pishirogane | prismatica

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Sure thing. Maybe we'll do some little stretches, too.

[Because he could definitely tell that wasn't his tailbone going numb. Kanji pulled away to grab the carafe and get some ice water going. Goodness knows if laying eggs or even having babies did something for hydration, but it was feeling a little warm in the room.

He'd chosen the carafe for how pretty it was, seeing it on display at a glassworker's shop one afternoon. He'd bought it and a set of glasses to match, feeling very adult indeed to be purchasing glassware. He returned to set it on the nightstand and pour a glass for her.]

Man, I wonder how the others are doing...? I don't see anybody like Yosuke bein' calm about any of this, especially if Souji's bein'... Souji about it.

"Take responsibility~"

[With the breathy falsetto and a smirk, he offered the glass.]

If I can manage that much.

[She appreciated the encouragement. Maybe when he got back and she had a little to drink she would try standing up. Getting up right now just seemed precarious.]

[Still, when he did return and pour some water for her, she gladly accepted it and took a long drink. She had been more parched than she realized.]

Mmm... If they're going through this. We should try calling them later. Er, well, you might have to call them, or wait until I sleep this off.

[Because she could guarantee she was going to be tired after this.]

No rush if ya can't, but my ass is goin' TV static... that's probably comin' from you, heheh.

[He didn't normally get the numbness or cramps, but he got it in his neck a lot from his posture. Whoops. Kanji had a little water himself, down like a shot of whiskey before.

He offered his hands next.]

I got ya. Just a little stand n' stretch, get the blood pumpin' again.

[Did he read a library's worth of books on the topic? Sure. Maybe he was a worrywart, but he knew better after his time being thrown into the TV than to not take any opportunity to learn something new. What'd that really badass doctor say, 'Be a perpetual student'?]

I'll definitely give the others a call later, see what's up.

It can't be avoided right now.

[But did he have to put it that way? Her face turned pink.]

[Still, with his hands proffered, she took hold and rose to her feet slowly, feeling the remaining eggs shift, but not move down yet. It was getting there, but until it did... and there was the feeling coming back to her legs.]

How long has it been since this started?

[Until he learned the proper name for the tingles, Kanji could only be apt. He helped guide her up and felt that gradual relief, the static wearing away as nerve endings breathed that sigh of relief.

With the question, he craned his head to peek at the alarm clock.]

Ah... gettin' close to an hour. But that second one came pretty soon after the first, I think.

[He turned pink. He remembered a passage involving sex in the late-term possibly encouraging labor.]

Y'think what we did this morning, uh... m-may have...?

[The only problem would be how those nerves decided to come back. It was not in the fun, cannot move because it's tickling sort of way, but at least that meant the recovery was sped up before it became another problem.]

Hm... and there's still three more.

[She knew labors could be long, but she wondered how long it would be with the eggs. So, one hour mark, two eggs, three more to go... Blinking, her eyes grew, but then closed as the red on her cheeks became more brilliant.]

... Quite possibly. I was close to being due even if that's not the case.

Ah... w-well, if it helped things along...

[Live and learn. With a shy chuckle he stooped and kissed her. He brought her hands to his shoulders and reached down to rub her back, mild fire chroma coaxing a little extra heat to his hands as he smoothed over the muscles. It was a slow knead, coaxing circulation to such taut areas.

He didn't fault her for being so tight here, and the least he could do was help Naoto maybe not feel like fresh hell later or tomorrow.]

Let's see if we can't get some help from ol' gravity, too.

[She nodded, not saying anything. If anything, she was glad to push her due date forward - the sooner the eggs were out, the less stress there would be waiting for them. All that was left was the stress of raising them.]

[Kissing him, she hummed at his hands, feeling Chroma and heat seep into her skin, helping her muscles unwind from the knotted mess they'd become from her tensing. Oh yes, she would need more of this after everything passed too... Though, recovering muscles meant letting other ones get back to work.]

It's not going to take that much work.

[He'd be more than happy to offer more once everything was finished. But right now, he could feel something and her words just confirmed it. One last rub for good luck, and he nodded.]

A'right. Round two.

[He helped ease her back onto the bed, ready to offer back-up again. It was nothing to get back to it, and he smiled when he grabbed the next blanket.]

Time for your handiwork to shine! Your first blanket.

It would be nice if this could be the final round.

[Getting back onto the bed, she positioned herself as before the make the delivery easier. The third egg was almost in position, but she looked up when Kanji mentioned the blanket.]

Ah... We'll see if it holds.

Would that I could make it the final round for ya, but we can't push it.

[They could try, but he wouldn't forgive himself if anyone was harmed. As for the blanket, that'll totally hold, he wagered. Time would only tell how straight his hunch is.

But until then, he was prepped for number three, four and five. It looked like the first had gained its pearly luster, protective shell given that time to harden. Second wouldn't be far behind. He wondered if looking like large pearls had to do with her oceanic blessing...]

No, we can't... Well, I can't. Unless an egg gets stuck, this should move without aid.

[She doesn't want to think about an egg getting stuck, but it could happen. If they weren't eggs, babies being naturally delivered were documented as getting stuck in her research. They didn't need to worry about a breech occurring, or umbilical cords either, but now she unnerved herself.]

[Shaking her head, she focused on the third egg - finally in position that she could push. It felt smaller than the second, but no smaller than the first. Likely, the first and third were the around the same size, but she wouldn't know until it passed. She focused on her breathing for now, steadily inhaling and exhaling.]

All smooth. Let's five for five it!

