#mirabelle

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You are blind, and deaf. You can't even walk yet, only crawl. The nest you're in is so soft and wonderful, smelling vaguely of your dear mama. Mama seems to have been gone for awhile. You call out to her, mustering all the strength in your tiny voice… but mama doesn't return. Maybe if you were louder, she would appear and groom your fuzzy head again.

Something touches your little body, and you start hissing.

"Go away!" You hiss, "I'm scary!"

Wiggling away from the offensive touch, you wander into a cooler part of your nest. But then, you are scooped up into soft, gentle hands. The hands are warm, just like mama. Something brushes your head, it feels like her tongue! You wiggle a bit more, trying to nuzzle into whatever it is…but you can't move very well.

It's a reassuring feeling, being groomed like this. From the top of your head down to your tiny, tiny beans. You sense a gentle rumbling, but can't make out any sound. You're wrapped up in something soft, placed somewhere flat and firm…and picked up again. Then, you find a nipple. It smells like dear mama, but the milk is yucky. You don't like drinking it, however you don't have it in you to refuse meals.

The milk is yucky. You want the milk of your mama. Regardless, it nourishes your fragile form. You stretch your little paws out, claws catching onto the tiny threads of fabric, and gently knead it while you drink.

When will you get mama's milk again? You wish you could find her.

After you are fed, your face is wiped with a little tissue. Mama doesn't groom you, but you feel something else… a reassuring kiss on the top of your head.

You are lightly rocked, put back in your nest…you sleep for a while, then the cycle repeats.

The strange milk starts tasting okay, after awhile. It doesn't compare to mama at all, but a meal is a meal.

Soon, you are placed into another nest. It doesn't smell like yours. You hiss at all the offensive odors, warning the smells to stay away. You meow as loud as you can. But the soothing rumbles return, and a lone finger strokes underneath your chin.

\-- . --- .-- -- . --- .-- -- . --- .-- -- . --- .--

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice, Doctor Carl!" Mirabelle chirped, setting the carrier onto the examination table.

"This is the kitty Siffrin found the other day… we monitored it heavily for the first day before bringing it in to you."

The carrier's door was opened, and Mirabelle picked up the kitten, voicing it's complaints. She shushed it softly, rocking it in her arms before handing it over to the vet. The vet began examining everything.

The kitten's fur was soft and free of fleas and dirt, it's little mouth was perfectly developed, but the paws…!

"It appears this one has an extra toe!" Doctor Carl said, pointing at the front right paw. "You've got a polydactyl!"

"A polydactyl! Now what causes that…?" Mirabelle wondered.

"It's simply a birth defect, it isn't a concern at this stage of life. But if, say the kitten grows a few weeks, the extra claw gets stuck frequently in furniture…there exists surgery to remove the extra digit."

Mirabelle blanched at that, processing the words. A simple extra toe…

Some humans utilize Body Craft to give themselves extra digits, often to pick up and hold more objects. But a kitten born with an extra toe…didn't really have a use for it!

"Will the kitty experience any pain or discomfort as it grows with this?" She asked.

"There's a chance that arthritis or joint pain might develop. Otherwise, your little friend is completely healthy! It'll be able to walk around and adjust just fine with the time comes. But if there is a noticeable impact, such as chronic limping, we can see about a corrective procedure."

"In the meantime…let's try vitamin suppliments in the formula you feed it with!"

The doctor procured a bottle of suppliments, and pointed to the dosage label.

"One feeding a day, for a couple weeks! That way, the kitten's bones will be nice and strong."

The housemaiden breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled warmly at the puffball.

"We can do that!"

"Perfect! Would you like to schedule another check up for next week?"

Mirabelle nodded, putting the kitten back into the carrier.

Félix Meynet

Source: Largoamelie (2dgalleries)