The time was drawing near, soon the baby is to be born.
Farida considered herself right in her assumption about how quickly she was about to give birth. In her point of view, regarding the Skeksis they apparently live MUCH longer than a human and age slower whereas it's the opposite with humans. So this could be the reason why the offspring is developing more quickly since it is part Skekis.
She spent most of her days now visiting the Archer, which always pissed off the Hunter but she really didn't care about his temper tantrums right now. All she wanted was someone to talk to and get advice for what lies ahead...even the woman wondered what would happen if something went wrong. Still, it was nice to carry on a conversation with someone who didn't growl and sounded so irritated half the time.
"Farida!"
"AGH!" She slid off the low tree branch she was sitting on, luckily landing only with a small plop close to the ground so she wasn't hurt, but snapped holding her hand to her chest, "Are you trying to scare me into labor!?"
Before the Hunter could say anything else the Archer intervened, "Enough you two, we've been over this for days now so please don't quarrel again."
The woman arched a brow and just pointed at her mate, clearly saying tell HIM that. Said Skeksis for once did keep quiet to a point, watching intently at his other half as Farida slowly got to her feet, "I guess this is my cue to go home now. Bye Archer."
She was in shock how long the Hunter didn't argue with her again, despite snarling the entire time; he apparently just hated her to spend time with the Archer and not himself.
"Ngh..."
They both halted walking when she unintentionally made that noise, but the sudden gush of water that came after meant it was time.
She tried not to panic and kept walking murmuring under her breath, "We're almost to the Podling's and then they can take over."
They informed her they would help since they had midwives so that put her mind to an ease to a point, but Skekmal was being more overprotective again.
This time he didn't fuss, every time she stopped when a contraction started he stopped and hovered behind her. She could see he was worried despite how careful he was not to show it. Mainly she was glad he didn't grab and run off with her, the jostling around isn't comfortable.
When they made it there he pulled her back and tenderly held her, this obviously made her face turn five shades of red since this was a first. She smiled up at him none the less as he let her go, watching from a distance...he was going to be very close by to say the least.
*The evening seemed to drag on but not as much as the pained cries. The Hunter already glanced through the window a few times and his mate had to be gagged...normally any creatures cries of agony never affected him but this was unsettling beyond what he thought possible.
Did he really get to the point he's this soft...this concerned...for the welfare of another creature?
He was sharping his blade high in the tree top until he finally heard an unusual new cry, that of an offspring.
Already? He climbed down and quietly...hesitantly entered the hut.
The Podling's were quick to leave except the midwife in charge, who focused on making sure the childling bonded with the mother first. The woman was seemingly knocked out so it didn't matter at this point.
Once he saw she was breathing, Skekmal let out a held sigh of relief he didn't even know he was holding back, before getting a good look at the newborn after it was handed to him.
The newborn was a boy and looked like a human almost all the way through except he had bluish tinted skin, a tail, and a second set of arms like Skekmal. It looked like his fingernails would become more talon-like but it was too soon to say yet.
He let the midwife take his son from him as he checked his mate more closely, her face was very pale and breathing was shallow.
He decided he would come back later and go from there as to not dwell on any dark thoughts of her condition.
*The woman didn't really come to until that evening, having spent almost the entire day asleep from exhaustion. From what the midwife told her she was lucky the baby came when it did, apparently her body was trying to reject it and put a lot of strain on her body.
She couldn't understand how the midwife would even know that but then again who was she to say, no one knows if you can even have a baby normally and a c-section would be so brutal in this environment. Still, what she was feeling right now was pure weakness and a bit nauseated.
After she drank some broth she finally got to hold her son, sighing with relief in the process, "Thank Thra you don't look a like a vulture..."
I've panicked thinking this whole time the baby would come out looking like a Skeksis and tear my lower body apart with its beak in the process. I'm so glad you're a handsome little boy.
She couldn't help but kiss his forehead and tried to follow the directions to get the fussing baby to latch, which luckily was actually easy. I never wanted to breastfeed but here I am.
When her son was done and the midwife urged her to get some sleep, that's when Skekmal returned. He didn't say anything but reached underneath and attempted to pick her up. "Woah...woah...wait a minute!"
If looks could kill the Hunter would've been struck down by the midwife ten times over, if the cursing didn't make him deaf first. He already had his blade in his hand when the woman snapped, "Don't you dare! She's saying I can't be moved yet."
"Why not!"
"I have a lot of strain on my body right now and am very weak, plus sore. She says I'm not to be moved until I'm fully recovered to avoid anymore issues."
He could clearly see she was weak, not only by her voice, but still, "I can care for you at home."
She arched her brow, "Oh really~ You mean to tell me you can feed, wash, help me to the bathroom AND take care of the baby all by yourself do you?"
The smugness in her tone made him want to violate her, but regrettably she had a point which just made him snarl in annoyance. "Fine, stay here until you're well."
Smirking she held his claw, "Wouldn't you like to know his name?" A small nod was enough an answer, "Antony...Skekton."
"Skekton...a very strong name for my son."
*The child's development did unfortunately seem to speed up, which his mother tried to savor every moment the best she could. Within a month he was already a toddler, and so on and so forth.
