[His mind ran with possibilities. If moonblessed could do this, he needed to tell Konoha. Being unable to have kids upset the hell out of her... imagine her surprise! But he'd check on her later, do some catching up after that unfortunate run-in with the weird pixies.
He sat up straighter when the monitor went from dark to revealing an image. Dr. Natalus hummed casually as she moved the probe. Hmm, she needed to adjust the frequency... angle, and...]
Wow...
Uh, w-what?
[She turned the monitor, and... huh. There was definitely something there, a shape that was a more distinct white than the normal softer gray that seemed to be ever-moving.]
Very active. See that number there...? That's my system's C*M reading. The chroma's higher than I've ever seen. Immense magical capabilities, or a product of moonlacing between mother and child through physical contact...? I'll have to compare this to what the other obstetricians in the city may have found for a better answer.
Judging by the size... they seem to be somewhere around the 25th week of development by normal standards. A little over halfway there. At the rate you're going, you'll have a child ready to be born in about two days... perhaps sooner than that. Babies never like to keep their due dates.
S-so what should we do?
Keep sharp. If anything seems off, you need to call me. Otherwise, Naoto should take it easy. Any further information I find, I'll send your way.
[Kanji brought his hand to his chin, deep in thought. Should they come back when she's due, or should he listen to this strange, instinctual compulsion to bring her to the nest when the time came?
It wasn't his choice, however. He posed a few possibilities over the mental link, feeling a little too blown away to speak aloud.]
[Konoha wanted to have kids here? Huh, Naoto didn't realize; then again, Kanji spoke to her more often. She blinked she saw the image on screen and was surprised at the size despite expecting it. Still, already it appeared to be around the 25th week? Two days and only maybe!? She really would like a little more time to mentally prepare herself - she didn't even know about natural birth or a c-section...]
...
[She continued look at the screen, only interrupted when Kanji mentally gave her a nudge.]
Huh!? I... I-If the birth does happen sooner than expected, where should... I haven't even had the time to consider where to give birth.
[It was a relief to know she was as confused as he was.]
Yeah, we'd usually have a bunch'a time to work that kinda thing out, huh? Hell of a test for us.
If it's of any help, I intended on giving you two my direct line. You don't have to choose immediately; your decision can be made later.
[She removed her gloves and picked up her laptop. Naoto and Kanji's devices would give a soft beep of a notification: They could add Dr. Natalus as a social link contact, and attached would be a few things to look out for to indicate whether she was feeling symptoms of labor or not, but to always call if one wasn't sure.]
Shit... I gotta thank my mom after we get home. She always seems so together, but I wonder if she had moments like this knowin' I was comin'.
[He lifted his gaze to Naoto and spoke softly.]
Whatever you choose, I'm behind ya 100%. But we do have time to cool our heels, okay...?
[And she would let here mind run a mile a minute trying to figure things out, but there's more to it. Which one would she feel comfortable with was what she needed to consider over the best method... or should it be the other way around? What would be needed in each process? She needed to research if there were any other delivery methods in Lunatia... she looked briefly at her bracelet when it beeped, but was back to thinking shortly.]
I'd be glad to have your mother here right now...
[Asking her own mother was just not possible, but she did have to wonder. Naoto really had no idea what she was getting into and she tried to calm herself with some breathing. Catching Kanji's gaze, she nodded quickly.]
[He agreed... god, he wanted to talk to his mom right now. But despite his racing heart and a baseline feeling of nerves and helplessness, he reached out and took her hand. He knew her, and her mind was no doubt running. He had to be strong... for both of them, if need be. He could try.]
We have time.
[He would repeat that if necessary. Two days or less seems short, but days were composed of hours, minutes, seconds. They'll take it one step at a time. They were killers when it came to time management. Neither of them were folks who wasted time.
Dr. Natalus quietly cleaned up the area and mended shirt and pants. She was used to this anxious feeling from first-time parents, and wondered just how much she added to the atmosphere.]
I'll go ahead and update your file. Whenever you're ready, you're all set to head home.
[Unless they had questions for her. Otherwise she will quietly excuse herself.]
[Taking hold of his hand, it was easier to calm. Irritating that it got to be so quick due to the effects of the planet, but she was also grateful for it. Time, she needed to keep reminding herself.]
We have time...
[She squeezed his fingers, exhaling slowly. Naoto wasn't ignoring Dr. Natalus, but she needed a moment, managing at the very least a nod. Home... she would like that right now; somewhere familiar...]
[The weather was nice. They could walk back, get the blood flowing and spend their time just people watching until they rounded the corner to the apartments. Kanji wagered they could use some normalcy, an average day to get into the groove of things... maybe they did need to call their friends, though, see how they fared.
