Life
"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten. . .and the future worth living for"- unknown author
Leka's legs ran with the speed of a pa'li foal as she scampered to where Joanna was showing the children all of the possible colors they could use to paint their whittled animal figures. Excited laughter and voices overlapped as little fingers pointed to pastel, vibrant, and neutral shades held in assembled leaf cups that could be discarded for mulch later on. Tsu'tey sat next to her as he tried to feign disinterest for having to be in the children's company but Joanna knew better as he corrected several children on their color of choice for painting a tapirus statuette.
"Why would you choose yellow? They're brown" he questioned the child's innocent choice and Joanna rolled her eyes for his teachings to a one-year old. What did the little one know at this age? They were curious about the world around them, not logic. The small boy merely blinked his large orbs of gold at the warrior with naive perplexity before looking away to poke the figure with a paint brush, smiling obliviously at Tsu'tey for encouragement. Joanna laughed joyfully to the humorous scene and kept her eyes on the little toddler to avoid any accidents (they still liked to put their hands in their mouth, after all) while rubbing Tsu'tey's back with empathy to calm him. Her teacher could be such a critic sometimes.
"Remember, you were once like them" she reminded lightly as the side of her hand ran along the curve of his spine but stopped her caress once she saw people approaching. She was breaching both his personal space and the norms of society but as she glanced at him, he concentrated more on her than anything else in sight as his golden gaze lingered. Her cheeks darkened to his intense stare since her status was as a friend and nothing else but oh, how she would dream of more. Nonetheless, she was thankful that Eywa brought him to her as a friend and kept him there throughout their crazy adventures.
Leka ran up to her sitter with a big smile and grasped her forearm, ignoring the mannerisms children were taught on how to behave with their elders, to declare happily, "Miyo is showing her new baby! Let's go see him, Joanna."
Miyo was another of the growing statistics of women who were having children to increase the numbers of the clan. Mothers spent a week alone with their new little one to seal the parental bond and prevent sudden illness but afterwards, the clan would see the newborn to greet the new heart beating in the world. Each member of the clan visited the new parents to offer their best wishes and helpful tips, especially if it was a first child, and by the end, the newborn would be known by all. The most important milestones of a child in the clan were their first step and word as it showed their growing development into a unique person of their own. Parents would then craft an ikran toy for their child to present it to them when they were older to encourage their skills.
The older woman shook her head since her small lesson was still in session and didn't want to intrude too suddenly since other members would also want to drop by with their congratulations. Tsu'tey, on the other hand, wasn't surprised that Joanna would be one of the firsts to pop in due to her unofficial role of caretaker (Eywa, he could already imagine her carrying the child when the mother was ready to rejoin the seamstresses circle) but a small part of him was proud that many called upon her for help with their children. Joanna wanted to remain humble since the children deserved to paint to their heart's desire and patted Leka's head to compromise, "We will finish our painting first and then, we will go pay our respects."
"Oh!" both Tsu'tey and Leka exclaimed in disappointment; the child because her eagerness couldn't be contained and the hunter because he really didn't want to go.
An hour later, Tsu'tey found himself with a frown on his angular face as he had children clamping onto his legs like forest slugs with excitement as they tried to peek at the new baby in Joanna's arms. The crowds were nonexistent when she arrived with her small group and she spoke with the new mother about the new bundle as she promised to keep Miyo's older children for a few hours extra during the first month to help. Tsu'tey, however, had somehow been unofficially charged with playing nursemaid to the group of children and had been driven mad more than once with the barrage of their endless and sometimes, illogical, questions. He couldn't communicate well with children like Joanna could and wondered if it was a female thing but then again, his clan leader splattered on paint to play games with them during the month so maybe it was just him in particular. Goodness, he could already see the frown on the Tsahìk's face if she saw he was anti-baby.
