Work Text:
Just inside the borders of Jiangnan, lies a forest populated by multiple creatures and animals, and one particular beast; a naga that inhabits the caves and tunnels in the area. This beautiful purple scaled creature, part serpent part humanoid, was the last of his kind, that he at least was aware of. No other nagas, no other Jiangs, just himself: just Jiang Cheng. No home to call his own, all he could do for his fallen kin was survive.
If needed, he could hunt for his meals, sure, but it's easier to find a nest and devour the unborn young of other predators and prey. With his body, it became easy to slide in and out of tight places, reach up in trees, and slide away at the sight or sound of danger. It’s a good way to control animal populations and the ecosystem, and of course he gets his tummy filled. It's a win win.
It was on one fateful day that a loud and powerful storm had roamed through the area. Needing to take refuge, Jiang Cheng happened to stumble upon a strange cave. The entrance appeared to be covered with debris and undisturbed vines; a clear sign of abandonment. Slithering inside, it was only a few distance from the cave he spotted what appeared to be an amalgamation of rocks and trash.. no, not trash, but a nest!
It had been 2 weeks since Jiang Cheng had eaten last, but even he was weary of the sight before him. Unlike most bird or reptilian nests he would find, this one was covered with rocks. Underneath the stones was an average size egg, uncrushed but possibly forgotten by its original parents long ago.
“Even if the yolk was developed, the creature must be still by now” he thought. Eggs need warmth and rocks did not make for a warm incubator. If the egg was fresh or even a month old, that would not have been an issue. However, with the covered entrance and the damp empty state of the cave, he suspects the egg could have been here for years. He was hungry, but he had standards!
Grrrgggggle~
Apparently, his stomach thought otherwise, the sound echoing throughout the cave. He has survived without food for long periods of time, this was no different. The loud sound of thunder turned his attention back to the entrance, reminding him why he was in this cave in the first place. With the rain, this was his prime time to hunt, to feast, yet, here he was, sheltering himself pathetically. A preserved egg stands before him, and he turns his nose up as if he was better than a common snake. “A meal is a meal” his internal voice reminded him, “and for some old eggs are a delicacy!”. Curse that voice, it made a valid point.
Grrrrrggggle~
There was no denying it, he needed to eat. Checking once more for any predators (Having a run-in once with an angry crane, Jiang Cheng now knew to be more cautious of his surroundings.), the serpent unhinged his jaw and attempted to take the egg whole. He knows the egg can be split and opened once it slides down his throat, this meal was as good as his.
Atleast, that was what he thought until he felt a loud shake on the floor. The loud boom of thunder cracked through the night sky and had apparently hit a nearby tree. Startled by the sudden sound and movement, he gulped the rest of the egg immediately. “Was that the lightning that shook the earth?” he thought “or was it the mother returning? Shit.” He winced at the uncomfortable swallow he had to make. He steadied himself, prepared to fight (or run) at the first sight of a large creature, however when nothing appeared from the back of the cave or infront, he lead his guard down.
“The rain is strong.. must have been thunder. The mother is not coming back, especially not for one egg that has already become someone else's meal.”
With his belly slightly full and the rain showing no end, Jiang Cheng decided to stay in the cave for the remainder of the night. After eating, he finds his body starts to become lethargic, it would be wiser to stay hidden, at least until he regurgitates the shell pieces. And If the parents were to return, good, that would just be another meal.
And once the clouds broke and the storm cleared, Jiang Cheng had departed the cave, leaving it desolate once again.
-
Days went by and his stomach still held a small bump from the egg. ‘Your picky one, but soon you’ll be absorbed’ he thought. Usually, he found that he would have at least thrown up any shell fragments or bones if there were any, but with his meal, nothing appeared. Must be indigestion.
-
Two weeks passed and he swears the bump is larger. Usually digestion makes things smaller, no bigger! Was this some sort of allergic reaction?! It usually takes a few days, a week if its a huge slab of meat or something bigger. But weeks plural?! It really must have been a rotten egg-
-
A month. A FULL MONTH! And the bump has doubled in size!
Oh how he wished he could ask someone from his family about this. He missed the days of his sister and mother allowing him to curl up with them, to inform him what was dangerous to eat or which prey to avoid. His stern mother reprimanding his bad behavior, his kind sister rubbing his back when he felt ill, even his adoptive sibling helping him release his excess skin when it was time to shed. But he was alone now.
