museboxofmuses | DRAGON AU

DRAGON AU

Prometheus hibernated a lot.

There wasn't much else to do, as a hermit-dragon. He couldn't venture out into the world in case some intrepid 'adventurer' wanted to slay him for bragging rights or his hide, he couldn't mingle with other dragons because he was one of Nidhogg's brood (a fact which was why he couldn't socialise with any Ishgardians because spears inevitably got involved in those conversations, he knew, he still had the scar on his hindquarters from his last naive attempt), and he knew absolutely no one else, knew nothing about the world or its new continents or civilisations, so hibernating it was.

But even then, sleeping got dull.

Prometheus sighed deeply, drawing his wings tighter about himself. Perhaps it was because he spent so much time sleeping, but his draconic body evolved to have furred wings - which was nice, it was very warm, even if they did shed some strange, fluffy black motes from time to time (he soon learned that these motes were highly toxic to mortals, probably from his subconscious desire to be left alone slipping into this body's maturing evolution). The downy undercoat of his wings was shed often and thickly enough that he even had a little nest, in a cave warmed by geothermic means, in the high mountains of Coethas. It was cosy, safe, and isolated.

It was also boring and devoid of anything. Prometheus came here... fuck, centuries? Or millennia? He couldn't remember. A long while, just after the war between Ishgard and the dragons kicked off in earnest. He flew here as a dragonnet, and slept and slept and slept, with miserable waking moments in between where he went to stretch his wings, eat a bear or something, and crawled back in his warm, soft cave to sleep some more.

He was avoiding reality, he knew. He didn't understand why he woke up in the form of a dragon - an alien species, not native to their star, how the hell did the reincarnation cycle mess up that badly!? - what happened to Amaurot, why the geography was completely different and... where Hades and Hythlodaeus were. He remembered, in the early days of his life, he would cry out through the Lifestream to hear nothing back, and was slowly accepting that, maybe, it was just him. Alone.

No Hades. No Hythlodaeus. Just him and his cave.

He exhaled heavily, flexing his claws as his body sluggishly roused from its latest bout of hibernation. His stomach was an empty pit of starvation, so he had to eat something calorie dense before dozing back off again. The only thing was, it took ages for his body to fully 'wake up'. Spending centuries practically in a coma made his limbs lock up, and it took a while for the aether flowing through his body to regain strength and feeling in them again. Not that he was in any rush...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I’m not using a proxy body was what he was going to say, but decided against it.

“I’m... potent. The vasectomy, I reversed it ages ago. And I’m an anatomically proper dragon.”

Well. This would hardly be the first time he’d raised children now. Wow, he had a lot to catch Prometheus up on, didn’t he? Hades buried his snout underneath one of his big paws and closed his eyes. Well. At least this was fun. And this... was comfortable. Just laying fully on Prometheus as a big fat lizard.

"Oh..." Prometheus mumbled drowsily, the meaning clearly not quite sinking in. So, Hades reversed his vasectomy, so what? Prometheus wasn't-

...

Except, he probably was...?

"Oh," he repeated, this time much more enlightened as he was very aware that Hades came a lot inside of him, and Prometheus wasn't very well versed with his own fertility to know if that was viable or not. He did lay eggs, but they were the unfertilised sort he just ate anyways. Was he fertile? Was he fertile all year round, or was there an ovulation window like in most animals? Hmmm, shit, there wasn't exactly a sex ed class for dragons, so Prometheus had no idea...

"Well, we'll see what happens," Prometheus mumbled, deciding not to think about it right now. He doubted his mind could really wrap round the whole thing, on top of everything else, right now. Instead... drowsy, Hades, nice and heavy on top of him.

He exhaled heavily, his tail flitting in the sand lazily, kicking up a few dusty clouds, before turning his head enough to blindly bump his snout against Hades's jaw, where he left it. It was a weird cuddle, but it was nice. He crooned softly, the noise almost song-like.

