Not long after Sue Sakamoto’s sojourn in the breeding temple, the signs began to show themselves. A level of tiredness and malaise, an increase in appetite, a new tenderness applying itself to the normally-invisible, bumpy line of teats marching down her stomach.

She was pregnant with sky dragons—there could be no doubt.

At first, her new state changed surprisingly little. She still made her way about the village, nodding in greeting to fellow mimigas. She helped tend crops and build houses and fished in the reservoir.

But as the days crawled on, so did her newly gravid state. It became more and more obvious. Just a few weeks after her stay in the temple (and not too long since the changes began) Sue woke in the middle of the night, feeling queasy. The moment passed, but she reclined on her straw-filled mattress, suddenly cognizant of a new weight down in the area beneath her navel. It was a tiny, almost budding thing—a small, modest heaviness that settled down in her stomach.

There was no moon to light the cavern village, but the flickering light of torches set in the cavern walls were a good substitute. The light reflected through crystals and off of water, and as the soft warm glow spilled through Sue’s window, it illuminated the shape of her form, visible under a thin sheet. The light made shadows dance along her stomach, and she was aware of the first time that the changes were visible. There was a slight curve, so modest as to be almost unnoticeable, yet still definitely present. It caused the sheet to shift and distend over her ever-so-slightly. Swallowing, the mimiga reached one trembling paw out and rested it atop her tiny bump, the sheet a thin layer separating paw from tummy. Rubbing it back and forth, she was aware of two things: first, of how the surface of her stomach lightly curved along her touch, an indisputable badge of maternity. And second, how much she enjoyed the feeling—the regular swf-swf of her fur being stroked over her slightly-stretched skin. Her fur brushed against her tender teats and left her pleasantly blissed out.

From there, the days progressed and so did Sue’s pregnancy. Quickly, her stomach began to show more and more, curving out to the point where a bump was noticeable underneath her cerulean sweater. Other mimigas around the village nodded and smiled at her and looked pleased. Sue blushed and nodded back.

She was far from the only mimiga to sport a bump, of course. Nearly the whole slew of adult females had lain with the dragon sooner or later; the sessions were staggered to avoid straining the village’s resources, to the point where some of the earliest ones who’d volunteered were waddling along under heavy bellies while the last to go were meekly sporting the mildest of bumps. Sue herself came about the middle of the range.

Part of her had wondered at how the village would handle having nearly half of its adult population taken out of commission, but the mimigas were prepared. The staggering helped, and they quickly arranged it so that the mothers-to-be were given softer, easier jobs as they progressed. Sue went from helping to rebuild houses to gathering food, a woven basket dangling from her arms.

Most of her co-workers were females in a similar state, and Sue quickly came to appreciate a shared bond of sisterhood they all had. Sometimes the mimigas would stay up late, giggling amongst themselves and comparing the size of their bumps and swapping stories of how exciting the lay with the dragon had been. The ones who were furthest along were milky and tender, and some of the females eased their pain by nursing from them. The first time Sue had offered her mouth, gulping down the thin pale milk, the mimiga she was helping—an older woman a bit farther along than Sue herself—had rested her paw gently on the top of the young woman’s head, and Sue had found her fluffy tail wagging back and forth, leaning into the embrace. One hand steadying herself on the older woman’s bulk, the other had reached down to cup her own, smaller belly—the weight of the eggs within (for the mimigas had found themselves with dragon clutches) pressed comfortingly against her paw.

The breeding temple itself quickly became the center of village life as more and more of the recently-bred females relied on it for support. The attendants at the temple helped the mothers-to-be prepare for their new journey, offered treatment and advice, and provided secure areas for birthing. By the time Sue was plump enough to have to waddle about, cradling her tummy and feeling the eggs inside shift about, some of the attendants had given birth. The clutches had been moved to a secure part of the temple, the hatchery, where the attendants would ensure they grew properly. (A single sky dragon egg easily dwarfed a full-grown mimiga in size, and thus it would be impossible for a rabbit mother to carry even one to full size, let alone a clutch—Sue was happy to learn she would only play incubator for the first step of its life cycle!) The dragon remained at the temple and would do so for a few more years. Each breeding-age female was required to lay with it at least once; future liaisons were up to the choice of the mother. A little more than half of the females Sue had spoken to had expressed an interest in bearing at least one more clutch.

During one of her visits to the temple for her weekly check-up, Sue was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face: Kaede, the very same mimiga who’d been bred alongside her.

“How’s motherhood treating you?” Sue asked, waddling over to say hello.

