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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 13, 2010 15:21:30 GMT -5
"We do!" the Jack said emphatically as he squeezed her paw. "We do!" For a moment he was complete and utterly joyful. And then the joy came crashing down. He gave a mildly horrified look when he saw the color on the leveret. His instant reaction was to loosen his grip on Seena's paw. His ears pulled back when he heard the whispers.
It was a boy. Part of Heike wanted to scream in fury. But it wasn't like it was Seena's fault. It also wasn't her fault that it was part Lowlander. Of course the smile from his face still faded.
This was going to make things in the future difficult. "A leveret and a boy," he said when no one provided her with answers. She would have to see the worst part for herself. He didn't want to scare her at a time like this. "Let her see the children," he said motioning the leverets to hand off the tiny bundles.
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Post by Lucca on Mar 14, 2010 0:26:29 GMT -5
Seena beamed up at Heike, feeling energy rush back into her at those wonderful words. She'd given him a Doe! A lovely, wonderful, non-rotting Doe! It was everything she could have dreamed of out of this birth. "Oh, Heike," she began in a breathless voice, but before she could go on...she saw his ears pull back, and his smile fade, and his grip on her paw loosen.
Fearfully, he paw tried to find his again, to squeeze it like he'd just been squeezing hers, but she was so tired...something was wrong, and she could barely breathe for wondering exactly what...and then Heike said those words, and the world came crashing down. No...oh no, no why did this -happen-? A son. She'd had a -son-. And there was more he wasn't saying, she just knew it...maybe it -was- rotting...she wasn't even sure she could bear to see that, it would be such a pitiful creature. She'd feel so sorry for it...
She tried to sit up, to see her children, and her blue eyes closed when she saw the child. Oh no...it was a Lowlander mix, it had to be, no Selkies in her family line had ever been that shade of seafoam... "At least it isn't rotting," she whispered, reaching out to take both bundles in her paws. She wasn't aware she'd spoken her thoughts aloud, wasn't aware of much of anything...just that she'd somehow managed to birth both a wonderful little daughter...and a very unfortunate son.
The little Leveret snuggled into his Mother-Doe's fur, small paws waving aimlessly. He was, at this point in his life, blissfully unaware of his defects, of what a disappointment he was to everyone.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 14, 2010 17:33:25 GMT -5
The tiny Doe snuggle against its mother blissfully unaware of the misfortune of its sibling and her plainness compared to her mother.
Heike just hoped that she grew into something graceful. And he could only hope that the little leveret wouldn't be too much trouble. Carefully he reached out and brushed some of Seena's mane out of her eyes.
She was right. It was good that the little rabbit wasn't rotting. "We should probably give them names," he said after a moment. He honestly couldn't remember his mother, but he knew that she had given him this name for a reason. His name and his sister had gotten him through life safely, and now here he was.
"Do you have anything in mind?" He didn't at the moment. What sort of name could these children have? They technically weren't his, so should he even bother to help?
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Post by Lucca on Mar 14, 2010 21:05:45 GMT -5
Seena was so involved with inward laments that it was a total surprise to feel Heike's paw on her face, and she looked up at him, startled, and then down at the children, not wanting him to see she was crying. She hadn't realized it until she felt something wet and hot on her whiskers. Carefully, gently, she rubbed a paw over both the little ones' heads, trying to ignore the fact that her paws were trembling with emotion. She thought she was...better than this? She'd thought that, having thought through every possible scenario, it wouldn't affect her this much if it went badly...but she should have known better. Emotions were just a part of being a sentient being, and...
...and now Heike was speaking again, and his words calmed her. He said 'we'. He was still willing to work with this. Very well, then...
"Yes," she said softly, looking up at him once more. "I thought about names a lot, but seeing them here, so...alive and...unique...it's hard to make any of them really fit..." How odd. She frowned over at the little male Leveret. "He needs a name to...help him through life. It will be a hard one, won't it? You were once a male Leveret too, Heike...you know..." It was something that hadn't occurred to her before, oddly, and she wondered if she'd made a mistake in mentioning it now.
Still...it was some comfort, at least. A born Jack would probably have been even more upset by this. What to name the little Leveret?...something to both draw attention away from his gender and to, perhaps, emphasize his Selkie heritage enough so others wouldn't think he was a mix... "What about Shelby for..." She nudged the Leveret lightly with a paw, trying not to notice as the little Rabbit snuggled into the gesture with a small squeak.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 18, 2010 19:02:53 GMT -5
Heike didn't really need reminding that he had been a leveret rather recently. Adjusting to becoming a proper Jack was a pain in the ass. Having a face for the public and having a face for what he really was shifted to a completely different gear. He was here now, and there was no turning back. And in all honesty he had no regrets. He was far more free like this than living in constant fear for his sister.
