The teal lady's hand was a little on the cool side, soft and smooth snake skin on the palms while the back had rougher scales of larger size. She had thick black claws on the tips of her fingers, but she was careful not to cut Kira's tender skin as she lifted the thin girl effortlessly off the ground.
Kira tugged on the woman's hand once she stood on her own two feet again, then pointed to herself. 「 Kira. 」
The teal woman seemed surprised for a moment but recovered quickly. "Brigit," she said, pointing at herself.
Brigit... Not a name Kira expected to hear for a tall muscular lizard-type lady with horns. Surprisingly normal, and very... Human.
Kira gripped Brigit's hand firmly and shook it up and down.
Bemused and completely unaware of what a 'handshake' was, Brigit could only assume the girl was excited about making a friend despite the language barrier between them. She started to pull her hand away, only to stop when the girl's grip tightened.
How long had it been since she held someone's hand? Kira fought back tears, slightly alarmed by how much she'd cried that day. She didn't want to give up that little source of warmth just yet.
Seeing the girl's shoulders shake as she fought to suppress her emotions, Brigit could no longer bring herself to pull away. She sighed, smiled, and tugged on Kira's hand gently to signal they should start walking.
'I wonder if she's still considered a hatchling?' Brigit thought as she walked hand-in-hand with the thin Human girl. 'She looks so small, I've only ever seen adult Humans and never up close... Or very often.'
The Drakke frowned. She didn't know much about pure Humans, but Demis never let their hatchlings roam the wilderness unguarded. They had a habit of taking at least two adults for every one hatchling, ensuring the young one's safety should anything unexpected happen.
But Demi children grew differently from pure Humans due to their mixed Being heritage. Some were considered adults within a decade, while others were still hatchlings well into the later half of their first century.
Judging from appearance and behavior, Brigit could only assume the girl gently swinging their clasped hands was, in fact, just a hatchling.
An unguarded hatchling.
In the wilderness.
Alone.
One naively trusting a stranger she just met and couldn't communicate with.
Brigit's maternal instincts roared to life.
Kira, oblivious to the motherly awakening of the Drakke woman beside her, opened the System to turn on music. A holographic headset appeared on her head, semi-transparent and the same lavender color as her System Interface.
Her taste in music was varied to say the least. Kira's music archive had a little bit of everything from pretty much any genre in existence! Even if the song was in a language she couldn't understand, as long as it sounded good she'd like it just fine.
Kira scrolled through her assortment of playlists for awhile until she found a set of classical music for her own personal Forest Walk BGM. Volume was kept low so she could hear changes in the surroundings, but a nice soothing instrumental was exactly what her nerves needed at the moment.
The pair walked for hours, pausing every so often for a snack break to enjoy treats from Brigit's inventory. Despite the simplicity of the fare Kira was always delighted to eat whatever Brigit handed her.
Aggressive wild animals were scared off by the Drakke, who stomped and roared and shook her sword in a display so dramatic it made Kira nearly fall over laughing.
Ridiculous, but effective.
「 Bears... Were there always such big bears and stuff in this area? 」 Kira muttered as she watched a fat black bear scramble into the undergrowth away from Brigit's roaring. 「 We're not near any mountains... Well, I guess we weren't near a forest originally either.
「 Wish I could just ask. I wonder if we can't understand each other because she's a monster race or if it's something else? I could talk to the Porin just fine... 」
Brigit, already used to Kira's soft babbling, just smiled and shook her head to show she still had no idea what the girl was saying.
When the sun started to set and the woods were getting too dark to traverse safely, Brigit set up a small three-man tent between some trees. She then proceeded to gather wood for a campfire from the surroundings, only to pause her actions when she saw Kira carefully molding the dirt and stone.
Clumsy, slow, like a child building a mud castle, Kira stacked layer upon layer of earth until the tent was secure. It drained all her mana but she felt much safer seeing solid walls around where she planned to sleep.
She wasn't in the Gate anymore. There weren't safe zones where monsters refused to wander perfect for napping, or a nice solid cottage where she could sleep without worry. If the bear returned for vengeance in the night with a group of nasty little friends she didn't want to be caught unprepared in a little tent that very obviously smelled like it didn't belong in the forest!
The thing was practically a beacon yelling 'Hey, Intruders Over Here'!
Brigit arranged a small campfire and Kira made a roof for the makeshift hut with long branches and several armfuls of ferns. Seeing the little Human work so hard to hide the tent despite being visibly exhausted from mana expenditure and an entire day of nigh constant travel, Brigit chuckled.
What a good hatchling. Having such control over a Shaping Skill at Level 1-F! Very impressive.
After a quick supper of vegetables and meat spit-roasted over the campfire, they stomped out the fire and crawled into the tent for a good night's sleep.
'Will she be alright sleeping next to a stranger?' Brigit wondered as she handed over her spare blanket and pillow. 'Most Demi hatchlings have trouble sleeping in new environments, much less- Ah. She's already asleep. Nevermind then.'
