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Do you know who this is? If you thought this is the little thing the poor frozen woman was holding in my previous upload, you're right! Except back there, he was just a baby.

~~

The twins had been in the midst of a small expedition to scout out new hunting grounds when they stumbled upon the wreckage of a lone wagon that had been hit hard by a fierce blizzard. Hours prior, Vygo and Indrys themselves had also been hit by the winter storm and were lucky to have found a spot sheltered enough to withstand the harsh winds and pelting hail.

While Indrys investigated the materials strewn over the trail, Vygo looked inside the ruined wagon and saw the dead body of a young woman. She was clutching something wrapped in a pelt. As he pried the bundled thing away from the deceased woman's icy clutches, Vygo feared the worst.

There was only one thing she would die while protecting, like this.

It would be her baby, and she would have failed to keep it alive. He felt his eyes sting in mere preparation for the sight he would be greeted with, he was so sure.

But he was wrong: It was a baby, half frozen, but miraculously still clinging to life just as the corpse of his mother had been gripping him.

When Vygo saw the baby was not dead, he felt like his heart first skipped a beat in joy, but then that it was sinking in his chest with fear for losing the little life immediately after he had found it. He could not bear a repeat of his earlier loss.

Quickly, the male twin pulled his own cloak off to use it as a blanket for the baby, while calling for his sister Indrys. Frostbite had begun to affect his little ears, but other than that, he had no signs of any injuries. When Indrys looked inside the cart, she gasped at the sight of Vygo with a little baby in his arms. She wanted to cry, but managed to suppress it. Carefully, Vygo passed the baby to Indrys so she could hold the shivering bundle while he went back out and worked on building a fire.

Sitting around the fire and working to warm the little dragonfolk up, they looked at each other and knew exactly what the other was thinking. It must be the work of the spirits, or even of the old god that the ancient, pure dragons had prayed to. Or the Grieving Mother. A mother who lost her baby finds a baby who lost his mother - such poetic serendipity in the world seemed especially in tune with what the Guide of Lost Children would see fit to have happen, with her tugging on the right threads of life, death, and fate. This baby was meant to be theirs, they would take him to their people. The clan would rejoice at the new life brought into their fold, for all dragonfolk, no matter the tribe, value children highly.

'Vyrn' was going to be his name; Indrys' choice. A variation of Vygo, as it's tradition for dragonfolk to homage their close family members with newborn baby names. She had previously named her unborn son 'Jago', after their father, but this little baby made her think of her brother, who had been born cold and weak - much like how the baby had been found - but had blossomed into a strong and healthy man. She hoped a portion of his strength would be inherited by the baby through the name. Vygo was more than happy with this decision.

Upon further investigation, the twins concluded the woman had been a traveller coming from the northern regions, but must have faced increasingly inclement weather. She was emaciated and the little food she had left in her wagon was spoiled. The broken reins indicated something scared the horse that had been pulling the wagon, causing it to break free and thereby preventing the woman from proceeding in her journey. Whether the horse had been thusly lost just before, or during, the blizzard, they could not determine.

Before leaving, the twins built a pyre and gave the unfortunate woman a proper dragonfolk funeral. As she burned, they promised her they'd take care of her son as if he was their own.

Some time later, they will build a stacked stone memorial for them nearby the one they did for Jago. They hope she'll protect Jago in the afterlife like they're doing for her son on the mortal plane.

They went back to the clan, their hearts fulfilled. They could not have hoped for better results from this or any other expedition.

~

Thanks to  Amethystine for his help with this text! <3