75 - Hungry Baby
Nexha watched as Jasper returned to his attempts at learning how to swim, but then he heard a small, raspy noise—Jasper furrowing his tiny brows.
— Uh-oh... he muttered.
A second later, the crying began.
Or rather, a hoarse and dramatic wail, as if the little one was suffering the greatest injustice of his life.
— WHAT NOW?! — Nexha panicked. — You just hatched! What could possibly be wrong already?!
Jasper didn’t answer—because, of course, babies don’t talk. But his bright green eyes locked onto Nexha, eyes that clearly said he would take a bite out of him if given the chance.
— Ah… so it’s hunger? Well, that I can fix easily.
Without thinking too much, he bought a bottle of milk from the system.
— You're lucky your milk only costs 5 MD, — he grumbled.
The moment Jasper smelled it, he cried even louder. His cries were reaching a level worthy of a dramatic siren wailing over lost love. His eyes welled up with tears, his tiny mouth trembled as if the universe had betrayed him, and his whole little body shook with silent sobs.
— Hey, hey, don’t cry! Look, here’s your milk!
Nexha picked the tiny triton up and placed the bottle in his mouth. The very second the milk touched his tongue, Jasper stopped crying instantly and latched onto the bottle like his life depended on it.
— That’s more like it, — Nexha sighed, relieved.
But the relief didn’t last long.
Because Jasper was drinking at a terrifying speed.
— Whoa, whoa! The milk’s not running away! Slow down, or you’re gonna choke!
He tried to pull the bottle away slightly, but Jasper gripped it with the strength of a newborn triton on a mission. His tiny fingers clenched the glass as if his soul was trapped inside it.
— Jasper, let go, for the love of all the fish in the sea! I don’t want you to choke!
Nothing.
The baby kept drinking as if it were his last meal, his little green eyes half-closed in pure focus. Nexha started sweating.
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— YOU HAVE TO BREATHE BETWEEN SIPS, KID!
He tried prying the bottle away. Jasper gripped it even tighter.
— Is this an arm or an anchor?! Let go!
At that exact moment, Lilay and Krahs arrived at the old nesting site, carrying the food they had gone to fetch. The two stopped dead in their tracks at the sight before them: Nexha, sweating bullets, locked in a desperate tug-of-war with a tiny baby who refused to release a milk bottle.
— He… hatched already? — Lilay blinked in disbelief.
— And he's already fighting for his own food? — Krahs added, equally surprised.
Jasper, completely unfazed by the chaos he was causing, continued drinking as if nothing else in the world mattered.
Nexha turned to them, eyes pleading.
— Help.
Lilay and Krahs remained frozen, observing the absurd scene.
— Well... this isn’t what I expected to see when we got back, — Krahs finally broke the silence.
— Is he seriously wrestling a baby over a bottle of milk? — Lilay asked.
Still locked in his battle with Jasper, Nexha groaned:
— THIS IS NOT A FIGHT, OKAY?! It’s just... well... I just don’t want him to choke!
Jasper, utterly indifferent to Nexha's growing public embarrassment, refused to let go. His little green eyes practically dared Nexha to take it away.
Krahs sighed, set a large fish down on the sand, and stepped forward.
— Give me that.
Before Nexha could protest, Krahs gently twisted the bottle, breaking the suction. Jasper let go without even realizing what had happened.
The baby blinked, confused, then huffed in a way that could only be described as "the frustration of an old fisherman losing a big catch."
— How… how did you do that?! — Nexha stared at Krahs like she had just performed ancient magic.
— I've seen you and Lilay fighting over milk plenty of times. Of course, I learned something.
Lilay laughed and stepped closer, eyeing Jasper.
— Small, but feisty, huh? — He lightly poked Jasper’s tiny belly, only for the baby to frown and swat his hand away.
— Already full of attitude. — Krahs chuckled.
Krahs carefully picked Jasper up, cradling him gently. Though still slightly grumpy over the loss of his bottle, the little triton began to blink sleepily, his tiny body slowly relaxing.
— He reminds me of someone we know… — Krahs glanced at Nexha, who crossed his arms.
— Hey, hey! Don’t even start saying he’s like me! This brat already bit me twice, he’s clearly just weird.
— Ah, so he’s exactly like you, then. — Lilay smirked.
Krahs let out a loud laugh while Nexha scowled in indignation.
— I AM NOT WEIRD!
Krahs looked at the baby and gently rocked him.
— No biting people, kiddo. You don’t know where they’ve been.
Jasper, now drowsy, only made a small grumpy face before burying his tiny head into Krahs’ shoulder. Krahs handed the bottle back so Jasper could finish his milk.
Nexha sighed.
— I never bit people when I was a baby.
— You sure about that? — Krahs raised an eyebrow.
— OF COURSE I AM!
— The lucky crabs said otherwise.
Nexha froze.
Krahs and Lilay grinned victoriously.
Little Jasper finished his milk, let out a long yawn, and murmured something unintelligible, his striped orange tail flicking lazily. Krahs helped him burp before holding him more comfortably.
— I think he’s tired. Must’ve been a rough day, being born and already biting people.
— He sank like a rock the moment he hatched,— Nexha muttered.
But despite everything, he couldn’t take his eyes off the tiny triton. Now, watching Jasper peacefully sleep in Krahs' arms, everything felt... more real.
They had a new member in their group.
And as grumpy as he was, Nexha knew they were all in this together.
— Welcome to the world, little clownfish.
Jasper only mumbled sleepily in response, snuggling deeper into Krahs' hold.
Nexha couldn’t help but smile for real this time, watching the little one sleep so soundly.
