The elfish eared toddler took a long moment of simply staring down at the smaller version of her father, features neutral for so long Katelynn worried she had turned to stone. Silly yes but as a woman who had gone through pregnancy recently she was overly emotional and protective of her flock.
“Blue like dadda..” Gail whispered after a time and then poked his forehead.
Hard.
“NO!”
It fully woke up the little one who began whimpering his displeasure and waving his fists around. His lips were quivering before he let out soft cries from being disturbed from his rest.
“Gail!” Katelynn scolded, putting the carrier down gently and taking Ulric out, rocking him in her arms in hopes of soothing him. “Mommy has you Ulric..mommy has you..shhh..”
“Why blue but not me?!” Gail shrieked, hiding her face against her father’s shoulder and holding onto him tightly.
“Gail, no!” It was the first time Jack had ever raised his voice at his daughter. He straightened up sharply, hauling her away from the crying baby. “Why did you do that?! You have to be gentle with -“
And then he heard her question. His anger immediately faded, leaving him lost and unsure how to explain. He knew Gail wanted to have blue skin, despite how much he’d tried to tell her her own skin was pretty, but he’d never imagined she would be jealous of her blue brother. He had no idea what to say to that.
“Honey, that happens in all families,” Bonnie said, laying a hand on her granddaughter’s back. “Some children look more like their mommy, and some look more like their daddy. It’s just the way nature is.”
Despite being scolded by the person she admired most she still clung desperately to her father though her body was quivering with trying to hold back tears of her own. Being the first time she had heard her father speak to her in such a way she was slightly afraid and yet also angry, blaming the new baby for her misfortune.
“Nature is stoopid!” she whimpered, sniffling back tears and nuzzling her face further along his shoulder. “Dadda take baby back…”
Katelynn watched the scene with a slightly broken heart as she managed to sooth the little one down who had decided his fist was delicious. She opened her mouth to suggest her husband to talk to Gail but closed it and wanted to wait and see what they would do.
Jack gave a deep sigh. He could see how saddened Katelynn was, and he wanted desperately to go comfort and help her, but he had to deal with this first. “Sweetie, we’re n-not taking the baby back. He’s part of our family now. Nothing’s going to change that.” He stroked her silky brown hair. “You’re just g-going to have to get used to him."
Bonnie watched the two of them with a sinking feeling. Like her son, she wasn’t used to handling sibling disputes. For the sake of trying to do something, she turned to Katelynn. "You want me to help you get this little guy set up?"
Jack Maple 