I awoke with a start. The imdiate thought that entered my mind was if I had died for a second ti, and lost my shot at what I had always wanted but had been too proud to ever admit.
An actual, supportive, and loving family.
Relief flooded the next mont, when I found that they were still there. My parents and their two close friends, all hovering protectively over my prone form. I turned to observe more of my surroundings, and noted with amusent how I had woken up in a literal bed of flowers.
"Ugghhh!" I grunted, the pain all over my body finally catching up to .
"Haell!" Dad shouted, having noticed that I was awake. Everyone else turned to with a start, but Mom slapped away Dad's hand when he was about to pick up.
"Stop! We're still healing her. And she's still injured."
"Oh, right…" He looked sad, so I hugged his finger. I appreciated the thought.
"Okay! Anything I need to do?" Dad said, having perked right back up.
"We're casting, but just… comfort her."
Dad did as asked while Mom shone a soft light on , and Baston caused the vegetation around to wiggle as if in a very strong breeze. The flowers were here to heal, not just for my comfort.
Not that I would be complaining if it were. It's very cozy.
I allowed myself to slip into unconsciousness again, as my body still felt so inexplicably tired. I was in good hands, and the rest of my birthday would be upon , the next ti I awake.
~~~
Good Morning!
The thought bubbled to the forefront of my mind, and I stretched my arms out wide. The warmth of the sun battered across my face as I opened my eyes to a glorious sunrise.
We were at our front porch, and I found myself cuddling with both Mom and Dad.
It was a wonderful day, and my body felt good and rejuvenated. It had been healed in full.
"Hey Haell," Mom said, looking down at with a smile.
"Oh, she's awake?" Dad sighed in relief.
“Yap!” I confird. I hugged them both and held on as tight as I could.
Eventually, Mom placed back down. I looked back up at them, but instead of the warmth I expected, Mom's expression was stern and serious. I had fucked up and now I'll pay the price for it. It was so nice while it lasted, but I caused them so much trouble, so of course they'd be mad and angry and fuck why did I do that? I caused so much trouble for my folks. They ended up killing soone. I don't know how valuable mana is, but I just made them waste it to heal !
It's sothing that I'm used to, really… but I'll admit to myself that it hurts… so bad… that we'll abandon each other, just like I once did with my previous family.
Am I such a horrible person, for it to always end this way?
"...Haell. Haell. Haell!" Mom's voice suddenly jolted back to awareness. I looked at her, and recognized the worry in her face.
"I…" I swallowed. And then I bawled. I couldn't hold it in and began crying right in our front lawn.
Dad quickly reached over and scooped up. "Hey. Hey. What's wrong? Does it still hurt sowhere?"
"It's okay, baby." Mom also embraced from the side. "It's okay. You're safe. It's fine."
I sniffed, eting both their eyes. My lips quivered as I scread.
"EM SOWRY!!!" I bawled. I held onto their hands as the tears flowed unabashed.
I sniffled and I cried. I kept going until I tired myself out, and only then did my parents put back down on the ground.
"Haell." Mom said, in as gentle a voice as she could muster. "We're not mad, okay? If anything… We're proud that you were willing to stand up for our friends, for Baston like that. For what's right."
Dad nodded, his face even more serious than before. "What that guy said was not okay. And it's only natural to be angry at that."
I sniffed, a little bit of color returning to my expression.
"But," Mom said, and I winced, my heart crushed for a second ti. They were just trying to be nice, in the end… She took my hand gently into her own. "While we don't think what you did was wrong, you placed yourself in danger. We couldn't protect you in ti. For that, we are sorry."
What…?
It took a few seconds for her words to catch up to my mind. When it did, I imdiately jumped to her arm and hugged it tight. No. No! It's my fault… Mine…!
"Please don't put yourself in danger like that again," Dad said, patting on my tiny back. It was a comical sight, with how big his hands were. "Even if you're right, we would still very much worry if you get hurt. Or… or worse…"
"That's right! If you see sothing like that again, then just tell us and we'll bash their heads for you! No need to risk yourself," Mom declared.
Dad scratched the back of his head. "Eh, well. Most people are kind of a bit speciest, right? Kind of."
