Monster Girl Island 12 Chapter 6

The anguished grunts and growls of Nadir and Lezan rang out across the beach as the rest of my crew and I waded toward them. Both of the Coonag women now laid with their backs firmly planted in the white sand, with their feet parallel to the ground and their knees up above their pregnant bellies.

Meanwhile, Marella and Valea were on their knees next to the racoon-women as they tried to comfort the expectant mothers through labor. Marella’s hands propped up Nadir by the shoulders, and my daughter massaged the Coonag woman and spoke into her ear. Valea’s approach with Lezan was more straightforward and formal, and the blonde hedgehog woman knelt between Lezan’s knees and inspected her body with a puzzled expression.

All the while Tirian, Cerin, and Bungal simply watched with stern curiosity plastered across their faces.

“We can’t forget about the storm,” I announced as we sloshed through the shin-high water. “It’s definitely safer for Nadir and Lezan to have their babies on land, but we don’t want to just leave them out in the elements. With all the rain and high winds coming our way, we’re gonna need to build a shelter, and we’re gonna need to build it fast.”

“How could we possibly build a shelter?” Kehlaan questioned. “There’s nothing around us but sand and water.”

“You’ve got a lot to learn, kid,” I chuckled. “You see all those giant-ass trees? Those are perfect for making a shelter.”

“But how?” Pae’s brow furrowed with confusion. “Our weapons are much too dull to cut through plants of that size.”

“We won’t have to cut through them,” I noted. “Not with the dragons around, at least… Bungal? Are you up for a little challenge of strength?”

A chance to show off my boisterous physique? Bungal declared. Count me in, Benjamin!

“Ben,” I corrected him with a sigh. “I need you to go take down a bunch of those trees and then bring them to the beach. Tirian and Cerin? Once Bungal brings the logs, I want you to try and cut them in half. We don’t need logs quite that tall.”

Can do, Draco Rex. Cerin nodded.

What about me? Swaer’s pipsqueak-sounding voice asked. What can I do to help?

“Actually, Bungal’s probably going to need some assistance,” I explained. “Between his brute strength and your wind breath, I’m sure we’ll have enough building supplies in no time.”

“Then what?” Alvee huffed. “We’ll just have many big logs. Not exactly a good shelter for rain.”

“That’s where you guys all come in,” I continued. “While the dragons are preparing the logs, I want all of you to go and gather up as much debris from the forest floor as you can possibly find. I’m talking sticks, stones, leaves… Anything.”

“What good will that do us?” Batari questioned.

“The idea is I want to make a teepee style shelter,” I elaborated to my friends as we began to move up onto the sand bank. “Those are always great when you’re in a pinch and don’t have a bunch of time to get a shelter built, but they come with a trade off… They offer great structural support, but the main structure isn’t waterproof whatsoever. Hence why you have to cover every single little nook and cranny with something like a smaller stick or a giant pile of leaves and mud. This will effectively waterproof the thing.”

“There’s a storm coming, though.” Theora raised an eyebrow and quirked her head to the right. “I’m not really sure how much good a bunch of leaves and sticks are going to do against the wind… Will it not just blow away?”

“That’s where our good friend Ahwara comes in.” I smiled and motioned to the Morpho woman. “It stormed all the time on the Morpho womens’ island, and their houses seemed to be at least temporarily stable.”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far,” Ahwara chuckled. “If you remember, the shelters my people made always came crashing down during heavy winds.”

“That’s because you made them as dangling structures,” I explained. “They didn’t really have any support other than the tree branch they were hung from, which itself was a protrusion of the actual tree. Gravity is not kind to those sorts of structures.”

“They worked for us.” Ahwara shrugged.

“I know that.” I nodded. “I’m not knocking what you had. They totally fit the needs of the Morpho people. They were even waterproof, weren’t they?”

“They were,” the orange-haired butterfly-woman confirmed. “Our throatsilk has always kept the water from penetrating the walls of our homes.”

“Exactly.” I grinned and placed my hand on Ahwara’s shoulder. “And that’s what’s going to help get us through the storm. We’ll build the shelter, you can throw a layer of throatsilk over it, and then we can cover it with the sticks and leaves while it’s still gooey. That should keep the rain out and give us enough insulation to keep us warm, at least.”

