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Nine-year-old Krolia rolled out of her sleeping nook, which was called a flack, ready to start the day. Scrambling to her feet she raced to the kitchen for breakfast. “Eka vapess mayi!” (Good morning mom!) The young kit greeted. Her mother was holding her baby sister Kelma and had the five-year-old twins Carbie and Bibble clinging to her back. “Eka vapess Krolia, samya tala” (Good morning Krolia, breakfast is ready.) Their mother, whose name was Falo, replied shifting Kelma so that she could brush Krolia’s hair as she ate. Their house was a reddish-orange clay hut that was about the size of a small cabin and had a copper-colored straw roof. All the furniture was made out of turquoise wood, except for the large pot in the fireplace, which was used for making soups and stews, and the little oven which were metal. The floor was made out of the same clay as the rest of the hut except that it was cooked longer to make it harder and smoother. The windows had chunky glass in them that were highly durable to put up with wild kits. When Krolia had finished her food, she scampered off to find her pouch for school. “Mosa ciss elhu?” (Looking for your pouch?” Her older brother Skase taunted holding it up out of her reach. Krolia scowled not about to give him the satisfaction of her begging him to give it back. The thirteen-year-old was always teasing her in some way or another. Skase’s forest green hair was shaggy, and his bangs nearly reached his navy-blue eyes, that were gleaming with mischief. Realizing that her brother wasn’t going to give her back the pouch, Krolia ran off to find their older brother Kygon. At fifth teen Kygon was the oldest and had a soft spot for Krolia often letting her tag along on what he was doing. But most importantly Kygon could always put Skase in his place. When she came back riding on Kygon’s back, Skase immediately dropped the pouch and ran for dear life. Scooping up the pouch Kygon handed it to his little sister, who was resting her head on his soft navy-blue hair. “Shawshaw Kygon.” (Thankyou) She said happily.“Sheishei.” (You’re welcome) With that Kygon snatched up his own pouch and set off for school. Krolia was the youngest school age kit in the family with the twins still having to wait a year to start. They were soon joined by Skase and their sisters: Froana, Magew, and Svelia, who all had their father’s magenta hair and forest-green eyes. Krolia and Kygon were the only ones of the siblings to get their mother’s violet eyes. In fact, Krolia looked very much like a miniature of her mother, and many expected her hair to stay solid violet when she went through puberty. Halfway to school they were joined by a bunch of other kits including Krolia’s best friend Lia. “Thaichi Lia!” (Hi Lia!) Krolia greeted sliding off her brother’s back. Lia had burgundy hair and magenta fur on her ears and tail that resembled those of a cat. Her periwinkle eyes were almost always sparkling with happiness, and she had a circular marking around her left eye. “Thaichi Krolia, patan tala schadamy?” (Hi Krolia, ready for school?) Krolia nodded and the two girls started chatting about what they wanted to do after school. The girls chatted the rest of the way there not caring who overheard them. When the group arrived at the school, they were all displeased that they were going to have another lesson on how the entire planet was safer being part of the empire than they would be alone. Some of the teenage kits flat out refused to listen to their teacher explain in yet again and left, leaving any younger siblings confused at what to do. Krolia looked at Kygon who simply smiled and sat in his spot. Following her brother’s example, she sat down and hoped that it wouldn’t cause school to go late again. Once school was over Krolia scampered outside ready to play she didn’t make it very far before Lia pounced on her. The two of them tussled on the ground for a while before they wore themselves out. That’s when they spotted Krolia’s older sisters hanging out with their friends and decided to see what they were doing. To their disappointment the older girls were just talking about boys. By the time Krolia made it back home it was time for lunch. “Krolia alfeu tuyi.” (Krolia come nurse.) Falo called having already do so for the rest of her younger children. Climbing onto her mother’s lap Krolia connected her umbilical cord to her mother’s and snuggled as she nursed. Even though Krolia and the twins were old enough to not nurse Falo liked to have her kits have milk for their lunch until they turned ten since even when kits are fully grown, they can still want to nurse and this she found made that happen less often. When Krolia finished she curled up in her nook to take a nap, still exhausted from wrestling with Lia. When the little girl woke up, she heard her family gathering in the living area. This was unusual at this time of day, and it usually meant some kind of an event was about to happen. Joining them Krolia soon realized something was wrong because everyone looked frightened. Looking out a window she saw that the entire village was in chaos with doglike pirates with banana-yellow skin capturing people every-were. These she realized must be the calese the very people they had been trying to stay away from by being part of the empire. Kygon pulled Krolia away from the window to join the rest of their family huddled up in a corner. Puzzled she asked why they weren’t putting up a fight and just cowering in a corner. Her father, whose name was Orib, explained that the calese had weapons designed to be used on them and that they typically were only used on those who fought back. Krolia shivered in her brother’s arms now understanding their predicament. “We can at least run, right?” She asked wanting confirmation that it was what she was supposed to do if necessary. When Orib nodded Krolia was relieved that she didn’t have to go down without a fight. One thing the little girl couldn’t understand was why the calese were doing this, what had they ever done to them? Plus, if they were going to do this why not wear a simple brown shirt and pants like everyone else? It was almost like they wanted to be notice as they