Elidibus’ snide comment floated to the front of Hades’ mind, and he dumbly repeated it, ”Making dragons...”

Elidibus decided now to reappear while the action had died down. “Emet-Selch, of all the irresponsible and impulsive things to do...”

“Oh, shove it, Elidibus. I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me and more. You would deny me this?”

Elidibus crossed his arms and bristled. “We... will speak later.” And then he was gone for real supposedly this time. Hades growled and rubbed his snout against Elidibus’.

“Oh, like I’d asked to begin with...”

"Heheh," Prometheus giggled quietly, "Hades is gonna get scolded~"

Though, Hades seemed a lot less wound up now. Before he'd get kinda fussy if they did something that would have Elidibus's disapproving glare sent their way, now he didn't give a shit. Ah, but when the entirety of their civilisation went...

Carefully directing his thoughts elsewhere, before he depressed himself, Prometheus licked Hades's snout affectionately before nuzzling that spot, purring lowly, "Probably awkward time to ask but... you up for another round?"

“I’ll scold him right back,” Hades muttered. Oh yeah, the dynamic had definitely changed. While Prometheus was lost in his thoughts before wrangling them away from some dark places, Hades had begun to doze. The luck and the nuzzle brought him gently to.

“Again...?! I’m not a young man anymore,” he said parroting rhetoric that didn’t apply to an immortal even a little bit.

This pulled a laugh from the ‘til then politely quiet Hythlodaeus. “Prometheus... you aren’t in heat, are you?”

"You were never a young man," Prometheus teased, before lifting his head enough to look over at Hythlodaeus snuggled up on the hammock.

"Heat? Uh... hm," he thought about it: he did feel horny, even after getting fucked twice in such short time, and even now he could feel his arousal start spiking again - not really helped by Hades just being all over him - and in him to boot. He might... actually...

"I think I might be," Prometheus said sheepishly, "Um, oops?"

Hades sighed. “Reading books again, Hythlodaeus?”

“Oh always. I suppose I’m not sure what season it is here, but dragons tend to mate wildly for about a week, then lay eggs in the spring.”

Hades frowned, or would if he had the mouth for it, considering this. “Well. This will be a partially new experience, hmm?” Hades sighed, twisting his neck around Prometheus’. “I suppose if you’re in heat I should do my duty... but let’s compromise. You have to put on that necklace at some point here, if I’m going to sleep with you all week..”

Prometheus perked up at this, giving a happy, full body wriggle at Hades's easy consent. Really, Prometheus must've missed every single breeding season by hibernating as he did, so if he had to experience one, at least it was with Hades. The consequences of it hadn't really dawned on him yet - breeding season = babies - but it was too late now to pull back. Prometheus always was a jump in with both feet kind of guy.

"Deal. It'll be nice to be human again for a bit, anyways," Prometheus agreed easily, rocking his hips back pointedly, "So, mm, round three...?"

They did round three, and round four— and Elidibus and Lahabrea finally figured out that Hades would come to them when the time was right. After all, the situation seemed stable. Prometheus wasn’t really one for playing the long game at deception; that was more of Hades’ thing anyway. Hades had assured them that Prometheus did not react poorly when he touched his soul. There was no spark of memory. For now they could continue, and they were happy to let Hades entertain him. He would be of pivotal use in time.

The days passed peaceably, so much so that Hades found himself forgetting his grief. He expanded the island some, teleported in animals now and then for Prometheus to eat... they happily enjoyed each other’s company. Even Hythlodaeus was energized by having others around.

Hades, deciding to sunbathe and “stargaze” set himself up on his beach in a skimpy swimsuit with sunglasses. He let his eyes go soft and unfocused as he watched souls return to the lifestream. He looked over at Hytholadeus, who didn’t have a true soul, but just a bit of detailing for Hades’ comfort. There was Hythlodaeus’ soft red... Prometheus’ verdant green, and a soft, pulsing blue on top of— wait, what?