“What about the wind?” Ahwara continued. “I’ve been through enough storms to know even the weight of our throatsilk won’t be enough to keep the shelter from blowing away.”

“Don’t worry about that.” I winked and then gave her ass a slap. “I’m way ahead of you. All we have to do is dig a couple of holes down deep into the sand so we can bury the ends of the logs as we set the shelter up. If the wind’s strong enough to uproot something that deep into the earth, then we’ve got a lot bigger problems on our hands.”

Ahwara’s face flushed red as a warm smile curved up her lips, and she placed her hand against the small of my back.

“I suppose by now I should know better than to second-guess you,” the orange-haired beauty conceded. “There’s a reason you’re the Draco Rex, after all.”

“Alright, then,” I announced to my crew. “Jonas, Mira, and Ahwara? You two stay back and help me get the logs in place as they come. Everybody else? Let’s get to work.”

Hip, hip, hooray! Bungal declared as he rose up into the sky and flew off to the forest.

Hey, wait! Swaer gasped, and then he shot off like a noodly rocket after the fat dragon. My little body can’t go that fast!

Your stature has nothing to do with it, good boy, Bungal retorted. It is all in the wings!

I don’t have wings, the wind dragon grumbled.

The two dragons headed off into the maroon forest, while Batari led a large group of Spindrel, Cero, and Niralope women off into the forest to search for fallen debris.

Cerin and Tirian remained at the edge of the forest as they waited for the first set of logs to roll in, and as they sat there waiting, the two dragons began to paw at the sand with their claws.

A game of Ashula? Tirian questioned. Now? I don’t think it’s going to take them long to knock down some trees.

There’ll be more than enough time for me to beat you. Cerin winked at the silver dragon, who let out a huff in response.

You’ve got an advantage, Tirian snorted. You’ve been playing this game all your life, and I’m still trying to learn!

Is that a ‘no,’ then? the purple water dragon goaded with a snicker. Are you too afraid to lose to a girl?

I’ve already lost to you, Tirian mused. Multiple times. And Marella. And even Lizzie and Amaria. That ship has already sailed.

Then no worries. Cerin grinned before she made another mark in the sand. I’ll go first.

Tirian just rolled his eyes and then made a mark of his own.

As entertaining as it would have been to stand there and watch Tirian most likely lose another game of Ashula, I wanted to see how my two future mothers were doing, so I turned to face the “delivery room.”

“Breathe,” Marella comforted Nadir as she rubbed the Coonag woman’s shoulders. “The baby will be here before you know it, Nadir, but you have to try and relax.”

“Easy for you to say,” Nadir growled. “You don’t have a little fanged creature inside of you that will gladly eat his way out of your body!”

“It’s not going to come to that,” my daughter reassured her. “That’s why Valea and I are here… To make sure everything goes smoothly.”

“I don’t know if I’d consider this ‘smooth’ at all,” Lezan hissed as she grabbed onto her belly and gritted her teeth. “It feels like they’re trying to kick every single organ out of my body from the inside.”

“I think my baby is definitely going to be big and strong,” Nadir admitted. “None of my previous pregnancies were anywhere near this bad. I’m honestly wondering if this child is going to come out full-grown!”

I walked over to the Coonag women, crouched down in the white sand, and took them both by the hand.

“Hang in there, guys,” I whispered in my most caring tone. “You’ll get through this. I know how strong you both are, and I know our children will be just as strong.”

“Most importantly,” Valea interjected. “Try to calm down. Tensing up your body is just going to make your labor even worse.”

“They others are out there gathering up pieces for the shelter as we speak,” I explained. “We’re gonna get that built, and then you’ll have a safe place for us to deliver our children.”

“I don’t think we need the shelter,” Lezan chuckled. “If we want our children to be strong, we need to expose them to the brutality of nature right away.”

“Indeed,” Nadir added through a pained groan. “Lezan’s children are going to need everything they can to be as strong as mine. It will be better for her.”

“There’s way too much risk.” I shook my head and sighed. “Especially since it’s half dragonkin, and we don’t know how it’ll respond to the elements like a regular Coonag child would.”

Keep your heads up, friends! Bungal’s voice declared. Fallen tree, incoming!

Suddenly, the maroon forest trembled and shook, and a massive, purple log flew out of the tree line. Tirian and Cerin both let out a gasp before they scurried in opposite directions, and the log landed with a sandy plop where they had stood.

