*Bryna's POV*
"Checkers?" I asked, tilting my head. "I haven't heard of that one. Have you heard of orlog?"
"In my studies of ancient games that has come up a few times." Vincent said. "The rules and pieces are a little hard to decipher in the texts."
"Hehe. I bet I could stump your prissy sister with orlog." I grinned.
"She can be, but she doesn't mean offense, so do be kind." Vincent replied.
"I don't mean anything much by it, I apologize if I offended you." I said. "She and I don't get on much and I like to give her little nuggets of information that she never believes."
"She does inspect every little bit that you tell her, though. She is quite bad at showing the appreciation, though." Vincent said.
"No kidding, 'That turned out to be correct, only after I read five few different sources. Only two contradicted in unfeasible ways.'" I quoted her. "But I don't dislike her. I do dislike Daelyn sometimes, but he's a good kid."
"Well, that's unfortunate. He's quite fond of you." Vincent said.
"He'd have to be. A troll about ate his floofy face on one of our adventures." I told him. "He's lucky I was a hair faster."
"I was hoping by him going out in adventures with you, he'd start taking life a little more seriously." Vincent said.
"He's fifteen and obeys a twelve year old." I said. "I wouldn't call that serious." I sighed. "To be entirely fair, he's clever and I do value him. I just also want to slap him currently."
"From what I hear, several people do." He said.
"He's also a flirt." I said.
"I blame that on everyone comtinuing to call him cute." Vincent mused. "I also blame that everyone wants to be on the good side of a Hearthry. It's nothing against them, but that's why I kept my name as 'Cross.' I simply wanted my achievements to ve my own."
"I can sympathize with that." I said.
"As much as I have enjoyed this visit, and I truly have, I must get back to work." Vincent said.
"It's been a pleasure. It's always nice to spend time with someone who sees me instead of a child or a motherly sort." I replied, smiling.
"Well, stop by again and I'll trounce you in another game." Vincent smiled.
I laughed and left his back room. I nodded to Adelaide. "Did you actually want a dog, Addy? I may know just the place to get such a sturdy pup."
"I was quite serious." Adelaide answered.
"Alright. I'll get you one, then. It'll need to be job trained, though. Or it'll wreak havoc." I warned her.
"I can have a firm hand if needed." she insisted.
I nodded and said, "Then see you soon." And I left the store. I headed upstairs to see Sarial outside her office surrounded by people asking her questions. Jaime was on her hip again, and she appeared to be taking the questions in stride. She had a pretty even temperament, just like Vincent does.
I was about to leave when I ran into Thomas and Wren. I greeted them again, before heading out of town. I crossed the bridge and headed North along the river. After I was far enough along the river to be in a pretty private area I cleaned the soiled lady cloth. I covertly checked on my current one and began heading North again. After around fifteen minutes, I heard a man call out to me.
I paused and turned. The man was approaching slowly, a pensive look upon his face. "Can I help you?"
The man had orange-ish eyes, mousy colored hair, and was pretty tall, standing at about six foot five. His build was muscular and lean. "Sorry for the sudden approach.. I just had a few questions for you.."
"Alright, but I'll warn you, the last pedophile to mess with me got a knife in the eye." I said.
He put his hands up and said, "I have absolutely no intentions for anything like that. You're oddly cautious for what you've just done."
"Then, I'll apologize for the assumption for now." I said, "What's your questions?"
"Where is your pack?" He asked. "I'm new here and I don't want to step on any paws."
I had a mix of emotions, excitement was one in the mix, but I had to be logical. "I am the only of my kind I have met. I lived with wolves for a time, but they shooed me away."
"Wolves don't like to share their territory." He said. "It's not quite true that you haven't met any of your kind, you've met me." He said, shifting just his hand.
The childish excitement overrode my adult-like mind and I grabbed his altered hand, looking at it, "Huwaah! How'd you just do that!?"
"Years of practice, like masking my scent." He said. He didn't appear offended in the least with my over exuberance. "So you've had no one to teach you any of our ways?"
"Hmm. Not really after my parents were killed. They were werewolves." I said, I let him go and he returned it to normal. "I'm not sure that we have any special ways, though."
"As a society, no. Mostly just dealing with the physical changes." He said.
