A Milestone

 

Alithea knelt to hug her boy but he ran to Drindl and hugged his calves. “Hey, baby boy!” Drindl said as he bent over the boy and scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry, Alithea.”

She pivoted and reached out to touch Erthen’s arm, but the boy shrank from her touch.

“He’s just mad at us,” Fallon said. He stroked Alithea’s head. She stood and picked him up from his armpits. He held onto Drindl’s legs for a moment, but Drindl backed away and the boy was free.

Alithea brought the boy close to her, keeping him confined as he struggled in her arms. She held her teeth almost clenched and made the low shushing sound in his ear that he had heard when he was a baby. This calmed him down and he laid his head against her shoulder.

“That’s my boy,” Fallon said, giving his arm a gentle brush. The boy lifted his head to look at his father. “His eyes look different.”

Alithea leaned back and tilted her head to the side to see Erthen’s face. Puzzled, she reached up to turn his head and inspect his eyes. “They’re turning blue,” she said to Fallon. “Can you see me?” she asked Erthen as she swept a finger across his vision. When he tracked the finger, she felt more reassured. Did they feed him something at that school? What could make anyone eyes change color?

Erthen spoke a short gibberish to her. “Oh, Erthen! You’re learning to talk.” She drew him close to her and licked his forehead. He repeated the gibberish.

Fallon knelt next to the two of them. “He said, ‘I see you.’” Alithea looked to Fallon with a puzzled expression. “It’s the language that queen creature used earlier today.”

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Kneeling in front of Erthen, she held his face in her hands. The fine fur on his cheeks matched hers in color. “Erthen, what did they do to you at that school?”

He looked at her, then repeated the same phrase as before. Alithea turned to Fallon. “What’s the word for momma?” He told her. She motioned to herself, then said the word, gestured again to her chest and repeated the word in the language of the glade. Erthen’s nose and ears twitched. She repeated the exercise, until Erthen repeated momma in the Jade language. She smiled.

She repeated the “I see you” in the gibberish language, then the same phrase in Jade language. After several attempts, Erthen said the phrase in Jade and Alithea clapped her hands. His face lit up and he clapped.

She picked Erthen up and went in with the others. Drindl had found or traded for more comfortable sleeping mats and they were all grateful to him. Erthen nestled between her and Fallon. Out of the dark silence came Bebe’s voice. “Alithea, did you see any birds up on the cliffs?”

Not wanting to wake Erthen, Alithea carefully turned her head to the ceiling. Had she seen any birds? No, and that was odd. “I don’t think so, Bebe,” she whispered in the dark.