"ZIPACNAAAA!"
Zipacna had flinched when his brother yelled at the top of his lungs, he wouldn't be surprised if the humans in the Land of the Living had heard him. But right now he was in no position to make jokes; Xibalba was glaring at him, holding his daughter in his arms, but there was a small adhesive bandage on her head, and though Xibalba had managed to calm her down, she was snuggling into her father's embrace and burying her face into the crook of his neck. Zipacna would usually say it was only a scratch and that his brother was turning a small problem into a world-shaking disaster, but he didn't really have the right this time considering this was… partly his fault.
He still didn't understand what went wrong. He was supposed to look after her for an hour or two while Xibalba tended to some business, but after five minutes his niece had already scurried out of his sight, and he had no idea she had enough power to teleport all the way to Aztlan. Another twenty minutes later, Xibalba arrives very angry, Marigold with him, and she in turn with a bruise from hitting her head with the corner of a tea table.
Zipacna said the first thing that came into his head. "I can explain it…" Not a very good option.
Xibalba narrowed his eyes. "Oh, really? Then explain to me why my daughter was in AZTLAN?! ALONE?!"
"I t-took her for a walk, and… we started playing hide-and-seek…."
"Right, hide-and-seek! And why was she using her powers?! Besides, I recall the other Gods telling me they saw Marigold by herself, they never saw a single feather of yours! So stop makina fool of yourself and TELL ME THE TRUTH!"
"Okay, I admit it!" Zipacna couldn't bear it anymore and fell to his knees, whining. "I forgot to secure her cradle and she crawled out! Please don't kill me!"
That was what Xibalba wanted to do upon hearing it. "You… You WHAT?!"
"I didn't secure the cradle, and she got out! And somehow teleported to Aztlan!"
"Zipacna, I only asked you one thing! One single thing… Look after my daughter! And you couldn't focus on that!" Xibalba tightened his grip on his baby. "You-! You are irresponsible and distracted!"
"Come on! It could have been worse!"
"If it had, if it had been something more severe, I swear you wouldn't have any feathers left right now!"
Zipacna gulped and his feather crest pressed against his head in fear. "Oh… I guess I would have deserved it…"
"Oh, no, that was only the best of cases if I actually had any mercy on you."
"I guess am lucky…"
Xibalba closed his eyes, sighing in exasperation as he rubbed his brow. "What am I going to do with you, Zipacna?" he was angry, but genuinely worried. "You can't go on like this, you have to learn responsibility." He shot his older brother a look. "And no, not the definition in the dictionary."
"Come on, it's not that hard!"
Raising a snowy eyebrow, Xibalba snapped his fingers and a parchment of scroll appeared in a burst of green flames. "This hard. Sometimes I wish you had to make one of your own someday."
"Hey, you don't I don't like to read. And that thing is too long!"
"I didn't mean for you to read it now. You are responsible when you do all things written here without the need to be looking at the list at all, when it becomes something natural for you."
"I don't get it…"
"You are responsible when you do those things not because you feel like 'hey, I should make one or two things from the list. You ARE responsible when you understand why you make them and who you make them all for. If you can't take care of yourself, I can't frankly imagine you with a kid of your own."
Zipacna rolled his eyes. "That's' why I don't have kids in the first place, genius. They're too much trouble… Well, Marigold is an exception, she's adorable, but most of them drive me nuts!"
"Trust me, I used to think the same." Xibalba looked down at Marigold as she snuggled into his embrace, fidgeting a small strand of hair with his finger. "Only after you have your own you might understand."
"Maybe…" Zipacna looked away, bending back his ears.
"I'm still thinking if I will ever give you a second chance someday in trying to take care of my baby."
"Well, who knows…"
Xibalba frowned. "Not too soon, I'm not leaving you alone with her again for a good while, not until you read this." He handed his brother the list again, making him groan in dismay. Adding insult to injury, Marigold giggled in her sleep, as if reacting to her uncle's expression, making Xibalba smirk triumphantly. "You better get started."