Watch it! Tirian grumbled. You just about flattened us!

I say, Bungal gasped. I do apologize. Perhaps next time I shall simply lay the log down, rather than throwing it?

That would be a good start, Cerin agreed with a huff.

Deep in the forest of maroon trees, I heard the sound of Swaer sucking in air, and the next thing we knew, there was a massive gust of wind, followed by the sound of creaking wood. Next, we heard a loud snap and then a triumphant dragon hum off in the distance, and the noise of rustling leaves and snapping branches echoed across the island as the tree fell and then hit the ground with an earth-shaking thud.

I got one! Swaer declared. Now, uhhh… How do I move it?

I’ll be right over, my boy, Bungal called out. I shall do all the heavy lifting, just like I always did when I was the leader of my dragon clan.

Meanwhile, Tirian and Cerin slowly approached the first log.

So much for our game, Tirian sighed.

I was going to win, anyway, Cerin giggled. Now, how are we going to cut this?

I looked up and watched as the two dragons first tried to bite into the trunk, but their teeth hit the wood and bounced right off.

Yeow! Tirian gasped. What is this thing made of? Rocks?

Try our claws, Cerin grumbled as she smacked her lips.

Both of the dragons placed their paws up against the maroon tree and started to drag them across like a cat at a scratching post, but after about a solid minute of trying, Tirian and Cerin gave up.

Uh, Ben? Tirian asked telepathically. We have a small problem over here… The trees aren’t cutting at all.

Could you use your fire? Cerin suggested.

“Not if you want the wood to survive,” I warned. “Even a small amount of flames could be enough to set the whole log on fire. Unless… Actually, I’ve got a better idea. Cerin? Use your breath!”

Won’t that just make the tree wet? the purple water dragon questioned.

“That’s the idea,” I confirmed. “If you soak the tree down with enough boiling water, it’ll get weaker. At least, I’m hoping it will… That’s how wood works back where I’m from, anyways.”

But Draco Rex, Cerin protested. I can only shoot cold water.

“That’s where Tirian comes in,” I continued. “If you two mix your two breath beams together, it should make steam. Once wood has been steamed for a bit, it should get way more pliable, and you can cut into it then.”

“Where do you learn all this, Draco Rex?” Jonas asked with an impressed smirk. “Was this part of your training in the ‘Coast Guard’ you are always talking about?”

“Nope,” I laughed. “I learned it in Cub Scouts, back when I was learning how to use a pocket knife. It should still work, though.”

Alright… Tirian looked at Cerin and nodded. Let’s try it Ben’s way. On three? One… Two… Three!

Tirian and Cerin both hauled back their necks, inhaled, and then sent a small blast toward the maroon trunk. Cerin’s beam of salty seawater struck Tirian’s fire blast a few feet before they both hit the tree and then evaporated into a massive cloud of steam. The dragons held their attack for another minute or so, until the entire tree line around us was surrounded by the heavy, warm droplets in the air. When they finally released their blasts, the maroon tree was practically five shades darker in color.

Tirian and Cerin cautiously approached the freshly-steamed tree before Tirian outstretched his foreleg, extended one of his claws, and moved it toward the trunk. Before he could touch the softened wood, however, another log slammed into the ground behind him. Cerin and Tirian both jumped several feet in the air as they let out an annoyed chuff, and then they glared off into the forest with furrowed brows.

You almost hit us again! Tirian grumbled.

Sorry, old sport, Bungal apologized. The next one will not be tossed like a sack of old coconut husks.

With the sudden shock out of the way, Tirian and Cerin approached the tree once more. This time, when they placed their claws into it, they both smirked with pride.

It works! Tirian declared. We should have this cut through in no time.

“That’s what I like to hear,” I said as I shot a thumbs up across the beach. “Now, Jonas, Mira, and Ahwara? You guys help me mark out the spacing of these holes. Right now we just need some brief, shallow spots to let us know where to dig when the logs are ready.”

I did the distance calculations in my head, and then I paced out the spots where the perimeter holes should be dug. As I did so, Jonas, Mira, and Ahwara followed behind me and dug a tiny hole with their feet, just deep enough so we would remember our place on the sand. By the time we were done with the process, I looked up to see Tirian and Cerin proudly strolling toward us, both with a couple of large logs on their backs.