He stood.]
I've got a tip for makin' ginger syrup for sodas n' teas n' stuff. Let's try makin' some when we get home.
[Somewhere familiar with something familiar. Kanji always liked to do kitchen experiments.]
[Yes... Walking back would probably be just another thing she needed. Holding his hand, leaning a little against his arm, she opened her eyes a little more to the sights around them, taking slow breaths.]
... I would like that, thank you.
[... Maybe participating in his experimenting would help ease her mind too.]
[He smiled. They could handle this. They had to. With such a support network like this, it left Kanji feeling more confident, enough that he'd do his best to ensure everyone was healthy and feeling good! Because it wasn't just one he had to worry about, but two now...!]
---
[...Or six. Kanji felt the sweat roll down his neck as they walked down the street not 24 hours later; Naoto had grown again, and the time for their last check-up had come and gone. Dr. Natalus was thrilled as always and had reported that some of the moonblessed had already given birth while others were progressing as Naoto was. Stranger still, some of the 'blessed that had fallen pregnant were men... Kanji couldn't help putting a hand to his stomach on that one. He couldn't deny that he felt like he should have beared the burden if it was too much for her, but...
He set that thought aside. Instead he kept a kind pace, knowing he had long strides. Poor Bunny was waddling a little.]
Eggs...
[He shook his head in wonder.]
So the dragons really did influence us.
[The King had no idea this would happen, neither. He gave a statement this morning on the news, and even had the dragons begin to move their nesting spots and focus their songs and telepathy in the sky, anything to lessen any chance of further influence.
But with the Skyway officially opening tomorrow, it seemed the dragons would take their eggs and head back as well. Kanji scheduled an appointment for himself for a week from now, once the dragons were long gone and Naoto was safe and healthy with the... e-eggs. Babies. So many, oh my god...
He needed to see if he was. Well. Viable, or if it was just while the dragons were deep into mating season.]
What if they're dragons, like last time? I-I was, uh... a dragon, when we slept together, after all.
[At least seeing the eggs and understanding there were multiple provided more explanation to her size than just only growing one baby abnormally fast. Other Moonblessed had delivered already, but she was among those still waiting the hours away - even some men were pregnant which had her sending a curious eye Kanji's way when he placed a hand on his stomach. Interesting...]
[Recalling the last time they had dragon eggs, Naoto grimaced. They siphoned up Chroma almost immediately from one person - and that person had been her. She was a little concerned seeing she seemed to have five.]
... We'll need to ask for help in hatching them. Between the two of us, it might be too much Chroma.
[As not a dragon herself, she didn't just produce extra Chroma the same way Kanji could, and even that would be too much on him.]
Yeah, maybe. I heard some folks were havin' nesting circles... a-and orgies...
[He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure. Look, doin' it behind that tree was a heat of the moment kind of thing he was still working out if he was into, he wasn't about to engage in any group-freaking.]
But it seems like I'm able to switch in n' outta my form despite it not bein' Sanguis. I think a good stopgap might be that once the eggs are born, I could brood 'em as best as I can. I-it's the least a dad can do, yeah?
But if it gets intense I'm sure the others wouldn't mind hangin' out.
[But that last part caused a tinge of frustration in that wolfish mind corner. Others? Near THEIR eggs? He'd rip 'em limb from limb first!]
[Naoto's face pulled at the thought of orgies occurring and shook her head. No thank you to that.]
Hm... It would probably be the most beneficial to them.
[Meanwhile, she felt that wolf mentally rear itself in his mind and shook her head. She didn't like the idea anymore than him really - nothing against their friends obviously - but the mark at her ear glowed intensely.]
I suppose we should find out first if they're in a similar position.
You're right. We should probably get ready for Rise to... Rise about us, too.
[Though if she was bearing eggs too, he wanted to have a good long talk with whoever her Astella was. Were they treating her right? Are they sticking around, or did he have to kick someone's ass?]
Knowin' Souji, Ren n' Minato, no doubt they're a triple-threat of havin' a plan together for everybody.
[She does care about her friends, but she doesn't want to put up with them if they're just going to tease them about having eggs. But if any of them were having eggs too... who were their Astella? Did they need to have a talk?]
[Naoto's expression flattened and she looked at Kanji.]
[She rolled her eyes and shook her head at his antics. calming the stare down.]
... I doubt there's any amount you could do in order to prepare me for Teddie were he here. Amamiya-san would stop after a while, but there's no guarantees when Teddie would come back to it.
