Chapter 19 (1/2)
Tears are salty
When the realization hit Fuya, she became overwhelmed with emotions. It was as if the dam she had used, suddenly reached its limit and overflowed. All she had felt these past years came rushing at her and her worries got washed away in the flood, leaving behind only relief and joy.
As the youngest daughter of the Leicester family, Fuya Leicester had received social education from a very young age and been taught to always behave dignified and reserved. To display excessive signs of emotions, as she did now, was not advisable around other people.
But the current was too strong and she was unable to resist her gushing emotions. After letting that one suppressed sob out, she prevailed for but a second before she lovingly embraced her cub and bent her head down, her back lightly trembling as she quietly sobbed.
“Tiuh?”
“Tiuh-tiuh, tiuh!”
The Kuhti cub, who did not understand why his mother suddenly started crying, anxiously moved his small wings and called out to her several times.
Out of consideration for the Kuhti woman, the people in the room remained quiet and let the mother and her cub interact in a peaceful environment. And so, except for the occasional sounds made by the cubs, the room was enwrapped in silence.
No one felt that her reaction was strange. With their circumstances, it was surely a very happy surprise for the mother to suddenly discover that her cub could now fly.
Although they had once been in contact with the mother before, the cub had not made a lot of progress at that time. After that, the cub had rapidly improved and could now fly just as well as any other cub, maybe even better. It certainly must have been very emotional for the mother to suddenly discover this.
Since the cub had proved himself to fly very well yesterday, Xia Qi had thought about contacting his parents today and delivering the good news. However, his mother had unexpectedly arrived before she had the chance to do this.
Hearing his mother’s continued sobs, the Kuhti cub got worried. His mother’s head was bent downwards with her hair falling like a curtain around them, separating them from the outside world. In an attempt to soothe his mother, the little cub fluttered his small wings and stretched his back to reach her chin. He then tenderly rubbed his beak against her tear stained skin.
Tears are salty.
This simple thought went thought he cub’s head as he gently stroked his beak against her wet chin.
He was still a cub and even if he wanted to comfort his mother, he could only do this much. He therefore continued to helplessly stroke his mother’s chin and call out to her.
“Tiuh-tiuh.”
After a while, Fuya partially straightened her back and the cub looked up at his mother who had opened her eyes and was gazing down at him, tears still running down her cheeks. The cub then suddenly pushed his chest forward and opened his wings to make himself bigger.
Mommy, don’t cry, I will protect you.
As the Kuhti cub could not speak, he could only express his thoughts with actions.
To tell the truth…with the cub’s body being so small as well as the fact that his ample feathers made him into a fluffball, this action held no momentum and on the contrary looked a bit ridiculous.
But knowing that the cub was trying to comfort his mother, this action suddenly felt warm and the surrounding people couldn’t help but feel touched.
Cubs’ thought process was often very simple. But it was this simplicity that made their actions seem so pure and sincere, they neither pretended nor deceived one.
“Sweetie…” Looking down and seeing her cub’s adorable actions, Fuya felt warm in her heart and showed a small smile. The overwhelming rush of emotions subsided and her tears gradually stopped.
The Kuhti cub’s name was Peido and his nickname Peipei, however Fuya often only called him “Sweetie” at home which expressed all the love she had for her cub.
Hearing himself being called, the Kuhti cub moved his small wings and responded. “Tiuh!”
His mother had stopped crying and even smiled! The cub relaxed his spine and happily settled down in her hands, giving her thumb a stroke with his beak before once again gazing up at her.
Fuya gave him a loving look and then faced the people surrounding them.
“I sincerely apologize… somehow I lost control of my emotions for a moment there.” Quickly fixing her appearance, Fuya looked up and smiled as she apologized to the people in the room who had to witness such a scene.
After making herself presentable again, there were amazingly no signs of what had just transpired except for the young woman’s heartbreakingly red eyes… Xia Qi almost felt a bit envious but it passed rather quick as she focused on the woman’s words.
No one felt that she was to blame for her behavior, it was normal, even a noble lady was primarily a mother when it came to things concerning her cub, not a wife. She did not need to put up a front for the family’s best but needed to act for the best of the cub. That included showing emotions and love, not putting up a front and shutting everyone out.
They all therefore simultaneously shook they heads at her apology. There was nothing to apologize for.
Fuya flashed a polite smile at their response and then looked down as she moved her cub over to one hand and used the other to touch his small wings. Her smile did not disappear but turned more loving as she gazed at her cub and everyone could see that she was extremely happy.
Aside from her joy, she was also relieved and thankful that she had actually decided to come and visit her cub instead of relying on holographic communication. If she hadn’t, she would probably be home right now crying and with blurry eyes trying to book a ticket to Gaia Star.
“It’s like a miracle. I don’t know how I can ever possibly thank you for what you have done…” Despite her composed look, one could still hear a tingle of emotion in her voice as she convened her gratitude.
Xie Tao did of course reject her offer and did not demand extra payment. Assisting and caring for the cubs were after all what caretakers should do, it was not like they had done anything worth extra money.