Chương 29: Baby’s First Steps

Later that afternoon, Tessa found him beside the crib rail.

"You are doing the standing thing again." Ren lowered himself onto the mattress before his legs began to shake. Tessa pushed the horse between the bars.

"Horse?" Ren slapped once. She placed it near him. Ren caught the toy, pulled it closer, then shoved it back across the blanket. The horse tipped over before reaching her. Tessa picked it up.

"You gave it back." Ren slapped once.

"Again?" He answered with another slap. They passed the horse between them until Tessa stopped treating every answer as an accident. She began waiting after each question, watching Ren before returning the toy. Ren pointed at her.

"Te-sa," he said. The name came out soft and uneven, with the last sound blurred by a tongue that still refused to behave properly. Tessa froze. Ren held her gaze.

"You learned my name?" He slapped once. Her whole face brightened.

"Yes!" Then the excitement stopped halfway through, and Tessa stared at him.

"Wait." Ren already knew what was coming.

"You can talk!?" Her voice rose sharply enough that Ren glanced toward the doorway. Tessa followed his look and immediately lowered herself beside the crib.

"You talked," she whispered.

"You said Tessa."

"Te," Ren tried to repeat, but his mouth offered only betrayal. Still, what came out was clear enough. Tessa covered her mouth with both hands.

"You really can talk!" Nowhere near half as well as he hoped to speak, and not half as clearly as half the words in his head deserved, but considerably better than any baby had any right to manage. But it was still more than last time. Ren pointed toward her, then downstairs. Tessa watched the gesture.

"You want me to go to Mama?" Ren shook his head.

"As-k," he managed. The word came apart around the middle, but Tessa understood enough for her eyes to widen again.

"You want me to ask Mama something?" Ren slapped once.

"What?" He pointed toward the window, then farther beyond it. Tessa followed his hand.

"The village?" Ren slapped once. Then he spread both hands and made his face tighten with the closest thing he could manage to worry.

"Bad," he said. Tessa stopped smiling.

"Something bad happens?" Ren slapped once. He pointed toward the village, then outside again.

"Hel-p." The word came out breathy, but whole enough. Tessa looked toward the stairs.

"You want to know who gets help?" Ren slapped hard enough to sting his palm. If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Her eyes brightened.

"I got it!" She lifted the wooden horse and made it gallop along the crib rail.

"You want me to ask Mama who goes for help when something bad happens." Ren slapped once.

"I can ask that." She started toward the door.

"One," Ren said. Tessa stopped and looked back.

"One question?" He slapped once. She considered that, then nodded.

"Fine. One help question." She pointed the horse at him.

"But then you have to say my name again." Ren slapped once. Tessa grinned and turned toward the stairs. Before leaving, she glanced back at the empty space above the crib.

"You did the weird face before. System face!" Ren became still, and Tessa grinned.

"I knew it!" She leaned closer.

"Mama says babies do not get proper System things yet." Ren looked toward the doorway.

"Nuh uh," Tessa whispered.

"You do not hide by changing the subject!" She pointed above the crib.

"What did it say?" Ren opened his mouth… then decided against trying. He pointed downstairs instead.

"The help question first?" Tessa asked. Ren slapped once. She narrowed her eyes.

"You are hiding the System thing." Ren stayed still. Tessa considered him for another moment, then hugged the wooden horse against her chest.

"Fine. I will ask Mama." She pointed at him.

"But after that, you tell me things!" Ren had no words for that yet. He let her keep the promise anyway.

During the two following days, the fever weakened quickly enough for Ren to keep training whenever the adults were occupied elsewhere. He crawled across the crib, pulled himself upright beside the rail, and moved sideways until the motions stopped demanding his full attention. Whenever an exercise became too easy, Tessa changed it. Sometimes she moved the wooden horse between corners. Sometimes she folded the blanket into ridges that forced Ren to lift his knees higher. Once, she cooed at him as motivation.

Ren considered that insulting until he noticed how much faster he moved. The changes arrived slowly as always. His hands began finding useful holds without searching. His feet landed more often where he intended, and small losses of balance stopped becoming immediate falls. The grind was slow, but unmistakable. And eventually, the System answered. [Skill Level Increased: Athletics Lv. 11 -> Lv. 12] Ren caught the rail and pulled himself upright again. His feet settled beneath him with less effort.

When his weight shifted too far to one side, his hips corrected before the mistake reached his shoulders. Moving along the rail no longer required him to plan every hand placement and step separately. Athletics had not made his body older or removed its limits, but it had made the movements he had already practiced easier to use. Between the training, Tessa would bring him back the answers.

"Mama says the large road goes to other villages." Ren listened closely. That answer helped, but it did not tell him how far away help might be, who could send for it, or how quickly anyone could arrive. He looked at Tessa and tapped one finger against the mattress.

"Mo," he said. Tessa leaned closer.

"More?" Ren slapped once.

"One more question?" He slapped again. Ren kept each question small enough to fit inside the few sounds he could manage. His speech helped, but only when Tessa already understood enough to meet him halfway. After learning that urgent messages usually left by horse, he pointed toward the window.

"Ri-de?" Tessa brought the answer later.

"Papa says people take messages, but Hadrik decides when village trouble is bad enough." Ren thought about that before choosing what to ask next.

"Ro-do. Who?"

"Tovin," Tessa said after supper.

"Papa says Tovin knows the roads outside better than most people." Each answer gave Ren a better place to start the next question. He still had not mentioned goblins. That gave him time to understand how warning might leave the village before he asked anyone to fear what was coming. Ren knew that fear would see them both shut inside. And he very much didn't want that to happen yet. On the second day, Tessa found Ren standing beside the crib rail.

He had spent the morning moving along it one careful step at a time, lowering himself whenever his legs began to shake, then pulling himself upright again after the strain eased. Now he stood near the end of the rail and looked across the narrow stretch of blanket beyond it. The distance looked tiny, but losing the rail turned those few steps into open ground. Ren shifted both feet beneath him until they sat flat against the mattress, then loosened one hand.

His balance moved with it, and he tightened his grip again before the wobble became a fall. Tessa climbed onto the bed behind him.

"What are you doing?" Ren looked toward the open space, and she followed his gaze.

"You want to walk?" He slapped the rail once.

"But there is nothing to hold." Ren knew that. It was the entire reason he had chosen the gap. He released one hand again and waited until his weight settled over both wobbly baby feet before letting go with the other. His arms lifted while his body searched for balance, and several small shifts moved through his hips before all of his stats and Athletics helped him settle. Tessa watched without speaking. Ren lifted his right foot.

The movement pulled his body forward, but his foot landed where he intended, and he remained upright. Then he lifted his other foot. The second step came less cleanly because his heel touched the blanket at an angle. His arms moved sharply while his hips shifted sideways, but he recovered before falling. Tessa moved closer.

"Careful." Ren shook his head because he wanted one more step before accepting help. He lifted his right foot again. The movement remained tiny, but the choice belonged entirely to him. His foot touched the blanket, and then his balance finally failed. Tessa caught him beneath both arms before he could hit the mattress. Ren fell against her chest while breathing heavily, and neither of them moved for several seconds. Then Tessa laughed with delight.

"You walked completely by yourself." Ren looked toward the space behind them. Three steps separated him from the crib. Nobody had carried him, and nobody else had helped him get here. The distance appeared meaningless by adult standards, but Ren understood its importance completely. One small step for a baby. One giant leap toward saving everyone.