That was the term used here, since we were indeed of different species.
Mom crossed her arms and leveled him a glare. “So?”
"I'm not saying it's a good thing!" Dad quickly defended himself, before turning back to . "But just… keep in mind that that wasn't an uncommon sentint. I… wish things weren't that way, and I'm so proud of you for understanding it so soon, but maybe don't imdiately attack…"
"A child wouldn't understand that nuance." Mom cut in. "And should we really be teaching our daughter to be lenient like that? They're your friends too! Surely they don't deserve to be treated that way."
"Of course I agree, dear… But what we can do is limited. Please. Haell might just get herself in more trouble if we don't teach her how to properly navigate this situation."
Mom sighed. "Fine. Haell… Just, try not to escalate things into a fight. Especially if you're not sure that you will win. And just tell us about it, if sothing happens. Make sure to keep yourself safe, above all else. Okay?"
"Okay…" Of course, I could understand perfectly what they were talking about. And I also understood now, that they were just genuinely worried about . I wasn't about to be disowned or anything, and I would've realized that if I'd just thought about it for one godsdamned second. So why didn’t I? Where the fuck did that co from!?
I grasped both their hands in mine, and muttered, "...Promise."
~~~
“Alright! It’s your birthday!” Mom clapped after we’d all had a chance to rest. “It was actually yesterday, but then that happened." Anger crossed her features for a mont, but I could now tell that it was not directed at . It disappeared as quickly as it ca. "So a belated happy birthday to you, Haell! Today's going to be a wonderful celebration!"
"Yay!" I cheered, genuinely glad for a party.
Mom handed off to Dad, and I clung to his arm as we made our way down.
We t up with Fiya and Baston right by their house and then made our way to the town proper. The cobbled streets were busy and packed, especially since we were close to the southern gate and were within the poorest district. Traffic got held up by people watching a centaur argue with his employer about getting paid more for the injuries he took during the job. But the rchant woman shot him down with a derisive sneer, stating that the contract was final and that he should’ve pulled the wagon harder.
“Then I wouldn’t be late, and you wouldn’t be injured.”
I saw the interaction almost turn into violence just as the guards arrived. The centaur saw this, and walked away with a huff and a limp. The human rchant smiled, as if she’d won the argunt.
The audience that had gathered dispersed back to their daily lives with a sigh. Most of them were tired already even this early in the day, their figures clearly showed that they had barely eaten anything. I heard several muttered prayers to the angels as they left behind the commotion that had just happened, and the damnable human woman who had completely forgotten about the centaur whose life might actually be ruined.
I was very familiar with the desperation of people who did not have a safety net.
We got back on the road as I seethed, having already spent far too much ti glaring at the small-ti store owner who was now loudly supervising so ogres with their work. Wait, was that a slur? Goddamn, she really didn’t need to be so verbally abusive. They were doing the work properly and carrying stuff from the wagon to her store… but it was none of my business. I wasn’t strong enough yet to make it my business.
As we walked, I appreciated what I could of my surroundings. The general design of the buildings of this town was a weird mix of simple and utilitarian, but well-decorated with carvings and things. This was apparently because of so superstition about how it made the structures stronger, which my mom hinted at actually being true. Magic was real, the supernatural was present in everything, and I for one approved of pretty windows and walls.
I didn’t know how much their inhabitants appreciated the commonly religious designs though, given how fucking cramped they were. The buildings could get really tall, especially for the apartnts, as space in the town proper was a premium that couldn’t be easily expanded.
Now, the tree wall did get extended all the ti, but then you’d have to get used to living up in the trees, amongst a different community, and constantly assaulted by monsters. The people there were also regarded as being farther away from the Angels or so bullshit, which was… bad? It sounded like a good thing to , but it was not a very popular option. I was just a rebel like that, very punk.
And then there was the Impenetrable Barrier Range to the east. It was a mountain range that made Everest look like a hill, sowhat visible from here even if we were nowhere close.
