Lion Head Mesa blade

small things had happened.

blue eyes now peered at her in the morning instead of closed, lifeless faces. she wondered how much they could see but quickly figured it must not be much. they still seemed like bumbling little messes.

she found she loved them. some times more (or less) than other times, but it was always there like a soft lapping wave. truthfully she imagined she might have found no love for them if they had nursed at another. an ugly thought.

@Toula, she hummed. her daughter was treasured, deeply and greatly. you're growing too fast, you know. such a thing was not true. they were healthy, on track. well tended to little babes.

perhaps treva had simply found herself with hesitation of her own coming days.

she knows so few things, now, but the voice of her mother is one of them. it warms her as surely as the woman's soft, downy furs do. she hears her, and though she cannot speak, she mimics the tones she hears in a sweet little hum.
her lips part, and the hum becomes a songnote. not quite so steady as her mothers, but in it was all of her love: oooo, given in answer to her name. and when her mother speaks again, toula is quiet, attentive. she does not understand, not yet, but she yearns to hear more. toula moves to stand on unsteady, quivering legs—only to stumble nearer to her mothers face with an adoring smile.

she watched her with great fascination.

the soft moving of her lips to coo an oooo tugged at the heart of treva. unfairly so, it felt! she wondered if they would care for her when they no longer needed to be at her side. a thought she shoved aside as toula toddled into her with a warm look.

she tilted her face forward, offering toula that flat of her face. content to mush her forehead into the child's own if desired.

you are a strong little girl, toula, a quick swipe of her tongue over her daughter's cheek. you are more than just a princess. her voice hushed and whispered, lest somebody be prying at the den's mouth.

strong, girl, toula, more, princess.
toula marveled at all of the sounds that, strung together by her mother, made a symphony. toula could not understand, not a lick of it. not even her own name, not now. hearing was not so new as seeing, but things had become more lovely and distinct. while her brother would understand her, her mother would not: aahbb, ees? 
toula pressed against her mothers head, basking in the delightful warmth there. a kiss, and toula trilled happily. her legs shook no more, stable against her strong mother. her tail waved behind her, and she pressed a little kiss against whatever was in her reach.

bees?

she was sure that wasn't what her daughter meant. it was probably just babble to babble, learning to converse young. she hummed something in the back of her throat. another carefully placed kiss.

whatever you want to be, i'll make it so. she told her.

but the girl was still that, a girl. a child. there was no rush (from treva) to thrust her into anything just yet.

she moved her nose to prod at the girl in a tickling manner.

toula beamed when her mother made a noise. when the woman hummed, toula again mimicked the noise. her tail wagged so fast that her legs gave out beneath her from the might of her joy, and the young princess only giggled at that. her mothers kiss was not only well placed, but well timed; it took away all of her hurts, real or imagined.
her own noisemaking paused when anyone else spoke. toula would always fall silent upon hearing others speak; all that had to be said, to be heard, was of utmost import. toula looked at her mother quite seriously then, slowly nodding as though she could understand, before she nonsensically replied: la is oohhh, with an encouraging tail wave to boot, blue eyes sparkling and full of wonder.
eons ago she could have understood this; but now, she was back to the start. and rather than being frustrated of all that once was, she reveled in all that now could be.

her heart clutched each time they babbled. soft sounds, learning to speak. she wondered how much was truly understood.

@Tavina suggested a school. she dragged out the last word, emphasizing each sound in the word. as if that might convince toula to speak it.

would you like that? a school to learn in and play with your friends? the new mother let her head settled down on one of her legs, eyes still fixed to the seemingly happy form of her daughter.

no singular word meant one thing to her. not yet. what toula heard was a babies babble, too. it was why she mimicked, but her mother talked back, as if all these things made perfect sense. and in a way, they did! they two did what they could for one another, to share these precious moments. to make sense of it. to express their love.
again toula mimicked, voice light and lilting. ujesf... koooo-la, she poorly parroted, but she nodded as she said it, putting emphasis on some words like she heard her mother and tavina sometimes do.
she looked rapt as her mother spoke on, and toula gasped theatrically at new sounding words that she did quite enjoy. ...ike!!! paaaay! end!! ike p-ay, she looked to her mother, encouraging her to go on by shifting nearer and looking up at her with wide eyes.

she had not imagined that one life might ever need her so much. beyond the feedings and the warmth, the child seemed keen to latch onto her. those wide eyes proof, the repeated babbling further more. it tangled the delicate strings of her heart.

hmm? you do like to play? she teased softly.

this time she reached to delicately place her nose against her own daughter's.

she blinked up at her mother, smiling, full of wonderment. what was it that the other said? toula could not distinguish question from statement, and so her own intonations varied in inflection. aaayyy? pay. mmmmm... la? abawa, and into a string of babbles she went, voice soft and then strong as she started to make use of it. it made her mother respond, and toula need not understand a thing to just know that she loved the sound. and its purpose, toula had determined, was to bring happiness!
her mother loomed nearer, though toula did not shirk or shrink. she squealed happily instead, reaching out her neck to speak in the way she still knew best. where other things could be put to question, toula knew this translated to their expression of mutual adoration. the warm rush of air was soothing, and unbidden her eyes fluttered closed as she leaned against her mothers nose.
toula seemed to rally against sleep for only a moment. her eyes opened and she wished to extend these minutes for as long as she could! another warm exhale, though, coaxed her to yawn and lay. she could close her eyes for a minute, no? and then she and her mother could resume their riveting exchanges...
tutu came, though there were no nightmares to protect her from.

the sweetest girl.

the sweetest child, truthfully. treva wondered if such purity would be tainted — the risk was there with who her parents were and where she was being raised. perhaps she would lean more heavily upon tavina in these coming weeks and months.

she had never felt so desperate for an advisor, a friend.

with every bit of care in the world, she gently groomed the girl as she slumbered, settling her near her twin soon enough.