First Word (short story)
It should have been a happy moment.
It was the moment all parents look forward to and never forget.
Harekit was the first. She was the first of her litter to do everything, to wobble, to open her eyes, to babble, and now, to talk. It had been unexpected, but first words tend to be. Birchflight was resting on her side, purring while the kits tussled clumsily at her belly. Foxfire had been laying, half-asleep with his chin on her shoulder, while Gorseheart groomed Emberdawn’s head-fur.
Harekit then broke apart from her brothers, wobbling clumsily over to Gorseheart and Emberdawn, who smiled warmly down on her. Harekit looked like she wanted to communicate, and they had all expected babble.
Gorseheart’s heart froze.
“Da.”
She had said “Da.”
Everyone cooed, cheering as loud as they could without frightening the kits. Foxfire jerked his head up, ears perked and smiling widely. Birchflight’s pupils dilated, and Emberdawn lowered her chin to the floor to level with Harekit. Harekit was blinking expectantly at Gorseheart, completely unaware that she had done anything worthwhile at all. She only wanted his attention.
Gorseheart loved her, he loved her with all of his heart. But in all the preparation for new kits, he hadn’t been ready for how this moment would make him feel. Without a word, he hurried away, ducking through the tunnel and bounding a couple tail-lengths across the ground before stopping abruptly.
Immediately, he regretted leaving. Harekit must be so confused. He wondered if she was crying now because he had ignored her and left, yet he couldn’t bring himself to go back. Not yet. He needed a little time.
“What was that?” a gentle voice asked. Foxfire padded over to join him.
“I’m sorry,” Gorseheart’s own voice shook. “Is she okay?”
“Perfectly.” His eyes lit up, likely thinking about Harekit’s first word. “You don’t seem to be. They may be small as mice, but you don’t need to be scared when they talk!”
Gorseheart wiped his paw over his nose. “It just reminded me of something, is all.”
Foxfire frowned. “Must be something pretty bad. I’ve never seen someone run away when their kit says their first word. Oh yeah, Webstripe!” He grinned, trying to lighten the mood.
Gorseheart huffed a laugh, appreciating him for it. But he was still unsteady, needing to dig his claws into the ground to keep himself up.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Foxfire offered, laying his tail over Gorseheart’s. Gorseheart thought about it, then shook his head. The time would come to tell Foxfire and Birchflight about Jaykit, but now didn’t feel like the time. He didn’t want to spill his feelings right now, especially not without Emberdawn wanting to talk about it too. He just wanted to suppress it, at least for now, and go back to the kits. Harekit had said a word for the first time. Now was the time to celebrate.
“Come on,” He said, picking a soft, wilting daisy from the ground. “Harekit should get a gift.”
He led the way back into the den, grateful to see Harekit sleeping in Emberdawn’s paws with her brothers, and not crying as he had been expecting, in spite of Foxfire’s reassurances.
“Is everything okay?” Birchflight asked in a mixture of confusion and concern, curled in a ball against Emberdawn’s belly. Emberdawn’s eyes met Gorseheart’s, much more knowing.
“Yeah, just a scare,” Gorseheart told them. Curling between them all, he was grateful when they didn’t say anything more, moving the conversation instead to what they thought Adderkit’s and Larkkit’s first words would be. Gorseheart resolved to react better when that time came, and hoped that he would be better prepared.
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--Reminder that Jaykit died shortly after saying his first word, which was ‘da.’
--Emberdawn is still pregnant at this point, probably close to giving birth.
@starfalcon555