Not... that he didn't still fear for his sister. But he noticed it far less.
"If he's taught to be a proper leveret it won't be that much trouble. He's probably going to in trouble if we can't pass the Lowlander off as something else." He shifted awkwardly as he ran his fingers through his own mane. Trouble. Why couldn't have this gone more smoothly? Why did there have to be proof of that bastard former Jack of hers?
The name caused his ears to pop up. Shelby? Well that seemed girlish enough. And it wasn't a horribly feminine name. "I think that is a respectful choice." He shifted to look at the little Doe, who was wiggling rather aimlessly. "Would Fleur be too much for the little Doe?"
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Post by Lucca on Mar 20, 2010 15:31:30 GMT -5
Seena barely refrained from wincing. She knew she shouldn't really have brought that up, but...she could blame it on the lingering exhaustion that plagued her. Even now, she knew she couldn't stay awake long. But they had to at least finish naming the little kits. Her kits. Her children. It would take a lot of getting used to, even with all the anticipation of the months leading up to tonight, and all the reading and rationalizing she'd done as well.
It was as she'd always known...doing something was different than reading about it. Reading could prepare you more, but a real life experience was a whole different beast. She tried not to think about it too much; it saddened her that there were so many things she'd never have the chance to see or do, and when thought about in a certain light, books, for all their knowledge and description and no matter how well written, seemed a bit...empty.
"Some Selkies are naturally this color," she said thoughtfully, looking down at the little boy. He was so plain...even if they thought he was a girl, no Jack would want him for his beauty. But perhaps, as Heike said, if he were a good worker... "Or we could claim he's a Josiggy mix. Or even..." she eyed him speculatively, comparing his green to that of Shelby. "...an Avington mix?" Was that too optimistic? Heh. Not like they were likely to know better unless whoever they were trying to convince was a Realms expert.
Seena looked over to her other child then, the little Doe, and couldn't help a smile. She was pretty, even now before her feathering had really grown in at all. And completely untouched by that unfortunate other region. "No, not too much...it's fitting. A Doe needs a rather...regal name, to remind her how she needs to hold herself." It was a little sad to think of the broken society she'd have to raise her children to be part of...but perhaps with Fleur they could be a little more picky and make sure she went to a good Jack. A good Jack was all any Doe or Leveret could ever hope for.
Shelby, burrowed in his mother's fur, sighed softly as he drifted into sleep, tired from obtaining his freedom into the outside world.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 20, 2010 22:10:24 GMT -5
Heike eyed the little boy for a few moments as Seena spoke. Avington might be a bit too optimistic. His green was terribly bright from what he could tell. Though they really could attempt to pass him off as a seafoam Selkie or a Josiggy mix. Maybe saying he was a pure Selkie would be good enough. As long as he was properly trained....
"Avington might be pushing it. Though we could try to see if anyone would question if he was a pure Selkie. He's rather fortunate that we can pass him off as anything else." If they couldn't the Heike would have been at a serious disadvantage.
"Oh good! I'm not one for naming things really but I thought she was cute enough to deserve a pretty name like that. Hopefully she ends up growing a mane like you to make her even prettier." He scratched the baby Doe lightly on the head as it buried it's face into it's mother's fur. It was probably a sign that he should leave them all be.
"I'll let you rest, and when your feeling a bit less exhausted I'll pay you a visit?"
(( OOC: Shall we finish this up and start one with the kids? Or do we want to use the same thread or....?))
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Post by Lucca on Mar 20, 2010 22:30:36 GMT -5
Seena smiled, a tired look void of any true amusement. "I thought it might be. But, yes, pure Selkie seems like our best bet. I have seen them with his coloring, and according to my research it's not that uncommon. Just a pity he doesn't seem to have any feathering, but it could be much worse...at least he isn't rotting..." The Doe felt like she was rambling, or repeating herself, or both. She was definitely wearing down from the excitement of the birth, and her eyes were already half closed by the time Heike complimented Fleur's beauty.
The smile on her muzzle shifted, changed, into a more quiet, sincere look, full of less dry humor and more happiness. "Yes, that sounds good...thank you, Heike..." She barely caught herself from adding something improper onto the end of that sentence, and nuzzled his hand before letting her head fall back onto the pillow, mane an untidy halo and ears flopped over.
When he left the room, it would not take her long to drift off, holding her babies protectively at her side. After all, they would not be so innocent and carefree for long...
((I think we should finish and make a new one with the kids. <3 If that's all right with you.))
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