Mazorium
We’d been traveling for two days, and poor Mika looked as tired today as the day I bought her. I urged her to eat and sleep, but nothing seemed to help when little Nadia woke up every few hours with the need to eat or be comforted.
The odd part was that every time Nadia cried, Mika seemed to panic. I watched her try to soothe the infant, but not in a calm, soft way. It was almost as if Mika was worried the crying cub would bring predators to them.
It had to be some instinct that was driving her. I observed her for a full rotation and determined she wasn’t coping well. It didn’t make sense. She should be calmer now that she was on my ship and away from the station, but if anything, she was growing more agitated.
“Hush, my sweet baby,” she sang, her voice high and tight with fear. “Hush, Nadia or there’ll be trouble maybe.” When Nadia didn’t stop crying, she blinked rapidly as if fighting off tears. “Honey, we’ve only got each other and you’re not making it easy on me.”
She didn’t know I was standing in the hall outside the sleeping quarters. I had paused, debating about fetching her another meal, when she’d started singing. Her badly rhymed song gave me insight.
Humans were pack animals. She was meant to be with others to help her look after the youngling and herself while she recovered. Without helpmates, she was spiraling.
It all made sense now. She needed me to be her pack!
She went completely quiet when I walked into the room. She watched my every movement, as if getting ready to jump up and do my bidding. She was treating me like a master instead of a caregiver.
I was going to rectify that!
Sinking to the ground next to the nest, I sounded a comforting rumble. I noticed she tended to relax when I rumbled, even though she called it purring.
“I’d like you to teach me how to hold Nadia,” I said.
She stared at me as if I’d spoken a language that wasn’t programmed into her INT. Was her worry and lack of rest causing her to have cognitive issues?
It would probably be best to speak slower and explain my intentions.
“It’s important that I know how to properly care for both of you.
Being able to care for Nadia includes understanding how to hold and feed her.
When I studied under Biological Surveyor Lakormun, she taught me how to handle delicate creatures—including the offspring of malnicits. ”
“Malnicits?” Mika asked, looking much less concerned.
I held up my hands, cupping them together. “They were so tiny I could fit ten of them in both hands during hatching season. The rotation I spent with Lakormun, we had to hatch many of them and raise them manually to re-populate their numbers on the colony planet of Rona.”
“That was nice of you,” she said hesitantly.
Nice? What an odd thing to say. “It was necessary. Malnicits were immensely important to that colony's ecosystem. But that’s not the point of this information. I’m trying to convey how much practice I’ve had with handling small, vulnerable creatures. I’m confident I can care for Nadia.”
Mika went still and kept staring at me. I couldn’t judge her emotional state from her facial expression.
“Let’s start with feeding,” I suggested. “Is she hungry now? I could shape the nipple and feed her while you hold her.”
My suggestion must’ve been a good interim step because Mika relaxed a little and nodded.
There was a bag of milk balls in the bed with her.
I plucked one out. Thankfully, I’d bought much more than I thought we’d need because my first attempt at shaping a nipple ended with me puncturing the milk ball.
“This is a task more suitable to your small fingers,” I grumbled, getting up to dispose of the ruined and leaking milk ball. When I returned, I could tell Mika was trying hard not to laugh. I sounded a rumble of amusement.
“I broke several when I was a kid and wanted to help mom with my youngest sibling,” she admitted.
“So I’m less coordinated than a human child?” I teased.
“I wouldn’t put it like that,” she said quickly.
“You don’t need to, I said it for you,” I pointed out. “Let me try again.” I plucked up another milk ball. This time I did a better job of it.
“Will that work?” I asked, holding it out to her.
“Almost,” she said, holding Nadia with one arm and reaching out to twist and shape the nipple to a slightly smaller and more tapered shape. I watched closely so I would do better next time.
“That should be perfect,” she declared.
“Do I press it into Nadia’s mouth?” I asked, staring at the cub’s upset face. As we’d worked with the milk balls, Nadia’s cries had gotten louder and more troubled.
“Try running it along the corner of her mouth. She should latch on then,” Mika explained.
She held Nadia while I gently brushed the tip of the milk ball nipple against the corner of the cub's mouth.
She turned her head and sucked the nipple between her lips.
Both little hands came up, one touching the milk ball and the other grasping at my upper thumb.
I watched her suckle, fascinated by her tiny features and the feel of her delicate little hand on my thumb. The milk disappeared rapidly, and I was hugely disappointed when there was nothing left of the milk ball but a shriveled husk.
“We’re not supposed to feed her two in a row,” I lamented, even as she kept on sucking on the empty milk ball.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be doing this again soon enough,” Mika said. I could tell she was trying to sound humorous, but instead the words came out tired and flat.
“Next time I’ll feed her,” I assured her. “Is it safe for her to keep sucking on the empty milk ball?”
“Yes,” Mika said. “Although they break down eventually. It’s unfortunate because a pacifier would be helpful.”
“Pacifier?”
“It’s something the baby can suck on. It’s soothing for them.”
I thought about the equipment I had on board. Could I make something that would work as a pacifier that wouldn’t be harmful for the cub? I had material similar to what the ball part of the milk ball was made of. It was worth looking into.
Nadia started to fuss. I leaned in close to see that the nipple of the milk ball had completely degraded and she didn’t have anything to suck anymore. I pulled it back and set it aside to throw away later.
“Show me how to hold her now,” I demanded. I ached to hold the baby in my arms. It was a strange feeling that I refused to examine too closely.
Mika shook her head. “She needs to be burped.”
“Please explain and demonstrate," I said. I could tell Mika was reluctant to hand her baby over, but she was going to have to get used to me helping with Nadia. Without a pack of humans to help, I was going to need to step in as a surrogate human packmate.
