A/N: This one is a slightly longer story, focused on Snow and 9's relationship. They are extremely close and very much alike, so this chapter came easily to me. The next one probably will not, but we'll see. It was good practice writing as 9, anyway.
In this chapter, Snow is around five years old, but he's mentally a bit smarter and his memory is better than human children of that age. Smaller=faster maturity. Only by a bit, however, and he has a specific way of talking that hopefully won't get annoying; I lack experience with children so his actions may be unrealistic for his age.
However, I don't know if I'll continue this story after this. After I finished Howl, the concept of 7 and 9 having a child became..less uncommon. There were a couple before the story but they were all older stories. Now, it's kind of the trend, and I hate to seem like I'm following a trend, because I'm really not intending to. These stories have been sitting for a while and I'm merely acting on them now. I don't know what I'll do, but your thoughts would be appreciated.
Listen to "The Homecoming" from the War Horse soundtrack to get a feel for this chapter. Sort of. "Seeding, and Horse Vs. Car" too.
In my arms, my mate stretched out contentedly. Around us was the gentle pitter patter of water leaking through the cave roof above us, but we were almost entirely oblivious to that. As far as we cared, there could be a rushing river surrounding us. All we truly cared about was the fact that we had each other, we were warm, and we were happy.
"9," 7 said softly, "Do you suppose we should get back to Snow now? He's home alone, and.. Call me paranoid, but I worry something will happen.."
"..Well, I don't know, Paranoid, but I think he'll be alright for just a bit longer.. Come on, it's a nice day…"
Or at least, it was a nice day to me. 7 didn't entirely enjoy walking in the still-damp ground, for it had rained the night before. She claimed it made her footsteps noisy, and caused her to leave footprints. Even though there were few dangers now, she still had those ingrained warrior instincts, I suppose.
But now the morning sun peeked out from behind the hills to shine through the mist covering the land, and a few weak beams of sun reached into our little hideaway inside of an old den-like structure.
I couldn't help but sprawl out a bit more, and 7 rolled her optics at me, knowing how much I loved sprawling out in the sun. It helped that she was there by my side, adding that special kind of warmth that could only come from someone like her.
"Last night was wonderful, by the way, my lo-…"
Suddenly the dream was gone, and my eyes opened up.
"Daddy? Are you awake yet..? You promised you'd take me out to..to see the owls and stuff… And I heard one outside my window! I still don't really get why they're out in the mornin', 'cause they're supposed to be…noc-..no-… Nocturnal, right? That means they're awake at night.."
Drowsily I blinked my optics, taking a few moments to register the fact Snow was perched on my stomach on his hands and knees, looking down at me with an expectant expression. I knew he liked to be praised when he got some of the 'bigger' words right(he was only about five years old, after all), so I smiled and sat up, grabbing him up and playfully tossing him in the air.
He gave a squeal in mock fear, receiving a small grumble from 7; flinching, I gave a soft chuckle, pulling him into my arms and nuzzling him.
"Good morning, little Snow.. But …shh, we don't want to wake mommy up, remember? She doesn't like waking up before she's ready… Though.. You said nocturnal perfectly, and you even remembered what it means! Since you remembered that so well, do you remember what 'diurnal' means?"
He tilted his head, his expression one of hard concentration. Soon, he spoke, his voice hesitant.
"Uh.. Well.. I do know it's the op-…oppo-…opposite of…noc-tur-nal.." He said the word slowly, seeming to turn it over in his head a few times.
"It means an animal that's awake in the day time, like mouses, right?"
"That's right! Good job, Snow.. You're very smart for such a little guy."
He ducked his head in embarrassment; he was very bashful, but more so than that, he was a dork.
"Th-thank you, daddy.. But.. Can.. Can we go see the owls now? I don't wanna miss it.."
Smiling, I nodded, glancing over towards my soul mate. She'd decided to let me and Snow have some bonding time, so I murmured a soft goodbye to her before climbing onto my feet. Once I'd made my way out of the room, grabbing a knife and tucking it inside my front as I went out the door, I lifted Snow up above my head, and bent forward a little bit.
"Okay, Great Snowy Owl.. Remember to flap your wings, and make me turn when we need to turn!"
Snow's eyes lighted up; this was his favorite game. He was a big fan of owls, probably due in part to his mother's interest in birds, especially predatory ones, so having his name combined with that of an owl made him quite happy, and as was normal for his age, he loved games of pretend.
He quickly began to move his arms up and down as I ran down the hall, and carefully made my way down the stairs, leaping the last few steps, to which Snow gave a happy giggle.
