The nest was small and cosy, only just large enough for the two furred dragonesses to lay curled up inside with the three hatchlings. Everyone was still fast asleep, even as early morning light began to filter in through the cave entrance, the sounds of birds waking up filtering in through the brisk air.

It was still warm inside the cave though, especially in the nest, the nesses’ thick fur radiating out warmth. Femzy and Seracen both had luxurious coats, and the hatchlings were young enough to have the fluffy, soft layer that came right after hatching. Still, all three were snuggled in between their mothers’ sides. Two were right in between them, pressed into their fur, while the third had draped herself over Femzy’s muzzle sometime in the night.

The first hatchling had bright orange fur that matched Femzy’s, though lacking the scaled parts. The second had black fur, but did have a line of scales running down the bridge of his snout, as as well as some along the legs and the small wings. The third hatchling was a vibrant mixture of black and orange, fur changing seamlessly from one to the other in swirling patterns. She was the one currently draped over Femzy’s muzzle and was also the first one to rise.

A particularly loud burst of birdsong made the hatchling jerk awake, yawning widely before blinking around sleepily. A stretch made her slide off of Femzy’s muzzle, falling to the ground with a soft thump. Everyone else in the nest was still breathing slowly and deeply, but the hatchling was awake now.

Yawning again, the little dragon’s belly gave a rumble and she looked down at it as if in surprise. It happened again and she let out a soft whine, getting to her feet and then padding softly over to Femzy. The hatchling nuzzled into her cheek, chirping insistently until her mother’s eyes opened slowly, blinking a couple of times until the hatchling came into focus. She nuzzled back lightly, trying not to move too much. “Shhh, it’s okay.”

The hatchling gave another little chirp, nibbling lightly at Femzy’s fur before jumping back with a whine, flapping her wings a little. It was still far too early to expect the hatchlings to speak, so she had to find another way to get the message across. “Go back to sleep,” Femzy cooed, trying to nudge the hatchling in against her throat where she usually liked to sleep, but the little dragon wasn’t having any of that.

She scampered free, jumping over to where Seracen lay sleeping and then clambering up her muzzle to sit between her horns. It was hard to stay sleeping after that, the black dragoness yawning widely and lifting her head up slowly so as not to dislodge the hatchling. “Morning, love,” she said softly to Femzy, tilting her head so that, with a little squeal, the black-and-orange hatchling tumbled down and off of her nose, landing with a huff on the floor. A quick look out the cave at the newly-risen sun made the dragoness cover the other two hatchlings with her wing, hoping to let them sleep a little longer.

Another loud tweet from outside made the multicoloured hatchling jerk in that direction again, scampering forwards with everything else forgotten. The two adult dragons watched after her carefully, but didn’t follow, not wanting to disturb the other hatchlings. “Restless this morning,” Femzy churred, giving her mate’s cheek a kiss and nibble.

Seracen gave a soft purr back. “As long as it doesn’t spread,” she said with a smile, checking beneath her wing. “Don’t want to get up this early all the time…”

There was a particularly loud series of chirps and trills from outside, the sounds of an excited hatchling. It was only a few moments before she bounded back in proudly, a few feathers poking free from her muzzle. The bird sounds from outside was perhaps now just a little quieter. “We have a little hunter,” Seracen cooed softly, pulling away the stray feathers from her hatchling’s muzzle.

Now with a full belly, the hatchling had no trouble going back to sleep, jumping over to Femzy and curling up against her throat where it was particularly warm. “It makes breakfast much simpler,” Femzy purred, laying her head back down. Seracen followed suit until they were almost nose to nose, joining their hatchlings in sleep again.