The Angelore Empire had tried to invade it before, but that event was seldom talked about, almost a taboo. My grandfather thankfully didn't care one whit about that, so I got to hear all about it. The place was almost a gigantic wonderzone in itself, featuring monsters of very high levels compared to what could normally be found in mundane landscapes. The sapient inhabitants were even more vicious, from creative and unyielding dwarves, to harpies that ruled the sky and made full use of what their allies could make. Because that was the most terrifying thing about them, their two races lived in harmony. The dwarves lived within the mountains, mining it for ore and slting tools and weapons of war. The harpies gathered parts and materials from all over the mountain and beyond, sotis even acting as rchants for the dwarven wares.
“This perfect combination broke Angelore’s army, and ground the ‘Crusade to Civilize Grandera’ to a complete halt.” Grandpa had said. “I barely managed to escape with my life after I was cut off from my allies by the flying harpies, and then stalled by the dwarves and their mastery over earth magic and more. Even the two angels that had intervened were eventually driven away by the might of their greatest champions. It was amazing.”
It was a very inspiring tale, and I would love to et them all soday.
"We're here!" My mom said. The apartnt blocks had turned into smaller houses and stores, but giving far more space for single families. The place we had arrived at was a very wide building with a massive tree growing through the roof in the middle. It had a large outdoors area out front, tastefully overgrown with trees and grass, and occupied by a playground, tables, and benches. Children were running around and playing, but the two adults there imdiately noticed our arrival.
“Oh hey! You made it!” Luine turned away from playing tag with the children to greet us. She was a black woman in rogue-ish clothing, even though I knew she was trying to be more casual.
“Welco! Happy birthday!” Salaire drawled lazily, getting up from the tables to the groans of many children who wanted to hear the end of the story she was reading to them. Salaire was belfegor woman who was paradoxically very easy to find. Her skin was smooth and a bright pink, and the dress she wore was a strong blue. She wasn’t going to be sneaking around up in the trees anyti soon, but in exchange, she looked positively fabulous.
They were the last two mbers of Mom and Dad’s adventuring party, and the two of them owned the Latarus Orphanage. It was nad after the town because of so politics stuff. Unimportant.
Luine talked with my parents, anwhile Salaire was busy poking in the nose. I of course did not take that lying down, so I poked her on the nose too. She retaliated again, and we got into an intense boop-off until dad decided to hand to the belfegor woman. I stuck my tongue out at her, and she did the sa.
“Der!” I pointed my new steed toward the proper direction, and she allowed to play with the other children. I saw many species among them, from humans, to kobolds, and everything in between. They were all getting along well enough.
“Happy Birthday!” they greeted upon Salaire’s prompting.
“Hapi Birtdey two!!” I returned the greeting of the orphans. Salaire laughed along with the children. No one ever bothered to correct , because they all just expected to thoughtlessly copy what was said. I'm not actually a dumb baby! I’m a dumb adult demon in a baby’s body! Get it right!
Grrr!
I played tag with them, which mostly consisted of toddling around while the other children stayed just a little bit ahead of , taunting . I fell a fair number of tis, and Salaire ca close to pulling away many tis, but I didn’t give up and I resolutely gave chase.
I did manage to tag soone, but I suspected the kobold boy just let have that win. The ones who chased afterward tried to match my own speed. It was all good fun.
~~~
I was spent. I was tired. I sat down and breathed in a large mouthful of air. The action carried with it the scent of grilled at and baked sweets.
I instantly got up, all my reserves rejuvenated. So centaurs had delivered a whole carriage-load of food earlier, and now they were all set out on the many tables. My cake was the centerpiece, and my parents carried over to blow out the candle. The feast started right after, with a plethora of birthday songs sung by whoever wanted to participate. I received gifts from a lot of people, ranging from clothwear to toys. My parents and the other adults present had the most to give of course, and I received whole enchanted items from them, as well as great works of art that I could display in my room, including a very cute portrait of from my dad, and an abstract family painting from Mom. I had no idea what the economy was like here, only that we were rich as fuck, but holy shit even I could tell how extravagant the presents I received were. Whatever revolution was happening would hate , which sucked because I was totally on their side otherwise! Probably.
All in all, it was weird how similar to Earth our customs were, but I definitely had lots and lots of fun.
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