Th0rne was delighted to get a ping from Titan…until she read it.
< Need your help with something. Got mauled to all hell, I’m broken, and I need your help getting one of my kids calmed down. >
Her mechanical heart plummeted, and she immediately began preparing herself to leave her small abode. Jacket thrown hastily on, she burst out of her door and bolted toward Titan’s house, tail streaming behind her. Leaves and bracken crunched underfoot as she sprinted, worry eating at her artificial stomach.
When she got close, she slowed, seeing the child sitting on the ground, curled into a tight ball, and sobbing. Titan was nowhere in sight, only a trail of oil and pieces of his telltale canary casing scattered about. Her worry only grew, but…Titan had asked her a favour. So she turned her full attention to the kid.
The child looked like her. His—she assumed it was a he—design was almost exactly like hers, even down to the digitigrade legs. He was another Bl00dst4in; a child Bl00dst4in. And he was upset. Th0rne padded softly and slowly toward the young cub, kneeling next to him and letting her motherly instincts take over. A low rumble vibrated through her chest and she trilled at the little one, carefully laying a hand on his back. He flinched.
“Shh, shh, little one,” she hummed, using her other hand to gently caress his rays between her fingertips. She knew it worked to calm Bl00dst4in models down—she’d use the method on herself to de-stress. “It’s okay now; I’m here.”
The child hiccuped, slowly raising his head to stare at Th0rne with watery…oh my god his eyes are so fucking blue. Her breath caught for a second as she gazed into his eyes, but was quickly snapped out of it as his tears continued to fall.
“Oh, sweet child,” she murmured.
“Wh- who are y- you…?” He sniffled, pulling away from her fingers—not enough to pull his ray from her grasp, but enough to put the tiniest amount of distance between him and this unfamiliar female.
“Don’t worry, I’m a friend. Titan called me over to come help you out of the cold.”
“P- pa…” more tears overflowed and the child’s speech got almost imperceptible. “Pa’s h- hurt! G- got hurt! Needs fi- fixed!!”
Th0rne smiled softly, cupping his cheek. “I know,” she reassured him, her tail moving to curl around her body. Her antennae twitched. “But he’s gonna be okay, I promise.” She paused. “What’s your name, hun?”
“…p. Pa c- calls me B- Blemlet. ‘N’ I l- like it,” he stuttered, unsure about this female, but finding himself embraced by her motherly energy; it reminded him of Momma Loppy. He hesitantly leaned into her hand, glancing down at the ground. “I…I th- think Elena ‘n’ N- Nico aren’t d- doing g- good either…”
Th0rne knew vaguely of Titan’s gator children, but wasn’t particularly interested in interacting with them—not because she didn’t like them, but because gators made her nervous, and because she didn’t want to insert herself too far into Titan’s life. So, she just nodded.
“I’m sure they’ll be okay, too. I’m worried about you. Your Pa told me to come help you, so I’m focused on you. No one else.”
Blemlet’s rays twitched, and he let out a sigh, his tears slowing. “M- mkay. ‘M s- sorry.”
“No need to apologise, little Blemlet. Do you want to go to the park? Or come with me to my house? I have board games, movies, snacks, and blankets?” Th0rne removed her hand from his back, holding it out for him to take.
Blemlet hesitantly nodded, but didn’t take her hand. Instead he slowly raised his arms, making grabby hands. “U- up? Please?”
Th0rne’s mechanical heart melted, and she removed her hand from his rays so she could stand. She leaned down and slotted her hands under his arms, lifting his body up and against her own. It took her a minute of shifting him around before she comfortably settled him on her hip, and then she set off towards her home.