Chirp
Sir Gordon / Kade
"N-no! Daddy, don’t go!!”
“K-kade!” Bate pulled the clingy Puffball off his arm and set him back on the floor. “I’m only going to be gone for a few hours to pick up your mother. Uncle Gordon’s going to babysit until we get back, okay?”
Kade shook his head and clutched onto Bate again. “Please, daddy, I don’t want to be with Uncle Gordon.”
“Now Kade, that’s not very nice to say. Uncle Gordon loves having you around."
“B-but…”
It’s not that Kade dislikes his uncle. He’s actually really funny and reminds him a bit of his other crazy uncle, Ramset. The only thing he doesn’t prefer is talking to him. Kade, whose first language is ‘Chirp’- a form of speech that Bate was taught as a child to speak to birds, soon became Kade’s first language. Because of it, Kade isn’t able to properly communicate very well with anyone besides his dad and the wild birds in Kalmari. While Kade doesn’t mind speaking to Emma or Ellie, anyone else will cause him to stop in his tracks.
Ellie encourages him to speak more so he could practice, but fear others will make fun of his broken speech. While Gordon is his father’s best friend, he still feels scared to say anything to him, no matter what anyone says.
Kade let out a defeated sigh and pleaded for his father to stay. “D-dad, please…”
“Aw, is that Kade I hear?” A voice echoed through the hallway.
Too late.
Kade flinched when he saw the Gordo enter his room. Gordon smiled and headed towards the pair.
“I knew I’d eventually find the voice of that adorable chirping.”
Kade covered his mouth and nuzzled his dad in embarrassment.
“Kade, aren’t you going to say hello?”
He was responded by a small headshake. Bate gave a sympathetic smile and faced Gordon.
“You know how shy he gets when others hear his chirping.”
“Aw, but it’s adorable. Like a tiny bird.” He beamed and patted Kade on the head. Kade let out a frightened squeal and tried to burrow deeper in his father’s arms.
Bate carried him to the living room and set him down next to Emma. He gave them both a kiss goodbye and made his way out the door. Kade’s heart sunk when the door clicked shut. The Puffball just wanted to hide in his room until his parents came back, but knew Gordon would never allow that.
“Alright, you two,” He faced the pair, “How about you go on and play while I cook us up some lunch.”
“Yay, lunch!” Emma cheered. She ran off to play in the other room, Kade quickly tagging along so he didn’t have to stay with Gordon.
--
"Emma, Kade!” Gordon called out a few minutes later as he set the two plates of food on the table. “Lunch time!”
And on cue, two rambunctious kids ran through the hallway and into the dining room. Both took their seats and patiently waited for their uncle to join them. Gordon gave a small smile at the two and took his seat across from them. Once seated, the three started eating.
“Uncle Gordon,” Emma spoke in between bites, “Can we go to the park after?”
Kade agreed with her sister with a small, but eager nod.
“Of course you can.” He smiled at the pair and took another bite of his food. “Just finish your lunch and you can go."
“Yayyy!” The two shouted in unison as they ate faster so they could go out.
“So, Emma,” Gordon decided to make small talk to slower their eating pace, “I hear your mother’s teaching you how to swim.”
“She is!” Emma cheerfully replied, “Daddy couldn’t do it because, ummm…I think mommy told me that he sinks…?”
Gordon started laughing. “Yes, your father isn’t as great a swimmer like your mother. She’s probably the best one to teach you seeing as you’ll just be rescuing your father if he ever went into the water.”
Emma let out a small giggle and focused on her meal again,
“And as for Kade,” Gordon eyed the tiny Puff who was scarfing down his food, “I heard your dad’s teaching you how to fly.”
Kade nodded at his response.
“Is it fun?” He asked,
Again, he was responded with the same gesture. Gordon was hoping he would speak since it’s quite rare when he does due to his language barrier. Ellie asked him awhile back if he could engage the Puff in conversation to help him speak more, but sadly Kade adopted his father’s stubbornness. This time Gordon decided to ask him a question that requires him to actually say something.
“How long does he train you for? Since you’re still young, I don’t think he’s doing any all day sessions yet, hm?”
Kade stopped eating and lowered his wings a bit; a gesture he does when he’s feeling embarrassed or scared. Emma saw and decided to answer for him, not knowing it was Gordon’s intention to get him to speak.
“Daddy trains him after lunch for an hour.” She said, “He’s still learning the basics, though.”
