“Hey, Elksia…”
“Oh, hey, sis! What’s up?”
Elksia had been very excitable, but that excitement was clearly hiding some nerves. The news that Elksia wanted a kid and was making all the plans had quickly spread around Savepoint, and pretty much everyone had wished her good luck. Right now though, she was on her own, wearing very little and sitting by the lake, and Phovos had taken this opportunity to approach her.
“I wanted to have a quick chat with you. And say congratulations, of course. You’re glowing already.”
Elksia inspected Phovos as she sat down. “You know already?”
“I’m a Life Goddess, so yeah. You timed that pretty damn well. Second try and you’re egg-ridden, or whatever it is you call it.”
“Expectant. Egg-ridden is a Rethan word.”
“Yeah. Apparently little Ret was egg-ridden when they arrived here, but the poor thing lost the egg from all the stress.”
Elksia frowned. “I… I saw some strings for that. None of them worked though. Probably for the best. The strings weren’t great. And Ret wasn’t ready.”
“And you are?” Phovos asked.
“Yeah. 100%. It’s finally happening. Everyone’s uncertain though. You’re not. You’re on Sini’s side.”
Phovos shrugged. “I’m pleased for you. This is what you want. And, admittedly, I’m being Life Goddess-y right now. Everyone else though, it’s a bit of a shock because, well, no one else can really have kids out here. Like, outside of the Rethans? I think it’s just technically Teekay and one of the two twins who could theoretically have a healthy, viable kid. And I don’t want to go into inter-universal compatibility or interspecies sex.”
Elksia snickered. “Hah. Interspecies sex. When you’re talking to me.”
“Well, interspecies sex when it comes to having kids. Sini was vaguely annoyed when I told her Elkay refuses to have kids at all with Teekay, even if they did it somewhat safely and had Elkay be the mother. They were making their sex life less pleasurable by using ultra thick condoms for safety, until all the Threanics bought them unbreakable thin ones.”
“Oh…” Elksia suddenly paused. “Me and Tenuk, we haven’t used condoms in ages. Didn’t see a point. And Tenuk wondered if he could. Some Kronospasts could have hybrid kids. But according to Tenuk, they were much older than him. Like, generations older.”
Phovos shrugged. “Tenuk’s not that old for a Kronospast. Same age as me. You need to be ancient to know how to shapeshift your sperm into something compatible with another species. You also kinda need to know a lot about biology and genetics to make it work. Tenuk’s former royalty and also self-exiled himself to be with what most Kronospasts considered lesser races. He didn’t really have a chance to learn to do that sort of thing.”
“I guess. Still, I love him no matter what. And I’m surprised too. He’s been so kind and caring. And totally into the having a baby thing. I used to think he didn’t want to. But he does.”
“He’s been really supportive, and I’m surprised too!” Phovos smiled. “He’s grown up.”
“My Tennypoo is a thousand years old.”
“Yeah but he’s a Kronospast. They spend like the first two thousand years of their lives partying and being assholes…” Phovos trailed off, then sighed to herself. “Still, I won’t admit, I’m a little worried about you.”
“How comes?”
“Well, I don’t completely understand what it’s like for Vrekans, but for Ksithans? Having a kid is dangerous. And we normally heavily seclude ourselves and have places to hide…”
Phovos wriggled her fingers and summoned a small item. It looked like a stone but it had a thin line around it. Phovos presented the stone to Elksia, which turned out to be hollow and hinged. Inside was a small switch.
“So, firstly, small explanation. I’ve been trying to work out what sort of Life Goddess I am. I’m definitely not like Sini. I’m not like Epani either, I don’t want to make a universe and look after that. But I’m also not completely closed off from Life Goddess ways the same way Elkay-En is-”
“Oh, I forgot you have a brother now!” Elksia giggled.
“Hah, yeah. It’s… stupid. And he’s so traumatised that he’ll probably never become a powerful Life Goddess. But as for me? Well… I’ve been working on my powers. Life Goddesses aren’t just about making biological life. The name is a bit of a misnomer because Life Goddesses make everything apart from time. And it turns out, the thing I am sort of based on is… creating pocket dimensions. So I made one for you.”
Elksia paused then looked Phovos up and down. “Why?”
“My very first life, I was briefly pregnant. I don’t remember how, I think I was attacked or something… Things were very rough when I was young. But I desperately needed and craved somewhere to hide away, out of sight of everyone else. I found a tiny cave and made it my sanctuary. It was my safe space. And when I was attacked by someone else, I hid in there for days until the coast was clear.
“In the end, I don’t think I was actually pregnant, and if I was, I was very early and had a miscarriage. But that safe space kept me sane. It made me feel better. I don’t know how Vrekans get with both carrying the egg and waiting for it to hatch, but I wanted to make a space for you where you could also be completely safe.”
Phovos flicked the switch, and a shimmering white and blue portal appeared. She lifted Elksia to her feet, then led her through the portal.
Inside was a small cave filled with luscious fern plants, with a small, trickling waterfall and pond to one side and a large pile of fabric on the other, what most Vrekans would use to make a nest. The cave was lit by tiny motes, which seemed to be some sort of floating plant pollen. There was also, weirdly, a small refrigerated chest filled with snacks.
“You… made all this for me?”
“Yeah. Elksia, you deserve all the happiness in the world. You also deserve a safe space to have your kid. I don’t expect you to use this place or anything, really, I don’t want you to. But I want you to have somewhere you can go if you feel like you’re in danger, or if you just want to escape for a bit. It’s all here, at the flick of a switch. This is the least I can do for you.”
Elksia blinked, then rubbed her eyes. “I… I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
Phovos shrugged, then put an arm around Elksia, putting the stone in her hand. “It’s fine. It’s the least I can do. Just flick the switch up to open the portal and flick it down to close the portal again. Nice and easy.”
“Thank you…” Elksia repeated herself. “You’re the best, Phovos.”
“Nah. You’re the best. I’m gonna leave you to it now. Have a good one, alright?”
Elksia nodded her head. Phovos patted Elksia on the shoulder, then headed off, leaving Elksia alone in her new nest.