[BabyBelly]

Lago laughed at Demus' delayed realization. He knew his mate didn't like the water all that much, but he was sure he could coax him into the lake for a wash. Lago perked up even more at the idea of rain. Rainy days were always his favorite. "Oh, that would be wonderful. That way the entire ground is turned into mud", he said as he smirked to Demus. He shook his head in annoyance as Demus reminded him of the lonely cells they were all imprisoned into. Did Demus' cell smell as bad as his did with all the cleaning chemicals they put into it? He'd have to ask him later.

Lago gave his mate his signature lazy smile as Demus scooted up closer, thankful that his near sightedness wasn't an issue now. His smile gave way to a frown as Demus asked about the others.

"Oh yeah, they're all here. Ky seems to be angry all the time now and full of self doubt and self pity about not being able to protect the kits or even see them. Nym's pregnancy is progressing all right, but he...well his hormones are kind of making him a really irritable bitch right now, so just be patient with him. Ceral's pregnancy is going all right I suppose. He's been getting sick a lot lately, even though his nausea should have subsided by now. Ivy's worried sick because of it. Ivan...well from what I've gathered, he's not eating. He's still thinking about the kits. He was actually able to nurse them for the two weeks he was in isolation, but they did take them away after that. I don't even think he realizes how much drama and scrutiny he's bringing down on us from Han and Reva. If he doesn't eat soon, they're going to make sure he eats one way or another. That damn water dragon has got to get it through his head that his actions could affect all of us", Lago finished with a huff of his breath. He was getting upset all over again at Ivan. He knew he shouldn't be, as it was more the fault of this damned facility, but it was Ivan's (and his own) actions that caused Demus to be locked away for so long.

Regret had been plaguing Lago since that day. If only he had kept to himself, he and Demus wouldn't have been separated. But he just couldn't seem to help himself when he learned that Ivan had hid the eggs. As a fellow carrier, he understood his intentions. Carriers had to stick with each other. It was sort of an unwritten law among swamp dragons. Even if a carrier's actions affected the rest, for better or worse. Lago leaned his head in and touched his forehead against Demus'. "I'm sorry for getting us involved on that day. It wasn't my place to take charge of the situation. I made things worse."

[Poppy]

Ah, Niza had nearly forgotten she'd yet to tell the scientists how she worked. She might not be home anymore, but she sure as hell was going to stick to her customs. She'd given in willingly when she'd been caught, and her tradition didn't stop once a price was bartered over her; she kind of wanted to laugh at how they would pay so much for her. Humans were spending so much money on kits that would eventually grow up to be curious, too intrigued about what they might have been missing as wild dragons, and if not all of them than surely some of them would soon enough betray their owners. It was a waste of money. You really had to have a dragon wrapped around your finger for them to not even consider life in the wild.

She wouldn't mate with any of the dragons here though. Sure, dragons in heat smelled delectable, and even her own heat was as enticing to most seeders as any general carrier had it, but her kind was one that mated for life, and she didn't have much hope that she'd find that perfect somedragon in this place. The gold seeder dragon did sound interesting, but the idea of a tropical enclosure rubbed her the wrong way. "Shangri-what?" Niza shook her head. "Avalon. Who all's in there? I bet you I can tame all of them." Niza smiled sweetly.

Archer put his hands up. "I'm leaving that part for you both and Niza to work out. After all, she'll be the one living there... I've seen some other facilities with not so good enclosures, not as modern as the ones you all have, so I'm sure anything would work." Archer gave Niza a look and she seemed to pout. "You have me set on bringing her here, there's no question there. Once the enclosure subject is dealt with as well as price, you're free to have her. I'd much rather your facility have her than, uh... the others. They aren't outstanding."

---------------

Ceral wished everyone could just take a chill pill and relax. This was the time they all needed to be tranquilized. He could literally feel the tension in the air, and it made him more than a little uncomfortable. "The springs are nice," Ceral commented in reply to Nym. And amusingly enough, they also happened to be one of the places where he and Ivy did their thing at. The water was nice to relax in, but it didn't do much when the normal pains of pregnancy just came back not even an hour later. Was it worth the walk all the way to the springs for an hour of relaxation? Not usually.

"They do ultrasounds?" Ceral asked curiously, following Ivan to the edge and taking a seat next to him. He was tempted to jump into the water, but he also didn't feel like walking back home soaking wet with legs feeling like jelly. He didn't know how many he might be having. He remembered Ivy saying forest dragons produced about twelve, and he thought... that sounded average for his kind too, but he couldn't be sure. He might guess from his size if he knew how big the eggs were. He could be carrying twenty small eggs or two big ones right now, he hadn't a clue.

Maybe he'd ask Ivy about it, see what she thought? Not that he thought he'd get any concrete answer. He still wasn't even halfway along yet. Four and a half more months to go, and he was starting to become a bit envious that the others' pregnancies weren't as drawn out as his. "I uh... I don't know." Ceral absently placed a hand atop the swell of his stomach. The feeling of the eggs inside him never ceased to make him feel queasy. "I almost hope it's not a lot." He snorted halfheartedly. "I can't stand sitting in one place too long. I'd like to still be up and walking by the time the birth comes around."

[Flayme]

"Oh-" Nym reached a up as Ivan offered to help him back up again, grasping the other carrier by the hand. "Seeders and their territories." Nym sighed and rolled his eyes as he pulled up beside him. "I don't understand it... I mean, what is the huge deal? You'd think a brother and sister would get along better than they do...." Nym personally would have given just about anything to know one of his siblings, but he supposed he wasn't a seeder, and he just didn't understand.

