Vexer almost exploded out of the doors of the Thantir Three and immediately raced across the main courtyard, straight to the living areas, up the stairs to where Elksia’s room was, ignoring the fact that he’d nearly knocked over some red Skyavok-like being and nearly run into Teekay and his husband in the process. The second Vexer had heard that Elksia’s egg was hatching, he was desperate to see it all happen. And, thankfully, thanks to Arkay’s forewarning, he’d made it just in time.
Of course, Vexer wasn’t allowed in the room. No one was, apart from Elksia and Tenuk. But Retvik and Psiksi had made space in the doorway so he could look in. Sini was at the window, also looking in, but at a slightly further distance. Arkay had teleported in from the ship and was floating above and behind Retvik.
The lights were all on, and rather bright. Tenuk was on the bed, watching from a relatively safe distance, but his insanely long tail was even longer than normal, and he was using it as a sort of barrier to stop people entering. Elksia wasn’t on her bed, she was sitting in her nest, her tail curled to one side, with the egg sitting between her legs, her hands hovering above it. She wasn’t touching the egg though. Not yet.
The egg however was definitely doing something. It was wobbling a little, swaying from side to side. The baby inside was trying to get out, breaking through the membranes that held it in place. Most likely, it was also eating the remains of the yolk that it had fed off as it grew.
Slowly though, the little wobbles turned into proper shaking. The baby was knocking on the walls, looking for weak spots. Tiny pecks could be heard, the baby Vrekan’s beak slowly trying to break through.
All of a sudden, a cracking sound was heard. The baby had found its exit. Elksia very gently turned the egg, so that she could see the baby’s beak. It continued to peck and try and make the hole wider. Before long, the hole was large enough for the baby to get its whole face through it. It did however stop trying to break through with its beak. For a moment, the baby retreated back into the egg, before shoving its hands through and tearing through the hole it had made. The egg cracked heavily, and the baby Vrekan pulled itself free.
However, the baby paused, realising it was looking at something. It was looking at its mummy. Elksia smiled at her baby. The baby hesitated, then smiled back. Elksia made a little chirping noise. The baby chirped back, mimicking its mummy. Elksia continued to make bird noises, soothing the baby as she helped it out of the rest of the egg. Once the baby was clear, they tried to stand up. It took a few attempts, but they eventually managed it and wobbled their way into Elksia’s open arms.
Elksia held her little baby gently, pressing them against her chest, showing them where to feed. The baby quickly worked out what to do and began to suckle. Elksia flinched in pain briefly, since the baby bit down a little too hard, but she didn’t really care. She held HER baby gently. Her perfect little baby who was feeding and properly developed.
“He… she… they’re so cute…” Tenuk muttered. “They look exactly like you but tiny… Kinda expected them to have some of Vexer’s black, they’re just all green, like you. Also… I can’t tell from here, is it a boy or a girl?”
“It’s a little girl…” Elksia smiled.
“So… you’re happy with the name we picked out?”
Elksia nodded. She gently patted the baby on the back. This made the baby burp. It seemed full and satisfied and let go, allowing Elksia to hold it up.
“Hello, my little angel! Do you want to know your name?”
The baby chirped. It didn’t understand, it was just happy Elksia was talking to it.
“Wonderful! Reksi Eliza Ksiou, welcome to the universe!”
“You mean, the multiverse!” Tenuk teased.
“Hah, you know what I mean. And so will Reksi!” Elksia giggled. She was trembling a bit, somewhat nervous about the long future ahead of her, but overall, Elksia was mostly happy.
“Hang on!” a voice squeaked from the doorway. “You named your baby after me and Retvik?”
Tenuk smiled. “Yeah. It was Elksia’s idea, and I really liked it.”
“But…” Psiksi stuttered. “I… I never really did anything.”
“You literally revitalised us Dessaron, brought us back together and gave the depressed death god a small glimmer of hope that everything would be alright in the end!” Tenuk explained. “Before you turned up at like 6am one day, holding Arkay’s old rifle, Retvik, Elksia and I were considering going our separate ways, permanently. Elksia and I wouldn’t even be together had you not brought us back.”
“I… I guess…”
Retvik patted Psiksi on the back. “I think it is a lovely name, and I am honoured that you partially named your kid after me. In return, I pledge myself to protect little Reksi. Of course, we all will, but I promise I will protect you and your kid, Elksia, until she is all grown up. Between all of us, Reksi will grow up into a fine young Vrekan.”
“I’m just glad I got here in time to watch it hatch…” Vexer breathed a sigh of relief. “Also kinda glad that she mostly looks like Elksia.”
“She’s got your red eyes though!” Elksia beamed. “And what’s wrong with you?”
“We’re Vrekans, we’re supposed to be brightly coloured. I’ve always been black and red. Anyway, can we come in and see it up close now?”
“Even better! I’m gonna bring Reksi outside! Gonna show her to everyone! Right, baby?”
Reksi chirped again, then snuggled up in Elksia’s arm, making happy squeaking noises. Elksia used her free arm to pick up a thin blanket, which she wrapped around both herself and the baby before staggering to her feet. Tenuk took Elksia’s hand and led her to the door.
“Come on, everyone! Let’s show Reksi around…”