Hades sat up, removing his sunglasses for the clarity.

“Prom, come here a moment, would you?”

Prometheus, who had found a perfect spot on the beach to soak up maximum sunshine, roused reluctantly from his drowsy sprawl. Whenever there was sunbathing, there was always the urge to do it as a dragon, since there was just something satisfying about warming up his scales after spending a thousand years in the frigid climes of the Coerthas mountains. At Hades's behest, though, he did sometimes do it in human form - but that was normally when Hades wanted to cuddle.

This time, he was in dragon form, so it took a few moments for him to sluggishly get his feet under him, stretching like a contented cat, before ambling over to Hades - where he proceeded to flop on his belly next to him, kicking up a small dustcloud of sand.

"What is it?" Prometheus half-yawned. He'd been feeling sleepier than usual lately, and hungrier, something he attributed to his body protesting skipping its habitual hibernation. He'll probably perk up after another week of being awake, "You wanna cuddle? Mm, guess I can go human for a bit..."

On closer inspection, it was exactly as he had suspected. He had seen the birth of a soul, the latching from the lifestream, literally millions of times. Up close, maybe several hundred times. Still, he knew how it looked well enough.

“You’re pregnant,” he said, voice soft and full of awe. He placed a hand on his side as he gazed placidly at the burgeoning soul. “The soul is only just beginning to latch,” he said as he pressed his face against Prometheus’ warm side.

"Eh?" Prometheus didn't really understand at first, watching Hades smoosh his cheek against his side, like he was trying to listen for something. Then it really sunk in, "Eh!?"

Pregnant?! Prometheus wasn't sure how to react - it wasn't unpleasant news, there was, after all, some expectation of possible pregnancy considering Hades fucked him senseless for a week solid during his heat, but after a while without feeling any different, Prometheus assumed they'd been incompatible in some way and it just didn't take. In fact, he didn't really feel all that different now. Though, should he? Prometheus didn't really know, considering Amaurotines had babies by just tossing them into an artificial womb and letting them develop that way. He had no frame of reference.

Besides, he'd lay an egg, right? So, after a while, he'd just, uh, what? Poop out an egg and then have to wait? That was kind of like an artificial womb, right?

"I can't... tell," Prometheus admitted, huffing quietly as he internally tried to shift through all the 'noise' of the Lifestream. He always struggled sensing tiny, or newborn souls, because of that. It was like trying to find a needle in a sandstorm, "It's too tiny. Does it feel fine?"

“It seems fine,” Hades said, letting his aether flow into it to bolster it. “You know, we never tested to see if dragons, aether rich as they are, would be compatible with Amaurotines...”

Honestly, that week of sex had gone by and Hades became more and more sure that nothing would come of it. So to see this... there was a type of joy that he was finding difficult to place. Hope? Was this proper hope?

“I admit we know very little about dragons... how do you feel? Do you know when you might lay an egg?” Hades rubbed Prometheus’ side before placing a kiss on his belly.

"Well, I mean, dragons are technically an alien species..." Prometheus said, really thinking about it, "One with high adaptability to foreign biological organisms, considering the effect dragon blood has on Elezens tainted with Ratatoskr's aether..."

So, maybe they shouldn't be surprised that Amaurotine + Dragon = Baby? Stars, he could imagine the buzz this would've had in Amaurot's scholar society, this cross-species baby. Would it be like most hybrids, infertile? Or did it imply that Amaurotines and Dragons shared a close enough genome or aetherical structure to-

Ah, maybe he should ponder over that later when Lahabrea came round. While their relationship was still frosty, the fact that they were pretty much one of the few Amaurotines left on this star meant they had to talk for some variety in conversation. Lahabrea was also more knowledgeable about zoology and breeding for conservation efforts.

"It'll probably be a few weeks," Prometheus guessed, "Maybe? I dunno. Sex Ed wasn't really a thing with dragons..."

