Kits and Space Stations: Chiya and Ketvia's Story

The feast of a meal after the hatching had finally started to die down, pairs of kit and bonded or kit and guardian drifting out and audience doing the same. Callidei and Battleworn Claw were doing the same, only in the opposite direction, towards the bowels of the ship rather than the exits-- and Ketvia watched, feeling only a twinge of pain at the sight, rather than the debilitating stab she had half-expected. Mostly, she thought, she was just glad that her kit had forgiven her, so that when they visited, at least they could visit, and Callidei would never turn out like poor Lha to Ketvia's heartbroken Aedelian.

Just as Ketvia was ambling back from her first words shared with Callidei in over two weeks, her face freshly scrubbed with a fist so that no one would think she had been crying, ready to say it was time to go, another of their crossbreed kits started approaching Chiya and the boys. Ketvia didn't know which one it was-- she knew all their names, but wasn't exactly straight on appearances yet-- but since she seemed to be walking alone, then she probably wasn't bonded. She was white, as most of the batch was, with dark red pigmentation-- fading to gray, the only one of the batch with that particular color to her.

Ketvia reached her friend and boys only a little ahead of the child, just long enough to murmur in Chiya's ear, "Which one is that one?"

"Tripudia," Chiya whispered back, giggling softly. Then, louder, she added, "Hello, Tripudia, dear... did you enjoy your first meal?"

"Yup." The little crossbreed's smile widened a bit more as she looked over the two dragonesses before her. "Hi Mom, hi Mama," she greeted formally, the first to Ketvia and the second to Chiya-- not many of the kits called Ketvia any variant of "mom", and it was a little disconcerting. Then again, it was hard to tell if Trip was being more serious or more silly-- she was, Ketvia remembered now, quite capable of both. "It's nice to see you both, for real. And Calli was right," the kit said to Chiya with just a hint of small-child shyness in her mellow demeanor, "you're real pretty."

"Thank you, Tripudia," Chiya smiled, but didn't swoop her daughter up into an embrace just yet. Ketvia was a little surprised-- but then, Trip looked a little nervous and shy. She wasn't even looking at her brothers yet, shifting her weight from one side to another.

She asked tentatively, "Um, you're going back to Avengaea soon, right?"

Ketvia nodded, a little perplexed now as to whatever the kit could be asking for. "In the next couple days, yes," Chiya answered for them both. "We'll be making our home there, in Sanctuary, with Regius and Vir."

Vir took that opportunity to wave, grinning wildly, and accidentally bopping Regius in the nose. Regius just sighed a little, rolling his eyes and smirking faintly, and shifted his weight away from his brother.

"Oh, good." The crossbreed child seemed relieved, and her tail twitched spasmodically before her nervousness faded into nothing. "Oh!" she said again, as finally her brothers caught her attention. She grinned for Vir, waving a wing at him, and he-- after a hurried and whispered apology to Regius-- beamed back at her.

Then her gaze swung back to her mothers, looking back and forth between Chiya and Ketvia. "I, um, wanna go to Avengaea. An' after all, you're my mothers--" said firmly, as if to justify her choice before verbalizing it. "D'you have room for one more kit to come with you?"

"Why-- of course!" Chiya exclaimed, surprised.

Then, when she thought to glance at Ketvia a second later, as if for permission-- as if she needed permission-- Ketvia shrugged and grinned sheepishly. "If we've got room for two, we've got room for three, and we'd figured finances would hold for up to three... so yeah, we've got room."

Chiya, all but glowing-- actually, Ketvia thought some of that brightness in her expression might actually be glowing-- turned back to Trip. "You-- want to come home with us, then?"

"Yup," Trip confirmed. That slightly-sheepish grin was back, though the kit seemed as if she might be doing some subtle glowing of her own. Damn Light dragons... not that Ketvia minded. It was just... funny, in a way.

"Oh, Tripudia!" Chiya cried, promptly scooping her daughter up-- the belated, exuberant hug-- against her chest. "We would love to have you!"

"Mother!" Regius laughed, ducking as Trip's dangling tail brushed his ears. "Look out up there!"

Tip just giggled, nuzzling against her Light mother's chest like the happy child she obviously was, and a little purr bubbled up in her throat. "Oh, good!"

"We're going to be quite the family," Ketvia chuckled. "And everyone's going to wonder just how we did it."

Trip paused in her purring to smile serenely up at her two mothers. "So tell 'em. Bet'cha other mommy-families would have babies here too." Then she purred again and ducked her light head against her paler mother's chest, and waggled her tail down at her brothers. "It's a good family."

Ketvia laughed. "Oh, I don't know. I think you're pretty unnatural." She ruffled Trip's hair, teasingly, then scooped up Vir and set him on her shoulders, before he could trip, trying to swat at his sister's tail. "Cute, though," she added, while Vir giggled.

" 'Course," Trip agreed, purring again, but anything else she might have said drowned in a yawn. Chiya chuckled softly, cradling her daughter against her chest.

"I do believe I was on my way over to suggest we all take our leave, before Trip decided to make the day more interesting," Ketvia pointed out with a grin. "It's been a long day."

"Um-hmm," Trip agreed, voice mumbling a little now that she'd admitted her own sleepiness. It was actually kind of cute. Vir even snuggled into Ketvia's furry neck, quite content to admit to being sleepy, himself-- though Regius seemed awake enough. "So where d'we stay now that we're out of the shell?" Trip asked.

"We're staying with a friend, tonight," Chiya told her warmly, "and maybe tomorrow, or the next day at most, we can go home."

"Maybe tomorrow or the next day at most, we can go get a home," Ketvia corrected. They'd been living at the Guard barracks for an awfully long time; Ketvia was just glad she knew a good landlord who might be willing to actually sell them a small place in Sanctuary.

" 'Kay," Trip replied, still smiling. " 'll be nice to see home..."

"I'll agree, there," Chiya murmured, and Ketvia just chuckled softly.

"With a whole family, this time," she agreed softly, and nosed her friend and only kit walking of his own two feet towards the exit.