Chapter 5 #2
“Pretty well, all things considered.” Peony smiled at Atem, who stood beside the head of the bed, near to Scarlet, alternating between gazing lovingly at his mate and then hopefully at the scan.
He was always eager to see the developing baby, no matter how many times they did this.
“Like, I’m not happy my environment changed, but bringing the entire bed really did help. ”
“Good,” Scarlet mumbled, focusing the ring on her pelvic region. She would give Peony a general scan as well, to make sure that carrying the baby wasn’t doing harm to her, but she always checked on the baby first – at their request. “Nest anxiety under control?”
“Seems to be. My blood cravings have gone down a lot too.”
“That’s pretty normal for about halfway through a domini pregnancy.
Your need for iron is going to get less and less from here on out.
You probably will need to keep drinking some right up until you deliver, but I want to keep an eye on the amount.
We’re dancing a careful line here between what your baby needs and what will be toxic to you. ”
As she was talking, the holo of Peony’s uterus and the baby within were taking shape.
The holo moved as the baby did, and the little boy was active today. As the three watched him, he stretched his little legs and smacked his closed fists against the walls of his fleshy prison.
At this stage, he already had his baby claws, which were fairly similar to human nails. Slightly sharp but frail and pliable. Their being harmless compared to adult claws was protective for both the mother and baby. His adult claws wouldn’t grow in until just before his adolescent hormones hit.
He did, however, have three perfectly formed eyes that were still sealed shut for the moment and a long tail that was currently wrapped around his abdomen.
A few days ago, it had been curled around his leg.
It was currently only active on reflex, not conscious thought, so it would wrap around whatever it came near and only relax later, at random.
“Look how perfect he is!” Peony choked on a squeal, beaming at him as he kicked her in the bladder. She winced even as she laughed. “Little stinker.”
“Some minor bruising on the inner wall,” Scarlet hummed thoughtfully, examining her uterus. “He’s already stronger than a human baby would be.”
“Is that bad?” Atem asked sharply, his dreamy smile breaking in a snap.
Scarlet shook her head. “The bruising isn’t bad. I’ll keep an eye on it, but the uterus is a very sturdy organ. Ours is actually stronger than your females’. It’s not likely to be damaged. Baby is coming along well. He’s already fully formed; he just needs to finish growing now.”
“The bread is prepped, the dough just needs to rise?” Peony translated, grinning.
Outright laughing when Atem looked so confused.
Bread had translated fine into Universal Standard, but there wasn’t an equivalent word in modern Domtri.
Domini didn’t eat bread, or much in the way of grains at all, so the metaphor went completely over his head.
“The dough is rising a bit ahead of schedule, actually.” Scarlet looked over her tables of the averages of domini gestational lengths at this stage.
Peony wasn’t too far off average, but the baby was definitely bigger than expected.
Scarlet made a note to keep an eye on how fast he was growing even as she scanned his tiny body for any disturbances.
The entire process – scanning baby and mom – took about half a mark.
It was usually faster, but because there had been such a drastic change in her environment, especially the upset at the movement of her nest, they were being extra careful.
Nest anxiety, in domini females, could actually be detrimental to a pregnancy.
If Atem hadn’t needed to be here and Peony hadn’t needed to be around Atem, they wouldn’t have moved her at all. But he did, and she did, so here they all were.
And despite everything, the baby was coming along well.
He appeared more domini than human, but there was no doubt that half his genetics came from Peony.
It would be fascinating to watch him grow.
To see what the combination of the two species did.
Whether the baby would even be capable of reproducing or if the combined genetics was like that between a horse and a donkey, producing an infertile mule.
His reproductive system seemed intact and was actually perfectly in line with what she would expect for a domini male at this early stage, but it still remained to be seen.
Regardless, he was healthy and strong, and Peony was equally so.
When Scarlet finished, they thanked her again and invited her over for breakfast with Alanna before Atem rushed Peony back to her nest. She rarely wanted to leave and, now that she was showing, Atem’s own instincts wanted to keep her there.
Which made the few times she did leave nerve wracking for him.