“O-oh,” Gordon was quite disappointed when Emma answered it for him. He decided to drop it for now and let them go. “Well, it looks like you two are finished,”
Gordon grabbed the plates and headed towards the kitchen, “You're free to go. Have fun, you two.”
The pair beamed in excitement and ran out the door.
--
“Thank you, Emma,” Kade said as he kicked the ball to her.
“You’re welcome," She said, “But I don’t think Uncle Gordon minds.” She looked at the Gordo who was now watching them from afar. She gave a small wave when their eyes met.
“H-he could…” Kade softly mumbled, “What if, umm...laughing at me?”
“He would never do that, he’s daddy’s best friend.” She kicked the ball back, “You should talk to him and see.”
The Puff furiously shook his head at the thought of it. “No, Emmaaa!” He whined and grabbed her hand to lead her farther away from the Gordo. Kade lead her to the swing set and took a seat next to her.
“Wanna race to see who could swing the highest?” Emma suggested, dropping the subject of him talking since she knew it made him uncomfortable.
“Yes!” Kade said as he started to wiggle his feet to gain momentum. Emma giggled and started copying him as well.
--
Gordon watched at the pair as they went to the swing set and started racing, from what he can tell. A few minutes passed, and Gordon noticed something Kade was doing that caught his watchful attention. It wasn’t sitting so well with him so he dashed to the pair in haste.
--
“I’m winning!” Emma cheered.
“No! I’m first!” Kade said as he refused to give up and started flapping his wings to gain more speed. Unfortunately his grip was starting to fail from the high speed he was gaining and flew out of his seat as a result. Kade let out a yelp and closed his eyes in fear.
“K-Kade!” Gordon called out as he summoned his specter hands and grabbed him before he collided with the ground.
The tiny Puff opened his eyes and gave a fearful sigh of relief when he was caught in the nick of time. He looked up and saw the Gordo looming over him.
“The was a very dangerous thing to do, Kade,” He scolded, “What if I didn’t make it in time? You could’ve broke something.”
“S…sorry…” He quietly apologized, “I…playing and, umm…wanted faster swing….”
Gordon gave a sigh and placed him down with his sister who ran over to them not too long ago. Although he was happy the Puff was talking, he wished the circumstances were on much better terms. “I know you wanted to go faster, but you’re not strong enough. Maybe when you’re older you can do that, but not yet.”
Kade lowered his head and agreed, “Y-yes, Uncle Gordon.”
“Good. Now I think maybe it’s time we head back home. Your parents should be arriving soon.”
Both gave a nod and followed behind their uncle as he led the way. It didn’t take long for them to arrive back, so when Emma spotted their home she nudged Kade and made a dash to the door. Kade was starting to run to catch up, but stopped when Gordon called his name. The tiny Puff looked back, fear setting in.
“Kade, I….wanted to talk to you about something.” He gave a comforting smile at his timid nephew. “I know you don’t like talking, but you shouldn’t be embarrassed about it, not in front of me."
When Gordon brought up his speaking, Kade covered his mouth with both hands and shook his head. Gordon summoned two of his hands to lower them. He saw how scared and frightened he was, so he picked him up and continued to head home.
“You’re pretty lucky,” Gordon said, “Chirping is a very difficult language to master, and you’re already fluent in it at such a young age.”
Kade stopped whimpering and looked at the Gordo.
“Your dad tried teaching me once, but…I think I ended up offending most of the birds in Kalmari Forest instead.”
Kade let out a small giggle, “Chirp, ummm....you speaking, say."
Gordon blushed in embarrassment, "I don’t think I could do it as well as you. It’s quite…horrible."
“Pleaaaaase?”
“Okay, okay,” He thought back to what Bate taught him and tried to say hello. A few simple chirps but it sounded very weird and off-key coming from him.
“You, ummm.....say hello.” Kade said, understanding what Gordon said.
“I did,” He gave a nervous smile. “That’s all I really know, sadly. Do, ummm…do you think you could say something?”
Kade nodded and started chirping a very long sentence. He figured since his uncle did it even though he was embarrassed, he’d return the favor.
Gordon never heard Kade chirp in front of him, so hearing it was quite impressive. It genuinely sounded like a bird. When he stopped, Gordon decided to ask what he said.
“Oh, ummm….” Kade thought a bit since he didn’t know how to translate it. “Hello, ummm…Uncle Gordon my name is.”
“Ah," He mused, "Well I’ll try to remember that next time I talk to birds.”