Here is the first set, Cerin declared as she leaned to the left and allowed the trunks to roll into the sand. How many more do you think you’ll need?

“What have we got here?” I pondered aloud as I began to count. “Eight? Probably at least six to eight more. We’ve got a lot of people who need to be under this shelter.”

We’ll get on that, then, Tirian confirmed with a nod. As soon as Bungal and Swaer bring us more trees.

I have no idea what is taking them so long, Cerin sighed. Hey guys? What’s going on in there? It shouldn’t take that long to rip out a tree.

Nonsense! Bungal scoffed. You cannot rush art.

“What art?” I questioned. “These things could be uglier than my eighth-grade gym teacher, and I wouldn’t care as long as they’re sturdy. And that’s saying something, because I still see the creepy bastard in my nightmares.”

I’m sorry, Benjamin, Bungal mused. But a true craftsman cannot budge on his craft. If I simply pull the trees out of the ground, their entire bottoms are covered in these large, hideously deformed roots that look like a piece of the male anatomy I am not crude enough to say. And if I simply snap them off at the bottom, there is a large risk the entire tree will splinter. Ask Swaer… I have broken nearly an eighth of this forest already.

It’s true, Swaer sighed. If we ever need to set up a permanent shelter on this island, we’ve now got the perfect place for it.

“Just hurry up,” I interjected as I looked to the horizon.

Even though the worst of the storm was still far away, I could hear the distant claps of thunder as the sky grew darker and darker. I could see the misty clouds of rain as they passed far out at sea, and I knew we didn’t have more than another hour or two at the most.

We had to get this shelter done as quickly as possible.

“The holes should come next, right?” Mira asked. “We don’t want to put the logs in place before we have deep enough holes.”

I nodded to confirm her thoughts, and then the four of us got to work digging out three holes in the sand. The deeper we dug, the wetter the ground became, but that was okay.

I wanted these things to be good and deep so not even a gust from Swaer himself could knock them loose.

Once that task was done, we got to work putting the trunks in place, but since they were so damn heavy, we needed Cerin and Tirians’ help to get the initial part of the structure in place. Cerin placed her wide head underneath the end of a log, while Tirian took the second one in his paws and then floated into the air. At the same time, Ahwara, Mira, Jonas, and I all got underneath the third log, heaved as hard as we could, and then walked it upright.

The tips of the three tree trunks all came together about fifteen feet above our head to form a tripod. There was a tense silence in the air as we all collectively took a deep breath, and then we let go of the uprights.

Thankfully, they held in place, and a wave of relief washed over me.

“There!” I declared as I stepped back and wiped my hands. “Now, we just need to get the rest of the uprights in place, and then we can have you go over it with a layer of throatsilk, Ahwara.”

Do you need our assistance for this? Tirian asked as he glanced back over at the forest. It looks like Bungal’s taking your advice, and we’ve got a bunch more ugly logs to cut up.

“Just go focus on those,” I noted. “Now that we’ve got the initial skeleton of the shelter in place, we can handle putting up the rest of these things. They’re heavy as shit, but we should be able to manage.”

Cerin and Tirian then returned to their position at the edge of the forest, where they continued to steam and cut the logs as they were brought out from the woods.

Meanwhile, the four of us began to get the rest of the logs into position. The process was a bit difficult due to their weight, but soon enough we had the next four uprights into position. Then Tirian and Cern brought us a few more logs, and soon we had the entire shelter in place.

Huzzah! Bungal declared as he and Swaer emerged from the maroon jungle. It appears all of our hard work has paid off.

“Tell me about it,” I grumbled as I wiped the sweat from my brow.

My arms and legs both ached in dull throbs, and it felt like every muscle in my leg was as rubbery as a wet noodle. The rest of my crew looked equally as beat, as Jonas was crouched down with his hands on his knees, while Mira and Ahwara both sat in the sand beside us.

“I believe this is the most manual labor I have done in years,” Jonas panted. “Usually, us soothsayers are resigned to tasks of the mind, with the occasional scuffle thrown in.”

“It’s good for you,” I laughed and nudged the dragonkin elder on the arm. “It’s good to stay active in your twilight years.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jonas glared at me with narrow eyes and a deep frown, but I just shook my head and chuckled.

Even though we’d just spent an hour getting this shelter in place, we weren’t anywhere near done yet. And with the way the sky was looking, we didn’t have a second to lose.

