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Mane was 16 when flame was dropped at his doorstep. Just a little pile of matted fur, teeth and pinned back ears. All he heard from the cub for the first 2 weeks were hisses and growls. It took a while for flame to lower his guard down around mane. And when he eventually did, mane used that comfort to his advantage.
Mane never knew he wanted kids. He still ain't sure to this day. But he never got a say in it when flame was dropped on his doorstep while he was still just a kid himself. A kid who hadn't seen his parents in 12 years, but that's besides the point.
Raising flame was hard. The hardest thing he had ever done. And to this day, he would say that he's doing a good job for having no help. Flame has made it all the way to being the same age mane was when he became basically a father. 16 years old. With flames birthday rapidly approaching within the next few months.
Mane will say without a doubt that he's proud of his one and only cub.
His greatest achievement.
Or well, he used to be his one and only cub.
Now mane has 2.
And that's a long story.
With flames birthday coming up, it was time to start looking into gift ideas. Flame is old enough now to go out and do what he wants, and while sometimes mane misses the days of the two of them cuddled up in his nest while it snows outside. Being independent is crucial for a cubs survival. He may be feeling a bit of empty nest syndrome, but he can manage.
Missing his cub is just a part of growing up. And mane is more than willing to let flame explore the boundaries and new freedoms given to him. And counterpoint, mane gets to have his evening back.
Or- well that was until he found a fucking baby in the woods.
Like a baby baby.
…A baby baby with wings and a tiny tail.
It wasn't even on purpose. Mane was cutting through the woods when he stumbled upon the remains of a destroyed house. One that to his knowledge hadn't been on his land up until recently. The walls of the house look like they had been well constructed, but with char and soot staining the limestone. He gets a pretty good idea of what happened here. But curiosity got the better of him when he smelt something other than ash inside the building.
Carefully stepping over the ruined door and into the house, he comes to realize that the whole place looks ransacked. There's a kitchen to his left, a living room in front of him and a hall to his right leading farther into the singed building. There's things scattered all over the place. Towels on the floor, a bag laying in its side near the entrance way, and tools scattered everywhere.
Whoever lived here left in a hurry. And it wasn't their choice biased in the blood staining the hardwood floors.
Heading down the hallway off to his right, he finds two rooms that he enters cautiously. Pushing the door to the first one open with his foot, he peaks around the edge. The light from the hall bleeding into the pitch black room revealing a small but clean bathroom. The shower rod knocked off the wall and laying on the floor. He pushes the door open and takes a small step inside. Realizing that there's nothing worthwhile, he turns and heads back out into the hall.
The final room in front of him sits tightly closed. While all of the other doors were open just a hair, this one stand firmly latched. And with a bloody handprint staining the center of the wood, it ain't painting a pretty picture. And with the main source of the weird smell coming from behind the door, manes gaze sharpens behind his blindfold.
Opening the door with a click, mane is met with a wall of scents. Most of them being awful, pungent, metallic fragrances that he's used too. It's so strong and bordering on sweet, he plugs his nose with a gramace. Pushing the door open all the way, he's met with the sight of a mostly untouched bedroom. It's a nice room in size, the floors being a light wood with a fuzzy rug sitting over top. And a huge bed takes up most of the room. The only thing standing out against the mostly warm room being the bloody body spread across the floor. It's a man with what used to be pure white hair and two matching white freckles sitting under his full eyes. Arguably he would be pretty, if he wasn't already dead. And from the looks of it, he hasn't been dead that long. A trail of dried blood leaving smear marks across the floor. Almost as if they were dragging themselves somewhere.
And it becomes obvious when mane takes a step into the room. The man lays with one of his arms spread out as if reaching for something. Something that's under the bed. And well, curiosity killed the cat. Mane couches down and follows the dead guys eyes, finding a box that had been pushed under the bed in what looks like a hurry. The lid isn't even on all the way, and it’s side is covered in blood.
The box is heavier than he was expecting and when mane pulls it out, his ears twitch at the sound of little breaths. He whirls his head around, almost expecting someone to be standing behind him. But the room stays empty. He furrows his brows before turning back to the box on the floor.
Lifting the lid, his breath catches in his throat when he locks eyes with a fucking baby.
There was a baby in the box.
“What the fuck.” Manes voice echos around the whole room.
Hearing his voice, the infant in the box starts to whine and shift around. Their little balled up hands hitting the side of the box. (Which for reference is around the size of a large shoe box.)
Mane just stares dumbfounded at the little infant, his eyes wide. The breath stolen right out of his lungs. The air frozen until the baby, now realizing someone is there, let's out the smallest sob possible. It's tiny eyes squeezing shut and its face crumbles.
“-shit- fuck no no no don't cry-” Mane panics, quicky scooping the infant out of the box and rocking them in his arms. Shushing the baby, he takes a look around the room for anything he can use when he spots a small package of pacifiers sitting on the dresser off to the side. He grabs one and offers it to the whaling infant, pressing the plastic into his mouth and holding it there with his finger until the baby starts sucking on the green plastic.
Mane feels a little bit of the panic subside as he bounces the baby in his arms gently, the crocodile tears starting to subside as he takes a bitter look at the infant in his grasp.
They're wearing a small white onside, one the side of it, there's a few small red splotches, but they don't seem to be from the baby. There's matching markings under their eyes like the man in the room. But instead of them being white dots, their two twin black moles. But what stands out the most, is the purple hair on the top of their head. Its short and thin, but mane has never seen a color so vibrant before in his life.
One thing leads to another and Mane is walking back into his treehouse, the one he shares with his brother, holding a tiny infant in his arms.