“Ummm…dad teach you.” Kade suggested. “He teaching Emma too.”
“Thanks, Kade, but I don’t think I have it in me to learn another language. It’s difficult enough to chirp and whistle, let alone forming sentences out of them.”
Kade frowned, “O-oh…”
“But it was nice hearing you chirp, though,” Gordon placed him down next to Emma who was waiting for him to open the door.“Much better than what I can do.”
When he opened the door, the twins quickly dashed in and rested on the couches, tired from their day of playing. Eventually they nodded off before their parents arrived. Bate and Ellie, who arrived much later than expected, quietly made their way inside and thanked Gordon for babysitting. Ellie picked them up to tuck them into bed while Bate and Gordon stayed in the living room to chat.
“Were they well behaved?” Bate asked, knowing they can be a handful at times- even with Gordon’s eight hands.
“They were fine, Bate,” He smiled, “Kade even talked to me, if you could believe.”
“Huh, really?” He was shocked but glad his son was finally coming out of his shell.
“Yup!” He proudly said, “ He wanted you to teach me so we’d be able to talk, but I don’t think I’d be able to speak it as well as you two.”
“Well, it is a difficult language to learn, but I’m sure you can do it.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.” He declined, “But he did tell me you’re teaching Emma too.”
“You’re what?!!” Ellie entered the room and twacked Bate over the head. “Bate, you can’t be teaching everyone in this house how to chirp. I already told you to stop doing that in front of Kade! I can barely have a decent conversation with my own son without him stressing out when he doesn’t know how to respond.”
A bright blue blush formed on Bate's face as he glared at Gordon. “I think you overstayed your welcome now.” He said and pointed to the door.
“H-hey, I didn’t know it was a secret! Oh! Did you also tell Ellie about-“
“Goodbye, Gordon!” Bate shoved him out the door and loudly slammed it.
“Oh, Bate…you’re going to get them up.” Gordon could faintly hear what Ellie said behind the door.
He started laughing and slowly made his way back to his own home. He took a longer path to get there so he had time to listen to all the birds chirping in the trees around him. He was quite curious to what they were saying and was starting to get tempted to have Bate teach him.
“No, no, no….” He shook his thoughts and opened the door to his home.
“Gordos aren’t birds.”
“K-kade!” Bate pulled the clingy Puffball off his arm and set him back on the floor. “I’m only going to be gone for a few hours to pick up your mother. Uncle Gordon’s going to babysit until we get back, okay?”
Kade shook his head and clutched onto Bate again. “Please, daddy, I don’t want to be with Uncle Gordon.”
“Now Kade, that’s not very nice to say. Uncle Gordon loves having you around."
“B-but…”
It’s not that Kade dislikes his uncle. He’s actually really funny and reminds him a bit of his other crazy uncle, Ramset. The only thing he doesn’t prefer is talking to him. Kade, whose first language is ‘Chirp’- a form of speech that Bate was taught as a child to speak to birds, soon became Kade’s first language. Because of it, Kade isn’t able to properly communicate very well with anyone besides his dad and the wild birds in Kalmari. While Kade doesn’t mind speaking to Emma or Ellie, anyone else will cause him to stop in his tracks.
Ellie encourages him to speak more so he could practice, but fear others will make fun of his broken speech. While Gordon is his father’s best friend, he still feels scared to say anything to him, no matter what anyone says.
Kade let out a defeated sigh and pleaded for his father to stay. “D-dad, please…”
“Aw, is that Kade I hear?” A voice echoed through the hallway.
Too late.
Kade flinched when he saw the Gordo enter his room. Gordon smiled and headed towards the pair.
“I knew I’d eventually find the voice of that adorable chirping.”
Kade covered his mouth and nuzzled his dad in embarrassment.
“Kade, aren’t you going to say hello?”
He was responded by a small headshake. Bate gave a sympathetic smile and faced Gordon.
“You know how shy he gets when others hear his chirping.”
“Aw, but it’s adorable. Like a tiny bird.” He beamed and patted Kade on the head. Kade let out a frightened squeal and tried to burrow deeper in his father’s arms.
Bate carried him to the living room and set him down next to Emma. He gave them both a kiss goodbye and made his way out the door. Kade’s heart sunk when the door clicked shut. The Puffball just wanted to hide in his room until his parents came back, but knew Gordon would never allow that.
“Alright, you two,” He faced the pair, “How about you go on and play while I cook us up some lunch.”