Nym followed Ivan, sure to make sure that Ceral was still walking with them. "I fortunately don't ache too bad yet... I mean, it's getting there." He chuckled dryly. It had only been the last couple of weeks that Nym had begun to trade his nausea for pressure on his spine and aching feet if he stood too long, nothing horrible, though he was finding that his bladder was more strained than he was used to, which again was annoying, but not horrible. He looked to Ceral. "Yeah, there's ultrasounds... I guess. I've been prodded at a couple times-" Nym nodded, frowning a bit as he followed Ivan into the pool. "But, I haven't been told a for sure number yet... At least ten, I guess, according to what I've heard." He let out a sigh as he lowered himself into water. It was definitely relaxing, and relieved more pressure than he'd expecting. "Hopefully ten." He chuckled again, only half teasing. He wasn't as active as Ceral, he didn't mind lounging, or being 'out of commission' for a few days, but imagining what labor was like after watching Ivan go through it, he wasn't keen on dealing with more eggs than he had to. "But who knows...."

----------------------
"Ah- God- I take it back about the rain then." Demus chuckled. "Avalon full of mud, irritable bitches and moody forest dragons... Sounds great..." Demus sighed, sounding ceremoniously unenthusiastic. It seemed like the usual high on pregnancy hormones was still getting to everybody. He was slightly grateful that he'd missed the last two weeks of it.

"Hey, hey..." Demus frowned a bit as Lago suddenly seemed to start to get upset. "It's okay." He snuggled up to the other dragon again, arms flung around his neck, mud and all. "Don't get yourself all worked up... You couldn't have known what was going to happen.... I'd have done it all over again anyway." He shrugged slightly. Devin had deserved what had happened to him, they had all been invested in Ivan's cause, and four weeks being stuck in the lab seemed all so far away now that he was back, as long as he didn't ever have to go back. He was determined that he'd claw someone to death before he did. "I'm I mean I'm sure Ivan's depressed, but he'll snap out of whatever shitty slump he's in eventually, I'm sure." Demus reached down to place a hand on Lago's belly again. They couldn't stay like this all day, but he could sure as hell pretend that they could. "As long as you're okay, and our kits are alright... I'm okay too."

----------

"Tame them?" Han almost laughed out loud, but somehow refrained, simply giving Nizhoni a raised eyebrow. He wasn't sure if that was exactly same word he would have used. 'Taming' beings of her own kind wasn't why the flower dragon was here... Nizhoni's very name flashed dollar signs. Hybridized flower kits would sell like crazy, and if they marketed right, perhaps for even more than what kits of other breeds went for. "Avalon isn't full of any dragon that's in need taming, but none of them... Are exactly the most sociable I would say."

"Of course-" Han switched his gaze back to Archer. "We can discuss all of that later, as you said, here at the facility all of our enclosures are in peak condition, especially in comparison to other organizations." Han couldn't help but grin, albeit a little smugly. The facility was indeed a superior place compared to most dragon housings. "As for price..." Han seemed to sober again. They were really about to discuss all of this right here and now. Usually he had no issue discussing bids with the questioned dragon in the room... But Nizhoni, she seemed... More, cunning, was that the word? "We can begin discussing that immediately." Han shot a glance to Reva. He was already getting the idea that this Archer guy knew his stuff... But by damn if he wasn't going to try and haggle anyway. If they could swing it, the profits off of a bargain sold flower dragon could be potentially astounding.

[labprotocol]

"Well," Reva said taking a finger sandwich from the tray and placing it on her plate. She flared out her napkin and draped it over her lap. "Let's get down to business shall we?" She folded her hands over the pristine table cloth and looked Archer in the eye. "I was thinking 20 million. Normally we wouldn't spend that much on a mature dragon," she glanced at Niza, "as kits are much easier to train, but I believe in this case we'll make an exception." She to the food. "Try some of the mille-feuille. It's to die for."

-------------------
Ivan laughed, feeling a bit better, when Ceral said he hoped he'd still be able to move by the end of his pregnacy. "Oh, I don't think so bud." Ivan looked Ceral up and down. "With the way you're growing...and with Ivy as a mate I bet you won't see the outside of your nest for a month before you birth."

He slipped into the water, humming with pleasure at the feeling of water on his scales and skin. He slouched into the water, tipping his head back so that the gills on his neck were damp. The fins behind his ears fluttered.

"Ultrasounds are these weird things that humans do to tell what's going on in your womb while your pregnant. If they haven't checked you out yet they will soon. It's a little weird, you can see the eggs inside you and sometimes a little fluttering of one of the kits through the shell, but it's pretty blurry."

Ivan glanced at Nym's stomach. "Ten?" he said hesitantly "If you think so..." Nym looked like he had one or two more, at least, but maybe Nym's eggs were just extra big.

[BabyBelly]

Lago shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh. "Yeah, well maybe I didn't know what was going to happen, but I sure as hell knew I wasn't helping the situation." He leaned into Demus and closed his eyes, listening to the heart beat of his mate, trying to calm himself. If Lago was truly being honest with himself, he would have done it all again too. They were all in this together, this motley bunch of dragons. He knew his anger towards Ivan was just a mask for the powerlessness he felt being a prisoner in this gilded cage. The humans thought of them as nothing more than animals with above average intelligence, and that's where the real problem was. Hopefully their stunt had sent a message to Han and Reva...he doubted it though.

"I hope you're right about Ivan. As much as I'm still upset at his escapades, I don't want anything more to happen to him. I think I'll need to have a talk with him. Maybe I can get him to eat at least."

