Work Text:
"Not A Normal Kit"
It wasn't often that all four of the highest ranking Blades went on a mission together, and it was even less often that it occurred when their kit was at headquarters, but since Keith was spending more time at headquarters than at the castle ship, it was bound to happen at some point. The four Blades were pleased that the entire organization was willing to watch the kit. However, as to not overwhelm Keith, they selected one Blade to watch over him while they were gone.
Luxin prided herself in being well versed in kit care and was ecstatic that she was picked as the Blade responsible for watching over the beloved kit of their leaders. She knew she and the kit would get along well. Perhaps he would barely even know the others were gone.
Keith was not happy that his pack had a dangerous mission they had to go on. He understood that it was a crucial mission that required the best, but did all of them have to go? At least, he saw them before they left. They had given him nuzzles in between preparing for the mission.
The Blades made sure to introduce Luxin to Keith before they left. Ulaz left a data pad full of special instructions that pertained to Keith, concerning his hybrid physiology, though Luxin was so confident that she didn't even look at the pad, even though she accepted it from Ulaz.
The moment the Blades left, Luxin turned to look at the kit. She knew he was only eighteen-deca-phoebes-old and shouldn't be left alone. However, he was laying in his pack's nest, seemingly asleep, but he wasn't purring, which was a little disheartening. She expected it, though, as his pack was gone. She suspected he wouldn't purr until they got back. She was going to slip out to her nest room and retrieve her non-work related data pad as it had a lot of books and games that kits liked. "I'll be right back, kit."
%%%
"I'll be right back, kit."
Keith heard the other Blade say this before she left his pack's room. He stayed put in the nest as the scents of his pack helped him not miss them as much, and he didn't feel like leaving the safety of his nest for much of anything, not even training. He knew if he followed the rules his pack had in place while they were gone, then they might ease up on the restrictions while they were there.
The rules weren't hard to follow, especially since they were only put into place to make sure Keith took care of himself. Things like not training a lot, taking several naps, and not skipping meals were the big ones. Ulaz had made a meal plan for Keith to follow as he needed certain vitamins and supplements but couldn't eat a whole lot like normal kits did. It was a side effect of his often neglectful childhood on Earth. He was working his way up to eating more, but he still had a ways to go before he was eating the amount he ought to.
It didn't take long for Luxin to return, but Keith wasn't that interested in what she had brought back with her. At least, she wasn't invading his nest. She just sat beside it as close to Keith as she could. "Kit, would you like to read or play a game?"
Keith glanced at her when she said read. He doubted she had any books he would be interested in, but it would probably be worth a look. "I like reading."
Luxin smiled and handed over her pad. She pointed at the book app. "There's a wide selection here."
"Thanks." Keith tapped the icon with a small smile on his face. His smile faded, though, when he perused the titles of the books. Every last one of them were written in Galran. He hadn't learned much of the language, so reading a Galran book was out of the question.
Luxin grew concerned when the kit's smile faded from his face as he looked at the books. What was wrong? Did he not see a book he wanted? Perhaps he had a favorite book that she didn't have? "What's the matter, kit?"
"I...I haven't learned how to read Galran yet. Sorry." He held out the data pad, half expecting to be lectured about not learning as much as he could.
Luxin felt like smacking herself. Of course the kit couldn't read Galran. He was only a toddler after all! "How silly of me! What was I thinking?! If you'd like, I could read some to you."
Keith considered it. Even though he couldn't understand much of it, it would be nice to hear it more often. "Sure, I guess."
"Which book would you like?"
"Um, I don't know. Could you just pick one?"
It concerned Luxin slightly that the kit didn't have a favorite book, even though he claimed to like reading. She selected a book at random and began reading out loud. Even though Keith didn't understand the words, he got the feeling that the books she offered were kit books. He didn't mind and just let himself relax to the sound of her voice.
Luxin was pleased that the kit was relaxed as he listened to the story, so when the book was done, she picked another book. The afternoon passed with her reading book after book to the kit.
