Oh, Khari was right. Everything was different, and it was so very bright here. Even before she opened her eyes, it was so bright. Kali lay quietly, just breathing--just. Just! It was a big deal, breathing! All brand new and weird, how it just happened all on its own. Her chest expanding and contracting, pulling air in and pushing it back out, and it just knew how to do that somehow, even though it’d never happened before. So that was all she did for a minute, just breathed and marveled at the act and let her still-closed eyes adjust to the bright.
And then she opened her eyes.
And there he was.
Soft purple and white, and blurry just like he’d shown her, but she knew the shape of his face, the play of color across his skin. She wobbled and shifted ‘til she was sort of sitting up, her front legs splayed out before her, her back legs still sprawled out to the side. And when she’d found a point of balance, she reached forward with her nose, stretching as far as she could toward her Khari. She couldn’t quite make it, couldn’t quite bridge the distance from where she was lying, but he was her brother, her Khari, and he helped her out, of course. He stretched her way too, so she could touch her nose to his and breathe him in, and lip at his face.
And he was there in her head too, so happy, so pleased, so she gave a happy little sigh and kissed his nose. My Khari. Of course there were other matters to attend to, like bonding with Mommy and getting clean and filling her belly. But she stole a happy little moment with her Khari first, her very first moment here in this great big new world.
Then she turned her head to look up at Mommy, blinking slowly and smiling a sleepy little smile. Khari didn’t tell her being born was such hard work. They just looked at each other for a moment, her and Mommy, resting and recovering and catching their breath. And then Mommy did this complicated thing where she got up onto her feet, and Kali watched with wide eyes and a nervous fluttering in her belly. Mommy leaned on Daddy a little for a minute, and good thing too, because that looked hard! You’ll help me too? Like Daddy’s helping Mommy? she asked Khari quietly in her head, looking over at him again.
And so, while Mommy leaned on Daddy for a minute, Kali tried and failed a couple of times to mimic the complicated maneuver of getting to her feet. Legs were tricky, wobbly, wiggly things, and they were supposed to hold up all the rest of her? But her Khari steadied her and let her lean on him, and after a few tries she was up and leaning against him, just like Mommy had been leaning against Daddy. She snuggled up to him and rubbed her face against him and stole her very first cuddle, the first of a whole lot if she had any say in the matter.
‘Course by then Mommy was helping too, standing on her own and licking Kali clean, and Kali licked Mommy right back, nuzzling her and bumping her with her much-smaller-than-Mommy’s nose. Then her belly was fluttering again, but different, more of a rumbly-grumbly-demanding kind of flutter that had her brow wrinkling and her lips twisting as she looked up at Mommy and Khari, puzzled. Mommy nudged her gently, guiding her, and Khari showed her in her head, and oh! Hungry, she was hungry, and there was food! Creamy, tasty food all warm in her mouth and cozy in her belly, soothing the fluttering and making her tummy happy. She bumped Mommy with her nose, excited and wriggly with delight, so much that her tail waggled back and forth as she drank her fill.
Which was not very much, actually. It only took a teensy little moment ‘til she was done, and blinking wide, sleepy eyes and snuggling up against Mommy and oh there were more people to meet, her daddies and there was a sister and oh but tired. Wobbly-bobbly tired. She smiled over at her daddies and--oh. And a somebody whose face she didn’t know. Later. She’d find out later, Khari would tell her maybe, but first sleep. Snuggled up between Mommy and Khari sounded nicey nice, at least for a little bit. Then she could meet everybody and explore the big new world. First though, cozy time.
And then she opened her eyes.
And there he was.
Soft purple and white, and blurry just like he’d shown her, but she knew the shape of his face, the play of color across his skin. She wobbled and shifted ‘til she was sort of sitting up, her front legs splayed out before her, her back legs still sprawled out to the side. And when she’d found a point of balance, she reached forward with her nose, stretching as far as she could toward her Khari. She couldn’t quite make it, couldn’t quite bridge the distance from where she was lying, but he was her brother, her Khari, and he helped her out, of course. He stretched her way too, so she could touch her nose to his and breathe him in, and lip at his face.
And he was there in her head too, so happy, so pleased, so she gave a happy little sigh and kissed his nose. My Khari. Of course there were other matters to attend to, like bonding with Mommy and getting clean and filling her belly. But she stole a happy little moment with her Khari first, her very first moment here in this great big new world.
Then she turned her head to look up at Mommy, blinking slowly and smiling a sleepy little smile. Khari didn’t tell her being born was such hard work. They just looked at each other for a moment, her and Mommy, resting and recovering and catching their breath. And then Mommy did this complicated thing where she got up onto her feet, and Kali watched with wide eyes and a nervous fluttering in her belly. Mommy leaned on Daddy a little for a minute, and good thing too, because that looked hard! You’ll help me too? Like Daddy’s helping Mommy? she asked Khari quietly in her head, looking over at him again.
And so, while Mommy leaned on Daddy for a minute, Kali tried and failed a couple of times to mimic the complicated maneuver of getting to her feet. Legs were tricky, wobbly, wiggly things, and they were supposed to hold up all the rest of her? But her Khari steadied her and let her lean on him, and after a few tries she was up and leaning against him, just like Mommy had been leaning against Daddy. She snuggled up to him and rubbed her face against him and stole her very first cuddle, the first of a whole lot if she had any say in the matter.
‘Course by then Mommy was helping too, standing on her own and licking Kali clean, and Kali licked Mommy right back, nuzzling her and bumping her with her much-smaller-than-Mommy’s nose. Then her belly was fluttering again, but different, more of a rumbly-grumbly-demanding kind of flutter that had her brow wrinkling and her lips twisting as she looked up at Mommy and Khari, puzzled. Mommy nudged her gently, guiding her, and Khari showed her in her head, and oh! Hungry, she was hungry, and there was food! Creamy, tasty food all warm in her mouth and cozy in her belly, soothing the fluttering and making her tummy happy. She bumped Mommy with her nose, excited and wriggly with delight, so much that her tail waggled back and forth as she drank her fill.
Which was not very much, actually. It only took a teensy little moment ‘til she was done, and blinking wide, sleepy eyes and snuggling up against Mommy and oh there were more people to meet, her daddies and there was a sister and oh but tired. Wobbly-bobbly tired. She smiled over at her daddies and--oh. And a somebody whose face she didn’t know. Later. She’d find out later, Khari would tell her maybe, but first sleep. Snuggled up between Mommy and Khari sounded nicey nice, at least for a little bit. Then she could meet everybody and explore the big new world. First though, cozy time.
Kirby and Lacey's
little whisper girl
little whisper girl