"So here is what happened before and after the attack. I was an assistant to a family on a small agriculture farm in the village. Davinville is mostly unknown to most, but what is known about the farms and cattle that are raised? It is mostly small hills and flat land for miles. So very easy to farm. Danville was just one of the first to be that far out. Frontier farming if you will. We provided the food to the city of New Arcadia, and in return, we get supplied with tools, more seeds, a good cut of the harvested foods we grow, and a discount for our labor to purchase food on the markets. The land owners of the farm were a family of three. The Cortizans. A wolven male with brown fur and yellow eyes, and a grey-furred beast woman with blue eyes. I have been working with them for over 10 years and have earned their trust. I attended their wedding. But the wedding was a traditional beastmen one. So I was a little out of place since I had never seen one. But to be given the trust of them for such a monumental occasion is heartwarming."
"I even started living with them in the household. They both owned the land I was working. Moments before the attack, she had asked me to take her son out shopping for some extra shovels since the ones they have been using for years finally broke. But as we got about maybe 4 miles of Danville, the kid I was taking, "she says looking briefly at the kid eating the leaves of the plant in the room. She sighs.
"At some point, he turns around and stopped me and said something that terrified me...'I hear screaming' and I turned around to see smoke blacker than the charcoal rising from Davinville. I couldn't hear screaming, but he has better hearing than me, especially since beast children don't know how to control their heightened senses. So their senses are heightened more than adults because they are all active at once. As an adult, they can control the senses and activate them and not use them at will. I gripped his hand at that moment and picked him up and ran to the closest village over to report the smoke."
That sounds like an "I survived book"...She narrowly avoided maybe a massacre because of broken shovels. I look over to the kid still eating the plant. I am not sure that is good for him but I think he will be fine. But the kid's parents might be dead. With what I hear about beastmen and elf relationships, all hands are up for what might've happened.
"Days after I reported the burning of the village, I heard the news on the papers that it might've been an attack not by bandits or marauders, but by the country of Hestia themselves. So now I am unsure what to do exactly. I believe my best course of action is to leave for Hestia, as I do have family there, although not in the best state either. I believe it is best. But...," she turns to the kid who is not chewing and eating the dirt. I don't think that is safe at all. "But I will have to put the kid in an orphanage. I don't think he would be safe in Hestia due to the systematic prejudice against them every turn."
I give it some thought for a moment and feel sorry for both of them. The kid lost his parents and might not even be aware of it yet, while she now feels that her leaving is her safest option. She said they trusted her enough to attend their wedding and even live in the household. Damnit...Might just be me thinking like an idiot, but if she leaves the kid in an orphanage the kid will forever lose the connection he had to his parents. She would essentially leave him to fend for himself. But on the other hand, it is for the safety of both of them if they choose to stay in Hestia or Arcadia. Arla said due to the laws in Hestia being systematically against the beastmen I would say they both would be in danger there than over here.
"Can I ask you something miss?" I ask Lula
"Of cour-"
*Crash*
We all turn our heads to the kid and the plant had been toppled over breaking the likely expensive pot with dirt all over the place.
"Just a moment"
She gets up and grabs him and picks him up and holds him up a big
"Look at you, you might be used to playing in the dirt but you can't here. The farm is not here honey. So please calm down. I will be taking you somewhere...fun soon. So please stop eating the plants and dirt."
The kid looks at her and begins shaking all the dirt off of his fur and nods in response.
She places him back down and runs back into the room from before and closes the door.
*sigh* "Kids can be a hassle at times. But he means well. At least I hope."
I think for a minute about what I am going to ask. I believe I will suggest she stay in Arcadia and take care of the kid. Mainly because I think this child would face abandonment issues if their parents and parents and friends leave him. She said he managed to make a sentence, he just hasn't when I have been here.
