An irritated growl emerged from Haku's throat. "I guess I let my guard down. You wouldn't have been able to catch me otherwise"
"Yes, or maybe it's thanks to your teachings and Darbi's lessons about being stealth" Kotaru answered as she approached and sat next to him. "After all, I'm very light and I can move slowly"
Haku shook his head. His dragon pride would have never allowed him to admit such a thing, either to his sister or to himself. Even if he still felt the acrid taste of humiliation in his mouth. "What did you mean before?" he asked, changing the subject.
Kotaru laughed, fully understanding her brother's intent, but despite that she humored him. "Exactly what I said. You gave Rhaegal a good speech. I think he really needed it". The little dragoness let out a snort. "You're always ready to help others... sometimes I wonder if you ever think about yourself"
Haku looked at Kotaru. She was one of his frailer sisters, and surely without his help she would have been dead long ago; however, it seemed that she had finally started to put on some muscle, even though she still had a rather thin build. She no longer had the scrapes and wounds that had been inflicted on her after she had been excluded from the meals, except for a few scars that would soon disappear as her scales grew back. And on her head two little horns were beginning to sprout.
Haku had noticed that detail: he, Darbi and Rhaegal were born with big horns, but all their sisters didn't have them. They had only recently started popping up. Haku had wondered about the reason for a long time, but he had recently been able to ascertain that male dragons had much bigger and more showy horns than females, so it was normal for them to start develop them even before coming out of the egg. After all, his father, although he was smaller than his mother, had horns much larger than her, and even the skull of the giant dragon in the forest showed very big horns.
Seeing that his sister was still waiting for an answer, Haku murmured: "I think about myself. But that doesn't mean I can't take care of you guys too"
Kotaru laughed. "You know, if we weren't all born at the same time, I might almost think you're some sort of a big brother"
"As I once told Darbi, I'm pretty sure I hatched before everyone else. That makes me a big brother, technically, even if only by a few seconds" Haku joked with a smile.
Kotaru smiled back, but then she frowned: "I know what you want to do"
Haku felt the change in her emotions. "What do you mean?"
Kotaru sighed. "I'm not stupid, Haku. Neither you nor Darbi told us about it, and I can understand why. But I noticed that our mother has become cold towards you, as if she no longer needs to hide her true nature with you". She looked up and stared into her brother's eyes: "She told you, didn't she? She told you she doesn't love us"
Haku's eyes widened. "Did you know it?"
"She told me too". Kotaru shrugged. "One night, while everyone else was sleeping. It happened a few days before Tikka and I were cut off from meals. I waited until you all were asleep, then I woke up our mother and I talked to her. I knew that if I asked her for more food in front of everyone I would undermine her authority and she would just get angry, so I wanted to do it at night while you guys weren't seeing hoping it would make her calmer. Initially I tried to have a civil conversation, but in the face of her refusals I became more and more insistent, and in the end she told me the truth... that she didn't care about me and indeed that she would have been happy to get rid of a child so weak"
Haku felt bad for his sister. He'd discovered the truth, but he'd done it when he'd already suspected it for some time, and he already had a plan to survive. Darbi had known the truth, but had Haku as a backup anchor and had trusted him. But Kotaru… she had learned the truth without warning and without any plans for the future. It must have been terrible. "You aren't weak, Kotaru. You don't have to listen to our mother" he said trying to cheer her up.
Kotaru let out a growl. "I am, however. I am terribly weak. Only now, thanks to you and Darbi, am I starting to strengthen a little. But I have always been the weakest of us all, and when I was deprived of food, I didn't even have the courage to go out and find more. I'm weak and a coward". Then she looked at Haku again. "And before you try to console me, you must know that I don't intend to talk about this now. I didn't come here to discuss my problems, but our problems. I know you know what awaits us in the future, and since I know you quite well, I know for certain that you already have a plan to survive out there, right?"
