[Solo] Mama!

[Wolfs Heart]

It had been difficult to sleep ever since the party. Things that had happened there... Eleora just couldn't explain. Then she had disappeared into darkness, only to wake up and the house be entirely gone. Had it all just been a dream? Perhaps that was why she avoided sleep now, afraid of returning to the nightmare that was that house. The lack of sleep was apparent from the way her eyelids sagged. Eleora really wished she was anything but alone right now, but she really had no where else to go?

Maybe... she could visit her mom and dad, but she also was trying to be independent and proving that she was alright on her own. Running back home after a minor scare... just felt humiliating.

Eleora sighed as she flopped onto her bed. "Sleep!" she willed herself. She wanted it so badly, but it just wouldn't come. Her ears twitched. A scratching noise seemed to be coming from the door. "It's just my imagination..." Eleora thought as she traced the wood grain of the ceiling with her eyes. Eleora closed her eyes for a second, she began counting, hoping that would help her sleep. Just as Eleora started slipping into that space between sleep and awake, the scratching sound was made again. This time, Eleora practically jumped out of bed as it snapped her awake. Darn, she had been so close.

"What on Telrunya is that sound?" Eleora whined as she sat on the edge of her bed, trying to get her heart to settle down from trying to break out of her chest. She startled so easily now.

Scratch, scratch

There it was again! Eleora really couldn't believe that she was imagining it now. Still... what could be making that noise? It could be frightening. Eleora stood up and moved slowly and cautiously through her home, trying to find the source of the noise as it continued. The way she peered around every corner was as if a monster might be lurking just beyond her sight. Finally she traced the sound to her front door. Eleora gulped as she put her hand on the door, uncertain if she should open it or not.

The scratching sound was heard again, Eleora winced as she opened the door and poked her head outside.  

[Wolfs Heart]

She had been dropped off here, in front of this door. The harpy didn't even know who had left her here, she hadn't really gotten a good look. Her eyes were still fresh and new and most things had been blurry so far. She didn't have much desire to move from the spot where she had been left. Her wings and talons were still new as well and she had not tried to get up. The door was the only thing within her reach so she reached for it. It felt good, gliding her sharp baby claws against the wood so the child continued to do so.

The child was surprised when the wooden surface was suddenly out of her reach as the door opened. The harpy looked up with her soft pink eyes. As soon as her eyes met the purple eyes of the pae staring at her, she knew. That latching instinct to the first pae you see after hatching kicked in full force. Those pink eyes widened even more, "Mama." The child said, not even fully aware of what the word meant.  

[Wolfs Heart]

Her eyes met the strange pink eyes of the child and Eleora's heart froze, but not out of complete fear like it had before. It was a child, what harm could a child do? "Oh, you're so cute!" Eleora squealed as her posture relaxed. She still paused to look to the left and the right before she opened the door the rest of the way. When the child said 'mama' Eleora froze in her place. It was kind of weird how it said it in a high pitch voice that sent shivers down Eleora's spine. "Oh, I'm not your mama little one." Eleora coo'd at the child, unaware of how wrong she was. There was little evidence that told her otherwise though.

"Huh, I wonder where your mama is..." Eleora pondered aloud as she glanced to the sides again before stepping outside of her home. The child reminded her very much of a bird. Eleora looked at its sharp claws on both its hands and feet and had no desire to meet the child's mother. "Did you fall out of your nest little birdy?" Eleora whispered this time, peering nervously into the trees.

"Mama." The child repeated, in the same voice that made Eleora shiver.

"Now... hold on a second." Eleora didn't know what to do. It looked like her options were:
a) go into the dark... scary... forest to look for its mama
b) leave it on her doorstep and hoped its mama found it and left her (Eleora) alone
c) take it inside... likely to never be found by its real mama

None of the choices seemed appealing to Eleora.  

[Wolfs Heart]

"If I take you inside, your mama might not ever find you... but I don't really want to meet your mama." Eleora told the child, although she was fairly certain it couldn't understand her.

"Mama." The child repeated again, clearly not having any other words in its vocabulary.

"Oh boy..." Eleora sighed in exasperation. "Or girl... you look like a girl to me." Although... the child also looked like a bird... so... Eleora really wasn't certain. The child never took its eyes off of Eleora. "Ok, fine." The flutter said, giving up as she stepped closer to the little birdy baby. "I'm taking your baby inside now! You can come and get it whenever you want." Eleora shouted into the nothing. "Please don't kill me..." She bent down to pick up the child, as she did the child reached for her springy antenna as soon as they got close to its mouth. "Ouch!" Eleora called out, pulling back her head. "Hm... you must be hungry..."

This time, Eleora reached for the child with her arms stretched out, keeping the child as far from her person as possible. She continued to carry the child at arms length as she returned inside, used her hoof to kick the door shut and made her way to the kitchen. "Now... what to feed you..."  

[Wolfs Heart]

-One Week Later-

 

[Wolfs Heart]

In the week that had gone by, no one ever came to look for the bird child that had been left at the door of Eleora. She hadn't exactly gone looking for its real mother either. Eleora had still been too frightened to do anything like that, but she was especially frightened by the thought of a larger version of this child.

Thankfully, and yet surprisingly considering that she was a new parent, Eleora was getting more sleep now then she had in the time following the party. She had to in order to keep up with the child who was constantly full of energy. Full of energy and something else. Eleora thought the child behaved strangely a lot of the time. At least, she was pretty certain she hadn't acted like this as a child. She also hadn't been a little birdy child though.

The child was super quiet when it moved, despite the sharp claws. There were times when Eleora just couldn't understand how it would appear in the same room as her when she had literally just left the child in another room. Super fast kid. Sometimes Eleora felt cold when she was around the child, but she blamed that on a drafty home. Although... the place hadn't been that drafty before the kid showed up. Sometimes the kid would just sit and stare at her with those pale pink eyes, that felt uncomfortable too. Then there was the way it said 'mama' which was the only word that the kid knew, despite Eleora working with it all week to teach it new ones.

"I suppose..." Eleora said, her voice full of sadness. "That no one is coming to get you, but that's alright! You can stay with me." Her voice sounded more chipper at that. Here she was barely taking care of herself, and now she was going to take care of someone else. "I also suppose that you should have a name, you probably won't appreciate being called 'little birdy' when you're older." It was a scary thought, thinking of raising this child into older-ness.

"Mama" The child responded in that voice.

Eleora took a deep breath as shivers went down her spine. That voice drove her insane. For a moment her mind flashed back to that dream she had that she had been attacked by a teddy bear. That had just been a dream... a very bad dream.

Eleora shook her head, attempting to snap out of it. "No, your name isn't mama." Eleora paused trying to think of a name. "How about Jael? Can you say Jael?"

The child gave Eleora a blank stare with those eerie eyes. "Mama." It repeated.

Eleora shook her head, "Jael it is." What had she gotten herself into?