"Ow! That is not a toy!" he warned a little girl who had just used his tail to summon his undivided attention by pulling on it and groaned mentally when her eyes watered to being reprimanded. Another thing that unnerved him from his strong shell of stone was crying, especially children. He waved his hands in a desperate attempt to stop her before she could bawl aloud to draw everyone's attention and patted her head to soothe gently with a voice unlike his natural gruff tone, "Don't cry, I didn't mean to, um, frighten you. What did you need?"
Her large eyes blinked, one fisted hand wiping away tears from a leaky eye as she stammered, "I can't-", sniffle, "see. . .the baby."
He muffled an exasperated sigh to everyone's eagerness to see a baby and stepped aside to let the entire group of children stand in front of him, gently pushing the ones attached to his legs also. His enthusiasm wasn't as eager as theirs to witness the miracle of life because the crying was unbearable and screechier than an ikran with territoriality issues. Babies were adorable in the physical sense as they cooed and drew attention to their wiggling limbs but those were the only good aspects in Tsu'tey's eye.
"Isn't he the prettiest little thing you've ever seen?" Joanna cooed with adoration as the children oohed and awed about the newborn as the baby eyed them with mild interest. To Tsu'tey, the child looked as sleepy as he felt being in the same setting but at least the newborn was allowed to sleep while he'd be chastised for rude behavior. A few more moments of this kept going on as he decided to glance around the area, randomly complimenting Miyo for what she and her mate had done in decorating their small alcove. Both women had stared at him with bewilderment for the comment since the baby was the main attraction and he'd decided to shut up then and there.
"Look, his fingers tried to grab mine" Leka squealed happily as the baby's natural grasping reflex kicked in when their hands touched and the girl drew more 'aw's' from the small group.
Of course, his moments of bachelor peace were broken when Joanna popped into his line of sight with a bright smile and told him enthusiastically, "Your turn, buddy. Be careful with his head-"
"I can't carry a child-"
"This baby will love knowing the clan advisor once held him" Joanna insisted with a quick nod that told him she wasn't backing down and glanced at the cooing baby in her arms. Smiling sweetly, she cooed in return as babies melted her into puddles of goo instantaneously and Tsu'tey winced to her sweet tone as she asked the baby, "Won't you?"
"For someone who doesn't want children, you sure love them" he remarked dryly in regards to her past comments but Joanna had failed to tell him months ago that that mindset had changed. Her girl talk with Cheryl was kept secret, after all. She placed the little boy in his arms and Tsu'tey quickly shifted into protector mode as the experience left him vulnerable since he was never one to hold children often. Actually, he couldn't even remember when he had. As a child, he'd peek in shyly at the newborns when his mother brought him along but nowadays, he usually watched from within the crowds and gave his best wishes to the new parents as another person took his place.
He balanced the newborn boy in his arms as the little one stared at him with a blank sleepy expression as miniature hands shifted over his bare round stomach. The soft little body unsettled him with its vulnerability to the outside world and he placed the child vertically over his chest to tuck him close to body warmth as he eyed Joanna with uncertainty. Couldn't she see that he wasn't made to hold children? He was molded to wield weapons and hunt prey, not coddle babies in his arms! She chuckled to his nervous face, stroking the baby's back as he cooed softly to the safety provided in the hunter's arms and she assured Tsu'tey gently, "It's a baby, not a bottle of poison."
"I'd rather juggle the poison" he retorted defensively as he held the back of the boy's head with a tender but cautious hand and raised his brow when tiny hands tapped his chest. Glancing down, he managed a smile of amusement as the child wiggled with curiosity to his new world and bright golden eyes met his. Yes, children were extremely fragile in their first years of life and assigned you many new responsibilities but they brought out the best in you. They were your legacy in life as they carried what you instilled in them and Tsu'tey wondered what the little newborn would be. Maybe a hunter? A cook? A pa'li breeder? His gaze rose to meet Joanna's as she cooed to the boy as little fists tapped against his chest and he briefly wondered how life would be as a real father. . .with her as his dear mate. Nobody else attracted him as she did, anyway.
