The world still shifted beneath my feet – solid ground feeling very much like an unruly sea when standing on unsteady legs.  However, mother was there to anchor me.  Already I knew she will steady me if I stumble.  That thought was comforting.  Hadn’t only moments ago I missed that comfort?  It seemed momentary flicker of worry had been all for naught. Something that I had already determined about this life was things seemed to change so quickly – it was both exciting but so confusing.  I tried to shake the thoughts away but they were as persistent as the hunger that burned in my stomach, but I deferred to my brother who had already taken to nursing and leaned heavily into mother who’s turned her attention back to us.
 
I amused myself for a moment, inspecting my still wobbly legs, lifting one foot – then another, when a sound shattered my concentration.  It came from mother and drew my attention instantly.  Baby ears flicked in her direction and I stared up at her in wonder. That sound! The bubbly noise that spilled from mother’s lips!  I don’t know what it was, exactly, but what I did know was that it makes me undeniably happy.  I liked this noise – I wanted mother to make this noise more often.  I wonder if there are things that I could do to elicit this noise that seems to comes from the very depths of her. 
 
I recognized mother’s voice immediately, smiling as it spilled from her lips. Even though I had only ever heard the muffled sounds of her voice, the sound now is undeniable and inherently her.  How beautiful her voice is with nothing to separate us! It was only when mother turned her attention to brother that I took a moment to memorize every detail of them.  I never wanted to forget what they looked like.  What they smelled like.  What they felt like under my baby-nose.
 
And then I worked on memorizing the sounds too – the names - and I can comprehend what it means even though everything is still so new.  Brother is Virga and I am Vesper.  I wish I could mimic the sounds – test the names on my own tongue, but having not yet nursed my tongue felt heavy in my mouth.  I began to wander towards my first meal when I realized that mother’s attention had drifted away, and mine then drifted away as well.  There were others here – bringing with them new sounds and smells.
 
I eyed the strangers’ wings curiously.  They didn’t look at all like mine, nor did they look  like brother’s.  They were all varieties of colors of which I’d never seen before.  Part of me wanted to stumble my way over to them, to try get a closer look at the colors.  But two things kept me from doing so.  First, I just didn’t trust my legs to make the journey.  Second, mother’s comfort kept me tethered to her side and even curiosity and sheer strength of will wasn’t enough to break the bond that held me to her. So instead I leaned into her sweet comfort further, uncaring that her sides were still damp with sweat after the labor that she had endured.