“I hate to be the evil foreman here,” I announced as I stretched out my glutes. “But we need to get back to work. Ahwara? I believe this next step is all you.”

“As long as it doesn’t involve my arms and legs,” the orange-haired beauty joked as she spread her pink, monarch-butterfly wings from her body. Then she fluttered the rosy appendages softly as she lifted herself into the air, floated over to the top of the teepee, and cleared her throat.

“Just make sure to leave a small hole at the top,” I explained. “We don’t want to accidentally suffocate ourselves with smoke or anything like that.”

Ahwara nodded, and then we watched with macabre curiosity as she began to eject the strange, silk-like thread out of her mouth. The butterfly-woman floated in circles around the entirety of the teepee, and soon the whole structure was covered from head to toe in the weird, bumpy goo.

“Whoaaaaaaaa,” Kehlaan gasped. “That was incredible. How did you do that?”

“It’s part of our internal functions,” Ahwara said as she fluttered back down to the ground. “All of the Morpho people are born with this ability.”

“Huh,” the teenage boy mused. “The only special thing we Spindrel can do with our bodies is make our spines go all pointy. It honestly doesn’t even help us that much, since we’re normally fighting creatures six times our size.”

“Now, Kehlaan,” Pae scolded her son. “Please do not speak ill of your abilities. Do you know how helpful they can be in the right circumstances?”

“In the right circumstances, sure,” Kehlaan conceded. “But having the ability to build your own dwellings at any time you wanted? Using nothing but your spit? That’s a way better ability than some lousy spines.”

“Don’t knock the spines, kid,” Shala warned. “Besides, that’s not the only ‘special ability’ we Spindrel can use our bodies for… Just ask the Draco Rex.”

Kehlaan raised an eyebrow as he tried to comprehend my words, and his eyes darted to the ground and then moved back and forth as his lips silently moved along with his thought process. Eventually, the Spindrel boy’s entire face scrunched up.

“Ew, Shala!” He gagged. “I didn’t need to know that.”

“Sure you did,” Shala cackled with glee. “Someday, you’ll be of a breeding age, and I want you to have the peace of mind that whoever you end up with will be getting a great lover.”

“Can we maybe not talk about my son’s love life?” Pae interjected.

“Why not?” Alvee questioned. “It’s important.”

“Because we have bigger issues right now,” the Magnus Dux sighed as she turned to me and presented her collection. “Here you go, Ben. We have scavenged the forest and brought you the things you asked for.”

Sure enough, all of my crewmates held in their arms assorted twigs, sticks, leaves, pine-like needles, and even a few pinecone-looking seeds.

“Excellent.” I smiled at the crew. “What we need to do is get them onto the throatsilk before it hardens up. How long do you estimate we have, Ahwara?”

“It depends on how saturated the area is,” the pink-winged butterfly-woman estimated. “If I do multiple layers it could take about thirty minutes. Maybe a little more.”

“That’s plenty of time,” I agreed, and then I walked over to Pae. “Take your debris and follow my lead. In the meantime, somebody go tell Marella and Valea that they can bring the Coonag women over here now.”

“I’m on it, Draco Rex!” Jonas declared before he dashed off across the beach.

Maybe “dashed” was the wrong word. It was definitely more like a hurried hobble, almost like a turtle who was trying to run for its life but could only reach a max speed of two miles per hour.

I turned back to the rest of my crew, snatched up a few handfuls of the natural insulation from Pae’s arms, and then got to work. Starting from the bottom of the teepee, I pressed the debris into the throatsilk with a satisfying squish.

My friends followed my example, and before long we had the whole structure covered with needles, branches, and maroon leaves. By the time we were done, it kind of looked like some second grader’s art project, but I didn’t care. As long as it held up against the wind and kept the water out, it would serve our needs.

Marella and Nadir sidled up to the teepee first. Nadir’s face was now completely pale, and gone was her normal expression of mischief. Instead, the raven-haired racoon-woman appeared frail, nervous, and even a bit afraid. Marella had her arm around Nadir to keep her upright, and they both hurried into the shelter without so much as a word.

Lezan and Valea were right behind the first pair, though this duo was much more “independent.” Try as she might to offer Lezan a hand, Valea was met with a series of grumbles and hisses from the second Coonag woman.

