The kits were born only a couple of days ago. Those couple of days have been trying. For inexperienced parents such as us, five kits to care for have been a pawful. The moment one falls asleep, the others cry and wake the one up. We have been staying up most of the time caring for our kits.
Right now, I am rocking Raska and Whisper to sleep. I'm nearly ready to collapse from exhaustion. I haven't had much sleep at all. I yawn. I'm nearly in tears from exhaustion and frustration. I jump at the feel of a paw on my shoulder. I turn to see dad standing there. "Are ya alright?" He asks.
"Define alright…'m exhausted," I sigh. Raska and Whisper squirm and cry louder.
"Yeah…I remember that feelin'. Newborn kits nevah want ta get ta sleep. Here…I'll get them ta sleep. Why don't ya get some rest yerself," dad suggests.
"Are ya sure?" I ask.
"Yeah, Buck. 'm sure. Ya look 'bout ready ta collapse," dad mentions.
I let out a big yawn as if to prove him right. I hand Raska and Whisper to dad. I go back over to the nest. I see that Taisley got Frost, Silver, and Talo to sleep and is also asleep herself. I lay down next to Taisley. I'm asleep within seconds.
I am startled awake maybe an hour later when the kits start to cry again. Taisley wakes up right after I do. I tell her to just go back to sleep. I want her to rest up. I sigh, picking up Raska and Whisper. I rock them in my arms. They won't stop crying. I feel that I might join them. I'm just so tired. I've had less sleep than Taisley has. "Buck, are ya alright?" I jump at the sound of my mother's voice.
I turn to see both mom and dad standing near us. "They woke up again…" I groan, yawning. I feel the tears of frustration pricking my eyes.
"Are ya goin' ta be alright?" Dad asks. I know that he has seen the tears forming in my eye.
"I…I just…I don't…" I break off. I feel the tears start falling.
My parents wrap their arms around me. "I understand. Buck, it's normal ta feel like this. I can't tell ya 'ow hard 't was when I first became a fathah," dad says.
"Buck, let us kit-sit fer a while. Ya both need yer sleep," mom places her paw on my shoulder.
"But mom, dad…I…I don't wanna bother ya wi' our kits. I want us ta be able ta care fer them ourselves," I argue.
"Buck, ya both need 'elp. 'ow do ya think you'll care fer yer kits if ya collapse?" Dad asks.
"Alright," I sigh. I hand Raska and Whisper to mom and dad. I curl up back next to Taisley. I close my eye and fall asleep, hoping to catch up on some much-needed rest.
I wake the next day to the sound of crying. This isn't the normal crying that I'm slowly getting used to. This cry is one of pain. I look to see that it's coming from Frost. I pick her up. "What's wrong?" Taisley asks from beside me.
"I don't know…" I reply. I feel Frost's forehead. My eye widens. "She's burnin' up!" I gasp. I look at Taisley with worry clear in my single eye.
"Wot is 't?" Mom and dad come over to us.
"Frost 'as a fever…" I explain.
"Don't worry too much, Buck. Li'l kits get fevers. All ya 'ave ta do is get a very small portion of Feverfew. It'll get rid of th' fever. I'll get 't an' bring 't 'ere," mom offers. She scurries off.
Mom returns a minute later with Feverfew in her right paw. She gives a small bit of it to Frost. Within a short time, Frost's fever does go down. Her temperature isn't normal, yet, but the fever is down. I look at mom. "Thanks. I…I didn't mean ta worry too much, but neither of th' kits 'ave been sick, before. I…I wasn't sure wot ta do…" I whisper.
"I know, son. Just remember, that's 'ow I reacted when I 'ad ta deal wi' a sick kit fer th' first time," dad explains.
I hear Frost cough. I stroke Frost's chest. Frost's coughing subsides as she falls asleep. "See? Ya already know wot ta do wi' a coughing kit!" Mom smiles.
"Yeah, I guess so," I smile back. Taisley stays with Raska, Talo, Whisper, and Silver. I decide to stick closer to Frost to care for her. I sit by her, watching her breathing as she sleeps.
