Three: Happy A-Day
Tired *and* hungry was not good. Neither was cold, and he was all
three at once. He voiced his displeasure as much as he could, and had to
wonder why Mom was taking so long to come.
Where *was* Mom?
Well, he was moving, that was something. Sometimes, when Mom moved
him, she didn't have time to feed him. Maybe that was it. Mom was taking
him somewhere, and he just couldn't see her.
He was still hungry. And tired. And cold. And unhappy about all three.
Johannes Wagner wasn't thinking of anything very much when he heard a
baby cry. He was just focussing on catching a fish for his beloved
Astrid. In fact, he even thought that someone was bringing her work, at
first.
Poor Astrid. They'd tried and failed for fifteen years to conceive;
and all God had given her was the ability to nurse babies that weren't
hers. She still prayed for a miracle, every day, to God, Jesus, Mary,
and the saints. She'd even begun to wear the pattern off her rosary
beads.
It was the least he could do to fetch her a fish. If only the little
slippery heathen would co-operate and take the verdammt bait.
_Wait..._ The crying was coming from that piece of flotsam, drifting
his way.
The flotsam wriggled.
Johannes leaped forwards, tossing his rod aside and wading deeper into
the stream and catching up the child from the water. Later, he'd notice
that his right boot had filled with water in the process. Right now, he
didn't care.
Perhaps God, Jesus, Mary and the saints had at last decided to answer
their pleas and entreaties.
The baby was wrapped in oilcloth the colour of night, and it reached
out to him the minute it saw him. A little hand with only two fingers
and a thumb. Covered in blue fur.
"Astrid, come here!" He cried, jubilant. "Come and see what God's
given us!"
Astrid was there, forgetting the mushrooms she'd been gathering.
"Johannes! Is it--?"
"A baby no-one will take from us, beloved," he said. "Look."
Her mouth fell open. "Oh..." and the baby went so neatly into her
arms.
Johannnes hauled himself from the water. His rod and reel had long
since gone downstream. If he was lucky, the Guismanns would find it; and
if not, he was lucky enough to have a child. Plenty lucky.
Astrid had gotten it latched on, and it was feeding like it was half-
starved. "Ach! Look at him go," she said. "He's lucky I just got off
from the Jarelmann twins."
"He's a he? We have a son?"
Indeed, Astrid had twitched aside the oilcloth to reveal the baby's
gender, and a few other little surprises. "Yes, we have a son," she
said. "A beautiful, blue, little angel."
Watching from her hiding place, Raven chased the tears from her eyes
and turned away for the last time. Her son would be loved, she could
tell that. They'd seen all he was without turning a hair, and accepted
him as he was.
She should have gone to ground in a village like this one *first*, and
not bothered with Magneto. It would have certainly been safer. Maybe she
could have even got help from someone like those two.
Raven wished Johannes and Astrid well. She wished them every
happiness. She wished she could have it to, but she had to return to
Magneto and give her son his last gift from her.
"Well?" said Magneto on her return.
Mystique's face was impassive. Uncaring. "He drowned. He's dead."
And in a little mountain village in the middle of nowhere, her son
would have a good life, with parents who could give him a relatively
normal childhood. Raven could be glad of that, at least.
Of course, in a little village like Heirelgart, nothing could happen
without everyone else knowing about it. Gossip spread a little quicker
than normal, there, mainly because of the Centaurs living amongst them.
They could spread gossip as quick as it took to gallop from one house -
or camped wagon - to another.
The Guismann family had come up with Johannes' fishing rod - and the
fish he'd 'caught'. Young Andrei had gone straight into the playpen the
instant that Elfriede, his mother, saw the baby. Werner Guismann
vanished shortly after handing both fish and fishing tackle over, though
Johannes could hear his huge feet galloping down the road for quite some
time.
Johannes cleaned his fish while the ladies talked.
"He knows how to eat, doesn't he?"
"*Yes*," said Astrid. "He hasn't let go since I put him on."
"Do you know if he has people?"
"No," Astrid gently petted their son's bare back, watching his tail
thrash and whip about. "Johannes found him floating in the river. He had
nothing on but a piece of oilcloth for swaddling."
Elfriede put her hand over her mouth. "What sort of cruel monster
could do *that*?" she demanded. "He's *beautiful*."
"I know," Astrid blushed with pride.
"Love?" Johanne asked. "Are we going to tell him about this?"
