Two Eyes Cenote you can't help but become the sun

mama baby bonding thread!!

the children grew. no longer were they plump little mounds at her breast; now, inji was marveling at the way they shined and blossomed. she took them out for their first walk outside today, just beyond the rim of the glistening cenote. the fellahin quarters could get dark and dingy, and now they got to see the true beauty of the desert.
@Safiya was kept close to her side. she kissed the head of little @Kiyya while they walked, giggling at the likely disgusted expression he put on. @Tiye was on her shoulders, carried like the little princess she was, and @Kheti was to lead the way. she pointed out the cactus blossoms, the mountains far in the distance, and told them of the sparkling palace that lied to the north.
one day, we'll go visit, and you'll get to meet the royal family, she coos to them. but it's a looooong walk from here. or, at least, much too far for four-week-old children.

tiye lays closely to her mama's furs and stares down at the commoners. but she finds more excitement that for once they are finally leaving the nursery and baba isn't here to drag them back into it. blue eyes, a hint of purple tinting them ever so subtly, flit around in awe of her home. it doesn't help that she doesn't have to worry about keeping up with mama either.

Safiya walked beside her mother disgusted at the display everyone put on for Tiye. But she swallowed that injustice. She kept it to herself.

Instead she walked quietly ears displayed watching and waiting. A tilt of her head at certain things. She apoke nothing else. Even her paw steps quiet.

Eager to escape being cooped up with his quarrelling sisters, Kheti was more than keen to lead their little troop into the desert sunshine. After a month of growing, his legs had become more sturdy, his eyes now accustomed to the light - but the outside world had so much more life.

He sniffed the fragrant cactus bloom, concerned that it seemed to have sharp teeth like his siblings. Returning to the others he kept close to Inji's forelegs, eyes wide in awe as he listened raptly to his mother's talk of the red palace. The thwack of his tail against her revealed his excitement, but the little boy thought only of how big the world could be. If there were places outside the quarters, outside the cenote - further than the palace; he wished to see it all with his own eyes someday.

kheti was riveted! safiya stayed her shy, observant self, and tiye seemed pleased to not be getting her paws dirty.
i wonder if we can find daddy's station, the mother thinks aloud. maybe if he's close by we can sneak in and pay him a visit.
motherhood had not taken away inji's girlhood. she pauses next to a bush of vibrant desert blooms, a small, excited squeak leaving her lips as she ushers her children over to look at them. oh, aren't these pretty?
her first thought, of course, is to pluck four blossoms and settle them atop each of her children's heads.

mama speaks things that tiye doesn't understand, but she pretends she does with babbling. she mentions baba, and that gets her little tail wagging, but then mana sets her eyes on a spikey thing, covered in pretty things.

yaya! ma yaya! she prattles, rocking back and forth excitedly until the pretty is placed on her head like a crown. and this time, it won't be taken away from her.

mmnn.. mama.. she hums, relaxing under the comfort of the pretty.

Safiya looked around for papa but didn't see him. But mama had said maybe. So she tried not to be too disappointed.

She followed to the flowers sniffing at them quietly. Surprise colored her features when one was dropped atop her head. A paw and she shifted it so it covered an ear, tucked nicely.

Tiye began speaking and she felt a tight irritation. But moved forward to sniff at more flowers. Each smell was different. Some good. Some not so good. Those ones earned a huff.

kiyya is more than welcome to jump in still <3

Inji's words sent a rumbling vibration throughout Kheti's body, and though he was too young to understand full sentences, there was one word he recognised. "Daaada, dada!" he parrotted back at her.

He soon became a nuisance underfoot as they were ushered onwards, joining Safiya to investigate the bush until he felt something placed on his head. Wide-eyed, he gazed up at the petals protruding above his eyebrows - and then turned to see each of his siblings with one too! Well, his was bigger and much, much prettier, he thinks.

"Preeeeetty!" His chortles accompany his prancing - although they all had their own playthings now, he was determined to let them know that his was the best.

she watches the reactions of her children intently; where safiya seemed less than enthused by her new accessory and more interested in inspecting the blossoms themselves, kheti and tiye were thrilled to be dolled up. this earned a string of delighted giggles from their mama, who coos at them and assists with any needed adjustments for the sake of comfort.
do you like the flowers, ya qamari? she asks safiya, kissing the space between her eyes. i see tavina has rubbed off on you. would you like to pick some out to give to her?
she turns to kheti next, who seemed equally as riveted by them before he got distracted by inji's whims. the lavender eyes sparkle with affection. my beautiful boy, look at you, she reaches down to smooth the downy fur of his cheeks. you could be a prince!
tiye does not go ignored, of course; the little girl is gently pulled onto the ground so that she too may inspect the bush. inji crouches so that she may see what the world looks like from her height. what do you think, babygirl?

tiye mimics her mama's coos and hums, amused by the shared language. but then she returns to speaking a language tiye has to pretend to understand. 
yaya! she gave a quick glance at kheti, who said something that sounded closer to mama's words. pruh.. she sputters, exasperated by the difficulty of the word. pre.. pretty! tiye vigorously nods. the flower rolls completely off her head, leaving the once excited girl in shock as she watches her pretty fall onto the red dirt. it all happens so slowly: the way it tumbled from her crown and the bounce of the petals as they hit the ground. tiye blinks: now, she's no longer pretty, and little blobs of tears signal the flood that's about to fill the palace.

Safiya's earrs curled back and pinned to her head at mothers word and then sprang back up. They were pretty and smelled nice.

She nodded once. Yes she wanted to get flowers for Tavina, but all too soon she saw she wouldn't get her way again. As Tiye geared up for a tear fest.
 
She froze unsure, she tried to dust the flower off. As annoying as her sister was she didn't want her to cry. And that didnt work. So she shifted and pulled her own flower and offered it to her sister.