He shivered a little at Hades kissing his belly, letting out a low, amused sound, "You seem really excited. It's kinda cute, Hades."

“Hmph, we could just go to Dravania and ask...” Hades couldn’t hide it properly, but he was excited. Another one of them? After eons? The joy of a child after so long was almost too much.

“I’m sure the others will be excited, too...” Except Lahabrea was currently stoking the fire between man and dragon. He was going to turn Ishgard’s leader into a Primal. Hmm, knowing this maybe they should pull back on that plan. In fact... why were they doing this to a peaceful, intelligent race that shared so much with them. Maybe he’d have to go slap Lahabrea clockwise. He could be so stupid for a scholar. And he himself was even stupider for not scrutinizing his plan.

"Huh, that'll be interesting," Prometheus scoffed, "Walking up to some dragon and asking how to take care of a hybrid baby."

Or even worse: an Ishgardian scholar. Sure, they were foremost experts in dragon anatomy and behaviours... knowledge gathered through aggressive spying, dissections, vivisection, and centuries of fighting and killing them (dragonets included). Nah, Prometheus was leery of Dravania and Coerthas for now, especially as anti-dragon sentiment was whipped to an all-time high.

"I bet Elidibus will lecture us about safe sex again," Prometheus grumbled, still smarting from the last one, "Oh, and Lahabrea will do that dumb, crossed arms and disappointed glaring in the background. Ugh, what if they lecture us about how to take care of babies? They're both, like, a billion years old, they probably have an insane amount of baby experience they've been dying to off load!"

Ugh, Prometheus could imagine it now. Hell.

Prometheus flopped dramatically on his side, his flanks heaving from his heavy exhale. Ugh, that was another thing to think about too: fertilised egg was probably going to be bigger and heavier than an unfertilised one. He wondered if that meant it'd be harder to push it out.

"Elidibus can keep it to himself, since there's no chance of overpopulation at this time," Hades said irritably. "We're both world class scientists. Surely we can figure this out..."

But that raised an interesting idea, didn't it?

"I hadn't considered, but they're both fathers, aren't they?" Hades continued to just pet Prometheus. "They'll find out... So... We'll learn what we need to eventually," Hades murmured.

"What's the matter, dear?" Hades asked as he watched his partner flop a bit like a beached fish.

There was a list of stuff that mattered, but Prometheus wasn't going to get into it. He'd noticed, over the past few weeks, that whenever he asked Hades about the state of the world, or the details of their rejoining plan, Hades always found something to distract him with, or talked in such a confusing circle they ended up on another topic entirely. Prometheus wasn't dumb, he knew he was being left out of the loop for some reason.

But. He wasn't sure how to express that without putting Hades on the defensive, and with all this stuff now...

Hrm.

"I don't know, I guess I feel kinda restless," he said, deciding for a half-truth instead, "And wondering if I should stay as a dragon until the baby finishes cooking in the oven. I mean, I dunno what effect it'll have if I shapeshift to human form... might fuck things up a bit."

And Hades knew that Prometheus knew that he was keeping him in the dark. He felt a bit bad about it, of course...

"Hmm... Understandable. I've kept you cooped up on my island here, haven't I?" he petted him, frowning. "What might make you less restless? An adventure, perhaps?"

And on shapeshifting back and forth while the baby was still forming; that was an entire other kettle of fish, wasn't it? He knew that shapeshifting with a fetus as an Amaurotine didn't produce bad effects, but they had a lot of variables here. Prometheus' turn of phrase barely even affected him. "That's probably for the best. Once it's a bit better rooted, I can see what I can do to protect it."

"Shouldn't take long. Dragons have a fast gestation period, I think," Prometheus sighed. Yet, their childhood lasted centuries, far long than an Amaurotine's decades.

He flicked his tail, kicking up some sand, and slowly rolled onto his belly, getting his feet under him, "Yeah, an adventure sounds nice. Probably a nice, relaxing one... though, I don't know where anything is anywhere, except Ishgard, but since there's a hit out on any and all dragons there..."

