Cub Raising Association

Chapter 18: Start of a new life

With a certain goal in mind, the Kuhti cub spread his strong fiery red wings and flapped them. His claws gave off a small scratching noise as they left the wooden surface and he flew forward, leaving the safety of the cabinet.

"Tiuh, tiuh-"

Walking over, the Kuwei and Cotto cub stood side by side and raised their heads to watch as the Kuhti cub left the cabinet's top and flew towards Xie Tao. Their two pairs of black eyes followed their red fluffy friend as he flew high above and they excitingly moved their wings and called out to him, cheering him on.

Due to the Kuhti cub's ample feathers, his body looked very round and in comparison, his wings were much smaller than his body. Seeing those tiny wings trying to hold the rest of his body in the air, was like realizing that helicopters were only powered by giant fans, that if malfunctioned, had no gliding power and would fall right downwards into their doom... Basically, it really made one worry...

However, Xie Tao had read about it and found that most alien races that resembled birds would look like this as cubs. The cub's ample feathers were not something bad, but something good, it showed that his body was developing well and that he was healthy. Moreover, as most cubs learned how to fly at a much younger age than the Kuhti cub had, his build should not be a problem.

When nearing two meters, the Kuhti cub, who had been flying well, unconsciously slowed down and his altitude thereafter started to steadily decline.

To everyone else, it was very obvious that the cub had started to land.

However, it took a few seconds before the Kuhti cub noticed his own behavior. But even then, he felt a bit unsure and nervous. He had never made it past this length...

The cub looked up and saw the youth's open arms that were now not that far from him. Suddenly he once again started to flap his wings faster and rouse to his previous height, he then determined continued forward.

Just a little more, it was not far away, just a little more and-

"Tiuh!"

The Kuhti cub, who had been too motivated, forgot to slow down in time and flew past Xie Tao's hands and instead crashed into his chest. It was a very soft crash and when Xie Tao scooped him up before falling, the cub snuggled into his hands and excitingly moved his wings. He clearly had not been dampened by the crash and was in high spirits.

Xie Tao lightly stroked the excited cub's back feathers and waited for him to calm down a bit and meet his eyes, he then said. "You see, it was completely possible to fly that distance."

The cub's deep black eyes were filled with ignorance and confusion. Although he could comprehend Xie Tao words, he did not understand what he wanted to convene, what the deeper meaning behind it was.

Looking down at the cub in his hands, Xie Tao could read the feelings in his eyes and tried to make it clearer to the cub. "You can now fly and it's all because of you own hard work. Don't limit yourself in the future, how far, fast or accurate you fly is all for yourself to choose. Just believe in yourself and you can do it."

Xie Tao had before pondered on the reason why the Kuhti cub always landed after two meters and he had concluded that it was psychological.

In the beginning, the Kuhti cub had not been able to fly at all, no matter what the caretakers in the other clubs did. But this was probably because he had not been given any genuine support from the people around him, and had instead likely been blamed or ridiculed when he couldn't fly.

Because of this, the cub had not wanted to learn how to fly, because what was the point when he would only be blamed if he tried?

He had put up a wall. This wall consisted of every word they had said to him, of every person that did not believe that he could do it, of every person that did not believe in him. Over time, the wall had become stronger and he, himself, had started to believe it, believe that he couldn't do it. The wall had become something the cub wasn't even aware of...