When he wanted me to turn so we could go out the door and into the forest, he would 'flap' one arm especially hard on the side he wanted me to go. This time he flapped his right arm, so I made a sharp, dramatic turn and hurried out the back door. Using my foot to close it behind me, I bolted out of the courtyard and through a cracked part in the stone wall that cut it off from the forest beyond.
All the while Snow was grinning as dorkishly as it seemed possible. That was, until an owl hooted somewhere nearby, and his smile grew wider. I was sure it had to ache at least somewhat.
Slowing down, I finally entered the treeline, and I lowered Snow onto my shoulders. He wrapped his arms around my head and excitedly looked up into the trees, eager to catch sight of his favorite animals.
Around here, we mostly had barn owls, spotted owls, and great horned owls. Snow's favorite was the barn owl, but he liked them all, and was delighted whenever he could see one of any variety.
Slowly I made my way toward a nearby clearing in the trees. I knew, from previous explorations, that this particular area was inhabited by a barn owl. In fact, I'd nearly gotten caught by it one time. I hadn't blamed it, as I was brown and small, much like a mouse, but I'd definitely learned to stay out of the field after that particular encounter.
So I lurked on the edge of the field, as silent as I could be; I didn't wish to interrupt the creature's hunting, merely to observe. Soon, I saw a shadow pass overhead, and I heard a muffled gasp from Snow as the white-faced owl burst from the trees and dived down into the tall grass in the field. After a few seconds, it reappeared with a small mouse caught in its talons, and returned to its perch; I saw it now, a tall, thick leafed pine some feet behind us.
Pondering, I grinned as an idea came to me.
"Snow, how would you like to see the owl closer?"
"Really, daddy? We could get closer? That'd be real cool!"
Of course he'd want to; I'd known, but to be quite honest, I loved seeing and hearing his excitement. There was just so much childlike innocence there, and I already adored him very much, just because he was my wonderful, unique son.
"Of course. Just hang on… Remember, you're still a very young snowy owl, so you won't be able to stop if you fall.."
As I began to carefully climb a nearby tree, I reflected on my son's personality. It was less a mix of me and 7, but rather, mostly me with a tiny part of 7's personality in there as well; then there was the part of him that was entirely unique.
The only things that were 7-esque in nature were his stubborn attention to detail and his tendency to get flustered easily when something seemed like it was too much.
I remembered one time when he had been trying to finish a drawing, but it had been late, and he was tiring. Despite mine and 7's attempts to get him to sleep, he'd desperately tried to finish the drawing and, in the end, had done a somewhat rushed job, as he was quite obedient and hadn't wanted to take too long.
When he'd woken up in the morning, he'd glanced at the drawing and had been so disappointed with it, he spent most of the day recreating it trying to get it just right. It had been a drawing of me, him, and 7 together, and though it'd been quite the sweet gesture, I remember wishing he'd been a little easier on himself.
A sudden wind buffeted me and brought me out of my thoughts, and I tensed, disliking the height combined with the wind. I knew if anything happened to Snow, 7 would have my head.
The branch underneath me shifted dangerously as the wind picked up, tilting me to the side momentarily, and I kneeled, gripping it with one hand, the other reaching, then searching, for Snow's foot. It wasn't there.
Heart beating swiftly in a moment of panic, I suddenly heard a squeak of pain and the ripping of fabric, then my son's voice, shaky and scared.
"D-daddy! Help, I can't hold on!"
I glanced down and spotted him several feet down the tree, desperately clinging to a thin branch that looked about ready to give way merely from the wind.
Quickly, I leapt down onto the branch above his, and lowered myself onto the base of it. Then, I flattened myself and slowly reached out, managing to grab his arm and haul him to safety.
He was panting heavily, and his eyes, wet from tears, were closed tightly. I hugged him to me and desperately shushed him once I'd gotten back down to the ground.
"Oh, Creator.. Snow, are you okay? You aren't hurt, are you? I'm so sorry, I.. That was so stupid of me.. Please tell me you're okay, little guy.."
I heard him whimper in an unsure manner, and then he soon spoke.
"..M-..my leg.. It…hurts real bad.." He rolled over and lifted up his left leg, and I could immediately see the problem.
A v-shaped patch of fabric had been ripped from his leg, reaching around to the back, and it looked to be quite painful, especially for a child who had never really had to experience any pain. I guessed that a branch had snagged on it while he'd been falling.
Shaking my head, I sighed, curling him close to me.
"Okay, little Snow.. We're going to go home and patch it up right away.. We don't have to tell mommy either, alright? We wouldn't want to worry her.."