“Yay, lunch!” Emma cheered. She ran off to play in the other room, Kade quickly tagging along so he didn’t have to stay with Gordon.
--
"Emma, Kade!” Gordon called out a few minutes later as he set the two plates of food on the table. “Lunch time!”
And on cue, two rambunctious kids ran through the hallway and into the dining room. Both took their seats and patiently waited for their uncle to join them. Gordon gave a small smile at the two and took his seat across from them. Once seated, the three started eating.
“Uncle Gordon,” Emma spoke in between bites, “Can we go to the park after?”
Kade agreed with her sister with a small, but eager nod.
“Of course you can.” He smiled at the pair and took another bite of his food. “Just finish your lunch and you can go."
“Yayyy!” The two shouted in unison as they ate faster so they could go out.
“So, Emma,” Gordon decided to make small talk to slower their eating pace, “I hear your mother’s teaching you how to swim.”
“She is!” Emma cheerfully replied, “Daddy couldn’t do it because, ummm…I think mommy told me that he sinks…?”
Gordon started laughing. “Yes, your father isn’t as great a swimmer like your mother. She’s probably the best one to teach you seeing as you’ll just be rescuing your father if he ever went into the water.”
Emma let out a small giggle and focused on her meal again,
“And as for Kade,” Gordon eyed the tiny Puff who was scarfing down his food, “I heard your dad’s teaching you how to fly.”
Kade nodded at his response.
“Is it fun?” He asked,
Again, he was responded with the same gesture. Gordon was hoping he would speak since it’s quite rare when he does due to his language barrier. Ellie asked him awhile back if he could engage the Puff in conversation to help him speak more, but sadly Kade adopted his father’s stubbornness. This time Gordon decided to ask him a question that requires him to actually say something.
“How long does he train you for? Since you’re still young, I don’t think he’s doing any all day sessions yet, hm?”
Kade stopped eating and lowered his wings a bit; a gesture he does when he’s feeling embarrassed or scared. Emma saw and decided to answer for him, not knowing it was Gordon’s intention to get him to speak.
“Daddy trains him after lunch for an hour.” She said, “He’s still learning the basics, though.”
“O-oh,” Gordon was quite disappointed when Emma answered it for him. He decided to drop it for now and let them go. “Well, it looks like you two are finished,”
Gordon grabbed the plates and headed towards the kitchen, “You're free to go. Have fun, you two.”
The pair beamed in excitement and ran out the door.
--
“Thank you, Emma,” Kade said as he kicked the ball to her.
“You’re welcome," She said, “But I don’t think Uncle Gordon minds.” She looked at the Gordo who was now watching them from afar. She gave a small wave when their eyes met.
“H-he could…” Kade softly mumbled, “What if, umm...laughing at me?”
“He would never do that, he’s daddy’s best friend.” She kicked the ball back, “You should talk to him and see.”
The Puff furiously shook his head at the thought of it. “No, Emmaaa!” He whined and grabbed her hand to lead her farther away from the Gordo. Kade lead her to the swing set and took a seat next to her.
“Wanna race to see who could swing the highest?” Emma suggested, dropping the subject of him talking since she knew it made him uncomfortable.
“Yes!” Kade said as he started to wiggle his feet to gain momentum. Emma giggled and started copying him as well.
--
Gordon watched at the pair as they went to the swing set and started racing, from what he can tell. A few minutes passed, and Gordon noticed something Kade was doing that caught his watchful attention. It wasn’t sitting so well with him so he dashed to the pair in haste.
--
“I’m winning!” Emma cheered.
“No! I’m first!” Kade said as he refused to give up and started flapping his wings to gain more speed. Unfortunately his grip was starting to fail from the high speed he was gaining and flew out of his seat as a result. Kade let out a yelp and closed his eyes in fear.
“K-Kade!” Gordon called out as he summoned his specter hands and grabbed him before he collided with the ground.
The tiny Puff opened his eyes and gave a fearful sigh of relief when he was caught in the nick of time. He looked up and saw the Gordo looming over him.
“The was a very dangerous thing to do, Kade,” He scolded, “What if I didn’t make it in time? You could’ve broke something.”
“S…sorry…” He quietly apologized, “I…playing and, umm…wanted faster swing….”
Gordon gave a sigh and placed him down with his sister who ran over to them not too long ago. Although he was happy the Puff was talking, he wished the circumstances were on much better terms. “I know you wanted to go faster, but you’re not strong enough. Maybe when you’re older you can do that, but not yet.”
