09-20-2016, 08:46 PM
Aww, Mo compliments my hair, and he instantly looks like he’s kicking himself for the comment. But it’s sweet of him, so I grin and gently nudge his shoulder with the velvet softness of my nose. “Thanks, Mo,” I say, glad he likes the nickname. It’s my first successful nicknaming, and somehow that makes me pretty happy. “I like it, anyhow. I guess I got it from my mother, she was red where I’m black, and had gold where you’ve got black, which I guess was a really pretty combination. I got her gold in my eyes, and her red in my hair. Well and on the edges of my feathers now, though that’s new. Not something that came from her exactly.”
And not for the first time, I kind of hope the color and a little bit of my build are the only things I got from her. But before I can get too distracted thinking about that, Mo lights up, and boy if he isn’t adorable when he’s excited about something. “You lived in the Tundra too? That’s really cool. I only knew my dad there really, Romek. Did you ever meet him? He’s really nice, and I love him a whole lot. Also he’s got these cool glowy spots just here,” and I trail my nose along the upper edge of his neck, tracing the line of his mane to demonstrate, “and all down his back too. Which is fun when it’s dark out, like fireflies cuddled all close and lighting up the night just a little bit, a soft glow that feels safe and cozy and lovely.”
Oh man, and suddenly I really miss my daddy.
I’m not the only one who seems kind of sad, though. Mo snuggles up against me, resting his head on my shoulder, and I lip at the little bitty beginning of a horn on his forehead. “What kind of powers? I mean, it’s not like, a big deal if you don’t want to talk about it, of course. If it was maybe something you didn’t like and you don’t want to think about it, that’s okay. I really miss my fire, even the tricky bits where it’d flare up when I got scared or angry or excited and I’d sometimes have to hurry and stomp it out so the whole meadow didn’t go up in flames. I was getting way better though. But, I mean, just because I love my fire doesn’t mean you have to love what you had, you know?”
Oh, but he’s telling his story, and that’s very, very interesting too. I nod sympathetically, and his story has me even less impressed than before with the concept of mom. I shake my head with a grumpy little snort. “Well that was dumb of her. But seems to be pretty much how moms work, really. Mine barely even stuck around enough that I could keep up. I had to chase her down just to fill my belly, and then...I don’t know, I guess I got kind of mad and decided if she didn’t want me around I didn’t need her. Good thing Daddy Romek came along when he did, or I’d have been in trouble. I’m sorry your mom made you feel bad, Mo.”
And again, I accompany the words with a touch, a brush of my face against his neck. “I haven’t met your dad, but I haven’t met many people in the Tundra. Just my dad, really, and kind of the two other kids he adopted like me, though I didn’t meet them ‘til after the Tundra didn’t exist anymore.”
He still looks really sad about his mom, so I cuddle him close and sigh. “Well, Mo, your mom was not a very good mom I think. I don’t really know what a good mom looks like, but it’s not giving up on your kid and making him feel bad about himself. I know I’d never do something like that to a kid of my own, if I ever had one. I think parents should be like my daddy, all love and support and stuff, even if you do things that are hard or complicated or troublesome, like with me on the mountain. I think that’s what a mom should do. And a dad too.”
And not for the first time, I kind of hope the color and a little bit of my build are the only things I got from her. But before I can get too distracted thinking about that, Mo lights up, and boy if he isn’t adorable when he’s excited about something. “You lived in the Tundra too? That’s really cool. I only knew my dad there really, Romek. Did you ever meet him? He’s really nice, and I love him a whole lot. Also he’s got these cool glowy spots just here,” and I trail my nose along the upper edge of his neck, tracing the line of his mane to demonstrate, “and all down his back too. Which is fun when it’s dark out, like fireflies cuddled all close and lighting up the night just a little bit, a soft glow that feels safe and cozy and lovely.”
Oh man, and suddenly I really miss my daddy.
I’m not the only one who seems kind of sad, though. Mo snuggles up against me, resting his head on my shoulder, and I lip at the little bitty beginning of a horn on his forehead. “What kind of powers? I mean, it’s not like, a big deal if you don’t want to talk about it, of course. If it was maybe something you didn’t like and you don’t want to think about it, that’s okay. I really miss my fire, even the tricky bits where it’d flare up when I got scared or angry or excited and I’d sometimes have to hurry and stomp it out so the whole meadow didn’t go up in flames. I was getting way better though. But, I mean, just because I love my fire doesn’t mean you have to love what you had, you know?”
Oh, but he’s telling his story, and that’s very, very interesting too. I nod sympathetically, and his story has me even less impressed than before with the concept of mom. I shake my head with a grumpy little snort. “Well that was dumb of her. But seems to be pretty much how moms work, really. Mine barely even stuck around enough that I could keep up. I had to chase her down just to fill my belly, and then...I don’t know, I guess I got kind of mad and decided if she didn’t want me around I didn’t need her. Good thing Daddy Romek came along when he did, or I’d have been in trouble. I’m sorry your mom made you feel bad, Mo.”
And again, I accompany the words with a touch, a brush of my face against his neck. “I haven’t met your dad, but I haven’t met many people in the Tundra. Just my dad, really, and kind of the two other kids he adopted like me, though I didn’t meet them ‘til after the Tundra didn’t exist anymore.”
He still looks really sad about his mom, so I cuddle him close and sigh. “Well, Mo, your mom was not a very good mom I think. I don’t really know what a good mom looks like, but it’s not giving up on your kid and making him feel bad about himself. I know I’d never do something like that to a kid of my own, if I ever had one. I think parents should be like my daddy, all love and support and stuff, even if you do things that are hard or complicated or troublesome, like with me on the mountain. I think that’s what a mom should do. And a dad too.”