a/n Mine: Everything about Pegasus— her friends, her character, her adventure. The ideeeea of Go'ma, though not his race, is mine
Wish list: AVP, A, P, ect.
"What would you name the baby?" I asked Go'ma once, while we were sitting together.
"Issssssss ..." He said, the equivalent of a long hmm. "... Perhaps Ryu. It's Japanese for dragon .. it would be easy to say, in english and in Yaujuttan .. but in Yaujuttan, it would sound more like Raah-yah .."
"Explostion."
"So he'd have to tell people, Ryu, dragon .."
I grinned wickedly. "OR he wouldn't .."
He laughed. "No, no. What are you thinking?"
I frowned. "I'm thinking .. Vertumnus. It's my favotire story .. have you heard of it?"
He shook his head.
"Well, once there was this girl, named Pomona, who really loved gardens. She took care of them like they were her loves, and she didn't think of marriage because of all this. Vertumnus disguised himself as an old woman, and helped her tend her gardens. He fell in love with her, and even more so after she was nice to him when he looked like an old lady. He overkissed her, being dumb and hormonal, and explained that he loved her a lot and she really needed a helper to multiply how wonderful her garden was. He changed back into his own form, I guess, and no more's said of them. I guess that mean's they're happy .."
A long silence, and lot of scrapping took place. "You wish for your son to be like Bertumnus, when he chooses a mate, and not ..."
"No, that's not it. I've always liked that story."
"It is a beautiful story. How one can be so caught up with making their life beautiful, that they don't realize how much a family could enrich their lives .." His hand left my stomache, and supported me on the couch around my waist. No more was said about predelictions. I was glad. I placed my head under his chin, and sat comfortable, until I absolutely had to go the bathroom. As always, he helped me up and helped me lie back down, hoping over the back of the couch to regain his place with his head ontop my chin and an arm around my waist.
Vertumnus decided it was due time to come out in July, and was born on Independence Day. He looked like any other baby might, except for his mouth and his pitch black complexion. It seems unatural, many said, not seeing into his mouth, or he would have been "OHAGH!" instead. Also, he was unatturally big and healthy. All of the Earth Baby Classes friends that hadn't given birth yet held him dearly, and all of my other "normal" friends held him, smiling and saying, "Oh, he's so beautiful .." Even his fingernails were black. This, a doctor told me, was just a very strange mutation. He wanted to do some research, but left me alone after hearing, "I don't intend, nor do I wish, to see the father again. I'm raising this kid on my own."
Poor, poor, POOR Go'ma had to wait three days before he could safely hold Vertumnus, though he had stood by my side, holding a hand whenever he could, or stroking him while he was in my arms. I felt the post-birthing depression harder then I anticipated, but healthily so. I was over it in enough time to repeatedly ask Go'ma what was going to happen next, what next, after that?
I couldn't see him, unless I saw a glare off his amor once and awhile, but he did place his hand on my face while at the hospital, feeling my face. I could hear the rustling as he felt the back of Vert's head. He didn't say anything, and remained quiet. The only thing he said to Vert, in the first days, to my recollection, was "You are so human .." I'm not sure wethere this was good or bad, but I reminded him that Vert was a cross breed, after all. "Uh .." was his sharp reply.
What now? What now? What afterwards? I kept pestering Go'ma in this way.
"That's for the council to decide .." He had become very gruff, after Verto was born. Very distant. And before the "meeting," Emeril mixed in with the baby's cries. Verto liked being held by Go'ma more then me, or maybe he was just trying to make the right "connections" before his dad went off to the meeting with the council. As if to prep his dad with a pre-made opening and closing. "This little being loves me very much .. Verto is very calm, when I hold him, and is a very cute little bugger, you see .."
Bravely, I asked him, "You love me, don't you?"
He growled at me, like I had just taunted him. "What kind of thing to say!"
"Do you?"
... "It's not as if I can't .." It was as if I had called him a monster.
I wanted to throw a knife at him, or a hair dryer. Maybe the large stack of Blessing cards on my knight stand. But I waited, reminding myself of all the cultural barriers we were treading on. It was hard, and I did good for a pregnant lady. "Hey! Do you?"
"I do," he said finally, before turning away with Verto. He never asked me what I thought of him, though. Perhaps, and this is a long shot at me guessing his feelings, he was too afraid of the answer. And suddenly, I knew what the wife from Fiddler on the Roof had felt, when her husband asked her if she loved him. If this isn't love, all I've done for you .. what is? If all we've been through with eachother hasn't caused love, what will? She must have felt an awful lot like Go'ma.
Go'ma recieved orders to take Verto and me with him to Port Atley, a street with lots of homeless people and cops. "It's not a part of their reality," he kept reminding me. "So don't make it one."
The ship came, only I had no one to wave a hankerchief at. Only homeless people and different assortments of unhealthy people were living about, and a few cops looked up. And that was it. Go'ma walked on ahead and onto this ship with his superiors and a friend, Chitlagh, leaving Verto and me with a doctor, who made little conversation and didn't assume I knew a word of Yaujuttan. I couldn't wait to surprise him, in fact.
