Mantrin Imperial Guard - 004 Homestead

Chapter 2: Family, Part I

Author's note: Another one? Yes. In order to write a good story, you need one thing: passion. You don't write a good story for fame or reviews. You write it out of passion, and I've got an endless supply of it. I'm going to throw everything that I've got into these chapters. They're going to dive deep into Mantrin culture and I hope you'll enjoy reading it, as much as I loved writing it.

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Raeth and Yimeh

Following Yimeh back to the hallway and up the broad rough wooden stairs to the first floor, Raeth wondered about all the things that happened in his absence that she hadn't told him about during their long distance talks. He used to overload her with all his amazing experiences in outer space. The adventure. The beauty of other worlds. Meeting with other cultures. Compared to his, Yimeh's life might seem mundane and boring, but he knew that nothing could be further from the truth. Not on Solbrecht.

The world dealt with the same challenges as the galactic community did, on a smaller scale, with similar conflicts between members of society. Steps taken forward often met with resistance. Taking a step back now and then was therefore inevitable. Raeth believed like many others of his kind that it was because Mantrin and human culture and customs were so different from one another, that the relationships between both species had become so abrasive. But there was more involved.

Taking a right at the landing on the first floor that separated the rooms, his sister took him to his old bedroom of which the door was left ajar. Placing her hand flat on its surface, pushing it open to enter, he saw that nothing had changed. With his parents having no need for the room for any other purpose, it was as he had left it.

The large almost square single bed in the middle, with three-bladed wooden ceiling fan above it. The nightstand where he used to charge his phone, which had woken him in the middle of the night far more often than was healthy, even for a teenager. His mother had even kept a few of the toys he used to play with as a child on the three shelves on the wall near the foot of the bed. He felt the slight breeze coming through the open window as it played with the curtains hanging near them. It brought with it the scent of clean sheets from the bed. Did his mother wash them regularly as if he still slept in it?

He noticed Yimeh's breathing had accelerated from her walk up the stairs. He had timed things right. Her child could be born any moment now. Lowering her pregnant body in a seated position on the bed with a sigh, she still smiled, her tail rustling the covers.

"Well you sure make me work hard," she said while caressing her belly. "Do you wanna feel?"

"I'd love to," he answered, kneeling on his middle legs on the polished wooden floor in front of her.

"Gimme your hands."

Raising her shirt to expose her light brown belly, she waited for him to place his hands into hers, then turned them around to place them in the right spot on her warm soft skin.

"Wait for it," she said, her voice close to a whisper.

Holding his breath in anticipation, he waited for the moment. His sister's face was a picture of joy. She hadn't stopped smiling from the moment they met. And then he felt it. A subtle bump, under his right hand. And then another one, more powerful this time.

"Can you feel it?" she asked with a giggle.

"I can," he laughed. "I'm so happy for you."

"Will you be here for my birth ceremony?"

"I'll do my best."

Straightening his back, he bowed his head to touch the tip of his muzzle to her belly, giving it a tiny lick. She chuckled in response. Lifting his hands from her belly he leaned on his thighs as he remained in his kneeling position.