Chapter 25

Growing Pains

The moon came and went four more times since Charlie had found both his companions in contact with the beast from town. Life went on as normal and the trees began to slowly turn into flaming colors. It was around this time that Veri began hearing cries of a different sort from her children, and at first fretted, but quickly realized that she knew exactly what was going on; Further inspection of the pups revealed that, starting at their rumps, a slight shade of brown was beginning to frost up. It was faint, but over time it quickly began to replace the pale fuzz that very had little trouble in cleaning previously but soon found the longer, colored hairs were much more meticulous to groom. Also during this time, she observed what was causing their pains. From where it poked out of their tiny backsides, the stub of a tail had begun to separate on both pups, and as the weeks passed each pup had two stumps, and then four, and after several more weeks, when the first snow of the year had fallen, six slightly longer stumps, each split one at a time, grew from the young vulpixs' body. Not long after the splitting ceased, so did their cries. Often kept awake late at night by their cries, when caressing them with her tongue was not enough, she would lie sleepless, staring out into the dark room and try to remember her own such pains, but there was no such memory. She could hardly remember those she had come to live with before Charlie. She had a single mental image of a brood of plant-like things that had followed her around, but nothing more came to mind. This strange void in memory caused Veri to wonder what else had she forgotten since her time here. In her late night thoughts she also sometimes wondered about others who looked like her...why had she never seen any? There were her young, but were there any other small vulpines out there whom she had yet to meet? It was impossible to say. Once the pups' tails stopped splitting, sleep returned to the mother, and so the endless midnight thoughts ceased.

Both of her young quickly began to show their unique personalities. Phen often made various loud noises in an attempt to tell his mother many various things, and all Veri could do for the time being was to acknowledge him and praise him for his efforts. It was irritating at times, but nevertheless it was utterly adorable. He growled and tugged on his mother and sister's ears. He tried countless times to bite at his tails. He even tried to venture out of the bed on several occasions, each attempt quickly thwarted by a tireless mother.

As if she was not quiet enough, Brynn spent long periods of the day simply gazing in wonder up at the giant brown bird that had come to live with them since his master had stopped breathing and passed away. Over time she grew to sheer fascination with Runt, and on occasion curled up against his huge feathers whenever he would lie beside them. Runt would often speak softly to her, and she would continue to stare up at him with her big, auburn eyes.

When she had thought about it before, Veri had had no idea as to how she was going to teach the pups to speak. She quickly learned that, for creatures at least, it came considerably easy. Since she spent so much time with Runt near the pups anyways, she found that they quickly begun to pick up on things around them, often emulating words or sounds she made in everyday conversation with her friend. Correcting things like it was not a beak who had Runt but Runt who had a beak were simple compared to trying to separate the countless differences between humans and their fellow creatures. Overall, Veri was surprised by their speed at learning to speak, and once Runt had commented to her that he had never seen any creature, not his own kind or others, learn anything so complex so quickly.

By the final melt of the snow the pups were fully mobile, and the rambunctious nature of all young things was allowed to fully show itself as the lush grass of spring became the new feeling under their tiny, playful feet. Both Brynn and Phen loved being outside, playing under the trees around the house, hiding in the tall grasses and pouncing on one another. Usually Brynn was the victim here, but occasionally she would have a go at lying quietly in a brush pile and surprising her brother. Sometimes they would even insist that their mother join in, and she was hesitant at first, but quickly Veri remembered the joyful play she had once experienced and shared it with her young under the warm sun of early summer.

One day, during their routine play, Veri was resting with her head on her paws on the front stoop when she heard a frightful cry come from beneath the tree where she had left the pups. The grass was long, and standing to search for them was of little good. The cry rang up again and it was of no doubt this time coming from her son. She raced off the stoop and towards the tree, her haste attracted the attention of Runt, who had been nestled nearby, and made his way curiously over to the scene behind the worried mother.

Brynn was frantically pacing around her brother, and wagged her tails in anxiety when she saw Veri approach. Phen was lying sprawled on his side; his eyes were closed and he was panting heavily.

"Mommy, he fell down," Brynn softly said to her mother. She looked down at him and back up at Veri, who herself was as nervous and confused at the situation.

She knelt down beside him. "Phen, its mommy...can you hear me?"

He shook suddenly and cried out in pain again. Veri moved to curl up beside him so that he was between her and Brynn. Veri did not know what was wrong with him. They hadn't had pains of this sort since their tails had split the previous year, so what could be happening now? Brynn's soft voice broke the frantic spell that was quickly overtaking Veri's mind.

"He said his mouth was hurting before, and he fell down..." Veri's ears perked up upon hearing this and she stared intently at Brynn.

"Brynn, when did he start hurting? Tell Mommy!"

Brynn appeared confused for a moment and couldn't manage to find the words to answer her mother.

Veri's rushing thoughts was broken again by a word from Runt, who was watching from behind them. "Veri, have they found their heat yet, by any chance?" That was it. Veri had completely forgotten about their fire and when it might come, but she had had no idea when the time would come. It must be now. But what was she to do? Was this a phenomena that came and went on its own, or was she required to help in some way? Frantically, she turned to the bird.

"What do I do? I don't remember this happening to me," She had always looked to him for wisdom, but even Runt was at a loss.