Two years total has passed since she arrived in Thra, adjusting much better than before and living quite contently. Skekmal was true to his word and after she was ready to go home he already had a hut built and ready to go next the cave. It was small but big enough for all three of them despite the Hunter rarely stayed inside except to sleep.
As she was weaving a basket she couldn't help but smirk at some of the funny incidents in regards to raising their son, minus a few touchy subjects.
*When Skekmal returned home from his hunt one day, Farida ran out with Antony and gently placed him on the ground, "Watch this. Antony, come to mother."
The boy slowly walked towards his father instead and cackled once he got there. "Already walking?" "Yeah the little traitor, all about your father."
This was the first time Skekmal seemed to actually wonder about his mate, "How long does your kind live?"
The woman frowned and murmured, "It just depends I guess. In this environment without advanced technology I might make it past thirty years from my age now. Before you even ask I'm going to get old, by the time I get to my thirties I'll be showing signs. I just hope Antony will live a very long time like you without growing physically old."
The Hunter wasn't pleased with this news nor should he be...his time with Farida would be limited and then if his son aged like her...he dared not think about it and that's what he did, he shut it out of his mind for the time being.
*When Antony was the dating age he looked at his mother pleadingly one day and asked, "How did you and father meet?" She choked on her drink but her son made it worse by guessing, "I bet it was SO romantic! I bet he had to woo you with flowers and meat."
"Meat!?" "Yeah meat. It shows a girl he can provide food for her. Come on mother even the Podlings told me that." The woman just face palmed and pictured Skekmal handing her a slab of meat with flowers on top growling, "Be my mate."
After that thought she burst out laughing and even more when Antony was clearly clueless after she mused, "I'll tell you how we got together when you're older."
I doubt you'll accept the true answer son. Your father was sent to kill me, instead he fucked me then took me back, we argued a lot and fucked again, then next thing I knew we had feelings for each other and I requested to be married to him instead of the other Skeksis. That's basically it.
*The other question was when Antony saw the scars on her back, the woman would only say, "Someone bad hurt me because I wasn't obedient." It was short and sweet but she felt like that was a decent response.
*The next fun memory was when she was in a hot spring with a couple of podling girls and Skekmal barged out...again...wondering why she wasn't home with their son.
The girls were dunking down low to avoid being seen whereas the woman just sighed, "Did you not ask Antony?" "Skekton did tell me." "Then what's the problem dear?"
The snarling continued but she gave him a different response this time than arguing back. She purposefully made sure her upper half was exposed when she turned around to face him, leaning over the edge with her breasts pressed together, "Unless you want to have some fun later just let me relax a little longer~ I'm tired and need a break."
She was so glad she wasn't alone right now because Skekmal would've attacked her already with no mercy. Just the body movements alone and lustful stare was enough...but he left her alone and yes she had to keep her end of the bargain whether she wanted to or not.
*Now, Antony was a full grown man in just two years. He seems to stop aging physically which was a very good sign. He was tall, muscular and taut naturally, his skin stayed the bluish tint like his father's and his nails did become talon-like whereas his teeth was like a human. His hair was long and partially braided to keep it out of the way during his hunts.
His eyes were his best feature, according to both parents; two different eye colors: one was colored like his mother's and the other like his father. She thought it made him look even more handsome but Skekmal thought it made him look more menacing.
Antony was all about the hunt like his father, but not battling warriors for no reason unless it couldn't be helped. He could use his tail and claws to leap through the trees with ease and with more flexibility than his father could due to his body type.
His demeanor was calm and patient, very good sense of humor but when he got pissed off you better pray it wasn't you that did it. He loved to explore and read, two things his father didn't like him doing...in fear he would be seen.
Antony often went to his mother for consolation regarding this matter, even the Archer which he referred to as his Uncle. They both agreed and wanted him to be able to find his own path than being confined...but even they both feared Skekmal might maim him to make him stay if he tried to leave.
Little did they all know; that time was about to change soon.
*As she walked along her normal path to the berry patch she murmured, "It's hard to believe it's already been two years."
She tried not to think about the 'what if's' which she was bad to do, focusing on how many berries she needed until she flinched, "OW!"
A sharp sting to her neck made her hand immediately touch it due to reflex when it came into contact with something hard. She pulled out what was stuck in her neck and mentally panicked. A dart!
Her vision was already getting blurry, already dropping the basket of berries before staggering around. Home...got to...get home.
Just as she was about to move again she was snatched from behind, no chance to call for help before something was poured into her mouth. What little lashing about she was able to do wasn't enough as she involuntarily swallowed the strange liquid and then...everything went black.
*It was almost dark when Antony asked, "Where's mother? She would've already been back by now." His father growled, "Where did she go." "The berry patch."
They ran quickly to the secluded spot just to find the basket lying there without anyone in sight. Sniffing the air the Hunter grew restless, easily finding the dart which thoroughly pissed him off for he had a strong hunch who took his mate.
"Father. What scent is this?" He handed him a small bottle and flinched when Skekmal smashed it onto the ground after taking a sniff, "...Nullroot!"
TBC: Hope everyone enjoyed and reviews are always very appreciated.