"Eh? Like puberty?" I asked.
"That's a part of it." He said. "Certainly a part of it. But also the actual partial changes that I just showed you. Masking scents, evading hunters. I actually have a family that I .. was actually trying to figure out if Hearthstone Town was a place I could move then into."
"It's a good place with good people." I told him, "More accepting of non humans than most places. The officials are aware of a lycanthrope living there. Dueling Rivers is also a good place. I stay there usually."
"My wife is also an excellent teacher. I'd really like you to come meet her." He said.
"I'd like to meet her, too." I said. "But I'm not sure about going anywhere."
"It's really not far. And with your enthusiasm for stabbing, I think you'll be ok." He said.
"How far is not far?" I asked.
"Well we found a cabin not too far from here, about.. Where are we precisely?" He asked.
I looked round, then pointed. "Hearthstone Town is over there, a forty minute walk."
"Alright, if we're forty minutes from there, then it should be ten.. fifteen minutes from here?" He said.
"That close?" I asked. Thomas and I, at timrs with Daelyn, had been all around this area, keeping our trips to day events. But maybe they traveled a lot. Our kind does that.
"Yes. It's very close." He said. "Most of our kind like to stay far away from prying eyes, so we figured we'd try the cabin out first."
"You understand my hesitancy, yes?" I asked, looking him in the eyes.
"I'd be even more concerned for your well being if you weren't hesitant." He said.
I kicked at the ground a little, pretending to be indecisive. If this went poorly and Tilton needed to look for me, he'd recognize the mark. "Well, if it's not far I can return home before dark."
"You'll easily be within walking distance of wherever you'd like to go. You said you typically stay in Dueling Rivers?" He asked.
"Yup. I got a place to live there, and Thomas. Though he's visiting Hearthstone Town currently." I answered.
"Oh, is Thomas a friend? Does he know what you are?" He asked.
"Mhm. He does. We've pack-banded even though he's not a wolfborn." I told him.
"It's nice to have friends like that. Or pack mates, I should say." He replied.
"Which way, then?" I asked.
He looked to the left, "That w- no," He turned, "That way. Sorry, still getting used to the area."
"Are you dire or grey?" I asked.
"I am a Dire Wolfborn." He answered, walking in the direction he indicated his home was.
"I'm a winter sort." I replied, following him. "Though, you may have known so."
"Yes, I did have you at a bit of a disadvantage." He noted.
"If you say so, you are the one who took the bait." I said.
"So that was the plan? Walk around in your hybrid form to try and attract someone else. Well, it did seem to work. Excellent timing as well, if you'd done it two days earlier you wouldn't have found us." He said.
"It wasn't really my plan. I was just going to wait until James found one of my kind to meet them." I said. "It was Lady Sarial that told me I should do that. I figure she wanted to shed light on our kind."
"The original plan sounds a bit safer." He said. "I was in Dueling Rivers just a couple of days ago and I noticed there was a monster hunter there. Safest to just avoid his kind altogether."
"The tiefling?" I asked.
"Yes." He nodded.
"His daughter attends the school in Hearthstone Town. Her mother didn't want to leave, so they settled in Dueling Rivers. Sam Set is his name. He's.. an odd man. But as long as a 'monster' type isn't hurting people, he ignores them. Monster hunters are strictly forbidden to hunt within Dueling Rivers and Hearthstone Town." I explained. "I used to be scared of him, but not anymore."
"Well, I'm glad to hear he doesn't just run rampant." He replied.
"What is your name?" I asked.
"I'm Wyatt," He said, "What's your name?"
"Bryna." I answered. "How many are in your family? Are you surviving well?"
"Well, we are surviving." He said. "It's just me, my wife, and daughter."
"How old is your daughter?" I asked.
"If my guess is right, she's about as old as you. She's ten." Wyatt answered.
"I'm eleven or twelve. I'm not sure." I said. "We've kinda just went with twelve."
"Just kind of.. went with?" He asked. "Oh, from when you were living with the wolves, I'm guessing."
"Well, the last time I knew my age was when I was two. My parents were murdered at that time. My best guess is that for probably three or four years I lived with wolves. And for one to two years I wondered around before going to Dueling Rivers." I explained. "It's hard to tell because the seasons don't change."
