Chapter 3: Family

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“The White Death culled nearly 40% of our population. It is a good thing that over half of us lived in the capitol city. Although two decades have passed since the calamity, our population has not yet recovered to its previous strength.

The Queen encourages young couples to have two or more children. Financial support will be provided for every child after the initial two. May Mhi’ra, our beautiful goddess of love and fertility, ever shower us with her blessings.”

- Gar’nashian missive to encourage population growth

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Lhi’ra hugged the egg firmly. It wasn’t exactly to provide it with the warmth it needed; the Gar’nash had developed incubators for that ages ago. She just liked touching her offspring, as it calmed her down. Her hormones were still not fully settled from the time she had laid the egg, and the smooth shell protecting her child gave her a sense of comfort. Eggs would generally hatch 3 months from when they were laid, and she couldn’t wait for her child to enter the world.

She was relatively tall for a female Gar’nash, towering over her fellow females at 1.8 metres tall. Male Gar’nashians grew up to 2 metres tall, whereas the females usually averaged out at a height of 1.7 metres. This didn’t take into account their horns, which usually added to their already imposing visages. She perked up at the light knocking on the door, smiling sweetly at the male figure that entered the room.

The male replied with a loving smile of his own. “How’s our child, dear?”

The male Gar’nash was Lhi’ra’s husband, Garick. He gazed upon his wife, just as entranced with her as he had been when they first met. She had scales and horns of a deep maroon, with vibrant orange curls. Her eyes shone a light pink and seemed almost seductive in nature, luring in those who looked into them long enough. He knew how effective they could be on a man; he had spent many hours losing himself in her gaze, and they still drove him wild.

Garick was quite the looker as well, if he said so himself. He had spent years being chased by girls next door when he was younger, though he made sure not to bring those memories up whenever his wife was around. At 1.9 metres tall, he was just barely taller than Lhi’ra. His horns and scales were maroon as well, though on the lighter spectrum of the scale as compared to his wife. Spiked, short ash brown hair, along with similarly brown eyes completed his look.

“There hasn’t been any activity since he was laid, but I think he seems fine so far. He’s bound to hatch any day now!” Lhi’ra beamed excitedly in response.

The Gar’nash were able to differentiate the genders of their children before they were even hatched by the colour of their egg shells – black shells meant the child would be a boy, whereas white shells would mean that they were expecting a girl.

Suddenly, the egg shook lightly, as if the child within was kicking it, eliciting a pleased gasp from the couples’ lips.

“Hah, he seems excited to get out already! That’s my boy!” said Garick, chuckling with pride. Moving closer toward Lhi’ra, he wrapped her in a hug and planted a kiss on her forehead, taking care not to crush their offspring between them. They fell asleep in that position, with the egg fit snugly between them.

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The next few days were uneventful. Parents were allowed to take time off from their place of employment for the estimated week of hatching, since Gar’nashian children would imprint themselves on the first faces they saw upon hatching. Having already bought all the necessary items for a newborn child, all they could do now was wait. They didn’t sit idly though, and both Lhi’ra and Garick spent their time cleaning up the house, ready to welcome the newest arrival of their family to the world. Of course, their eyes were always on the little egg, on the watch for the telltale signs of hatching.

Crack!

The couple immediately snapped their heads toward the egg at the sound, dropping whatever they were holding to rush to its side. Thin lines could be seen spreading at the top of the egg as it wobbled vigorously, and both of them waited with bated breaths.

Lhi’ra squealed in nervous excitement as she watched the egg, clutching tightly onto her husband’s arm. “H-he’s hatching, Garick! He’s hatching!”

“I know, honey! I know!” came his reply, overflowing with the same nervous excitement as his wife.

Minutes passed at the egg’s shell cracked even more, the lines now spreading to cover the entirety of its surface.

CRACK!

With a last loud noise, the shell of the egg disintegrated, and their eyes widened as they looked upon their child for the first time. He was small, so very small. They knew what he would look like, as all Gar’nashian children would upon hatching – a pink bundle of flesh, with a tuft of hair atop its head and a little fledgling tail extending from its tailbone; they would only get their horns and scales as they grew – though both man and woman were unprepared for the actual experience.

Their child had finally come into the world!

The child, with a little tuft of hair in the darkest black atop his head, blinked a few times before turning to gaze at them with eyes of the same shade of black. They stood still, allowing their baby boy to observe them, as they returned his gaze with expressions that only proud parents could have. Lhi’ra eyes had brimmed over with tears of joy, and she had to hold back her voice, not wanting to startle their curious child. Similarly, Garick had to reach up and wipe a happy tear from his eye, as it slowly dawned on him that he was now a father.