He smiled and reached down a hand and put it on top of Demus' as they laid there, admiring his own belly. He had gotten visibly bigger, even if he was rather chubby to begin with. He couldn't tell at this point how many were in there, but comparing this pregnancy to his last two, he knew it looked to be on the high end of the clutch size scale. It was an odd and amazing feeling having the eggs sliding around in the womb. It only got more wonderfully strange when the kits started to move inside the eggs.

"Hey, maybe we should go over to the lake and I can give you a wash, get all of that mud off of you...and myself I suppose", he said as he kissed Demus on the forehead.

[Poppy]

"Yes, tame them," Niza said matter-of-factly, tipping her head at Han across the table, a subtle glare working its way into her expression. Not that she'd ever try to do that, most dragons were as tame as humans, if not more; the humans just liked to fuck it up and then the dragons would turn on them, which was a typical response. What else were they supposed to do? In the middle of this, however, Niza was trying to look her best, sound her best, and overall act more professional than these two loons thought she probably was. She could speak and haggle just as well as they could, she could write and read and do all that fun human stuff, in addition to the perks of being able to change into a potentially dangerous creature at any given time. That was pretty handy.

Niza scoffed at Reva's comment. "Are you saying I'm not trainable?" She paused and shook her head. "Wait, I take that back. I'm as civilized as you pair are, there's no training to be done. I'm not clawing your eyes out, am I?" She again offered a smile, leaning forward to grab one of the same small sandwiches that Reva had gotten and popped it into her mouth. "And I certainly don't think I act like some untrained dog. Pitiful things."

Archer shot Niza a look, one she knew clearly that meant to be quiet, so she just shrugged her shoulder at him and continued eating - small bites, she remembered, so she didn't look like some pig. "20 million?" Archer thought for a moment. It wasn't as high as he'd hoped actually, but it was more than enough, enough that he was content with. It seemed like the easy way to be a millionaire nowadays was to just become a dragon hunter. Easier said than done, though. "Okay... So what do I need to sign?" He sat back a little. "20 is fine by me."

Niza snorted. Archer always liked to take the low road. She knew she was worth much more than 20 million, but hey, she wasn't the one getting the money.

---------------

"We need to have an intervention with Ky and Ivy or something," Ceral suggested, his tone serious. Not that he really thought they'd both get along anytime soon, but they were stuck in the same enclosure together, and Ceral would be lying if he were to say it wasn't a tad bit annoying to go over to see Nym or Ivan or Ky and Ivy couldn't come because of her brother, or vice versa. It was plain awkward. Ivan didn't even seem to be into the idea of having a real mate. Ivy had knocked him up once, big whoop. Ky needed to get over his jealousy, and Ivy needed to respect how he felt - but ultimately they just needed to hug and make up.

Ceral sat on the edge of the pool, not keen on getting wet right then despite his nature for water. "Don't jinx it." Ceral groaned and ran a hand through his hair, the curls bouncing as he tried to neaten it up. "I'm not that big..." Ceral didn't bother to say yet because he knew he'd get there. He could remember how big Ivan had gotten, and that was with Ivy's clutch. He'd try not to think about it until it actually got around to being that time... He'd get as much time outside as he could. It was nice to walk around when his back or legs weren't hurting, or mostly when he just wasn't feeling sneezy and nauseous. The latter was really what was starting to make him not want to go outside, but he knew he'd regret it later when, more than likely, he wouldn't be able to make it but a few feet outside the nest.

"Oh. Mmm, they haven't done much to me. I guess it's nice to know what to expect." He looked over towards Nym when Ivan commented on how many eggs he might be carrying. "That sounded doubtful," he said to Ivan, smirking. "I'm gonna bet... twelve. Or thirteen." He raised a brow. "Or maybe you've got a hundred little ones."

[Flayme]

"Well, like I said... I haven't had a real ultrasound yet..." Nym shrugged. He'd simply been looked over a few times when he was still being held captive in the lab. With the doubtful comment from Ivan though, he had the dropping feeling that he definitely was carrying more than ten... Which made him wince to think about. "So, I guess I'll found out for sure once that happens." He shrugged again, and then flashed a glance at Ceral. "One hundred little ones? I don't think so..." Or at least he certainly hoped not. That sounded exhausting to deal with during labor, even if the eggs were small. He had no idea what size tundra dragon eggs were supposed to be, or forest dragon eggs really, but he figured that he'd be carrying at least the same size as Ivan... Maybe not. He really hadn't been told much about what was supposed to happen to him, or what to expect during pregnancy. That was the most terrifying part, the simple fact that he had zero clues to what he was doing... But if he was right, there would be no way in a million years that a hundred eggs would fit in there.

"I don't know, maybe I'm carrying more, maybe around twelve." That was the average amount right? According to what Ivan had told him on his first day here. "I just know in the lab, they told me it would definitely be at least ten." Fiske was most definitely hoping for more than ten. Each kit was supposedly a pile of dollar signs. "However many there are, I figure I'd found eventually, even without an ultrasound." Nym chuckled dryly. "Place whatever bets you'd like until further notice though, I guess."

------------------

"Of course I'm right about Ivan." Demus laughed. "Since when am I ever wrong about anything?" He quirked an eyebrow. The answer to that was 'a lot of the time' but Demus didn't give Lago a chance to say anything before he was chattering again. "He'll come around..." He smiled. "I mean, if you try to talk some sense into him, I'm sure he'll have to at least consider it. I don't think anybody could ignore your advice." He meant that, Lago always seemed to know what he was doing, and what he was talking about... He seemed to be strangely intuitive, which was something that Demus probably lacked, but didn't mind. He rolled away a bit to look up at the canopy above them. The sky peeking through the trees was slowly turning from blue to lilac, which meant that within a few hours it would be twilight.