"I have no idea why the seasons don't change around here." He said.
"...Around here? Are you not from this continent?" I asked.
"No. Me and mine fled from the other continent." He said.
"Wow." I said. "That's impressive. This is a good area to settle in. You know, Hearthstone Town gives their citizens houses. The only catch is that you gotta work. If you're evil, the door liquifies you. I seen it happen once."
"Well, that's terrifying. But I am still in one piece, so.." He glanced at me.
"Are there any of our kind that are evil?" I asked. "If it wasn't for the fact she's human, I'd think Lady Sarial was one of us."
"I haven't met any one of our kind that is evil. That doesn't mean it's not possible.." He commented. "And I wouldn't recommend the trip between the continents."
"Oh, well, if I really wanted to go, I could just ask Tilton. He's probably got a way. Ah, he's the mayor of Dueling Rivers." I said.
"I think I've heard of him." He said.
"He taught me about helping others." I said. "He likes appearing unapproachable."
"I wonder why that is." He commented.
"Acause he's over four hundred years old. He's been through a lot.." I said.
"Certainly sounds like it." He said.
"So is Bibs. Bibs is a great man." I said. "One time I bit Kershka, Bibs' friend, and my loose tooth fell out. Kershka likes wrestling with me. He's a gentle giant. A Goliath."
"A gentle Goliath, eh?" He said. "I've only met a few Goliaths. But they were all very.. Aggressive."
"Kershka doesn't even get mad if I fall asleep on him and drool." I told him.
"That sounds like a patient man indeed." Wyatt agreed. We'd just gotten in sight of a slightly run down cabin, though we'd had to change direction a bit. He didn't seem very keen on directions.
"If you're looking for work, James is looking to hire." I told him.
"Who is James?" He asked.
"A leonin business man. He's.. difficult to explain. He's lady Sarial's adoptive dad and a noble." I said. "These are his lands. I play with his younger kids sometimes. Vincent's just a little older than me, you see."
"Do you happen to know what kind of work he's hiring for? And do excuse the exterior, it's a work in progress." Wyatt said.
"No. I don't know. But he protects his own. If you mess with a Hearthry, you're as good as grass." I said.
"Well, that's always good to protect your own. Certainly sounds like someone I wouldn't want to be on the bad side of." Wyatt said. Once we'd reached the cabin, he opened the door.
"Wyatt, you've returned?" A woman's voice asked. I'd yet to step where I could be seen.
"Yes, I am back and I have brought someone." He said.
".. Someone?" The woman's voice was anxious.
He looked at me and gently said, "Come on, it's best to ease her anxiety, lest I be put in the dog house."
I stared at him for a moment, before edging closer and peering into the cabin. The woman, I noted, had vibrant blonde hair, as wavy as my own. She'd looked at me, my golden eyes meeting her lilac purple ones. She changed her expression to a smile and said, "Hello, little one."
".. Hello." I replied.
"This is Bryna." Wyatt said. "And she is one of our kind."
Realization, and some sadness, entered her eyes. "Welcome, Bryna. Are you on your own?"
"There are no Wolfborn's that I have known of till Wyatt and yourself." I said. "If that's what you mean."
"Her parents were lycanthropes. And unfortunately, our most common cause of death found them." Wyatt explained. "But she has told me of several people taking care of her."
"Well, sorta. I kinda just do my own thing. I'm a registered Adventurer. I call my old friend Bibs Daddy often." I said, looking around the cabin, but not entering. "I look after myself and Thomas. Though, Thomas' Mama's back now."
"I see," She said. "You're welcome to stay with us. Our daughter, Ruby, is playing by a small pond nearby, Just a few paces that way, if you would like to go play with her."
"I think she'd really enjoy the company. She's never had another wolfborn to play with." Wyatt said.
Understanding the adult speak for, shoo the kid, we need to have a conversation, I excitedly said, "Alright. I'll go find and play with Ruby." I started heading that way. Once I'd passed a large bush, I could see a red haired girl at a pond. That must be Ruby. Rather than going and greeting her, I stepped out of sight and shifted to my wolf form. I was listening intently for whatever Wyatt and his wife were going to say.
".. your intentions, Wyatt?" The woman was saying. I missed some of it.