H-how do ya put it... the lines he pulls feel like they're straight outta bad TV shows, and he barely knows what many of 'em mean. He's too much of a kid.
It is. However, do you think he pulls those terms from watching TV or is it due to his connection to the other world he knows them so readily?
[Once again, thinking about Teddie and his abnormal nature becomes a mystery. Shaking her head, she placed a hand on her stomach. The eggs had shifted.]
It was his home, right? Not to mention that the place was made of human thought, and a whole lotta media can affect how people think and what's okay to say and all. God knows I heard a number of my classmates during third year usin' pick-up lines they heard on TV. It gave me flash-
[She nodded. She, of course, wasn't looking to alarm him.]
Yes, they did. However, it's not down yet. We still have time.
[This was still strange. She'd thought about it in a strange, Iris-induced fantasy before, but now... this wasn't exactly something she was going to talk about adamantly in the future.]
[His heart was still racing from a moment's adrenaline. They still had time, but that could change in hours, if not tomorrow. He hoped this whole thing wouldn't hurt her, but there were always stories...
Kanji stopped, shoes touching the grass. This wasn't the way home... this was heading into the woods where the nest was constructed.]
Oh... uh, whoops. I guess I didn't really ask where we were headed.
[Rubbing her stomach, she did have to wonder again how much longer she had. Would it happen tonight? Tomorrow morning? Afternoon? All she knew - all she felt - was that it wouldn't be much longer.]
[She stopped after Kanji with a questioning look, but she chuckled.]
I don't know either. Well, we're already going this way... I wouldn't mind sitting in the nest for a while.
[Well, since they were almost there, any not press on? Maybe she needed off her feet and he'd tucked away some odds and ends to pass the time and maybe be productive as well; he'd left a manner of books, stitching projects, drinks and snacks, not to mention that he'd collected when he had only half his mind to decorate what was a center of comfort and brooding for his beloved Ostella.
He offered a hand to help her up and over the edge of the nest before he kicked off his shoes and joined right in. He must've been a little tense; it was odd to feel the spine relax like that once he had a seat. He sighed and reached for his craft supplies, tucked away in a clasped toolbox.]
Looks like I gotta make four more baby blankets. ...Wanna double-team it?
[She was appreciative that he didn't insist on heading back to the apartment. They would return in due time - she wanted to try having the eggs there if anywhere - but the nest still provided a feeling of... security to her. Their scents were there together; it was also where they conceived the eggs and would bring them once they hatched. They should get to know the nest too and its safety.]
[Accepting his help into the nest, she sighed and settled down. Sitting was difficult, both getting down and getting back up. She had to move slowly and stabilize herself with a hand to maintain some balance, but once she was seated, exhaustion fled her body and she could be at ease.]
[He nodded and brought everything over; the cloth as well as his sewing box everything he needed for this particular project. Well... most projects, really. But as he got everything ready- needles threaded and placed in the pincushion- he spread out the fleece he had collected.]
I picked this fabric for the first blanket. You can pick whichever of these looks good and I'll cut to the size we need.
Then it's just a back stitch for strength on all four ends, so no little kicky feet n' hands manage to tear 'em apart and it holds up to gettin' put into mouths. It's real easy.
[For the stitch itself, Kanji was more than happy to demonstrate, slowly putting the finishing touches on the first blanket and revealing whatever angles she needed. Even with large, coarse hands, he seemed to handle the fleece so delicately, letting the thread glide through and seal together more and more of it.
He passed her selected fleece and a ready needle. She's got this! Hell, this likely explained how once Kanji knew a formula for the trickier math topics back in high school, he seemed to get into a flow and work it through. Stitching was a formula, and the rest was developing muscle memory.]
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He sat up straighter when the monitor went from dark to revealing an image. Dr. Natalus hummed casually as she moved the probe. Hmm, she needed to adjust the frequency... angle, and...]
Wow...
Uh, w-what?
[She turned the monitor, and... huh. There was definitely something there, a shape that was a more distinct white than the normal softer gray that seemed to be ever-moving.]
Very active. See that number there...? That's my system's C*M reading. The chroma's higher than I've ever seen. Immense magical capabilities, or a product of moonlacing between mother and child through physical contact...? I'll have to compare this to what the other obstetricians in the city may have found for a better answer.
Judging by the size... they seem to be somewhere around the 25th week of development by normal standards. A little over halfway there. At the rate you're going, you'll have a child ready to be born in about two days... perhaps sooner than that. Babies never like to keep their due dates.
S-so what should we do?
Keep sharp. If anything seems off, you need to call me. Otherwise, Naoto should take it easy. Any further information I find, I'll send your way.