There was no one to slither to and to ask for assistance. He would just need to figure this out on his own. He has never experienced this before, but he isn’t dying, he's just fat. It has to be just a bad reaction, he should settle down and wait for it to digest. A month- a month is a lot of time, but he knows it will be any day now.
-
Three months.
Three fucking months.
He has gotten so slow now, he can't move as fast as he used to; less his stomach drags across the floor. The egg he ate started out so small, now it looks as if he swallowed a whole boulder. His appetite had also been low, so of course this bump was nothing but that damn egg! He can’t for the life of him understand the size growth when he has barely had a meal, especially last week.
It also makes him feel hot, he has now taken up temporary residence in the woods closer to the Gusu area. “Just need to cool down” he would say as he lay against their smooth rocks, “Its the end of summer and I’m just overheated”. Despite loving the sun, his body felt like it had been burning up recently, no doubt thanks to the fat bump in his tummy.
With his tail touching the water, the rocks cooling his side and back, JC felt like he could finally relax. He was safe here; alone and away from any predators. Outside of a few deer, he had yet to see anything even half his height prowl through the trees. With the bonus of the canopy above him granting him shade, he could at least rest here for a few days. Safe…
… That is, until the sharp pains started.
Jiang Cheng doubled over in pain at the sudden cramp in his lower abdomen.
“F-fuck! Is the egg just now digesting?! Had it really gone bad?! What am I saying, it's been 3 months of course it's bad!”
He arched his back and his tail spazzed. His lower muscles flinched. Fuck, was he dying?! He had noticed his scales had lost a bit of color and with the lack of eating- shit, all the signs were always there: Death by rotten egg! He could hear the rumors now; Did you hear? The last Yunmeng naga was found dead in the forest of Gusu! What a fool he was!
He clutched his stomach and his eyes widened. His ugly bump that had been there for months, it was moving downward! “Oh god did I… did I digest this and just had to poop this whole time?!” he thought. Maybe ‘death by rotten egg’ is less embarrassing than ‘death by bowel movement’!
He found himself laying out on the nearby rocks. From the tip of his tail to his midriff, he continued to feel that spark of pain. His tongue flicked out as he took in multiple breaths of air. He wasn’t sure if he should lay on his front, his side, or his back. Usually it isn’t this hard to release excrement.
Another sharp stab of pain caused him to gasp out and fall on his back. Something was coming from his stomach, he could feel movement. It's when he looked down at his slit, which seemed to almost be pulsing, that he saw it. T-that's not a bowel movement… something white and large and oddly… familiar was spreading him open and coming from the inside. An Egg!!
It started as a small white tip, and slowly- very slowly in fact, started to spread his cloaca open, farther than anything else ever had.
“H-how is it possible?! He had never been with a mate, so how the fuck was he laying an egg?!” He really wished he had someone to shake and ask. He knew nothing of his species, let alone how ‘babies are made’. He never thought it would be his concern, at least until he found the proper mate. And trust him, he would know if there was another one like him out here.
Could it be asexual reproduction? He had seen it before in some reptiles, but he has lived quite a life, wouldn’t he have laid a clutch of eggs by now?
“Unless-”
As his mind raced with a billion questions, a panic realization hit him. “-No. That's not possible… you’re acting delirious from the pain… you can't just swallow an egg, then turn around and lay it?! Right!???!”
This egg was far larger than the one he ate, but what else could it be?! Even the original size would have been too much for him to handle, but this- this is some sort of terrible karma. The gods have taken away his family and spared him to enact this humiliating deed.
No matter the case; the egg was coming out and there was no stopping it. Even now, his hole squeezed and stretched, the egg now almost halfway out.
‘I swear, when this is done I will squish and slurp you up properly this time. With my hands… I’ll- I’ll crush you and drink your yolk…’ He moaned between clenched teeth. God he hated this egg!
