[SimonBrownMpreg]

Khell pursed his lips, worrying a bit what a clutch from the guardian of the fire mountains would be like. He also wondered if all the guardians laid eggs, or if he could expect a live brood or two from some of them. After all, he'd be passed around to three more guardians before having to make his fateful choice between all of them.

"I do value being able to move around," he replied, tone only slightly snarky. "Are you the oldest guardian, Thundermouth?"

[michime]

Thundermouth flicked out his tongue and make a 'pfft' sound. "Devisit is the oldest guardian. He was the first guardian and much older than me. I"m the biggest though!" He flipped his tail splashing Khell with water. "The waters are shallow here. If you would like, you can swim with me."

[SimonBrownMpreg]

"H-Hey!" Khell sputtered, now drenched in water. It was cold and made him shiver from head to tail. "I'm sure you're very proud of yourself, but just remember your size puts the rest of us at a bit of a risk." He worried about getting in the water if only because he didn't know what to do with the armful of nest supplies he gathered. "We have to come back this way, correct?" He decided to wrap the crystals and toadstools together inside the clumps of moss, sort of like a little satchel, and then set them on a stone ledge to be picked up later.

Arms free, Khell slipped into the water. He hissed through his teeth, again startled by the icy water, but then started swimming alongside Thundermouth's head. "What exactly do you do as guardian of the mountains?"

[michime]

"I make sure the mountain water remains clean and the land doesn't get infected," Thundermouth explained before he guided them left, "the water will get warmer as we go. Hot springs!" He explained. "All guardians keep their lands free of invading species."

[SimonBrownMpreg]

"I take it that I'm one of those invading species," Khell hummed with only a touch of spite. As much as the will of Celbion compelled him to accept his role, a piece of him still wasn't happy about how things turned out for himself. "Does the planet get many invaders?" he asked. "You said there have only been two wombs other than me. Does that mean Celbion was only invaded twice before, or did all the previous invaders just meet different fates than the wombs?" Khell paddled himself along, tail floating out behind him.

[michime]

"To be chosen to be a womb is a blessing," Thundermouth answered, "your every need will be taken care of by Celbion or a guardian. Celbion has been invaded by hundreds of species but none have conquered. The fates of the rest range from exploded, imploded, stabbed by vines, burned by fire, pushed by rocks, drowned in acid, and a few other fates that were very messy. A soldier like you might prefer death but Death on Celbion isn't quick or painless. The planet has a way of torturing invaders."

[SimonBrownMpreg]

Khell's complexion turned white as a sheet when Thundermouth listed the myriad of dreadful ways invaders before him met their doom. Acid? Implosion? How did they even meet such fates? Suddenly, being chosen as the bearer to future generations all across the planet didn't seem so bad. Khell did think it was strange, though. Hundreds of species tried staking their claim to Celbion, but as close as Celbion was to his home planet, there were hardly any records of close encounters. Perhaps they all died here, leaving zero trace of themselves, and the Zioruta simply never detected them because Celbion wiped them out.

Seeking a distraction, Khell started paying more attention to the warm water seeping into the river. He followed the heat down a separate stream into a cavern full of steam. The hot spring was even warmer than the one where he met Thundermouth. Khell let the warmth envelope him like a lover. The eggs seemed to appreciate it as well, since he felt them grow a bit bigger and denser again. He grunted quietly as the weight forced a deeper arch in his spin. Beneath the water, his belly swelled out to almost being triplet-sized.

[michime]

"You don't have to worry about any of that," Thundermouth explained with a gently nudge of Khell's feet. "This is a very relaxing place. You can sit on the bank and just dip your feet in the water."

[SimonBrownMpreg]

Khell swam to the edge of the pool and used his arms to hoist himself onto the ledge. Water dripped off his white hair down onto his shoulders. There was a soft layer of moss growing over the stone ground, so it gave him a cushioned place to sit. The heat of the chamber made him flush, his violet skin turning a slightly darker shade. After getting turned around, Khell had to spread his thighs so his belly had room to sit in his lap. He sighed, letting his feet and tip of his tail hang in the water. Both his hands touched either side of his full belly. He was definitely heavier than he looked, especially out of the water. These were certainly mountain eggs.

"I'm getting hungry. What can I eat?"

[michime]

Thundermouth made his way over to Khell and slowly eased himself out of the water. "There are a variety of mushrooms, plenty of small animals, and some berries and roots." He answered as he shook the water off his large body.

[SimonBrownMpreg]

Khell shielded his face with both hands when the water from Thundermouth's back came splashing towards him. He then shook his head. "We're herbivores, so I'll pass on the small animals." Khell even opened his mouth showing two rows of flat teeth and a wide, plump, dark purple tongue. "The only reason my people raise livestock are for milking and eggs." He looked around the cavern before spotting some glowing blue mushrooms with green veining along their tops. "Is it safe to eat those ones?" He was unsure if different colored mushrooms perhaps indicated their unique levels of toxicity.

