The Chibi Problem Part 2

One night, about 2330, I had just turned off the TV after a marathon session of 'Evil Dead', 'Evil Dead 2' and 'Army of Darkness', and BabyDoll had settled down on the other pillow between two of the cats, when a godawful cacophony erupted in the yard.

BabyDoll launched instantly, throwing himself at the window. I jumped for the door and nearly killed myself tangling with the terrified cats. Big Cat had puffed up to three times his usual size at the slider and was squalling furiously.

The angry chorus of "omae o korosu", "injustice!" and "shiiiniiigamiii!" hit 120 decibels just as I pulled the glass open and staggered onto the patio. Among that clamor, I heard the pained and frightened yelps and yips of a coyote. Before I realised what was happening, BabyDoll shot by me and into the night sky in the midst of the swarming gundam. The noise swooped up the hill and down the other side. As it receded (and I stared in shock at my retreating BabyDoll) I heard another cry, this one low and mournful. I turned to find a trowa huddled under a tree, keening piteously.

I knew something was terribly wrong when the trowa didn't try to avoid me. On the ground next to him was another chibi, a quatre that had obviously been mauled. Too much blood stained the usually immaculate plumage. And then I saw the chibit in the trowa's arms. The baby was dead, too obviously dead. The poor trowa tried to mourn and comfort its mate at the same time. He clutched the baby to his chest and sprawled across the quatre, clinging to its hand.

I ran back inside and grabbed a towel to wrap around the injured chibis and bundle them onto the patio table. A part of my mind was running in circles, screaming for BabyDoll. What was going on?! Would I ever see my chibi again?

And then I heard a howl and a muffled "thump!" in the air itself. A few moments later we were surrounded by the gundam, the heeros and duos carrying the grounders. To my relief, BabyDoll fluttered down to land on the table. He nuzzled my arm briefly before joining the gathering around the stricken trowa.

There was nothing I could do. The chibit was dead and the quatre died as the gundam landed. The heeros and wufeis posted themselves on the fence, facing out, alert for any further danger. The duos, trowas and quatres tried to comfort the stricken trowa. The alphas were grim and angry, but the duo stalked over to me where I sat out of the way. He bowed to me, his partially folded wings brushing the ground, and then held out his hands. Automatically, I extended my hand. He brushed my fingers, then laid his cheek against my hand for a moment before stepping back a pace.

It seemed like he was thanking me.

But I didn't do anything, I said sadly. He lifted his shoulders with a faint "oooooiii". I tried, that seemed good enough. What did you do to the coyote? I asked. He brought his hands together and then flung them apart.

That explained the explosion.

From the trees came soft calls from the betas guarding the nests. Some of the heeros and wufeis answered those calls by heading for the nests.

I went inside and dumped a storage bin and took it outside. I carefully lifted the towel with its pitiful burden and set it gently in the bin. I took it back into the house, leaving the sliding door open. BabyDoll flew into the bedroom and glided back with his blankie. He settled lightly into the bin and laid the blanket over the still sobbing trowa and hugged him gently.

By that time most of the gundam was on my patio and in the house.

Come on in, I said to the ones who lingered outside the door. Bring the babies. I'll leave the door open, I assured them. I broke out an assortment of blankets, afghans and old towels and spread them around on the furniture and then I went back to bed.

I didn't sleep for hours, listening to the soft murmur from my living room.

~*~

The dead chibis were gone in the morning. My living room and dining room were filled with the rest of the gundam. The grieving trowa was still in the bin surrounded by others and with a quatre and two trowa chibits snuggled on his chest. The rest of his family, obviously. Other chibits, I noticed, were snuggling with BabyDoll's beanbag toys as their parents took turns patrolling. At first, I didn't see BabyDoll, and finally found him dozing in the recliner with about a dozen juveniles clustered around him.

A young adult wufei leaped to the edge of the bin and settled in to sharpen his katana, casting me occasional curious glances.

It's okay, I said as I passed; I won't bother him.

I didn't know what else to do so I stayed out of it. I let the gundam have the run of the house, cooked a double batch of everything and brought home more vegetables. The adults continued to hunt their food outside, but they accepted my offerings for the little ones. We were all pretty subdued.

A few days after, a wufei planted himself in front of me and barked out his universal command of "kisama!" He waited until he had my attention, then stalked into the bathroom. I followed and he leaped onto the vanity and pointed his katana to the sink. I got the hint. (Hey, I've been living with BabyDoll for a few months; I'm learning.) I turned on the water. He jumped into the sink and bounced up and down on the drain plug. I closed it, letting the sink begin to fill. He gave me a satisfied look and muttered "injustice..." (How about that; she got it!) I shut the water off when it reached the overflow and the wufei disappeared back to the living room. I waited a few minutes and sure enough, he came back. This time he carried the grieving trowa in his arms. He eased down into the sink and began efficiently to bathe and groom the sad little guy. Another Kodak moment...

It had a beneficial effect on the trowa. He seemed more alert as the wufei ran his fingers through his hair, combing it gently. I put down a folded towel and left them alone.

It gave me an idea, though. In the kitchen, I found a large group on the counter and the floor. Would you guys like a bath? I asked. I don't know if they understood me, but BabyDoll did. He launched from the floor to land on my shoulder, chattering excitedly. I took that as a yes, and put down the drain mats and began filling both sinks. Some of the juveniles jumped in immediately; others scampered off to find chibits. Soon I had the whole gundam waiting anxiously for their turns and a slew of wet chibis drying off and assiduously grooming each other. I went back to check on the pair in the bathroom and found them still damp, but cuddling quietly.