“I’m fine,” Lezan growled and bared her sharp teeth. “I don’t need any help to get to the shelter.”

“What are you talking about?” Valea protested and reached out toward Lezan’s shoulder. “You’re stumbling all around as if you’ve just eaten the raw piece of luminos root!”

“I will be alright.” The multicolor-haired racoon-woman held out her hand firmly. “We’re almost there, anyways.”

Lezan waddled a few more steps before she ducked down and disappeared inside the shelter.

“Packages secure,” I chuckled to myself. “Now, everybody else, get inside before the big one hits.”

I do say, Benjamin… Bungal gulped as he looked off at the darkening sky. Where shall I go? I noticed this shelter, though it is exquisite, is a bit shall we say… Small for a dragon of my stature.

“Yeah,” I admitted as I rubbed my neck awkwardly. “I originally wanted to build us something way bigger, but there was no way I had the time.”

I understand, my friend. The fat brown dragon nodded. I shall simply take refuge under the burgundy canopy of the forest. I do believe my mere stature will be well enough to weather the storm.

As if right on cue, I felt a soft, warm drop of water splash against my arm. Seconds later, the wind picked up as more raindrops began to fall in a soft pitter-patter, and I knew we were now on the edge of the storm.

“That’s the spirit.” I winked at Bungal. “I’d try to get over there before it really cuts loose.”

If all else fails, Bungal the Mighty declared, I can simply use my own fiery breath to keep myself dry.

Just don’t burn down the forest in the process, Tirian warned before the silver-scaled dragon approached the entrance of our shelter and squeezed inside.

I could do no such thing, my boy, the fat dragon scoffed.

Bungal then lifted himself a few feet off the ground, turned back to the forest, and hovered out of sight.

There was enough room for the rest of us, however, so we all squeezed into the makeshift teepee as the rain sprinkled down outside.

Lezan and Nadir were off to the far side of the shelter, and the rest of my crew surrounded them as they awaited the arrival of the world’s first Coonag-Dragonkin children. Both of the racoon women laid flat on their backs, with their heads propped up on a wad of clothing and their knees in the air.

“Give them some space,” I ordered my friends. “And maybe a bit of privacy? How would you guys feel if you had an audience in the most vulnerable moment of your life?”

“Come, Kehlaan,” Pae said as she placed her hand on her son’s shoulder. “You are not quite old enough to see such things.”

“But Marella’s seeing them,” Kehlaan protested. “She’s helping deliver the baby!”

“Marella has experience in dealing with the miracle of life,” the silver-haired hedgehog woman explained. “Also, she is much older than you.”

“No, she’s not…” the brown-haired kid huffed. “We’ve been over this before, and I’m older by a lot.”

“Kehlaan.” Pae’s tone changed to that of a scolding mother. “We cannot stay here. Even if you were not traumatized by what you saw, it would simply be rude to Nadir and Lezan.”

“Okay,” the Spindrel prince sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. “Can I at least see the babies when they come, though?”

“That’ll be up to the mothers.” Pae nodded, and then she turned her son away from the scene.

Several other members of my crew moved back to the other side of the shelter, where they began to establish their own small sleeping quarters via lines in the sand and their personal belongings.

That was honestly the last thing on my mind right now, though, so I walked over between the two Coonag women, got down on my knees, and rested a hand on each of their shoulders.

“How are we doing?” I asked both of them softly.

“I have been better,” Lezan said through gritted teeth. “The babies will be coming soon… I know it. It feels like our child is beating the inside wall of my belly the way I would beat in the skull of an orc.”

“It is your child, after all,” I mused.

I sat there with the Coonag woman as we waited out the storm and their labors simultaneously. Outside, the winds began to howl as the patter of the raindrops outside became more rapid and intense. A few drops fell down into our shelter from the smoke hole up above, but it was mainly contained to the center of our dwelling.

Lezan and Nadirs’ labor continued for quite some time more, until finally Lezan’s eyes grew as wide as dinner plates.

“Ben?” She gasped. “I-I think the baby is here.”

My heart swelled with both happiness and a twinge of nervousness as I moved over to Lezan’s side.

This was it. I was about to meet our child.

“It’s alright, Lezan.” I held her hand as tightly as I could. “You can do this… Just push. Squeeze my hand if you need to--”

Before the words had even left my mouth, the racoon-woman tightened her grip around my hand as hard as it could possibly go. I grimaced as a small wave of pain shot through my hand, but I didn’t let it get me down.

