37 - Delivery

Katie and I were given a week to get used to married life before people started expecting me to act like the mayor or something. With our small group, I didn't really see the need to have a "chief" and "chiefess", but Thomas explained that if we grew any more, a leadership structure would go from convenient to necessary.

Plus, I had been acting as our defacto leader anyway, so it was just a matter of being officially recognized. My first matter of business was encouraging Jack to assemble a team to upgrade our housing situation. 

Once that group was selected, I separated the rest of our group into teams based on their skills. Our fifty-five grouped into construction, cooking, clothing, hunting and gathering, scouting, and defense.

Within a week of the construction team being assembled, we had a well. Being able to pull water straight from the ground allowed us to not rely entirely on Silence for water.

The next day, Juliana collapsed. Since we were both in the clearing, I was able to rush right over.

"Juliana! Are you okay?"

"It... hurts. I think... I think the baby's coming."

I sent Cameron as a messenger to Thomas, who was in the construction crew. Then I had Nate, who was right there, help me guide Juliana to Jack's house. He had put a guest bedroom on his first floor, unlike the house he had built for me.

When Thomas heard the news, he dropped what he was doing and arrived out of breath.Harry, the other guy with any amount of birth experience, and Sophie arrived shortly after. They joined Thomas in the spare bedroom, while Katie and I - as well as several other people who were off duty - waited in the common room. Thomas requested cloths and towels, as well as a bucket of clean water, which I quickly retrieved. He thanked me briefly, then closed the door. The rest of us could only wait and pray as Juliana started screaming. Silence sat slumped against the wall, pale and trembling. One of the other guys that I wasn't as familiar with sat next to her, and attempted to comfort her with a gentle hand. She didn't seem to respond.

I started pacing, moving faster every minute. The screams were getting hoarse. How long were we waiting? Fifteen minutes? Twenty? Thirty?

Then it went silent. What was going on? I attempted to open the door. It was blocked by something on the other side. I strolled over to a chair at Jack's table and sat. Katie moved to sit next to me, and put an arm across my shoulders, rubbing my tense back.

Finally, half an hour later - over a full hour after the door was shut - it opened again. Sophie smiled at the gathered group. "It was a success. She had a beautiful little girl."

I stood up at a speed that nearly sent my chair clattering. "And Juliana?"

"A little worn out, but otherwise healthy. There were no complications, at least that we could tell."

I sat back down, relieved. Katie resumed rubbing my back. "I assume we can meet the baby? Or should we wait for a little longer?"

"You can visit now, just not all at once."

Nate visited first, along with a couple other guys. Silence left the building, still trembling. I shared a glance with Katie and she nodded. With that, I left to check on Silence. It took me a few minutes to find her, but I sensed a surge of mana, and found her at the source.

Around the left side of the Temple, she had created a clearing. Enormous, multi-century-old trees lay as logs, each felled in a single strike. I sat on one of the remaining logs and watched as Silence attacked a group of training dummies made of ice. The icy scarecrows stood no chance against the sharp bite of the Frost Dragon. With another surge of magic, the bottom halves regrew their tops, though the old heads remained scattered on the ground.

Another quick swords dance later, the newly reformed sculptures were decapitated and shredded into pieces again.

"I haven't seen you this worked up since the Boss incident." I finally said, "Care to talk about it?"

She sheathed the Frost Dragon at her waist, and knelt on another stump, wider and lower than the one I sat on.

We waited in quiet seclusion for several minutes.

"Chiyo. That is the name my mother gave me." Her voice was dry and ragged. "I never told you."

I nodded, letting her speak.

"My sister gave birth, then died. There was much screaming, but after the birth, she did not survive. And once again, I did nothing. The memories have me 'worked up', as you put it."

I nodded. "I understand. I could do nothing when my friend and I struggled with our business. But I have to ask, why have you bottled up all of this emotion? I'm sure you're noticing now that talking about it makes things easier."

She took a moment to organize her thoughts, and possibly reflect, "In Japan, there is a concept known as tatemae and honne. It is to hide your true self to fit better with the rest of society. Societal unity is one of our greatest strengths, and so, I, my honne - my self - hide, to... well, it is hard to explain."

"I understand, for the most part. Even in America, we put our best foot forward. I think that's just how humanity is. We hide our less desirable selves so that we might be more accepted. My friend did that too. I still do that. Do you think I want to be a leader? Not really, but someone has to."

"You have... a way with words. Yes, acceptance. When I grieved, my grieving was not accepted."

"So it hasn't healed."

"No. No, I do not think it ever will."

We let the conversation lapse into silence. After a while, the smell of roasted monster started wafting into the air.

"It seems dinner is being prepared, so I'm going to head back. Are you coming with me?"

She nodded, and we stood up.

"Would you mind if I shared your actual name with the others? They've been through a lot with us as well."

Chiyo shrugged. It seemed, she was back to being silent. That was alright.