The elusive alphas began to put in longer appearances. I guess they had been checking the area for other possible dangers. Once they were satisfied the gundam moved back outside, except for the trowa and his chibits and their young protector.

I set the storage bin under a table so that it was more secluded, added some clean towels and a few of BabyDoll's toys and explained to the trowa that he and his chibits were welcome to remain as long as they liked. The wufei glared at me, arms folded across its chest.

Don't give me that attitude, I admonished sternly. This is for him and the babies; if you want to hang around, you'll have to ask him.

He turned his back with a huffy "onna!"

~*~

Things began to settle down after that.

For all of about two days.

The grumbling and muttering caught my attention first. I looked out back and saw the five alphas gathered in a loose circle. It looked like a council meeting or a power struggle.

I determined a while back that the alpha duo was the gundam alpha. He had the air of command and that inescapable "presence" expected of a leader. The unnerving trowa was perhaps younger or less experienced, but that didn't seem to matter now. The duo and trowa were glaring at each other and arguing while the others looked on.

All at once, the trowa had a knife in his hand. The duo fell back a pace and ignited his scythe. Poised for battle, balanced lightly on the balls of his feet, he grinned crookedly at the trowa and flicked his head as if to say "bring it on dude." I had visions of blood, guts, and feathers on my patio as they feinted with one another.

I needn't have worried. The duo took it and his opponent in stride and in only a few seconds had the trowa on the ground, the butt end of his scythe resting firmly on the trowa's chest. It went no further than that. The duo glared down at his subordinate for a minute before stepping back and releasing him. The trowa got to his feet, beaten but not cowed.

He bowed to the duo, which inclined his head in a graceful acknowledgment, then straightened and rumbled for a moment. The duo crossed his arms over his scythe and regarded the trowa with a faintly exasperated air. He thrummed a reply and lifted his shoulders.

BabyDoll thrummed softly into my ear, but I was clueless until the trowa called to the other trowas and began rumbling commands. Suddenly the patio was filled with trowas, some carrying blades, others clutching their chibits. They all looked alarmed; some of the juveniles were obviously frightened. Other chibis began to arrive, taking their places along side their mates.

A young duo fluttered down to take the alpha trowa's hand and look sadly at the alpha duo. It didn't take a smack in the head to tell me what was happening. The trowa was seceding from the gundam and taking his trowas with him. The duo would not try to force him to stay.

I'll bet it's because of the attack, I muttered to BabyDoll and he hummed softly in agreement. But why the duo? It was the trowa's mate, I knew; they had two chibits.

The alpha duo offered his hand and the younger duo crept over to hug him tightly and be embraced in return. The duo's offspring... A wufei leaped from a tree, scooping the youngster into a fierce hug, before turning him loose and backing toward the alpha duo. Parents and child... saying goodbye...

For some reason, it made me mad. I was only a tick away from yelling at all of them, when the trowa stepped forward and extended his hand to the duo. The duo gazed at him thoughtfully for a full minute before accepting the hand, apparently offering his blessing to the upstart. Said upstart bowed over his senior's hand and backed away respectfully.

The circle broke up then and the betas' murmurs began.

Shit, I said aloud. What about the others? Do the trowas mates all have to go too? That must be what all the conversation was about.

I didn't really want to watch the gundam break up. I had a great case of heartburn over the whole thing, I realised. I went inside and turned the verts, took three Tums and two Tylenols and went to lie down. BabyDoll stayed with me. I don't think he wanted to watch his new friends choose up sides any more than I did.

~*~

We were both relieved to find most of "our" gundam still in residence, including a number of trowas. The widowed trowa was still with us, along with his protective companion. Things settled down within a couple of days.

I took advantage of a long weekend and had a baking fit. Being a chocoholic, I made brownies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip banana bread, chocolate cake... Well, you can see where my mind was.

With all that bliss food in the kitchen, you can guess what else was in the kitchen. About seventy of them. Every last one begging at the top of their little lungs.

I tried to be stern and heartless; Goddess knows I TRIED. I even thought it might work, until the alpha duo glided through the door and landed on the counter in front of BabyDoll. He made a theatrical bow, and produced from somewhere a thermal scythe. He presented the scythe to BabyDoll and then turned to me with a wicked "I-dare-you-to-say-no-now" grin.

BabyDoll was delighted. BabyDoll was ecstatic. BabyDoll was armed.

I got it. And the gundam got their share of the chocolate goodies.

While the rest of the little guys were ravaging my kitchen, the alpha and I had a talk, the gist of which was that I would hold the alpha personally responsible for any household damage BabyDoll might do with that weapon. He shrugged and thrummed a reassurance. He would personally see to BabyDoll's training and explain the rules very carefully.

I noticed that while BabyDoll was crooning over his new toy, the alpha heero and alpha wufei had moved in on him again, admiring both him and his scythe.

You miss your baby, don't you, I said quietly to the duo. He looked away silently. You know, eventually they all leave home. He sighed. He wasn't your only, was he? A tiny shake of his head. But he was your favorite? A nod. I stroked his braid with the back of my finger. He gave me a wary glance that said "here, now..." You're cute when you're butch, I smiled. He raised one eyebrow and smirked, flipping his thick burnished braid over his shoulder.

Oh, did I mention that duo chibis are the absolute worst flirts?

TBC...

 

To The Next Chapter

To The Previous Chapter

Back to PlaidDragon's Fanfictions Page

Back to Guests Fanfictions Page

Back to Main Page