There were a lot of large, armoured beings gathered outside this tiny little room, but they were all transfixed buy the small plastic box, and they hardly noticed when yet another large, armoured being joined them. But none of them were important. Not to the small, round egg inside the plastic box.
An egg that was about to hatch.
The first little wobbles had started about an hour ago. That was when the nursery staff had called Gath, Relkir, Lesii and Kazim, to come and help. But “help” wasn’t quite the right term. They were there to watch over the egg as it hatched, and then to introduce the baby to the universe.
The wobbling was gentle. It was mostly the baby moving around and breaking the fleshy filaments that held it in place inside the egg, and then it eating up as much of the egg’s contents as possible. It needed all the energy it could get, because the egg shell was very strong and it needed to break through.
After an hour and a half, the first crack appeared. Well, more of a hole. The baby inside had used a sharp strip of their armour on the top of their head to break a hole in the upper top half of the egg. They kept on pushing through that hole until their whole head could fit through. But before they stuck their head out completely, they tasted the air, took a first, deep breath, then retreated back inside for a moment.
The wobbling and the egg cracking continued and intensified. The baby was bashing on the inside of the egg, and was now making the hole much bigger. They needed to, as their breath and the exposure to the air had caused the baby to get a bit bigger, bigger than their egg.
All of a sudden, the egg shook rather violently, and the baby essentially kicked itself out of the egg, causing it to shatter. The baby was now free. Free, alive and confused.
The ground was soft. It was a cushion. A red cushion. The baby didn’t understand what a cushion was. It just knew that it was alive and it needed to breathe. And it was a little hungry. Blinking its eyes, the world around it made no sense at all, but it did see something that made sense. A big version of it. A really, really big version of it.
The very big creature had laid its hand out in front of the baby. Taking a new breath, the baby picked up a scent. It was the same scent the baby had, but stronger and older. It made the baby want to go closer.
While they didn’t have the strength or coordination to stand up, the baby could definitely crawl. So that was what it did. It crawled towards what looked like the hand that belonged to the big creature.
As they got closer, they realised the hand was beckoning it. And it smelled of something else. Food. That was what the baby wanted. Food and warmth and comfort.
The moment the baby crawled onto the hand, those gigantic fingers very gently closed up. The baby flew into the air (at least, that’s what it assumed was happening) and it was suddenly face to face with a very, very big brown creature with shiny yellow eyes. As the baby blinked, it noticed there were two other big creatures. Not as big though. One was red with blue eyes. The other was white with purple eyes. The red one had a smell similar to the big brown one. They both smelled like the baby.
“Hello, little one!” the gigantic being smiled. The baby had no idea what it was saying. It understood that the sounds were being made towards it. It occurred to the baby that this colossal being was its mum, and that it was going to look after the baby.
The baby blinked a few more times, then chirped, acknowledging its mum.
“Are you hungry?”
More blinks, followed by a squeaking sound. The really big creature brought a finger close. On it was some sort of paste. It smelled tasty, so the baby started licking it up. It tasted tasty too. Before long, the food paste was gone and that feeling in the baby’s belly was gone as well. Now it was feeling better, it snuggled up more in what was clearly its guardian’s hand, and let out some content little squeaks.
Gath held in tears as they gently stroked their tiny little baby. Relkir and Litvir remained close, full of thoughts. Litvir in particular desperately wanted to touch their little sibling, but they had been told to only let Gath touch the baby for the next few hours, and when they were told why, they understood a little too well.
“They… they look a lot like me…” Relkir whispered. “But they are quite big for a freshly hatched baby.”
“They do. They will be big and strong, like me!” Gath smiled. “They do not have your eyes though… they have red eyes. And your same gold higher-caste trims. We basically made a mini-you!”
“Also they want more food…” Litvir muttered.
Relkir snorted a little, then put some more nutrient paste on Gath’s free hand, so they could feed the baby. The baby cheerfully licked up all the paste, then settled down, yawning a little.
“My little darling, are you alright?” Gath spoke to the baby.
The baby guessed that its mummy was addressing it, so it squeaked.
“Good. My little baby, I want you to know that me and your daddy and your big sibling, we will raise you and protect you and, most importantly, we will love you, no matter what. We promise.”
“We promise…” Relkir repeated. The baby briefly looked up at Relkir and squeaked some more, before looking back at Gath.
“Now, my tiny little kid, do you want to know your name?”
A happy chirp. The baby didn’t understand anything, but it felt warm and safe and liked that mummy was talking to it. Gath smiled at their baby and gently patted it on the head, then held it close.
“Welcome to the universe, Retvik. May its light shine brightly on you.”