Breda was a young woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She had youthful white skin and brown eyes that were pleasant to look at. She was relatively short for her age, but at the same time had an air of cuteness that would inspire one to protect. Her long brown hair was tied neatly into a bun as she did the laundry and other chores that would either have her hair be in the way, or get it dirty. Her hair was her pride and she did everything she could to maintain its beauty. On the contrary, her biggest insecurity was the way that her nose was ever so slightly shifted to the left on her face. It was practically impossible to notice unless you were looking closely, and even then there was a good chance you would miss it. She was confident that it was the reason for her characteristic snort when she giggled, and would pay good money to have it fixed.
Of course, she didn't know that her husband Nofafi found that little snort of hers to be the best part about her, telling him she was genuinely amused with his humor. Nofai, which was affectionately shortened to 'Fafi' by the community, was roughly the same age as Breda. He was taller than most people with a skinnier build in comparison. He had shorter black hair and hazel eyes. His nose may have been a little stubby, but most people were drawn in by his longer than usual neck and buck teeth. His skin shade was a darker tan, characteristic of his job as a courier, as he had to spend most of the day delivering messages under the blazing sun.
Speaking of his job as a courier, he was the one who made the 253 mile trip from their village to Naice, the city where Zerrin resided, when he learned of Jamie's predicament. Breda also knew of this tragedy and the critical condition that baby had been in for the past five and a half moons, so you could imagine her surprise when Jamie arrived at her front door with that same baby she had visited to check up on early in his life.
Not missing so much as a heartbeat she welcomed him in. "Jamie! It's been too long." She slowly eased into the subject of Arc as she didn't really know his condition. "Is that Arcturus? He looks miles better than when I last saw him!" She really was surprised, the body in the bundle was moving about with energy, something she hadn't expected from that nearly dead body she helped hold on until Zerrin's arrival. "I knew he would pull through." Naturally, this was a lie, but not one with ill intent. She wanted to comfort her dear friend and give him some confidence. "So why are you here? Certainly you have a good reason?" she boiled some water for tea as she asked his reason for coming.
"Um, yes. I'll get straight to the point then. Can I ask you to take care of him for a week or two while I head to Naice to get Zerrin? He told me to get him once Arc recovered enough to move, but he would probably beat me if brought him with." He seemed a bit embarrassed by his inability to properly take care of Arc. "I know you have a few children and you are good at taking care of them, so you were my first option."
"I'll do it!" She jumped at the opportunity, but calmed herself quickly, afraid of startling the baby. "I will do it. It's the very least I can do for you." She owed Jamie and his now deceased wife almost everything. "I owe it to her as well, you can rely on me to care for him. When do you leave?"
"I plan on leaving now, it's urgent that I get him." He really did feel bad about this, it was far too sudden to ask her to do something as this. "I can wait a day if you need to prepare."
While she was certainly shocked, she supposed it wasn't unreasonable. It wasn't like she couldn't take care of him though, she had all of the proper furniture and equipment as Cernal, her youngest child, had just graduated from the crib to her bed. "It's fine, just go. I'll figure something out."
"I can't thank you enough!" He could not be more grateful as he handed the silver and gray blanket to here gentle embrace. "I promise I'll be quick."
"Take your time and stay safe. I won't know what to do if you drop as well." She really was concerned for his safety, he hadn't done anything too strenuous for the past few months as he was all tied up with the baby. "When did he last eat? Is he on solid food yet?" This was vital as she needed to know what to feed him.
"The last time he ate was yesterday. I fed him that yellow soul formula stuff, it was disgusting and I hated doing it." Remembering Arc's pained expression made him feel bad, like he had pointlessly tortured his son.
Breda gasped and immediately pulled aside her robe, exposing her breast and shoving it into his mouth. 'No wonder he is so light! He hasn't been eating anything.' she realized, though she understood that soul formula could not be taken with food or drink. "Just go, quickly. I'll take care of him."
Jamie, dazed from her sudden exposure, nodded dumbly and ran off, once again thanking her as he left.
Breda waited a few minutes before looking down to the small human that was refusing to suck from her breast. "Come on, drink little one. You need it to grow big and strong."
A once again humiliated Arc gave up and began to suck, realizing that he would be unable to escape from humiliation in this lifetime. While breastmilk certainly tasted a hell of a lot better than that yellow gloop, the method used to get it made him feel worse than the pain.
"Although I thought Soul Formula was supposed to be purple..." Arc heard Breda mutter as he slowly nourished himself, his opinion of his father dropping a level.