"Ugh... The lake." Demus chuckled at the kiss and glanced back at Lago. "I guess being wet is better than being covered in mud.... Though I wasn't minding it so much this time." With that Demus gave a quick peck to Lago's cheek before he hoisted himself up. Once he was standing, he reached down to offer a hand to Lago. "C'mon. Let's go get cleaned up then, I must say..." He glanced down at himself and Lago again. "We are rather filthy."

-----------------------

Twenty million... Han almost grinned and broke his stoic guise he was trying to keep up. Reva definitely knew what she was doing. Twenty million for a dragon this rare was truly a cheat on Archer's behalf, but he wasn't about to say anything. From the scoff that came out of Nizhoni though, he figured that she perhaps was unhappy with the price... Han hope desperately she didn't offer an opinion about it. This obviously passive aggressive dragon could potentially be one with quite the mouth... She seemed to think herself a rather special flower, for lack of a better word. He could already tell.

"We can draw the paperwork for you right away and bring it here in just a few minutes." Han kept his gaze on archer, ignoring the flower dragon's comments about trainability and dogs... Whatever she was flouncing at them. He couldn't care less what she thought she was. She was a dragon, and she was here, which meant she would have to comply with the regulations here. "If twenty million is the official agreement- Han pushed his chair back from the table. He hadn't even touched one of the finger sandwiches. "I'll go get a contract file right this instant."

[labprotocol]

"Intervention? I wish," Ivan rolled his eyes. "Those two are so stubborn! Ivy isn't even mad she's just annoyed that Ky's such an idiot. Ugh... Personally I don't believe in all that mate stuff." He shrugged. "Water dragons just have sex with whoever and when they get knocked up they only stay together for the duration of the pregnancy and until the kits grow up." His eyes fell. "I guess that means we're over now." He bit his lip. "Ky though... he believes in true love and forever mates and all that. I love him just...I love a lot of people. He's not.... special." Ivan's head snapped up and he glared at Nym and Ceral. "You can't ever tell him that though."

-

[Poppy]

"I'm gonna guess twelve. Or thirteen?" Ceral grinned. "Lucky number thirteen would be a real hitter." Every dragon carried differently though, and it was a bit unusual of just how different pregnancies varied among different dragons. Ceral had yet to find a species that beat cave dragons when it came to the gestation period. Maybe he'd been dealt the wrong hand there. "What do I win? Free food for a week?" Ceral smiled wryly. Whatever the number was, Nym was right. They could get a rough estimate soon enough, not having to rely on machines to tell them what they were having. Ceral didn't like the feeling of the eggs inside him, but maybe when they got a little bigger and more defined, he could make his own guess too.

Ceral stood, stepping away from the pool. "Lips are sealed," he assured Ivan. It wasn't his business, and he didn't feel the need to gossip really. He just wished everyone could all get along here. Tensions were high after what had happened, but hopefully with time they'd vanish. "I'm uh... gonna head back. I'm not feeling too well." Ceral scratched at his neck awkwardly. "I'll see you guys by the caves though, alright?" Ceral said his goodbyes before he turned to head back. It was true, he was starting to feel a tad sick, and he thought maybe if he gave it attention now it wouldn't bite him in the ass later. As much as he didn't want to go back and lay down, it'd be better. He prayed it'd be better at least.

Back near the cave, Ceral caught Ivy's scent. He didn't think she'd be back so soon. He snuck through the edge of the woods quietly, as quietly as he could rather, and came up slowly onto Ivy before he pounced onto her back, grinning and laughing a little as he clung onto her, aiming to maybe even pin her down on the ground. Well this certainly wasn't doing much for his sick spell, but to hell with it. He was tired of everyone being so uptight. "Bet'cha didn't even hear me," he snickered softly.

---------------

"That's the agreement, yes." Archer wasn't concerned too much about money. He wasn't a greedy hunter, and already had millions in his bank, enough to keep him stable and happy for years beyond his death probably. "That'd be nice. Thank you." Archer nodded and looked over at Niza who seemed to be giving him an incredulous look. He arched a brow at her as she moved closer.

"20 million? Are you kidding me? I'm worth way more than that."

Archer frowned. "I'm also not a money grabber, and 20 million is more than fair price." Niza huffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say oh master hunter."

[Flayme]

Nym flinched at that. The way Ivan seemed to so abruptly certain that Ky wasn't unique or captivating enough for him... Though maybe it wasn't abrupt at all. The way Ivan said it, dragons of his type were obviously not ever bound to anyone... But Nym couldn't help but be a little saddened when he thought about just how devout Ky seemed to be to Ivan anyway, only for him to be gaining nothing but a temporary relationship in return. In fact, though he would probably never actually admit it, a few times it had made him somewhat jealous to see how much Ky doted over Ivan. It was absurd of course. Ivan had been brought here before he had, and Ky had the right to love whomever he chose. Nym also figured Ky had to love him too to some extent, as at this point it had become clear that Ky considered Nym one of his mates, though he didn't think it had ever been officially said out loud. He definitely wasn't ignored by Ky, not at all.

Either way, Nym figured that he should simply be grateful for what he was given. Being dumped into the facility to be bred with an aggressive Valhalla seeder would have been devastating.... While Nym was still somewhat confused and upset about why this all had to happen in the first placed, he was glad it was Ky's kits he was carrying. Ky was kind to him, he'd basically been a savior to him that first terrifying, albeit hormonal week in Avalon. Nym would be lying if he said that he hadn't become rather fond of the forest and all his quirks, even if his attention did have to be split.... It was just strange for him still. Nym's own culture didn't run like this. Nobody got to fling themselves at anybody in sight, tundra dragons didn't share mates, and neither did humans, or at least they weren't supposed to. Mates didn't simply breed like rabbits like this either. Tundra dragon litters, as he had been told, were usually far and few between.... But that was all a mess in captivity apparently.