Kade lowered his head and agreed, “Y-yes, Uncle Gordon.”
“Good. Now I think maybe it’s time we head back home. Your parents should be arriving soon.”
Both gave a nod and followed behind their uncle as he led the way. It didn’t take long for them to arrive back, so when Emma spotted their home she nudged Kade and made a dash to the door. Kade was starting to run to catch up, but stopped when Gordon called his name. The tiny Puff looked back, fear setting in.
“Kade, I….wanted to talk to you about something.” He gave a comforting smile at his timid nephew. “I know you don’t like talking, but you shouldn’t be embarrassed about it, not in front of me."
When Gordon brought up his speaking, Kade covered his mouth with both hands and shook his head. Gordon summoned two of his hands to lower them. He saw how scared and frightened he was, so he picked him up and continued to head home.
“You’re pretty lucky,” Gordon said, “Chirping is a very difficult language to master, and you’re already fluent in it at such a young age.”
Kade stopped whimpering and looked at the Gordo.
“Your dad tried teaching me once, but…I think I ended up offending most of the birds in Kalmari Forest instead.”
Kade let out a small giggle, “Chirp, ummm....you speaking, say."
Gordon blushed in embarrassment, "I don’t think I could do it as well as you. It’s quite…horrible."
“Pleaaaaase?”
“Okay, okay,” He thought back to what Bate taught him and tried to say hello. A few simple chirps but it sounded very weird and off-key coming from him.
“You, ummm.....say hello.” Kade said, understanding what Gordon said.
“I did,” He gave a nervous smile. “That’s all I really know, sadly. Do, ummm…do you think you could say something?”
Kade nodded and started chirping a very long sentence. He figured since his uncle did it even though he was embarrassed, he’d return the favor.
Gordon never heard Kade chirp in front of him, so hearing it was quite impressive. It genuinely sounded like a bird. When he stopped, Gordon decided to ask what he said.
“Oh, ummm….” Kade thought a bit since he didn’t know how to translate it. “Hello, ummm…Uncle Gordon my name is.”
“Ah," He mused, "Well I’ll try to remember that next time I talk to birds.”
“Ummm…dad teach you.” Kade suggested. “He teaching Emma too.”
“Thanks, Kade, but I don’t think I have it in me to learn another language. It’s difficult enough to chirp and whistle, let alone forming sentences out of them.”
Kade frowned, “O-oh…”
“But it was nice hearing you chirp, though,” Gordon placed him down next to Emma who was waiting for him to open the door.“Much better than what I can do.”
When he opened the door, the twins quickly dashed in and rested on the couches, tired from their day of playing. Eventually they nodded off before their parents arrived. Bate and Ellie, who arrived much later than expected, quietly made their way inside and thanked Gordon for babysitting. Ellie picked them up to tuck them into bed while Bate and Gordon stayed in the living room to chat.
“Were they well behaved?” Bate asked, knowing they can be a handful at times- even with Gordon’s eight hands.
“They were fine, Bate,” He smiled, “Kade even talked to me, if you could believe.”
“Huh, really?” He was shocked but glad his son was finally coming out of his shell.
“Yup!” He proudly said, “ He wanted you to teach me so we’d be able to talk, but I don’t think I’d be able to speak it as well as you two.”
“Well, it is a difficult language to learn, but I’m sure you can do it.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.” He declined, “But he did tell me you’re teaching Emma too.”
“You’re what?!!” Ellie entered the room and twacked Bate over the head. “Bate, you can’t be teaching everyone in this house how to chirp. I already told you to stop doing that in front of Kade! I can barely have a decent conversation with my own son without him stressing out when he doesn’t know how to respond.”
A bright blue blush formed on Bate's face as he glared at Gordon. “I think you overstayed your welcome now.” He said and pointed to the door.
“H-hey, I didn’t know it was a secret! Oh! Did you also tell Ellie about-“
“Goodbye, Gordon!” Bate shoved him out the door and loudly slammed it.
“Oh, Bate…you’re going to get them up.” Gordon could faintly hear what Ellie said behind the door.
He started laughing and slowly made his way back to his own home. He took a longer path to get there so he had time to listen to all the birds chirping in the trees around him. He was quite curious to what they were saying and was starting to get tempted to have Bate teach him.
“No, no, no….” He shook his thoughts and opened the door to his home.
“Gordos aren’t birds.”
-End-
Species © Nintendo/ HAL Laboratory
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
Story © Rhylem
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
Story © Rhylem