[michime]

"Don't eat anything that glows," Thundermouth explained before he motioned for Khell to follow him. He lumbered slowly over the ground his movements much slower than when he was in the water. "Some of the mountain caves come out to valleys. I'll bring you to several."

[SimonBrownMpreg]

Khell was just about to pluck the mushroom out of the muddy cracks from which it grew, but he immediately drew back his hand at Thundermouth's warning. The giant salamander's slow pace gave him enough time to get on his own feet. Khell grunted, having to stand with his heavy belly. Admittedly, it was that large-- at least compared to Embersoul's brood-- but his belly definitely carried more weight. He even stumbled on his longs legs and had to swing his tail around in order to regain his balance. Following after Thundermouth, he cupped both hands beneath his gravid orb, supporting its weight. "Valleys? You mean outside? The storm is raging right now. Embersoul barely managed to fly me here. I don't think it's wise to go out there."

[michime]

"You won't be exposed to the storm," Thundermouth explained as they made their way down the mountain caves. Little mushrooms glowed in the cracks giving off a nice glow so they could watch their steps. "Storms can rage on one side of a mountain while the other remains dry. You'll see."

[SimonBrownMpreg]

Khell followed along after Thundermouth until noticing a light at the end of the wide cavern. He blinked his eyes against the sunlight once they were outside. He saw familiar blue grass blowing in the breeze, but the ground here seemed much stabler and not prone to sinking whatever tread upon it. A few bright blue trees dotted the landscape. For the most part, though, it was just a long, narrow valley of grass growing between the sloping sides of two mountains. Walking out far enough, Khell turned around so he could see up over the peak of the mountain out of which they just emerged. The sky was pale green on one side before a thick wall of fat, black, rolling storm clouds obstructed the view. He could see the rain pouring down in sheets and even flashes of lightning. It was so bizarre how the storm raged just on the other side, yet here the atmosphere was untouched.

Khell ventured out into the grass. He finally spotted some goldenrod mushrooms with red spots on their hats. Kneeling down, he plucked them out of the dirt and took the first few bites.

[michime]

"Ever heard of the dry side of a mountain?" Thundermouth asked when he finally emerged from the cave. "This is what they look like on Celbrion." He waddled his way into the grass. "Sure this side gets wet but it's nothing like the outward facing side." He made his way over to Khell slowly stopping twice to pull something out of the ground.

"I find these more filling," he stated before he dropped a reddish orange oval shaped plant into Khell's lap. "They will stain but it wears off eventually. I call them pomomoes."

[SimonBrownMpreg]

"Pomomoes, huh?" Khell echoed. He picked it up in one hand and bit into it. He thought of it much like an edible seed. The pomomoe wasn't overly juicy, but some of it did drip down his fingers and palm, staining his skin orange just like Thundermouth warned. Khell ate his fill in the valley while also enjoying his time outside as much as possible. When it finally started getting dark, the salamander urged him back into the cave where the steam of the hot spring would keep him warm.

The gestation of Thundermouth's eggs only took about three days. In that time, they returned to the original hot spring where they met. Khell made sure to bring back with him all the nest materials he gathered for when Embersoul came back for him. Just as Thundermouth described, the male Zioruta only got big enough to look like he was bearing quints, but he felt twice as heavy. Khell rarely left the water since the buoyancy relieved the strain of the weight on his body. Today he was restless, his body anticipating the inevitable. Again, just as Thundermouth described to him a few days ago, both sacs burst inside his body. "Oooohhn!" His belly surged slightly at the eggs freely filled up his womb. Even his bellybutton swelled a little fatter. "Thundermouth, they're getting ready..."

[michime]

The large mountain guardian brought Khell a thick, white, tube root. "Chew as much of this as you can. It'll help with the pain."

He rubbed Khell's lower back with his tail as the alien sat in the pool. "It will be quick. The babies should be born quickly. Just push when you feel the need."

[SimonBrownMpreg]

Khell accepted the root and gnawed a bit of it, but there was a more pressing matter. "I have to get to the stream," he said as he started standing himself up. "You said they have to be born in the stream, right? So the current can carry them all to other parts of the mountain." Khell climbed out of the water, but he had to stop and cup both hands against the bottom curve of the gravid orb. His underbelly drooped significantly, showing he was very close. Using his tail to maintain much needed balance, Khell followed the patch towards the stream.

Just as Khell started lowering himself into the cold current, the first contraction hit him. His belly rippled and there was a pressure deep in his hips. He moaned quietly, tilting his head back, and spread his legs while taking deep breaths. "I can feel them getting closer now. Mmhn... Ohhn..."

[michime]

Thundermouth stayed at Khell's side offering him small slices of the root to help numb the pain as the alien walked the path to the birth place. He helped the alien into the stream so the water came to the creature's belly. "The birth will be very quick then I'll take you back to the stream to rest."

He watched the alien's body as the labor began.