He couldn't imagine how fast that must be... But then again, it was aether, and dragons made children in a manner very close to Creation.

"There's an entire world. Why don't we just explore," Hades said, knowing exactly where he did and didn't want to take him. Yeesh, he'd really fucked the whole place up, hadn't he? They'd have to avoid Garlemald... The southern continenets, Eorzea for sure...

The Steppe. He would love the Steppe.

"From here... We can just fly North-Northeast. The weather is still warm, dragons are well received, and the aether is bountiful," Hades said, slowly standing himself. He took on his dragon form that he'd been tweaking for the last week in that familiar spouting of fog and aether, like a bubbling over pot. He stretched his wings and padded slowly around Prometheus.

"What do you say?"

Prometheus immediately perked up, jumping to his feet in clear excitement as he unfurled his wings and let his wing claws sink into the sand next to his forelegs. When Hades donned his dragon form, he couldn't help but intercept him when he circled near his head, affectionately bumping his snout just behind Hades's jaw, nuzzling him.

"That sounds perfect," he purred, "I haven't flown far in a long time. It'll be nice to get these wings some exercise."

Though, his dragon form wasn't built for long distance flights. His wings were powerful, certainly, but the wingspan was short compared to his body, and he was more for quick, violent take offs and short, rapid flights that ended in sharp, steep dives, like a hawk. While he could fly for a while if need be, it tended to exhaust him.

But, hey, he could manage it with Hades next to him!

Hades made a soft rumbling in turn. Even if he wasn't a dragon, truly, there was the instinct to connect and be understood, fully. Even by the man who knew his soul better than most anyone else. Which... Also made his heart sank. Was he really going to be able to justify the rejoining to Prometheus? To someone who had so much empathy for those lower beings that emerged when they paid the price to fix the world? They were unworthy of him, he wished he could make him know that.

And didn't he already, in a way, suspect it? The Ishgardians were cruel and small-minded. They destroyed the peace and then pretended that it was all the doing of the evil dragons. What shit. Hades found that he barely had to try to manipulate them to kill and destroy one another.

"How long? I hope I won't need to carry you," even if he was perfectly capable of doing so. He could easily make himself a dragon three times his current size and just ferry him. But at that point, they may as well teleport...

But the point was to amuse Prometheus...

Hades remembered something. He turned to the simulacrum, unthinkingly too used to treating it like the emotional blow up doll that it was. "You'll be fine, Hythlodaeus?"

"Of course!" he chirped. "I can always entertain myself. I haven't even read everything you've brought me."

Prometheus huffed, puffing his chest out and ruffling his wings like an offended water fowl, "You won't need to carry me. I can make it... if it's, um, less than a two hour flight. A-Anyway, we can rest on the way. I'm sure there's an island or two we can use as a pit stop."

When Hades turned to Hythlodaeus, Prometheus watched curiously. The past week, Prometheus found himself falling into the pitfall of treating the well developed simulacrum like the genuine article, and feeling strange from it. This wasn't Hythlodaeus, and he didn't know if it was right or not, to pretend it was to soothe their own feelings. Hythlodaeus existed out there, sundered, yes, but, still... he existed elsewhere...

But those were delving into dangerous waters, ones Prometheus didn't want to confront just yet, so he buried the weird squirming in his belly and let out a quiet whine.

"Hyth will be fiiiiiiine, Hades! He knows how to entertain himself. Now, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon! You've got me all excited for this adventure!"

"Hmm... I'm not sure how long of a flight it is... But really? Only two hours?" Hades teased before trotting around to orient himself. And then he unfurled his huge wings and wound back on those powerful thighs... and launched himself into the sky.

"Alright, alright! But if you can't keep up I'll carry you like a dragonet."

After they were both airborne, Hythlodaeus walked out to a bare, sandy patch to wave them both off.

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