"I won't say a word..." Nym finally said softly, and then glanced up to watch Ceral leave. He figured he should probably go back before Ky came back from hunting and had conniption fit about everybody being missing, if he wasn't there freaking out already that is. "You going to be coming back to the cave anytime soon?" He tilted his head at Ivan. Now that he knew where the water dragon was, he wasn't so worried, but it still didn't seem like Ivan should be out here all alone. "You shouldn't stay out here all night you know..."

-----------------------------------


"Perfect." Han was grinning like he had fishhooks in the corners of his mouth. This dragon was starting to rub him the wrong way. She could be dumped into Avalon with the other rabid, snarky beasts for all he cared. Perhaps she would end up breeding with Ivan, and force him to be of some use again, or something of the like. "I'll be back shortly then." He gave a nod to Reva and then glanced to Archer and Nizhoni. "I'm sure that you'll find that our facility has everything that you should be able to hope for." He said sweetly, tone turning fluid and drawling. "Once papers are signed, we'll get you settled in."

With that Han turned on his heel and left the room. Paperwork wouldn't take more than just a few minutes, and then this flower dragon would officially be theirs.

[BabyBelly]

Lago let out a laugh, and began to say "Weellll...", to Demus' absurd question, but the snarky prairie dragon wouldn't give him a chance to respond...typical. Demus was right in this instance, however. Ivan would eventually move on from this loss. He would never forget, and the pain would always be there, but he would find a way to move on with the help of his new friends.

He looked at Demus with an inquisitive smile. Did his words and advice really have that much of an impact? He had never really thought about it before. He just said what he thought made the most sense at the time. It served him well enough he supposed. He grabbed a hold of Demus' hand as he stood back up to his legs. It was a good thing too, his back was starting to hurt. With a hand to the small of his back and his other hand in Demus' they strolled over to the lake.

Once at the lake Lago waded right in without a thought, gently pulling on Demus' hand to get him to follow. Once they were in, Lago wrapped an arm around Demus' waist while dipping his other hand into the water. He cupped some water and brought it to Demus' chest, rinsing off some of the dried mud. "There...see, this isn't so bad...is it?" Lago almost whispered the last two words. He bit his lower lip as he continued to bring water to his mates toned torso. He looked into Demus' eyes and seemed to get lost in them. He brought another handful of water up, but instead just stood there and gazed at Demus again. He finally dropped the water and pulled Demus in for a passionate kiss.

[Flayme]

"Ah, wait, Lago-" Demus didn't have a chance to protest being pulled straight into the lake before it had already happened. Lago admittedly stronger than him, and had a rather firm grip on his arm. "Ah- Fuck, it's cold!" Demus flinched as the water rose to his torso, and goosebumps ran down his skin. There was a reason he hated swimming. It was damn uncomfortable, lake water was always cold, and it always seemed to take forever to dry off again. "I should have just stayed muddy- Hey!" Demus' grumbling was interrupted suddenly when he felt the familiar grip of Lago around his waist. "Oh my god." Demus sputtered as the swamp dragon dumped water down his chest. There wasn't going to be any escape now..

"You're, conniving." Demus grinned, voice going low and soft as Lago's did. "I suppose it could be worse... This, the water I mean." Demus froze for a moment as Lago seemed to just stare at him. "What'cha thinking about?" The prairie dragon smiled. He'd meant to tease, but the question had come out almost breathlessly as he leaned forward a bit, and he was cut off from his train of thought altogether was Lago pulled him in for a kiss. Suddenly Demus felt like he was warm and tingling all over. Any thought about being half submerged in cold waters was gone. Almost immediately Demus' leaned up and his arms were behind Lago's neck, (a notable feat with the swamp dragon's swollen belly) and his hands were snaked into his dreadlocked hair. This was something he'd missed desperately. Quiet intimate moments like this... It made Demus crave going back to the nest and simply existing with Lago. Being close, and warm all night...

"I think-" Demus gasped lightly as he pulled away from Lago for just a moment. "I wouldn't mind washing up so much if it was like this every time."

[labprotocol]

"Bye Ceral,"  Ivan said watching the cave dragon loop off. He bit his lip at Nym's question. He didn't really want to go back to the cave. Although it was warm and safe, he didn't have any desire to face Ky right then. Looking at Ky just made the emotions all well up again and he definitely wasn't in the mood for a confrontation. "Um..." He couldn't hide forever though, and he did miss cave and Ky's warm arms around his waist.

The truth was that he did care about Ky, but he liked Ivy just as much and he wouldn't complain if Demus wanted to tumble. Though with the way Demus dotted on Lago, it was pretty clear that Demus believed in all that mate stuff too. "Yeah I'll head back." Ivan climbed out of the hot spring. "But I think I'll just walk around for a bit, maybe wait until Ky's asleep to sneak back in." He gave Nym a sheepish smile. "Let him cool off, you know?" Not that he expected Ky to be angry, just upset and worried and overly attentive. He was much easier to deal with when he was still half asleep. Ivan's lips turned up in a smirk at that thought. It was always fun to wake Ky up with a BJ.

-------------------

Ivy laughed twisting around to grab Ceral around his hip, under his huge belly to try and pry him off. She honestly hadn't heard him coming, the little devil. She ended up loosing her balance and fell curled dragging Ceral onto her lap as she landed on her butt. She gasped, eyes wide.

