Chapter 35: One Year Old
One Week Later…
Beebee stared at himself in the square mirror that leaned against the wall, his eyes narrowed in concentration and his horn glowing with its signature green light. Eventide was sitting on the edge of his bed behind him, keeping a careful eye on the proceedings with a critical, albeit fascinated, look on his face.
They were in Eventide’s bedroom, which was one of only two rooms that made up the second story of the new house, aside from an empty hallway where the staircase was. The other one was a second bathroom that was connected to the bedroom, the door currently hanging partially open.
The bedroom itself was larger than Eventide’s old room, though not by a lot. His bed rested against one wall, the headboard meeting the wall with a window set just over it. His dresser was off to the right of the bed, and his end table was to the left. On the opposite end of the room was his computer desk, and to the wall to the left of that was the doorway that led to the bathroom.
Beebee gave a grunt of effort, and a few flickers of green fire appeared on various parts of his body. He let out a groan, his wings buzzing instinctively with agitation and strain. He almost had it! He threw his head back as the flames swirled around and consumed him. They crackled there for a few seconds, then vanished as quickly as they had come.
Eventide just stared at Beebee for a few moments, seemingly baffled by what he was looking at. Then, one of his hands flew up to cover his mouth, and he started laughing hysterically. Beebee spun around to pout at him indignantly. “Hey, why are you laughing?” he demanded in irritation.
His question was answered when he heard his own voice. It was no longer distorted like it was in his normal state, but it also sounded like he was trying to talk with a few large marbles shoved into one of his cheeks. His brow furrowed, and he turned back around to look at himself in the mirror.
Well… that explained that. He looked like someone had found a bunch of pieces of black border collie lying around somewhere and glued bits of it onto his chitin. One half of his head had become that of a dog, while the other was still his normal self. The two blended into each other in a very uneven manner, vaguely resembling melted plastic.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, one of his forelegs had become that of a dog but was still peppered with tell-tale holes going through them. He had ratty patches of black fur all over his body, one of his wings poked haphazardly out of his shell, and his tail wasn’t even there anymore.
Beebee peeled back his lips to look at his teeth, then cringed when he saw just how wrong he looked. He shook his head, sent a spark of magic through his horn, and there was another swirl of fire. When it faded, he had returned to normal.
With a heavy sigh, he fell to his haunches and reached a hoof up to his chest, feeling the exertion coming on. His heart rate increased severely, and his head began to pound painfully in protest to the spell. Eventide’s laughter finally died down in the background, and he came up behind Beebee to scoop him up into his arms.
“Alright, Bee, heh. I think we’re done for now,” Eventide said in a soft voice, a few last giggles working out of him before he carried Beebee over to the bed and set him down.
Beebee pouted again, giving his dad a rotten look. “You laughed at me…” he grumbled before turning his back on Eventide and sitting down with a childish huff.
“Eh… kinda?” Eventide said sheepishly with a shrug. He scratched the back of his head. Then sat down on the bedside next to Beebee. He reached out and started to lightly scratch him behind the ears, and all was quickly forgiven. While Beebee chittered, chirped, and leaned into his hand, Eventide continued. “I didn’t mean to upset you or anything. I just wasn’t expecting that to be the result after seven days of practice.”
Beebee hummed, still leaning into the pets and scratches. “It’s okay… it did look kinda funny,” he admitted in a kind of drowsy voice.
Eventide chuckled again. He went to say something more, but a sharp sound suddenly cut through the air, killing his sentence in his throat. It was the loud ringing of the doorbell, and Eventide immediately shot up to his feet on hearing it. He spun on his heels and grinned. “About time!”
Beebee turned to watch Eventide and noticed that there was a lot of excitement surrounding him all of a sudden. The man had been excited all day, but it had been contained and suppressed until now. Now it was bursting out of him uncontrollably and filled the air with a taste that Beebee could best describe as similar to a lightly salted peanut butter cup.
“Bee, stay put for a bit, eh?” Eventide called without looking as he ran for the exit to the room.
Beebee frowned at the request and walked to stand at the edge of the bed. He watched as Eventide fled from the room before he had any chance to answer, closing the door behind him.
There were several moments of silence, aside from the thumping of Eventide running down the stairs. Beebee tilted his head, then turned and made a quick buzzing hop over to the window. He propped himself up on the sill and swept his eyes back and forth across the front yard and driveway, looking for the new arrival.