After a few moments, the boy’s lower lip began to quiver, and he burst into tears, his high-pitched cries echoing throughout the house as he raised his little arms to his parents. Reaching out with his own arms, Garick lifted his newborn son up, cradling the boy gently. Simultaneously, Lhi’ra reached out to grasp her son’s little hands with the same gentleness as her husband.

Looking up at Garick, Lhi’ra gave him a loving smile before nodding slightly for him to continue. Garick laughed with utmost joy at her gesture, before bending his head down to give his son a quick kiss on the forehead.

“Welcome to the world, my son… Draygor!”

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He had been startled awake by the vigorous wobbling of his surroundings. Light streamed into the darkness from above him, and it wasn’t long before the light spread, threatening to erase the darkness from all directions.

CRACK!

The loud, almost deafening sound rang out in his ears, and the darkness shattered. Bright light engulfed his vision, and he blinked a few times to get used to it. His senses alerted him to two presences close to him, and he turned, looking up at them.

He cautiously inspected the two figures that towered over him. Did they mean him any harm? No… it didn’t seem like it. Who were they then?

He concentrated on the shorter figure. It seemed to be tearing up, and he could hear small sobs from coming from it, though it seemed to be trying to hold its voice back by covering its mouth with one hand. Why was it crying? Was it sad? No… it seemed happy and proud.

The taller figure seemed proud too. It did not cry like the shorter one. Wait! It was raising its hands! Did it mean to hurt him? No… it was touching its… face? Weird.

Both of them were radiating a familiar feeling. It made him feel warm inside. What was that feeling called again? Ah, that’s right. It was love.

Oh! They were his parents!

As if to confirm that thought, the warmth within him multiplied, and he was now sure that the two figures were his father and mother.

He had a family! He began tearing up uncontrollably, and soon, he was full out bawling, crying out with his tiny voice. Stretching out his arms, he longed for his parents to embrace him, and they did. It was a wonderful feeling.

A sudden thought flashed through his mind. Did he have a family before? He couldn’t recall; it had been nearly a thousand years since the beginning of his life, and he couldn’t remember.

Wait a minute!

He couldn’t remember? Weren’t souls supposed to forget everything about their previous lives when they returned to the world of the living?

Huh? Why did he know that?

He couldn’t recall now. It was all so fuzzy and unclear. Oh, this was tiring. Perhaps he’d take a quick nap…

“… to the world, my son… Draygor!”

It was the last thing he heard before his consciousness faded, returning him to the darkness.

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Draygor’s crying faded as abruptly as it had begun, and his parents watched lovingly as their son drifted off to dreamland. A newborn child didn’t have a lot of energy, and it would be a few hours before he woke again. As he had fallen asleep, Draygor’s little face had scrunched up in an extremely adorable way, and Lhi’ra couldn’t help but gush over him as they tucked him into his cot.

The couple stood together above the cot for a short while, observing their son’s peaceful slumber. It was a magical sight, and it washed away all the fatigue and anxiety that had built up over the last few weeks.

“Oh right! We have to inform mother! I’m sure the grandparents will want to meet their cute little grandson. Oh, oh! We should host a get-together soon! I heard Noh’va’s and Xah’ja’s eggs hatched recently too; they wouldn’t stop telling me about their cute baby boys’. Our neighbour’s egg is bound to hatch any day too, and it’ll be a girl! We should invite them as well! Maybe Draygor will take a liking to her, hehehe…”

Garick nodded in agreement to Lhi’ra’s suggestions, albeit with a bit of amusement as she went on, seemingly having planned how their son’s life would turn out. She had always been easily excitable, but that was part of her charm, and it was one of many reasons he loved her.

“… we need to think about education as well – mmph?!”

Garick pulling her in for a deep kiss caused her to squeal in surprise, but soon she was kissing him back even more aggressively than he had done. It took a while for them to break apart from each other, and it was quite a sight. Their clothes and hair were dishevelled, and their tails were wrapped around each other – hers around one of his thighs, and his around her waist.

Leaning down, he whispered seductively into her ear. “How about we give Draygor a little brother or sister?”

Without a word, she immediately turned around and pulled him into their bedroom, and for a second time that day, cries of a different kind echoed throughout the household.

Hey! Once again, thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! :3