All he could do was lay there and hold onto his stomach, not like it would go anywhere. His eyes, now dilated, never left his stretched out hole nor the white protrusion coming from it. Still panting, he tried to stay as still as possible, only focusing on using his lower muscles and breathing. He attempted to help with the process by spreading his fingers and pressing down on his swollen folds. Maybe if he just gave it a bit of room-
Time passed, and slowly but surely the egg finally slid out, the egg laying right on top of his exposed, gaping hole. Still breathing heavily, Jiang Cheng watched as it rolled and landed beside him, and soon the tired naga slouched down right beside it. “Tired. Too fucking tired” he groaned, his body instinctively wrapping around the egg.
“I'll devour you… but… my stomach is finally empty… I just want rest” he yawned, his tail protectively wrapped around the newly laid young and Jiang Cheng had fallen asleep.
For the first time in months, he was able to dream. He dreamed of himself as a young baby, still tender and new to the world, being snuggled in his mother’s tail. The sweet smell of the incense they would have in the room; the same smell as her. His sister being close by, looking down and cooing at him. He missed this: the warmth and feeling of family.
The sleep was welcomed and honestly, he could imagine himself laying down for a nap for months. Just him and his memories. However, the erratic movements from his lap took him out of his slumber. He woke up, unsure of how long he had been resting. What the hell could wake him from his blissful sleep?!
Looking down where the vibration was coming from, he suddenly remembered that damn egg, his future meal. The darn thing was thumping! Upon closer inspection; it wasn't just rocking but already held elaborate cracks and marks all across its shell-
It was hatching!
His tail wrapped tighter around the egg, holding it close. Finally, he will see the face of his enemy from the past few months. ‘If it's a bird, I will eat it raw’ he remarked, ‘if it's a lizard, I'll cook it alive!’. His comments were replied with the rustling of the wind through the trees.
Crack!
The top piece of egg split apart, and soon more splits started to open. Eventually, a shard fell to the floor.. He knew the egg wasn't soft, at least not when he layed it, but seeing the sharp cracks and shell pieces crumbling down, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but look in curiocity at the type of creature that would emerge.
Looking through the small crack, a tiny humanoid face could be seen. Fuck- maybe this wasn’t the egg from earlier. Maybe he was actually pregnant. Oh god, maybe it is asexual reproduction. He started to sweat bullets in worry, would this happen again? Is this going to be a yearly thing? Fuck what if next time its not one egg, but two?!
As the serpent pondered his future, the baby inside continued to squirm, his soft kicks and punches breaking the egg more and more. “Right, the egg” he thought, looking down at the miracle of life. With all that movement, it was only a matter of time for more of the child to emerge. First, a tiny fist emerged, then another, then anoth- wait, that's not a fist…
His instincts tell him not to assist with the hatching process, but the other instincts are telling him that's not a normal naga. Going against part of his judgment, Jiang Cheng started to peel off larger portions of the shell. He tried to take the shards away quickly, but was also worried it could harm the child inside. The sack stuck to the outer shell, but seemed to be loose from the child, so thankfully he wasn’t pulling at the young thing’s skin or scales.
It was hard to make out everything, but as he removed the final top portion of the shell, he could finally look at the in fact he produced. And sure enough, with a bit of light now shining in the egg, the baby opened its eyes and stared back with wonder and confusion. He wiggled on his back and his grabby hands reached in different directions. However, all of this became ignored once he saw those feet!
This isn't a chick, this wasn't a lizard, It wasn’t even a snake. No; the child he attempted to devour was a dragon born! There were already the small bumps where in a few years horns would start to grow. The long tail almost reminded him of his own, but had unusual hair and sheen, not to mention a slightly different color then his own. And ofcourse; the child had feet. He looked so out of place: confused, amazed, maybe even scared. Not the traits of a snake! Yet, it looked far too young to be a dragon hatchling, and upon closer inspection, there did not seem to be an indent on his arms where wings would grow. Not the traits of a dragon either.
‘Gwah’ came a voice from the newborn, who could only squirm on his back. Some naga children can start hunting and eating right out of the nest, this child looks like it could be swallowed up by a wolf at any given moment. The more that Jiang Cheng looked at ‘it’, the less he wanted to eat it. So pathetic, the child couldn't even roll on his stomach and slide away. The babe was as good as dead (again?) without someone to watch it.
Jiang Cheng huffed, he went through all that damn trouble and for what? Some other predator to snatch and eat his baby- er, previous meal?! His body still pulsed and ached from all that hard work after all! Don’t call it motherly instinct, call it pride: It might be too large for him to eat now, but like hell was he going to give this up to another predator.