did these horrible deeds, but who would be that evil? The next thing Krolia knew was that the calese had dug into their home and everyone was scrambling to get away in every direction. Kygon carried her on his back as he escaped out into the open by walking on the walls with his bare feet. Krolia clung to her brother as tightly as she dared scared that she might fall off and loos him in all the chaos. Tears streamed steadily out of Krolia’s eyes making it hard for her to identify where she was and frankly, she didn’t care as long as the kit had her brother, she knew that he would take care of her. But their hopes of escape were smashed when a bulky bulldog-like calese pirate knocked Kygon down into a corner. Goggles covered the pirate’s eyes making the siblings unable to see them, but Krolia was sure that they were gleaming with the way he was giving them a wicked smile. “Mayi, Fayi gachet!” (Mom, Dad help!) She cried just before the pirate gassed them causing them to fall asleep. When Krolia woke up she found that Kygon was gone and that she now had a number branded on her just above her ankle. All around her kits from every clan from the ages two-twelve were crammed into the back of a small ship, some crying, some trying to comfort each other, and some were silent and solemn seeming way too familiar with this. “Is this your first time?” An older boy asked Krolia. She blinked not understanding what he had said. The boy nodded having got his answer. “Welcome to slavery.” He muttered.
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Five years later Krolia was going through a large pile of old clothes looking for some pants too go with her shirt that went down to her knees. She sighed when she couldn’t find any that would work. She had worn her old ones to the point that they were uncomfortable and way too short. Now fourteen Krolia had become accustomed to the hardships of being a slave and showed little emotion to anyone except for the old slave who looked after her. He kept her warm on cold nights, comforted her when she lay awake thinking about her family, slipped her extra food and kept her hope alive that voltron would come to rescue them. Everyday Krolia listened for any news about voltron, especially after the news had arrived about three years prior that a group of rogue galra called Red’s Cubs had found the red lion and was fighting against the empire. That news had spread throughout the planet like wildfire and ignited a new hope among the slaves. She hadn’t heard any news of the other lions being found, only that the empire was getting close to taking the planet. Krolia didn’t know what to think about this because she knew that the empire was supposed to protect her but since her arrival on that planet, she had heard some pretty despicable things about it. Shaking her thoughts from her head Krolia set out to do her tasks before she got in trouble for not started on time. Getting whipped again was something Krolia wanted to avoid at all costs. Her first task was to clean the floors, ceiling, and walls. Why this had to be done every day Krolia had no idea, except for the suspicion that it was to keep her busy. Starting with the ceiling first she grabbed a bucket already filled with suds and walked up a wall and onto the ceiling. It was always a challenge not to spill the water when doing this, but Krolia had been quick to master it as to avoid an unhappy master. This was always her favorite one to do because she liked to think of it as a game, seeing how much of it she could get to not drip onto the floor. The most challenging part was making sure none of it dripped onto the master when he was around. For the most part Krolia was able to avoid cleaning above him but there were a few times that it couldn’t be avoided. This was one of those times and to make things worse he was in a foul mood. Carefully she scrubbed the celling, thankful that the wonky gravity kept her shirt from falling down. Just as Krolia was almost finished, a single drop landed on her master’s head. “21412248 get down here this instant!” The scrawny man bellowed. She carefully but quickly made her way to the closest wall to obey, hiding her fear deep within along with everything else. When Krolia reached the floor, she looked at the floor knowing better than to look her master in the eye. “For this outrage you will be sold at the next bazar and no more food!” He stormed away causing anyone in his path to scurry out of the way. Krolia resumed her work and hoped that it wouldn’t be too long before the next bazar was put up. For she didn’t know how long she could go without food, and it would be risky for anyone to try to sneak some to her. It was scary to think of getting a new master, for while there was a chance of them being more kind than her last one Krolia knew that they could also be much worse. But what choice did she have? If a slave tried to run away, they would be almost certainly caught and sent to the arena. Once she had finished the ceiling, Krolia managed to get through cleaning the walls without further incident and started to clean the floor. After a while there was a commotion outside, just like there had been when her village had been attacked. Not wanting to get into any more trouble she tried to ignore it and continued her work. Though after a bit, cheers of freedom filled the air, and the older slaves were rushing out not listening to their protesting master. Krolia’s curiosity got the better of her causing the girl to lay aside her work and see what was going on. Peering outside she saw galra soldiers marching down the street declaring victory over the planet and that all galra slaves were now free. Krolia slipped out of the house to try to find someone from her village. While she didn’t expect to find her family or get off the planet, they could at least start a new life here together. As Krolia wandered down the streets of the town she wondered where her family was and how they were doing. She could only hope that they were waiting for her back home and that somehow, she could get there to be with them. Eventually Krolia spotted a man speaking to others who had been recently freed. To her it looked like he was offering help, but no one seemed to be interested in what he had to offer. Curious, Krolia decided to investigate, wondering what the man could be offering that no one would want. “Helo there little one, do you need some help?” He asked upon noticing her. Krolia just nodded, trying to remember what her parents taught her about strangers and unsure how to respond. “Come let me get you some food then, we can talk.” He seemed nice enough and it would get her some food. So, she followed him to a small restaurant that gave them a much more private setting for them to talk in. After ordering the food, the man introduced himself as Kolivan and told her that he was part of a group of rebels fighting against the empire. “Does that mean your mission is to help us, who have been just freed, or is it to find new recruits?” Krolia asked suspicion beginning to rise in her.