After only a second of scanning the environment, he looked down towards the front door and let out a happy and elated gasp. It was Fluttershy. He could just see the top of her long pink hair from his position, and his wings began to buzz in excitement. “Aunt Fluttershy!”
Down below, Fluttershy lifted some kind of colorful paper bag as if to show it off. She then stepped into the house and disappeared from Beebee’s view. He stayed there for several seconds before spinning around and buzzing over to the bedroom door. He fell to his haunches and looked up at it expectantly, like Buddha whenever Eventide was about to walk back in.
Several minutes passed, and his smile grew when he heard the tell-tale thumping of Eventide’s shoes on the return trip up the stairs. A moment passed, and the door swung open. Eventide stepped back in and grinned down at Beebee. The excitement was even brighter around him, now. “Guess who's here?” he asked leadingly.
Beebee hopped up into the air and did an excited backflip with the help of his wings. “Aunt Fluttershy!” he all but shouted before rising higher and looking past Eventide’s shoulder. “Where is she? I wanna hug her!”
Eventide chuckled and turned, gesturing for Beebee to go on ahead. “She’s downstairs. Go say hi.”
Beebee giggled and did as he was instructed. He rocketed by Eventide’s head with enough speed that the tips of the young man’s maroon hair fluttered at his passing. Beebee could just make out the sound of Eventide following him down but didn’t pay that much attention. He hadn’t seen Fluttershy since the move, and he was not gonna miss out on seeing her!
His active mind ground to an abrupt total halt when he reached the bottom of the stairs. He faltered for a moment and perched on the base of the guardrail. From his position, the archway that led to the rest of the house was on the right, while the long kitchen counter hugged the wall to the left.
Oddly, though, the dining table had been moved from its place against the outer wall of the stairs, and now sat in the heart of the room. It was covered in a series of four boxes, each one wrapped up in colorful paper. In the center of it, there was a large cake with smooth black frosting and bright blue edges, and a heavy coating of green sprinkles. It was in the shape of a heart.
Fluttershy stood next to it, dressed in a warm looking hoodie of a lively pale green and blue jeans. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and she met Beebee’s gaze with a warm and expectant smile on her face. “Surprise!” she cheered, albeit at a moderate volume.
Beebee mouthed uselessly a few times, trying to get his thoughts together. Finally, he shook himself and managed to find his voice. “Uh… is it Christmas again?” he asked tentatively before leaning forward so he could look out the window over the sink. “It’s not snowing.”
Fluttershy shook her head and giggled. “No, it isn’t Christmas. It’s your birthday,” she corrected before looking up the stairs at Eventide as he descended.
He came to a stop next to Beebee, who now just looked confused. Eventide tilted his head, barely able to hide an eager smile. “Did I never tell you what a birthday is?” he asked quietly, and Beebee shook his head. Eventide nodded and crouched a little so his head was next to Beebee’s. He placed a hand on Beebee’s back and looked into his eyes. “Well… exactly one year ago, you hatched from your egg and came into my life. Three hundred and sixty-five days ago, I met my son for the very first time…”
“Every year, people get just a little older,” Fluttershy continued with a nod. “And we celebrate those times. They are special days for everyone, where friends and family come to give presents and spend quality time with the birthday boy or girl.”
Beebee looked up at Eventide with wide-eyed wonder. Eventide continued on. “It’s been a year since you hatched, so, as Fluttershy said, that means it’s time to celebrate. We got you some presents, and she even had one of her friends custom make that cake for you.”
“And don’t worry,” Fluttershy suddenly cut in. “As far as Pinkie knows, this cake could be for just about anyone, and I made her pinkie promise not to ask me about it.”
Eventide chuckled in amusement as he heard that. “Oh, I bet that she’s just bursting with curiosity.”
“Oh, she is. But she made a promise, and she won’t break it.”
Beebee tilted his head, clearly confused. He then looked on ahead at the boxes, again, and pointed. “So… those are all for me?” he asked, his voice timid as if he were worried it was a bad question to ask.
Fluttershy gave a nod. “Mhmm. Eventide and I both got you two presents. It’s your first birthday, after all. It’s a special day,” she said before pointing at the cake. “And we know the cake won’t feed you, but it still tastes good. I know, Pinkie made it.”
