Chapter3:

Airee woke first in the morning. She found that Balthezar was still sound asleep on top of her, drooling like a baby. The red dragon smiled. ‘At least I’m as warm as a kitten’, Airee thought to herself. She slowly pushed Balth off of her and out of the alcove. Airee was very gentle with him. She walked to a corner of the cave and rubbed all around her belly. Airee pushed, squeezed, and poked at herself all over until she found what was troubling her… She had to wake Balthezar.
“Wake up…” She said softly. “I need to tell you something.” But all he did was groan at her. Getting impatient, she climbed and stood on Balth’s back and prompted him to wake again.
“Let me sleep…  I’m having a good dream…” was Balth’s only reply. Airee pounced on him hard to make up rise, but no effect… Balth thought to himself as she stood on him. Airee seemed to weigh fifty pounds heavier… but he let it brush his mind as he rolled over and put a paw over his snout. She sat loyally in front of him, letting him ignore her. After a long silence she finally spoke up to get Balthezar’s attention.
“I’m pregnant”, she said softly. Balthezar opened his eyes wide, but did not speak. That was why Airee had felt fatter the day before… and it was also why she got mad so easily: she was already having mood swings. Balth would have to watch what he said for a while. After only receiving a blank stare from Balthezar, Airee tromped past him and lay in the furs again, and a tear in her eye. “I knew it”, she sobbed. “You don’t want me to have children.” Balthezar looked at her in disbelief and came to her side instantly.
“No”, he said back. “I am happy for you.” He paused a moment as her mood changed. We will start on the nest tomorrow”, he finally said. She closed her eyes and nodded in agreement. “We will have to hunt today, I’m sure you feel starved already.” She nodded again. Balt was right. They flew side by side out of the cave. They looked for the herd of buffalo Balth had seen the day before. When the herd was in sight, they both picked off a beast.  Before Airee even tackled hers to the ground for the kill, she had taken a huge bite out of the buffalo’s side. Balthezar stared at the red dragoness as she licked the blood from her face. He shook his head in disapproval, but he let it go because he knew how hungry she was. They flew back to the cave in silence. When they landed behind the waterfall, they pulled the carcasses through the dry entrance. The opening was just big enough for Balth to squeeze through. Airee tried eating slowly, but she could not help feeding her face. By the time Balth had eaten a third of his breakfast, the red dragoness had consumed all that she had. Balthezar offered the rest of his meal to her, and she dug into it reluctantly, but she was still hungry. She silently thanked him when she had finished. Balthezar walked over to his mate, and they let each other lick the blood off each other’s snout. While their tongues were in each other’s mouth, Airee reared back and prompted Balth push her to the ground. As she lay on her back, she let Balth climb on top of her. The two dragons continued to taste each other’s spit. Balthezar put his hand on Airee’s growing stomach and started to rub her softly. She took her hand in hers and pushed it up to her breast instead.
“Not there, not my belly”, she said softly. “No one touches my babies but me.” She tried to be delicate with the words even though they came out forward. Balthezar understood though, and nodded. as they went back to kissing. Balth was glad Airee was no longer hungry, but he knew he would have to hunt twice as much than usual. That meant he would have to fly a ways for food now every day. Otherwise the herds that were close would quickly be depleted. Their kiss slowly ended, as they always did, and Airee softly purred herself to sleep. Although Airee did not look nearly as big as she would in six months, Balth could not move her to the cove for her to sleep there. She was very heavy already. He kissed her snout one last time and flew out of the cave. Balthezar looked for large sticks that arched and bent. He would need enough supplies to make a nest twice as big as the alcove the two dragons used as a bed. Airee would be huge long before she was ready to lay her eggs. The nest would have to be well made, for she would lay in it constantly for over two years. Balthezar made many trips to and from the cave and the forest. Each time, he carried a large load of timber suitable for making the nest. Balth would supply the branches for the nest, and Airee would supply her treasure for the gold and silver. She did not stir until he had finished gathering. One entire nook in a corner of the lair was full of branches. Balthezar nuzzled the sleeping dragoness. Airee had slowly rolled onto her stomach in her sleep, and was now purring at Balth’s presence. Her eyes were open now, and she was looking up at Balth lovingly.
“What do you need?” Balt asked her.
