32- The beastie and the beast

Sirius woke up to the sound of Lachlan crying. Groaning softly, he blinked his eyes open to find Saoirse still deep in her nap, her arms loosely draped around him. Careful not to disturb her, he shifted into a sparrow, his feathers ruffling silently as he flitted out of her embrace. Landing softly on the rug, he transformed back into his human form.

He glanced back to check on her—still resting peacefully. A small smile tugged at his lips and then he tiptoed out of the room and headed toward the bedroom.

When he entered, Lachlan was gnawing on the side of his crib, his little gums working determinedly against the soft wood. "Hey, beastie!" Sirius exclaimed, half amused, half concerned. "Don't chew on that—you'll hurt yourself!"

Lachlan turned toward him, whining softly before resuming his determined gnawing. Tiny dents already marred the crib's edge. Sirius crouched down, his brows furrowed. "You need something better to chew on, huh? What do you think, little man?"

He reached into the crib and scooped Lachlan up, settling him against his chest. The baby babbled, his tiny hands gripping Sirius's shirt as his gaze wandered curiously around the room. Sirius rummaged through the toy bin, muttering to himself, "How do humans even manage without teeth? No fangs, no claws… just gums. Poor little guy."

Holding Lachlan with one arm, he gently examined the baby's gums with a finger. They were swollen and red. Sirius sighed, his expression softening. "Oh, I see. Transforming earlier must've hurt a lot, huh? I guess now you're trying to push those human teeth in first so it doesn't happen again. You're a clever one, aren't you, beastie?"

He leaned back and considered the situation, then an idea came to his mind that he was hesitant about. "Alright, I've got something better than a crib for you to chew on. But don't tell Mommy, okay?"

Lachlan cooed as Sirius shifted his arm. His skin rippled and darkened, black scales emerging from his wrist to his elbow, gleaming faintly in the nursery's soft light. The transformation was seamless, but Sirius hesitated, his tone lowering. "There you go, but remember-I don't show my beast to anyone, you know? It's not always safe. If we don't learn to control ourselves, we can hurt the people we love."

The baby, oblivious to the weight of Sirius's words, eagerly took the scaled forearm in his mouth and gnawed on it. His eyes rolled back slightly in satisfaction, his tiny hands patting at Sirius's arm as he attempted to get a good grip. Sirius chuckled, marveling at the ease with which Lachlan accepted him. No fear, no hesitation. He was completely at ease, as if Sirius's beast was no different from his human form.

"It's like you don't even miss your old man," Sirius murmured, his voice soft and reflective. He paused, staring down at Lachlan. "I wonder how your mother died. Was it giving birth to you? I'm sorry about that. Mine did too."

He exhaled a deep sigh, his gaze distant for a moment before returning to the baby. "But I promise you, little man, we're not going to be like that. You're not going to grow up feeling scared of your father. Not with me. Not with her."

Lachlan stopped chewing for a moment and looked up, his eyes bright with a strange, knowing gleam. He made a small sound, almost as if he were responding to Sirius's promise.

Sirius blinked, then let out a soft laugh. "What? You got something to say, beastie?" He gently ruffled Lachlan's hair, his heart lighter than it had been in a long time. "Yeah, I thought so. You're going to be just fine."

(I had to admit, Lachlan was very easygoing. Dad was getting along with him quite well. Would I get along with my dad like that whenever I made my presence known? For the first time I wondered if they would even want a creature as deadly as me, who's mere presence killed thousands of people that the Norns had assigned to me.

(Nevermind the ones I'd killed on accident.

(This point in my story was crucial to how I viewed my parents and my brother. Of course, I didn't know that at the time. All I knew was, I was jealous. I glared at my brother through the cage bars of the crib with my bunny face and said the most hurtful thing on my mind.

("I bet he wouldn't love you like this if he knew about your creepy shadow. Don't think I didn't see that earlier. Once they know about that, they'll just give you back to Linus."

Lachlan stopped slobbering on Sirius' arm for a minute and got quiet.

"What are you looking at?" Sirius asked him, turning to look the direction Lachlan was gazing.

(He didn't cry or anything as he looked at me, seeming to attempt figuring out what I was saying. I know I shouldn't have said it, but I was jealous. "Nevermind, I said, patting him on the head. We're in the same boat, I'm sure dad loves you just fine.")

After a while, Lachlan, who seemed to be staring at something, smiled and blew a couple spit bubbles as if giving a response to some unheard conversation. Then he went back to gnawing.

(He had smiled at me. In a way, I felt like he was telling me something kind and it made me wonder if this baby actually hated me afterall.)

Saoirse knocked on the door, interrupting Sirius' curiosity about whatever Lachlan had been looking at and Sirius retracted his scales, much to Lachlan's disappointment.

"Hey, I'm feeling hungry, do you two want to go for some dinner?" She asked.

Sirius jumped up and accepted the idea. "Sure!"

The family went to the cafeteria, it wasn't exactly the most ideal idea of a date, but they couldn't go outside and visit a restaurant because the sun would be coming up soon and with the snow on the ground, reflecting all the sunlight, the whole compound had become a death trap for anyone who couldn't be out in the sun.

The humans in the family, those descended from the human women that Linus had married over the years, they would probably get their turn to enjoy the snow once they woke up.

Saoirse grabbed a tray and helped herself to some deer meat and potatoes, then she scooped a rather generous helping of steamed peas and carrots. Her stomach grumbled a bit as she looked at her plate. After a few minutes of thinking, she grabbed two more deer steaks.

Sirius looked at her with surprise. "Saoirse, you're really gonna eat all that?"

"What! Mind your own business, I'm hungry!" She defended herself angrily at his accusation of gluttony, "besides," she added, "I'm going to share with Lachlan. He's getting old enough to have some mashed food so quit judging me!"

Sirius held up his hands in surrender, "Hey I'm not calling you a pig, I'm just surprised, I mean, you usually don't eat as much as other werewolves since you're a little skinny, that's all."

She punched his arm at this and took her tray and Lachlan, storming off to find a table. Sirius, shaking his head amused, got a tray and proceeded to pay for the meal before following after her.