"Bring him inside we have a healer" Mrs. Uchida speaks
"Indeed, bring him in carefully" Mr. Uchida picks me up.
Wow, this man has muscle with him. I guess I just am weird to acknowledge them. Mans got to know where another man's strengths are. Or at least acknowledge it.
As we get inside he takes me up the stairs with surprising speed for his size and places me on one of the beds. I guess they are also like a hotel with a dining inn. Cool. Maybe it is a family business.
"You are a stupider kid than I thought," Mr. Uchida says with almost a jolly tone. Doesn't change the fact he called me stupid and added upon that even more to imply I am even dumber than I am already. Which I am. But he doesn't need to say it.
"Sorry...I just had this adrenaline and...and..." before I could finish Mr. interrupts and speaks about what he meant.
"What I meant by it was that most would commonly and logically think to protect themselves or flee. You chose to move in front of it and stand your ground against it. With nothing really to gain from the attempt I would think. Other than a glorious death hahaha-ahem..." he stops laughing with Mrs. Uchida staring at him with shame in his attempt to make light of the moment.
*Sigh* it seems Mrs. Uchida is disappointed in me. That's like a mother scolding her kids for doing something stupid. Such an embarrassing fate for any kid.
"I am sorry. But wait where is Lara?"
"She is fine, she is in another room with a healer first since she was already running to his room when we placed you in here."
"Oh okay, that's fine as long as she is okay. I am also sorry for getting myself in this situation again where I got hurt, Mr. and Mrs. Uchida." I try to hold in my whimpers due to the stressful situation. My body is still going through child behavior even with my intelligence the body is still young and shouldn't take this amount of stress.
"Please call me Yua. You will be more like family though we sadly can't adopt you due to tradition. But we won't abandon you unlike those parents of yours from what I heard. My husband is Hiro but he will decide what he prefers to be called."
"I prefer to be called your lord and higher up but Mr. Uchida works fine now."
They seem to be calm for me to call them by their first name. Or at least one of them seems to. Which works fine with me.
"Thank you both for bringing me in. In all honesty I assume Ariel would either adopt me or care for me for a bit longer just because she found me first."
Yua and Hiro both look at each other and sigh at the same time. Wonder what they re thinking about. Something about Ariel.
"Well, she likely would if she can but she can't due to her being a nun for the church. By tradition as well she can't adopt you either like us but that doesn't mean she can make some arrangements to keep you. But she felt it was better for us to care for you after some convincing and some recent events."
"Wow she really is an incredible woman," I think for a moment and wonder why she cared about me so much. I should just be another orphan she can send to the orphanage but she didn't because she didn't want me to be ridiculed for my condition. Which is still unknown to me.
"Uhm question Yua, Ariel mentioned to me that I was a 'thin scale' which I have no idea what that means."
Both Mr. and Mrs. Uchida eyes widen and look at each other. They seem to almost always be in sync about their thoughts. Match made in heaven I suppose?
"She...told you this? What else did she say about it?"
She didn't mention anything else about this just that I would be ridiculed and outcasted by my peers likely. Discrimination I suppose still is a thing in this world. Shouldn't be surprised when I heard about the wars between the Elves and Beastmen were brutal and slave-related.
"Well, she didn't mention other than me being an outcast from my peers from being it. But didn't mention why. She did mention I would have no magic or spiritual power but nothing else."
"You see, being a thin scale means that you are also prone to easily having scars from injuries, lack of spiritual or direct magic, and often times weaker than most beastmen. Meaning you are inferior in all respects of beastmen society. Which is likely the reason you were abandoned as a little baby."
I wish to say I would never do such a thing but in our culture, it is unlikely that we are not guilting for such action as well historically as orcs. Depending on which kind of orc, we pride ourselves of strength, independence, honor, pride, and combat. But some see kindness, honor, and friendships or families to be weakness by some. The reason why there is considered disloyalty in Orc society due to these warped ideas of what an Orc."
"In fact," Mr. Uchida comes into the conversation, "I used to be one of those warped orcs hahah! I was a mercenary who disliked families and friendship since it felt that was an easy weakness to be exploited. I am, guilty of using such tactics in my campaigns. But I eventually met the love of my life-" his story get interrupted by Yua.
"By his getting his ass handed to him in ritual combat. He would be forced to surrender everything and his honor if he lost. I would have to be one of his new mercenary club members if I lost."
"Well, I don't know about that but yes I lost and eventually fell for this woman you see here. The one who shown me to care and see strength beyond the blade but in companionship."
There is that word again. Companion. It has to have a deeper meaning than what they are perceiving it as.
As I think about my question, a human man with glasses a white shirt, and brown pants walks in with a brown bag. Is he the healer? They mentioned one early after bringing me in.
"Is this the young lad who got bit by the rodent?"
"Yes, he is holding it wrapped up in a towel. Do your best and help him." Mr. Uchida's tone darkens with almost a brutish demanding tone. His mood changed so fast!
"So uhm how long will this take?"
"Oh about 2-6 minutes give or take. From the looks of your arm the bite wound isn't to deep or severe. I will use magic to heal the wound and close it up."
He uses his hands and places them just a few inches from my right forearm and a glow of yellowish aura appears from his hands and the stingy starts to numb and disappear. It feels numb still but that I better than having stingy pain or soreness.
"Hmm, strange"
"What it is doctor?" I ask
"You wound is not healing properly then it should. It is leaving a scar. Which is strange. OFten times scars being healed by magic only happen if the scar injury has been left out for a duration of an hour. But in your case less than an hour. Strange. Was the rat cursed or something?" the doctor examines my now fully healed but scarred arm. The bite marks are barely noticeable in my scales but they are still there if one were to look at it for long enough.
"I don't know. I heard rumors of an animal attacking 4 people in a different part of town and then saw a crowd of people chasing a rodent. I am guessing the rat was the animal but it was huge. Nearly my size."
"Hmm. Strange though."
Wait it could be because of my condition as a thin scale. Could be that's the reason why the scarring.
-10 minutes later-
"Thank you for the help sir!" I say waving my now healed though scarred arm goodbye
We told him I was a thin scale and he completely now understood the situation and met a note of it in his studies. I guess he still is learning about medicine.
As we walk back inside I am greeted by some of the customers. Some greeted me with smiles some glorifying me fighting a rat my size. I in all honesty don't mind these rumors, makes me feel good.
I am moved back into the room and we replace the sheets since some blood got on the previous ones. I guess now is the best time to finally ask about the companion thing more.
"So can I get a clear answer to what a companion is? Please?" I try to make puppy dog eyes with my yellow eyes watering a bit on the verge of crying. Obviously, I won't cry but it is a good tactic.
"Well, it is essential you love or you closest one to you that you have to you in life. With often life-changing or everlasting life with. A companion was a term used by various mercenary families in orcish lives. My husband would be a companion instead of my husband. a shield, strong, honorable man who can protect me, fight for me, and help me in my time of need."
"As for me, she is the flower," Mr. Uchida comes in "the love, and the will that keeps me from straying back to the old life I had as a mercenary."
Wow. So wait they are saying I am Lara's companion because I saved her once and essentially twice? A shield for her, and a friend for life maybe?