“I am here to help, though I did forget that for a while.”“Is that why no one was excepting help?”“No, it is because they did not like that I am against the empire and after a while it began to feel like only new recruits would except help. That is until I saw you.”“Me?”“Yes, I’ve always had a soft spot for kits and seeing you reminded me why I volunteered for this mission in the first place.”“You want to help kits like me find their families.” Krolia guessed lowering her defenses begging to feel safe for the first time since she had lost her family. Kolivan nodded wrapping an arm around her, which caused the girl to purr, and brought down the last of her defenses. That’s when the food came and while they ate Krolia told Kolivan everything she could remember about her family, hoping that the more information she gave, the easier it would be to find them. He just smiled knowing that very little of it was going to be actually useful but thought it wouldn’t hurt for her to get it all out. Once Krolia was done talking, Kolivan told her that they would first go to her village to see if any of her family was still there. If there were, any he would leave her there and move on to search for the rest of them. She eagerly agreed, wanting to get back to a normal life as soon as possible. Kolivan knew that there was little chance of her family being there, but he had to try. Because he didn’t want to sweep the young kit into the war if there was a way to help her without doing so. When they finished eating, Kolivan led Krolia to his ship and began making preparations to leave. While he did that Krolia explored the ship, poking her head anywhere it would fit, and feeling everything, she could reach with her hands. Sitting in the pilot’s seat she tried to imagine what it would be like to fly it. Krolia still remembered what it had been like riding in the back of one felt like and couldn’t help but wonder how different it would be to experience it from the front. After a while Krolia started staring at the dashboard, trying to figure out what each button did. She knew better than to try hitting one, so she contented herself to gingerly touching them, unaware that the ship had a safety feature activated that made it so that it wouldn’t respond to a kit. It didn’t seem long before Kolivan came in to leave and gently moved her to the co-pilot’s seat. “If you want, I could teach you how to steer a little as we travel.” He told her noticing how interested she was in the ship.“Really?!” Krolia asked in excitement, her eyes sparkling.“Of course, you may have one of your own someday and should learn all you can.”
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Time passed and Krolia began to see Kolivan as her new father while her fayi was still missing. After about a year of searching, Kolivan had to start going on missions more frequently making it harder for them to get out. Because of this he decided to adopt Krolia, to give her more of a sense of home when she began to lose hope of finding her family. This turned out to be the right decision as Krolia became interested in becoming a Blade and Kolivan became the leader of the Blades.As her training progressed, Krolia proved herself to have a natural knack for infiltration. With her exceptional acting skills, sneakiness, ability to learn languages and a swift cunning mind, she quickly climbed to the top of her class, earning the respect of many of the Blades. But Krolia also got into trouble quite frequently for disobeying orders to make sure everyone got out, or to get some extra useful information. Most of the time nothing went wrong when she did this and when it did, she usually found a way to get around the complication that she caused.It was after one of those rare fails that Kolivan decided to talk to Krolia about her frequent disobedience of her instructors. But it did not go how he expected it to. “They want us to treat each other how Zarkon’s men treat each other when on missions. It should not be this way, yet here they are teaching us to be cold hearted like our enemies!”“Krolia, I know how you feel about this, but it is going to take time for me to make them see that this is wrong. If I were to try to correct it without the majority coming to the same conclusion, it would cause a hakuja (a common galran word meaning to divide a group into two or more opposing sides.) and you know that we can’t afford that.” He warned knowing that he had made himself very clear. For in most galran cultures a hakuja was a serious matter and usually avoided at all costs. Krolia quivered a little at the thought, no matter how much the adults tried to hide it she knew very well that an event like that could get them all killed if it exposed them. After that Kolivan stopped getting as many reports of his daughter disobeying and instead slowly over time he started hearing praise of how she was learning how to manipulate the situation in her favor. This would be a valuable skill for her when she was out on the field and that her teachers were going to want to graduate her before he wanted them to. This became such a problem that eventually Krolia found out leading to her pestering him about it. This came to its peak when she was eight teen and had managed to learn of a mission that would be perfect for her. “PLEASE Mawachi! (dad in Kolivan’s native language) You know that I am ready and that this is the perfect mission for me! Krolia begged fed up with waiting.