost. This is why he hated being alone.
“Just a hundred more years to meet you, my precious pearl.” Hisashi quietly told the egg. Sometimes he felt like the years could go by in a blink of the eye. But this was agonizing with anticipation.
His stomach grumbled loudly at him and Hisashi sighed uncurling from his protective nesting position. Being such a large creature came with the constant need to feed to maintain such a body. It was quite inconvenient when one wished to nest. But Inko had chosen the perfect place. Hisashi glanced at the vibrant reefs around him. Plenty to eat.
-=-
The rock fell into place a safe distance from where his pearl laid. Hisashi scrutinized its placement before moving it over a bit more. He’d been feeling like his pearl was too exposed lately. He wanted to build a bit more cover for them.
By now, the creatures were quickly learning to avoid his part of the reef. There technically was no danger to his pearl but the primal need to care for his unhatched child kept him constantly thinking of them. He would pick his pearl up and move them to a cave but the thought of disturbing his pearl from the sand bed made his anxiety spike. Just a tiny misplaced prick of one of his claws and the fragile shell might crack.
Hisashi swam over to the side of the reef and clawed at the rock, ripping off a chuck to continue building his circular perimeter around his nest. The coral was dying anyway. Hisashi’s endless appetite had seen to that. Food was becoming a challenge to find and the little habitat was suffering under his hunger. Sea dragon’s typically travelled inside a great territory. It was only during nesting that one settled down like this.
He brought the chunk of reef over and placed it beside his last rock, enclosing the circle. Would there be enough food around for his pearl when they emerged? His thoughts again wondered to his brother. His sickly brother hadn’t been able to hunt for himself. He only lasted past his four hundredth year thanks to Hisashi’s constant overseeing. But in the end it hadn’t been enough.
The glint of his pearl out of the corner of his eye had Hisashi frowning. Would his child be weak as well? No. Hisashi would ensure they grew strong. Just make sure they learned to hunt and eat whatever they could. His poor brother ended up starving because of the simple fact that every sea dragon could only hunt so much. His brother had refused to drag Hisashi down with him into starvation in those arctic waters. Only the strong could survive. And Hisashi would make sure his pearl was strong.
His child would survive. He wouldn’t allow otherwise.
-=-
Hisashi stared unblinking at his pearl. There it was again! Just barely, he could make out a shadow within it. Not quite taking the shape of a child yet. But obviously the beginnings of one.
“My pearl, you are growing so quickly.” Hisashi mused to the egg. He wondered how excited Inko would have been to see the product of her hard work. She had always been so expressive. Would their child be the same way?
He then sat up and frowned. The ear fin on one side of his face twitching as he had a sudden thought. What if they emerged as a female? He’s grown too attached to ever be disappointed with who ever emerged. But the thought of having a daughter only to lose her like he lost Inko made him bare his sharp teeth. Of course, that wouldn’t be an issue if he made sure she never found a mate.
He consoled himself with such a thought. Either way, male or female, he would be there to protect them. Even if it meant protecting them from themselves. He didn’t know what he would do if he lost them. If he was alone again.
He laid his head on his arms to continue watching the tiny shadow in the pearl.
“You won’t leave me like the rest will you, pearl?” Hisashi asked the egg.
-=-
Hisashi swam over the greying reef. The coral became more like stone as the last of the creatures who had maintained it had fled from the area. The reef was officially dead and all of its occupants had migrated. Even those mers who had been around had gone further away.
A shadow moved above him and Hisashi shot up without even really checking what it was he would be devouring. His jaws closed around a black tip shark and it was merely a mouthful of food for the sea dragon. Creatures only passed by overhead now. Not daring to near his nesting ground.
Hisashi sank back to his pearl. His stomach rumbled demanding more but Hisashi couldn’t bring himself to leave his child alone. He felt an ironclad instinct to remain within sight of his pearl. Food was becoming scarce within the nesting grounds. He was used to hunting in areas of scarcity from his time in the arctic. But this was different. He wasn’t free to move and hunt.
He wouldn’t last if this kept up.
“Pearl, what should I do?” Hisashi asked the egg. His hatchling had never answered him over these years. Nonetheless, he felt bonded with them.
So a choice was left to make. Either he stayed awake and on guard for the next few decades, likely starving to death long before his pearl hatched. Or he could hibernate. Neither option pleased him. Sleeping through years could mean he would be vulnerable with his egg…
But he would never leave his child to be alone in life.
So his choice was already made even if it was not ideal.
A few days later Hisashi settled curled around his pearl. He had patrolled his nesting ground in the futile hope that the food supply would return. But he couldn’t wait any longer.
“I’m sorry, my pearl.” Hisashi said as he gazed upon the gleaming egg. “But I’ll be here when you come out. Just wake me.” he said watching the shadow within the pearl. It felt fundamentally wrong to leave his pearl exposed, even if he was circled around it.
He locked his red eyes on the pearl and debated. He glanced at his long white tail. He maneuvered himself around, wrapping his tail up and creating a dome. He immediately felt better to be able to seal his fragile pearl from the harsh ocean.
“Good night. I’ll see you when I wake.” Hisashi promised reluctantly. He didn’t want to shut his eyes. He feared what would happen if he opened them again only to find himself alone. But his body protested staying awake. Intuitively knowing hibernation was needed in his malnourished state. So he was forced into slumber with the uneasy acceptance that his very own body would be a shield for his pearl.
-=-
Hisashi woke sluggishly. It was hard to move and his muscles screamed at him for even flexing. A hardened coating of settled sand and dirt on his body from being inanimate for decades. For a few moments he simply lay there waiting for his body to regulate itself back into normalcy after so long asleep.
Then, all at once, his muscles undulated causing cracks to form in the coating and eventually it fell away. Hisashi was quick to reach out to where his pearl was and shield it from the falling debris. His body screeched in protest as he unfurled from his position and his jaw clicked as he yawned. Waking from hibernation felt worse than he expected.
“Good morning pearl.” Hisashi said, lifting his hand to gaze upon his prized child. But froze as he saw nothing but sand beneath his palm. His mind blanked. Fear gripping him to his core. He couldn’t have lost his pearl!
He waved his hand over the sand, causing it to flutter up in clouds as he hoped his pearl had just been buried by the sand. Yet he found nothing even as he looked all around him in the sands.
The landscape had changed quite a bit since his slumber. It looked like this reef never recovered from his brief hunting. Now there was just sand and barren rocks. Nothing around to indicate where his pearl was. Hisashi had nearly fallen into despair until a scent hit his nose.
Blood.
And not just any blood.
Sea dragon blood.
Hisashi’s head snapped in the direction the faint trail headed. It was already dissipating in the waters. He wouldn’t be able to follow it for much longer. But it gave him hope. He...must have missed his pearl’s hatching. But they were still around. And hurt.
There wasn’t much blood so it probably wasn’t serious. And as Hisashi stretched his great tail he realized the blood must have been what had awoken him from his slumber. He gazed off in the direction of blood as his eyes slitted into a predatory stare. He’d find his lost and vulnerable child. And he’d never let them go again.