Chapter 21

I rubbed my face from beads of sweat rolling down my cheeks. It was early morning but it was already hotter than the midday in Faron. The fire was put out and Ghirahim sat by Catto's side and held her hand. Her eyes were closed but she wasn't sleeping. She was baring through whatever pain she was in.

"What's going on?" I asked concerned.

"She needs water, shes going to be having the baby soon," Ghirahim explained. He was surprisingly calm.

"Where can I find water? It's a desert." I looked around to see if anything in the distance outside the cave could help.

"M-my cabin." Catto gritted through her teeth and squeezed Ghirahim's hand tight. "I have a lot of basins. It's fresh- a lot may have evaporated by now." her sentences were choppy due to her pain. Ghirahim snapped his fingers and I was expecting him to disappear, but instead, my surroundings flashed and I was on the plateau with a giant skeleton and an old forgotten shack. Of course, he didn't want to leave her side. But I thought we couldn't teleport right now. I walked into the cabin there were a lot of pots and basins around. Many of which were bone dry. A few had cork lids and I popped them off. A reflective glaze covered to bottoms and I saw some ripples within it. I managed to pour any water I found into one basin, but it still wasn't enough for what we needed for. I popped the cork back on the top and left it inside while I went toward the area I took that sapling from before.

Once I got on the small island I tapped the crystal. The small robot's skeleton disappeared entirely and I was alone. I was able to break a piece of crystal and bring it over to the edge of the small island I was on. The current of sand rushing around me turned to water as I approached it. I dipped my hand in and tasted. It was fresh. I snapped my finger and brought the basin to me. I dipped it in and pulled the now heavy, full container back up. I popped the cork back on quickly to keep it from evaporating. I had a good three or four gallons. It was heavy, I didn't know how I was going to lug this back if I couldn't teleport directly to the cave. I'd have to get as near as possible without giving away the location.

I hugged the large basin in front of me and walked back over to the cabin. I tapped the crystal close to the dragon and had it light the area to life.

He wasn't looking well. Many of his little robot friends gathered around him. He lifted his head from a very restful position to see me.

"Time travel girl." He spoke with some excitement. I didn't know why he called me that. I assumed it was from the time-shift stones, but he was used to that from Catto, what made me different? "I hope you are doing much better now? You look a lot happier, I suppose I helped more than I thought." I raised my brows at him in confusion. I suppose the last time I was here, I was a bit of a mess emotionally from finding my mom, but he didn't do much to help. "I see..." he seemed to have read into my reaction a bit. "You need my help?"

"Actually, I was just checking in. But if you can help that would be great." I answered.

"I am willing if I am able." He then went into a large coughing fit.

"I can't teleport, but I need to take the water to Catto as soon as possible. She's in a cave close to the entrance of the demon city."

"Master Thunder Dragon- bzzt." A robot interjected. "Our calculations express that you are exerting much -zrrt-energy into this conversation. You will have your last week come to an early end if you do not conclude "

"Last week?" I questioned.

"It is not much of a 'last few days' if I must lie around and await my fate."

"But, ztttttst, sir-"

"I need one of you to fly our guest over with her basin to our dearest friend, Catto." He ordered.

"Take her to the western outskirts and leave her just below the Dueling Peaks." Two robots stepped forward and one took the water from me and the other grabbed me under my arms, "but first, please go assume some crystal to take with you." A few more went to chip off some shards and connected them to the robots.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." I thanked graciously.

"You must know, I'm not doing this for free" He added. Oh goodness, what could he want? "All I ask is for you to return within the week and to tell me how my dearest Catto is holding up after she gets that water." That was no problem at all. I nodded in agreement. "Well, off you go now. Don't keep her and the little one waiting." The robots took off with me into the sky, the water next to me. It was a long flight back to where Catto and Ghirahim were. I stayed quiet in thought throughout the journey. I also realize that he never knew Catto was pregnant, I didn't mention it, so how did he know about the "little one?"

The air felt much hotter with the altitude, unfortunately. We weren't high enough for a cool breeze like Skyloft. It continued to burn my skin and I could only suffer through the discomfort as we soared through the sky across the desert. It was a long journey, much farther than what we walked yesterday. But the speed of flying over everything made up for the time.

