In the midst of their disgruntled bickerings ("my stone bigger" "my stone shinier"), the dragons suddenly fall eerily silent. Volterra, with his eyes trained on the ground and his mind dancing through happy memories, flicks a curious ear towards the quiet that has descended overhead. What is it? he asks them, sure that they'd have been more forceful in their alert had it been anything important or dangerous coming towards them.

There's an odd sensation of emptiness radiating from both of them, disbelief, almost. Then, from Vérzés comes unbridled, uncontainable joy, a sense of happiness so strong it almost knocks Volterra off his feet. Vadir's reaction is more reserved, feigning cold indifference but with an undercurrent of amusement and thinly-veiled interest. What is it? repeats the onyx warlord, reluctant to lift his head when he thinks he's just found a promising-looking stone. The dragons have probably just seen a tasty-looking deer, as nothing but food could possibly fill Vérzés with that amount of delight.

"Look," they say in unison, their voices surprisingly gentle, supportive, affectionate. That in itself is odd, especially from Vadir, who is about as affectionate as a black widow spider. The beast lifts his head, turns slowly, and.....

"Kis hollo!" His greeting is a hearty, joyous one, a smile spreading slowly and uncontrollably across his face. He cannot think of potential awkwardness given their last encounter, not when she's suddenly in front of him and he's almost bowled over as ever by her presence. "Ah, your father has set me a task, you see. I need to find a stone from the top of a mountain, and I'm just trying to choose the perfect one." He's confused even as he speaks, though, as Isopia's appearance isn't normally enough to elicit such reactions inside his companions, and a frown soon replaces the smile. Vadir unleashes a loud bellow of disgust, shoots her red brother a look that clearly says could we have chosen anybody stupider to bond with? then stabs a mental spike hard into Volterra's mind. "Her sides, half-wit. Look."

The stallion's eyes dart from Isopia's face, where they'd automatically landed, towards her sides as instructed. Her swollen sides. Sides that her cloak isn't quite enough to hide, sides full of life, full of their life. The smile returns, and this time it's bright enough to illuminate all of Helovia itself; unreserved in his delight, Volterra bounds forwards, his stone-hunt forgotten. What does more magic, more power, matter when the Mountain is glowing with pregnancy, her belly full of their child? "You're...." He can't get the words out, so overwhelming is his happiness. A foal with Isopia! One to live, to grow and to rule, a king inside her stomach....Before he knows it he's by her side, seeking to wrap his neck around her and pull her close to him. He doesn't consider his movements - they're instinctual, uncontrollable. The euphoria spreading through him knows no bounds, only that he needs to be as close to Isopia as physically possible so he can reassure himself that she and the weight in her womb are real.

Then, the smile falters. Does she normally have the cloak pulled so close around her? And it is rather chilly....in her condition, he cannot take risks. "Are you cold? Here..." A quick mental twist and he's summoned a medium-sized, humanoid golem, glowing with lava. He instructs it to move closer to the giantess at his side, until it stands gormlessly next to her with heat radiating out of its insides. "Can I get you anything? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired?" He's babbling, aware that the Mountain does not need his mollycoddling but determined to care for her and her precious cargo to the best of his ability. She's never seen him like this, the caring father, the affectionate and protective lover; it's a side that rarely manifests itself except around his offspring, born or otherwise. Their dams, too, must be prioritised and treated like princesses, especially this one remarkable, beautiful woman.

He hesitates. "You are....glad, aren't you?" In his haste to embrace and tend to her, he hadn't stopped to consider the possibility that she may not see this as good news.