Private Six to Ten

[Corazona von Ascania]

Niv Hani – Noble Home
Valery Noble​

"I don't know how something like this could've happened!"

Sat at the Noble's kitchen table, Cora rested her chin in the palm of her hand, elbow pressed to the surface. She scowled down at Lula, who was more than content with her spot on the floor and a bowl full of food.

The racyon had almost doubled in size in the past month, though it could be hard to tell given that she'd never quite been loose skin and fur. Shock at the recent revelation still hadn't quite worked its way from Cora's system. A quick holo-consult with Sylvania, a Ukatian racyon breeder, confirmed that Lula was indeed healthy, and carrying anywhere from six to ten kits.

Six to ten. Ashla help me.

Cora let out a frustrated sigh and wrapped both hands around her cup of tea.

"What am I going to do with them once they're here? It won't be long now. I've no idea how to be a…"

Mother? No, that wasn't right. Aunt? Caretaker? Racyon peddler?

"...a nanny."

Cora wrinkled her nose and took a sip of her tea. She'd come here to decompress – to complain, really – and to maybe get some more maternal advice from Valery.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

"I don't know how something like this could've happened!"

Valery had her ideas, considering how easy she was on Lula and how much freedom the Racyon had to do whatever she desired. But she knew better than to voice that to a complaining Cora. Like Valery, she was quite feisty, especially when frustrated or annoyed by something. No, Valery just hummed that same Keshian melody she always hummed when cooking or handling chores around the house.

When Cora expressed concern about what to do with the little kits, Valery looked over her shoulder, "Well, the most important thing is that they're safe and healthy, hm? I don't know if and when Racyon kits can be separated from each other, but if you can't handle the whole pack, maybe look for good people to help?" Valery flipped a pancake and put it on a plate with several others, before sliding it over to Cora.

They weren't as good as the pancakes Kahlil Noble made, but she was happy with them. The smell of pancakes traveled through the house, summoning Nobles like sharks drawn to bleeding prey in the ocean.

"...pancakes!" Vera slid down the hallway on her socks with quite a grin, but one that faded when she spotted Cora and Lula. Where she'd normally be excited to see her, Vera's cheeks turned a bit red and her skin looked a tad pale.

Valery raised an eyebrow.

"Oh uh, hey Cora."

Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora huffed out a dramatic sigh. Valery Noble was right.

"You are right." She admitted. "Sylvania estimates that we've another few weeks to go, so there's still time to get things sorted. I'll have to ask her how long until they can be separated from Lula."

Her eyes fell back to the racyon, who either didn't recognize that she was the subject of their conversation, or didn't care. Annoyed as she was, Cora felt a little pang of heartbreak at the notion of separating the kits from their mother.

"You're going to have a lot more responsibility soon, you know." She informed Lula. "It won't just be all about you anymore. You got yourself into this, and now you'll have to see things through."

Lula sneezed. Cora rolled her eyes, though her expression did brighten when the pancakes were slid her way.

Vera appeared on cue, but she seemed...off? Her smile faded, and her face seemed flushed.

"Hello, Vera." Cora smiled at the teenager and motioned for her to join them. She said nothing about her strange expression for now. "How's your training going?"

Meanwhile, Lula waddled up to Vera and sniffed at her leg.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

"A few weeks should be enough time to get things sorted out. Even after they're born, they can't immediately be separated either." Valery turned to Cora after presenting the pancakes and chuckled at her interaction with Lula. Just like Fuzzy listening and communicating with Vera, it seemed as if Lula understood what Cora was trying to tell her.

She just didn't care much.

Her moment with the pregnant Racyon was interrupted when Vera appeared. She came for pancakes, but seeing Cora changed her behavior noticeably. Valery hummed in thought but said nothing, as she prepared the next plate of pancakes — more Nobles were already on their way.

"Training is going okay," Vera said before looking down at the Racyon sniffing her leg. "How is... Lula doing?" Vera blinked and quickly took a seat. Maybe if she started eating, she wouldn't have to talk.

"Mommy!" Aeryn came running in not a second later and hopped up and down near Valery's legs, "Aeryn Jade Noble, remember what I said about running in the kitchen?"

Aeryn pouted and stopped hopping, "Sorry..." She gave her Mom the puppy eyes but soon noticed the Racyon and giggled, "Mommy! Fuzzy got big!" She slid over, crawled onto her hands and knees, and reached for Lula to pet her.

Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

The fact that Vera didn't reach down and pet Lula struck Cora as odd. Vera always seemed to have a way with racyons.

She didn't call attention to her observation, choosing instead to carry on the conversation.

"I'm glad to hear that training is going well, Vera." Cora took another sip of her tea, smiling as Aeryn burst into the kitchen only to be admonished by her mother for running.

Lula shifted her attention from Vera to the smaller Noble, giving her hand a long sniff before allowing herself to be pet.

"That's Lula, Aeryn. She looks similar to Fuzzy, but she's a girl and she lives with me. She's rather large because she's…"

Cora glanced to Vera, who'd asked about the racyon before her whirlwind of a sister entered the room.

"Because she's having babies, Aeryn! Isn't that exciting?"

Cora didn't seem excited, her happy expression twitching as she tried to suppress her discomfort. But hey, maybe if she could pretend to be excited, it would erase the drama she'd attached to the situation.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Babies?

Aeryn looked up with wide eyes of pure wonder and giggled, "Little Fuzzies!" she exclaimed happily before she turned back to pet Lula some more. Vera, however, gulped when her sister referred to the baby Racyons as little Fuzzies. She knew what had happened, so what should have been a cute comment, only further frightened her.

Why did she let him go after the girls again?

"When the little kits are born, we'd love to visit. I'm sure the kids would love to see them." Valery looked at just how excited Aeryn was, and Aurra loved animals even more than she did. Vera usually loved them too, but she seemed to be a little off. She wasn't even eating her pancakes anymore.

Motherly eyes narrowed at her oldest for just a moment, then slid back to Cora, "If you need any help, you're always welcome to give us a call, alright? Vera is quite an expert at handling Racyons now. Right, sweetie?" She looked at her daughter with a smirk, hoping it'd pull her out of her own mind.

"...yeah, I can handle them," Vera said with her eyes focused down on her plate. "Mom? Can I skip lunch and go back to studying? I'm not hungry."

Valery blinked — this was highly unusual.

Or maybe her pancakes weren't good enough? Valery pouted just a little at that thought.

"Of course. Let me know if you get hungry later."

Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora gave Vera a cursory glance from the corners of her eyes, noting her expression when Aeryn cheerfully announced that there would be Little Fuzzies.

The exchange between Valery Noble and her eldes daughter only further highlighted just how odd her behavior was.

Cora's smile eased into something more genuine.

"Once they're old enough to be handled, I think it would be a good idea for the kids to visit."

If she was lucky, those kids might be able to help her offload the kits into good homes. This good home, particularly. And Vera did seem to have a way with them, so why-

Valery met Cora's eyes, and the two shared a silent look. She watched as Vera departed, a frown of concern softening her face.

"Is everything alright?" She asked Valery carefully once Vera was out of earshot. It had not been lost on her how Vera's energy seemed to instantly wither once she caught sight of her.

"Maybe I can take her something to eat?"

Cora hoped that she'd hadn't done anything to unintentionally upset Vera, but teenagers could be tricky. Perhaps if they were to speak in privacy, Vera might open up.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

"Yay!" Aeryn cheered when Cora mentioned them being allowed to visit. She'd absolutely love to see the little Fuzzies, and she couldn't wait to tell Aurra! Or Adam! In fact, she had to tell them now, so she ran off without warning and began looking for her siblings. Valery just sighed and decided to give up on the lesson of not running in the kitchen.

She'd get it, one day.

"Is everything alright?"

Cora's voice drew Valery's mind back to her, "She seemed alright earlier today, but something's definitely off about her. She's always excited to see you, but she seemed... nervous." Vera showed similar behavior whenever she had tests or exams at the Temple. Something that she felt anxious about.

"She won't talk to me, though. She's in that phase." She did talk more openly to her father, which annoyed Valery at times, but she figured it was just a teenage phase.

She'd learn to appreciate her Mom's protectiveness one day.

"So, please, if you don't mind?" Valery smiled and returned to start handling dishes. Vera had already retreated back to her room, where she flopped down on her bed and watched Fuzzy sleeping on his little bed.

Why did he have to put her in this situation?

Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

That phase.

Cora nodded to Valery Noble with a knowing look. Her own teenaged years hadn't been that long ago, after all.

"I don't mind at all."

With a smile, Cora rose and collected a plate for Vera, along with a bottle of syrup and some cutlery because eating pancakes with your hands was for gremlins.

It didn't take long to ascend the staircase. Hovering at the threshold of Vera's room, Cora knocked on the open door.