A few hours pass. Taisley, my family, and the herd took our healthy kits outside for some fresh air. I'm still watching over Frost. I want to try to help her with her fever. I just want her to get well.
Frost's breathing speeds up as she begins to wake up. She begins crying as she feels the pain from her fever. I pick her up and hold her close to me. She whimpers and cuddles up to me. She continues crying. Her mouth opens wide with her sobs. Frost begins coughing roughly. She starts to gag and retch, throwing up all over me. She cries louder in between her bouts of vomiting. I rub her back soothingly as she continues to heave and retch.
When she stops vomiting, I stroke her forehead, trying to soothe her. Frost whimpers and continues to cry. I continue to try to soothe her. Frost stops crying as she falls asleep. I use a damp leaf to clean her fur off. I then get up and exit the cave. I see Taisley, my family, and the herd just outside. Taisley looks up and gasps at my appearance. "What happened?" She asks.
"Frost threw up on me. Do ya think ya can watch 'er so I can get cleaned up?" I ask.
"Sure," Taisley smiles. She heads inside the cave.
I scurry off towards the river. I start to clean myself up in it. I hear a branch snap from nearby. I turn to see that dad has followed me. "Are ya alright?" Dad asks.
"'m fine. 'm more worried 'bout Frost than my own fur," I answer.
"'ow is she?" Dad asks.
"Well, when I left 'er, she was asleep," I answer. I pause. "Did any of my siblings ever throw up on ya?" I ask, curiously.
"Yeah, actually. Once, when Lily and Timothy were born, they were quite sick. They were so sick that they threw up on me more than once," dad explains.
I finish cleaning my fur up. I exit the river, reveling in my not so vomit-covered fur. Then, we both return to the cave.
I go inside. Taisley is sitting by Frost. "Well, there is some good news. Frost's fever is almost gone!" Taisley tells me. She's smiling.
I look at Taisley. "That's great! Maybe we will make good parents," I speak.
"Yeah, maybe we will," Taisley agrees. We sit by our kits. There, we watch over them until the sky grows dark and we settle down for the night.
The next morning, when I wake up, it isn't to the sound of crying. I am not immediately aware of what it is that caused me to wake up. That is, not until I look over to our kits. Raska, Talo, Silver, and Whisper are fine, but Frost...her fever has spiked drastically! I take her into my arms and feel her forehead. It's so hot it nearly burns my paw. "Taisley! Wake up!" I speak in a low, panicked whisper.
Taisley stretches and yawns. "What is it?" She asks.
"Frost…'er fever is much too high!" I answer, worried. At that moment, Frost's body begins to seize. She's convulsing in my arms. I'm trying to hold onto her so she won't hurt herself.
Mom and dad run inside, obviously wondering what the commotion is. When they see Frost, everything enters full panic mode. "Quick! Put 'er down on th' nest an' make sure she doesn't bite 'er own tongue! I'll get somethin' ta lower th' fever quickly!" Mom shouts before racing off. Her shout, loud as it was, surprising doesn't wake our other four kits. They continue sleeping soundly.
Dad stays by us, trying to keep us calm as we try to keep Frost as still as possible (not easy to do with a convulsing kit). "Don't worry, Buck. Yer mothah knows a lot of herbs that'll 'elp 'er," dad tries to soothe my fears.
"But dad, she...she might…" I whisper, unable to finish.
"She won't," dad replies, stroking my head soothingly with his paw.
At that moment, mom returns with a bundle of herbs in her paws. "This is an assortment of herbs: Juniper berries, Feverfew, an' others that I can't recall th' names of," mom explains before feeding the herbs to Frost. A few minutes later, Frost stops convulsing and starts to breathe normally again as she falls into a normal kind of sleep.
I look at my parents with a relieved smile on my face. "Thanks. I...I was afraid I'd lose 'er. She's only li'l, ya know?" I whisper.
"We know. Now, since she's fine, Taisley an' yerself should get some sleep. We'll watch over th' kits," my parents offer.
I yawn, not bothering to argue. Taisley and I curl up next to each other on the nest and fall fast asleep content in the knowledge that through anything, we will be able to keep our kits alive. No matter what, we will always be good parents.