I needed to be there for my woman, and I didn’t want to let even the slightest amount of weakness shine through my happy demeanor.

“I think I see the head!” Valea gasped. “You’re almost there, my friend… Now, you need to push with all your might.”

Lezan’s grip got even tighter around my hand as she squeezed and began to scream in agony. Tears flowed down the Coonag woman’s eyes as she tried to force her child into the world, and her entire body was as tense as I’d ever seen it.

Then, after a few more seconds of pushing, I heard the sound of crying from below.

“Is-- is it over?” Lezan panted as she glanced down at Valea.

The hedgehog woman simply smiled as she held out her hand and chuckled. “Congratulations, you two. It is a healthy baby boy! May I borrow your dagger to cut the cord, Ben?”

The world felt like it was spinning around me, and a six-mile smile spread across my face.

A boy.

I had another son.

I drew the pink-stone dagger from its sheath and handed it to Valea before Lezan and I shared a loving glance.

“Want to meet our son?” I whispered to the Coonag woman.

“I would love nothing more, Ben,” Lezan sighed, though her eyes were heavy with exhaustion.

Once Valea had cut the umbilical cord, she handed my dagger back to me and then picked up our infant in her arms. The blonde hedgehog woman then stood to her feet, walked over to Lezan and me, and placed our newborn right into his mother’s arms.

Lezan kissed the baby softly on the forehead before she cradled it against her chest.

“Hey, buddy.” I smiled down at the little guy. “It’s me. Your dad.”

Upon first glance, I saw the baby was the perfect mixture of Coonag and Dragonkin. He had a smooth, rounded face with a nose that was thin like my own, but when he opened his mouth to make various baby noises, I saw he had the same triangular, razor-sharp chompers as his mother. The child also shared the ears of a Coonag, though his body wasn’t anywhere near as hairy.

Most peculiar of all, though, was our son’s tail.

He had a tail just like his mother, but it wasn’t furry. Instead, it was covered with shiny blue scales that matched my own color.

“He’s beautiful,” Lezan sighed.

“He’s ours,” I agreed as I leaned my head against Lezan’s and looked down on our son.

However, my night of celebration wasn’t quite over yet.

“Uhhhh, Dad?” Marella gulped. “I don’t want to ruin your happy moment, but I think Nadir is crowning.”

“I’m not crowning,” Nadir growled through her labored breaths. “T-The baby is crowning!”

“Whatever.” My daughter rolled her eyes. “What I’m trying to say is the baby is coming now.”

“I’ll be right back, little man,” I promised my newborn. “I have to go and meet your little brother or sister.”

“Little?” Nadir protested.

“They were born after.” I shrugged. “That makes them younger, even if it’s only by a few minutes.”

I crawled over to Nadir and placed my hands on her shoulders. My fingers massaged deep into her skin as her breaths became more sporadic and intense, and soon she leaned her head back and opened her mouth.

“There it is!” Marella declared. “Come on, Nadir… Push!”

Nadir screamed as she gave it her all, and soon I heard a high-pitched cry coming from my daughter’s arms.

“You did it!” I smiled at the Coonag woman.

“N-No, I didn’t!” Nadir screamed. “It’s… It’s still in there.”

“What are you talking about?” Marella asked. “I have your newborn son in your hands right-- Ohhhhhmygod. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. Valea? There’s another head!”

My jaw fell to the floor.

Twins.

Nadir had been pregnant with twins this whole time.

“Another little bundle of joy, Nadir.” I grinned at my lover, but she was still laser-focused on her labor.

Nadir’s hands dug into the sand as she reared back her head and screamed once more. This time, her sounds of frustration and determination seemed to echo off the walls of the shelter, and they overtook the noise of the harsh rain and winds outside.

Valea dashed over to Marella’s side, stuck her hands up to guide the baby’s head, and then breathed deeply.

Soon, I heard the cry of another newborn, and Valea and Marella both sighed with relief before they cut the cords and brought the twins to us.

“A boy and a girl,” Valea declared.

Sure enough, Nadir had given birth to one of each.