Haku was uncertain what to answer, but then decided that he had no reason to hide certain things from his sister. "It's true" he admitted. "Yesterday, when we hunted the human... I needed him to get an overview of the outside world. And thanks to him, I devised a plan so that we will all survive"
"As I imagined. So, what are you waiting for to reveal it to everyone?"
"Sorry?"
"You heard me. If you have a plan, why haven't you revealed it yet?"
"When the time comes..."
"No, Haku, no 'when the time comes' this time. That's not how you'll be able to keep us together". Kotaru looked at him with stern eyes. "You are very intelligent, Haku, and you care for all of us. We will need a leader in the future, and you will surely be the most suitable person. Darbi is already ready to follow you to the end of the world, and I, Tikka and Teramon we will follow you because we owe you a lot. But you can't expect the others to trust you if you don't trust them first"
Haku felt offended. "I trust you all!"
"I know, but you don't show it!" Kotaru exclaimed. "You've never been good at socializing, Haku, and so despite your intelligence you haven't understood this. You can't expect us to get inside your head and understand your thoughts. You have to express them. Tell me, how would you react if someone asked you to follow and obey him, but he don't tell you what he wants to do?"
Haku froze. Indeed, seeing it from that perspective, not even he would have followed such a commander.
Kotaru evidently understood his thoughts, because she continue: "See? Even you couldn't trust such a being, even if he was right. I want this thing to work, Haku, because stay together is the best way to survive. Our mother doesn't love us, but you do. But if you want that the others understand this, you have to tell them the truth"
Haku let out a growl. "I can't. How can I tell them that our mother doesn't love us and only sees us as a nuisance? Even after all the evidences they've had, they'll never believe me. They'll rather plug their ears and chase me away" he said. Unfortunately that would surely have been the reaction of his siblings: he had had the proof some time ago, when Darbi had continued to believe that their mother cared about them even if she was starving their sisters. His siblings would never believe such a thing.
But Kotaru didn't give up. "Then tell them only part of the truth" she said. "If you know they won't believe that part of the story, then just drop it. Tell them you're preparing for the time when we'll have to fend for ourselves. After all, we all already know that sooner or later we'll have to leave this place and go on the rest of the world, our mother has told us many times"
Haku narrowed his eyes. "So I should tell them my plan, but pretend I came up with it because one day we'll have to leave, and not because I know our mother won't hesitate to kill us if we try to stay here? Isn't that lying?"
"No, it's not. Whether it's because our mother doesn't love us or not, we still have to leave this valley one day. Therefore, your preparations are always aimed at protecting us after that event. How that event will happen... it doesn't matter" Kotaru said, then she sighed. "In the future, we'll have to tell them the truth about our mother somehow, but we'll do it when they trust you. But for them to trust you, you have to tell them your plan. Make sure they understand that it will only work if we will remain together. Do it now, when our victory over our father is still fresh in our minds, and you will have the herd of dragons that you desire. But if you wait any longer, you may never be able to achieve it. So unless you want to lose many of our siblings along the way, go to them and talk to them"
Haku lowered his head. Kotaru had hit the right spot: his affection for his siblings, his willingness to leave no one behind. And actually, the more Haku reflected on his sister's words, the more he realized how much they made sense. He wondered how he hadn't figured it out himself, but maybe Kotaru was right… he wasn't good at understanding others.
He thought back to the way he had originally planned to create the herd: each of his siblings would have to perform a specific role before even agreeing to join him. For example, in Kotaru's case, Haku had imagined that by continuing to bring her food she would have slowly trusted him, and then he could take her with him on a hunt, and in doing so she would have understood the benefits of a herd of dragons and she would have agreed to be part of it. In a way, Haku had thought of his siblings as if they were tools that performed a task. But his siblings weren't tools, they were dragons, and so they weren't bound by his reasoning. However perfect his planning might be, free will was the variable.