La Muerte had taken him to a nice place in the marketplace where the carpenter was more than delighted to show them his cradles. Zipacna had to refrain himself from asking which was the cheapest one, he didn't want to get another ear pull from La Muerte. Finally, they picked a cradle wide enough for the newborn's wings, and afterwards they went to buy other essentials from Xibalba's list, much to Zipacna's dismay. All the while, La Muerte held Hugo in her arms while Camazok held his master's 'potential son', but Hugo didn't like the idea of sharing his mama, and cried while trying to keep the 'intruder' away, in turn making him cry, much to Zipacna's dismay.
Once they got back to the castle, La Muerte decided to teach Zipacna the basics of looking after a baby, even though he wasn't that enthusiastic about it. By then, both babies were hungry, which became evident when Zipacna's son started to make a suction motion with his lips and Hugo started to nuzzle against his mother's breast, as if looking for something… Zipacna had to look away for the time being, if Xibalba caught him watching this he was dead meat. La Muerte led them both to the kitchen to teach them how to make the baby's formula.
"Can't I give him normal milk? Its technically the same."
"He is too young for cow milk." La Muerte explained patiently, though she was exasperated at his carelessness. "They can't digest it as easily as breast milk or formula. If you give him normal milk it'll damage his kidneys, and he won't receive the nutrients he needs."
"How come you know that much about milk?"
"I read lots of maternity books when I was pregnant with Marigold, remember? You should give it a try."
Zipacna grunted, crossing his arms. "Fine, how is that famous formula made?"
La Muerte had placed Hugo and secured him on the high chair assigned to him, giving him a small spoon to play while she prepared the milk. She filled a kettle with some water and placed it on the stove. "Always use fresh water, don't use water that was boiled before. If you change tap water you might give the baby a tummy upset, but when you have no choice but to use bottled water always make sure to boil it first." She was using a thermometer to take the temperature of the water, and often glanced at the clock in the wall. "The water should be at least 70 degrees C, but don't boil it completely, only hot enough to kill any bacteria that might be in the water. Afterwards allow it to cool for no more than 30 minutes."
Zipacna was bored as hell, but he dare not complain. La Muerte was lending him a hand, the last thing he needed was to make her angry. He didn't want to give Xibalba another reason to be mad at him. He tried to keep his eyes on the kettle as La Muerte lifted it with a thick kitchen towel and placed it aside to wait till it cooled down.
"Hey, how's the new baby doing?" he asked casually, trying to break the ice.
"Up to now, he's calm." La Muerte sighed, smiling as she rubbed her flat stomach gingerly. "I can't wait till he starts kicking in a few months…"
"La Muerte, aren't you worried the baby and Hugo might not… get along?" Camazok asked. "You know, there's going to be little age difference, Hugo's too young to understand these kind of things, and he might get jealous."
"That's pretty obvious…" Zipacna muttered. "He didn't even want to share an embrace with this kid here…" he pointed at his so-called son in Camazok's arms. "How is he going to share with a little sibling?"
"It'll be okay, we'll figure it out." La Muerte assured them, picking up Hugo when he reached out his arms for her. Once he was safely and comfortably snuggled, La Muerte waved her hand and one of the cupboards with food opened, and she levitated jar filled with a sort of white powder. "That's the formula we use for Hugo and the twins, but your son might need a different one since he's younger."
Zipacna was going to say 'not confirmed', but La Muerte only had to shoot him a glance to keep his mouth shut. She continued. "You have to pour the right amount of water first, then you add the right number of scoops of powder, then you screw the teat of the bottle tightly in the retaining ring. Lastly all you have to do is to shake it until the powder has dissolved completely."
"I think I got it…"
Camazok had been taking notes, assuming his boss wouldn't bother to, and he was right.
A while later, the water in the kettle had cooled down enough for La Muerte to pour enough water into two baby bottles to satisfy the babies. However, Hugo and his cousin started to sob, demanding to be fed. "Shh, it's okay, Hugo, mami's nearly done…."
"My Lord, could you lend me a hand…?" Camazok pointed out as he tried to calm the squirming infant down. "My arms are hurting."
Zipacna sighed in dismay as he walked closer to Camazok and grabbed the baby with his hands, trying to hold him as careful but as far from him as possible. La Muerte frowned and momentarily stopped in her task to approach Zipacna. "If you hold him like that you could drop him." She said sternly as she accommodated the baby in her brother-in-law's arms. "You have to hold him close to your chest and make sure he is comfortable, especially his head. His neck can't hold the weight of it yet."