Beebee looked at it all for a moment longer, taking it in. Finally, his face lit up in an enormous grin of pure delight. He spun around and launched himself into a hug around Eventide’s neck. Before the embrace could be returned, he spun around and flew over to hug Fluttershy, who was ready. She wrapped her arms around him in return, and the two stayed like that for a few minutes before Beebee squirmed away and set himself down on the table.
He looked at each present and the cake one at a time, studying them curiously. He then turned and smiled up at the other two people in the room. “Daddy, Fluttershy, can we open the presents now?” he asked in a hopeful chitter.
Fluttershy and Eventide shared a knowing look. Eventide came forward until he was next to Fluttershy, and the two looked at Beebee with big smiles. “One thing first, Bee…”
And then, at the same time, Eventide and Fluttershy began to sing.
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Beebee,
Happy birthday to you!
Beebee’s eyes went wide, and he fell to his haunches as the two people that he saw as his parents sang to him. He vaguely recalled a few times when he was still learning how to talk when Fluttershy had quietly sung to him when Eventide was out, but those were wordless lullabies, something to make him relax and fall asleep. This… this was different. It filled him with warmth and joy.
From good friends and true,
From old friends and new,
Happy birthday dear Beebee,
Happy birthday to you!
And many more!
As they finished, they both came down and scooped Beebee into a tight group hug, one which he only numbly returned. They remained like that for several seconds, before Beebee regained his faculties and pulled back, an enormous and ecstatic beam splitting his face. “Oh, wow! You guys have never sung for me like that before!”
Eventide shrugged. “Probably for the best. I can’t sing to save my life.”
“That’s not true! I think you’re singing voice is lovely,” Fluttershy chastised him playfully before getting a thoughtful look on her face. "Although, you could do with just a teensy, eensy bit of practice…”
Eventide slowly blinked, then chuckled in amusement. “You know, I think that’s the closest thing to an insult I am ever going to hear from you.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Eventide just laughed and shook his head. “Ha, you’re fine. Anyways,” he looked down at Beebee and nodded at him to go ahead. “Pick a present, Beebee.”
Beebee nodded and turned around, surveying his options. They were in various sizes, and he found himself wishing that he could open them all at once. He briefly contemplated doing so with his magic, but in the end, decided it would be better if he did it one at a time. Eventually, his gaze settled on one, and he put his hoof on it. “This one!” he decreed before tearing into the paper and beholding his first gift of the day.
Beebee was more than thrilled with his assortment of gifts. There was a collection of frisbees that was sort of a joint present for him and Buddha both so that Eventide could play with both of them in the yard. The second gift had been a box filled with a series of kids novels about a mouse named Poppy and her many adventures in a wild forest. It came with drawings and had been from Fluttershy.
The third present had been a box of puzzles and toys with moving pieces, including something called a Rubik’s Cube. Eventide had reasoned that Beebee could play with them using his magic to get better at it while also working out his brain. Beebee spent maybe ten minutes on the Rubik’s Cube, then got frustrated and moved on.
The fourth and final gift was a dark blue scarf and a lighter blue dog sweater about the right size for Beebee. His old coat had rapidly gotten too small for him, and so this was to be its replacement. Fluttershy had him put it on, and with a bit of help, managed to cut a couple of holes in it for his wings before stitching the tears to prevent them from growing.
Once all of the presents had been opened, they each ate a slice of cake and then stepped outside with Buddha to try out the new frisbees. They spent almost two hours on this, and they relished every moment of it. Beebee savored the time outside, something he had only gotten to do a little bit since they first showed up. He made sure to land and rest every so often and rest his wings so they could keep playing long into the day.
Finally, as the sun was setting, Beebee ran out of stamina. He came in for a landing, and his legs gave out under him. He collapsed into the grass, panting, but with a large smile on his face. He even managed to let out a few breathless laughs. The little guy was all worn out, and he would not be doing anymore active playing today.
