Lucy and Melody rested calmly on the couch as things progressed. The fact that the Slug Person colony was friends with Reverand Jack was a tremendous surprise, and the fact that her father had been a "knight" for the church was an even bigger surprise. These were things she never expected, much like she never expected to become a Slug Woman, or fall in love with another Slug Woman, and sire eggs within her new love and become pregnant with her lover's eggs. It was all fast and strange, and when it started, a good part of Lucy was seriously concerned over retaining her freedom and individuality. Now, however, she felt a lot more comfortable.
She could feel the general feelings of her family. Her mother's shock and surprise at Reverand Jack's involvement in what ultimately put John Chapman in the position that led to his death. She could feel Grace's nervousness over what to do with Cupple and even slight touch of jealousy at Lucy's egg filled womb. She could feel Jeff and Zoe's eagerness and willingness to do just about anything to stop Cupple, even if it would become legally questionable. She could feel Melody's loving concern, and that felt stronger as Melody rubbed her tail over the dorsal side of Lucy's tail. She could fee Simon's frustration, and some of it matched the inward feelings of guilt that Reverand Jack had shown. But even with all this buzzing through the "hive mind," Lucy could still feel herself and her own decisions, which only confirmed that her mind was free.
That freeness left Lucy more comfortable, though she also knew that defeating Cupple, while it could be Jeff's priority, couldn't be hers. Hers and Melody's eggs were going to be more important. She hadn't planned on becoming a mother out of wedlock, or at least before she graduated college, but falling in love with Melody also wasn't something she'd planned on. And while she might still have her issues with how she become a Slug Woman, her own growing love for Melody was enough that if there was a way to undo what had been done to the Chapmans, she might refuse it just to stay at Melody's side... or at least return to Melody's side after college. She continued to absentmindedly rub her womb with one free hand as the discussion with Reverand Jack continued. Though as Jeff began to get into ideas of essentially trolling Cupple into exposing his magic, Lucy began to feel some minor twitches inside her womb, like muscles around it were starting to squeeze.
It didn't really hurt, but it was noticeable. Then when Melody's tail slid forcefully over the back of Lucy's tail and actually flicked a bit of Lucy's slime onto Grace, that was enough to get Lucy to turn one eye to Melody. Through that eye, she could see Melody cradling her own gravid womb in both hands. These muscle contractions in Lucy's own womb were starting to grow stronger, though, for the moment, her thoughts and worries moved more to Melody as Melody seemed a bit more uncomfortable.
"Melody? Are you okay?" Lucy asked, drawing some attention as it interrupted the planning schedule on dealing with Cupple. The crunches in her own stomach were enough that Lucy was also forced to bring her other hand to her own womb, and making her think that whatever was happening with Melody was starting to happen to her too.
"I'm fine," Melody answered slowly and with what looked like a pained smile, "though... I think... I need to... go... to my... nest..."
"Your nest?" Lucy asked, "you mean..."
"I think... it... is time... I laid... your eggs," Melody answered and then feeling a shudder in Lucy's tail underneath her own, "and I don't... think... you're... too far... behind me."
"Your eggs?" came Whitney's voice, the conversation strategy nearly completely forgotten for the moment.
"They're on their way," Melody managed, "if we... could get... to our nests... things should be fine."
This brought about a panicked movement. Lucy wanted to help move Melody but found herself being lifted up onto Zoe and Grace's shoulders. Zoe was a bit stronger than Grace, but the two of them were able to support her. Lucy felt her tail was strong enough to carry herself, but she didn't argue as she sensed the worry from Zoe and Grace. Simon and Whitney moved to do the same with Melody.
"All that will need to be done is get them to their nests," Simon instructed, "from there, we can let them stand on their own. The eggs are not shelled in the way that a bird's egg was. In this, the process of laying should be at worst uncomfortable as they move. Though... as a male, I've never experienced it... and this would be Melody's first pregnancy, and thus first clutch of eggs. Most of what I know here is a combination of our culture's own "sex-ed" courses for young ones growing up, and what my own mates have described in laying their eggs."
"It shouldn't hurt?" Lucy asked as Simon and Whitney lead Melody by the arm. Noticing this, Grace and Zoe lowered Lucy a bit so that their arms were around Lucy's elbows rather than having them draped over her sisters' shoulders. Jeff and Reverand Jack followed along behind, and she could feel some nervousness from Jeff as well.
"It shouldn't," Melody said slowly, "our eggs... are different... from what you would expect... when... you were human."
They were then led into Melody's room and both of them were set before the nests they had constructed earlier in the morning. They hadn't diminished or lost their forms, though also looked gelatinous enough that they'd also be soft. A part of Lucy's mind wondered if this was some element of magic that related how Slug People lived, but she couldn't dwell on it as her own contractions were starting to accelerate. They had been doing so for a while, and as she looked to Melody, her eyes looked as though Melody had been laying off laying her eggs for a few seconds. Once in front of her nest, Melody seemed to relax a little and rested her hands on the top of her womb. She gave a soft grunt as the vent lips of her vagina began to open a bit and a white orb began to appear, pushing itself out and spreading those lips wider.
Lucy was about to ask something when she then felt something inside her move. It was inside her own womb and the muscles around her uterus began contracting on it and the eggs within, her first egg began to move down the birth canal. She found herself giving a small coo as her own vaginal vent began to open, though, this time her penis didn't extend. It remained flaccid and contained in the specialized sheath area where it was contained in a Slug Woman's body and internally in the tail where it met her waist. Lucy only just realized she was truly beginning to lay her eggs... Melody's children... as she saw the first egg slide out from Melody's vagina and into the nest. It was coated in a clear liquid and sat in the nest calmly. A thought went through Lucy's mind, "my daughter." Though her own contractions grew stronger, and the egg was moving down.
"The egg is white," Zoe said slowly, "and round... will that be the color or...?"
"We can't be sure on whether or not our eggs will take after their sire-mother or their laying-mother until after the eggs hatch," Melody answered as she grunted again and a second egg began to push out from her, "and that's where things actually slow down. It'll be a month or so before Lucy's and my eggs hatch."
Lucy wanted to say something as she felt her vaginal lips stretch as her first egg had descended enough reach those vaginal lips. There was no real pain, and she could almost feel the egg squeeze in on itself to more easily fit down her birth canal. It was odd and different, but it didn't really hurt so that was a plus. And so, she only gave a low grunt and pushed. The egg squeezed out and slid into her nest with a small gush of birthing fluid with it. Following this, she felt another egg begin to move within her, and something told Lucy that this second egg would be the only other one. At the same time, Melody had already laid a second egg and was still giving a low grunt.
"That'll give us some time to defeat Cupple," Jeff spoke, "and protect the NEWEST members of the family."
Sentimentally speaking, Lucy agreed. However, as she pushed her second egg out and into the nest, there was also the instinctual response in the back of her mind that she would need to be there for hers and Melody's eggs. She may not have planned on becoming a parent, but it happened. She had sired three eggs with Melody and who had sired two eggs in her. Of course, Lucy also knew that she had college to finish and if Cupple wasn't defeated, her daughters would grow up in the shadow of Cupple's danger and could end up isolated in the Slug Person colony.
"Just so long as the eggs can be protected... I would be happy to help," Melody offered.
"The colony is behind you and your family," Simon spoke, "you have my word."