Kaede glanced back at her, and Sue was shocked to see how much the craftswoman had changed. There was the sheer size of Kaede’s belly, of course; the pink teats (normally invisible under a mimiga’s fur) had swollen enough to be visible as dots on her stomach. Her hips had rounded out and even her face had taken on an extra plumpness as her body readied itself for motherhood. Of course, Sue herself had experienced all these changes—but to her, they seemed incremental, something easily ignorable. She hadn’t seen much of Kaede since they’d been mutually bred, and thus was faced with the abruptness of it all at once.

For her part, Kaede blinked and then scowled down at her stomach, rubbing a paw over it. “The gunsmithy won’t let me work until after these cursed eggs are laid,” she complained. “Worried an accident might endanger me and the babies.” She scoffed. “I thought I was past this whole ‘duty-to-breed’ thing once the doctor left… I’d much rather be in the workshop. Wouldn’t mind never having any babies again.” Then her face softened and she leaned back with a sigh. “Though it’s for the good of the village… our island needs the dragons. I don’t like it, but it’s something I have to do.” She wrinkled her nose. “Though I won’t be signing up for round two.”

Sue nodded. She herself greatly enjoyed her new status and understood that most of the female mimigas either liked being pregnant or at least didn’t mind it—their rabbit instincts at work, most likely. But she couldn’t fault Kaede for wanting to get her life back. This breeding mandate had certainly upended a lot of their daily lives.

The two mimigas chatted a bit as temple attendants flitted about, ensuring that they were healthy and without issue as the clutches developed. Sue was shocked to see one boasting a modest, tiny bump. But the attendants had given themselves first… the only explanation was she had laid her first clutch and was already hosting her second. A blush colored Sue’s fur. The attendant was a mimiga who had devoted herself wholesale to the idea of breeding. Such an existence was unthinkable to the old Sue, and yet…

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Laying day came about a month and a half after that meeting with Kaede in the temple. Sue had woken up in the early morning, about an hour before dawn, to a sharp note down in her womanhood that faded into a dull drumbeat of contractions. Clutching her tummy and gasping with every thudding beat, she labored her way to the temple, where dutiful attendants led her into a quiet side chamber. And there, the laying began.

Sue’s breaths were heavy and deep as she was reclined onto her back. She could feel the dragon eggs settling lower and lower inside of her, and a moan ripped out of her as she felt the first egg slide into her birthing canal.

One of the temple’s attendants was holding her paw consolingly, the other resting on her stomach with the gentlest of pressures. “It’s going to be okay,” said the attendant. “The first one is always the hardest, right?” Sue tried to respond, but her voice was an incoherent mess. The attendant smiled at her, seeming to understand. “Now follow my lead and push on three, okay? One—two—”

On the third count, Sue grit her teeth and bore down and pushed and her whole being nearly exploded with sensation. She felt like she was going to faint. Amidst it all came the regular insistences of her helper telling her to push—push—

And gradually the mimiga could feel the egg sliding lower inside herself, making its way further and further down. Despite only being a fraction of the size it would ultimately grow to, the dragon egg was still unfathomably large—but it was also smooth-shelled and solid, and thus relatively easy to pass through. And before long Sue was sobbing as she felt it crown, squeezed out more of it, had the diameter of it stretching her farther than imaginable—

And then suddenly she was empty and a wet, gleaming egg was resting on a cushion between her legs.

Panting with her mouth, sweat beading her brow, Sue watched another temple worker reverentially take the egg away. The one helping her wiped her forehead clear.

“Well done,” she praised. “You did that. That’s new life, and you made it. You should be proud.” The words sparked a glow of pride in Sue’s heart. Yes… she was proud. Proud that she had successfully borne something, carried it to term, helped fill the world just a little bit more. Was that her own pride there, or her mimiga instincts? But at this point… was there any meaningful difference?

Sue groaned as another egg settled in and the attendant whispered encouragement to her. Then, etching her focus on the task at hand, Sue brought her body to bear against the remaining eggs—

And brought life after life into the world.

When it was done, she was a proud mother to five healthy, strong-shelled dragon eggs. The attendants spirited them away, promising to care well for them and let her see them as they were raised, should she so wish. Leaning on her helper, Sue rose on shaky legs and allowed herself to be led to a quiet chamber set aside for recent mothers to rest. Dozing within were a handful of other weary mimigas… including Kaede.

The gunsmith was drowsy and blinked awake as Sue hunkered down on a cushion near her. “So y’finished too, huh?” she said, her voice drawling with sleep. “Took almost everything I had to get ‘em outta me… seven eggs in all.” She heaved a rough sigh. “But now it’s done, n’I can g’back to the smithy…”

Sue was happy for Kaede, but as her body surrendered to its weariness and she drifted off into blissful recuperation, she reflected that she, perhaps, might just have more baby dragons in her future.