“I cannot allow a kit to enter the war it is too dangerous. Even if that were not the case, I do not wish to send anyone into the hands of Ranveig.” Kolivan countered wondering if he could keep her out of the fight until she turned twenty-five.“But we should have someone on every ship and this opening requires a kit my age. How can we win if you are afraid to take a good opportunity?”“It is an unnecessary risk that I WILL NOT allow you to take.” At that Krolia stormed out angerly, muttering to herself that he would regret that decision and that she was going to assign herself to the mission. By the time Kolivan found out it was too late, she was on board and determined to prove that she was ready. But she soon regrets it, as she was assigned to scrub the floors. Krolia couldn’t believe it, she had willingly put herself in a position where she had to do the same thing that she had to do when she was a slave. But when Krolia found out about fellow blades joining scouts who were looking for the rest of the lions, she managed to get into the one that Ranvig was sending out. The kit smirked as she flew along, she knew that she was ready for this no matter what others said. And before she knew it, they were getting a signal that matched what they were looking for. Now all that was left to do was to make sure word didn’t make it back to Zarkon. This was her chance to prove herself and she was determined to do so. Which she did, but in doing so Krolia discovered why she hadn’t been allowed to go. Back at the base she had taken for granted that there was always help nearby, but now there was no help on the way as she hurtled towards the ground. Getting into the position she had been taught to do when a crash was eminent, Krolia hoped that she would wake up and discover that it was all a bad dream. But to her dismay she felt the ship crash, causing agonizing pain. Krolia whimpered and let out an extremely high-pitched cry. It was a sound that kits made to call their parents for help and only other galra could hear it. When nothing happened, she whimpered remembering that there might not be anyone around to even see the ship, much less help her. Suddenly Krolia heard something cutting its way in. Barly having enough strength, she managed to open her eyes just enough to see a man looking at her before falling unconscious.
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Krolia woke up groaning from the pain and slowly taking in her surroundings. She was in a bedroom unlike she had ever seen and there was a little table that had her blade and chew toy sitting on it among other things,of which Krolia decided to look at more closely later. Next, she realized that someone had taken the time to tend to her injuries and changed her clothes to something more comfortable. Carefully sitting up Krolia examined her new clothes they were nice and soft but still light enough as to keep her from overheating. She liked the short sleeves on her shirt and the pleasant red color that the whole outfit was in. After that Krolia decided to look out the window to get an idea of where she was. Ignoring the pain the best she could, Krolia put her bare feet on the floor and limped over to the window. She looked out and saw that she was in a desert that was largely empty of people. Returning to the bed Krolia decided that she might as well investigate the other items on the table since she seemed to be safe for the moment and there was no way she could escape into the desert in her condition. The first thing she investigated was a glass of water which she drank thankful for her ability to sense poison. Putting the cup down the kit noticed what appeared to be a fruit and picked it up to sniff. The orange didn’t smell bad to her, and she wasn’t sensing any poison, so she decided to try a bite. Though after that she decided that it was supposed to be eaten without the peel. Finishing off her little snack, Krolia noticed a little book and a big red buzzer. The moment she saw the buzzer her kit instincts took over and she pressed it. Hearing the buzzing sound, she cocked her head and pressed it again. Fascinated by it Krolia kept pressing it until she heard someone coming. “I’m coming, I’m coming, you can stop that now.” Krolia blushed a little realizing that it was meant as a signal. The door opened revealing the same man that had rescued her. Seeing that nothing was wrong the man asked her a question. “Do you speak the common language?”“Yes, I do. Are you the one who bandaged me up?” She asked.“What! No! I mean… I… I didn’t want to invade your privacy… so… I called a friend who is a doctor, and she tended to your wounds.”“Oh, I see. Well thank you for saving me and finding someone to get me all patched up. My name is Krolia by the way.”“The name’s Kai and you can stay here as long as you like. I mean that is if you’re comfortable with that.” Krolia nodded wondering why the more she talked to him the more she wanted to stay.“Would you mind getting me more food? I am very hungry.”“Of course, not a problem.” He then promptly ran into the wall before actually leaving. Krolia giggled a little wondering if that was something that happened often or if it was because of her. She pushed that thought aside thinking that it couldn’t be because of her and instead reached for the book to look at. To her surprise it was meant for teaching the reader how to read the planet’s language which appeared to be the same thing as the common language but written differently. Deciding to save that for later, Krolia couldn’t help but wonder how Kai was so prepared for arrival. Because this place certainly didn’t have visitors often, much less from space. Just then Kai came back in with a bed tray filled with food and something to drink. Distracted by all the good smells Krolia tried to decide what she wanted to eat first. This caused Kai to laugh, and he suggested that she try the brown square calling it a brownie. Which is what she did and discovered that she loved it. After that Krolia just kept trying everything until the only thing left was a few marshmallows which she didn’t like. Noticing a bit of yogurt on her cheek Kai wiped it off with his thumb, causing Krolia to purr unexpectedly. They both looked away embarrassed and wondering why they were falling for the other when nothing would come out of it. Time passed and slowly they found a bit of a rhythm as Krolia continued to heal. From time-to-time Kai’s doctor friend would come in to check on her to make sure that there would be no complications. She got used to Kai leaving every day for work except for the weekends, while she spent the day learning to read and watching movies on the TV that Kai had brought into her room. But no matter how much Krolia didn’t want to ask anything more of him, she just couldn’t stand being alone most of the time. “I can’t believe it’s September already.” Kai commented one day as he helped her with some of the words she was struggling with.