[Kanji brought his hand to his chin, deep in thought. Should they come back when she's due, or should he listen to this strange, instinctual compulsion to bring her to the nest when the time came?
It wasn't his choice, however. He posed a few possibilities over the mental link, feeling a little too blown away to speak aloud.]
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...
[She continued look at the screen, only interrupted when Kanji mentally gave her a nudge.]
Huh!? I... I-If the birth does happen sooner than expected, where should... I haven't even had the time to consider where to give birth.
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Yeah, we'd usually have a bunch'a time to work that kinda thing out, huh? Hell of a test for us.
If it's of any help, I intended on giving you two my direct line. You don't have to choose immediately; your decision can be made later.
[She removed her gloves and picked up her laptop. Naoto and Kanji's devices would give a soft beep of a notification: They could add Dr. Natalus as a
social linkcontact, and attached would be a few things to look out for to indicate whether she was feeling symptoms of labor or not, but to always call if one wasn't sure.]Shit... I gotta thank my mom after we get home. She always seems so together, but I wonder if she had moments like this knowin' I was comin'.
[He lifted his gaze to Naoto and spoke softly.]
Whatever you choose, I'm behind ya 100%. But we do have time to cool our heels, okay...?
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[And she would let here mind run a mile a minute trying to figure things out, but there's more to it. Which one would she feel comfortable with was what she needed to consider over the best method... or should it be the other way around? What would be needed in each process? She needed to research if there were any other delivery methods in Lunatia... she looked briefly at her bracelet when it beeped, but was back to thinking shortly.]
I'd be glad to have your mother here right now...
[Asking her own mother was just not possible, but she did have to wonder. Naoto really had no idea what she was getting into and she tried to calm herself with some breathing. Catching Kanji's gaze, she nodded quickly.]
Yes... yes, we have time.
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We have time.
[He would repeat that if necessary. Two days or less seems short, but days were composed of hours, minutes, seconds. They'll take it one step at a time. They were killers when it came to time management. Neither of them were folks who wasted time.
Dr. Natalus quietly cleaned up the area and mended shirt and pants. She was used to this anxious feeling from first-time parents, and wondered just how much she added to the atmosphere.]
I'll go ahead and update your file. Whenever you're ready, you're all set to head home.
[Unless they had questions for her. Otherwise she will quietly excuse herself.]
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We have time...
[She squeezed his fingers, exhaling slowly. Naoto wasn't ignoring Dr. Natalus, but she needed a moment, managing at the very least a nod. Home... she would like that right now; somewhere familiar...]
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He stood.]
I've got a tip for makin' ginger syrup for sodas n' teas n' stuff. Let's try makin' some when we get home.
[Somewhere familiar with something familiar. Kanji always liked to do kitchen experiments.]
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... I would like that, thank you.
[... Maybe participating in his experimenting would help ease her mind too.]
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---
[...Or six. Kanji felt the sweat roll down his neck as they walked down the street not 24 hours later; Naoto had grown again, and the time for their last check-up had come and gone. Dr. Natalus was thrilled as always and had reported that some of the moonblessed had already given birth while others were progressing as Naoto was. Stranger still, some of the 'blessed that had fallen pregnant were men... Kanji couldn't help putting a hand to his stomach on that one. He couldn't deny that he felt like he should have beared the burden if it was too much for her, but...
He set that thought aside. Instead he kept a kind pace, knowing he had long strides. Poor Bunny was waddling a little.]
Eggs...
[He shook his head in wonder.]
So the dragons really did influence us.
[The King had no idea this would happen, neither. He gave a statement this morning on the news, and even had the dragons begin to move their nesting spots and focus their songs and telepathy in the sky, anything to lessen any chance of further influence.
But with the Skyway officially opening tomorrow, it seemed the dragons would take their eggs and head back as well. Kanji scheduled an appointment for himself for a week from now, once the dragons were long gone and Naoto was safe and healthy with the... e-eggs. Babies. So many, oh my god...
He needed to see if he was. Well. Viable, or if it was just while the dragons were deep into mating season.]
What if they're dragons, like last time? I-I was, uh... a dragon, when we slept together, after all.
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[Recalling the last time they had dragon eggs, Naoto grimaced. They siphoned up Chroma almost immediately from one person - and that person had been her. She was a little concerned seeing she seemed to have five.]
... We'll need to ask for help in hatching them. Between the two of us, it might be too much Chroma.
[As not a dragon herself, she didn't just produce extra Chroma the same way Kanji could, and even that would be too much on him.]
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[He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure. Look, doin' it behind that tree was a heat of the moment kind of thing he was still working out if he was into, he wasn't about to engage in any group-freaking.]