He wondered how he should even touch this small thing, he was sure his nails could pierce its delicate skin with just a poke. He decided to put his hands underneath the head of the baby and the bottom, letting the tail dangle slightly. Outside of using their tail, he remembered this is how his mother would cradle him as a child.
With the newborn now in his arms, it started to kick its legs around and flick its tail back and forth. Rearranging his hold of the child, he used a free hand to remove the shell shards and left over gunk from the infant’s face.
“What a stupid creature. A dragon with no wings, doomed to slither upon the ground, and away from its own kind. Like a snake” he mused, darkly about himself along with the infant with no understanding.
His tongue flicked near the child as he took in the scent of the newborn. Coppery, not very pleasant at all. Something he was sure after being properly cleaned would go away.
The baby spit his own forked tongue out as well, a bit thicker and slower, he looked ridiculous as he attempted a poor imitation, spitting everywhere.
“What am I even going to call you?” Jiang Cheng asked, a rare smile forming as he looked down at the young… er… what exactly is this? He could tell other naga apart by their tails at least, and he may not 100% all reproductive traits, but he has cloaca that also has two small nubs. He is a male naga… at least god he thought he was, this just opened up so many questions that may never be answered though. How does one even identify a dragon’s gender?
He moved the babe around, trying not to “break” him, but still prodding and poking around, trying to find something- anything to indicate what he was even looking at. When he lifted the tail, he saw a small hole between the legs. Not exactly a slit, but a cloaca is a cloaca. Looking up, there appears to be two nubs as well, though aligned a bit differently. It's okay if his child is a freak with horizontal nubs, he will still care for it! But nubs would mean, male? So it's a boy!
Realigning the child, who didn't seem phased with being man-handled and was too lost in spitting and making bubbles, Jiang Cheng finally started to think on what to call the young boy. After a few moments, he mouthed out the name ‘Jing.. yi’. The child was less of a gift and more of a curse, but he felt it fitting. “Jingyi. That's your name. You better learn it, I don't want to repeat it too often!”
Jingyi just babbled in response.
At this point, Jiang Cheng wasn’t sure what to do next. He will need to eat again soon; worse now he needs to figure out how to feed a newborn dragon, how to protect them both from predators, and where they should even go.
All that he could really do at this point was continue doing what he has been doing: Survive.
-
Winter was starting to settle and the trees were losing their lush leaves. Gone were the red and golden colors, now ugly dry brown and empty twigs were all that remained. Nothing could protect the earth anymore from the first snowflake, or the second, or the thousandth, or anything that came after.
Jingyi stuck his head out from the northern cave he and his mama call home. His eyes glistened with excitement at the clear white drops that fell from the clouded sky. He wants to run out and touch the snow, maybe bring it in and save it, though every time he has tried, it melts. Maybe if he is quick this time-
“A-Yi” a smooth voice called. Slithering from the mouth of the cave, the large purple naga picked up the young toddler and scooped him up. Jingyi may have legs, but Jiang Cheng was faster.
“Maamaa! Want to play!”
“It's getting cold, we don’t play, we sleep.”
This was Jingyi’s third winter, but each year Jiang Cheng found he had to remind the child that once winter hits, they wouldn’t leave the cave much, if at all.
“Mmm noo. Want to play! Want snow!” Jingyi moaned, trying to wiggle out of Jiang Cheng’s grasp, the heels of his legs hitting Jiang Cheng’s thigh. His mother did not flinch, he could have a tantrum if he wanted, but this is the rules. Jingyi started to cry as they went deeper into the tunnel.
The cave they now occupied held a continuous water source, as well as protection from the elements. Jiang Cheng hadn’t ever considered ‘settling’ down in one place, but this cave was as safe as any home he could wish for. Not exactly like the homes or palaces of others, but when you're the last of your kind, you tend to not complain. And with winter around the corner, this was the ideal place for them to stay despite it all.
The back of their hollow home was a makeshift nest that Jiang Cheng had made a few years back. It wasn’t fancy by any means, though he had been lucky enough to uncover old robes and clothes from dilapidated buildings and oddly, even abandoned them in the woods a few times. Just enough to wash through the nearby stream and to make a warm bed for them. He had even been able to scavenge up some form of clothing for his son and himself. Sure, they were just makeshift Dudou he made out of ripping apart tattered clothing, but at least it kept them slightly warm.