“What does that mean?” Krolia asked trying to remember if she had heard that word before.“It’s one of our months and since you crashed close to the beginning of August, that means you’ve been here for about a month.”“That’s a phoeb, right?”“Yep, and I’ve got a little surprise for you, after all it must be pretty lonely when I’m gone.” Krolia nodded wondering how he had guessed and what this surprise was.“Hang on I’ll go get her, be right back.” Krolia just blinked unsure what he meant by “her.” It wasn’t like he was going to have another woman staying with them, right? It didn’t take long for Kai to return shattering her worry when she saw the little red border terrier in his arms. Gasping a little Krolia took the squirming puppy from him and held her close. “Thank you she is beautiful.”“What you going to name her?”“Octfi because it means friend.” Kai just smiled at that, knowing that it was a fitting name for the pup. Octfi licked Krolia already enjoying her new home and wanting to show it. But for Krolia it was a comforting gesture that was greatly appreciated even though she knew that Octfi had no way of knowing it. With that Krolia felt like her new life on earth was going to be a good one. While there was little chance of her ever returning to the Blades, she now had a home, new clothes, and a puppy, which all made her very happy.
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Krolia wondered over to the kitchen trying to guess what Kai was cooking because whatever it was smelled really good. Octfi trailed behind her never wanting to be that far from her owner unless told that she couldn’t. It had been officially three months since Krolia had come to live at Kai’s house and she was at this point beginning to delve into learning about the culture that surrounded her as well as beginning to search for the lion that was somewhere around the area. Upon entering the kitchen Krolia discovered that there were already several pies on the table and Kai was pulling two more out of the oven. “What are all of these for?” She asked puzzled at what he wanted all of them for.“It’s for a holiday we call Thanksgiving, remember I told you about it last week.” Kai replied sticking two more into the oven.“Oh right, but I thought we would be eating more than just pie.”“We are, these are for the family dinner we’re having with my family and my best friend’s family.”“I thought I had to stay hidden.” Krolia shivered a little at the idea of being studied by scientists.“You do, I have a plan to get you there safely and don’t worry no one there will sell you out.” Sensing that Krolia was getting nervous Octfi nuzzled her leg to comfort her. Picking her puppy up to cuddle with, Krolia went to the living room to try to process this new information. She was going to be able meet more people and see more of what earth had to offer, it was exciting but at the same time it was also a little scary. After all Kai’s family could betray him and try to bring her to the authorities. Noticing that Kai had left a photo album out Krolia picked it up and began leafing through it until she came to some pictures that caught her attention. They each showed a group of teenage boys each holding a fishing pole in one hand and a fish in the other. Krolia smiled as she looked at them, it was apparent they were close and were having fun. Written below each photo was a little comment, date and the names of the boys. As she continued to look through the album, Krolia’s worries faded as she was able to see what kind of people his friends and family were through the moments captured in the photos. But Krolia also began to yearn for her family again, when she was painfully reminded that Octfi was the only real family she had with her on earth by seeing a recent family photo that was taken only a month ago.Just as she was about to put the album back where she had found it, Krolia noticed a note that had been under the album before she had picked it up. Grabbing the note and setting the album down, she looked at it and gave a little surprised gasp when she saw what it said: Would you like to go and have a little picnic with me as a date? Because I know I would love it, and I think you would too. Sensing that something was happening Octfi jumped off her lap and barked as if to say “Well what are you waiting around for? Let’s go!” Krolia rushed back to the kitchen, unsure if the note meant what she thought it did. “Does this mean that you are asking me if I want to go out on a ewaka?” She asked as Octfi caught up with her.“I don’t know what that means.” Kai replied hoping that it was what he thought it was.“You know……… what Josh asked Emma on in Air Bud World Pup.”“Oh, ok you mean a date so yes, I’m asking you out. You don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to?”“I was afraid that you weren’t asking me on one, so of course I want to go out with you on a date. When were you thinking?“Once the last of the pies are done, we can go if you’d like.” Krolia nodded eagerly, without quite knowing what made her so excited about it. Turning towards the stairs to return to her room, she tried to think of what she needed to do to get ready. After a bit of thinking Krolia decided that she didn’t need to do anything, except maybe to put on the shoes that Kai had bought for her, and she hadn’t worn yet to show that she appreciated them. While Krolia didn’t mind shoes and knew it was best to wear them at times, she liked being barefoot better as no one in her entire village had even owned a pair and they interfered with their ability to walk on wall.0o0o0o0o Kai laid the blanket on a grassy area where they had a good view of the nearby lake in a clearing of the forest. It was a nice spot and Krolia had enjoyed the hike up there. For the first time in months Krolia felt like she could be outside without having to worry about someone seeing her, because hardly anyone came out there due to a superstition about it. “Krolia, there’s something I need to tell you.” Kai said abruptly.