“See, that was not too bad, was it?”
Litvir glanced around awkwardly, not really paying attention to Gath’s words. There was a lot on Litvir’s mind, mostly the fact that they were supposed to be heading back to their patrols soon but they had been delayed on their flight with Gath and were probably going to end up late.
“What was not too bad?”
“The flight!”
“Oh. Yes. It was alright, I guess. Very loud though.”
Gath shrugged as they lumbered along. “It was loud?”
“Yes. But it might be because I am young. Younger people have better hearing.”
“I guess. Either way, it was not too bad in the end! Let us pick up the pace, get through security, get our luggage then make our way to mum and dad’s place!”
“Yes, mama…”
Gath headed off, somewhat slowly, making their way to a security booth. While Thresisa was a neutral world mostly under Rethan jurisdiction, the space port was a truly neutral space. But that meant that Rethans had their own security lines, because most of them wore metal armour and carried weapons. Gath was no exception – while they had not brought their standard ceremonial gun-staff, they were carrying both a General’s Blade and their partnership dagger.
Litvir focused properly on Gath. They noticed that Gath looked… heavier than normal. And they were waddling a bit.
“Mama, are you alright?” Litvir asked.
“I am alright! I am just a little tired and have a little stomach ache. I often do when I travel.”
“But you slept for most of the flight.”
“Only to make time go quicker. I get bored on long flights.”
“I guess…”
Security was a breeze, mostly because the flight had been mostly empty and there weren’t many Rethans around. However, as they reached the luggage collection point, Litvir realised they had been meaning to do something for a while.
“Mama, I, uh… I kinda need to go bathroom.”
Gath eyed Litvir. “Have you been holding it in again?”
“Yes. I… I forget. And I was distracted by the flying stuff.”
“That is fine. I could do with going to the bathroom myself. Mum always said to never skip a chance to use a bathroom.”
Gath waddled off, towards the bathrooms. There were a handful of Torr nearby, confused by the unisex bathrooms, but Gath ignored them and stomped in, dragging Litvir with them.
Litvir took a while in the bathroom, they always did, because they were admittedly still young and were overly careful to make sure not to drip on anything. Gath was in and out rather quickly though, and they swiftly washed their hands and headed back outside. Rethans weren’t known to spend long in public toilets once they were adults, public toilets were meant for waste and nothing else.
Litvir also tried to finish up as fast as possible, once they were certain they hadn’t made any mess. They washed their hands thoroughly, but a stray thought had caught Litvir’s attention. Gath was still outside but they were suddenly in a bit of pain?
“All done, kid?”
“Yes, mama.”
“Good!” Gath smiled. “Alright. Let us go and get our luggage. Well. My luggage. Do you mind getting it for me?”
Litvir nodded, then took Gath’s hand. From what they could tell, the pain had subsided, and Gath was walking better again. They made their way to the luggage collection area, and Gath’s bright yellow suitcase was easy to see. Litvir rushed over, grabbed it, then raced back to Gath’s side. All that was left now was to head through the declaration gates and get to the pick-up area, where Gath’s parents were waiting for them.
Thankfully, the pick-up area was also mostly empty. The flight had been quiet, so that was to be expected. Kazim and Lesii had spotted Gath almost immediately, but Gath didn’t make their way over. Instead, they headed to a bench off to one side. Litvir noticed that pain had come back and, worse, Gath was walking weird.
“Mama?” Litvir asked as Gath sat down. “Are you alright?
“Ugh… Not really…”
Gath was clutching their stomach and muttering to themselves and, after a few seconds, they got up off the bench and sat down on the cold floor.
“Mama!” Litvir exclaimed. “What is wrong? Do I need to take you to the hospital? I do not know where the hospital is though!”
Gath took a deep breath, remaining oddly calm. They reached for a pocket in the front of their suitcase, opened it up and pulled out a plastic sheet that had been folded up.
“Mama!”
Gath grunted, pointing at several locations across the hall. “Calm down, Litvir. Go bring my parents over, then go to that booth over there, speak to the security guard and tell them there is a 663 situation occurring. They will understand.”
Litvir hesitated, then did as they were told. They felt a little bit bad that they barely said hello to Lesii and Kazim, but they were more worried about Gath. The security guard also seemed a little concerned, and Litvir got more worried when the security guard called for other security guards and for a medic, doubly so since the guard seemed to be distracting Litvir somewhat.
However, as Litvir rushed back to where Gath was sitting, they realised what was going on. Lesii was holding Gath’s hand, Kazim was kneeling next to them, a hand on Gath’s back, keeping them steady. A medic had arrived and was checking things over. But most importantly, on that little plastic sheet, there was a small, round egg.
Gath very gently placed their free hand over the top of the egg, feeling it for any unusual lumps or cracks. After a few moments though, Gath started grinning.
“M-mama?” Litvir whispered. “What… what is going on?”
“I was a little early…” Gath continued to grin. “But everything is fine. That was nowhere as painful as I remember…” Gath trailed off, then looked up at their parents. “Dad, do you mind calling a taxi? I ought to go to the hospital, to get myself and my egg properly checked over.”
“Already done!” Kazim awkwardly smiled. “Do not worry, the painful bit is out of the way now.”
“Oh, definitely. Now we have the scary bit. The waiting…”