"Hey um, I know it is not my place to make a comment or suggestion since you are mostly in power here. But I think you should, well, stay in Arcadia. Now I am sure you won't care what I say but hear me out at least. You're the last connection to this kid's parents. You understand the hard work of being a laborer in the fields alongside his parents. And from what I know, most think elves don't know what hard work is. But you're an example of breaking that stereotype. So I believe you can if you are willing to, adopt him and raise him. Teach him the values of which you've had an understanding his parents had. But you don't have to listen to me. Not ym choice to force adoption."
"I'm...I am jsut not sure...He is rowdy, loud, and chaotic. And also smells at times because he gets into everything. Even his biological mother struggles to keep him restrained. But...I see your point as well. I am the only link with his parents now. His uncles and aunts have all died in the previous battles with Hestia." she says leaning over on the table and putting both hands over her face and rubbing them hard.
Being a parent is not an easy thing. I have read, watched, and heard various stories and tropes about parenting. I can't imagine being a parent when it gets thrust on you. Maybe it was a bad decision for me to ask her to adopt. Now I feel like shit.
Wait a minute...She is worried about safety in Hestia and Arcadia. But what if there were trustworthy people to protect her? I have an idea of someone who might be willing.
*CRASH*
"Oh, honey! Please stop throwing things around!" she says hurriedly moving back into the room that the kid walks back into.
Perfect chance for me to ask Lara.
As she gets out of earshot, I turn to Lara, and my sudden turn startles her for a brief moment. But her status doesn't change.
"Hey, Lara...Your parents don't have anyone living in their household in Burmington right?" I say not being subtle at all
"You want to ask me if my parents would be willing to bring them into the household aren't you..."
"Whaa...ME?! No, I could never impose that on your parents." I say blankly looking at her.
*sigh* She takes both hands and rubs her face with both hands and groans. I can't tell how she is feeling at that point. Maybe conflicted.
"You know, I have not known Coda or you for a while. But I can tell that Coda always gets his way in some form or another." Arla says being all smug at Lara.
"UUUUGGGHHH...Fine..." I will send a letter to my parents stead asking them if this would be okay. Likely they would. But even so, asking is still important."
"Sweet!"
*2 minutes later*
"Okay I am so sorry, he is very difficult. But I have thought about what you said during that moment of handling him. He is young innocent and has nothing directly connected to the events of the raid on Davinville. Meaning he won't have too much trauma. But if I leave him and put him in an environment that is not only unfamiliar and with strangers, I might as well be traumatizing him with abandonment." Lula states glancing back at the door.
I glance at the door and see a head peeking through the door and the head pulls back in the door slamming the door. The kid's very curious.
"I just chatted with Lilly pad behind me," as I glance behind me she gives a slight snarl at my comment of her and hears a small snicker where Arla is, and turns back around to continue my sentence, "she might have a place for you and the kid in Burmington. It's a great town, pretty diverse in population, small, and only 20 minutes from Burlington on a carriage. Plus I know a couple of good people there. Also, 2 of them would likely be very protective."
"I...I think...I think I will take you on that offer. But I won't put out adoption for the kid if things don't go well. I do want what is best for the both of us in the end"
"Cool, then I guess we can stay in touch and finish it once you and the kid are ready," I say standing up.
"I would be willing to go as soon as possible. When we fled I took the kid and got to the closest city. Meaning I had no property of items of interest to gather. Including the kid. So I can just gather the clothes I had purchased and my separate bank and move out."
"Bank?"
"Yeah, most people keep their wealth or money on the property which they own but in Elven society, most of it is kept in secure vaults away from the estates or property. I did that with my money and had it in a separate vault in Arcadia. The deed that recognizes me that I am the sole owner of the bank account I have has likely been destroyed. But the people whom I have gone to regarding this recognize me so that is why I am in this high-end hotel in the White District. I had to bring the kid in a basket to hide him from the public in here."
"Damn, sorry, you felt that his safety and yours means you need to hide him away from the open. But I guess we can leave when you're ready"
"Of course."