“What is it?” She asked sitting on the blanket next to him.“This might be a little bit of a shock, but I’m not a normal human. I’m a fae, my people traveled through a portal on earth to another planet a long time ago. As time went on, we began to change as a result of our diet. We gained the ability to manifest wings, befriend and understand animals. One day some of us came back to earth and settled near the portal where we could still use our wings. Eventually some, like me, decided to move elsewhere on earth and that’s the whole story as far as I know.”“Can you show me your wings?”“Not right now, it’s only possible in certain areas. But there are stories of some who learned how to do it anywhere, you’ll see them when we go to the family gathering.” As Kai turned to the basket to get out the food, Octfi ran off chasing a squirl coming back shortly after when it got away. They had a wonderful time chatting as they ate and then took a little stroll around the lake, as Kai told stories that the ancient alteans had passed on to their descendants who were still living on earth. Krolia was especially interested in the stories involving the blue lion being hidden under that very lake and moving to another place after saving earth from invaders. All in all, she hoped that they would have more moments like this as their relationship continued to develop.
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Krolia gazed around the room that they were having their wedding held in. It was wonderful knowing that their closest friends and family had come to the fae village to celebrate their marriage. She was glad that Kai was fine having a small and simple wedding like she would’ve had back on tyroar. In fact, the light green dress she was wearing was similar to the one her mother had worn at her wedding, plain and simple. Their rings were deep emerald green and were of fae origin, a reminder that what they do will affect the other, which in turn will affect them too. “You enjoying yourself?” Kai asked looking at her lovingly.“Yes, this is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I’m glad it’s with you.” With that they kissed and Krolia couldn’t think of anything else that she could want.0o0o0o An egg, she couldn’t believe it, she was going to be a mother. It was lavender with violet spots that looked like little handprints scattered all over it. Krolia held the egg close as she went to her and Kai’s bedroom to set up a safe place for it. Using a blanket, she made a little nest on her nightstand and placed the egg inside to make sure it was the right size before taking it with her to the living room. It was a wonderful feeling cuddling with the egg, knowing that inside her little one was developing, getting ready to see the outside world. Octfi was very curious about the egg, but seemed to know that it was fragile, only sniffing it before contenting herself to curl up beside her. Later when Kai came home, Krolia was working on some dinner and had put the egg in the nest to keep it warm. After greeting him, she finished what she was doing and told him that she had a surprise. Leading her husband to their bedroom, Krolia smiled knowing that he would not see this coming. Carefully picking up the egg she turned around to him their new Little Wonder. “You, you laid an egg.” Kai stammered nearly fainting.“Out of all the things you know about galra, you didn’t learn that we lay eggs?” She asked laughing a little at his reaction.“I didn’t think to ask about that kind of thing.”“Well now that you know, we have some things to do to prepare for welcoming our Little Wonder into the world.” Kai smiled at that and agreed that they needed to talk about somethings, but he wanted to change out of his work clothes and eat some dinner first. The first thing they agreed on was that they both understood what their little one might need from both sides of the family. It was going to be challenging to figure out which ones they would need to apply, so knowing all of the possibilities would be essential. Krolia wrote down the following list of things needed to get and do to raise a kit:Chew toy Lots of cuddles Sensory games Binky Soft blankets Play mates A way to provide vibration Milk Soft toy to cuddle“I know this isn’t everything, but it’s all I can think of at the moment.” She said putting her pencil down and getting up to fetch the egg. It was strange how before her Little Wonder had been laid, Krolia had been totally satisfied with how the house was. But now she saw little things she wanted done, especially when it came to getting ready for the hatching of their baby. Picking up the egg, Krolia held it close and longed for the day she could finally see her Little Wonder’s face. A few days later Krolia was busy looking at different things she could get for the baby on her tablet, when she stumbled across a small blue lioness available in three different sizes. After some consideration she chose the small one which was about seven inches tall. It was nice for Krolia that she could order things online so she could pick somethings out for their Little Wonder. Though, they did already have somethings on the way and others that Kai had picked up while in town she still wanted to be involved in the shopping. So far, her favorite thing that her Little Wonder was getting was the quilt she was making for him (or her) with fabric that was secretly sourced from space. In fact, lots of companies using high quality fabrics from space without even knowing it. Krolia was glad to know that the blanket would last a long time while still being soft and cuddly. Of course, they had a baby blanket for their little one which would be easier to carry around