And after that, the rest is history.
Flame took to the baby better than he thought he would. Mane walks into the house expecting pushback and questions. Instead, flame just stares at the quiet infant with wide eyes. Mane watches as flame’s tail flicks back and forth a few times as he stands before the baby, before it shoots up and the tip wiggles back and forth. A good sign.
“...where did you get that?” Flame questions while reaching out to the baby. The silent infant latches onto flame’s finger quickly. The tiny golden eyes staring right into flames blindfold. Flame furrows his brows
“Why's it looking at me like that?”
“Like what?” Mane says with a snicker, watching flames ears pin back.
“Like-like it's judging me! You got a problem little bro?” Fame taunts the baby, who just yawns. The pacifier slipping out of its mouth as it releases flames finger. Eyes slipping closed.
“It's a baby dude, chill.” Mane ruffles flames hair, running his fingers along the tip of his fuzzy ear. Flame pouts but leans into the touch. Crossing his arms over his chest.
…
Mane has no idea how to raise a baby. But they manage. The first few weeks were brutal as him and flame take turns watching the baby to travel back and forth to the nearby village. They needed a lot of things if they were going to be keeping the kid around. And with how young he was, they needed it soon.
They got bottles within the first day. Mane left flame with the baby and traveled back to that house to take anything they could use. He snagged a few bottles, some clothes, diapers and a small travel crib that was tucked into the back corner of the closet.
But what really weirded him out about the house was the fact that the body was gone. Not the blood, or the evidence of the fight. But it looked as if the body just vanished into thin air.
Weird. But not out of the ordinary.
Their new setup in the treehouse goes like this. New crib in the living room where the baby can be heard from anywhere in the house. The spare mattress that was up the leaves was moved down to be by the crib and covered in blankets. Mane likes to call it his nest, but flame sleeps there just as much as he does now.
There's a guy in the village not too far from them that sells baby formula, and for a good price. So that solved that issue quickly. And with flames blaze genes, warming the bottles has been a breeze. The kid just holds it in his hand for a few seconds and boom. The milk is warm.
One thing mane didn't know about infants tho, was just how long they take to eat and how many times within a day. One of flames friends from the village, a kid named lomedy dropped off this book from his dad about baby milestones. And that has been their holy Grail throughout this whole thing.
Baby won't stop fussing? Book says he's hungry.
Baby didn't take bottle and is still fussing? Check the diaper. Dry? Maybe he's tired. Baby won't fall asleep? He might be gassy.
Trial and error, eventually they got it down.
It's around 2 in the morning when mane is woken up. He sits tangled in the nest for a few moments trying to remember why he's in the living room. The soft whine of a baby snaps him out of it as he sits up. Yawning he rolls off the side of the mattress and looks over the edge of the crib. A pair of watery golden eyes meet his as tiny little arms flail around. A pout on the baby's lips.
Mane sighs, reaching in and picking up the little guy and holding him to his chest. Being careful not to shush the tiny pair of black wings on the infants back. He walks into the kitchen where he quickly puts together a bottle and shakes it to dissolve the powder. Before ascending the stairs and pushing open flames door. He walks over to the tiger hybrid's bed and nudges the sleeping teen with the bottle. Flame cracks a single eye open before grumbling and taking the bottle. The baby nuzzled into his chest starts to whine and wiggle around again. Letting out a muffled cry that makes flames ears twitch alert.
Warm bottle in hand, mane heads back down the stairs before sitting back in his nest. Shaking the bottle one last time, he offers the plastic nipple to the infant in his arms and watches as he immediately quiets. Golden eyes slipping closed as he eats. Letting out a sigh, mane leans back and gazes at the ceiling.
“... We really need to come up with a name for you… I can't just keep calling you ‘the baby' in my head.” mane mumbles to no one in particular. His gaze is drawn back to the baby when he starts to wiggle and squirm. Mane draws the bottle back, setting it down for a second and sits the little one up on his lap with his hand holding up his head. Patting the baby's back until he burps. Once done, he grabs the bottle and then repeats. Normally feedings last about 20 minutes, but night feedings can take 40 minutes if the little ones feeling fussy enough.
“Well, while we're here.” Mane mumbles while watching him feed.
“What do you think about the name Gerard?” no reaction. Mane hums.
“Evan? Ross? Keyston? Really none of them?”
Mane huffs, he's being too basic apparently.
“Ok then, aryk? Nope. Uh Dillon but spelt like dullon? Really? I thought I was cooking with that one.”
Mane hears footsteps behind, he turns his head to see flame yawning while rubbing his eyes. His cub’s tail swaying side to side.
“Bro, what are you even doing?” Flames voice is sleepy as he crashes into the nest next to mane. His eyes not covered by the usual blindfold.
“Trying to give this one a name. Any ideas?”
Flame purses his lips as he thinks.
“...Walter.”
“That's gonna be a nope.” Mane says softly as the infant in his arm actually furrows his brows. The little tail flicking out and smacking flame in the face. The tiger hybrid just huffs, batting it away.
“Ok then Mr wummbo.” Flame says as a joke, but mane watches as the infant's gaze travels to flame. He pulls off the bottle before holding his little hands out to flame. The little one making a noise, “a-buuu-”
Flame raises a brow.
“Wemm-a-bu?” Mane snorts at flames scandalized expression.
“How about just Wemmbu?”
The baby squeals, knocking the bottle out of mane's hand as the little wings start to flap. Tiny hands reaching up and pulling on manes dreads.
“Ah-ok ok- ouch- wemmbu it is..”
“Dude help he won't let go-”