(My husband, talking about our children's habit of climbing on me before falling asleep)
"The little ones climb the big ones" -- Anon Guest
Even on Havenworlds, there is one rule followed by nature. If you want to keep your young safe, keep them close. Some prefer the strategy of over-breeding so that some survive to adulthood, but that's more of a Deathworlder thing. Given this fact, it is small surprise that the young of any species seek closeness with those who are older.
Just how they do so is generally dependant on the mobility of the young concerned. Thusly, when Fl'th'pt trusted Human Zori with hir clutch, the Human reacted positively when the little tentacled darlings instinctually began to clamber towards his head.
"Aaawww... I'm their safety zone," cooed Human Zori. He petted the lead climber's head as the baby reached his chest. "Hewwo darlin'. Hewwo."
The infant was still preverbal, but was at the stage where picking up and repeating sounds had gained rewards. "Uaaahh ooo?" the child cooed. This was rewarded with more gentle pets and friendly mimicry and -most importantly- attention. This resulted in a chain of similar cries from the horde of siblings.
"Is this safe for them?" said Human Zori.
"We prefer they play in the moisture beds," said Fl'th'pt. Ze pried their young off the Human and placed them gently on the stair of waterlogged and spongy material. "They like to be close to an adult at this age. I know you only have four limbs, so please be careful if you aim to sit."
"I have kittens, I know about checking all surfaces including my own." To prove this, Human Zori twisted about and pried a baby off his rump. "Not a safe place, li'l explorer."
"Ni ah sha bafapalabafa," mocked the infant.
"Yeah, yeah, you know what you're doing," cooed Human Zori, trying to place the Sefla baby on a sponge mat it didn't want to go to. "The problem is, nobody else does."
Fl'th'pt made sure Human Zori was familiar with the clutch's schedule, and how to assist the children into the routine parts that they did not like to comply with.
"Yeah, I got tricks up my sleeve. These little tentacled boogers ain't got nothing on a tumble of kittens and a four-year-old who's gonna be a legal eagle one day."
What law-abiding avians had to do with it, Fl'th'pt was afraid to ask.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / openlens]
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