I looked into the distance and the landscape slowly came into focus. The heat gave the mountains a watercolor appearance, with colors flowing over each other. It was hard to focus and I squinted from the brightness of the yellow sand. I could make out the tops of two mountains parallel to each other. I didn't notice them before from the walk, they were so tall and I wasn't paying any attention until we got to the destination. Now that I could watch the mountains grow, it seemed unnatural with how both the mountains fit together. Part of me knew that it was just a natural phenomenon of the geography of the surface, but it was still quite incredible to be able to wittiness their magnificence.

When we arrived after the extensive flight, the robots lowered me down and handed me the water. I quickly carried it towards the cave. I approached and Ghirahim walked out to keep me from entering.

"In a minute." He instructed. But the water was heavy.

"Well take this in there for her!" I exclaimed and began to hand it to him. His legs buckled slightly under the weight.

"I can't. She's-she's checking something and asked me to wait out here." He looked anxious and held tight to the water.

"Well, when will she be done?"

"I'm done! Please, someone, bring me some water!" Catto screamed. Her voice was cracking in between shouts of pain. We hurried in and I soaked a rag in water to put it on her head and Ghirahim cupped his hands to have her sip from them. She was clenching her fists tightly.

"I'm almost ready to start pushing. I need one person to stay and help." She hissed at us. I felt uncomfortable. I didn't know anything about the birthing process. Ghirahim looked just as astonished at her instruction as I did. However, he nodded and swallowed some fear.

"I can do this." He assured. I wish I was as confident as he sounded.

"I'll help with keeping you cool and giving you water. I just don't think I can do much more medically." I explained. She nodded and reached out her hand and I grabbed it. She squeezed it. She let out loud intermittent screams while she clenched my hand tighter.

Ghirahim stood at her bottom with her legs propped on his shoulders. He exhibited absolute fear and just held his hands out as if the baby was going to fall from the sky. He looked completely repulsed by the situation at hand. I tried to keep my eyes away from her private area. I was neither curious nor interested in seeing what could be happening. I just tried to wipe the sweat off her face and keep her hands in mine.

When she began to push, her face was squished and she gritted through her pain. This seemed far worse than whatever was happening before. My hands were getting bruised from her tight grip. I tried to smile to be a little light in this crazy moment.

Ghirahim yelped and then gained some composure. "Th-there's a head I think... it has hair."

Catto looked as if she was trying to smile in relief. She let out a soft scream and continued to push. Ghirahim placed hands down and looked like he was trying to maneuver something. I kept myself shielded from what was happening; by the sounds that were coming from her body, I am sure it was quite disgusting.

"The head is out. You're almost there." He announced. She let out a final scream and looked like she exerted every last bit of energy she had into pushing the baby out. A muffled choke could be heard and a few moments later a cry broke out around the tunnel. It echoed and Catto held my hand and skilled at the ceiling. I looked back and Ghirahim had something in his hands. But he looked as if he was sick. "There is so much unknown substance that splashed all over me, I quite honestly might vomit." He grabbed a rag from the backers and wiped off the blob that he was holding.

It didn't look like a person, human or demon. It looked like an alien if I was being honest with myself. He wrapped it up and handed it to Catto. "It's a boy." He said. Catto was panting and crying in relief as she lied there holding my new brother in her arms. She wiped stray tears away and tried to calm herself down. An umbilical cord still connected the two to them together but that didn't seem to bother her. I tried to get a good look at him. I could only make out the thin layer of dark hair that stuck to his oddly shaped head. Catto rubbed the head gently and tried to calm down the crying that still echoed in the cave.

"Is he alright?" I asked her, referring to how deformed he looked.

"He's perfect." She sighed in pure affection. She couldn't get her eyes off him. I didn't feel happy, which I felt I should be. "He looks a lot like you." She grinned at me. I was slightly insulted and Ghirahim let out a chuckle while he wiped himself clean. "I meant when you were a baby." She corrected. I still couldn't believe I looked anything like that thing at any point in my life.

