Father Won't Wake Up!
It was around the time Yog-Sothoth was laying the foundations for 'those lifeforms' to live upon.
"...Whoa. What's that?"
Shub-Niggurath stared up at the sky, unable to hold back her wonder.
"Is that... what they call stars? Looks like they're finally getting started over there too, huh~"
The stars and planets he had scattered about as casually as a farmer watering his fields — they had spread all the way to where Shub-Niggurath was.
"It's really beautiful... Right, Blackie?"
"Meeee--"
Beside her was a Dark Young who had changed its form into something their Father wouldn't find repulsive. Its black fur looked freshly bathed and fluffy, and its golden eyes were slitted horizontally in a long, lazy line. It was an adorable baby goat of a creature that stirred the urge to protect just by looking at it.
"I liked your old form better, though~"
"Meeek--?"
But this appearance was not one Shub-Niggurath particularly favored. It had merely shifted into a shape their Father wouldn't find disgusting. Her taste, in fact, ran toward what the Dark Young had looked like before the change.
"...It should be fine to change back into that form when Father's not around, riiiight~?"
When she reached out toward the Dark Young — Blackie — its form began to shift once more. The bristling fur transformed into swaying tentacles, and its thin legs stretched out long and thin, like the sagging support beams of a building on the verge of collapse.
""MEEEEEEEK----""
From its countless mouths burst the cry of a baby goat, utterly ill-suited to them.
"Heheh. See? This form really is the best~"
She stroked the many screaming mouths and beamed a benevolent smile. A monster bleating like a goat, and a girl gazing at it with the smile of a loving mother. It was a pairing that made no sense whatsoever.
"By the way... we'll have to make a lot more of them going forward... Where am I supposed to have them liiive?"
She moved and acted so nonchalantly that one might forget it, but this place was outer space. Right now there was only one of her children, so it was fine — but as their numbers grew, they could drift loose, break away, and become lost little strays adrift in the cosmos. That was why she needed a safe haven where her children could remain secure even when she wasn't watching them.
"...Oh waaait, now that I think of it — weren't my big sisters making all this so their creations could survive too~?"
Shub-Niggurath's eyes lit up along with her idea.
"From the looks of it, they don't seem to be planning to use every single one of these planets anyway~"
Just the planets and stars visible to her eyes right now numbered at least several thousand. And since they must have come flying in from the direction of her Father and her sisters, there were probably far, far more than that.
"But why'd they make so many~? There's no way they could manage this many, riiight~"
If there was one thing that bothered her, it was that the number of stars and planets was far too large — even for far too large's sake. If the purpose was simply to build homes for her creations, a few dozen, maybe a few hundred would have been plenty. Faced with a figure that had blown well past any reasonable amount, she began to reach a misunderstanding.
"Don't tell me... they sent these for me to use~?"
Her sisters already knew that Shub-Niggurath had gone off to create a friend for their Father.
"Heehee... They prepared all this without me even asking... I'm touched~"
""Meee--""
Blackie bleated through all its countless mouths at once, expressing its sympathy.
"I'll have to repay them properly next time I see them~"
Her violet eyes sparkled as she resolved to return this kindness one day. Of course, she had entirely mistaken whom she owed it to.
Then—
'Shub-Niggurath, can you hear me!?'
"...Hmhm?"
An urgent transmission came from her sisters, who were with their Father.
'Nyarlathotep! I received the stars and planets safe and—'
'It's an emergency!! Father won't wake up from his sleep!!'
With a grave matter cradled in her arms.
Winding the clock back a little,
"How about... Earth?"
In a small voice, Yog-Sothoth spoke the name of the planet cupped in her hand.
"Earth, huh... Well, it's the first prototype, so simple suits it fine."
Nyarlathotep delivered her verdict on the name in her usual prickly tone.
"Haha... Sorry about earlier. I got a little carried away..."
Having caught the undercurrent in that attitude, Yog-Sothoth took her hand and offered an apology.
"...Forget it. More importantly, what are you going to do about the lifeforms going inside that planet?"
"Hmm..."
Right — the environment was prepared, so now it was time to fill it with life. Eyes closed, she began to conceive of the beings that would inhabit Earth.
'First... their appearance should be similar to ours.'
He had recoiled in revulsion at his own true form. But he'd shown no reaction at all to the sight of them — as if their forms were perfectly acceptable.
'So let's just make their original appearance similar to ours from the start.'
That was what Yog-Sothoth decided.
'As for strength... it's better not to give them any, not right away.'
No matter how powerfully she built her creations, right now they wouldn't so much as graze the tip of one of Father's tentacles.
'I'll lower their immediate standing instead, and raise their potential sky-high.'
A species whose overall rank would be humble, but who would grow tremendously powerful once that potential awakened. She designed them as the proverbial late bloomers of creation.
'And finally — the species name.'
In truth, the name had already been decided.
'Ever since I named this planet Earth, something about that name just felt right — I don't know why.'
They would bear forms similar to her sisters'. They would be her first creations, building societies with their high intelligence.
"Humans."
That was the name of the lifeforms destined to become humanity — the rulers of Earth.
"Humans? That's the species name for the creatures living there?"
"That's right. Pretty good, isn't it?"
"It's... certainly a much better fit than I expected."
Once again Nyarlathotep had been about to push back on her sister's decision, but thrown off balance by how surprisingly well the name suited, she simply answered the question.
"You're putting these... 'humans' on the planet now, right? Then I'll go wake Father up and bring him."
"Father? Why?"
Yog-Sothoth frowned at this thoroughly unexpected remark.
"These are our firstborn, aren't they? Unusual ones at that. Wouldn't Father want to see them?"
True enough. Every living thing their Father had ever laid eyes on until now consisted of himself and the three of them. If they showed him the humans, he would surely be overjoyed.
"Well then,"
Nyarlathotep perched herself on the edge of the bed and gently peeled back the blanket that covered him to the very end.
"...Sleeping so peacefully..."
What met her eyes was their Father, lost in slumber with the face of an angel.
'I don't want to wake him... but still, I know it'll make him happy.'
"Um... Father? Would you wake up for a moment?"
She took his shoulders lightly and rocked him back and forth.
"Zzz... Zzz..."
But all that answered her was the faint whisper of his breathing, not his voice.
"...Father?"
Sensing something wrong, she shook him harder, but the result was the same.
"F-Father!?"
As the gravity of the situation dawned on her, the color drained from her face.
"...Nyarlathotep? What's wrong?"
Yog-Sothoth asked, worried by the sight of her sister calling to their Father — and Nyarlathotep answered, her desperation impossible to hide.
"Father won't wake up!!"