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Keith was the most spoiled cub this side of the galaxy—in no small part due to the fact that he was the only cub that had been on the main base in well over a decade. As such, it was no surprise that his name day celebration had ended up being kind of a big deal. Most of the Blades who had been on base at the time had been invited to give Keith gifts. While most didn’t end up sticking around, as their gifts were mostly a customary gesture, most of the initiates and several older officers stayed for what could have constituted a party on this base. It was made a bigger deal than Thace felt was warranted, considering Keith had only just come up on his second name day and cared for little besides the gifts he was being given.
Sometimes not even the gifts.
No, instead most of Keith’s enthusiasm for his own name day was directed towards the wrapping paper and the boxes that his presents had come in. He sat amongst the scraps of colorful, torn paper, throwing it up into the air and watching it fall like it was snow, giggling happily at the sight. It was endearing to see him enjoying it so much, but Thace had been trying—fruitlessly—for the last half-varga to coax Keith into playing with some of the new toys he had gotten as presents.
Keith hadn’t paid any of them very much mind, aside from pawing at the boxes while trying to help Thace open them earlier. The only present he had showed even a remote amount of interest in was the hat Thace had knitted him that had little ears on it. The yarn was almost the same shade of near-black that Keith’s headfur was, causing the two to seemingly melt together.
“Kitling, can’t you play with the actual toys that people got for you?” Thace suggested as he held up the present that Antok had gotten for the cub—which looked like a stuffed weblum, no doubt handmade, judging by the meticulous stitching. It was actually slightly larger than Keith was himself, and would probably make a good napping partner for the cub, given his tendency to need one… although whether or not Ulaz would give up the honor to a stuffed toy was another matter.
Keith took one look at the toy before reaching out to grab hold of the stuffed weblum by its tail. “Mine!” he said, tugging on the toy, and Thace released it into the cub’s grip, watching as Keith hastily crawled away with it. He hid in one of the largest boxes that he had overturned when he had been trying to make a fortress shortly after the gift-giving had ended. The box was just large enough to fit both him and the weblum.
Thace wasn’t annoyed by Keith’s behavior, of course—just a touch exasperated. Playing in boxes and being easily distracted by brightly colored wrapping paper was just a cub thing. All cubs did it, and Thace knew that both he and Antok had been like this when they were younger and got presents. One time, they had even fought over who could have the largest box.
Nevertheless, he did wish that Keith would at least acknowledge some more of his new toys.
“What about Kolivan’s?” Thace tried, and he held out the little stuffed blade toy that Kolivan had sewn himself—a near exact replica of an unawakened blade. Keith’s eyes flashed in the shadow of the box—he was always reaching out to touch the blades, not seeming to understand that he would cut himself on their razor sharp edges. A stuffed one provided an alternative until he was old enough to use one of the wooden training swords.
“Blade!” Keith said, eyes brightening as he poked his head out of the box. The knit hat on his head was slightly askew now, causing his hair to fluff up at odd angles as the hat threatened to cover one of his eyes. He reached out and made a grabbing motioning with his hand, as if nonverbally asking if he could have the stuffed blade.
“Yes, that’s right, kitling. Your very own blade,” Thace said, reaching out to gently adjust how the hat sat on Keith’s head. “How about you come out and I can—”
Before he could finish, Keith reached out and snatched the stuffed blade, and then ducked back into the shadows of his box. He seemed intent on remaining in there for the rest of the party, curled up with two of his new toys. However, there were still another dozen waiting for him outside, sitting amongst scraps of wrapping paper that had yet to be cleaned up.
Thace sighed in exasperation as his ears twitched and he ran a hand over his crest. Then, he ducked down so he could see as he reached inside the box and pulled Keith out, even as the cub squirmed and whined.
“Oh, don’t give me that,” Thace chided as he carefully balanced the cub on one of his arms. “This is the third box I’ve had to fish you out of… why don’t you play with your toys out he—” He cut off with a sputter when Keith whacked him in the face with the stuffed blade he still had clutched in his hand. Once he had regained his composure, Thace bit back a gentle scolding, although he did let out a heavy sigh through his nose as his ears pinned back.
Stars give him strength…
At Thace’s unamused reaction, Keith giggled, and Thace’s expression softened. “Oh, that’s funny to you, is it?” he asked. “You’re lucky it’s your name day, so I can’t put you in time out.”
Carefully, he set Keith down next to the rest of his gifts, before turning to retrieve the oversized stuffed weblum from the box. Keith eagerly accepted the toy back, hugging it with his entire body until he tipped over backwards into a lingering pile of wrapping paper scraps. Thace wasn’t surprised when, fifteen doboshes later, Keith had passed out amongst the wrapping paper, still clutching at the stuffed weblum.