"Hey, Vera." Cora smiled at the sight of both the Padawan and the racyon laid out on their respective beds.

"Mind if I join you?"

She held the plate of pancakes forward in offering.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Still on her back and with her arms spread to each side, Vera turned her head slowly to the door. She smiled at Cora, and nodded to show that it was okay for her to join, "Hey," she said, as she sat up and shifted closer to the edge of the bed. It was then that Cora offered her a plate of pancakes, and while Vera appreciated it, she did perk a brow at the cutlery.

And promptly put it aside on the bed.

"How have you been doing? I heard you talking to Mom and it sounds like the baby Racyons will be hard to handle." Vera felt bad for that, knowing she had encouraged Fuzzy to go after the girls.

Speaking of which, the fresh smell of pancakes made the Racyon sniff from his place on his bed. He rolled over, scratched his behind, then waddled over to the bed to sit next to Vera. He knew better than to try and snatch one of her pancakes, but he sat and waited.

He was expecting to at least get one of them.

Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Permission granted, Cora paced into Vera's room and handed over her offering. She suppressed an amused snort as the cutlery was promptly discarded, and raised a brow.

Seating herself on the edge of the bed, she smiled, a bit pained, at the topic of the anticipated arrivals.

"I've been well, thank you. Going back and forth between Ukatis and Coruscant."

Fuzzy stirred, and she reached over to scratch him behind the ear.

"Yes, Lula has gone and gotten herself…er, that is to say, she's with child. Children."

An awkward sort of grimace accompanied the delivery of that information.

"We've a few weeks to prepare for the arrival of the kits. I'm not sure when it happened, but given how far along she is, I'd say that she got up to something during the festival."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Vera swallowed hard.

In truth, she had left the kitchen not because she was afraid that Cora would find out. There wasn't really a way for her to discover the secret. No, she had left because she didn't like lying to someone she cared about so much. Cora had always been there for her, and now she was repaying that kindness by keeping information from her.

She couldn't take it anymore.

"It was Fuzzy."

The Racyon's head slowly turned away from Cora to look at Vera instead. Almost as if he understood exactly what Vera was about to reveal. Vera noticed it but just squinted at him in response.

"I encouraged him to go flirting with Racyons he liked. I didn't know it'd be Lula or that he'd... you know. But it's all my fault and I'm so sorry, Cora," Vera rambled. "I really didn't mean for this to happen, but then it did, and I was worried you'd be angry with me and that we wouldn't be friends anymore, and-" She lost her breath, paused, and forced herself to breathe again.

"...I'm sorry."

Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"It was Fuzzy."

"It was Fuzzy?"

Cora's brow furrowed, face scrunching in a look of deep confusion – especially as the girl and the racyon seemed to engaged in a brief stare-down.

The story came spilling forth, and though she couldn't wrap her head around the revelation right away, Vera's apology and concern that she wouldn't want to be friends anymore had Cora's face softening.

"Oh, Vera," she placed an arm over her shoulder and gave the Padawan a squeeze, "I'm not mad. I'm just...surprised. But I'm not mad."

Perhaps a little of this was her own fault. While annoyed with the situation, Vera overheard her venting to Valery – and perhaps interpreted this as Cora being truly upset. As for Fuzzy and Lula...it was only natural, wasn't it?

She'd be speaking with the veterinarian who'd insisted that Lula had been sterilized, though.

"I think that I may have...been a bit too dramatic about this, Vera. I'm sorry – I don't want you to ever think that we'll stop being friends over a little mistake. And to be clear, you didn't make a mistake. You were only trying to help a friend."

With her arm still across Vera's shoulder, she rubbed her hand against Vera's upper arm. Then, she paused.

"Wait, how do you know that it was Fuzzy?"

Vera Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

In the span of a few seconds — and a soothing arm wrapped around her shoulders — all of Vera's worries washed away. She should have known that talking about it would make things better. Cora had a special bond to the Noble family, and even if mistakes were made, she'd always be there. And this wasn't even a mistake — just an unexpected situation with some consequences that weren't too easy to handle.

But they'd figure things out.

"Wait, how do you know that it was Fuzzy?"

Vera blinked and smiled sheepishly, "I saw a vision of the kits scratching their butts, so I knew it had to be Fuzzy. Then I saw one of Fuzzy and Lula that confirmed it." She sighed and looked down at her little buddy. Even though she was a little disappointed, she couldn't ever be mad at him.

He was just too cute.