She laughed harder, her chest heaving as she buried her face in Ceral's silky curls. "Where've you been you sneaky devil?" she whispered laving kisses along his hair line and down his neck. She caressed his stomach, admiring their combined work. She couldn't believe that they had made life, that in a few months Ceral would give birth to little kits that were half him and half her, a perfect representation of their love. "Oh I love you."

-------------------

Once Archer had filled out all the forms. Reva went over to Niza. "Alright. You said you wanted to try Avalon?" As if she really had a choice in the matter, but Reva was starting to get sick of the sassy dragon. She didn't want to have to deal with any arguments. If Niza wanted to go to Avalon and "tame" the other dragons she could be her guest. Though the idea of dragons taming other dragons was fairly hilarious to Reva. Niza might act like a human, but under the pretty surface all dragon were simply beasts controlled by primitive instincts.

[Poppy]

"Yes, please." Niza nodded at Reva's comment once Archer was done and gone after filling oi the paperwork. Sure, she'd said her goodbyes but she felt pretty indifferent towards Archer. The fact of the matter was that he'd be right back out tomorrow hunting, looking for another exotic dragon somewhere and selling them for millions just as he had her. She couldn't blame him though. If you were poor, or just wanted to be rich, becoming a dragon hunter wasn't a bad idea.

"You should let me do your hair sometime, Reva." Niza smiled devilishly and ran her fingers through her own silky black hair. "I know how to make this amazing oil that would work wonders for you... I bet I could make it with the stuff in Avalon, send it through that silly gate for you to try out."

---------------

Ceral wasn't in any condition to be doing this really, so when Ivy tried to pull him off only to result to the pair of them falling to the ground, he laughed a little as he made himself comfortable in her hold. He didn't want to even get up now that he felt at ease. Ivy seemed to do that to him. "Nym and I went out to look for Ivan. He's being mopey. It's not cool." Ceral shook his head and turned some in Ivy's arms, looking up at her with a calm expression.

"I love you too even if you're all touchy," he grinned, lightly trailing his fingers over Ivy's hand on his abdomen. It was still a wonder, how he was carrying their kits. They hadn't talked about the kits beyond a few minor conversations. Ceral always felt bummed out knowing what was to come despite trying to get those thoughts out of his head, but maybe they should start looking at things differently. He didn't want to be completely miserable during this time.

"They're already getting big." Ceral glanced down at himself. "I kinda wonder how many I'm having sometimes."

[Flayme]

"Yeah, I get what you mean..." Nym chuckled dryly and then shook his head. Saying that Ky could be a little bit high strung sometimes was an understatement, especially lately. "I think I'll head back then." He nodded and then hoisted himself up to follow Ivan out of the hot spring. "Just... Be careful... I guess." Nym knew he sounded silly. There wasn't really much of anything in Avalon that could hurt them, unless you counted stumbling over rocks and branches after nightfall as dangerous. "I'll see you later then..." Nym gave slight smile in return for Ivan's impish one. " Or tomorrow perhaps."

With that, he too started off in the same direction that Ceral had, albeit slower than he liked. He figured that he should be grateful he was still moving this well at all. In just another month or two, he was sure that he would be next to useless... It wasn't anything he was looking forward to, but Nym supposed it couldn't be helped. It made him wonder just how quickly he'd be able to bounce back after the whole fiasco of giving birth... He was rather worried about the whole situation, especially with what would be happening to his kits afterwards. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to handle seeing them plucked away from him, as he was becoming admittedly attached to the little lives inside him... But, forcing something Ivan had done and hiding them, seemed like it would only cause grief for everybody else again. Quickly he shook his head to clear his thoughts, that was all three months away still. He didn't want to think about it.

When the nesting cave came back into sight again, Nym relaxed a little. He didn't see any sign of Ky yet, but that didn't mean he wasn't close. He hoped that if Ky was back, that he wouldn't be too miffed about him running off to find Ivan. He wasn't in the mood for bickering, all he really wanted to do at this point was sleep. The hot spring had left him feeling drowsier than he'd been anticipating.

-----------

"Hmmm...." Han made a small sound of scrutiny as he watched Reva and Nizhoni. So be it, if the dragon wanted to be in the chaos that was Avalon, she was more than welcome to be thrown into it. All this nonsense about taming, and hair oil seemed like... Well, nonsense. She was a dragon, what possibly could she know how to do better than the other beasts they kept here?

"We can go drop you off right away, can't we, Reva?" Han mused, leaned up against the door, waiting for the two to follow him. "Or- We have that man from Valhalla, ah god, what was his name... Oh- Vance, that's right. He can escort you if you'd like. Really he's not supposed to be looking over Avalon, but... Our last main handler for the enclosure was... Well-" Han hesitated. "Let's say he was involved in an unfortunate accident." He singsonged. He couldn't say that he felt particularly bad for Devin, the man really had it coming to him from the looks of the video. They actually had a new captain whose resume looked promising in the works of being processed. He wasn't sure if she was even in the system yet. For today he supposed Vance, or someone else would have to do.

[BabyBelly]

Lago giggled airily at Demus' comment. "This makes bathing a lot more engaging doesn't it?", he said in low voice. He leaned back into Demus' personal space and place a few feathery kisses on his chest, his pregnant belly pressing into his mate. Suddenly coming back into reality, Lago stood back and placed a hand on his round middle. He put a hand on his mouth and started laughing. "You know...I ran this exact same scenario in my head about a hundred times for when you came back. I had forgotten to take my belly into account." He continued laughing. "You know what? Let's just finish washing up, get back to the nest, and figure out positioning there, because a fat, pregnant dragon still has needs, and I'm turned on as all hell." He brought up some water and splashed it onto Demus' shoulder.