Once inside, you couldn't feel the affects of Mock sixteen or whatever it was, but I had an inkling we wouldn't wait around for a car to drive into the ship or something like that before pulling into more familiar territory. The doctor lead me to his inspecton room, and stuck a few needles into him. No setative, that I could see, and Verto balled like the baby he was. "What are you doing?" I demanded in english, and then reworded in Yaujuttan.
The doctor's head tilted to one side, "You speak Yaujuttan .. that is good." He held up a metalic stick. "I am giving him shots, so he will grow stronger. And probing him, now, for disfunctionality." He made it to the eyes, and made a delighted chirp. "Ahhh .. glasses. My great-grandfather needed glasses ... back then it was not rare.." Seeing my glance, he looked surprised. I remembered what Go'ma had told me about looking into their eyes, and looked away. "... If he proves himself a better man with glasses, that will be ..amusing." At the end of his tests, Verto was handed promptly to me. "Healthy, for a halfling .. but for his eyes. Handsomer, luckily for him." What did the other half-breeds have? I wondered. A mandable sticking out of their cheek? Olive green and black-spotted skin? A slitted nose? I held Verto closer— I wouldn't have cared .. okay, maybe a little .. I didn't let myself wander there, but followed someone to The Human Room.
The Human Room wasn't what I was expecting. The furniture was all grand chocolate brown wood, and not chrome. Starry Starry Night and Sunflowers post cards layed on a knight stand, which held a lamp decked out in leapord print, instead of skulls or odd art-deco sculptures and a long light bulb hanging from the ceiling. A crib was in the corner, and all the things I had already packed for Jr. I had to wonder how good of a mommy they thought I was, exactly. The room was awfully clishe, in all of its components— even the overly mediacized "art." I wondered who had decorated it all ... Would I move up, according to my son's status? Maybe I'd get to choose my own bed sheets, after he killed his first couple Aliens. Verto didn't like the Human Room either. He was restless, wanting up, down, milk, no milk, dad, DAD, DAD!
DAD came a long time after boarding. I had thought I wouldn't be able to sleep, with all the trouble Verto was giving me, ontop of my anxiety about what would happen to us once the meeting was over. But somewhere between coming to the Human Room and leaving the Human Room, Go'ma slid into bed next to me. "What'd they say?" I asked sleepily. I couldn't hear what he said, though, and fell back asleep. When I was awake enough to hear him, my heart pounded like the first time Go'ma took off his mask infront of me.
"We will stay here, and together." The next thing he did, after telling me this, was help lift me up, and took me to the window, which had been closed by white plastic blinds. "This room's pretty tacky .." he commented, before opening up the blinds. There were stars— millions of them, off in the distance. They were brighter, with lack of city lights and such. I saw a shooting star, but I couldn't think enough to make a wish. He had to remind me. I wish, I thought aloud, that Vertumnus will be happy.
Go'ma brought verto to look at the stars too, even though he protested with a tight brow and wails. "You'll miss them, one day," Go'ma told him, before placing him back down into his crib. Verto had been to the stars, and the castle, yet remained unphased. So what? He seemed to say, with all the attitude of a thirteen year old boy who's gone to Disney Land once every year since he could walk. Mean while, I was thunderstruck..
A hand went up over my shoulder, and then fingered my neck. "I suppose you've got your wish, about coming to the stars. It's not that big of a wish. The one you made, a second ago— that's a big wish." It sounded like he was reading Dr. Zeus.
"A new council member is being decided .."
I turned to look at him. He didn't mean that he was a part of the deciding, did he? Could he be one?
"One for the cross breeds. And that will change a lot of things .."
"Like what?" I asked.
"Like how people will see us."
"Oh .." I felt tired, suddenly. "Will he go back to earth?"
"No. There are enough on earth, and the other mother doesn't want to come here, I've heard, so .. we're the dependent, father, Yaujutta .. male."
"Dependent because it's not like the first, right?"
He nodded.
"And you're the Yaujutta, we're raising him here, and he's a boy."
A nod again.
"Oh .. okay."
"You're still tired," he noted, before helping me back into bed. "I smell like you, now."
"I'm sorry," I apologized, before pulling the covers up over my chin.
He laughed, and then sat down in a chair by the crib. "Good night. Sweet dreams, Peg-uh-sus." Verto let out a grumpy SHUT UP ALREADY!
We obeyed, and the stars kept passing by,
A/n. The Greatest Boba Fett Fan- All of my family is weak. I don't know anyone who doesn't really need glasses, down where I'm from. Thanks for the compliment. Tehee. gets a big head Woohoo!
Mystic Blade- Yeah .. it makes me cry, it's so beautiful.
Lulillo- thank you so much for your compliment!
Thank you all for your reviews. Next are tribulatiulations a plenty!