Scarlet cleaned up the medical suite then went to change out of her uniform and into some comfortable clothes before heading to Atem and Peony’s room to eat.
Peony was definitely a slave to the domini instincts enforced on her by the baby, but she also still had her human ones in there.
The domini part of her didn’t want to leave her nest, but the human part needed companionship.
It made Atem a bit crazy, but Peony was constantly inviting people into their nestroom to share meals or chat.
And now that they were on Holotulle, it was time to solidify their game plan.
After changing into a pair of comfortable leggings and boots with a long, tunic style shirt, Scarlet made her way to their room.
She didn’t know the way, not after only being here for a single night, but her combot included a map feature that quite literally gave her little hologram arrows in the air to follow, directing her right where she needed to go.
She was the last to arrive, everyone else had already gathered around the low table near the wide window on the left side of the room.
The right had Peony’s carefully made nest on a raised area, about three steps up, partially concealed by delicate drapes coming down from the ceiling.
Along one wall was a big holovid being projected up from a small stand.
The sound was off, but it appeared to be a green skinned alien female with antennae sticking up from her forehead speaking about the news – judging by the footage of what appeared to be construction on a district wall that had come to a standstill and the text across the bottom declaring that a laborer had been injured.
Scarlet turned her attention from it and to the attendees of the breakfast. Atem was lounging at his ease, Peony, one of her nest blankets around her shoulders, across his lap.
Beside them, Alanna was sipping a small glass of fruit juice.
On their other side, Tuvo was scrolling through a report from the security team on his combot.
And beside him was Havali.
Scarlet’s heart fluttered – it actually fluttered! – at the polite smile he gave her.
He was wearing blue today. A pale, dusty blue at his neck that became a darker, night sky blue at the hem of his pants around his ankles.
Ombre was about as daring as the domini tended to get when it came to patterns.
He looked good in it. His hair was up in a singular braid coming off the back of his head, his beautiful, aristocratic face framed by a few stray locks.
He was actually gorgeous, and Scarlet couldn’t believe that she, of all people, was so shallow that such a thing could make her heart flutter.
She ruthlessly pushed it down as she sat between him and Alanna, deliberately greeting her friend before him. He inclined his head up at her, mimicking the very same motions that she and Alanna had just traded as part of their greeting.
And it was adorable and thoughtful, and she found her smile warming towards him.
“Morning, Havali,” she said, reaching for the carafe of juice to pour herself a glass.
The domini didn't have coffee, or anything similar.
They didn't have alcohol either. They tended to drink blood more than anything, juice in second place, and then, to her surprise, water as a distant third.
They needed water, of course, but their systems actually absorbed it better from blood than anything.
Havali snickered at her. “You humans are odd. It is indeed morning.”
“A bright and shiny one,” Alanna beamed over her glass. “I had another night without dreams. Isn’t that great news?”
“Always great news,” Scarlet snickered. “Morning to you too, Tuvo.”
First Warrior frowned at her around his holo display. “Why do you humans do that?”
“Do what?”
“Every time you see someone for the first time in a day, you insist on declaring the time of day that it is. Vi Adassani and now both you and Alanna have each declared that it is morning. Do you have to orient each other to the time or something?”
Alanna nearly choked on her juice thanks to her surprised laugh. Scarlet giggled as she smacked her friend on the back, helping her clear her throat.
Tuvo looked uneasy, closing his display. “Did I say something rude again?”
“No, you’re fine.” Scarlet assured him as Alanna cleaned up the juice she sprayed everywhere. “It’s just weird hearing it said like that. It’s short for ‘good morning’. Or ‘good evening’.”
“So, you are declaring to each other that your morning is a good one?”
Alanna was laughing harder now, and Scarlet was tempted to join her. But she resisted and only continued to smile as she clarified.
“It’s not a declaration, it’s a well wish. We’re wishing that you have a good morning or evening. Look, watch. I hope you have a good morning, Alanna.”
“And a good morning to you as well, Scarlet,” she played along before turning. “Peony, I hope your morning is going well?”