"Okay…" Zipacna was stiff as he held the baby 'properly' this time, thinking the child would break at the slightest touch. "So I just hold him like this till he falls asleep?"
"You have to rock him to make him sleepy, and a lullaby often helps."
"I don't sing."
La Muerte sighed in dismay and headed back to the bottles, pouring the right amount of powder into each bottle, then sealing the bottles with their lids and shaking them. Soon, the water turned into a milky liquid. La Muerte grabbed one of the bottles and touched Hugo's lips with the tip of the teat, which he almost immediately latched on to.
"Looks easy enough…" Zipacna commented as he grabbed the bottle. He touched the baby's lips with the tip of the teat, and he latched unto it to suckle the milk. Zipacna sighed in relief, but soon the baby was making sounds of effort and tilted his head awkwardly. Zipacna panicked momentarily.
"Zipacna, he can't swallow the milk properly in that position." La Muerte explained calmly. "You have to raise him to sit up a bit more, and hold him closer.
Zipacna did as told, and the baby relaxed, continuing with his meal.
"Well, now this is something."
Zipacna groaned in dismay when Xibalba walked into the kitchen with an amused grin.
"I never thought I'd see you like that, Zipacna." He chuckled as he walked over to his wife and kissed her cheek, earning a giggle in return. "How are you this morning, mi amor?"
"I had to take Zipacna to do some shopping for his son." La Muerte said, rocking Hugo in her arms while he continued with his meal. "And turns out Hugo doesn't like to share me."
"Really?" Xibalba decided to tease his son a bit, and pulled La Muerte into an embrace, peppering her face with kisses. Almost instantly, Hugo released the bottle and started to squeal in discomfort, trying to call his mother's attention again.
"Xibalba, don't be like that." La Muerte frowned, but still she allowed Xibalba to take Hugo in his arms to give her a break. Hugo cried when he realized he was not in his mother's embrace anymore, reaching out his hands for her.
"Come on, mijo, give mami a break, her arms are aching." Xibalba told him gently.
"And you still ask me why I don't like children…." Zipacna muttered in a very low voice, thankfully Hugo's cries didn't let La Muerte hear what he had said.
"Um, My Lord, the bottle's empty…" Camazok pointed out.
Zipacna looked down and realized the baby had long finished the milk, so he took the bottle away to put it on the table. The baby frowned and shifted, letting out uncomfortable coos. "For goodness sake, what now?!"
"You have to burp the baby." La Muerte explained.
"Don't tell me they need help for that too!"
Xibalba rolled his eyes. "He gets air into his stomach from feeding, and he can't take it out on his own yet."
"So?"
La Muerte approached and accommodated the baby in Zipacna's arms so that he was holding him against his chest, and the baby's chin was on his shoulder, she placed one of his hands on the baby's back. "Now all you have to do is to pat and rub his back."
Zipacna did as told, but La Muerte stopped him when he patted too hard on the baby's back, then she gave a few firm but gentle pats to show him how it was done.
"So, have you thought of a name for him yet?" Xibalba inquired, patting Hugo's back until he let out a small burp.
"Why should I name him if I'm not keeping him?"
"Again with that, Zipacna?" La Muerte crossed her arms. "You can't give your son away just because you don't like to take care of children!"
"I don't even know if he's mine!"
"Zipacna, I think it's pretty obvious he's yours!"
"He's still in the negation state." Xibalba muttered to Hugo, who didn't understand what he meant with that.
"Haven't you heard of responsibility, Zipacna?"
Xibalba sighed. "I've always told him, but he doesn't listen."
"I don't need a kid for that!" Zipacna snapped.
"Lord Zipacna, I think you should be careful with how you handle the baby…!" Camazok gulped. "He might-!" He hadn't finished the sentence when suddenly the baby vomited a milky liquid unto Zipacna's cloak, before starting to hiccup. Zipacna froze in dismay, while Xibalba had to contain a snicker at the look on his brother's face. Hugo giggled, while La Muerte couldn't help but giggle.
Zipacna glared at them, but Camazok spoke before he could say anything. "So… How does Sam sound for the baby?"