“Sit. We need to stay warm and take a few naps. Maybe when it stops snowing you can go out.” Jiang Cheng sighed, coiling upontop of his nest, he placed Jingyi right in the center of his body. The young toddler wasn’t happy with the answer, and pouted on his mother’s lap.
“When stop?”
“Maybe in a few days? When the sky isn’t gray.”
“Is long?”
“No, when we wake up it will be good.”
The tantrum broke and Jingyi smiled. He could be a good boy and wait, then he and mama can go out and jump in the snow! “Okay! Sleep with mama!”. He burrowed himself better into Jiang Cheng’s spiraled body, his legs hooked over the top as his butt sunk into the opening in between. His mother made the perfect hammock for him, and in no time Jingyi had fallen asleep.
Jiang Cheng felt triumphant in how quickly his son agreed to nap. They didn’t exactly hibernate, but during the colder seasons, Jiang Cheng was sluggish and needed to stay protected. He hated how weak and slow he would get, hated being tired, and hated how his appetite practically dropped. It was more of a challenge as his son didn’t seem to be all that affected; in fact he loved winter. Thankfully, he is trained well enough to sleep or stay put for a few days, and Jiang Cheng has planned ahead with easy to store meals and food for the time being.
Hearing the soft snoozes of his son, Jiang Cheng decided it was time for him to follow suit. They will probably nap for 2 or 3 days, and when he wakes up, they will have a meal and maybe if Jingyi is good, a ‘frolic’. Well, maybe more of a ‘ill watch you from the cave’ type frolic.
Stretching his arms, Jiang Cheng gave one final fanged yawn and laid on his side, falling asleep to the rhythmic movement of the boy on top of him.
-
Two days had passed and it was the sounds of chirping birds that awoke Jingyi. He could see far enough from the cave that it was day time, and the sun was out. Sun means no clouds. No clouds means no snow.
He wiggled himself out of the hold his serpentine mother had on him, and managed to fall onto his knees. Standing back up with a wobble, he steadied himself and walked over to the cave, his tail dragging behind him on the floor.
As he peered out of the cave, the sight before Jingyi caused him to gasp. The snow was pretty tall, easily up to his hips. But that never stopped him before, it only meant there was more snow to play with. He needed to wake up his mama so they could both play outside.
Jingyi was ready to turn back into the cave, but saw a large shadow loom over the entrance of the cave.
“Big bird!”
He waddled out, his body barely being protected by the wrapping of clothes, however the young boy did not seem to care. The shadow moved slow enough that he was able to follow it, leaving behind a path with his body. He wanted to see where the big bird was, maybe his mama could find him a big egg to eat later too!
A few minutes into his hike, Jingyi entered into a big clearing, with no nest in sight and no shadow. There were no longer any birds chirping, in fact, any birds that had been staying in a tree had flown off. Had Jingyi scared them? He was super quiet like mama has told him, but maybe the big bird heard him?
His lower lip wobbled, No big bird… no big egg.
He slapped the snow around him, upset and angry. Now his mama will scold him for leaving the cave. He will get a slap on his bum and mama will use the angry words. If he found the bird, it would be okay, cause… because of course!
“Make snow bird” he babbled to himself, now distracted with the mess of snow he made. He will make a big bird out of snow, then maybe his mama will think it's a real bird and not get mad. Truely, his three year old mind had thought of everything.
For the next thirty minutes, Jingyi rolled up and gathered as much snow as he could, not exactly making a bird but just making multiple large clumps. By now, he had almost all forgotten about returning home or the big bird he saw earlier, but instead he was too invested in the snow. It wasn’t until once again the large shadow flew over him.
“Oh… bird” He said, craning his neck all the way up. He didn’t see the bird above him, but he knew the shadow came by once more, this time he was just too slow to see it. Once again, no bird, no egg.
“What are you doing here, little one?”
That voice didn’t sound like his mama. Jingyi turned around and saw a tall man who almost blended in with the world. He was dressed in pretty white clothing like the snow, and had pretty long brown hair like the trees. Maybe the man was a snowman brought to life!
