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Growing up gets me down [+Story]

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Walking on two legs came naturally to the growing imponce he actually tried, anyway. A few falls and stumbles opened the path to large, confident strides in no time!

Pleased with his progress, the lanky and still growing impling even found himself accompanying his mother to the market again. It was surreal to look down upon patrons and shopkeepers who use to crouch down to greet him. Not even from his favourite perch as a childhis mother's backwas he ever tall enough to have such an open view of the marketplace. With the usual bustle of wyngrew around, Silas no longer felt the need to stick close to Pappy or fear them getting separated. He didn't fear the possibility of someone tripping over him or simply not looking where they were going. There was no way to miss the young man now!


Although he was much taller now, the imp's beige and brown complexion made him easily distinguishable to the wyngrew of the market who hadn't seen much of him over the past month. The gawking and unsubtle staring unnerving Silas at first, most of the friendly faces of the area were quick to share their excitement for the impling they had slowly watched mature over the years. Kind words and even a complimentary fruit for the "growing boy" were quick to put his mind at ease. He was thrilled to be out-and-about again, flashing his mother a cheerful smile when she looked over to check on him. Everything was grand, so farbut it didn't seem to last.


Having quickly outgrown his old bed, when his chin, shoulders, and base of his tail began to itch constantly, the boy couldn't help but wonder if something in the mattress was the culprit. He bathed regularly, after all, and nothing else had really changed aside from himself. His back feathers had been growing in nicely, although with a bit of itching as well, but surely he couldn't be allergic to his own feathers. He had been around his mother's feathers his whole life with no incident, after all. Even still, his body continued to grow more uncomfortable by the week, but it wasn't until a noticeably red discolouration began to show on his hands and face that the young wyngro truly started to worry. On top of that, Silas was beginning to take notice of the thick patches of fur that had sprouted in the usual problem areas, each bringing with them their own discolouration. Silas had rarely been sick throughout his life, so when these changes became too much to hide, he saw no choice but to approach his mother.

"Is.. this normal, mom?" Silas asked upon entering the kitchen that morning, where the off-white quad usually started her day. The red of his face and hands were far too prominent now to pass off as a sunburn, paint or anything else of the sort. His wings (most of his back really) and tail had also become plagued with the colour over the last couple days and were almost equally as noticeable now. A lot of his previously beige skin had also begun to fade into a bluish-grey. He felt uncomfortable with himself once again, which was quite easy to read.

“Is what normal?” His mother asked, lifting her gaze from a book she’d been reading.

“This,” came his worried response as the young imp pointed out his new strands of fur and the splashes of discolouration on his coat. “It’s been getting worse every day. Could it be shed dread or some form of full body crestears? Something worse?”

“Let me take a closer look,” the imp’s mother calmly replied. Pappy walked over to the worried boy and thoroughly checked him over. Running her paws across the colouration on his back and making sure to pay close attention to the strange clumps of fur growing around his shoulders. Pappy finished her exam with the young man’s face, examining his itching chin and stained brow. “It’s just as I thought,” she said, smiling gently at her boy.

“I’m sick, aren’t I?”

“No sweetie, you’re fine.”

“But what about..?”

“It’s nothing to be worried about; you’re just growing into your adult coat! Sometimes that’s a bit itchy and uncomfortable, but it’s perfectly normal.” She beamed proudly, pointing to the colouration on her son’s claws, “And look at how bold your coat is going to beyou will be as bright as a butterfly!” Smiling sweetly at her son, Pappy wrapped her wing around him, trying to make the imp feel better about his growing predicament.

“A.. A butterfly,” he replied sceptically. As pretty as the bug his mother treasured so much were, it wasn’t exactly something he wanted to turn into. “So I’m going to grow out of my tan colour?” He asked, looking down at his claws with a hint of disappointment. “This sucks,” he admitted, resting his weight against his mother and giving her little opportunity to chime in. “I look dumb. None of my other friends changed their entire coat like this. Why me?”

“You know what I think?” Pappy asked, pulling her wing back to her side and looking him over properly before continuing. "It’s because you’re special.”

“Mom…” came the groaned response.

Pappy chuckled at her son’s sceptical look “I mean it, Silas. Try not to think of it as losing your tan, instead, you earned your red and blue. Colours that will be as bright and bold as you are.”

The words, though kind, were doing little to lift the young imp’s spirits. Undeterred, the quad took another route. “Maybe we need a change of scenery. Why don’t we go outside and do something to take your mind off things?”

Reluctantly following his ever-optimistic mother, Silas left the house, feet dragging at the thought of being out in the public eye. At least they lived far enough away that no one was ever lingering around their cottage. Outside in the fresh air, Pappy stood, eyes closed and wings slightly open as she tested the air.

“It’s a perfect day for flying,” she mused to herself.

“You want to go flying?” he asked, the idea allowing him to forget about his worries for a moment.

“Of course!” Pappy was all too happy to agree. “Hop on and we’ll get going!”

Being nestled by his mother's feathers while soaring freely through the air seemed like a wonderful way to just forget about his troubles; It had worked in the past, after all. Without much thought, Silas rushed to his mother’s side, only to quickly realise the flaw in their idea. The joyful memory previously clouding his reasoning, it only took a glance to realise this was one hobby they wouldn't be partaking in anytime soon. “Mom,” Silas sighed sadly, bending forward to rest his weight on her wings to show that there was no chance of this outing happening. Pappy turned her gaze towards the lanky imp, his top half lying uncomfortably across her back, while his paws remained firmly planted on the ground. “Oh,” her ears drooped and smile faltered at the sight. The young imp was much too big to even rest on her back, let alone for her to comfortably fly if he were to somehow be able to get on. After a moment of sad glances, a small smile came to her face once more, now tinted with sadness. “Change is hard,” she acknowledged, “And you’re right, it does suck. But we have to be strong. We can’t let a little bit of change make us stop doing what we love.”

“Seems like it’s already won,” Silas replied flatly.

“Not yet. Maybe we can’t fly in the sky together anymore, but there’s another way we could soar.”

“There is?”

“There’s a secluded lake not far from herearen’t you the one who’s always telling me swimming is just like flying, only wetter?”

“Well yeah, but it’s a lake. Doesn’t water scare you?”

“Oh most definitely,” she said seriously, “But losing our special time together, well, that's more terrifying.” There was a sadness in his mom’s voice the imp hadn’t heard before, but it was soon brushed aside by a nervous smile. “Besides, you swim wonderfully. Maybe this time I can do the holding on while you take me for an underwater flight.”

"Sure, mom," the imp solemnly agreed, forcing his own hint of a smile. Perhaps all these changes weren't just affecting him, after all.


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Have some feels.
My god, Silas's unlimited colour slow-grow is so awkward haha. I decided to write out a story instead of prolonging it through more art. Enjoy my poor child's pain (as well as his mom's.)
Please keep in mind that while he is still getting use to this "growing up" thing and experiencing a roller coaster of emotions, Silas does his best to remain in good spirit in front of others. So no one beside his mother should really know how much trouble he's been having with the changes.


Silas and art belong to MaverickStudio
Pappy, concept and sketch coutesy of tsand106 
5/509 Wyn 0/11 Nova
Image size
1099x867px 1.6 MB
© 2018 - 2024 MaverickStudio
Comments10
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Ocxin's avatar
This loses part of the message,
knowing that upgrades are pretty free,
and turns more into

AH GOD, IF ONLY HE KNEW! AAAAHHH!

Oh well, as long as you don't force his acceptance.
I'm always open for a story of change.