"You have a name," Ghirahim stated. He wasn't asking, he was reminding her. She nodded and happy tears flowed once again.

"Donavan." She answered. I raised my brow at her.

"That's a weird name. Does it have a special meaning?" I interjected meticulously. She smiled down at the tiny face.

"It's a name from my world. I just... liked it. I don't know if it has any particular meaning. It's just a name I've wanted to give my son for a while." She seemed to be thinking about something more important. She seemed to have given this name a lot of thought and wanted a son for a while. My face flushed with irritation but I kept it hidden from her. She looked over to Ghirahim who sat quietly at her feet.

"It's fine with me." He shrugged. "I named the last one." He didn't seem too entirely interested. He summoned a small dagger and reached over to cut the cord between Catto and Donovan. He then just sat quietly again watching her calm his cries and give him every bit of her attention. Was Ghirahim jealous? Was I jealous?

"Would you like to hold him?" Catto inquired. I quickly shook my head and distanced myself a bit.

"No. I'm fine, really." I expressed with concern. I was intimidated by such a small fragile creature. It was a lot of work for him to get here, I didn't want to hurt him. Catto looked at me with sympathy and understanding. She looked at Ghirahim next.

"You need to hold him." She instructed. He shook his head quietly.

"I'd rather not. I can admire from him from a distance." He shrugged.

"I wasn't giving you a choice." She told him. "You didn't hold Akomin when you had the chance. This is important." Wow, I didn't know he never held me. It explains a lot.

"I'm telling you that this is not in my interest right now." He snapped at her. He was definitely jealous or frustrated about something.

"And I'm telling you that I don't care if you want to or not, you're going to." She bickered.

"You're not going to change anything by this." He growled, but he reached over and gently lifted the naked baby over from Catto and into his lap. He supported his head with one hand and held the body with the other. He looked blankly at the little person.

Donavan began to choke up as if he was about to cry. He began to let out a few whines. Ghirahim made a look of disgust."Look, he's not happy-"

"Just give him a second." Catto eased. After a few deep breaths, Donavan calmed down a bit. His arms and legs twitched and squirmed around. Ghirahim continued to hold him steady and waited for something to happen.

"He has blue eyes." Ghirahim stayed.

"Most babies do." Catto giggled. "They will change when they get older."

"No, he has your kind of blue eyes." He disagreed. I wouldn't say that his heart was completely softened by the moment that he had with his baby, but I think he gained a newer understanding of something he didn't want to think about before. He didn't say much, but he was hypnotized by the small movements of the baby staring back at him. "He's human too."

"Is that all?" Catto egged. Ghirahim looked back at her. He nodded which wasn't the answer she was hoping for. He slowly placed Donavan back on top of her and then lied down on the floor. Catto carefully reached over to the basket and grabbed another rag. She wrapped him gently with the rag and used the rest as cushions for him to lay in the basket. I helped Catto drink some water and sit up.

The rest of the day continued with many screams and cries making it go fairly slow. The heat and small annoyances made everything feel like the day was drug out. Catto tried to feed Donavan a few time but she got extremely frustrated he wouldn't latch correctly. I think even when he did, it wasn't much and she got very down on herself for it.

I felt bad that I wasn't helping more. I wanted to keep my distance and avoid the two of them as much as possible. I could tell it bothered Catto. Ghirahim was on a similar page that I was, yet Catto was determined to get him to be more involved. It was tedious but hopefully, as time went on and as Donavan grew, maybe we'd all feel a bit closer and like a family. We would all be safe in the city. We wouldn't be alone anymore. We could live an almost normal life.

We just had to make it that far. There were still two more dawns.

Hello, thank you for supporting my writing by reading all the way to this chapter! Back to a shorter one but the next chapter is going to be a big one. Thank you for all the love and reviews. I've mentioned before that I am working on GhirahimXCatto prequel story, so if that is something you're interested in please leave a review, or just feel free to PM me. I am always open to making conversations with my fans.

Anyways, keep being the lovelies that you are and if you can, continue to read, fav, follow and review, it's all free, most only take a few seconds, and it honestly makes my day so much brighter.

-Iris

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