Chapter 14 (1/2)
Learning how to fly
Fuya had been worried about once again leaving her cub in a new place that he was not accustomed to. So seeing that he was willing to speak after being held by the youth was a very pleasant surprise.
The cub was normally very quiet when she took him to nursing clubs. It didn’t matter if he had been there before or if it was a new club, he was still extremely silent, especially after the caretakers took him from her arms.
Many of the caretakers didn’t think it was a big problem but as a parent, Fuya was very distressed about this. However she still had no choice but to leave him there.
But now he had actually called out to the young man carrying him..
To others this might not mean anything, but to Fuya, this was a huge progress and an indication that she had made the right choice in sending him here.
“Then I entrust my child to you.” Fuya smiled and nodded goodbye to the staff, she then gave her cub one last look before walking away.
The Kuhti cub in Xie Tao’s arms followed his mother with his eyes as she left. Knowing that the cub had just left his mother and had yet to adapt to this new environment, Xie Tao was extra gentle and soothed him by lightly stroking his back. He then lifted him up a bit higher, and meeting those deep dark eyes, he said: “Baby, I will take you to meet the other cubs in the club that you will be living with, okey?”
Although the cub did not like nursing clubs, he made no move to refuse Xie Tao plans, he only continued to stare at Xie Tao’s face. Since there was no response and the Kuhti cub was still willing to let Xie Tao hold him, Xie Tao took it as if he agreed to it.
When Xie Tao introduced the Kuhti cub to the other cubs, they showed no obvious emotions. Most of them were only a bit curious when they first saw him but then quickly adapted to this new cub’s presence.
Originally, the cub had quivered and shrunken down into a ball when Xie Tao released him. He had not approached the other cubs and instead only peeped at them through his fluff-fort. But seeing that they did not show any aggression or other forms of rejection, the cub put down his guard a bit and stood up.
However, he only took a couple of steps forward before stopping again. He was still a bit afraid but as he was hesitating, he suddenly felt a light tap on his back and looked back. Xie Tao had noticed the cub’s hesitation and therefore gently nudged him forward. When the cub looked back, Xie Tao met those deep eyes and softly encouraged him: “It’s okey, I’m here if you need me.”
The Kuhti cub looked at the other cubs and then looked back at Xie Tao before lightly fluttering his wings and bravely walked over to the other cubs.
“Tiuh.” His last steps faltered a bit at the end, but when he finally made it to the other cubs, he straightened his back, and excitingly turned around to call out to Xie Tao.
What did the cub’s actions mean?
The other people in the room only saw it as a sign that the cub had adapted to the new environment and did not think too much about it, but Xie Tao understood.
“Good job.” Walking over, Xie Tao crouched down and stretched out his index finger to gently pat and stroke the cub’s head.
The cub had been brave and done as Xie Tao had said, so of course he wanted to be praised for doing it.
Xie Tao understood this and felt that as long as they gave him enough encouragement, the cub would try to reach out more and would be able to adapt to this new environment. The only thing he needed was some self esteem.
“Tiuh!” Hearing the praise, the Kuhti cub proudly raised his chest and called out to him as if agreeing.
(T/N: Lol, imagine a high pitched voice proudly saying, “Yeah, I did good, didn’t I!”)
In addition to the Kuhti cub, there were two more cubs in the club that, in Xie Tao’s opinion, had beast forms similar to that of birds. One was from the Cotto race and the other was from the Kuwei. The Cotto had soft feathers in different shades of grey and the Kuwei had shiny yellow feathers similar to that of a baby goose.
Although the Kuhti cub was tense around other cubs, Xie Tao though that the cub would be more comfortable if he was around more similar cubs that were the same size as him. Xie Tao therefore put the three together in hopes that it would be the first step towards the Kuhti cub’s integration.
Xie Tao had only good intentions, however when he brought the two other cubs to the Kuhti cub, he found that the cub did not get as comfortable as he had expected.
In fact, the small chest that had been raised after being praised, shrunk back, and the cub awkwardly moved his wings as he slightly lowered his head.
“Baby?” His mother had not said anything about his situation in the other nursing clubs or at home. But after observing the cub’s reactions, Xie Tao felt that the cub must have experienced something traumatic that made him act the way he did.
Looking at the Kuhti cub’s current state, Xie Tao heart ached, and after thinking about it, he picked the cub up. Gazing down at the cub in his arms, he lightly touched his soft red feathers and whispered: “Don’t be afraid, the other cubs are very well-behaved and nice, they won’t bully you, I promise.”
This was the first time that someone was being so patient with him and although being treated this way felt a bit weird and foreign, the cub liked this new warm sensation.
The cub looked at Xie Tao for a while and then turned his head to the two cubs he just met before skeptically looking back at Xie Tao. “Tiuuh?”
In the previous nursing clubs, the caretakers had never been this patient. The one teaching him would start frowning after a while and then shake their head and sigh.
This cub simply must not have the ability to fly…
The cub had been to several nursing clubs and this was the sentence he repeatedly heard the caretakers say. But it still wasn’t worse then when they finally gave up..
We have tried our best. If the cub still can’t fly when the parents visit then they can’t blame us, there is something wrong with the cub…
When cubs similar to him got to know that he could not fly, they usually stayed far away from him. Even though other cubs who did not have the ability to fly, did not deliberately avoid him, they still thought of him as stupid and ignored him.
After hearing the cub’s questioning tone, Xie Tao nodded and tenderly touched the Kuhti cub’s back feathers.
While comforting him, Xie Tao slowly moved his hand to one of the cub’s wings. The cub got a little tense but still permitted him to gently spread out his wing.
Xie Tao lightly moved his fingertips along one of the wings’ feathers. Although the rest of the cub’s body was covered with soft fluff-feathers, his wings had long and robust feathers that felt powerful enough to carry him.
The Kuhti cub in Xie Tao’s arms quietly looked up at Xie Tao as he examined his wings. Since Xie Tao had never done anything to hurt him and shown him kindness, the cub did not struggle and obediently sat still, even though he really hated anything related to his wings.
The cub’s mother had said that the cub was healthy, his wings were neither injured nor stunted, however Xie Tao wanted to see for himself.
Xie Tao therefore gently lifted the left wing and mimicked the movement of flying. As he did this he carefully observed the cub in order to see if the cub showed any signs of pain or discomfort.
It was not that Xie Tao did not trust the parent’s words, but he felt that such an important matter should also be confirmed personally. After all, what if there was some kind of injury that they had missed?
He knew that medical treatment in this world was much more advanced than in his world. But, even if it was a one in ten thousand possibility that it would be missed, Xie Tao felt that it was necessary to see with his own eyes. After all, if something happened to be missed, then it would be he himself who caused the cub pain when forcing him to train.
The Kuhti cub remain motionless when Xie Tao moved his left wing and did not show any signs of pain. Seeing this, Xie Tao felt a bit relieved, but he still made sure to throughly check the wing by putting a small amount of pressure on different places on the wing. He then used the same method to check the right wing.
Xie Tao determined that his wings seemed fine, the cub would be able to learn how to fly, he only needed the right guidance.
A Kuhti cub that can’t fly, unlike Xie Tao who lacked common sense, the other caretakers in the Yunbao branch were not as optimistic about this situation. Especially so after reading the check-in information filled out by the mother which contained every previous club the cub had stayed at…
Even the clubs ranked first, third and tenth couldn’t get the cub to fly, so how could they, a low grade club, possibly do it?
Those clubs, whether it was the facilities or the caretakers, were better than at their club, so it was really hard to believe that they would be able to do it.