Chapter Text
It’s been multiple days since I first hatched, at least five, and things are going pretty smoothly. I really want to get out and see the world, but I can only barely walk well. Turns out going from bipedal to quadrupedal is very unintuitive, but apparently I’m progressing at a normal rate for hatchlings and newborns. I have eaten dirt far more than I’d want, however. If he’s watching, Papa always laughs brightly, while Mama gently encourages me to continue. Though, can tell she’s getting anxious.
I think they have a pretty solid schedule that’s been disorganized since I came into the picture. Mama always rises with the sun (that I haven’t seen yet, I’ve yet to leave the burrow), Papa is a bit more nocturnal and is always just a bit grumpy in the mornings. I bet he would sleep through the whole day if he could, but Mama gets on his case about it and forces him to get out and make sure nothing dangerous is around the burrow. Serves him right, even though I’m very much guilty of snuggling up to his side to nap with him.
Movement is… finicky. I’m getting better at it, I can walk around the burrow and even pick up speed a bit. But my mind is still lagging behind on the whole “you are no longer human” aspect. It’s… frustrating, to say the least. Not being immediately good at something has always been a weakness of mine, and it’s challenging to accept that.
The meals are… curious, I would say is an apt description. Both Mama and Papa bring in food from whenever they go out, but Mama seems to always bring prey while Papa is mostly assorted berries. Mama says it’s because she’s the far better hunter, and gives Papa a gaze that could either melt steel beams or freeze over Hell. He looks embarrassed every single time. The prey is mostly Swinub, with the occasional Bidoof or Magikarp. She also brought in a Buneary one time. The berries are mostly oran and hopo, but Papa did bring in sitrus as well.
Overall, I’m very content. Eating the prey raw was very weird to experience, it was very bloody and fatty and gamey, but the taste was, to my surprise, very delicious, and the berries were even better. The hopo berries did make my reaction speed feel sluggish, but Mama said it’s better to get used to them now and not later, so instead of dulling the senses it would give more stamina in the future, which is apparently how that works. The oran and sitrus were energizing, the sitrus especially so.
This life, so far, has been leagues better than my last. I feel loved. Wanted. I’m not hungry, I’m not ignored, I’m not alone, I’m not injured or in pain from my parents. Taking this one day at a time.
Right, it’s been about two weeks since I hatched and things are still going nicely. Walking and running have become as easy as it once was, and my greatly improved senses have stabilized. My ears no longer ring and pound, my nose takes in scents well, my eyes have gotten used to the burrow (they will be destroyed once more when I leave), and I now find my quickened heart rate rather comforting.
Oh! And, my parents have given me a name, ish. Turns out that pokémon give temporary names to young pokémon, and permanent names are earned or decided by oneself. For example, Mama’s temporary name was “Flurry”, but she was so renowned a hunter by others in her family that she earned the name Hunting In Fresh Snowbanks. Papa’s original name was “Tiny”, and he decided a name for himself later on, Shadow Who Walks The Moonlight. There’s a story behind that but he won’t tell me and gets all flustered whenever I ask or Mama brings it up.
Apparently both of them really hated their first names, which is tradition supposedly. It’s supposed to be somewhat childish and small or embarrassing to signify youth. But, I don’t really hate what they’ve given me. I mean… Darling is honestly very sweet. I get that it might be awkward if I’m ever introducing myself, but I think it’s cute. Being candid, I think that my earned name would have to be really good for me to prefer it over Darling, because Mama and Papa say it with such love in their voices that I can’t help but like it too.
It also helps that I’m actually able to speak now! My vocal cords are working well, so I get to pester Mama and Papa with all my questions now without charades. While purrs, yips, and growls were all pretty easy at first, I’ve moved on to understandable sentences, which is apparently pretty impressive, at least to Mama and Papa. According to them, most hatchlings aren’t expected to speak as well as I do until at least a month, because the brain is still forming and needs more time to register the ideas and meanings behind language, even with Lady Uxie’s blessings of knowledge. There’s also the aspect of new vocal cords, but mine appeared to be ready for usage for sooner than typical. I spit in the face of not being able to yap, however. If it’s something I’m curious about, prepare for word vomit and increasing levels of needling.
Everything’s been relaxed. Most of the time I’m so joyous that I can’t stop purring, I love being here. I love being alive, I love Mama and Papa, I love this little burrow. While I desperately want to get outside, I’m not in a huge rush. I know that young pups are easy targets, so I’m taking my time. Learning. Growing. The outside world, the wonderful world of Pokémon, isn’t going anywhere. It’ll be waiting for my to take my tentative first steps, I just know it.
Things will be better. I can feel it in my bones.