Tanith was hitting well past full term with the twins. While the issue of things like hormones seem to have eventually gone away on their own as time progressed, one final challenge stood in their way. Simply put, the twins had gotten big enough that Tanith didn’t really feel like moving all these days. While it certainly wasn’t a bad thing in either of their minds that the kids were healthy, her lounging at all hours had Tarkus a bit concerned. Sure there was the possibility her body was just gearing up for labor, but he still thought she needed to move around a little.


“Anything I can get you?” She thought it over for a second before she gave a simple answer.

“Food,” she declared without a hint of sarcasm.

“Want me to go bug the chefs to make you something?” Tanith grimaced at the offer.

“It’s just that their portions are kinda small.” She wasn’t wrong, they cooked for something a bit more…dainty than saurians. Even he had more than one instance where he had to order an extra helping from the kitchen. Tarkus thought about what other potential options they might have. And then, one idea hit him

“What about the cantina? They usually have some good stuff down there.”

“But that’s on the ground floooooor,” she groaned.

“Yeah, but it might be worth it for some good cooking hmm?” he asked as he leaned towards her a little. She weighed the options for a moment before finally nodding.

“Alright, I’ll mingle with the locals.” She cast out her arms. “Help me up will you?”

__

The “Angry Shrimp” cantina had been around for ages. So long in fact there was an urban myth that it was constructed here first and the Citadel was built around it. Origin myths aside, the stonework building had managed to survive four sieges across it’s lifetime with only it’s roof not surviving while the rest of it continued to supply a good chunk of the residents living in and around Amber Hill’s meals to this day. As for what they did and didn’t serve; simply put, if you couldn’t find something to eat here, you were too picky. When the couple entered the vicinity of the cantina, their noses were hit by a myriad of fragrances from searing meats roasting on the grill surrounding the large open fire to the back of the room, to the herbs and seasonings they had coated them with. Tanith was already hungry before but now Tarkus was convinced she was near drooling once the smells were hitting her. Picking a table, they both grabbed seats. However, almost immediately, it became apparent Tanith was just a tad too short, only the crest of her belly up being above the table.

“My belly’s touching the floor,” she grumbled.

“Hang on, one sec” he said as he got up to grab something. A minute later, he returned with a wooden stool. After a second of fumbling, he got his hands under her belly and hefted it onto the barstool. “That should do it. Better?” he asked. She gave a nod. Shortly after, a waiter approached.

“Good evening, and what can I get-Oh!” he exclaimed with excitement as he recognized the pair. “I see we’re serving royalty tonight,” he declared with a slight bow before handing them the menus.

“Yep, gotta feed the queen and the little ones,” Tarkus said as he reached over and patted the tan belly across from him.

“Little, right” the waiter said as he eyed the colossal swell for a moment before pulling out his notes..

“Anything I can start you off with?”

“Just the slab steak for me,” Tarkus said.

“Any preference on preparation?

“Medium rare.” The waiter dutifully jotted down the order before turning to Tanith.

“And for you, your highness?” Tanith scanned over the menu for a minute.

“I’ll take the kebabs, the beef stew. Ooo! And the pork haunch! Oh, and the shark tails!” If the waiter had any objections, he kept them to himself as he jotted down the orders as they came.

“Very well, we’ll have them out to you in a bit. ”And with that he left, leaving the two to themselves. After a moment, the pregnant saurian spoke up.

“Thanks for bringing me here”

“No problem,” he said with his best smile. Tanith returned it to him in kind.

“Not long we’ll be parents,” she said as she looked down at the maternal curve. “It’s gonna get exciting”

“Not gonna be able to do all the vacationing we’ve been doing,” he added, earning a groan from her.

“Don’t remind me, we’re gonna be busy for a while.”

“It’ll be worth it though,” he reasoned. He looked back at the grill and noticed they were setting the meats out.

“Tell you what, I’ll help them prep the food.”

“Trying to weasel out of small talk?”

“Might be able to get it done faster, and done right.” he said as he got up. “I’ll be back.” Her expression looked to convey she wasn’t entirely convinced of his excuse, but she didn’t stop him. The cooks were a bit caught off when Tarkus entered the fray, but didn’t complain as he went to prepping his own steak. He knew the best way to cook it, after all. But more importantly, he knew how Tanith preferred HER food, meaning there was going to be a much smaller chance that he’d have to keep her from lashing out at the waiter if her shark tails weren’t prepared just so.

“Lets see, time to dust off the cooking skills,” he muttered to himself. Grabbing a couple of the deceased sharks, he severed off their tails and got to work. Tanith meanwhile was drumming her fingers against the table. She didn’t want to look or seem impatient, but the twins were definitely egging her on. At least there weren’t any utensils for her to gnaw on.

“Your kebabs,” Tarkus said as he sat down a row of skewered shark tails. Tanith blinked, almost in shock.

“Wow, that was fast!”

“Yeah, doesn’t take too long to…cook,” Tarkus started, but stopped when he looked up and realized Tanith wasn’t listening anymore. She was far too focused munching away on her kebabs to pay attention.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” he said a bit flustered before turning back around.

__

Not long after, the main course was finally prepped and ready to serve.

“Your food,” the waiter declared as he along with another worker and Tarkus flanking him brought rather large plates and set them on the table. Tarkus was holding a simple looking, albeit large steak garnished with a bit of garlic and rosemary.

Tanith meanwhile had an absolute spread. A hefty bowl of beef stew filled to the brim with vegetables, beans, and tender beef chunks almost the size of a person’s fist, along with a haunch that had been seared all around, locking in its flavors.

“Enjoy” the waiter said before bowing and backing away. Tarkus took a seat beside Tanith, grabbed his utensils, and started carving out a portion of his steak

Tanith meanwhile skipped any sense of formalities, grabbed the pork haunch by the bone, and started taking repetitives bites as she rolled the bone to get access to any uneaten sections and started rolling it like it was corn on the cob. Once She grabbed the stew bowl and guzzled it like a drink, beef chunks and all. Even Tarkus, having been used to his mate’s eating quirks during her pregnancy, had to pause at the sight.

“You uhh, ok there?”

“Yeph!” she said with some shark tail in her mouth before swallowing “Why?”

“Just checking,” Tarkus said, “you’re tearing through the food pretty fast.”

“Hungry!” she declared simply and truthfully. “Or the kids are anyway” she said as she went back to the meat haunch. She was almost done with her meal, and she showed zero signs of slowing down. Tarkus took a tentative bite of his steak before he set down his fork.

“Hey, uhh-” he started, causing Tanith to stop eating and look up at him, cheeks still puffed up with food. “Want me to go make you some dinner rolls or something?” She immediately swallowed what was in her mouth.

“Sure!”

An hour later and another round of food later, and Tarkus was thoroughly full and content.Tanith meanwhile, looked as if she was pregnant with a third child. The fact she wasn’t scanning the table any more for scraps anymore signaled to her mate that she might finally be done.

“Ready to head back?” The reply he got was a belch that he swore shook the foundations. Tanith shut her mouth and looked around flustered with a blush.

“Op, scuse me”

“I’ll take that as a yes”

---

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Very overdue commission piece for  Viper9000

Tanith belongs to  Viper9000

Tarkus belongs to Zomb983

Story by  Raydis

Art by  Derrysome

This piece has been on my Patreon for a while, so if you want to see other arts early and in high quality, support me on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Deliveredmean42