[Edel PRP] Look what I have! :D

[Meepfur]

With Zhiji out hunting, Ashoka slunk out of the room and down the stairs, looking for a certain six-eyed, fluffy canine. She really didn't want to leave the room, to be honest, as instinct combined with her already eccentric nature had led to an obsessive fixation on her eggs. They were hers, and she needed to keep them warm and comfortable and safe, which was why she'd kept them to herself until now.

But now she needed some help with the warm and comfortable part, because Zhijian had disapproved of her choice of nesting materials.

"Fraaaagment," she called, peering around the dark lower level.

[Syrie]

Fragment and the Dragon held inside his body were - at that moment - sprawled out in front of Harmodius' chambers. They had discovered his doors while wandering about the Pantheon looking for information and now felt this shadowy corner was quite the place for a Dragon to sleep.

He would have been curled around the Pod, but...there was entirely too much activity near that damned thing most times, so it made for poor sleeping. Plus, the blond godling that tended the pod was just a little creepy, in his opinion.

The beast's ears pricked -- Ah, 'Shoka was calling to him! He brought his head up and came to his feet so he could pad towards the sound of her voice. "'Shooooka~"

[Meepfur]

"You're here!" Delight and relief flooded both her face and her voice, and she wriggled. "I have a se~cret. Come and see? Please?" Ashoka was clearly and uncharacteristically anxious. Even knowing nothing would happen to them, she wasn't at all comfortable being away from her little treasures.

[Syrie]

The Pardess was uncharacteristically anxious about something, so he did not bandy his cryptic words at her; even this broken creature knew better than to screw around with a distressed woman.

"A se-cret, 'Shoka? Show me this se-cret." He padded over to her and rubbed his head against her waist before waiting to follow wherever she may lead.

[Meepfur]

"Yess, a secret~!" She led Fragment to the stairs, which she trotted up on all fours, then stood again to pad down the hall, where she pushed open the door. There was nothing particularly secret- or strange- looking right off the bat, as she'd since fixed Zhijian's bed, but the cushions were gone from the chair and couch.

Ashoka had built a little 'fort' with them in the corner, using them as walls so that her babies wouldn't go rolling. She gestured the dragon-host over to peek in, tail swishing as she beamed with pride. Now that she was back in the same room, she felt much better.

[Syrie]

Up the stairs and down the hall to Zhijian's room. Xia Lu's curiosity was piqued by this point - and tinted with a little bit of dread. What could the girl possibly be showing them? Granted, she was as fanciful as his own host was broken, so the thought of spawn didn't pass across his thoughts.

Until host and Dragon were peering down at two pitch-colored eggs. Eggs.

"..." Fragment poked his head over so he could sniff at the eggs; they scented of Ashoka and...his own strange self. Eggs? "These...are...yours. And...mine?"

Yu was utterly horrified. His Host had spawned.

[Meepfur]

"Babies!" Ashoka crowed in confirmation, before leaning down to coo at the shell-cased bundles of adorable. "Aren't they cuuuute?" Yes, she was absolutely positive that the black eggs were the cutest things ever, despite being...well, eggs.

"Need a better nest, though," she sniffed, rubbing at her scabbed cheek. "Zhiji wouldn't let us use his bed-furs, even though they're comfy."

[Syrie]

Cute? Spawn was not cute - Fragment felt no real connection to the eggs; they were eggs and meant to be eaten in his mind. Of course, he wouldn't eat them - they made 'Shoka happy so if she wanted to tend them, she could.

The beast whuffed and snorted. "We will bring you soft things, 'Shoka. Eggs should be...comfy, yes." Marks on her cheek. Ah - Treasure's Brother had struck her - his hackles rose slowly but he knew that Yu would not allow him retaliation.

Yu confirmed that thought and settled back to dwell on this most...unnerving development. He could well imagine that Zhiji's reaction had been about the same as his own would have been; he would sorely like to smack his fragmented host. Who could have guessed the monster even had the ability to create life?

[Meepfur]

Happily oblivious to Fragment's thoughts when it came to eggs, Ashoka threw her arms around the fluffy host and nuzzled. "We knew you would help!" It wasn't Fragment's use of plural rubbing off on her, or at least mostly not - she had decided to talk for the eggs, too, not that she actually had any idea what they were thinking, or if they were thinking at all yet. "Not supposed to leave them, even for comfy things."

[Syrie]

The beast rubbed his head against the Pardess and made a rumbling sound, a pleased sound.

"Stay. Watch eggs. We will go and return with many soft things." She was right, the eggs shouldn't be left alone -- what if someone else wanted to eat them? Someone else that wasn't as inclined to keep Ashoka happy?

[Meepfur]

"I will make a better nest this time, with your soft things." Ashoka nodded and purred happily, dilemma finally gone. All was once again right in her world - not only was the world probably not going to end, she had cute eggs, and Fragment was going to go get soft things so she could stay with her cute eggs.

[Syrie]

Ashoka relaxed and Fragment understood that the unsettled feelings she'd had were entirely linked to their eggs. Okay, that wasn't so bad. Now he just had to go and take soft things - the softest available - and bring them back.

"Yes yes yes. Better nest, this time." He licked her cheek and flicked his tail. "Does 'Shoka want anything else, while we are hunting soft things?" Yu had been the one behind that question; Fragment wouldn't have thought to offer anything else. His mind wasn't that together.

[Meepfur]

It was a good thing Yu thought to ask, because it wouldn't have occurred to Ashoka to ask for anything else, either. "Food? Zhiji is kind of angry that I used his bed, and I don't think he's going to share."

She had cached some edibles before laying her eggs, but she'd eaten through the last of them a couple of days ago.

[Syrie]

Again, his fur stood on end at hearing that Zhiji wasn't treating his 'Shoka well, but Yu stomped that down by reminding Fragment that there were more important things to worry about.

"Yes. We will bring food and soft things when we return." Fragment twined his tail around the woman's leg and then released her; he saw no point in wasting time -- it would be easier to loot the leavings of the humans in the light...and as for food...well, that would take some effort as the mortals remaining were fighting desperately to keep what they had.

Not that he would let a mortal stop him from taking what he wanted.

[Meepfur]

Once she'd gotten past the surprise, Ashoka didn't really hold Zhijian's reactions against him. She should have known better, yes, she should have, but instinct had wanted a nest. Now that Fragment was going to fetch what she needed, frustration and irritation faded.

The pardess smiled a 'my hero!' smile at Fragment, and settled back down next to the cushion-fort to wait.