Northstar Vale I can take apart the remote control

Jackie is bringing gifts for his little sibs!

The boy’s mouth was stuffed with tasty little treats that he had spent the better part of the morning chasing through the vale. Stuffed so full that his cheeks were round and his mouth was parted to allow for several dangly little tails to tickle at his chin.

Jack trotted merrily to his mother’s den. He could smell the milk-making that was taking place inside. There was no real interest in seeing his siblings immediately after they had been born. He thought they might look yucky, so he’d been a good son and had let his mom and dad enjoy their new babies without intruding.

Mmmm, I gotta snack for the babies, he mumbled to @Towhee through his prey-filled jaws.

Everything was hunky dory, pardoning Towhee’s chafed nips. She gazed down at her newest son and daughter, tail tapping a gentle rhythm as she watched them gum their way around her belly. She bent down to guide @Towhee Jr toward a teat. When she latched, her mother winced. Maybe she would just let @Sable flounder down near her bellybutton a while longer…

A shadow fell across the doorway. Towhee sat up straight, blinking at Jack. He said something, though she couldn’t exactly read his lips right now. She stared at his bulging cheeks, wondering just what they contained. She sniffed at the air, trying to identify it, but she guessed she’d just have to wait until her personal vending machine dispensed.

Jackie, don’t talk with your mouth full, she chastised playfully, because of course she didn’t actually give a shit about manners, she just couldn’t lipread in this situation.

Okay, another muffled grumble of a word.

Jack Snipe bent over at her paws and began to heave up the collection of voles he’d grabbed from beside the runoff. They were fat and brown and covered in spit. Four of them, which might have appeared something like a magic trick to his mother’s eyes.

The boy lifted his orangewash gaze to her face and wagged his tail.

-You look happy!-

Jack still had a tendency to shout at his mom, even though it wouldn’t aid in her being able to hear him. He’d gotten better at being mindful about signing. Sometimes he forgot… mostly when he was excited. It was hard to keep his mind focused on ptero when he had shit to do and share.

small sissy cameo! feel free to skip! <3

a week since her birth leaves towhee jr a tiny bit more mobile than she'd been during the first days. she squirms and wiggles her way up and down towhee's belly, climbing over sable and sometime suckling on one of his paws or her own her still very lackluster sense of smell misleading her.

a soft nudge of guidance away back to a teat and greedily, jr latches on; suckling the sweet, warm mother's milk. happily lingering in her own primal world, unaware of her big brother's visit.

Her eyes grew wider and wider with every additional rodent that dropped from her son’s mouth. Jack had brought her food so many times, yet it never failed to impress and ingratiate her. Towhee quickly scooped the damp little carcasses toward herself.

She looked up to thank him and caught his comment. Towhee felt her heart sink a little. Of course, she was happy the new babies were here. But they could never replace Leona, who she still missed acutely, especially during these exact sorts of moments. Jack meant nothing by his comment, yet she felt the need to clarify and include his litter mate in this conversation.

Thanks for the snacks. And I’m happyish, Towhee concurred before pausing and adding, I miss Leo and wish she was here but I know you’re gonna be a bomb older brother. Want to come inside and get a closer look?

Towhee mentioned Leo and her son nodded his agreement.

She’s totally gonna watch over them, Jack insisted. Leona’s ghost had become something of a close companion to the boy. He liked the idea that she was always there. Except when he was sleeping – that would be creepy.

An invitation to see his new siblings a little closer. Jack Snipe bounced on his paws. He couldn’t wait to take them out and show them all the best places in the vale. He hoped that they would be down with adventure because he wasn’t going to be taking any no’s for an answer.

Bright eyed and ready to share in the miracle of new-ish life, Jack looked to his mom.

Let’s see! I gotta get my impressions in early, mom. I was made to be their favorite!

She loved Jack’s enthusiasm and didn’t doubt that Sable and Towhee Jr would come to idolize him. Towhee shifted to make room for her elder son to enter the roost and get a better look at the two babes. There wasn’t a whole lot to them now, though that would change quickly.

So, they can’t see or hear yet, she explained to the yearling, but if you put a paw near their noses, they can get familiar with your scent. They may try to chew on your toes, though they don’t have any teeth yet, either, so it won’t hurt; it’ll tickle. If you want to hold them, you can scoop them gently against your chest, like this, she said, demonstrating with her mini-me and nodding toward Sable if Jack wanted to try, and talk to them. Just ‘cause they can’t hear doesn’t mean they can’t feel the vibrations.

They couldn’t hear yet, which clicked in Jack’s head as something that made sense. Their mom couldn’t hear ever! To know that they couldn’t even see was something shocking. His mouth fell open to show his surprise. How was he supposed to tell them stories of his adventures if they couldn’t hear or see?