"How do we tell Mom?"

Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Some of the tension ebbed from Vera, and Cora found herself tucking a lock of brunette hair behind her ear. Ashla, hadn't she been so small first time they'd met? Now they were the same height, just about. And she was a teenager, to boot.

"Then I saw one of Fuzzy and Lula that confirmed it."

Cora's face blanched, an expression of mild horror pulling at her features. Oh, the poor thing. To have seen something like that and to keep it to herself out of fear. Color swelled to her cheeks and she coughed awkwardly while rearranging her thoughts.

"I suppose honesty would be best. I don't think that your mother will be upset – probably surprised, just like I was. If you want, I can do the talking."

She gave Vera a smile, glad that they were starting to parse things out.

"And, well, we should probably discuss ensuring that both Fuzzy and Lula are properly...seen to so that this does not happen again."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

"Oh my gosh, I didn't see that," Vera assured Cora very quickly when she saw the horror in her eyes. The vision had been mild and nothing too much on its own, but it revealed enough for Vera to know. Still, she hadn't told her Mom yet and she was a little nervous to bring it up. Cora's offer to do it for her was greatly appreciated.

"Really? You can talk to her about it?" Vera looked at Cora with pleading eyes. "Mom isn't the most difficult, but I just..." She sighed and rubbed the side of her arm.

"I don't want to disappoint her."

With that, Vera looked at Cora and offered a faint smile in return, "Yeah, no more little Fuzzies." She chuckled and turned to look at the Racyon by their side. He didn't seem bothered at all and idly scratched himself. Vera knew that he understood more than was showing right now, but at least he wasn't worried or scared.

She wasn't going to punish him for it.

"Let's go talk to Mom, then?"

Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora let out a heavy exhale of relief. Thank Ashla that Vera hadn't been subjected to that.

"Yes," she brushed a few stray strands from Vera's face, "I can be the one to talk to her about it."

How could she not, with those adorable pleading eyes?

"You won't disappoint her." Cora's words were firm with assurance. "Your mother has had a lot thrown at her in life. I doubt that Fuzzy being a father would be able to really rattle her."

Surprise her, maybe.

"Why don't you bring Fuzzy with us?" Unwrapping her hand from Vera's shoulder, Cora rose from the bed and eyed the lazy racyon. "Maybe he'd like to see Lula, or vice versa."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

"You're the best," Vera said, clearly relieved that Cora had her back. More importantly, Cora wasn't upset or angry and she even assured her that Mom wouldn't be. Not that she was the type to get angry easily, but whenever Mom did get angry... she was pretty scary. Just like Dad when anything remotely threatened the family.

Today, though? Everything would be alright.

"Why don't you bring Fuzzy with us?"

Vera blinked and stared at Fuzzy, "As long as he behaves..." she said, her voice trailing off as Fuzzy reached down to scratch his behind again. He'd behave but on his own terms.

"...let's just go, before I change my mind."

Back in the kitchen, Valery had already cleaned up and she was carrying around little Eryx in her arms. He had woken from his nap, so now he wanted his mother's attention and likely needed to be fed.

Corazona von Ascania ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora withheld a snicker at the little exchange between Vera and Fuzzy. Her eyes still glimmered with good humor at the observation of their bond.

The trio made their way downstairs in time to see Valery with the baby. Lula plodded up to Cora and pawed at her pant leg, to which the blonde bent down and gathered an armful of racyon.

Now they were all holding someone - Valery with Eryx, Vera with Fuzzy, and Cora with Lula.

"See him-?" Cora spoke to Lula as she pointed to Eryx. "You're going to have a bunch of babies, soon. And you're going to have to take care of them."

She glanced over to Vera and Fuzzy, then back to Valery.

"Speaking of, Vera and I put our timelines together and managed to suss out who the father is…"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

"Really?" Valery looked from Lula to Fuzzy and narrowed her eyes. She should have known it was Fuzzy when Vera had seemed so troubled when Cora and Lula visited. But at least they knew now, and it didn't change much. Lula was going to have her kits, and they'd have to be taken care of. The only thing it changed was a sense of responsibility for the Nobles.

The little Racyons weren't just Cora's problem anymore.

"I'm sorry it happened, Cora. Do you think we can help you out with the kits? It's only fair that we share half the burden." Valery smiled at her former student, then turned to look at Vera with a question on her mind.

A question Vera knew was coming, and she was worried about it.

"Why didn't you tell me, Vera?"

Corazona von Ascania ​