Role: Head enclosure handler
Name: Captain Shelly Gunner
Gender: Female
Age: 52
Description: 5'9". Well muscled, toned body. Straight, light brown hair, with gray along the sides. Hair cut to just below her ears. Steely gray eyes.

Shelly sat at the kitchen table, drinking some coffee, reading over the reports her superiors had supplied her with about the facility. The FBI already had some eyes and ears on the inside, but they needed more feet on the ground to determine who all was behind the facilities supposed, illicit affairs. In the last 7 months alone, 12 eggs had gone unaccounted for. The official papers her superiors were able to get a hold of, stated that the eggs had been still born. The papers also claim that the proper bio-waste procedures had been followed...but there were no papers filed pertaining to those egg disposals. So, where had the eggs gone? The facility had been under scrutiny for a while by the FBI under suspicion that they were selling weaponized dragons on the black market. Her superiors had been trying all angles to try and get another person on the inside, when a position fortuitously opened up, courtesy of some delinquent dragons. Her interview was tomorrow afternoon. She looked at the files of some of the scientists and handlers involved with the enclosures she'd be heading. She also read up on the incident that had happened in the Avalon enclosure.

"Trouble dragons...fantastic." She took another sip from her mug and almost spit it out when her husband came up from behind her, putting his arms around her middle. "Whatca reading?" the man said in a sing song voice. "Damn it Harold...you almost made me spit on my reports." She turned around and slapped his thigh with admonishment. "Easy killer, just wondering what your reading,", he raised his hands in defense. She looked at him and said, "You know I can't tell you what it is, but it does have to do with that dragon breeding facility." He looked down at her reports, taking a look at some of the profile pictures of the scientists. He took a look at Han's picture, put a finger on it and said, "I'm calling it right now...total dick head." She laughs at his uninformed opinion and slaps his hand lightly. "You know these are classified", she says as she tries with little effort to cover up the reports. Harold looks at her with some seriousness coming into his voice. "Be careful, all right? These undercover things are no joke." He leans down and kisses her. "I'm going to bed, I'll see you in a bit." She squeezes his hand. "Okay, good night honey."

[Flayme]

"Hmmm, well I can't say that I mind..." Demus snaked a hand down to Lago's belly. "This being in the way, I mean... I think both our needs can be met just fine with it here." Demus smirked a bit as he playfully waggled an eyebrow. Of course, Lago being pregnant didn't make for times like this being all that... Convenient. But the bump was adorable, and more importantly, it meant that their kits were still there, and safe. It made Demus wonder briefly how many there were... How many of them would look anything like him.

"I think heading back sounds perfect." Demus tone dropped lower, and his voiced hushed almost to a whisper. He could already feel himself getting... Excited, if you wanted to put it modestly, turned on, if you didn't. Being deprived of really attention at all was making the prairie dragon  twice as clingy as he probably would have been. He was relishing Lago's every touch, every kiss. "C'mere." Demus grabbed Lago's face in his hands and kissed him yet again, keeping them both there with his head spinning for a good couple seconds. As he pulled away his lips were burning. He chuckled a bit as he then splashed at Lago for a final time and then gripped the other dragon by the hand. "Let's go."

-----------------------------------------

"Addison Marilyn Fiske! Sit your spoiled butt down right now!" Austin Fiske was sputter red faced an exasperated as he dodged yet another fruit that went whizzing past his head. "Addie! Stop it! This is highly uncivilized!" Austin let out a heavy sigh, bracing himself for another attack being lobbed his way. He wished his wife was here... She knew how to deal with Addie's incessant mood swings better than he did, but alas, the woman's damned book club had her kept away for the afternoon, and he was stuck alone with the seventeen year old vegan she-devil he called a daughter for the day.

"Yeah! And this isn't?!" Addison shrieked back, the sound was shrill enough to make Austin Visibly wince. The girl already had another pear from the fruit bowl in the middle of the dining room table in her hand, a thick file of papers in the other. She had both arms up, one hand ready to launch the pear at her father's face, and the papers high above her head in keeping them away from him lunging for them again. She had found the file placed neatly amongst the other things on the desk in her father's study. She was supposed to never go in there, but of course she regularly ignored that, and Nym's name printed on the outside of the manilla fold had made her burningly curious. Once she'd opened it however, she had almost wished she hadn't. "What's going on daddy?" Her tone got softer, but also darker. Her cherry lip glossed lower lip stuck out in pout, and her eyebrows were pinched together in a deep scowl. "It says in here that he was locked away alone for two weeks? That he bit someone? That he really is pregnant now, that he was injected with god knows what kind of hormone, and you didn't tell any of us, about any of it? What is wrong with you?"

"Addie, please. If you would just calm down I could explain." Austin started wearily. He really wanted Addie to just put the file down. He didn't need her overly hormone stimulated teenaged brain taking this all out of proportion. He didn't want her reading anything else. "You were raised better than this, listen to yourself, yelling like some animal."

"Well maybe I wouldn't if you would ever tell me anything!" She shot back, still just as defiant. She hadn't seen Nym in months, and had hardly heard more than two words about him at a time. It was almost like he suddenly didn't exist anymore... No, worse than that. It was like he hadn't ever existed at all. "This-" She jabbed the file at Austin. This is all shitty! Are they hurting him? Are his kits too now?"