Our newborn son had jet black hair like Nadir, with an equally fuzzy black tail to match. His features were sharp and pointed, and they honestly reminded me a lot of my father’s. His dark brown eyes looked back at us with confusion and glee as I picked him up and held him against my chest.

My newborn daughter appeared to be more dragonkin than Coonag, since she had a wisp of sandy brown hair on her head and shiny blue scales all over her body. The only part of the girl that seemed to indicate she was half-racoon was her furry brown tail encircled with black stripes.

“I-I already have names picked out,” Nadir sputtered. “If you don’t mind, Ben.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” I reassured my lover as I rocked my baby boy. “What are they?”

“I would like to name the boy Hokir,” the raven-haired beauty explained. “After my father who fell in battle against the orcs.”

“I’m sure he was a special man.” I nodded. “Which means this is a very special name for our son. What about her?”

“She will be Terra,” Nadir announced. “Named after the greatest warrior of our people.”

“The greatest warrior not named Lezan,” Lezan’s voice weakly joked from our right.

“Precisely,” Nadir chuckled. “Terra was arguably the greatest warrior in Coonag history.”

“I love them both,” I confirmed.

“I’m sorry, Ben,” Lezan laughed tiredly. “But I do not have any special, honorable names to give our child. I do have one in mind, though…”

“What is it?” I questioned.

“Jarin.” The multicolor-haired racoon-woman smiled down at our boy. “I’ve always love the name ‘Jarin’ since I was a little girl.”

“Then Jarin it is,” I agreed. “Welcome to the world, little ones… I wish it were under safer circumstances, but I’m just glad you all came out safely.”

I continued to rock Hokir in my arms while Terra and Jarin were rocked by their mothers, but soon I sensed the eyes of the crew upon me.

Sure enough, when I turned around, I noticed everyone watched us with large smiles and happy eyes.

“They are beautiful, Draco Rex,” Batari agreed as she stroked her own belly. “I hope our child is just as precious.”

“What ever happened to privacy?” I chuckled to my crew.

“We are sharing a wide-open hut with no dividers whatsoever.” Jonas shrugged. “I don’t think we could tune the sounds out if we even wanted to.”

“Fair enough,” I admitted. “I’m just so happy to have these beautiful new children in my world.”

We continued to coo over the babies for a few more hours before the storm eventually started to die down. The raindrops against the exterior slowed to nothing more than a drip, and I saw through the hole in the teepee ceiling that the sun was starting to shine one more.

Things were finally starting to look up.

We spent the next hour or so cutting up non-essential pieces of our clothes and then tying them together to make three crude baby slings. We didn’t know where the next leg of our journey would take us, but we knew we couldn’t afford to have both of our hands taken up by the children in our party. Once the slings were completed, Marella placed Hokir and Terra inside and pulled them around her body, and Valea did the same with Jarin, much to the surprise of their mothers.

“Why are you holding him?” Lezan demanded through a yawn. “He should be in my hands for now, at least until he gets a little older.”

“You need rest,” Valea retorted. “Both of you went through a very strenuous and difficult labor. Let us take care of the babies for a while, and you and Nadir lie here and get some sleep, okay?”

Lezan opened her mouth to protest, but her eyes were already shut tightly. Her mouth snapped closed a second later, and she was out before her head even hit the pillow.

Nadir did not protest, either. The Coonag leader simply smacked her lips, rolled over onto her side, and then conked out in an instant.

“I can’t even imagine how tired they are,” I whispered to Valea. “I’ve never seen anyone go through a labor quite that intense.”

“Nor have I,” the Spindrel woman admitted. “Spindrel labors are much less straightforward, though they are equally as painful.”

“Mostly due to spines,” Alvee mused from behind us.

We all got a good laugh at the joke, but then Bungal’s voice cut through my head like a diamond through glass.

Benjamin! the fat dragon declared. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I do believe I’m not alone out here.

“Not alone?” I asked. “What do you mean ‘not alone?’”

I mean I am hearing voices, Bungal continued. Accompanied by the rustling of leaves. Currently, I am bunkered down and out of sight, and I intend to keep it that way.

“Do you have eyes on the enemy?” I questioned. “What can you tell me about--”

I do not know if they are these “orcs” you speak of, the dragon admitted. Though they sound quite boorish, and they keep talking about ‘taking over the island.’

Mother fucker… It was them.

Somehow, some way, our emergency island stop had put us right in the path of a bunch of orcs.