Ashden sighed, leaning her recliner further back to stretch her body a bit. She still had her datapad in hand as she read through the numbers a few more times to see if everything was in order. She still had an hour or so of work before she was done helping with one of the month’s earnings. Given the scale of Ildiko’s operation, she isn’t the only accountant in the office, nor was she the most important of them all. Even still they valued her skills, as she was pretty efficient in the field all those months ago. Due to her not being a permanent member of the clan, she is only tasked with minor finances that go through certain missions of the clans that need sorting through.

Although the job wasn’t stressful, it gave her enough time to ponder to herself on occasion. The last few weeks got her to marvel at something she wasn’t sure she was prepared for. Stroking her womb in a mesmerizing fashion, she looked at her brood with wonder. Most mothers in this ship were used to the occasional larger litters, but for Ashden this felt… unreal for her.

To think that she actually accepted to conceive another litter, and seeing her belly grow larger and larger than she thought was possible with her own body was hard to describe. It was a mix of fear and yet excitement, unsure what the future holds for her. She already surpassed her first pregnancy a few weeks ago, and even felt her skin stretching more as of late from the growth spurt the other day. Was she always this capable? Or was the Nelvaanian she hooked up with is a lot more fertile than he looked?

Her over analytical thinking sometimes gets the better of her even during her office work. She even failed to notice someone was in front of her as they coughed to get her attention.

“Oh!” Ashden slightly jumped in reaction, she eventually spun her chair to face them “D-do you need anything, Mr. J’ovahn?”

“Yes, how are the finances in your sector, Ashden? ” J’ovahn asked.

“I am almost done with sector FG. Also, can you send these planners and documents to Mivimel? I don’t seem to have access to her terminal.”

“Of course, I’ll send them to her in person.” J’ovahn said “Sorry for the inconvenience, but she has a different clearance than yours.”

“That’s fine. Anything else, sir?”

“As a matter of fact, you seem to be distracted today. Got something on your mind?” J’ovahn asked.

“Yeah um, just maybe excitement for this pregnancy?” Ashden nervously laughed. “Just… I didn’t expect to be showing this much so early.”

“Ah, that’s got you worried?” J’ovahn let out a sigh as he leaned against her desk “It shouldn’t be that bad for you really. It’s normal around here. If anything goes badly, even if unlikely, you know the doctors and mothers will help you out.”

“I know, I know. It’s not a huge deal, I told the same thing to my friend.” Ashden stated. ”I am more worried about Rochelle than myself at times. It is her first time… And it’s a big litter at that.”

“Well, don’t forget you’re also expecting a big litter of your own, so you better take care of yourself too, alright?”

“Thanks for worrying about me, but I’ll be fine. Everyone here is pretty supportive afterall.” Ashden smiles.

“Still, if there’s anything that you need, don’t be afraid to ask.”

“Maybe a more comfortable chair?” Ashden asked, as she is sure to outgrow it pretty soon.

---

So far many of the artwork were done years ago and some with some updates, but this is the only new artwork that was done for the series... today! Just felt it needed something extra at this point of the story.

Well here we have a collaborative effort with  snowpirate-101 and  gothia1565 for the last two years. All for everyone to enjoy!

Ashden and artwork by  Derrysome

Story by  Derrysome and  snowpirate-101