The little pup patted the nose a few times, wondering what it was. Didn't she have the same thing? She took her paw away and touched her own nose. She did! They felt the same. Or, at least, pretty similar. But then there was another pink thing, this time running along her scales and she giggled, flinching away. That tickled!

But she didn't resist as Kielo pulled her close. She had understood what they had said, somehow. She wasn't sure how, but she did. Someone said that they wouldn't hurt them and she believed them. She didn't have any kind of reason to believe otherwise, after all. Kielo's tongue rasping along her fur and feathers tickled less as she got used to it and lay still in between their paws, enjoying the grooming. Her little tail, only a few small feathers sticking up, waved lazily. They weren't aware of their sibling's problems as they weren't scared of the two that were with them. Although, after a moment, she realized that she wanted them.

She wiggled under Kielo and pawed at the ground, looking at the shell. Not sure how to vocalize just yet, she just whined as she pushed herself towards the gem.

@Vesna

VESNA
and you, why you wanna stay?

it was rather lonely in here, though... the child could see their sibling tumbling around under the pink thing's touch, now, could see them relax. vesna did not know much, but it did know that it could trust its sibling. well, perhaps it didn't know that was what 'trust' was, but it felt connected to the other creature even more strongly than it had with the whiter, smoother... thing.

the infant flicked its tongue out curiously as the smoother thing approached it, beginning to feel less threatened, if its sibling was comfortable. as it began to slide out once again, its sibling pawed towards it, and that was encouragement enough.

the serpentine child peeled out of the chrysalis, revealing once more its curled, downy wings, not yet functional. strings of rapidly cooling albumen hung from the longer, pink down that covered the tip of its tail, which was just hooked on the edge of the chrysalis. it was the only thing left hidden by the large gem, but it was safe to assume what was there.

now mostly free, the child--still slimy and uncleaned of its wet, newborn coating--nuzzled itself against its sibling. it'd only meant to rub with its head, but it was still rather unfamiliar with controlling its own body, and ended up pushing its hood up against its sibling's neck, head and back. unaware of its own... ickiness, the hybrid flicked its tongue in and out at its sibling, its best expression of friendliness at this point.
"oh my god, have you listened to me lately?"
i've been going crazy.

@Winter oof sorry this is late and kind of weird and sloppy i dont have a lotta baby muse rn rip

Winter moved herself back, realizing that, perhaps, the child needed some space. She could relate - when she had first hatched, everything had been so new and terrifying, everything a possible danger.

She watched with wonder and with a warm heart as the two children began to interact with each other for the first time. While it seemed that the young snake was having trouble trusting the parents, it seemed to immediately take to its sibling. While she was a little hurt that it did not trust her instinctively, it was heart-warming and wonderful that it could trust its sibling immediately.

She turned towards Kielo and moved back to stand next to them. "They're interacting...both of them. They love each other already..."


"And still I feel I said too much."
"My silence is my self defense."

Tags: @Kielo
Notes: sorry for the wait and length!

Kielo let out a giggle of their own as they heard their newborn child's voice for the first time, and felt the little one squirming under their soft tongue. The taste of the fluid they cleaned from the young one was vaguely familiar, yet also new. They remembered their early struggles, and found blessed relief flooding their chest. Both had emerged; both unharmed and awake, safe in the arms... and coils... of their parents.

Kielo felt the child they held squirming under their grasp, and they loosened their grip just in case the young one wanted to leave. Lifting their muzzle, they sniffed, and detected the scent of the other youngster, close. Ears perking and feathered crest ruffling, they shivered in joy.

"They are?" Kielo whispered back after a moment, trying to still themselves in their excitement for fear of scaring them. The feathers still rippled along their back. They sniffed, the sudden realization hitting them of just how close they were to their newborn children. they wondered what the other one was like, what it would feel like. What they would grow up to be. "Hello? ...Oh...! hello!" they called in a hushed voice, trying their hardest to soothe and comfort.

They splayed their paws, making room for the other sibling to curl up next to the one they'd been grooming. Kielo knew that they'd need a good wash, too.


_________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Lyra @Vesna
notes: here

The pup felt something warm and sticky pressing up against it and, at first, it backed away, but then it realized that it was just part of its sibling. If that was its sibling, then it was okay. She leaned into it and gave the tiny snake a lick on the head and then a few more as she expressed her own affection.

She looked back up at the fluffy thing that was her parent and panted happily, nudging at its sibling. They should feel that good thing too! Get all cleaned up like she had been getting clean. She turned back and nudged at her sibling, giving a soft whine to try and get it to understand. You should trust them. She tried to communicate this, but, having no proficiency at speaking, all she could do was vocalize in quiet barks and whines.

@Vesna