ReBirth Of The Primordial

After Dagan took that first bite of fish, the rest was history. He scarfed it down so fast that Io worried that he'd eat his fingers. The ensuing hours comprised Io catching more fish, feeding the kids, and some minor exploration around the river.

Io's thoughts wondered idle circles about the twins' diet. In her reading, such sharp teeth would suggest that'd be a yes. However, there was a distinct possibility that they were related to lizards. Io's ears went flat and a small stream of steam curled out of her nostrils. Regardless of whether she liked it, this was vital information. Hopefully, like many lizards, Dagan, Sorcha, and Io were omnivorous. This led to another question. If they were omnivorous, how would they figure out which berries were innocuous or poisonous?

Io could feel a headache form as she watched the children play. She nonchalantly followed, paying extra attention to their surroundings for any further potential surprises. The twin ran from place to place but never venturing too close to the bush. They brought her various rocks, flowers, and even sticks. The kids shrieked in delight and Io glanced over and burst into chuffs.

Her little flame had attached himself to a Dagan-and-Sorcha-sized rock and was rubbing his scaled cheek against it as he had done her tail. Bemusedly, she nudged at the boy for him to detach himself, and Sorcha dropped from an adjacent tree she had climbed in order to 'find all the pretty stones'.

"Dagan, Dagan, is soft?" Sorcha inquired as she orbited around the rock five or six times as if struggling to verify that this rock was suitable for snuggles. "Mm," Dagan acknowledged, with a soulful expression. Huffing from laughter, Io slipped her tail around the boy and placed him on top of the rock.

"Io, Sorcha lookit lookit! A fwower!" Dagan exclaimed, his yellow eyes sparkling like citrines as he pointed at the tender pink flower sprouting from the top of the rock. Io gave a toothy grin and licked her adorable brother's scaled cheek, ignoring the slight twinge from her inner human. Some things are just instinct, just roll with it.

"F-f-l-l-ow-er Dagan. Fllllo-wer, not fwower." Sorcha corrected as Io dropped the girl next to her brother.

"Pretty," Dagan said, not even deigning to reply to Sorcha's attempt at fixing his mispronunciation. When Sorcha bent over to touch the flower, Dagan gently shoved her hand away.

"No touch. Touch hurt flower. We just wook." The little flame lecture his sibling, yellow eyes narrowed in disdain.

Sorcha flinched and stared at her twin in shock. It was rare that Dagan ever put something else before her or Io. Sure they could be stubborn but Dagan never acted like this. Sorcha glared at the little pink flower.

"Dagan like flower?"

"Yes like flower."

"Dagan like flower better than Sorcha."

Dagan froze and spluttered, completely taken aback. "No, I-"

"Hmph! Brother no longer loves Sorcha!" The little girl stomped a delicate foot, ice spreading out from where her foot landed. The five-year-old simply could not rationalize why a flower was so important that she could not touch it. Sorcha tried to push past Dagan, but the little flame stood steadfastly in front of her.

"Sorcha mad. No touch flower." Dagan held one small finger up. "You break flower."

Sorcha's jaw dropped, and she gasped in outrage. "Io! Dagan no love Sorcha. Dagan love flower! Take the flower away!" She wailed, ran towards as she cried, the minuscule snowflakes floating carried by the breeze behind.

Io had watched the exchange and knew something was up. Dagan never acted like this. He always put Sorcha's needs first. It wasn't exactly healthy, but through time, effort, and unconditional love, Dagan had been learning to communicate his own needs as well. However, this extreme sort of reaction to the flower was way out of the norm for Dagan, even with all the progress he'd made.

Io's wolf-like ears laid back as her ċhėst rumbled. Something was not right. This was wrong. She tugged Sorcha to her side. The way Dagan had watched her as soon as she growled told her that this would not be would not be easy. Sorcha must have realized that something was wrong and she backed further from the duo.

Io nodded in appreciation and gave her full attention to their brother. Dagan stared back warily. Io moved closer to the little flame and chuffed questioningly.

Dagan tilted his head a moment before answering. "I fine. Flower important. I not know why, but flower important Io." .

Io's eyes narrowed as she glared at Dagan, and let a huff of displeasure break the elongated silence that hung in the air.

Dagan lifted his hands up in a there-there motion. "Io, it's ok." Dagan then put his hand to his heart, "I know flower is important. Flower, keep safe." This just made Io more suspicious. Dagan was so protective of Sorcha, but this? If the flower was so important, then why was it solely Dagan? Why not Sorcha too? They were the same species, sort of.

Dagan suddenly lost his balance and Io didn't have time to think anymore. She wrapped her tail around the little flame and yanked him from the flower. Dagan said not to hurt the flower, and that was ok. Io didn't want to upset him, but she needed to make sure that he was ok. Io lowered her head. As soon as Sorcha grabbed onto the long horns that guarded her next and Io swung the girl onto her back, she walked towards where they had left the stream earlier.

Dagan pulled at Io's tail, repeating over and over, "Io stop, please. Too far from flower. Flower lonely Io. Flower needs me Io," he begged.

Io felt her heart clench, but she didn't go back. They needed to get away from this thing. Whatever it was, this flower was doing something strange to Dagan, and she didn't like it. Once they'd gotten far enough and Dagan had some time to settle down, she'd have him explain it again to see if he still felt the same way. For now, though, she just needed to get him away from here.

As soon as Io reached the five-meter mark, the rock cracked. Io whirled around and growled threateningly and turned to leave the clearing.. With Dagan being so compromised, it would be a struggle for Sorcha to handle him on her own, and they had no clue about what they were dealing with.