- May 16, 2023
- 357
- 68
- 28
Her little brood had found footing in their paws for some days now. At first it had been crawling, finding their way to her fluffy tail or clumsily pressing noses with the older three kittens whenever they seemed entertaining enough to watch. 'Babies are boring.' Shellkit had said, and her brothers seemed to agree, but maybe now that they were moving more often their opinions would change. Hazecloud, however, found every moment fascinating. How they opened their eyes and over time learned to recognize their surroundings. Only a short time later understanding when she spoke, how her soft words were meant for them.
The tom had consistently been the loudest of the three, yowling and shouting as he tested the limits of his voice. Hazecloud wondered if her or Rosewater had done the same, if maybe her mother had been just as in love with them like this, once. Her two pointed daughters were making strides as well, getting up on their paws a bit quicker than the tom. Her Clanmates would have noticed she was even more particular about staying in the nursery while they learned to walk. Making sure they weren't getting into trouble and that they weren't being played with too roughly. She had paced from one end of the den to the other over the course of a day to encourage them to keep trying to walk.
Now, as they all clambered out of the nest on their own and toddled about, Hazecloud saw they were ready to make an appearance outside of the nursery. Just a small endeavor, no more than a fox-length from the sedge-crested entrance. Lichentail was still out on patrol and for a moment the queen thought to wait for her mate, but the older kits were begging to join them out of the den and the kittens were mewling-
"Be very careful where you put your paws, their teeth are still growing in." Her muzzle scrunched up at the reminder of their sharp little razors when feeding. Or how they nibbled on her when bored. "The babies can't go any further than..." Hazecloud drew her paw across the layer of frosted sand. "This line. So keep-" A loud babble burst from one of her kits, but Hazecloud took a pause.
That wasn't a babble, that was a word. Something real. The molly turned her head with a look of awe, all three of their gazes trained on her expectantly. "Which one of you said that? What did you say?" Hazecloud's voice sounded breathy from the anticipation of hearing it- their first words!
Stars... they can't be talking already! They still don't even know their names... I don't know their names!?
// pls wait for @lichentail !!
The tom had consistently been the loudest of the three, yowling and shouting as he tested the limits of his voice. Hazecloud wondered if her or Rosewater had done the same, if maybe her mother had been just as in love with them like this, once. Her two pointed daughters were making strides as well, getting up on their paws a bit quicker than the tom. Her Clanmates would have noticed she was even more particular about staying in the nursery while they learned to walk. Making sure they weren't getting into trouble and that they weren't being played with too roughly. She had paced from one end of the den to the other over the course of a day to encourage them to keep trying to walk.
Now, as they all clambered out of the nest on their own and toddled about, Hazecloud saw they were ready to make an appearance outside of the nursery. Just a small endeavor, no more than a fox-length from the sedge-crested entrance. Lichentail was still out on patrol and for a moment the queen thought to wait for her mate, but the older kits were begging to join them out of the den and the kittens were mewling-
"Be very careful where you put your paws, their teeth are still growing in." Her muzzle scrunched up at the reminder of their sharp little razors when feeding. Or how they nibbled on her when bored. "The babies can't go any further than..." Hazecloud drew her paw across the layer of frosted sand. "This line. So keep-" A loud babble burst from one of her kits, but Hazecloud took a pause.
That wasn't a babble, that was a word. Something real. The molly turned her head with a look of awe, all three of their gazes trained on her expectantly. "Which one of you said that? What did you say?" Hazecloud's voice sounded breathy from the anticipation of hearing it- their first words!
Stars... they can't be talking already! They still don't even know their names... I don't know their names!?
// pls wait for @lichentail !!