Ultimately, under Orion's watchful gaze, Elara opened her mouth and chomped down on the egg with all her might.
Once again, she failed.
"Daddy," she said with a theatrical sigh of defeat, "I guess I'll just hatch it instead." The look on her face was one of pure, reluctant concession.
"Alright, then. It's all yours!"
There was just one problem. Elara had no way of accepting the gift. With life now stirring inside, the dragon egg could no longer be stored in a standard dimensional space. She hugged the egg, which was bigger than her entire body, and looked up at Orion with a helpless, pleading expression that completely melted his heart.
Orion took the egg back and placed it gently on his throne. "I'll keep it here for you," he said softly. "You can come visit it whenever you have time, how does that sound?"
"Yay!"
She scrambled onto his shoulder and planted a loud, happy kiss on his cheek.
