Chapter Text
Astaroth carefully worked, several eyes gazing over her shoulders. Ever the professional, she paid Shamura and Sozonius no mind. She was beginning to get annoyed by Kallamar, however.
“Knock it off.” She mumbled to her right, where Kallamar was basically breathing down her neck. Even more than the couple on her left.
“I'm just making sure you’re doing it right.” The squid mumbled back, eyes fixed on his spouse's hands.
Not just her hands, but more so what she had in her hands.
“Don’t tilt it that much.” Kallamar said, getting a grunt from Astaroth.
“Brother, give her some space.” Shamura said, finally getting Kallamar to take a step back.
Sozo and Shamura were watching closely too, but they had faith in Astaroth. She was the most trusted midwife in the cult, after all. Her skill earned her a golden skull necklace even before Kallamar arrived in the cult. Or so she bragged occasionally.
Astaroth turned the egg to its original position, placing it back down in the nest of spider silk and cotton Shamura had made for it months prior. Maybe the size of a small melon, the semi-transparent shell allowed for easy viewing of the little one inside. The black form inside took up nearly the entire space, when just a little less than four months ago it was a tiny black dot that had to be pointed out to be noticed.
“Everything looks great.” She started, turning to Shamura and Sozo. “Should be any day now.”
Shamura didn’t entirely remember her telling them this the past two checkups, which have all happened in the past week. But they got that feeling of familiarity. Looking over at Sozo, they confirmed they had indeed been waiting for longer than they thought they would be. Sozo seemed to be slightly deflated, an anxious expression on his face. Shamura wrapped an arm around their husband, offering him a smile as an attempt to be reassuring. However, their own feeling of anxiety was building in the pit of their stomach.
“Are you sure they’re okay? They should have hatched a week ago.” Sozo asked, picking at one of his claws.
Astaroth opened her mouth to reassure the ant, but was stopped by Kallamar answering before her.
“He’s fine. From what you two have been saying he moves around quite a bit.” Kallamar stated, moving to the other side of the nest to try and get a better view of what he considered to be his nephew. “He's moving right now. Probably dreaming.”
“He?” Shamura asked, again feeling like they had this discussion before. Sozo sighed, crossing his arms and once more confirming to Shamura that they had indeed discussed this before. Still, Astaroth went on to explain.
“Your brother has convinced himself it's going to be a boy-”
“Because it is.” Kallamar interrupted, looking over at Astaroth with a cheeky grin. She rolled her eyes.
“I keep telling him the secondary abdomen is too round for it to be a boy-”
“If it's a spider, but the same is not true for ants. He is a hybrid, so there's still a good chance.” He interrupted once more.
“…He has insisted we bet on it.” She finished, glaring at the squid.
“And after HE hatches, you’ll owe me 7 coins.” Kallamar beamed, wrapping an arm around the rather unamused jellyfish. “We shall see.” she pinched what was left of Kallamar’s ear, causing him to pull back.
Shamura let out a small chuckle. They and Sozo had discussed the sex before, they were sure of it. But they assumed neither of them cared too much what it would be. At least, they didn’t care themself. Shamura just wanted a healthy baby. One they hoped they could make a few lasting memories with.
Some memories of their siblings growing up still remained, albeit fuzzy. Small moments like Narinder teasing Kallamar and Heket playing in the rain with Leshy were their favorite to recall. This would be different though. This was their own flesh and blood. Born from love, something many cannot say themselves. They were determined to make sure their child knew they were loved, even if the early memories of them grow fuzzy someday.
Astaroth packed her things up while Kallamar said goodbye to Shamura and Sozo.
“I’m sure they’ll be able to make their own way out. But if they don’t by the end of the week, we can intervene. Astaroth has a 100% success rate so far, so no need to worry!” He reassured his sibling and brother-in-law.
“And yet you refuse to let me work without breathing down my neck.” Astaroth mumbled as Kallamar gave their sibling a brief hug. “But if it happens before then just send for me if you require assistance. I’d like to examine them the day they hatch.”