than the quilt. About six months in they went to see a doctor who specialized in galran eggs to make sure that everything was ok and find out if their Little Wonder was a boy or a girl. “Well, it looks like you have a healthy little boy in there and should hatch on time.” The doctor reported after using a special light to look inside. Krolia couldn’t have been happier, she had been hoping for a little boy, but she would have been just as happy with a little girl. Holding the egg close Krolia hummed to her son glad that he was at the stage she could start to bond with him. Little Wonder responded with his own soft hum that indicated that he was in a good mood. Humming was a way for very young kits to communicate how they were feeling and what kind of mood they were in, which was beneficial to their parents so they could attend better to their kit’s needs as well as get to know them. Krolia could hardly wait for her baby boy to hatch and wanted him to be nearby at all times. Soon after the appointment, they received news that Sam and Coleen’s twins had been born. On the calendar, Kai wrote “Mattew James and Natalie Jessica Holt born” on July thirteenth. Two weeks later they were able to visit the Holts in their home and meet the twins. They looked very similar with the noticeable differences being that Nat’s hair was lighter and had dark blue eyes instead of her brother’s brown ones. Nat was also more active than her brother as she was beginning to babble and starting to lift her head a little bit already and he had just recently opened his eyes. It was a wonderful time, and they arranged it so that when Coleen was ready to go back to work, Krolia would watch the twins. Things were changing fast and Krolia was all for it and counting down the days until Little Wonder was due to hatch.0o0o0o It was October twenty-third when Krolia woke up to the sound of the egg hatching. “Kai, wake up he’s hatching!” She said shaking him trying to stay quiet enough to not disturb their son. Soon they were both watching as the shell gave way to tiny egg claws and curious purple tinted blue eyes peaked through the hole at them. Before long he had managed to break off the top part of the egg and was wanting to be lifted out. “He’s so precious.” Krolia whispered as she held him in her arms while he acquainted himself with her sent.“Yes, he is and now we need to finalize his name.”“How about Yorak?” This had been a big discussion for a few days now and had two names selected, it was just a matter of which went first.“I think we should do Keith as his first name; he won’t get teased as much that way.”“That’s probably for the best anyway, since it won’t draw as much attention.” Krolia looked lovingly at Keith as she said this and he was fast asleep, worn out from hatching.
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Krolia sighed as she woke up to Keith crying. He was two weeks old now and starting to babble, which she wished she could wake up to instead of his crying. Taking her baby in her arms, Krolia let him nurse before heading to the table for breakfast. “You want me to take him so you can change out of your pajamas?” Kai asked noticing that this was starting to become a pattern. Krolia shook her head having a feeling that Keith wouldn’t let her finish breakfast before wanting to nurse again.“It isn’t worth it; I don’t think he’s finished nursing and will start crying as soon as I let go.”“Why does he do this where he won’t always finish the first time?”“I don’t know, maybe he’s just doing it because he likes the attention, he gets out of it.” As if on cue Keith started squawking to let them know that he was still hungry. After that he was content to just be held and even let his dad hold him, so that Krolia could be free to finish her breakfast. Though it didn’t last too long as Kai had to leave for work and of course Keith just happened to need a diaper change at the same time. So, they said a quick goodbye before each heading to the part of the house they needed. Later when Krolia had laid her son on his stomach to zip up his lion onesie she heard her phone ring and seeing that it was Coleen she zipped Keith up and took the call without picking him up. Unsure why his mama left him like that, Keith looked up at her for the first time and whimpered. “What is it Baby?” Krolia asked turning her attention back to him. “Wait, you lifted your head!” Realizing that the conversation was over Coleen hung up, knowing that her friend was going to be distracted by her son’s accomplishment.“Look at you! You’re looking up! Mommy’s so proud of you!” Krolia cooed lifting him up above her head. Keith then smiled for the first time and started to giggle. Octfi just ran in circles around her feet trying to figure out what the fuss was all about and wanting to participate. When Kai came home, he was surprised to hear about what had happened. “That was sure fast, I wonder if that’s normal or if there’s something special about him. He commented and then added. “I mean to other people who don’t know him. If that’s the case, then we’ll have to protect him even more.“You think someone might find out?” Krolia asked nervously as she fed Keith and he hummed, indicating that he was happy.“There’s always the possibility, but I’m going to do all I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”0o0o0o Keith was looking puzzled at his Daddy when he set a box in front of him and started recording. When he saw Mommy start tearing off the paper, he grabbed a piece of it and started to tug at it. Krolia thought that it was so adorable when he tried to copy her and now that he was getting his first Christmas present that was being opened at home, Keith had apparently figured out that he was supposed to pull the wrapping paper off. By the time she was opening the box, her son was babbling with excitement and made a happy kit noise when a ten-inch-tall plush lavender dinosaur was pulled out. Even once he had all his presents Keith still preferred the dino over all of the others. Curious to see how it measured up to his two other favorite toys, Kai fetched Keith’s lion and a small six-inch teddy bear style blue fox, which currently was the little boy’s ultimate favorite. But what they found, was that he didn’t want one over the other and just cried when either the dino or fox was out of his reach. “Ok, here you go buddy, I wasn’t going to actually take them away.” Kai told his son softly before kissing the top of his head.