"Addison! Watch your language!" Austin was back to shouting now. "Nobody is hurting anybody, now hand me the file, calm down, and we can talk. You need to realize that Nym is a dragon, he's a beast, he's not like you and I-"

"Says the man who disappeared on trips and whatever the hell else while that dragon, that beast, tucked Sean and I into bed every night..." Addie answered bitterly. "I'm going to visit him." She announced. It wasn't a question. She hugged the file to her chest, set the pear down (finally) and shoved past Austin into the front room. "I'm going right now."

"Addie, you're not leaving this house-"

"Whatever! Fuck you!" Addie whipped around to give a flashing glance to her father. She felt bad, but only for a moment. She had indeed been raised better than this, but by damn, she was going to find out what was going on with Nym.

"Addie if you set one toe out that door, you'll regret it!" Austin shouted after his daughter as she turned on her heel and headed towards the direction of the front entrance. She seemed to completely ignore him as she kept going. "Addie! Addison!"

"I said fuck you!" Addie shouted back as loudly as she could, and without even turning around ripped the front door open. She slammed it behind her again without another word.

[labprotocol]

Ky woke up cold, the sun having set already. The ginger shivered and shifted to human, slipping off his sunning rock. He was feeling a bit better, no longer angry or excitable. Mostly he felt...sad. Usually he had Ivan to cheer him up whenever Ky started to get melancholy and riled up about the facility and captivity.


On his way to the nesting cave he caught Nym's scent. "Nym?" Ky ran into the cave, his heart aching with a need that was unfamiliar to him.

----------------

Reva blushed glancing at Niza's silky strains, they did look exceptionally soft and healthy. She shook her head, trying to regain professionalism. What would a dragon know about hair anyway. It was more likely that her last master had gotten some stylist to do her hair before they showed up. Spiffed up the merchandise.

She groaned when she remembered that Devin was... indisposed and the new employee wouldn't be in the system until tomorrow. "I guess Vance will have to do." Though Vance was more used to dealing with more... aggressive dragons. She wasn't sure how carefully he'd treat this sassy, but valuable cargo. She supposed that Han and herself could drop Niza off. Niza didn't look like she was going to cause any physical trouble.

--------------

Ivan left Nym and started looping around the enclosure, not really paying attention to where he was headed. It was amazing how easy it was to walk without the extra weight of eggs. It'd been so long since he'd not been pregnant. It was a little strange actually, not having to worry about his belly always getting in the way. He'd be ecstatic about the whole thing if it weren't for...

Well anyways he was taking a nice walk and he was going to calm down and get his head on straight. His head felt a little fuzzy, but that was probably just because he hadn't eaten anything in the last two days.

--------------

Ivy grinned and helped Ceral up beside her. "I have a surprise for you." She motioned to their nest where three cooked chickens lay and a fleshly steeped bowl of ginger and lemon tea. "It's supposed to help with pregnancy sickness."

---------------------

[Poppy]

"Who's Vance?" Niza asked indifferently. She knew it was probably one of their incompetent trainers. As much as she joked about training all the dragons, which wasn't even anything she'd ever try, she was almost confident she could train some of these humans to bend under her will. She could get on Reva's good side, and she wondered how long it was since Han had done anything with a woman; that sounded so cocky, but whether or not he had a wife or girlfriend or whatever the hell he was into, the flower dragon knew she could probably get him twisted around her finger. Didn't look too hard, honestly. Maybe she could start now.

"No, no, I'd like for you two to escort me to the enclosure, please!" Niza hopped forward, brushing her hair from her face and stepping alongside Han. She stood a little taller, shoulders back, a dainty smile curling the corners of her pink lips. "I think Dr. Han here is a perfect escort," she purred, reaching up to tap her fingers along his shoulder. This would be fun. She was curious about how far she could go.

"Dark, tall, and handsome. Perfect. You could easily be a model, even if an older one." Niza turned her gaze to Reva, keeping the same smile on her features as she continued. "And you too, Reva! Let me do your hair and you'll be set, I swear."

---------------

Ceral followed Ivy back to their nest, eyeing the food she'd made him with a look of surprise. "Oh, wow... You didn't have to do this Ivy." He sat down and grabbed one of the chickens, looking it over for a moment. He tended to be a pretty sloppy eater, but he was trying not to look so bad in front of everyone so he had to force himself to slow down now. "This is like a super well cooked meal." He grinned and took a bite out of the chicken, trying to chew as dignified as possible.

He wasn't sure if the chicken or tea would actually help, but he hoped it would. "You gotta eat some too," he said and nudged one of the chickens towards Ivy. "I can't eat all of this." Ceral laughed as he went on to eat the chicken meat. It definitely tasted better than a lot of things he'd had the pleasure of eating here.

[labprotocol]

Reva blushed. "Well I guess we can take her." There was no reason not to. It wasn't like Niza was going to go savage on them and one of their arms off. Reva's hand reflexively touched her tight bun. Would she be pretty if she let it down once in a while?

------------

Ivy laughed watching Ceral try to eat prettily. "Just eat it, Dork." She snorted. "We're dragons not princesses." She leaned forward and licked some juice off Ceral's lip, giving him a coy smile before grabbing some chicken of her own. "And I know I didn't have to make you food. I'm very well aware that you're a skilled hunter." Her eyes wrinkled with amusement. "But I get to spoil my mate every now and then. And" she pointed a finger at him "You are not leaving this nest until noon tomorrow! Don't think I haven't noticed that you haven't been getting any rest."

-------------

Ivan looped around to by the gate entrance and curled up under one of the trees in a little white dragon ball. He was fairly small, not much bigger than a motorcycle so it was fairly easy to hide. Hopefully no one would bother him until morning.