Tying to explain viviparous reproduction to an oviparous species is more difficult than you'd think.

(#00347)

It was amazing how quickly the humans could clear a space when they put their minds to it. And equally amazing how they could turn all of the matter they cleared into building materials. Even the twigs normally used for traditional nesting habits amongst the Numidid… the humans ground to powder, sealed with glue, and turned them into amazingly straight planks.

The leaves were allowed to rot and produce ‘mulch’, a protective covering that allowed desired plants to grow and kept the weeds out.

Their ways were strange, indeed. What did they feed their toddlers on?

That question could wait, for now. Neutral ground had been established. Literally halfway between the sprawling human colony and T'reka’s camouflaged data hut. There, a human delegation waited and laid out foods that both Numidid and humans could digest without harm. And there was an ovoid conference table, with human chairs on one side and Numidid perches on the other.

Su-syn was already there, making some males fetch the interesting human cushions to make her chair more comfortable. She had been in some physical distress for months, including a noticeable swelling in her abdomen. But, since the other humans had treated this as normal, T'reka avoided comment.

They had gone to every effort to make the visiting Numidid officials comfortable. They even made amazing reproductions of their tableware, having only seen T'reka’s own camp ware as an example. Some negotiation had gone on to secure the spork as the least-threatening human eating implement.

The humans had even sacrificed one of their grazing ungulates for the meal of peace, serving the meat known as beef in a pre-cut and sauced concoction they called a casserole.

T'reka had grown quite fond of their beef. Further negotiation and explanation had gone into leaving chicken off the table, for now. T'reka had a scientific mind. The officials most certainly did not.

Su-syn watched T'reka flit from place to place in nervous anxiety and sipped water through a coloured tube in her glass. Concession to the Numidid side made it wider than normal for humans.

“All good?” Su-syn chirped in Numidid. It was astonishing how the humans could make their rubbery mouths imitate Numidid sounds. Even though they spoke slower than an infant, it was clear they wanted to make the effort.

“Yes, yes. All good,” T'reka chirped in return. She found the human tongue to be just as complex. Any lingua franca that evolved was going to be… interesting. She leaped up to Su-syn’s chair arm and settled herself so they would be eye-to-eye. “Are you well? I am noticing some behaviour you would designate as 'ill’.”

“This is normal, for us,” Su-syn reassured. “I’m fine.”

Her bulging middle visibly shifted.

T'reka squawked in alarm, leaping back to a different chair. “That is not normal!”

“I explained to you months ago that I am anticipating-child. It’s just kicking.”

“Kicking happens after second-birth,” said T'reka. “Your egg moves?”

“We don’t lay eggs,” explained Su-syn. “Our kind has one birth.”

T'reka regarded her now-suspicious middle one eye at a time. “You can not lay an egg. You could not get something so large out.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I think your kind have it sorted. But we’re mammals. Our young come out loud and messy.”

“No shells,” T'reka checked.

“No shells,” Su-syn affirmed. “And don’t worry. I still have three months to go.”

“You mean you will get larger?”

“Unfortunately… yes.”

T'reka clucked a few curses that the humans had regrettably picked up very quickly indeed. “I must go. This needs explaining in simpler terms to the Ministers.” She ducked under the table and ran for the door.

“Simpler terms,” Su-syn laughed in Human. “I’ve been explaining it simply for three months!”

No matter what, this was a negotiation that was going to go down in history.

[Muse food remaining: 9 (fic war prompts: 0) Submit a prompt! Ask a question! Buy my stories!]