“He sure is growing up fast.” Krolia commented cradling Keith in her arms while he held onto his plushies as well as he could.“Yeah, our Little Wonder may be only two months old, but it feels like he just hatched. But he’s already lost his egg claws, and before we know it, he’ll be crawling around.” Krolia nodded at that, no matter how big he got she knew that Keith would always be her baby. Though she was looking forward to those little milestones that he still had yet to go through, mainly his first word. Krolia didn’t even care what it was, she just wanted to hear his sweet little voice say something.0o0o0o “Mama.” It was about a month later and Krolia had been just waking up when she had heard Keith say his first word. Fully awake now, she looked towards the crib and saw that he was sitting up. “Mama.” How long he had been talking before she had noticed, Krolia had no idea. Shaking Kai awake, she got out of bed and quietly walked over to Keith. “Mama!” He called out reaching out, not understanding why she was being so slow to pick him up. As soon as he was in her arms, Keith stopped talking and just purred like Krolia had expected. “Didn’t think the day would be starting like this.” Kai said looking at their son lovingly and wondering if he would say any other words before saying “Dada.” It turned out that Kai didn’t have to wait too long and only “Tuyi” was said before “Dada.” And that was only because Keith had been trying to let him know that he was hungry. Only a couple weeks after he had said his first word Keith started crawling and he was very active and now that all three babies were crawling around, Krolia made sure to keep them in an area where she could keep an eye on them and that they couldn’t escape from. At least for the time being.0o0o0o Keith looked puzzled at the bag that Krolia had set in front of him. Smiling she reached in and made a stuffed hippo stick its head out, causing her son to squeak in surprise. It had now been a year since Keith had been laid and Krolia had wanted to follow the tradition of celebrating it, as it was a special day to her. Crawling over, Keith tried to pull himself up on the bag, growling a little in frustration when it didn’t work. Seeing that he was determined to get it out himself, Krolia left the toy peeking out and helped him stand up. With mama holding him, Keith grasped the hippo and pulled it out. Noticing something else in there, Keith tried holding onto his new toy while reaching for the mystery item. “Mama, gaga.” He said pointing at it when it didn’t work. Whenever Keith didn’t know what something was, he called it “gaga” since he didn’t know what else to call it. Krolia chuckled, pulling the bottle out curious to see the tiny kit’s reaction. “Tutu?” He asked confused by the color. “Kai laughed behind the video camera, because his son thought the bottle had Krolia’s milk in it not knowing that it was apple juice.“No, sweetie this is something new. You’re big enough to have some juice now.” Krolia told Keith offering the bottle. Hesitantly, Keith took a sip and then looked at her funny.“Tutu.” He said moving away from the bottle. Krolia just smiled, remembering her parents telling her that she did the same thing when she was his age.0o0o0o “Dada!” A now six-month-old Keith cried as he clung to Krolia’s leg while she talked to Coleen and Sam just happened to be recording the twins. Keith let go of her leg, falling down on the floor and then turning around before standing on his feet unsteadily. By this point, Sam had turned the camera towards him just in case something happened. Teetering the tiny boy lifted his foot and took his first step. Then when all the adults got exited, he looked around realizing that he was doing something that they liked before locking onto Daddy again. After falling down many times, Keith finally made it and stumbled into Kai’s arms.0o0o0o Krolia watched the cute seen where seven-month-old Keith hummed to the newly laid eggs, not knowing that it was too early to get answer. Carefully scooping up her son as to not to disturb the eggs, she started rocking him in her arms deciding that it was time to do it before her Little Wonder started to fall asleep on the eggs. As she did, the young mother wondered how she was going to juggle four babies along with three toddlers. If Kai had been galran she would have expected him to help with the nursing, but he wasn’t. Recently Kai had her try putting her milk in a bottle so that he could take turns feeding Keith and their son seemed to be adjusting to it just fine, as long as Kai held him close while doing it. “I guess were going to have to use the bottle more, for your siblings.” She told Keith as he looked up at her.“Mama tutu, no baba. Dada do baba” He replied not understanding causing his mama to laugh. From that point, it turned into a blur as Krolia took care of the increasingly active babies along with keeping the eggs warm. Somedays were more tiring than others, like when Keith discovered his ability to walk on wall, and others were extra quiet, which were usually cuddle days. As Keith’s birthday approached Krolia wondered what they were going to do for his party. They were going to give him his own cake, which Krolia had convinced Kai to have it be catnip flavored with cream cheese frosting. Part of that bargain was that Keith got to have his first taste of chocolate milk with it, though Krolia still insisted that they put the flavoring in her milk instead of buying a jug of chocolate milk at the store. Aside from that they were pretty much on the same track on what they wanted for the party. It was going to have a space theme, and they were going to hold it at home to make things easier on themselves. The presents had already been bought and the last of the ones that they ordered were going to arrive in a few days. Feeling like things were well on their way Krolia laid down, while holding Keith close to her chest. It was going to be a good party; she just knew it and soon Keith would too.