Chapter 97: Two Fat Miracles
Tera’s first coherent thought when she woke up was that she must have been hit by a fourteen-wheeler.
Everything ached. Her lower back throbbed with a deep, bone-deep soreness that pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat. The space between her legs felt like it had been through a war. And her breasts...
’Why do my boobs feel like they’re about to explode?’
Tera opened her eyes to discover that she wasn’t in her shelter, but in the first one that had received the durability bonus from the system.
It had multiple adjoining rooms that made it a common resting shelter belonging to no one specifically, and Tera was placed in one of those rooms, lying on a thick bed of furs and silk leaves.
Her body was clean, and her hair was still damp while even more furs were wrapped loosely around her to make her comfortable.
She would have felt so comfortable if not for the body ache.
There was also a sweet, medicinal taste on her tongue. She seemed to have been given some herbs to drink to help with the pain.
Movement at the edge of her vision made her turn her head.
Xavi and Ermin were both in the room, along with Yara and another female, and they were in some deep discussion.
But both her mates were each holding a baby.
Tera’s eyes widened.
Xavi had the larger one cradled in the crook of his massive arm, his other hand hovering protectively near its head as if shielding it from invisible threats. The baby was nestled against his chest, so small against his enormous frame that it looked like a round dumpling resting on a warm boulder.
Ermin held the other one against his chest, eyeing it lovingly as his tail kept reaching for the furred bundle.
Both babies were asleep.
But Tera was not going to be fooled. Both babies were enormous.
How did those two come out of her?!
She must have made a sound, because two heads snapped toward her simultaneously.
"Tera!"
They rushed to her, leaning over with expressions of such intense relief and concern that she felt slightly overwhelmed.
"How do you feel?"
"Are you in pain?"
"Do you need water?"
"She needs food first—"
"She just woke up, let her breathe—"
"You should eat. You have not eaten enough—"
"Leader, she just opened her eyes—"
"Whoa, back up a second... I’m... okay," she managed, her voice rough from disuse. "I think."
Everyone looked so happy, and Yara’s face broke into an even wider smile while Tera couldn’t help but look at the babies.
They were so... fat. Both of them.
And they were so adorable...
But one thing that stood out to Tera was that the babies were fast asleep. She had just given birth. Weren’t they supposed to be still screaming and crying when they hadn’t taken anything?
It was difficult, but Tera turned her attention back to her doting mates.
"How long was I asleep?"
"Nearly a full day," Ermin said quietly.
A full day?
"You woke a few times to feed them," Yara added.
"Feed them?"
She didn’t remember any of that.
Xavi touched Tera’s face. "You were very tired."
That explained the aching in her boobs, combined with the fact that her nipples throbbed with a tenderness that suggested they had been thoroughly used while she wasn’t paying attention.
Her own body had been running a milk bar without her conscious approval.
But what the hell? Had her body just gotten up on autopilot to do something it had never done before?
But looking at the two females made Tera offer a weak smile. "You have your own cubs to tend to, you should—"
The two stubbornly shook their heads. "No, we put aside time to help!"
Xavi straightened and turned to the females, wearing a grateful look. "Even so, you should both go rest. You have done enough."
Ermin ran his hand through Tera’s hair and the sensation felt so soothing against her scalp that her lips couldn’t help but widen.
"She looks so much like you," Ermin whispered, eyeing Tera fondly.
Tera blinked. "She?"
Xavi turned back to Tera, not wanting to be left out as he crouched low again, nodding while also presenting the other baby.
"Mine too. Our daughters are beautiful!"
The two females laughed gently behind their palms, and Tera had the oddest feeling in her chest.
She wanted to hold her babies.
"I want to hold them." Tera paused, looking at the two round bundles in her mates’ arms.
Then she looked down at her own battered, aching body. As much as she had that strong desire, wouldn’t holding those two large bundles crush her?
"They are so big, what if they crush me?"
Yara and the other females laughed. "They will not crush you."
But Xavi and Ermin exchanged a look of genuine concern. They were actually considering it, and the females looked so alarmed that the males were taking Tera’s words seriously.
Tera laughed gently, about to just tell them to bring the babies over anyway when Xavi spoke up.
"But they are small."
’Small where?!’
"She just woke up," Ermin added. "Maybe we should wait until she is stronger—"
"Give the female her babies!" Yara scolded, swatting at Ermin’s arm. "She carried them for five months. She can hold them."
The other female nodded firmly. "You two have been hogging those cubs since they were born. Let their mother hold them."
Tera tried to sit up and winced, only for the females to move quickly and help her up, propping her against the furs. The ache between her legs sharpened for a moment before the herb’s numbing effect caught up.
Then Xavi and Ermin brought the babies closer and placed them in Tera’s arms.
Heavy was an understatement, but the sight of her children close up made the screaming ache in her arms vanish.
They were in their human forms, and they were the most beautiful things Tera had ever seen.
One had a full mat of soft brown hair that curled slightly at the edges, and two tiny rounded bear ears poking through the top, fuzzy and warm-toned. Her cheeks were impossibly full, skin flushed with the healthy pink of a baby who had been eating extremely well despite being alive for barely any time at all.
Her little mouth was pursed in sleep, and chubby fists were clenched against her chest like she was ready to fight someone the moment she woke up.
The other cub was only slightly smaller. Her hair was a fine, delicate pink like Ermin’s, and two pointed panther ears sat atop her head, slightly flattened in sleep.
She had the exact same pose as her sister’s.
Tera’s heart melted.
’They’re really mine.’
[Welcome back, Host]
[(..◜ᴗ◝..)]
The screen flickered into view, and Tera felt an unexpected wave of relief at seeing it.
’Hey... About yesterday—’
[Host called this system, and I quote:]
[A "lying floating piece of garbage"]
[A "heathen"]
[And told this system to "die" at least twice]
[(≖⩊≖)]
Tera winced, about to apologise when she paused. She could have sworn she did not say those things.
[But this system understands]
[Childbirth is a physiologically and emotionally intense experience]
[Host was in considerable pain]
’I still shouldn’t have—’
[Host also called this system an "idiot" approximately fourteen times]
[This system counted]
[(ᵕ—ᴗ—)]
’Okay, I get it! I said sorry!’
[(◕‿◕✿)]
[Regardless, this system is very happy for Host]
[Congratulations on the delivery]
[Complementary Gifts:]
[Nipples +30]
[Pacifier +2]
Tera’s eyes went wide.
’Thank you... But hope you won’t get flak with management for this?’
[As long as you keep it a secret]
[(◕‿◕)]
[Expose me and you get no more random gifts]
Tera chuckled, and the sound made both babies stir.
’I’m a mother now...’
[Host should not forget her true purpose here]
[New Task!]
Tera nearly jumped out of her skin.
’NOW?!’