He was almost tempted to joke that they should keep the child for themselves and run off to make a clan of their own but the child suddenly became fussy in his arms. What was it now? Before he could ask Joanna to help, the baby boy uttered a small gurgle of distaste and spit up his recent meal all over the hunter's chest.
Joanna's eyes widened to their fullest as Tsu'tey stared at his milk covered chest with agape lips of shock to the awful sight and the children burst into amused sniggers to the creamy colored blotch. He couldn't believe his awful luck with children and thanked Eywa when Joanna took the child into her arms, trying to calm the newborn as she handed him back to Miyo for motherly care. Tsu'tey was ready to throw a fit himself for being covered in baby vomit after trying to become a better handler with babies and vowed never to touch one for the next ten seasons. Fetching a clean brown cloth from her satchel, she dabbed at his chest to clean off the baby's mess and struggled not to laugh to what happened lest she wanted to receive an angry rant later on in her hammock. She was certain he'd be going out to the archery fields or take Aci for a stroll around Kelutral to calm the fiery match that had been lit.
His eyes held nothing but cynicism when they met her embarrassed orbs of gold and he commented flatly, "Life is adorable when it's a cooing lilac cheeked child aiming their pretty little eyes at you but when they vomit their stomach contents all over you, it's anything but cute."
She directed a stern glare at him for becoming grumpy already since it wasn't the child's fault his stomach was full but he had an argument for that as well, "You will remember my words when you have your own child and I will laugh to your misery, Joanna. Oh, how I will laugh."
Joanna shook her head to his crazy madman prophesies, smiling with amusement to herself as she wiped his blue chest clean and he grumbled under his breath with regret for following her up here. . .but it did feel nice holding the small newborn in his arms when he wasn't spitting up food. He wasn't an instant fan of the little tykes but the newborn left an impression on him as he realized he was at his prime and little babies weren't far away- if anything, they should already be occurring- in his life.
Years later, Joanna would indeed be cleaning up messy baby vomit from both her own newborn's fussy lips and her clothes as the warrior would be nearby to witness it daily. By that time, however, Tsu'tey would utter no complaint or mocking laughter (maybe a few light jokes) because their little bright-eyed son could do no wrong in his father's eye as the hunter prized Kanei dearly above all else.
A/N: And we see the reaction to babies as the clan treasures every little babe and Tsu'tey goes out of his comfort zone to adapt. He never really sees himself as the type while Joanna loves them but in the end, he'll be playing father anyway. I was never a baby person like Tsu'tey (probably because I was the oldest) but within the past years, I've grown to love them and they actually take to me which now brings my mom to asking when I'll be having one. I'm trying to think of adventures for little Tsu'tey because I find him adorable as a boy who aims to prove himself to the clan and I can see him trying to ride a tapirus like a pa'li. The next chapter of the main story will be up soon as editing drives me insane so stay tuned, my pretties.
Navi'Rabbit: Thanks for liking the one-shots, I'm trying to give a view of something that's not with the plot but at the same time, not straying clear off the path.
T0rukMakt0: Thank you for your appreciation, you're always so kind. *virtual hug* Joanna takes her time at learning things (otherwise, she'd be a horrible Mary Sue for perfecting something in one practice round) but sewing is her weakest points unlike Tsu'tey, who could probably sew a blanket by the time she finishes a sock. For some reason, I can see him sewing their children's torn clothes and teaching them not to pick up on her skill.
Claycarole: Yeah, I'm sure there are days Neytiri won't want to sew for the man and goodness forbid if he has a wardrobe malfunction during a hunt. Thanks for loving the glimpses, I'll be delving into the mind of Peke for the next chapter.
Na'viWolf: Tsu'tey's just plain entertaining in his grumpy yet confident style. I think if anybody had to sing some kind of song, it would be at Jake's spur of the moment thought since he's the most outgoing in public out of all the dreamwalkers.