Work Text:
"Whistling"
Keith landed his pod in the hangar at headquarters and jumped down. He was in a really good mood, because he had spent a wonderful week with the Paladins and the lions, even having a couple of movie nights in the lounge in a nest! Now, he was back at headquarters with his pack and the other Blades. He was so giddy that he hadn't realized that he started whistling as he walked out of the hangar.
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Salren, one of the Blades watching the hangar, was concerned about the youngest Blade. She was glad he was back, but what was that strange noise he was making? She had never heard it before and was concerned that it was a sign that something was wrong, and if something was wrong, the kit's pack needed to know, especially since Keith was known not to say anything about being ill.
She motioned to her partner, who approached her. "Did you hear the strange noise the kit was just making?"
"Yes. I was wondering about it myself."
"I'm going to talk to one of the kit's pack about it."
"I think Thace is off duty right now. My mate is in the communications room, and she mentioned that Thace said he was going to wait for his kit in their nest room."
"That's good to know. I will go there."
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Keith entered the nest room and stopped mid-whistle, chirping when he saw Thace sitting in the nest, working on something on his data pad. Thace looked up when he heard his kit chirp, grinned, and held his arms out in invitation. Keith dove into the nest and into one of his adoptive father's arms. He sighed happily and started purring. Thace nosed Keith's hair as he went back to work on his data pad.
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Salren approached the door to the leaders' nest room. She paused outside and took a deep breath to calm herself. She had unfortunately worked herself up, thinking about all the things that could be wrong with the kit. She was so worked up that her deep indigo colored fur was fluffed up and her ears were pinned back. She needed to be calm when she confronted the kit and Thace.
"Salren, what are you doing here?" Ulaz was confused why the younger Blade was standing at his nest room.
"Ulaz? I saw your kit come back, and he was making a strange noise. I came to talk to you and your pack about it."
"A strange noise? Let's go in and ask him about it." Ulaz opened the door and led the other Blade in, Keith's purr reaching their ears. Ulaz climbed into the nest, nuzzling Thace before he stroked Keith's hair. Keith purred even louder at having another pack member in the nest. "Kit? I have a question for you."
Keith looked up at Ulaz, his purr still heard in his voice when he asked, "What is it?"
"Well, I met Salren outside the door, and she told me that she heard you make a strange noise."
"A strange noise? When?"
"After you jumped down from your pod in the hangar. It reminded me of a mix between music and a strong wind."
"Music and wind? Oh!" Keith stopped purring and sat up. "You mean this sound?"
When Keith started whistling, Ulaz's, Thace's, and Salren's eyes all widened, the latter exclaiming, "Yes! That's the sound!"
Keith stopped. "I'm just whistling."
"What is whistling?" Thace asked.
"You're telling me that Galra don't whistle?"
"I've never heard anyone make that noise before," Ulaz admitted.
"I guess it's another thing I got from the human side of my heritage. Whistling is something that humans do when they're happy...or sometimes when they're bored. I had had a wonderful time with the Paladins."
"So, you were just exhibiting your happiness?" Salren questioned.
"Yup."
Hearing Keith's explanation helped calm Salren down more than her own attempts earlier. She smiled as she watched the kit snuggle back against Thace, his purr starting back up. She locked eyes with Ulaz and nodded, heading back to her post in the hangar. She couldn't believe she had gotten herself so worked up over what turned out to be nothing.
Fin