Oh yes, 7 would most definitely have my head when she found out about this.
We soon returned to the hotel, but instead of immediately heading upstairs, I headed into one of the rooms downstairs. I wasn't sure what I was going to do about his injury, but I did know that whatever I did, I could not let 7 know what had happened.
It wasn't that I liked lying to her.. I just didn't want her to worry, and I was still desperate to show that I could be a good father. I knew I could make mistakes.. I just didn't want to admit I had made one this time, not to her.
Admittedly, it wasn't like it was necessary for me to prove to her my abilities as a parent. I just felt like I needed to. I made mistakes all the time, and I was too naïve for my own good. And I wanted 7 to know that she'd chosen a good mate and father for her only child- it had been hard enough convincing her that a child would be a good thing.
I set Snow on a blanket, wincing as he whimpered in pain. I sighed, then looked around. I couldn't replace it with a white canvas- I wanted to replace it with something a bit more durable. I spotted a fake leather chair nearby, and immediately climbed up onto it. That should do.
I took out my knife and, after checking the shape of the tear, cut off a section of the chair's cover. I immediately returned to my son once I'd found a needle and some white thread from a drawer nearby.
Snow watched me silently, his expression nervous.
"…But.. Daddy… Why aren't you usin' somethin' white? Won't that make it more seeable to momma?"
"..Well… I.. Uh.. I just wanted to use a strong material, little one.. Don't worry, she won't notice, I'm sure.."
Maybe I was being overly hopeful.
"9? What're you doing in here?"
Flinching, I flipped around and saw 7 standing there in the doorway, standing on the tips of her feet in an attempt to see over me. Quickly, I finished sewing the patch to Snow's leg. Only when I was finished and 7 was walking over to us did I see how plainly obvious it was that Snow had been injured.
"..Well… Thanks for not answering me.. How was it? You guys came back a lot earlier than I had expected.." She paused, as if to take us in, then froze.
"..What in Creator's name happened, 9? Did you let Snow get attacked by a machine? Did you trip? Creator, I swear, if you tripped.."
Slinking down, I cast my gaze on the floor and stepped back an inch or two.
"No, 7.. I.. It was just a stupid mistake, I'm sorry.."
"What happened?"
Her fiery gaze was fixed on me, but she soon knelt down beside Snow and lifted him gingerly into her arms, in a protective, motherly manner.
"I was trying to get closer to an owl for him and-"
"And the owl attacked him?" Her gaze hardened as she watched me, and I hung my head. I was doing a horrible job of proving my abilities.
"No, no, 7... I climbed up onto a tree and just as I did that, the wind picked up. Look out there, it's starting to storm a bit… Well, I had to grab the branch to stop from falling off, and I hadn't gotten hold of Snow's leg yet, and then he was blown off.. His leg caught a branch and.." I hesitated, but continued, "That…happened.."
Snow, seeing that we were on the brink of a heated discussion, and sensing his mother's anger, spoke up, albeit timidly.
"Momma.. I'm okay, please don't be angry with daddy.. He just wanted to show me somethin' real cool, and it wasn't his fault the wind was all mean and blew me offa his shoulders.." He searched his mother's face for a reaction, then he continued. "He came back here as soon as it happened, and he tried to hide it from you 'cause he knew you would be real angry, but he just didn't wanna make you scared or worried or nothin'.."
I heard 7 sigh heavily, unsure of how to respond to her son's plea. She remained silent for a few moments- in which I felt my heart beat faster, fearful of her decision, then she glanced up at me.
"…Is that true, 9? That you just didn't want to worry me, and you didn't want me to be angry?"
Shifting my feet, I nodded. "I just want to show you that I can be a good father, 7.. I know you've never said otherwise, but.. I feel like I've never been that great of a soul mate to you, and I still can't believe you love me like you do.. So.. I want to be sure you're happy with your decision to have a child with me.."
"…I see.. Well, then.." She set Snow back down and got back to her feet. Then she walked over to me and slid her fingers between mine, stroking my hand with her thumb."…You're forgiven. And I hope you know how good a father you are.." Lowering her voice and leaning in near my hearing sensor, she added, "..And how great a soulmate you are.."
Squeaking in surprise, I stuttered, "…I-I don't know about…a-about that.."
Smiling, 7 gave me a little playful nuzzle, then spoke a tad more seriously, "..Right, well… How about you show me that wonderful, comforting affection you always do? It is getting stormy outside…"
I giggled, a dazed feeling coming over me. All I could say was yes, and we made our way underneath the bed nearby. Me and Snow weren't nervous of thunderstorms, but 7 was.
And that was just fine.