You really are fae-touched! Just as dramatic as any faerie I've ever known.

[But that pout is darling and Rue can't help but lift a paw to hide their beak as they giggle at the sight of it. He's just too much.]

Not quite that long. It took me nearly a decade to fully awaken under the magic, so maybe three or four years to learn to speak? So much of that time is fuzzy for me. But I was an animal learning to think and speak for the first time, learning language and sapience all at once. You already have quite the advantage.