Kira rolled herself in the blanket and passed out without any fanfare. She was sound asleep and quietly snoring in just a few moments, one hand sticking out from her blanket to grab the corner of Brigit's with the lavender System headphones still securely in place on her head.
Meanwhile, the Drakke woman wore a complicated expression.
The Human hatchling was... Really too trusting! She didn't even have a weapon in her hands while she slept next to a stranger! And her insistence on clinging to the first person who showed her kindness...
No wonder Demi never let their young ones roam about alone. Any creepy stranger could just walk off with one, quick as you like, and the hatchling would even thank them for it!
While sleeping, the air of melancholy that followed her throughout the day seemed to vanish. Without her furrowed brows, subtle scowl and downcast eyes the hatchling looked even younger than Brigit first thought. It made sense for her to be a little clingy, especially since the Drakke had no idea how long the girl wandered alone to begin with. She was so skinny and didn't even have shoes...
Grinding her sharp teeth in frustration, Brigit opened her Inventory.
All her savings went into contributions for the treasure hunt that ended in her Party attempting murder. They wouldn't have killed her just to vent their anger, that was a waste of time and effort and not worth the inquiries they'd face afterward from the company. Instead, they were after the few important items they knew she kept in her Inventory.
Beings dropped the contents of their Inventory upon death, including up to half of their Credits. Even if they were linked to a Soul Gem and eventually revived, their Inventory would be totally cleared out. Her erstwhile 'teammates' were counting on that when they tried to kill her!
Sitting nice and cozy in her Inventory was a valuable [Scroll of Recall]. Too expensive to be used frivolously, its long casting time meant using it to escape battle was unwise. But it was good for getting back to whatever location was specified on the scroll from anywhere in the world without requiring walking through established portals or having the knowledge and materials to set up transport arrays.
Brigit got it as reward for completing a Gate quest, and she held on to it for a big emergency. Her 'teammates' wanted to sell the scroll to cover their losses, so they refused when she offered to use it to get them to safety after the wolves debacle.
She glanced down at the sleeping Human and felt her heart twist painfully.
So young. So thin. So sad and alone.
The Human trusted her, but what would happen if she left Kira at an orphanage? Would they take care of her, or would they fear her for being Human even though she was a friendly and sweet little hatchling?
Kira couldn't even speak Common. How would the adults at the orphanage communicate with her? Or the other children? Would they have the patience to even make the attempt? If not, she'd be alone, isolated, friendless.
Maybe even bullied or abused once they found out the thin young girl didn't have a Clan backing her up.
Wouldn't a Human without a Clan be the perfect target for all their repressed frustrations, jealousy and fear?
Brigit clenched her hands into fists, drank a potion, and started making plan after plan until she finally fell asleep.
.....
Kira awoke to the teal lady gently shaking her shoulder and enticing her to the outdoors with the smell of a cooked breakfast.
Meat again! And bread! Even a little bit of cheese!
Sheer decadence!
It'd been so long since she had filling things other than fruit and veggies like the Porin preferred, or the fish she caught for herself. All she could get from the System Shop were snacks and junk food, nice high quality treats but not good for overall nutrition.
While the Human ate breakfast with undisguised enthusiasm, Brigit packed up the tent. A good night's sleep - and her very last healing potion - ensured the Drakke healed from most of her injuries. None of them were life-threatening to begin with, and looked worse than they really were.
She already tried inviting Kira to a Party, but the hatchling wasn't Attuned so the request was instantly rejected. Without being Attuned Beings only had access to the bare minimum version of the System - no Chat or Party or Group functions, no learning high level Spells or Skills, no Class Advancement, and just a basic Shop with limited inventory. They couldn't even transfer funds securely between System Profiles!
Banks, auction houses, and even most shops in big towns wouldn't deal with people who weren't Attuned. Since they couldn't be recruited to Groups or Parties it would be harder for them to get stronger. And they couldn't do Class Advancement or learn strong abilities!
Attunement was painless but it wasn't free. Some Groups would pay for recruits to Attune, but... That was only if they had potential.
Kira was Human and had infinite potential, but her Class was unfortunately something that couldn't Evolve! Geomancers were weak and the Class was listed on most Group's Blacklist - if you had a Class on the Blacklist, you could kiss any chance of recruitment goodbye no matter how strong you were!
Changing Class wasn't impossible, but it also wasn't free.
Explaining all those points to a hatchling who couldn't speak Common? Brigit sighed.
The first part of her plan was finding someone who could understand Kira's odd language. If she knew what language the hatchling spoke, she could find a tutor who understood it to teach Kira Common!
Too bad anything with utility enchantments like [Translation: Common] on it was expensive. Not even selling the [Scroll of Recall] could get one! As for buying the Skill Book from the System Shop or an auction house?
Forget it.
Seeing the teal lady lost in thought, Kira ate slowly to give her more time to finish whatever she was thinking about.
"Kira."
Brigit held a thick roll of paper sealed with a circle of glowing blue wax. She knelt and made a cluster of rocks, then drew lines between the rocks in the dirt and surrounded the odd diorama with a wall crafted of sticks. Then she grabbed two leaves and placed them far away from the diorama.