Perhaps, the best choice really was to stop planning how to relate to his siblings, but just... just talk. Not having any plans, just trusting them like he wanted that they trusted him. "Okay, I'll do it now" he finally said. He wanted to at least try that method. Kotaru smiled satisfied.
Haku walked over to his brothers and sisters. By now all of them had finished eating and had gathered in small groups and were talking. "Excuse me! May I have your attention, please?"
All the little dragons turned to him; those further away got up and came closer. Normally not everyone would have reacted so carefully if one of them asked to be allowed to speak, but after Haku came up with a plan that was able to kill an adult dragon everyone wanted to know what he had to say.
Haku cleared his throat, then he spoke: "We achieved an extraordinary victory today. We did what each of us might have thought impossible, but together we did it! It wasn't just one of us who got the better of our enemy, but all of them! Together, we have defeated an opponent who seemed invincible to us!"
A soft murmur spread among the little dragons. All of them agreed with Haku's words: their victory was only possible thanks to cooperation. Without it, any of them who tried to face an adult dragon would have surely died.
Then Haku's expression became more serious. "However, this was just one of many opponents we will face in the future" he said. "As you all know, sooner or later we will have to leave this valley. We will not be able to remain under the protection of our mother forever. And unfortunately that day is getting closer and closer. And there are very dangerous opponents out there. Whether they are other dragons or newcomers. Darbi and I have already faced the newcomers, and I know he told you how easily they defeated us. And there are lots of newcomers out there. Alone, out there we won't have an easy life"
The little dragons nodded. Darbi had indeed told them about the newcomers, even though he had omitted many parts of the story (especially the conversation they had with their mother). Therefore, all of them knew how dangerous they were.
"I won't lie to you, the world out there is an unforgiving place. If we split up, then chances are only one of us will live long enough to reach adulthood. But if we stick together, we can all survive!" Haku noticed his siblings' astonished eyes, but he didn't give them time to ask themselves questions. "I have a plan that will ensure our survival! Just like yesterday I devised a plan to eliminate the threat posed by our plan, in the last few days I have devised a plan to be able to survive out there"
The little dragons squealed in surprise. "Can this plan work?" Darbi asked, who already knew of his brother's intentions but who still hadn't received an answer to that question.
Haku nodded. "Yes, it will work. It will be difficult, but it will work. But we will have to stick together to make it work. Listen to me..."
Haku didn't hide anything from them. He talked about how he had captured Ethan and what the outside world was like. He described to them the route they would have to take to get to the ocean. And finally he explained to them how he intended to get the 7,000 tons of food needed to sustain them until they all unlocked their domain.
When he finished, his brothers and sisters were watching him intently. Haku could almost hear the noise of their brains working at full speed, carefully considering his proposal. They could see how profitable it was, but also how risky it was. But in the end, the only alternative they could imagine, that is to remain alone, was even more risky.
Then it was Rhaegal who spoke: "Guys, Haku came up with an ingenious plan. I know there are many risks, but fighting our father also involved many risks, right? We trusted him and won. So why shouldn't we do it again?"
"I agree! At least Haku has a plan. Following it is always better than going alone!" Jatara said.
"Yeah! If the newcomers are as awful as Darbi described them, then I don't want to face them on my own!" Kialandì exclaimed.
"I agree!" Teramon shouted.
"Me too!" added Malchia.
"And why I shouldn't?" Corgorin said.
One by one, all of his siblings nodded. Haku felt filled with pride to see them so favorable. Kotaru was right... maybe he should have listened to her more often. No, maybe he should have listened to all his siblings more often. Each of them had his own qualities, qualities that could have been useful to all. Maybe he should have trusted them just as they trusted him. "Good!" he exclaimed. "We all agree, so let's do it! Let's build ourselves a bright future, in the face of the newcomers!"
His siblings gave an exclamation of joy and pride. And so it was that the first nucleus of the future herd of dragons was established. It would still take a long time for all of them to really start thinking as a united pack, but it was a start.