“Snowy!” Jingyi pointed at him, assigning the man a new name.
The stranger smiled, and kneeled down to the toddler.
“It's far too cold to be dressed like that, where is your parent?”
“Mama sleep.”
“Oh? Does she know you are out here then, little one?”
“Uh.. yes!”
The stranger let out a sigh, by the way the boy responded, it felt like he was lying. Taking a guess, this was probably a small village child who wandered away from his parents home. Though it was awfully far from any village he knew of, but humans have been building closer and closer to the forest each year, perhaps his family has a small hut nearby.
“Is that so? Will you show me where mommy is sleeping?”
“Um… okay!”
The boy was really young, but he ought to be taught stranger danger. The man knew he meant no harm for the child, but he was a bit surprised at how easily the boy agreed to lead him to his mother. Maybe he will inform him before he drops him off. A bonus lesson from a kind stranger.
“Umm.” Jingyi looked around. His trail from earlier was less obvious to him, now that he had created a trail all over the clearing. “Umm…” he started to tear up, which way did he come from…
“Hmmm, did you come from the east?” The man pointed towards the corner of the clearing, where with his height, he could see the trail made by Jingyi’s body earlier in the day.
“Yes?”
There was no point in trusting the young child 100%, the man knew that this was their best bet in finding the young boys home. There did not seem to be any other paths made, so it was likely it had been the little child’s own work. “Little one, would you want me to carry you back home?”
Without replying, Jingyi shot his arms up in a “gimme” motion, his fingers grabbing in the air.
The man nodded and knew to pick the child up with ease. Heavier than he expected, he looked down at the child to see a fat, long tail wiggle back and forth, a tip of fur sticking out near the end. Oh, he had been mistaken. This was no common village child, this was a dragon born. The small. Using his free hand, he moved away part of Jingyi’s hair, showing matching bumps on both sides of his forehead. Indeed, signs of up-coming horns.
However, this child was peculiar, he hadn’t seen him before, so he mustn't have been from his clan, unless one of his parents had mated with another?
Jingyi stuck his tongue out, flicking it and smelling the man in front of him.
Definitely not a normal dragon thing. To be honest, the man was impressed, the child moved his tongue pretty fast, almost snake-like. He stuck his tongue out as well, but the young boy only giggled.
“What's your name, little one?”
“Jingyi”
“Alright Little Jingyi, let's find your mother.”
-
It was now mid-day, and the sun was already high in the air, planning to make its ascension back to earth. Jiang Cheng woke up with a sluggish stretch, he really needed to stretch his limbs, but he was worried he would knock Jingyi onto the ground… again. Wait- that fat lump known as his son wasn’t on him.
He uncoiled his body and lifted his tail, he didn’t squish the young boy, but he sure as hell couldn’t find him either.
“A-Yi? Are you awake?” he called out.
No response.
His heart started to beat faster. This wasn’t good. His first instinct was that something or someone got into the cave and ate his child. No, he might be a heavy sleeper, but he is sure he would have heard screaming. He shuddered at the thought, reminded of the night everyone had left him alone. No- don't think that.
No blood. No marks. He was unharmed himself. That means Jingyi had wandered off. Good… wait no, terrible. Not good. This just means he could be a snack for someone outside of the cave. His body was sore and tired, not used to much movement in the cold, but he needed to get out of this cave. Away from the warmth, and find his son!
Jiang Cheng slithered away from the nest, his body shivering while touching the cold stone floor beneath him. He called out for his son every few feet, just in case he was still somewhere in the cave. “A-Yi!”
“Mama!”
It was faint, but that was the sound of his child. Not a scream of terror, but just of excitement. Okay, his son wasn’t dead- yet. He was absolutely going to be in for a world of trouble when he comes back to the cave though, that was for sure.
“A-Yi! Stay still! I’m coming!”
He was close to the entrance of the cave when he noticed the tall looming figure not of Jingyi, but a man. A stranger. A predator.
“Mama! Look Look! Jingyi found big man!”
That was no basic man, Jingyi. Jiang Cheng could see clear as day, the large long tail with pristine pearl like scales and shimmering tufts of hair along the ridge. That's a dragon. A dragon born was holding his child in his arms as if it were his own.
“Hello. You must be “mama” The stranger greeted with a smile.