The morning finally arrived, and Clover gave birth to three wonderful little mantis children. She and Reed spent the entire day fawning over their newborn children. They invited everyone to come and see the children, all of whom were admiring the little mantises as well.
"They are adorable!" Daisy exclaimed.
"They seem to be very healthy," Ash commented.
"Sleepless night sweetie?" Stan asked Haley.
"Oh, you have no idea," Haley said tiredly.
"Cousins!" Markus shouted.
"Yes Markus, cousins." Clover laughed at the little pill bug's words.
"Ash, will our children be this cute?" Daisy did not consider the surrounding audience when she spoke, embarrassing Ash.
"Daisy!" Ash exclaimed, very flustered.
"What?" Daisy asked, confused by his irritated embarrassment.
"Aww, what's the matter, Ash?" Clover teased.
Everyone was cutting up and laughing with one another. Though Reed seemed to be passed out next to Clover, holding two of their three children in his arms. Both were fast asleep, just like him. At the same time, the child Clover held was particularly active.
"I wish Acacia could be here," Clover said longing. She had hoped her cousin would be there for the birth of her children.
"She will meet her niblings soon enough, she is rather busy with her own pregnancy at this point," Reed commented.
"You're right, at least we will have most of the family here to see them." Clover cradled her newborn mantis children and held them close.
"Looks like you got some healthy kiddos there Clover," Violet said as she walked into the room.
"Aunt Violet! You made it! Where are Mother and Father?" Clover asked excitedly.
"Right here sweetheart," Ivy said as she walked into the room behind Violet, Thorn trailing behind her.
"That walk was horrible. We're staying here for at least a few days." Thorn said, rubbing his shoulder.
"We aren't going anywhere Thorn, why do you think we brought all our things? We need to stick around for our grandbabies." Ivy said.
"Fine by me," Thorn answered, relieved he wouldn't need to carry all their bags back up the mountain.
"Sorry Mother, but you missed the birth," Clover said to her mother.
"It is no problem, Clover, I am just glad you are okay," Ivy responded, walking over and resting her hand on Clover's head.
"Let's get a look at them!" Thorn said excitedly, walking up next to Ivy and looking down at Clover's kids.
Ivy and Thorn admired Clover and Reed's children. The three shared traits of both parents and slept soundly. Everyone was fawning over the little mantises when the air grew cold. The group looked to the door and saw a very tall mantis standing in the doorway. A cloak covered their frame. A scar trailed from the mantis's face down to their waist, and one of their arms was missing replaced with a blade. The mantises recognized her immediately.
"The children. Show them to me." She said.
All the mantises kneeled on the ground. Clover loosened her arms a little.
"Here they are Matriarch," Clover said.
The tall mantis approached, bending down at the hip to look closely at the children. She raised a clawed hand and let it hover over the three, before stopping at the smallest one.
"This one. He is the runt. I will dispose of him." The Matriarch snatched the smallest mantis child out of Clover's arms.
The child was abruptly woken up by the violent shaking, it looked at The Matriarch and began crying.
"It cries like a weakling too. It isn't even worth feeding to my hounds, I'll dispose of it myself." The Matriarch tilted her head back unhinged her jaw and held the baby mantis above her.
"Wait! Matriarch please, I promise he will be strong!" Clover pleaded.
"We can not afford to waste resources." She was about to drop the child into her mouth when Reed kicked her in the gut and caught his child gently.
The Matriarch barely moved from Reed's kick.
"Matriarch, you are respected. But I will not allow you to kill my child." Reed placed the child back in Clover's arms.
"Clover, your mate lives. Disappointing." The Matriarch readjusted and extended her blade arm.
The Matriarch and Reed dashed towards one another, Reed drawing his blades and clashing with The Matriarch. She eyed the mantis, pushing him further into the ground with her single blade.
"You're a crossbreed, aren't you?" She asked coldly.
Reed did not respond but merely continued trying to push back against The Matriarch.
"It is no wonder you are so weak. A male crossbreed. You will never have the strength to defeat me." The Matriarch almost laughed at the thought of Reed defeating her.
Reed quickly realized the difference in strength between himself and The Matriarch, without having much time to think he made a quick decision that if he could not overpower her he would use his superior speed to attempt to defeat her. He diverted her blade into the ground and began dashing around the Matriarch, his smaller size, incredible speed, and razor-sharp reflexes let him move much more than she could in the small delivery room. The Matriarch could only wait and see when Reed would strike and attack reactively, she closed her functional eye and waited. When she sensed Reed launch an attack she attempted to deliver a parry behind her, where she believed Reed would strike. However she misjudged, Reed slipped under her and delivered an incredibly powerful kick to her gut.
The kick sent her out of the hut and into the street outside. The Matriarch recovered quickly and removed her cloak, revealing her battle-scarred exoskeleton. Cracks and scratches covered her outer shell, and the full extent of her missing arm could be seen. Her missing arm ended halfway down her bicep, transforming into a prosthetic from there on. A long silvery blade extended from the top of the wrist, seemingly able to be retracted into the forearm. Reed walked out into the street himself, casting his cloak away. His exoskeleton shows wear but not nearly as much as The Matriarch's.
"It seems I misjudged you. Perhaps you are not helpless. Very well, if you seek to stop me then ready your blade child. I will deliver you an honorable death." The Matriarch crouched down slightly and readied her blade.
Reed wordlessly mimicked her movements, preparing for the fight of his life.
YOU ARE READING
Tribal
FanfictionShe watched him defeat her mother and aunts in battle, she is an adult now and has taken her mother's place with her cousins by her side, one fateful day that mysterious knight returns, fully grown and as silent as ever. She becomes obsessed with hi...