She pointed at Kira, then a leaf, then herself, then another leaf. When Kira nodded in understanding, Brigit pantomimed opening the scroll, wiggled her fingers, and moved the leaves into the middle of the rocks.
They couldn't talk to each other, but that didn't mean communication was impossible! She was sure the language gap between them could be bridged with just a bit more effort.
Since Brigit looked so proud of herself and stared with expectation sparkling in her golden eyes, Kira nodded slowly even though she had no idea what the teal lady was trying to convey.
Brigit stood and held out her hand, pulling Kira to her feet before tearing the seal on the scroll.
There was a bright flash of white light, and a sense of disorientation that made both ladies feel as though the ground was churning beneath their feet. Kira's grip on Brigit's hand tightened.
After several long nauseating moments, the light disappeared and the pair found themselves standing on a paved stone road.
Kira staggered a little but ultimately managed to keep her footing. 「 Ah! So that was a teleport scroll of some kind! Ugh that didn't feel good... It felt so different from going through a Gate door... 」
Brigit smiled and pat the girl's head with the hand that wasn't being clutched for dear life.
The road they stood on was at the entrance to a tiny valley, and emerged from a narrow mountain pass behind them. Tall mountains obscured the horizon no matter which direction someone looked, jagged icy peaks piercing the clouds.
An enormous city wreathed in fog was suspended above a vast deep lake occupying most of the valley. Leading into the city was a single wide bridge protected by towers and a massive wrought gate close to the mountain pass, which thankfully stood open to welcome travelers.
Traffic flowed around them. People on food, riding mounts of all kinds, beast-drawn carriages or even some things like the trucks and cars Kira was used to seeing. All going either to or from the city depending on which side of the road they used, hardly giving Brigit or Kira more than a glance.
Any sort of Recall- or Teleport-type Spell took time to activate, and it created a very bright and distinct glowing magic circle at the location someone was appearing. Said circle kept people from intruding into its space, creating a safe zone until the magic was complete. Savvy travelers were adept at spotting and avoiding the circles, so it didn't make any sort of commotion worth mentioning.
Kira couldn't see the city very well through the fog, but she could still make out massive dark shapes clustered together like a bunch of skyscrapers trying to conquer the skies. Over the lake hovered various ships in different sizes and shapes, some floating with the aid of inflated balloons while others had glowing sails or giant steaming engines.
Airships!
Her eyes sparkled with excitement bordering on glee. Brigit chuckled and tugged on Kira's hand, pulling her to walk with the flow of traffic toward the city gates.
The gates themselves stood open, but on the side of the bridge taking incoming traffic was a long line of guard posts, where everyone's identity was checked before they were allowed inside the city proper. If they tried to cross the bridge without getting verified at one of the posts...
At the end of a bridge was a broad band of gold brick separating it from the city. Streaks of black ash stained the gold band where stubborn folks in the past insisted on making examples of themselves.
.....
"Welcome to Atmont put your hand on the reader please," Keller repeated the phrase over and over for hours on end, day in and day out. It became second nature, to the point that it left his lips before any sort of polite greeting when meeting his friends for drinks.
Luckily all his friends were also city guards, and they understood his pain deep in their bones. Bridge duty was the one rotation people would pay half a month's salary to avoid!
Each guard post was a hut big enough to fit the guard on a comfortable chair in front of a small desk with a computer. A transparent glass wall separated the guard from the people getting checked, and in front of the glass stood a pedestal with a palm reader installed on the top.
Keller didn't even glance up from the computer screen where he'd been playing a game to pass the time. His eyes shifted to the info screen that popped up next to his game, waiting for approval or denial.
Drakke, Squire, Level 5-F. Nothing too outstanding, nothing suspicious, no prior criminal records or outstanding bounties. He tapped the key for approval and waved her along.
"Welcome to Atmont put your hand on the reader please," Keller sighed, as he clicked the wrong tile in his game and the whole board exploded. He started a new game and was about to click on the first tile when he saw the information window that popped up.
Keller yelped and pushed away from the computer so fast he fell over with his chair, staring in shock and surprise at the thin young girl who pressed her palm to the reader with a bemused expression on her face.
"Is something wrong?" The Drakke woman next to the girl asked, her eyes narrowed.
"This... She... But..." Keller stammered while scrambling to press his face against the glass to look for the girl's Clansmen.
"She has been entrusted to my care." The Drakke woman's expression was cold, and the guard felt a chill run down his spine when he met her golden eyes with his own wide brown ones. "Or is there something else?"
"Ah... N-no... Just a... Just a moment, please." Keller cleared his throat, righted his chair and took a seat. He sent a copy of the girl's profile to his superiors along with a note about her being in the care of a Drakke woman instead of Clansmen, before approving her entry.
What monstrous stats for her level! And for her Skills and Spells to have those levels of mastery...
Keller watched the ladies walk toward the city while his entire body bristled with fear.
Pure Humans really were just so scary!