"I...I'm not sure what to do; I've never seen anything like this before, and my young certainly never endured it. I don't know what to do either,"

She looked back down at her son again. She felt like time was running out, but was it? Merely sitting here was too much to bear. Veri's fear was growing, and in frustration she turned her head away and released a plume of flame that dissipated into the fast-blowing breeze. She felt her throat tighten as it always did when she set loose, and something behind her tongue relax and shrink. Then it occurred to her- maybe that was the source of his pain. Veri rolled Phen to face her and she began to push gently on his neck with her nose. She lightly massaged the soft underside of his tiny throat until she felt an area swollen greater than it had been earlier that day. Veri had no idea if it was the right thing to do or not, but trusting some subtle voice in the back of her mind, she pressed repeatedly on the swollen gland. Each push made him wince and cry out, and she had only her voice to calm him. A moment later a faint hissing noise could be heard from inside and Phen's body relaxed, though his eyes remained closed. Another anxious moment later, as everyone watched and waited, he suddenly began to hack and wheeze and it looked as though he was readying to vomit; he coughed out a deep red sac covered in some horridly smelling secretion it had leaked. Phen breathed heavy and lifted his head. Staring down at him with worried expressions, Veri's own eyes lit up and she barked in excitement, nuzzling him and caressing him with her tongue. Veri suddenly recognized the smell that was passing her nose- it was the same smell that she remembered the day Charlie had made her produce flame, now so long ago, but she had once coughed up a dark, smelling fluid like this one and had completely forgotten. "Runt, Phen has gotten his fire!"

"Phen, dear, can you hear me? Look at me," His glossy eyes stared up at her in gratitude and he wagged what he could of his tails. "Phen, you've gotten your fire!"

Phen managed to crack a tiny smile, but was interrupted by a sudden loud belch that released a string of blue flame out into the grass in front of them, singeing it away. The pup's eyes grew wide.

"What was that mom?"

Veri smiled and licked the side of his muzzle again. "You're growing up,"

"What about me mommy?" Brynn curled up closer to the pair and stared at her mother intently.

"I don't know dear, but I wouldn't think too long; it's an exciting time for you."

Veri also wanted them to be well-acquainted with humans before it became more difficult for them to adjust. They already enjoyed playing with Charlie's son, bounding around the yard on clumsy paws as the boy toddled from the tree to the steps and back around to the garden. In the very beginning, Brynn had been fearful of Charlie's hands near her, but she soon learned that past the fear usually lie a comforting scratch or perhaps a small treat. Both pups loved Charlie before too long, and sometimes when their mother was resting they would both follow their master around the yard while he did his work. Phen particularly loved being with Linda when she worked in the garden. Often she swat at him when he gnawed on a shoot or stalk she was trying to grow, but for the most part he loved being among the flowers and plants with her. He would not go near the garden alone however, for he claimed there was a particular strange plant that rustled when there was no wind and once had unearthed itself and crawled around the garden. Veri asked Phen if he had ever heard it make a sound, and all it would say is "Odd? Odd?"

Veri tried as much as she possibly could to get Brynn to seek out Charlie on her own, but the little female was utterly taken with Runt. Any time away she got to herself was spent seeking him out and following him around the yard. Runt seemed to love the little vulpix equally as much. His stories set her tiny eyes aglow, and his many soft feathers were a perfect nap spot. After a time Veri came to accept that this was her daughter's friend, and was glad that at least she had one.

Through all of this, Oni played a much lesser role in raising his children than Veri had hoped...and expected. She did not credit this fully however to his self-distancing and self-pity; although he had recovered from his burns enough to walk about and even run, it seemed as though something after that had changed about him. He was not as presumptuous as he had always been. That, and the wounds never grew fur again and were a constant agitation. He spent countless hours a day sometimes cleaning and chafing the scabs that never seemed to go away. The snow had came and went but the wounds caused him the same amount of pain no matter how much time passed. Sometimes, he would come lay next to Veri in the bed near the hearth, but most nights he spent either alone in his corner or in the room with Charlie. The pair conversed surprisingly little, and secretly Veri did not want to ask him why he was so quiet. She thought on the matter, and concluded that she was angry with him, although she never fully quite understood why. She was upset with him for not even attempting to be in his offspring's life, but she also remembered what Runt had said about him and how his past shaped him to react to responsibility. She knew that deep down he wanted to do something, anything, but something, be it his fear, his pride, or something else, kept him away. It was for these reasons she did not entirely blame him for his absence. That, and the fact that he was in considerable pain for much of those days.

One day, during the peak of the summer, not long after both pups had gotten their fire, things around the house began to change, in a way that Veri was not entirely ready for.

Oni was having a particularly good day, moving around as usual, and was spending the late morning hours with Runt out behind the garden Linda kept near the side of the house. From the big tree near the road with the pups Veri saw Runt flying frantically towards the door, flapping and making a scene with loud squawks. He pecked on the door until Charlie poked his head out, throwing up his arms in confusion, but not long enough to resist a strong nudge from the giant bird towards the rear of the house. When he finally gave in they both disappeared around the side of the building and a moment later Veri heard him call loudly for Linda, who burst out the door holding their son, looking left and right to find where Charlie was calling her from. She heard her name again and when she saw Veri resting under the tree nearby she hurried and placed the child on the grass near the vulpix and raced around to the back of the house. Veri did not know what was going on

"Hay vulpixees...today I'm this many!" He held out an outspread palm and put two fingers back into a fist. Brynn and Phen circled the young boy as they often did, and he laughed with childlike joy at the rambunctious young vulpix climbing on and off his lap in play.

Nothing more was heard or seen as she intently watched the house from the tree until they came around, walking fast towards the door, carrying a limp gray dog in Charlie's arms. Runt followed them to the door, stood still on the stoop, and watched from outside. He turned to gaze at Veri and quickly turned back, peering inside the door at what was going on.