After all thetrouble Cloud went through to build that nest, I was a little sad that he dismantled it. Since Jace was too small to climb all the way up to it, even in his mouse form, we decided as parents to build a new home closer to the ground.
Jace and I watched from below as Cloud tore it up with his talons, shredding the packed straw and dry grass like it was paper.
"Confetti!" Jace cried, laughing and running around beneath the falling debris. He'd learned that word from his grandpa, Nishiki. Since Jace was born in the wild, he'd never seen real human confetti before. He loved learning human words. His favorite was 'Jacuzzi'. We kept having to tell him that, no, the river was not a Jacuzzi.
Cloud laughed and flew down towards us with clumps of straw in his talons. "Yeah, that's right, confetti. Want some, Jace?"
Jace grabbed for it with his little hands. Then he ran around throwing it in the air.
"I'm glad he knows how to make his own fun," I remarked.
Cloud grinned mischievously and put his arm around me. I knew exactly what he was going to say before he even said it.
"Oh no," I said, putting my hand on his mouth before he could speak. "Don't even think about it."
Cloud's feathers deflated. "Why not?" he mumbled around my fingers.
"I'm still recovering from giving birth to Jace," I said, raising a brow and smirking as I removed my hand. "Ask me again in a few months."
Cloud thought about this and nodded. "Okay. You can count on it."
I snorted. "You just want him to have a sibling so he's not an only child."
"More like alonelychild."
"Hey, I was an only child."
"I know. And look how you turned out," Cloud teased, kissing my cheek. When I raised a pointed brow, Cloud added, "Which is, to say, amazing and smart and cute."
"Thank you."
Jace ran back and forth underfoot.
"But seriously, a sibling would suit Jace. I remember getting into so much trouble with River." Cloud grinned. "It was a blast."
"I'm sure it was. Weston and Nishiki must've had a field day with you."
Cloud scratched his head with a laugh. "Yeah, I should apologize to them for being a hassle... Hey, Jace, what're you doing over there, buddy?"
Jace sat a few yards away with his back to us. A pile of discarded straw as big as he was stood in front of him. He hummed, working diligently to shape the straw pile with his hands, too busy to respond.
It wasn't often Jace ignored us, so Cloud and I exchanged a glance before strolling over to his new arts and crafts project. Jace stuck out his tongue, concentrating hard. He didn't notice our approach.
"Jace?" I asked, kneeling down to his height. "What's this?"
He beamed and pointed to the lump of straw. "Da! Look!"
"It's wonderful, honey. Erm... what is it, exactly?"
Jace frowned before turning to Cloud instead. "Pa, look!"
"I'm looking! Awesome job, Jace," Cloud said, patting him on the head while Jace giggled proudly.
I snorted in amusement. Cloud did a good job of dodging the issue, which was that neither of us knew what the hell Jace's big accomplishment was supposed to be.
"Look!" Jace ordered. He stood up and pointed eagerly to the straw pile. "Brother!"
Me and my mate slowly looked at each other, the meaning of Jace's words dawning on us. A smugI-told-you-sogrin spread over Cloud's face.