[Whoop, maybe not the best topic to be on. He smoothed his hand through her hair and offered a little reassurance. Nothing should go wrong. It'll be fine.

Same as before he moved to catch number three, making sure to secure it in the blanket Naoto made. Aw, this one was real lucky... whoever was in there got to be all wrapped up in her first sewing project! That's a huge milestone. But he could coo about that later, entering a synched breathing pattern in the meantime. Another one down, two to go!]

[Closing her eyes at his hand, she could put the thoughts out of mind a little better.]

[The third egg passed and Naoto shifted again. The fourth egg was close, but not yet in position to be pushed out so she was hoping to encourage it into position. That, and being back in this posture was asking for a cramp tomorrow. She grabbed her glass and drank a little more water, setting the glass back once the egg did finally ready itself.]

Man, you'd think somebody would invent a comfortable seat for stuff like this...!

[Casual wrap-up off number three and he was ready for number four. But now that this was happening, he understood why car seats and buggies were so elaborate and crazy complicated. But... where was mom in this? No, like, birthing chairs? He can't imagine hospital benches with stirrups were any good.]

Should I put on some tunes- whoa, okay, I see shell, nevermind-

[Blanket! Here we are... four's a sneaky devil, and just as pearly as the rest.]

They could have, but they're available at the hospital...

[That, and she didn't know if Prismals laid eggs themselves. Maybe some of them? It seemed like it was the dragons that just laid eggs and no one else... how curious.]

[The fourth egg didn't take long at all to come out. A few pushes and it was there, but now was a matter of the fifth egg...]

[Even with his wings, knowing how quickly they came, there was no chance they could have taken advantage of the hospital. But perhaps it never hurt to have a follow-up. His he'd scheduled for after the dragons had left... he needed to know if this was only because of the dragons, or if he needed to take care not to help make any more eggs.

The fourth egg was wrapped and joined the others. Seeing them like this now, wow... he felt the smallest dizzy whirl in his mind. Was this what it was like for parents who expected one kid and wound up with twins? Triplets?? More!?

Yup, he needed water. Pardon him while he had a drink.]

Sorry, hah... it's- it's kinda just hittin' me. Seein' 'em like this, with one more on the way...

I just- I just hope I can be a decent enough dad.

[There was shifting around again while Kanji bundled up the fourth egg, but the fifth egg was taking its time even when compared to the third. Oh good, one just had to be trouble; wonder what their hatchling would be like after it emerged.]

[A fleeting feeling of light-headedness had her blink and turn towards Kanji. He was drinking.]

Oh... Hm, I guess this does put things into perspective. Or at least, this is happening.

Kanji-kun, I have no doubts you'll be a fine father.

[She wasn't one to bullshit. He believed her. He just needed to believe in himself a little more. Going from zero to five at their age was gonna be pretty tough, but it seemed a lot of lives were going to change now.

Kanji sighed to gather himself.]

...Thanks, Naoto. I... heh.

[He fiddled with the ring on his finger.]

I guess we've done a lot of growin' up, both back home and here. This egg stuff just says, 'Hey, how 'bout you do a little more?'

... It has been a lot of growing, hasn't it? But, this does still seem a little fast.

[He's worried about being a good dad, but she's concerned about being a good mother. If they were home, she might have a better idea on what to do, but right now, on this planet and with its different culture, what age does one begin teaching their children about everything?]

Still, we've gotten through more grueling situations, haven't we?

Yeah, I'd say we have. Kickin' a goddess' ass and savin' a whole town ain't too shabby.

[He chuckled, which helped ease the weight of his worries upon his heart if but a little. He hoped he'd be a good dad, and he knew Naoto worried the opposite. He knew that, when it all came down to it, he wasn't the one to carry the eggs. He just had to be a fighter for her.]

But we also learned that if the goin' gets tough we can reach out, too. Dr. Natalus, the Prismals... we can still learn a whole lot from 'em!

A... what's it called? A support network. Thinkin' about that just... really, really helps.

That's right. We have our friends here and personnel willing to help us should we need it.

[So they weren't alone attempting to raise these eggs when it came down to it. They had some room for error on their part. Even if she hoped they wouldn't have to bother anyone too much.]

[Shifting a little more, the final egg was beginning to settle itself in place, but it wasn't ready just yet. Naoto would take the opportunity to help herself to a little more water then.]

Hell of a way to learn this part of life, huh? On a totally different planet with animal people, and your man's part dragon-monster.

[He made a showy shrug and laughed.]

I mean, I gotta admit I ain't a bad-lookin' dragon-monster, so there's that. Flying's nice, but it's always real tempting to howl at the moon.

[They had some time, so why not take it easy?]

And you're drawn to water and eat more veggies. I figured with you bein' part bunny you'd wanna like... make cute mochi or somethin'.

Mmm, you are someone to look at during the Sanguis moon. Remember, I don't mind if you howl at the moon; just make sure it's at a decent hour.

[He would not like waking her to a howl... not at all.]

Moc- ah, no. That hasn't happened. Honestly, the instincts I feel seem to change monthly except for the one.

Hah... of course. It's nicest at midnight anyway, highest point in the sky, and we're night owls anyway.

[He canted his head thoughtfully. It did seem to change time after time. Other than the souped-up libido, anyway. But he rubbed his chin, too. Maybe...]

Man, now I wanna make cute mochi... but anyway, you know I'm always up for anything that helps scratch the Iris itch. I mean... more than just that part. I've read up on wolves and local dragon lore and learned a whole bunch of things. Maybe we look into... let's see, rabbits, squid n' octopus...

[He wiggled his fingers like wings.]

Bats? For those cute little wings.