But it seems like I'm able to switch in n' outta my form despite it not bein' Sanguis. I think a good stopgap might be that once the eggs are born, I could brood 'em as best as I can. I-it's the least a dad can do, yeah?
But if it gets intense I'm sure the others wouldn't mind hangin' out.
[But that last part caused a tinge of frustration in that wolfish mind corner. Others? Near THEIR eggs? He'd rip 'em limb from limb first!]
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Hm... It would probably be the most beneficial to them.
[Meanwhile, she felt that wolf mentally rear itself in his mind and shook her head. She didn't like the idea anymore than him really - nothing against their friends obviously - but the mark at her ear glowed intensely.]
I suppose we should find out first if they're in a similar position.
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[Though if she was bearing eggs too, he wanted to have a good long talk with whoever her Astella was. Were they treating her right? Are they sticking around, or did he have to kick someone's ass?]
Knowin' Souji, Ren n' Minato, no doubt they're a triple-threat of havin' a plan together for everybody.
...
In-egg-stigation Team...?
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[She does care about her friends, but she doesn't want to put up with them if they're just going to tease them about having eggs. But if any of them were having eggs too... who were their Astella? Did they need to have a talk?]
[Naoto's expression flattened and she looked at Kanji.]
... "In-egg-stigation" Team... really.
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[He shielded himself with an arm, as if deflecting some sort of harmful ray.]
Look, I'm fillin' a quota Teddie or Ren would fill, I'm just doin' my duty! Besides, now you're prepared for their bullshit.
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... I doubt there's any amount you could do in order to prepare me for Teddie were he here. Amamiya-san would stop after a while, but there's no guarantees when Teddie would come back to it.
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[He made a face.]
H-how do ya put it... the lines he pulls feel like they're straight outta bad TV shows, and he barely knows what many of 'em mean. He's too much of a kid.
Emotional maturity's the term, yeah?
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[Once again, thinking about Teddie and his abnormal nature becomes a mystery. Shaking her head, she placed a hand on her stomach. The eggs had shifted.]
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[Caught by surprise, he blinked.]
What's up? Did they move again?
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Yes, they did. However, it's not down yet. We still have time.
[This was still strange. She'd thought about it in a strange, Iris-induced fantasy before, but now... this wasn't exactly something she was going to talk about adamantly in the future.]
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[His heart was still racing from a moment's adrenaline. They still had time, but that could change in hours, if not tomorrow. He hoped this whole thing wouldn't hurt her, but there were always stories...
Kanji stopped, shoes touching the grass. This wasn't the way home... this was heading into the woods where the nest was constructed.]
Oh... uh, whoops. I guess I didn't really ask where we were headed.
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[She stopped after Kanji with a questioning look, but she chuckled.]
I don't know either. Well, we're already going this way... I wouldn't mind sitting in the nest for a while.
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[Well, since they were almost there, any not press on? Maybe she needed off her feet and he'd tucked away some odds and ends to pass the time and maybe be productive as well; he'd left a manner of books, stitching projects, drinks and snacks, not to mention that he'd collected when he had only half his mind to decorate what was a center of comfort and brooding for his beloved Ostella.
He offered a hand to help her up and over the edge of the nest before he kicked off his shoes and joined right in. He must've been a little tense; it was odd to feel the spine relax like that once he had a seat. He sighed and reached for his craft supplies, tucked away in a clasped toolbox.]
Looks like I gotta make four more baby blankets. ...Wanna double-team it?
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[Accepting his help into the nest, she sighed and settled down. Sitting was difficult, both getting down and getting back up. She had to move slowly and stabilize herself with a hand to maintain some balance, but once she was seated, exhaustion fled her body and she could be at ease.]
Hm? ... Sure, but I'll need your help.
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I picked this fabric for the first blanket. You can pick whichever of these looks good and I'll cut to the size we need.
Then it's just a back stitch for strength on all four ends, so no little kicky feet n' hands manage to tear 'em apart and it holds up to gettin' put into mouths. It's real easy.
[For the stitch itself, Kanji was more than happy to demonstrate, slowly putting the finishing touches on the first blanket and revealing whatever angles she needed. Even with large, coarse hands, he seemed to handle the fleece so delicately, letting the thread glide through and seal together more and more of it.
He passed her selected fleece and a ready needle. She's got this! Hell, this likely explained how once Kanji knew a formula for the trickier math topics back in high school, he seemed to get into a flow and work it through. Stitching was a formula, and the rest was developing muscle memory.]
Here we go... don't rush. Find your flow.
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