Soon, it was time for the evening meal. Keith dutifully followed Luxin to the mess hall, where the typical buffet style food was laid out. Keith started filling his plate with the foods Ulaz had pointed out that Keith needed to eat at every meal, even though Keith did put more vegetables on his plate than he would have dared if his pack had been there.
Luxin was concerned about the amount of food the kit had on his plate. It seemed like too little, but maybe he was going to get another helping later, so she kept her comment to herself until she saw the kit wasn't going to get a second plate. "Kit, you haven't eaten enough. Please get another serving."
Keith gestured to his now empty plate. "This was enough. I'm full."
"You can't be full." Luxin stood up and collected another plateful, setting it in front of the kit. "Your pack left me in charge of you, and you will eat this plateful."
Keith looked at the plate, doubtful that he could manage to eat the entire thing without being sick. He put a bit of a whine in his tone when he asked, "Do I have to?"
"Yes." Luxin's tone left no room for any further argument.
Keith gulped and did his best to pick his way through the second plate, praying that there wouldn't be a third. Fortunately, Luxin deemed the two plates enough and led the kit back to the nest. He gingerly laid in the nest, arms wrapped around his stomach. He hoped he wouldn't get sick, but what he didn't realize was that he was softly whimpering.
%%%
Kolivan, Antok, Thace, and Ulaz were on their way back after a successful mission and were looking forward to spending time in their nest with their kit. As they approached their nest room, they were distressed to hear their kit whimpering. Then, they heard someone scrambling (and possibly falling), and then, a noise none of them wanted to hear. It was clear that their kit had just thrown up.
All four Blades bursted into their nest room, their kit's whimpering coming from the bathroom.
"Kit?" Thace called out.
"Daddy?" Keitih asked, which was followed swiftly by more dry heaving and whimpers.
"Poor, kit. I'm going to get you a stomach soother and a pain reliever," Ulaz mentioned.
"Please, Papa."
Ulaz left, and Thace hesitantly entered the bathroom. He saw Luxin holding Keith's hair back as their kit was dry heaving into the toilet. Thace growled a warning for Luxin to stand aside.
Luxin recognized that Thace wasn't angry with her, just concerned about his kit. She let him take her place and exited the bathroom. She saw her leaders were back and apparently waiting for her explanation. "The kit and I had a relaxing day. He only gave me a small problem with the evening meal, but it was very minor. I don't know how he got sick."
"What was the problem?" Kolivan asked.
"He hadn't eaten enough at the meal, so I got him more food, and he ate it."
Ulaz had entered the nest room as she said this, and he growled. "Why would you make him eat too much? I left you a detailed report concerning what and how much he should be eating! No wonder he got sick, if you made him eat twice as much as he's used to!"
"I only gave him the amount a normal kit eats!"
"Keith's not a normal kit!"
Antok growled. "Leave! We have a kit to take care of."
Ulaz hurried into the bathroom with the medicines and knelt down next to his kit. "Here, kit. Take this first."
Ulaz held the small cup of water up to Keith's lips, and Keith tilted his head back, letting the water enter his mouth.
"Spit it out now, kit."
Keith did so. He and Ulaz did that with the medicines but swallowing them instead. The stomach soother did its job, and Keith leaned against Thace, soft whimpers still coming from his throat.
Thace gently scooped up Keith and carried him back into the nest room. He stepped into the nest and let Keith rest against him. They were surprised at the sight and smell of Keith's tears. "What's the matter, kit?"
"I'm sorry. I tried to be good. I didn't mean to eat too much. Luxin wouldn't take no for an answer."
"Shh, kit. You have nothing to be sorry for."
"She shouldn't have been treating you like a full blooded Galra kit."
"There was something she did that I liked."
"What was that, kit?"
"She read Galran books out loud all afternoon. It was relaxing."
"Is that something you would like us to do with you, kit?"
"Yeah." Keith nodded before snuggling into Thace's chest.
Thace started grooming Keith's hair, soothing him and allowing him to fall asleep. He didn't start purring until the rest of his pack gathered around him, rumbling to him and providing him comfort.
Fin