“I’m still hungry”, Air said sadly. Airee couldn’t quite explain her hunger. It was as if eating made her stomach feel emptier. It was as if she was hibernating… eating made her sleep, and sleeping made her hungry. Balthezar realized he would have to hunt constantly to keep her belly satisfied.
“I will get you something close”, said the blue dragon. When he returned with a young female deer, he found Airee already sorting though the branches Balth had found her for the nest. She turned away from her work when he set the doe before her. Airee thanked him grandly before she sank her fangs in. Although she was overwhelmed with hunger, Airee tried to eat slowly, making the meal last. She licked all the flavor off the last bone before returning to the nest branches. As Balth got up to help, she urged him away with her tail.
“Let me do this alone”, she told him solemnly. “It keeps my mind off my stomach’s hunger. You need to hunt for the two of us now. You should save your strength.” Balthezar nodded silently in agreement, and got some rest. Balth would spend his days hunting while Airee remained in the cave and built her nest. Over the next six months that followed, Airee’s belly grew and grew with pregnancy. Everything that she ate was feeding the eggs inside her, so her own belly felt empty. By this time, her scales were beyond just stretching and spreading apart. They separated and slowly fell off, revealing soft pink skin that seemed to stretch more and more every day with her expanding girth. At seven months pregnant, Airee’s belly was bigger than half her body. It was difficult for her to move, but she still managed to hobble around on all fours with her belly scraping the ground as she walked. Airee still got agitated if Balth tried to touch her stomach, even more so than before because it was tender without scales. The nest was not yet completed, but Airee was determined she would have it done in two months. She had inter-woven all the branches Balth had round her, and was just starting to in-lay it with her treasure. When the metal in the nest would heat up with Airee’s body heat, it would help keep Airee’s belly and the un-hatched eggs warm. Balthezar helped move the treasure from its place to where the nest sat. Airee sat in the middle of the nest and melted down the gold and silver as it was handed to her. It was a long process, as she could only melt a small amount at a time. Balthezar tried to get in as much sleep as he could, and stayed in his alcove while Airee worked. Once, while Balth was sleeping, he was woken by something and found himself wagging his tail. Airee had been stroking him in his sleep. They looked at each other and slowly kissed. It was the first time she had awoken him. He was glad to have her close to him. Airee did not want anything as she smiled at her lover. She continued rubbing him as they kissed. Airee let Balth play with the tip of her tail, but she was still self-conscience about her large belly. When the kiss ended, the pregnant dragon went back to slowly completing her nest, and Balth went to go hunt for himself. A small goat was all he could afford. The better of the food would have to be saved for Airee. Balthezar had to eat outside their den. Any meat Air saw, she would beg to eat for herself. Before he went back to his mate, Balt found a lamb for Airee. Although it was small, his dragoness would be pleased. As Balth entered the cave, he told Airee he had a surprise for her. She eagerly looked up as he produced the small lamb from under his wing. Air smiled at the blue dragon and accepted the gift. She ate the treat slowly, but it was still gone in only a moment. Airee scooted herself over to Balthezar and slipped her tongue into his mouth, letting him taste what he was missing. When they finally separated, Airee slowly climbed back into her nest. The nest creaked under her weight, and her gigantic bulging belly made it hard for her to move around. Soon she would not be able to leave the cave. She let Balth sleep again as she completed the metalwork on the nest. The days were spent in silence while Airee slowly worked. Balthezar was out hunting when the red dragon finished her nest. She let out a joyful roar and called her mate to her. He was carrying a hefty animal beneath him as he entered the cave. Airee was sitting before him with her work behind her when he walked over to see what she had called for.
“It’s finished”, she told him. It was the first thing he had heard her say in a long while. She guided Balt to the nest and let the blue dragon climb in. This was also the first time he had seen the inside of the nest. It was smoothly plated with a thin layer of gold and silver swirls. The woven branches came though in swirls also like stray roots that curved slightly out of the ground. The smooth metal combined with soft branches made the nest extremely comfortable. It was suitable to support Airee’s stomach and eggs when she lay on her belly. As Balthezar curled himself into a ball inside the nest, he felt the warmth left there by Airee’s body. He closed his eyes in comfort, and he felt Airee climb in behind him. She nestled up against him as she curled around Balth.

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