Astrid spent a moment staring at nothing. "No. His mother left him on
our back doorstep. That's what we're going to tell the rest, too."
"Indeed," said Elfriede. "Nobody should grow up thinking their mother
and father tried to kill them."
"Come on, love," Astrid cooed, attempting to detatch the baby. "Let
go. There's more on the other side for you."
{pop!} "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"
Astrid swapped him around, and with a soft, {glomph} he resumed
feeding. "He *knows* how to eat."
Elfriede bought a cloth diaper out of her bag. "We'll have to fiddle a
little," she said, "But this is how you fold a diaper for a baby with a
tail," and proceeded to show them.
"We haven't even got a name for him," Johannes realised.
"Yes we do," said Astrid. "Kurt, after my Papa."
Johannes put the fish on to cook, tidied the remains away and washed
his hands before he even thought of coming close to his son. "You know,"
he said, "he actually *looks* like a Kurt."
Kurti's namesake turned up, and aired out the long-prepared baby's
room while his brand-new Oma bustled about with washing things, cooing
at little Andrei, and chirping about what a wonderful new grandson they
had.
Kurti celebrated his introduction to his new family by falling asleep
in his Mama's arms. He didn't even wake up when they carefully dressed
him and put him to bed.
"Poor little boy," Astrid murmured. "It must have been quite a night
for him."
"I'd say he's a couple of months old," said Sibylle Meirs, new Oma. "I
saw him reaching for things. When he wasn't busy with other concerns."
Johannes had to giggle. "Look, his little tail's still wagging."
"Oh, I've seen that, before," said Astrid. "Those with tails always
wag them when they're that young." She reached down and brushed it, and
gasped when it wrapped itself around her finger. "Oh..."
"You'd best watch him," predicted Sibylle. "He'll have you wrapped
around *his* finger if you aren't aware."
Outside, Kurt Meirs was telling all the newcomers to keep their voices
down, there were sleeping babies inside the house. Johannes crept
outside to see.
Half the village had turned up, bearing gifts. He could even see
Margali and her twins, Stefan and Jimaine, in the crowd.
"Well?" the closest to the door asked. "What's this new baby of yours
like?"
Johannes smiled. "He's beautiful."
Tired *and* hungry was not good. Neither was cold, and he was all
three at once. He voiced his displeasure as much as he could, and had to
wonder why Mom was taking so long to come.
Where *was* Mom?
Well, he was moving, that was something. Sometimes, when Mom moved
him, she didn't have time to feed him. Maybe that was it. Mom was taking
him somewhere, and he just couldn't see her.
He was still hungry. And tired. And cold. And unhappy about all three.
Johannes Wagner wasn't thinking of anything very much when he heard a
baby cry. He was just focussing on catching a fish for his beloved
Astrid. In fact, he even thought that someone was bringing her work, at
first.
Poor Astrid. They'd tried and failed for fifteen years to conceive;
and all God had given her was the ability to nurse babies that weren't
hers. She still prayed for a miracle, every day, to God, Jesus, Mary,
and the saints. She'd even begun to wear the pattern off her rosary
beads.
It was the least he could do to fetch her a fish. If only the little
slippery heathen would co-operate and take the verdammt bait.
_Wait..._ The crying was coming from that piece of flotsam, drifting
his way.
The flotsam wriggled.
Johannes leaped forwards, tossing his rod aside and wading deeper into
the stream and catching up the child from the water. Later, he'd notice
that his right boot had filled with water in the process. Right now, he
didn't care.
Perhaps God, Jesus, Mary and the saints had at last decided to answer
their pleas and entreaties.
The baby was wrapped in oilcloth the colour of night, and it reached
out to him the minute it saw him. A little hand with only two fingers
and a thumb. Covered in blue fur.
"Astrid, come here!" He cried, jubilant. "Come and see what God's
given us!"
Astrid was there, forgetting the mushrooms she'd been gathering.
"Johannes! Is it--?"
"A baby no-one will take from us, beloved," he said. "Look."
Her mouth fell open. "Oh..." and the baby went so neatly into her
arms.
Johannnes hauled himself from the water. His rod and reel had long
since gone downstream. If he was lucky, the Guismanns would find it; and
if not, he was lucky enough to have a child. Plenty lucky.
Astrid had gotten it latched on, and it was feeding like it was half-
starved. "Ach! Look at him go," she said. "He's lucky I just got off
from the Jarelmann twins."