Seeing the pups up close had left a strange feeling in the boy’s belly. They were incredibly small. Their paws didn’t even look like they could hold the babies up. Towhee explained that they were mostly susceptible to smells and vibrations felt through sound or movement. Jack Snipe had no real grasp on this concept. He took his mother’s instructions with a stoic nod of his head. Towhee demonstrated on the miniature version of herself.

Jack looked at Sable and sniffed.

Alright, baby… let’s get some snuggles, he said in the softest voice he had ever used.

Jack dropped to his belly before he tried to figure out how to grab the little pup. Gentle as he could, the boy gathered @Sable into his paws and then rolled to his back. He placed Sable on his chest and looked at the baby with wide orangewash eyes.

You’re a tiny baby, he sang to the newborn. While he sang, Jack used his paws to hold Sable to his chest. He rolled gently back and forth.

Sable is fully skippable! I forgot to say whoops

Sable had been somewhere vaguely between sleep and wakefulness, snoozing in the dirt. Then, he was plucked up from said dirt sleep, and placed somewhere else.

An unfamiliar scent flooded his noise, and he opened his mouth to at least attempt a raspy complaint about the service. Then, of course, the rocking began and the boy immediately found this much more to his liking. He set the smell to his developing memory, learning the facets of it while he could.

Once he was sure he had it down, he dubbed thee “new favorite rocking chair”, and settled down to sleep on his older brother’s chest with a near mute wuffle sound.

There was a very real possibility Jack might not handle Sable as gently as he should, simply due to inexperience. Towhee watched carefully, prepared to gently correct him if necessary, but it turned out Jack was a natural. Her lips parted slightly as she watched him gather baby Sable to his chest and begin rocking him, something she hadn’t even advised him to do. Towhee saw his lips moving and assumed he was talking to the infant.

Damn, dude, she said in a husky voice, you’re a pro. Look how happy he is in your arms.

She thought of her recent conversation with Antigone and thought of posing the same question to her son. Would he aspire to fatherhood one day? Towhee felt her heart—already twinging at the sight of her elder and younger sons—squeeze hopefully. But she kept the question to herself for now, simply focusing on Jack’s role as an older brother for the time-being.

They don’t do a whole lot at this stage except eat, poop and sleep, she murmured to Jack, but that’ll change quickly. Before we know it, they’ll be able to see and hear, and they’ll be scampering around the den. When they start to look less like potatoes and more like miniature wolves, we can start taking them on little trips outside.

She looked down at Jr, snoozing in her arms, and felt a beat of pure happiness. Sure, she wished Maxim and Leona were here to complete the picture, yet she was also glad to share this tender moment with just Jack and the babies.

Jack was on cloud nine. He didn’t think there was anything better than holding the baby in his arms and watching as Sable discovered his new permanent resting place. 

Towhee offered a compliment, but her son was transfixed and immersed in his role of older brother. Sable’s weak head lifted before settling into Jack’s chest fur and making a muffled noise that sounded more like a mouse than a baby. It made Jack’s heart twinge. 

Towhee went on to talk about the changes that would take place. Before they knew it, Sable and Minihee would be romping around and talking and seeing things with new eyes. This news did something to the older boy. He felt tears burst to his eyes and when he looked at his mom, it was with the expression of a dangling tubesock left on a doorknob. 

No! I don’t want them to get bigger, he cried. I wanna hold them like this forever, mom! That’s not fair. 

Sable looked like he was sleeping. Jack continued to cry. 

I wanna take him with me, mom. Please? His paws squeezed the puppy gingerly. A possessive hug. 

If they didn’t grow, then they would never die like Leo had.

The emotive response caught her by surprise, though Towhee instantly understood. At least, she thought she did. After all, Jack wasn’t the only one who thought young lives sometimes went too fast.

Setting the sleeping Towhee Jr on the soft goatskin, Towhee stood and moved to settle beside her son, pressing her shoulder into his. She angled her face to catch the tears at the corners of his eyes, gently kissing them away.

We can’t stop time or even slow it down. I wish. I wish we could rewind it altogether sometimes, Towhee said in her flat, quiet voice. What we can do is savor it. Make the most of it. Never take any of it for granted.

They weren’t the most comforting words, perhaps, but they were the truth, as far as Towhee knew it. Hopefully these two would simply grow up and find their own place in the world, rather than stop living in it, like Leo had. But the reality was they would very likely leave their family one day. Most did.

You know what I’ll never take for granted? You being here with us, Jackie. I’m so glad, she added, shifting to throw a foreleg over his shoulders and kiss him soundly on the temple.