But instead of taking him inside, Eventide and Fluttershy chose to lay down on the grass with him and look up at the sky. The setting sun painted the heavens in many brilliant shades of orange and yellow and the few wispy clouds that floated by turned a vivid and jaw-dropping pink. With time, what few clouds were in the sky faded away, and the stars came out. It was beautiful, and Beebee’s eyes went wide.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of just staring up at the heavens, Beebee spoke in a soft, mesmerized whisper. “I’ve never seen the stars like this before…”
Fluttershy and Eventide glanced at him, curious. He shifted slightly and lifted a hoof to point. “It’s really pretty. So much prettier than on TV. There’s so many…”
Eventide looked up at the sky as well, his smile growing. “Yeah, it is… it’s even prettier than it was back in town,” he mumbled, seeing that this far from town, he could see so many more stars than he was used to. It blew him away, making him feel small. “It’s beautiful…”
The family was quiet for a good long while before Eventide reached out and took Beebee’s hoof in his hand. The bug looked over at him curiously, and Eventide just smiled back. “Happy birthday, Beebee,” he whispered while giving the hoove a gentle squeeze.
Beebee smiled and nodded slowly. “Thanks, daddy…”
At some point, Beebee fell asleep on the grass. He slept through Fluttershy leaving to go back to her own home and was still sound asleep as Eventide quietly carried him down the stairs and into the basement. Once he reached the bottom of the steps, Eventide flicked a switch, and a single overhead light sprang into life, illuminating the room to him.
It was empty and boring for the most part, save for a few boxes of leftover items from moving day that had yet to be given a proper place. To the left of the stairs was a bland gray wall with an unassuming wooden door. Eventide slowly walked over and opened said door, careful not to disturb the sleeping creature in his arms.
Beyond the door was Beebee’s bedroom. The layout had been carefully arranged to be as close to his old room as possible, with his bed pressed up into the far right corner, his end table and lamp next to it, and all of his toy boxes on the left side of the room. The walls and floor were still drab and boring, but they had plans to liven things up in the near future.
But for now, Eventide’s focus was on the bed. Gingerly, he set Beebee down beneath the covers and tucked him in. Beebee murmured something in his sleep and snuggled into his blankets, but did not wake. Eventide stood and backed away to the open door of the room and just watched his son sleeping for a few minutes.
“Goodnight, Beebee. I love you… happy birthday.”
And with that, he closed the door, leaving Beebee to his peaceful sleep.
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Eh, BeeBee is probably too young for Redwall anyway.
Happy Birthday, BeeBee!
Making progress!
Playing games can encourage natural stamina increase. Making them fun encourages repeat sessions!
Keep going! ;)
Happy buggy birthhatchday BeeBee
Fluttershy?
Fluttershy!
While I don't know about Eventide, Fluttershy has a voice fit for a choir of angels.
I can confirm this. The night sky of cities can't be called even a mockery of what it's supposed to look like. Countless stars everywhere, lighting up the sky...
I'd write a poem if I could.
P.S. Happy Birthday Beebee!
Happy birthday, Beebee. Too bad he's not old enough for a Pipboy... or a BB Gun for that matter.
I didn't know Poppy was a series of books and now I'm mildly interested darn you
I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING
a vary Happy Birthday, BeeBee!
a grate chapter.
I suspect Fluttershy will be tickled pink if she finds out her presence makes Eventide 'taste' like chocolate.
9442976
Salted Peanut Butter cups is just the taste of Excitement as an emotion in general. And he was excited because it was his little boy's first birthday. Fluttershy was a big part, but she wasn't the only reason.
All that said, she would probably be tickled to some shade if she were to hear that.
Dawww, all of the happy birthdays to the changeling! I still wonder if he'll get a more meaningful name later on, but Beebee might stick too.
9443067
More meaningful name? What does that even mean? XD His name is and shall remain Beebee.
9443069
I just figured he might get a name more than just 'basement bug' in initials, but that answers that!
She followed you, instead, didn't she?
>15 years later from the local paper
pbs.twimg.com/media/C2ONZEtUoAEnZPB.jpg
Pictured: A group of changeling in disguise. They will often travel in a pack with other hikers to gain love and affection while also keeping them safe on the trail.
I can't tell whether this is adorable or terrifying.
I would say the only thing missing is holes, but then there'd be less cake.
Fluttershy, Bee is cute enough for all of you, stop it.
"I think you’re singing voice" should be " I think your singing voice"
"illuminating the room to him" sounds a bit weird. Did you forget a word?
This was a good chapter . I read all the poppy books as a kid. Did my group project on it. For some reason I was in charge of art...some of the best art I ever did.
Highly recommend the series.
Also Pinkie is the only one I would trust to make black icing. It often has a chemical taste because it takes so much food coloring to make it....if you don't use the specially formulated kind.
Happy birthday Beebee!
Sounds similar to the Redwall books I read when I was a kid.