Baby Book - Phase Three
Chapter Fifty-Three - Eridani Naming Ceremony
Early December, 2274
Everyone on the ship was talking about the invitations. Grayson and Amanda heard them in the mess hall. But hardly anyone actually had one. But they did, Mama had shown it to them. They were all going. It was hard to sit still and say nothing when he heard other people talking about it, but that would have been rude, telling others that their family got to go. Amanda said she had been the first one to know about the eggs, and when she told Mama about it, Mama said she was probably right. Amanda had told him, and Mama and Baba, everything that H'Shuss! had said to her. He wished Shu!ss had told him. He guess it was because he was older, more reliable than his younger brother. Better able to keep a secret. Tomorrow was the big day, and it was growing harder and harder to be still and not think about how exciting it was going to be.
The ceremony was set for 1100, so after breakfast, they came home and did their lessons, finishing up so that Baba could give them the new lesson chips tonight. And then Mama made them both take showers, and put on all brand new clothes. When they came out, Mama brushed out her hair, and rebraided it, and put brand new clips on the ends of the braids. And then she took the special scissors that she only used on hair and gave Grayson a little trim. She and Baba had on their dress uniforms, and Amanda thought they looked super special.
At 1045, they left their quarters, and headed for the special room that the Eridani group had reserved. Baba had their invitation in his pocket, but when they got to the door of the room, the Eridani male standing there, inflated his neck pouches, so they shone bright yellow, and boomed out something, and the door opened before either Mama or Baba had a chance to say a thing. They went through the open door, and into the strangely decorated room. There were some sort of benches against the side wall, and Mama and Baba led them there, and they sat down, along with the few other people that were already there. Not long afterwards, Uncle JIm and Aunt Cathy came in with George. George got all excited when he saw them, and Aunt Cathy whispered something to him and he settled down. But he kept looking back over her shoulder at them until Uncle Jim took him and sat him on his knee.
A few more people came in and then the male who had been at the door came inside and stood right in front of the door, and inflated his neck pouches again and started up with a long statement of some kind, full of hissing and spitting and clicks, with a few loud booms thrown in here and there. Mama bent her head down and whispered to them that he was declaring the lineage of the newly hatched babies. Grayson whispered back "You mean like grandparents and stuff?" Mama nodded.
Then the curtains in the corner of the room opened, and H'Shuss! and Shu!ss came out, with their scales all shined up, and some sort of bright harness on. They stepped to one side, and their father came out next, wearing even more bright harness. He stepped to the other side. And then their mother came out, carrying the two new ones. They were almost as big as George, and they were bright pink! Grayson and Amanda looked at each other, trying not to giggle. There was a lot more hissing and spitting and clicking, and then the little ones were set down on the floor. They looked around all over the room, their little blue tongues flicking in and out. And then Shu!ss went and stood beside the left one and said one word. "!sshusss." Grayson guessed that must be the name of that baby. H'Shuss! walked the other way, standing beside the other baby, and said "Usssh'!ss." Grayson didn't think he could say either of those names correctly. Mama had a very focused look on her face.
The parents each picked up one of the babies then, and stood between their two sons. The male at the door then spoke in very heavily accented Standard. "Plese pay respects."
Mama and Baba stood, and took Grayson and Amanda by the hands, and walked across the room. When they got to the family standing there, Mama opened up her mouth and began to hiss and spit and click at them. Baba also said something, but not nearly as much as Mama had. Both the parents' necks turned purple and their tongues flicked out, and then they bent themselves into a funny shape. Mama said something else, and Grayson recognized the names of the two new babies. He looked at Shu!ss and grinned, and his friend's tongue flicked back and forth. That was like a giggle, Grayson knew. Amanda was saying something to H'Shuss! and her friend was rocking back and forth on his tail, like he was happy. And then Mama and Baba bent their heads, and Grayson and Amanda hurried to do so as well, and then they turned and headed across the room, while someone else came up behind them to wish the new babies luck on their naming day.
When they got back to their own quarters, Mama made them go and change their clothes right away. And then they all settled down at the table for lunch. And Amanda made Mama repeat everything she had said and explain what it all meant. It had been an unusual experience, that was for sure.
