No sex!

"Grey spikes... pretty sure I hadn't seen this before." Gustav said, as they observed the new set of eggs.

The color lining was different on each of the four eggs, but they still had similarities. Three to four column-like lines stretched out across each egg, and those columns had two-inch long spikes on either side.

These grey features almost seemed unnatural, and definitely looked deformed. They had a lumpy lining, and looked like they were dipped in cement, to attain these layers.

It was interesting at least, but the main feature of these eggs shone above anything else. The bloody-red, and hot shell was difficult to confuse with anything else, that wasn't demonic.

Even Gustav acknowledged it, he grinned. "Yeah... that's mine. My ass-hair sizzled because of these."

"I could see that, are your little cheeks okay?" Arila teased.

Any lesser man would be offended by that comment, but he only stretched out half a smile. In any brief comparison of 'sizes', he could put any rhino-man into shame!

He was confident, as when the timing was right, this little lady's cheeks would get the beating of a lifetime.

Arila acknowledged that, and she was in love with the idea as well. That didn't stop her from joking though, as she wanted the other to be boiled up and vengeful, for love's sake.

So they remained silent, as she stared right into Gustav's eyes and smiled, which created a wave of tension. The only thing they heard, was the violent chewing in the background while the crawler demons feasted.

"Okay then," He finally spoke, and broke the tension down.

There were other things to worry about right now, dire issues. Confusion seemed to be a common tagalong, wherever Gustav went.

He was a mammoth-man after all, and they weren't exactly known for their intelligence. What happened recently was beyond his comprehension, no doubt about it.

"I want to dig into her so badly, but there's so much going on." Gustav thought, as he wanted to be cautious.

He also wished dearly that the intelligence boost he was given, would kick in sooner for progress' sake but that was a far stretch. There was a lot to figure out, and yet he didn't have enough brain-power, to pierce through informational brackets!

The injection he got back in that spaceship had two purposes, but they were nearly a month away from kicking in properly.

The first purpose was to gradually reveal information about the signal beacon, which he was supposed to build. That was what the computerized brain cells were for.

As for the second purpose, he was supposed to get a major intelligence boost, with the help of a special formula that had been in the same needle. What that formula would do to his brain, may remain uncertain. 

Perhaps a few lobes would have to shift in mass, which didn't always equal a larger brain, but a more efficient one instead. Either way, he was frustrated by how this 'brain update' was so far away; He needed its qualities now!

"Maybe I'm missing something here," Gustav thought, as he grabbed a hold of a single, relevant theory.

Afterwards, he muttered. "I slept with Arila, but it doesn't make sense to call her the father… or mother? It doesn't make any sense."

That thought was especially radiant, once he remembered that the first set of eggs he popped out, weren't fertilized by any sexual partners.

He supposedly didn't need anyone, if he wanted to give birth but that bloomed tougher questions.

"Am I supposed to lay eggs for the rest of my life now? Even when I don't want to?" He silently mumbled.

Arila heard that, however, so she interrupted. "Sure looked like you wanted to have kids, that night."

"I do… but you don't understand. If I lay eggs every couple of days, then I'd have an army of children in less than a year! It's going to be a problem, because we can't feed them and how're we going to name them all?" Gustav frantically explained.

"Oh, you're right. Maybe there's a way to slow that down?" She was forced to reason, but partially joked as well.

The mammoth did some basic math a moment ago, but to his own mental health's demise. The thought of laying eggs every two days or so was terrifying. It did make him consider, however, that the fun he had with Arila may have sped things up.

That helped make sense of things at least a little bit, but he wasn't a fan. Reproduction didn't usually work like that, which made him mutter over the question, of which canal did 'Arila's influences' pass through in order to get him pregnant.

It didn't feel right, so he wanted to dedicate the next few days to a thorough observation. The first idea was to not have sex for a while, and if he didn't feel the staggering effects of a new pregnancy in the following hours, then it would help bring light to some new information.

They had their hands full now either way, as these four eggs looked very different from the first set he had laid before.

He was under the solid impression that these upcoming hatchlings, would be even more unique in comparison. 

It was important to use every second wisely, as there was stuff to do, and these eggs had to be protected as well.

For that matter, Gustav encouraged. "Okay, we gotta play it smart now. I was looking forward to stuffing you up today, but we can't risk getting side-tracked..."

"You don't want to get pregnant again, I understand." Arila added, and directly expressed what her lover couldn't.

Half frantically, he followed along. "Good, we have these eggs to protect now, and we also gotta get those demon crystals, they're very important."

The lady could notice all that tension in his voice, and acknowledged the overall vulnerability they had down here. Progress seemed unlikely, so some sacrificial decisions were mandatory.

"Do you want me to find the crystals? I did most of the fighting anyways, so nothing here could really kill me." She pitched, and was a bit more serious this time around.

Almost immediately, Gustav rejected that idea. "Nono, we don't know what's down there. Could be another monster, or a hundred of them! We can't have you killed, horn-head, hehe." 

Afterwards, he added. "We'll leave the moles here, so they can protect the eggs. I know we won't make it far without them, but it's the only option we have right now."