My Little Bird | Blue Eyes (Under minor grammatical editing)

Chapter 34

"Twins?!" Ash gasped.

A wide grin cracked his face as he gazed down at the two children in my arms. He stood beside Blue Eyes while I sat with my legs dangling over the edge of the hammock. At this point, it was more of an elevated bed than a hammock. Deja had thought ahead previous to my wedding day and added material to the hammock and we had strung up more vines to hold it up, so it was now roughly the size of a queen sized bed.

"Double whammy! Why did no one tell Ash?" He signed, turning a pointed gaze on his honorary brother.

"You know now." Blue Eyes tried to placate.

He came closer and crouched in front of me, a hand rested on my knee as he looked over my children. He gave a surprised hoot when he finally got a look at their irises. "Look at those eyes! You two will be just like your parents, huh? If we're lucky you'll take after your Uncle Ash."

Blue Eyed gave his ear a light cuff as he moved to sit beside me, his arm swinging around my waist possessively. Ash chuckled lightly. "Only playing. Can't I play with my niece and nephew?"

Before we could answer, River reached forward placed both hands on the top of Ash's head, ceasing all conversation. The child ruffled his hair and grabbed his ears, tugging slightly. He took a few minutes to play with his uncle's round ears for a moment before Ash winced, and reached up to gently pry his hands away.

"Easy." He murmured.

River gave a few imps and went back to exploring him. He seemed to like the pale spots on Ash's muzzle, and poked at them a little. He turned back to Blue Eyes and I and gave a squeak of excitement. We beamed at him, silently encouraging him to continue with Ash. I looked down when Sage started fussing slightly, and I could tell she wanted to go meet Ash as well, but the poor girl was so shy. I nudged her and when she looked up, I gave her a smile and murmured to her that it was okay. She maintained eye contact for a moment longer, her eyes a cerulean color, just like her father's. Then she turned and glanced at Blue Eyes, and he gave his daughter's head a rub with his thumb.

"No one will hurt you." He signed to her, even though she wasn't old enough to understand yet.

She gave another little coo and leaned into my chest, but her eyes stayed locked with her father's. Blue Eyes hooted back softly and she seemed calmed by it. He directed her attention back to Ash, and she gazed at him as he played with River, seeming to be gathering up her courage. She gave a few soft imps and I let her remove herself from my arms, deciding to let her go at her own pace.

Ash could see her coming, but he could see her tentativeness, and thankfully he chose to let her set her own pace as well. Sage crept up behind River, her fingers clutching the fur on his back. When River felt her, he turned away from his new uncle and hugged her. I felt warmth wreath around my hand, and without looking down I laced my fingers with Blue Eyes'. River seemed to understand his sister's situation, and my husband and I ate from the plates Ash had brought as we watched our son coax Sage into meeting Ash. Though they couldn't communicate through sign yet, we could still tell what they wanted and needed more than one would be able to with a human child at this age.

I wondered, how different would their upbringing be from normal? We had known as soon as we met River's curiosity that we had our hands full, both Blue Eyes and I just hoped that we wouldn't drop them along the way.

----later that evening----

Ash soon left, and after getting another rejuvenating nap into the twins, we played while awaiting the party. We had been trying to work on Sage's shyness, but to no avail as of yet. I was a little worried for her, she would likely be very overwhelmed, but she had to get used to it soon. And there would be no avoiding it tonight, every birth was celebrated. I voiced my thoughts to Blue Eyes, but he only told me not to worry, and that she'd learn soon enough that there was nothing to be afraid of outside.