ReBirth Of The Primordial

Io inhaled deeply, and let go of the memories. She needed to focus on the here and now, and it didn't matter that she was no longer human. That she could no longer speak. The most relevant thing right now is that she is here and that Sorcha and Dagan know that is here with them. That they are not alone.

Io concentrated on the two little ones and let out a soft huff to catch their attention. She cautiously moved closer to the two. She moved slowly, deliberately with each step she made sure that her siblings were ok. Not only was she a monster now, but she was a massive beast standing as tall as a male human and obviously designed for hunting if the books she, Dagan, and Sorcha had read were to be remembered correctly.

Her claws sank into the soil as her weight settled. Now it was a waiting game. She knew that this initial acceptance was important. That they acknowledge she is still Io and that they are still Sorcha and Dagan, brother and sister to Io. If they were to reject her at this point, Io would be heartbroken, but it would not diminish her love for them. It would certainly complicate things, though, but Dagan and Sorcha were the family Io had chosen. Even more so, they were the only thing that had made her not human, but more. So she waited, her muscles held loose, but her almond-shaped black eyes focused intently on the duo.

Time passed agonizingly slowly for Io. The twins moved around her, Dagan making sure to stay between Io and Sorcha. They stopped in front of her once more and stared hard yellow and grey meeting black. Time didn't pass at this point. It flat out stretched, and just as Io felt like she was going to break out into a sweat, they simultaneously tackled her.

Io didn't budge. The strength and size of her new form made their combined tackles almost impossible to detect. However, her heart shattered anew at the trust they held for her. The love returned. So what if she was a monster? They knew Io would never harm them. At that moment, if she could have, Io would have cried. Instead, she let out an almost inaudible whɨnė.

Which abruptly cut off when she noticed Sorcha's and Dagan's pointed ears twitch in her direction. Io's eyes widened as she snorted, her tail swaying happily unbeknownst to her at the unexpectedly cute action. The kids, distracted by the movement behind her, peered around her broad shoulders, looked down Io's oddly scaled and furred body to the tail that was lazily swinging back and forth.

With brain-numbing squeals, they let go of her neck and ran to grab hold of the appendage. Io jumped and turned midway to see the two trying to bury themselves in the inky fur. They met her questioning gaze, eyes sparkling as they petted her emotional tell.

"Io soft," Sorcha said blissfully as she rubbed her face in fluff.

"Io smooth," Dagan responded as he wrapped his small arms around the tail, petting the scales that played peek-a-book through inky fur.

Eventually, the twins "forced" Io to lie down. From that point on, she was petted, scratched, and hugged. It was complete bliss for her. The stress from their previous world tearing itself apart and trying not just to keep the kids alive, but healthy had taken its toll on her.

While Dagan and Sorcha had lost maybe some weight, Io gradually wasted away. Her lean but muscled form became almost skeletal as food became more and more difficult to find. The only reason that she hadn't starved anymore than she had was that she needed the nutrients to keep her strength up in order to keep the twins safe and to locate more food. It had been difficult to listen to their little stomachs' growl when it had taken her forever to get them to a healthy weight to begin with.

To be honest, she just wanted to enjoy the hugs and cuddles. They were alive and whole. Different, yes, but they were together. Anything else she could take of. Io nuzzled each child's cheek, taking a moment to enjoy their sweet giggles. When the twins grew bored with snuggles, Dagan flopped over her back and slid down, sparking another round of play. Dagan tried to use her tail to climb back onto her back, Io jerked away and growled at the two as they got a little closer than she was comfortable with. The two froze and looked at her uncertainly.

"Wrong?" Dagan asked.

Sorcha had a thoughtful look on her face, then almost as if a lightbulb went off, her grey cat-like eyes snapped wide open. The girl let out a huff of anger and she whacked her twin on the back of his head, practically knocking the poor boy off his feet.

"Sorcha! Why you hit?" Dagan roared, rubbing his head.

"Bad," Sorcha stated imperiously, her opalescent scales glimmering softly while her cheeks colored from outrage.

"I not bad!" Dagan retorted sharply as his charcoal-colored skin flushed darkly and his orange scales brightened like a fire burning.

"You touch'd Io's buŧŧ! Bad boy!" Sorcha accused. Her cat-like eyes narrowed as she lambasted her brother. Dagan's jaw dropped in affront as he glowered at his sister. Just as quickly as he puffed up in indignation, Dagan deflated.

"Io did I? I sorry. I-" Dagan hiccupped, tears falling as his face turned an even deeper shade of black. In reaction to his distress, waves of heat curled through the air while his scales dimmed as the boy clung to his own arms in defense.

Io nudged the boy until he let go, leaving indents from where his nails had been, and gently bumped her forehead against Dagan's until his heated skin cooled and his orange scales brightened once more. She gave Dagan a few minutes after his breaths had steadied out to make sure that he had well and truly calm down. Io lifted her forehead from his and peered over at Sorcha.

"What Io? I helped, right? I good. No touch'd the buŧŧ." She twirled her waist-length cyan-colored hair between grey claws. Io felt a twitch pulse above her brow, wrapped her tail around Sorcha, and place her next to Dagan. Io made eye with Sorcha and nodded her head at Dagan. .

Sorcha stuck out her lower lip sullenly and crossed her arms. "Nu-uh. Dagan was no good." Io pushed Sorcha closer to her brother and snarled. The little moonling faced the other and stomped a little foot.

"Brother was wrong. Why I apola-apola-. Why I say sorry?" The little girl refused. Io's ears flattened, and she snarled, baring a fang at her stubborn sister. That is not how this is going to go. Regardless of whether Io could actually put it into words.

Sorcha's reaction was to Io's satisfaction as the little ice cube flew behind Dagan. "Dagan-I-sorry-for-yelling at'chu!" Sorcha rushed out. Her grey eyes widened in trepidation as she checked in with Io to make sure that she said it right. When Dagan said nothing, Io could feel her ears flattening further and her eyes narrowed.

'Oh no, no, no. We are not having this either,' Io thought, and another snarled had Dagan promptly apologizing as well.

Io chuffed her satisfaction with the two. Nothing says, 'new beginning' better than starting on a positive note.. Of course, if they did not want to behave, her new form lent itself to some creative ways of dealing with her little ice cube and little flame.