July 30, 2017, 11:02 PM
Now that they had all of their other senses developed and working, Khoe knew that it wouldn't be much longer before speech came into the picture. Of course she wanted them to speak English first, otherwise how would they communicate? But it was also important to her that they spoke her own mother tongue of Sinhala just as well. Whenever she had time alone with them, she tried to use it almost exclusively, though even she had to admit that some of the vocabulary was getting away from her.
Magē ḷamayi, she began at a whisper, finding both Arushi and Mirza asleep. Ishara, being the rebellious child she was, happened to be the only one still awake during the normal post-meal nap.
Oba vēgayen væḍemin! Væḍi kal yanna kalin oba maṭa vaḍā viśāla vanu æta.She snuggled her nose into Ishara's side and took a moment to just inhale her sweet, milky scent.
July 30, 2017, 11:08 PM
Easy was as sleepy as her siblings, but a bit of indegestion was keeping her up. Her tummy felt strange and bloated, and though she wasn't in any pain, the discomfort was enough to keep her bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She listened to her mother with interest, blinking up at her with inquisitive blue eyes. Had she been more energetic, she probably would've tried to incite some rough play - but she was tired, and so she merely lifted her paws to tap at her mother's face, amused and delighted by the strange sound of her words.
"Abuba," she said, attempting to mimick her mother with rather limited success. "Imawawa!"
"Abuba," she said, attempting to mimick her mother with rather limited success. "Imawawa!"
July 30, 2017, 11:20 PM
Okay, Khoe laughed, gently catching one of Ishara's paws in her mouth,
Ee-shah-ruh. Nævatat. It pleased her to see the jovial light in her daughter's icy blues; in a way, she reminded Khoe of one of her first children, though she would never say that aloud. Part of her hated Ishara for bringing back such painful memories, but the other, more logical part knew that she had no say in how she came out. It wasn't her fault, and yet Khoe couldn't find it in herself to forgive her.
So sweet, so sweet, Ee-shah-ruh...
July 30, 2017, 11:39 PM
Her mother slowed down, and Easy watched her mouth, transfixed, as Khoe's tongue and lips shaped the sounds she was making. Easy moved her own mouth along, silently trying to mimick the movements she observed on her mother's face. When she tried it aloud, it came out sort of mixed-up and garbled.
"Sha-wee-aa," she whispered, giggling when it sounded nothing like what her mother said. "Sha-wee... Wee-sha-aa... Ee-shwa-wa..." Her eyes brightened. It wasn't exactly right, but it was certainly close. "Eeshwawa!"
"Sha-wee-aa," she whispered, giggling when it sounded nothing like what her mother said. "Sha-wee... Wee-sha-aa... Ee-shwa-wa..." Her eyes brightened. It wasn't exactly right, but it was certainly close. "Eeshwawa!"
July 30, 2017, 11:45 PM
Good, sweetheart! Good. Meya utsāha karanna, E-Z.Khoe was astonished by how smart Ishara was; it seemed like just yesterday she'd been a soot stained potato, and now she was a slightly bigger, slightly smokier toddler who was beginning to speak! And not just one language, oh no, Momma Khoe's babygirl was much too intelligent for that. The next time she saw Grayday, she'd have to remember to tell him about this new advancement, but for now, it was just Easy and Khoe.
July 31, 2017, 10:15 PM
Easy was already getting bored of this game. She was busy staring at her mother's face, wondering - for the first time - what she looked like. She had no concept of family resemblence, as of yet, although she knew that her older sister looked a lot like her father. And, although she had never seen herself, she possessed an inherent knowledge that she was a wolf, the same as her father and siblings and (yes, her too) her mother. But what did she look like?
"Beemee," said Easy, making a half-hearted attempt at repeating her mother's words, simply because she knew it made the older wolf happy, for some dumb reason. But then she reached up to pat Khoe's face once more, babbling incoherently as she did. Each little 'sentence' was punctuated with a clear question mark, though not even Easy could be sure what she was saying. She'd yet to figure out that speech was something that had to be learned, and just assumed that all noise-making was communication.
"Beemee," said Easy, making a half-hearted attempt at repeating her mother's words, simply because she knew it made the older wolf happy, for some dumb reason. But then she reached up to pat Khoe's face once more, babbling incoherently as she did. Each little 'sentence' was punctuated with a clear question mark, though not even Easy could be sure what she was saying. She'd yet to figure out that speech was something that had to be learned, and just assumed that all noise-making was communication.
August 01, 2017, 02:44 PM
Okay, okay, Khoe laughed, catching the paw once more. She gave a gentle shake of her head and a gentle rumble, then released her grip to give loving licks to her daughter's face. There was so much euphoria in that moment, so much pure joy; sometimes Khoe would catch herself thinking about how she could get rid of Ishara, and those were the moments where she had to leave the den. But other times like these, Khoe couldn't think about anything but the infalliable love she had for all of her children.
Oyā hogak lassanayi. So, so beautiful.
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