One and a half weeks had passed since Piccolo laid his egg. So far Piccolo had been too scared to move it around much, so he kept it in the crib inside the Lookout's new nursery while he monitored it like a hawk. While he wasn't meditating, that is. Gohan had visited the parents-to-be often ever since, coming only second to Bulma who visited every day, to make sure everything was fine with the baby inside the white oval-shaped sphere's protective shell.
Dende himself was very proud of the egg, yet felt a little uncertain the same time. He thought of his job as the Guardian of Earth and how busy the position usually kept him. Would he even have enough time for his child? For better or worse though, he promised himself to try his best. It had been an unusually quiet day on Earth that time so he decided it was finally the time to update the Great Elder Muuri about what had happened so far.
The young Guardian sat down and began to concentrate on forming a contact to his eldest brother. This time it took a good half an hour before the connection was established.
"Muuri?" Dende asked, when he felt the connection was done.
"Dende? Oh, good to hear from you! You know, I was just thinking about you!" The old Namek chuckled.
"Good to hear from you, too." Dende smiled.
"So, tell me! How are things going on over there? Has the egg arrived yet?" Muuri asked, eagerly.
"Oh, yes!" Dende said, smiling. "Piccolo went into labor about 10 days ago".
"Really? Oh, that's marvelous!" the older Namek exclaimed.
"Speaking about the egg, do you know how long it takes for it to hatch? Piccolo didn't know and neither do I."
"Oh, about as long as the pregnancy itself." Muuri chuckled. "Which is… how long was it again, in Earth time?"
"About 90 Earth days which is about three Earth months." Dende confirmed.
"Ah, yes. I still get mixed up with those." the old man laughed.
"By the way, good thing you called. I've done some research on Guru's memories and you might find some of it interesting."
"Oh? What is it?" Dende asked.
"Well, I recall you telling me Piccolo had been avoiding you and so on, am I right? Well, according to what I found it indeed was quite common behavior among newly-mated couples expecting their first hatchling. On the expectant partner's side, naturally. "
"Really? Well I'm glad it was just that and nothing else."
"Indeed so. However, unfortunately I wasn't able to detect what was the exact purpose for such behavior. I suppose Guru was too young at the time to have known himself." Muuri apologized.
"It's alright; I'm only very relieved to know that it's normal and not just my own fault." Dende said, letting out a happy sigh in the end.
"How is he doing now, by the way?" Muuri asked, curious.
"Piccolo? He's very protective of the egg. He doesn't let anyone touch it but him, and myself on occasion, and keeps it tucked in in the crib Mr. Popo made for the baby. The only times he leaves it out of his sight is when he has to use the bathroom. He refuses to leave the nursery for any other reason."
"Ah, well that was predictable; it's just his parental instincts kicking in. But don't worry; it's perfectly safe to move the egg around in any case. I don't know if you remember the slings our people usually carry their eggs and hatchlings in?"
"Oh, yeah! Why didn't I think of that!" Dende exclaimed.
"Maybe you should talk him into using one of those? Though I know his tendencies of being a loner, I don't think it's good for him to sit still in one place through the incubation like some brooding bird." Muuri said, laughing.
"That's a great idea! I'll do just that. Thank you, oh Elder!"
"Anytime, Dende. Besides, I think it was about time for you two to spend some… Quality time together, now that you still can." The old man chuckled.
Dende blushed at the implication. "…Yeah, I guess it would be… nice."
Muuri was amused by Dende's discomfort. "Who knows, maybe this one would have a little sibling on the way right after hatching."
Dende's face couldn't have gotten purpler even if you had poured plum juice all over him. "Eh, I wonder what Piccolo would think of that…" he managed to say, awkwardly.
"Calm yourself, I was only joking." Muuri comforted the younger man. "Besides, it wouldn't be possible anyway".
"Oh? What do you mean?" Dende asked, now curious.
"According to what I understood from Guru's memories, the downside to the… Sexual reproduction of our kind is that even the most fertile individuals could produce approximately only one egg every week-year."
"Is that in Earth years or Namekian years?" Dende asked quickly.
"Seven Namekian years." Muuri confirmed.
"So, only about one egg every three and a half Earth years… and that's for the most fertile individuals… Wow." Dende thought to himself.
"Indeed. Though of course, if both spouses conceived, the rate doubled. But even still, it's not much. So it's no wonder our kind is also able to reproduce through parthenogenesis, as then the gestation period is not only twice as fast, but the whole thing requires only a fraction of the energy compared to this, so eggs can be produced in a remarkably faster rate that way. Not to mention it can also be manipulated by ki to speed it up even more."
"Wow, that's interesting… I didn't know that." Dende stated, awestruck.
"Do you know why that is?"
"I'm only guessing, but I think it has to do with the complexity of the process in mixing genes, and the conflicts between the male- and female hormones in our bodies. You see, for some odd reason the male parts of our body develop and mature way before the female ones. That is why we all look male rather than female. An individual could be physically an adult but still not able to ovulate yet."
"Oh!" Dende exclaimed.
"That would also explain why it was Piccolo who conceived, and not me… I'm too young to, aren't I?"
"It's very possible." Muuri confirmed.
"I'm sorry to cut this short, oh Elder, but I really must share this with Piccolo, right away."
"No need to apologize lad, I have to go as well. Tell Piccolo my greetings and hope the best for both of you." The old man smiled, and closed the connection.