Grabbing one of the many tiny blankets the Doringo’s had included with her bag of items, she draped it over her shoulder and then maneuvered the baby until her little cheek was resting on the blanket.
She gently rubbed the baby’s back and jiggled a little. To my horror, Nadia regurgitated a good portion of the milk she’d ingested along with a little belch.
“By the ancestors!” I cursed, shocked at what I was seeing.
Mika looked up at me, clearly amused. “It’s a little gross. Sorry. You don’t ever have to do this.”
“I’m not disgusted,” I responded, affronted by her assumption. “I’m concerned something is wrong with Nadia!”
Mika looked a little surprised. “No, this is normal. Babies tend to do this when they’re being burped.” She lowered Nadia and cradled her in one arm while grabbing and discarding the protective blanket with the other. “It’s not that much, I promise.”
I was shocked. “This is part of the process? How terribly inefficient."
“I suppose it is,” Mika said with a little chuckle.
“Does she need to be, uh, burped more, or can I hold her now?” I asked.
“No she’s done,” Mika said, looking down at Nadia and then at my hands. My claws were retracted, but I could tell she was still concerned.
“You’ll be right here to instruct me,” I reminded her.
“I guess so,” she agreed, then her face lit up. “Let’s do this first.”
She laid Nadia down on the nest in front of her and picked up a small pillow. After wrapping it tightly in a small blanket, she handed it to me.
“Here, practice with this first.” She pointed to the “head” of the pillow. “Remember, you have to support her head.”
“You’re a clever human,” I praised her. I wished I’d thought of a rehearsal baby. I cradled the pillow as I’d seen Mika do so many times with Nadia.
“That’s good,” she said. “Maybe adjust it a little further up on your arm. Yeah, like that. I thought those quills might get in the way, but I guess they won’t.”
“How would I move her to rest on my chest, like you did when you burped her?” I asked.
She picked up Nadia and showed me, and I copied the actions with my pillow.
By the time we were finished going over the various ways I could hold Nadia and shift her from position to position, I was feeling confident.
“I’m ready,” I said, eager to hold the actual baby in my arms instead of a pillow wrapped in a blanket.
Mika nodded, although she still looked concerned as she handed Nadia over. The cub had started fussing a little while before and didn’t stop once she was cradled in my arms. I started up a soothing rumble and Nadia quieted.
Having her dainty body tucked against me made all kinds of feelings rise up.
I imagined all the meals I would get to feed her.
All the things I could teach her as she grew.
I didn’t arrive soon enough to save Mika from experiencing the trauma of being sold and then abused by the auctioneer.
Nadia was different. I could shield her from all the worst parts of the universe.
She would live a life devoid of hardship.
“Nothing bad will ever happen to you,” I promised the cub. “All you will know is joy, little human.”
When I looked up, I saw water leaking from Mika’s eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, concern making my rumbling stop. “Are you in pain?”
“No, I’m not in pain,” she said, wiping her hands over her eyes. “Don’t mind the tears. I think I’m tired.”
“Of course you're tired,” I agreed. “You’re not sleeping enough because you’re doing the work of several humans. I’ll sit right here and care for Nadia while you rest. I’m prepared to act as a substitute human for you.”
“You won’t go anywhere?” she said even as she laid down.
With one hand I unclipped my Ident and tapped it to dim the room's lights.
I should find something that simulated a sunrise and sunset for my humans.
Their species was late in developing the technology to leave their planet.
They never got past their own galaxy before another species made contact and traded with them.
After reclipping the Ident, I moved myself a little until Mika could stretch out if she wanted to. Then I tucked the blanket in around her. She watched me with half open eyes.
“Don’t leave,” she whispered, her eyes falling shut.
I rumbled soothingly as both Mika and Nadia fell asleep.
Mika
I slept better than I had since giving birth. Nothing on my body hurt, the room was quiet, the lights were low, and the bed was soft, warm, and comfortable. I fell asleep to Mazorium’s purring.
I didn’t know how I was out, but I woke up to Mazorium still purring.
I wasn’t ready to fully wake up yet. I half opened my eyes to see Mazorium in the same spot, gently rocking Nadia in his arms. He was looking down at her and speaking under his breath.
He was saying something similar to what he’d said earlier.
He would protect her.
He would care for her.
She would know nothing but joy.
It almost made me want to start crying again. I knew it couldn’t be true. There was a catch somewhere. Something horrible was going to happen; it was only a matter of time.
Nadia began fussing. I was familiar with her sounds. It was Nadia’s “I’m hungry” noise. I must’ve slept for several standard units if Nadia was hungry again.
I didn’t want to move, but I needed to get up and feed her. Except, before I could even pull the covers off, Mazorium was reaching for a milk ball.
“I think it’s time for you to eat again,” Mazorium whispered to Nadia.
I watched him set the milk ball down and shape a nipple with one hand, still holding Nadia in the other arm. It was slightly misshapen, but not enough to keep Nadia from latching on.
“Let’s see if I did that well enough,” he said, brushing the nipple against Nadia’s mouth. She latched on and started sucking without protest.
“Ah, that’s a good cub,” he praised. The entire time Nadia fed, Mazorium complimented her. The part that made me almost smile was when he said no other human baby could ever be as cute or perfect as her. He sounded just like a proud papa.
As much as my body urged me to fall back to sleep, I fought it until he’d successfully burped Nadia. He didn’t seem bothered at all by the milk that dribbled down his chest because he’d forgotten to put a towel over his shoulder.
“I won’t make that mistake again,” he said, still purring. “My first survey instructor said to always double-check my equipment before beginning a task. You’ve reminded me of that important advice, Nadia.”
Once I’d seen him handle that, I let sleep take me.