“Thank you, Astaroth.” Shamura said, bidding the two medical workers farewell as they left the small cabin.
Sozo had moved away during the farewells in favor of resting his head on the side of the nest and watching the black blob inside. Many thoughts had been consuming his mind these past six months. The first two filled with worry for Shamura as their body formed the egg, and the past four worry over the developing infant inside. He feared the infant dying and the egg going bad for the first few weeks.
But now they were in the homestretch. Soon they would have their baby and all would be well. Not perfect, no. There was still the anxiety around how Shamura would fare with a newborn considering their injury. Birth defects and SIDs is also something to be fearful of. Most of all, and the feat that pained him the most, was the dread of it possibly being a boy.
To the ant, that was like replacing his sons. Sons that likely lived full lives hundreds of years ago and died peacefully, surrounded by their own families. It had been so long, he cannot remember their names nor faces. He fears that every time he will look at him and his partner's child, he will be consumed by guilt and it will affect the love he has for them.
Sozo’s spiral of anxiety was interrupted by Shamura wrapping their arms around him and gently resting their head on top of his.
“What’s wrong, love?” They asked, taking one of Sozo’s hands into theirs.
Sozo wanted to pour his heart out to Shamura, but something stopped him. They didn’t need the extra stress with their child coming soon.
“I’m just nervous. And excited, of course.” He said, giving Shamura’s hand a squeeze. “I want to make sure you’re both taken care of.”
Shamura let out a thoughtful hum and pressed a few soft kisses to the side of their lovers face. “You are not facing this alone. I may need reminding.. a lot. But we have my siblings if anything happens. I will make sure to limit myself when needed.”
For once, Shamura’s words did very little to cause a dent in Sozonius’s anxiety. They were diving straight into the unknown. Shamura did not know their limits when it came to caring for and dealing with a newborn, for all of their siblings were taken in before their head injury. Not to mention, Leshy was the youngest to be taken in at age 2, not exactly a helpless infant.
“I don’t want you to get hurt as we figure this out.” Sozo sniffled a bit as he spoke. Shamura instinctively pulled Sozo tighter into themself, stroking his knuckles with their thumb.
“I cannot make any promises. But we have overcome these sorts of things before, right? It's not as it once was but my memory has definitely gotten better in the past.. Say 220 years?” Shamura grinned as they made Sozo chuckle and smile a little.
They sat together for a long while, occasionally exchanging words and kisses as they watched the egg. While mostly still, every few minutes the little one would shift. Moving a little foot or hand.
“Look.” Shamura said, pointing to one specific spot. It appeared that their baby had moved their hand to their face, likely sucking on their thumb.
Sozo rested a finger next to the spot where Shamura had pointed. “You’re pretty comfortable in there, huh?” He said quietly.
They had spoken to them before, almost everyday in fact. But this time felt a bit different.
Shamura intertwined one of their fingers with Sozo’s. “They seem to be. I suppose I should pride myself in that.”
Sozonius chuckled again at Shamuras words. “You should. Though I hope she does not keep us waiting until the end of the week.”
A wide smile spread across Shamura’s face. “Ah, so you hope they’re a girl then?” The spider laughed. Sozo’s face turned a light shade of pink.
“I misspoke!” He exclaimed, only fueling his spouse’s giggles. Though a bit embarrassed, Sozo took comfort in the fact that Shamura found it humorous. He even started to giggle a bit himself.
Of course, Shamura knew Sozo would love their child no matter what. Despite Sozo’s anxieties, he would love their child just as much if they were male or female. And if they wanted to express their gender differently later, they would have both parents' support.
In the midst of the laughter and teasing, their little one shot a foot out from their position, hitting the side of their egg. Perhaps it was the sudden noise coming from the outside, or just a coincidence, they decided to make their first move to getting to the outside world. If their parents had not been so caught up in the moment, they may have heard the quiet crack on the opposite side of the egg.