Chapter 4: Baby Steps

Something about the pack's determination to protect Lapis from Jasper had also made them a little overconfident in their ability to care for her. After all, they were already prepared to raise Steven so taking care of two babies should be easy, right?

However, the pack knew how to raise vampire and werewolf babies. But human babies? Well, that was another story.

Taking care of Lapis required a little bit of research. So, Pearl got books on how to care for babies from the closest bookstore.

The alliance soon discovered that a human baby like Lapis had a lot of needs. But then again, Steven was pretty needy too as a baby.

Both infants had to be fed every two hours. Since Rose was already used to Steven nursing from her, she was welcome to have Lapis drink some of her milk as well.

Despite the whole pack being enamored by the baby girl, the werewolves and rebel vampires had different ideas on how to take care of her.

During bathtime, it was being licked clean by werewolf tongues versus a bubble bath in the tub. Lapis actually liked being licked. She always laughed because of how much the tongues tickled her. Nevertheless, the vampires still had their issues with it.

"Being licked by tongues is too unhygienic." Pearl would often say. "Nothing can go wrong like good old soap and water in the bathtub."

"But, Lapis hates getting soap in her eyes." Amethyst quibbled.

If it was bedtime or time for Lapis and Steven's nap, it was a debate between sleeping against werewolf fur and being swaddled in a nest of blankets.

"The fur of a werewolf is much warmer than any baby blanket." Bismuth claimed.

"But, when was the last time those werewolves had a bath?" Peridot raised an eyebrow.

Now, getting Steven to sleep had proven to be a challenge for the alliance. He would often get ornery about sleeping. Sometimes, it would take somebody like his mom to rub his back or gently rock him until he tired himself out.

Lapis, on the other hand didn't give the pack as much of a challenge to fall asleep as they were anticipating. All the human girl needed was someone or something soft, warm, and snuggly to cuddle with and she was out like a light.

It was also a plus that ever since Lapis was adopted by the pack, getting Steven to sleep became so much easier. The werewolf cub just felt comforted by the human girl's presence. So, it only made sense that the two babies had to sleep in the same place together.

The alliance also figured out that Steven was very in tune with Lapis' emotions. Which meant that if the baby girl was in a good mood, the infant werewolf would be happy. Likewise, if Lapis was restless or scared, it would unsettle Steven as well. This empathetic ability was very unusual even in the pack's standards.

Despite the two infants may having an empathic connection with each other; but the human baby and werewolf cub still had their differences. For one thing, Lapis was more fragile than Steven and a lot of things posed as a hazard to the little girl.

"I suggest that we start baby proofing the house." Peridot recommended after a close call with Lapis almost getting too close to an electrical cord.

"I second that." Pearl complied.

Another thing that separated Steven from Lapis was that he achieved some milestones for a baby quicker than the human girl. He started standing and walking at nine months old. Whereas Lapis had only just started crawling at that age.

In the same way, Steven had also developed a vocabulary quickly at an earlier age than his human friend. While on the contrary, Lapis was still babbling babyish jibberish.

And though they had their differences in terms of growth and may have more later in life, Steven and Lapis were still attached at the hip.

Lapis' new family was very committed to keeping her safe from Jasper and his followers. At night, a few werewolves would stand at the perimeter surrounding their hideout to keep the loyalists at bay. Although the alliance kept a close vigil over Lapis, they were some things they couldn't protect the young human from.

One night, the whole pack was alarmed by the sound of Lapis crying. Everybody thought that the vampire loyalists had infiltrated the baby bedroom to abduct the young girl. But to their great relief, Lapis was still safe in her crib with Steven who was also weeping.

If she wasn't being kidnapped, then why would the baby girl be fussing? After all, she was just recently fed and changed. So, what could be the problem?

Rose made her way to the crib and pulled Lapis out to comfort her. Meanwhile, Pearl went to grab Steven and soothe him.

"There there, sweetie." the motherly werewolf consoled the sobbing girl. "Everything's okay."

As she rubbed the baby's back to calm her down, one of Rose's closest friends approached her side. She was a werewolf named Garnet.

Garnet had an afro of indigo black hair, red and blue eyes, and deep brown skin. She wore a black leather jacket with shades in the pocket, a magenta top, and dark blue jeans.

This werewolf had a very unique power. She could look into people's minds and see the dreams they had (or in this case, nightmares.)

So what Garnet did was stroke little Lapis' head. It seemed like she was just petting the baby's fine hair, but Rose knew exactly what her friend was doing. Garnet was really using her powers to delve into Lapis' infantile subconscious and see her dreams.

Suddenly, the werewolf's eyes opened wide and she gasped in realization.

"What did you find, Garnet?" asked Rose.

"Jasper and his followers are starting to haunt her psyche." Garnet disclosed. "I suspect that the visions of them are warning her of the future."

"Does that mean that it's inevitable that Lapis will end up being captured by the vampire loyalists when she gets older?" the pack leader inquired.

"But, that can't happen." Pearl differed with a look of fear on her face.

"Rose, I don't want to scare you; but we have to consider all the possibilities." the psychic werewolf said. "Remember, the future isn't always set in stone."

Rose looked at Lapis who had stopped crying and fallen into a peaceful sleep again. Steven in turn, did the same.

"I guess all we can do for now is protect her from being taken by Jasper too soon." the werewolf leader affirmed as she and Pearl set the two babies back into the crib.

Once they were comfy, the pack noticed that Steven was hugging Lapis in his sleep. It was like the werewolf cub had already developed a strong urge to protect his human friend and he wasn't even a year old yet. No one knew it yet (well, maybe Rose did,) but Steven and Lapis were going to have a great relationship with each other; and be more than just friends.