Ret and Kuta weren’t supposed to be out and about right now. For reasons unknown, the Thantir had rather strict curfews and bed times for the younger members, as well as an insistence that everyone got five hours of sleep or rest for every fifteen hours they were awake. But for reasons neither Ret nor Kuta could really explain, they really, really wanted to see the baby Beh’evok that had been hidden inside a ship that had nearly crashed into the Thantir’s base.
Currently, Vikalos and Galyn were looking after the baby. At one point, Galyn did raise a child Beh’en, but it was a very long time ago and his memories had faded somewhat. As far as Ret and Kuta were concerned, Vikalos knew how to do pretty much anything, including child-rearing, despite never being able to produce children himself. That being said, the baby Beh’en had started crying an hour ago after Galyn fed it, and it was still making a lot of noise. Ret silently believed that maybe he and Kuta could help.
But getting out after curfew was somewhat tricky. All six of Kal, the strange, round, mechanical beings that ran most of the purification side of things, never seemed to sleep, and they were patrolling the area. Vikalos was also somewhat nearby, but was distracted. Kuta was pretty sure that Litvir had picked up on Kuta and Ret’s intentions, and was having small talk with Vikalos as cover for them.
As they approached the recovery room that had been set aside for the baby, Kuta silently informed Ret that Galyn was still in there with the baby. While yes, Kuta was hiding their presence with their telepathy, and Ret as using his light powers to make them both invisible, all they could do was wait for Galyn to leave. A quick telepathic glance did suggest that Galyn was getting somewhat tired and would want a break soon.
While they waited for Galyn to give in, Ret did admittedly have a question for Kuta, but he held onto it until the path was clear. Galyn did eventually give in and stepped out of the room, letting Kuta sneak in by dragging both themselves and Ret through a nearby shadow and into a shadow inside the room.
The baby Beh’en continued to cry, not really acknowledging the appearance of two new strangers. Ret approached, as gently as he could, then inspected the tiny thing. At about 30cm long, it just about fit in Ret’s hands. It had natural armour plating like Kuta and Ret did, but its skin was pitch black and the plating was an iridescent blue, purple and pink colour.
“Is it male or female?” Kuta whispered. “I do not think it is intersex like we are.”
“I do not know. But it looks… a little bloated. Maybe it has gas? Might be a little cold too.”
Ret hesitated a little, then cautiously picked up the baby Beh’en, holding it so its stomach was resting on Ret’s palm. Taking two fingers, Ret carefully patted the baby’s upper back. After a few taps, the baby burped twice and immediately stopped crying.
Of course, the sudden lack of crying meant that Galyn instantly returned to the room.
“You two should not be here!”
“But we wanted to help the baby!” Kuta protested as Ret put the baby back in its bed and tucked it in.
“Then you should have asked!” Galyn snapped. “That is-”
“A baby, yes. Something Retvik and I have some experience dealing with.”
Galyn paused, then turned to the crib. The baby Beh’en seemed quite content and cosy now. It opened its eyes, glanced up at Ret and Kuta, then giggled.
“Alright, how the fuck did you make the baby stop crying?” Galyn eventually sighed.
“It had gas.”
“How did you know?”
Ret shrugged. “When I was younger, I was in a relationship with someone who had three kids, one of which was a baby. Sometimes babies cannot make themselves burp, so I helped it.”
“Between the ages of 14 to 17, when we were mortal, Litvir and I were used as slaves, essentially, and we had to look after and feed our younger baby siblings.”
Galyn stared at Kuta. Ret also gave them an odd look. Kuta however just shrugged.
“Mine and Litvir’s mother, the monster that he was, he basically formed an army made up of their own enslaved children, many of which were made into monsters via illegal experimentation. Those who were not completely hideous beings, like Litvir and myself, we had to look after the kids under a year old…” Kuta fell silent for a moment. “I am so glad that I got to relive my life as a small, mutant orphan rather than going through that again. Either way, our presence must be fine because the Time Drakes did not stop us!”
Galyn paused again. “That… is a really good point… Also, your mortal life sounded horrible.”
“It was, but Litvir and I did at least kill Siona before he could do any real harm to actual innocent people!” Kuta smiled ever so slightly. “But Kyr Galyn, you really should not be doing this on your own. A child is raised by everyone, yes? Let us help. And tell Itaviir that he is not the father of this baby.”
“Why?”
“Because Itaviir is so upset that even I can sense his nerves?” Ret suggested. “The stress is bad for you.”
“We are ancient beings, we-”
“Does not matter!” Ret tutted. “Let us help. Especially Kayel, since he retrained for L-Class and secretly wishes to put that training to good use. And Elksia and old Tenuk also want kids and they want to help too. At the very least let Kuta and I give you and Kyr Vikalos a short break or something.”
Galyn took a deep, somewhat angry breath, but he did quickly relent. “Annoyingly, you are absolutely right. Very well. I… could do with some peace and quiet for a bit. I will go and tell Vikalos that you two are looking after the baby for a bit. If it gets hungry, grab some milk and sugar from the vending machines and feed it that, with the bottle on the side.”
After briefly inspecting the baby, Galyn finally left, slowly calming down.
Once the coast was clear, Ret and Kuta glanced at each other. The baby Beh’en giggled a little.
“I will go and fill some bottles with milk, so we have them on hand…” Kuta eventually muttered. “You stay here and rock the baby to sleep.”
“Will do. See you in a second, dear.”
Ret did as he was told, watching as Kuta disappeared through a shadow.
“Do not worry, little one,” Ret smiled. “You are in safe hands…”