"He's a he? We have a son?"
Indeed, Astrid had twitched aside the oilcloth to reveal the baby's
gender, and a few other little surprises. "Yes, we have a son," she
said. "A beautiful, blue, little angel."
Watching from her hiding place, Raven chased the tears from her eyes
and turned away for the last time. Her son would be loved, she could
tell that. They'd seen all he was without turning a hair, and accepted
him as he was.
She should have gone to ground in a village like this one *first*, and
not bothered with Magneto. It would have certainly been safer. Maybe she
could have even got help from someone like those two.
Raven wished Johannes and Astrid well. She wished them every
happiness. She wished she could have it to, but she had to return to
Magneto and give her son his last gift from her.
"Well?" said Magneto on her return.
Mystique's face was impassive. Uncaring. "He drowned. He's dead."
And in a little mountain village in the middle of nowhere, her son
would have a good life, with parents who could give him a relatively
normal childhood. Raven could be glad of that, at least.
Of course, in a little village like Heirelgart, nothing could happen
without everyone else knowing about it. Gossip spread a little quicker
than normal, there, mainly because of the Centaurs living amongst them.
They could spread gossip as quick as it took to gallop from one house -
or camped wagon - to another.
The Guismann family had come up with Johannes' fishing rod - and the
fish he'd 'caught'. Young Andrei had gone straight into the playpen the
instant that Elfriede, his mother, saw the baby. Werner Guismann
vanished shortly after handing both fish and fishing tackle over, though
Johannes could hear his huge feet galloping down the road for quite some
time.
Johannes cleaned his fish while the ladies talked.
"He knows how to eat, doesn't he?"
"*Yes*," said Astrid. "He hasn't let go since I put him on."
"Do you know if he has people?"
"No," Astrid gently petted their son's bare back, watching his tail
thrash and whip about. "Johannes found him floating in the river. He had
nothing on but a piece of oilcloth for swaddling."
Elfriede put her hand over her mouth. "What sort of cruel monster
could do *that*?" she demanded. "He's *beautiful*."
"I know," Astrid blushed with pride.
"Love?" Johanne asked. "Are we going to tell him about this?"
Astrid spent a moment staring at nothing. "No. His mother left him on
our back doorstep. That's what we're going to tell the rest, too."
"Indeed," said Elfriede. "Nobody should grow up thinking their mother
and father tried to kill them."
"Come on, love," Astrid cooed, attempting to detatch the baby. "Let
go. There's more on the other side for you."
{pop!} "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"
Astrid swapped him around, and with a soft, {glomph} he resumed
feeding. "He *knows* how to eat."
Elfriede bought a cloth diaper out of her bag. "We'll have to fiddle a
little," she said, "But this is how you fold a diaper for a baby with a
tail," and proceeded to show them.
"We haven't even got a name for him," Johannes realised.
"Yes we do," said Astrid. "Kurt, after my Papa."
Johannes put the fish on to cook, tidied the remains away and washed
his hands before he even thought of coming close to his son. "You know,"
he said, "he actually *looks* like a Kurt."
Kurti's namesake turned up, and aired out the long-prepared baby's
room while his brand-new Oma bustled about with washing things, cooing
at little Andrei, and chirping about what a wonderful new grandson they
had.
Kurti celebrated his introduction to his new family by falling asleep
in his Mama's arms. He didn't even wake up when they carefully dressed
him and put him to bed.
"Poor little boy," Astrid murmured. "It must have been quite a night
for him."
"I'd say he's a couple of months old," said Sibylle Meirs, new Oma. "I
saw him reaching for things. When he wasn't busy with other concerns."
Johannes had to giggle. "Look, his little tail's still wagging."
"Oh, I've seen that, before," said Astrid. "Those with tails always
wag them when they're that young." She reached down and brushed it, and
gasped when it wrapped itself around her finger. "Oh..."
"You'd best watch him," predicted Sibylle. "He'll have you wrapped
around *his* finger if you aren't aware."
Outside, Kurt Meirs was telling all the newcomers to keep their voices
down, there were sleeping babies inside the house. Johannes crept
outside to see.
Half the village had turned up, bearing gifts. He could even see
Margali and her twins, Stefan and Jimaine, in the crowd.
"Well?" the closest to the door asked. "What's this new baby of yours
like?"
Johannes smiled. "He's beautiful."