"She has no family. She doesn't even know how to partial shift or mask her scent." Wyatt said. "We could teach her these things."
"You said she has people taking care of her." His wife said, "Did you confirm in any way?"
"Well, no.." Wyatt said. I changed my position so I could watch Ruby. She was playing by herself with some dolls. "And by what she was explaining to me it wasn't like a family set up, like we could offer. It was more of she lived with them."
"Seeing a little of yourself in her situation?" The wife asked in a soft tone, it was difficuot to hear her.
"I suppose a little." Wyatt said. "I just know I would have appreciated someone being there to teach me."
"There's the possibility that she won't want to stay, you know. Do you intend to make her?" His wife inquired.
"It won't come to that. She seems like a reasonable girl. She'll see being with her own kind and learning from us is the best thing for her." Wyatt assured her.
"You've only just met her.." There was a pause, "And how did this meeting occur?"
"Well, I was in that town we were looking into moving to.. And she was walking around in her hybrid form." Wyatt said.
A sharp breath was taken. "Openly? We'll need to leave." I heard some things being moved around quickly.
"I.. actually don't think we do," Wyatt said, stopping her. "The people I've talked to have spoken multiple times that monster hunting isn't allowed in Dueling Rivers, or this Hearthstone Town. Apparently there are wards on the town to keep people with ill intents out."
"I don't know.." She said hesitantly.
"Honey, we've been running for years. If nothing else, Ruby deserves a chance to make friends." Wyatt said.
"We barely managed to keep Ruby alive." She said, her voice a little empty. Ruby set down her dolls and picked some flowers. Something was dropped in the cabin, and I heard the wife start speaking again, "... What was the reaction to her?"
"Weary at first until some children started climbing all over her. Then everyone just went about their day." Wyatt answered.
"They didn't care..?" She asked. Her voice was doubtful, but had a slight hint of hope in it.
"There were other 'monster' races, as people call them, just going about their day." He said.
Just as the woman began to speak again, I saw a hulking silvery grey thing barreling for Ruby. Thinking quickly, I shifted to that half form and lunged between the two, Ruby, hearing the noise of me moving, swirled, saw the ape-like creature and shrieked. This monstrosity was called a girallon. A four armed gorilla. I reached back placing my hand on the girl and slashed it with my claws.
The adults came running to the sound as the Girallon began it's assault on me. It missed with it's bite, and one of it's punches, the three punches it did land didn't bother me at all. I pulled my short sword and slashed the Girallon. With it nearly being dead and the adults arriving, it spun and tried to took off.
"No, you don't." I growled, pulling my bow. Stringing and shooting it in record time, I felled the Girallon. Turning to the girl, while bleeding slightly, I asked, "Are you alright, Ruby?" She gulped nervously and looked at her parents. I down shifted to my human form, the girl looked vaguely surprised, but shaken.
The woman lifted Ruby into her arms with some difficult. Feeling a little jealous like I often did around families with kids, I noticed something off with her legs, she was definitely limping. I lowered my head some and looked up at them, "I'm sorry I almost let her get hurt."
Wyatt looked down at me from checking on his daughter and said, "What are you talking about? You just saved our daughter. If anything, I put her in danger. I thought I had cleared this entire area of any threats." He headed towards the Girallon. "It seems I missed one."
"They roam. No matter how many beasts or monstrosities, like this one, are killed, more move in. I should have been paying attention." I sighed. "There's giant apes that wonder from the went to here, not to mention all the other sorts. The forests are rarely safe. Too bad the only thing a Girallon is good for is eating. They love worn down human structures. But if you want it's pelt, I know where you can sell it for a decent amount. Especially if it's made into coats first."
"I'm afraid I don't know much about turning pelts into coats. But I can skin it." Wyatt said.
"I can introduce you to the tanner, or you can learn at Hearthstone Town. They're always willing to hire hunters, too." I said.
"It would seem this place is riddled with jobs." Wyatt commented.
"I guess. Is Ruby ok?" I asked her mother.
"Yes. She's fine. Are you? You are bleeding." She said.
"Oh, this isn't much. It'd probably take four of those Girallons to pose a minimal threat to me." I said. "I'm tough for my age."
Wyatt began skinning the creature. His wife reached for my head, I assumed to ruffle my hair, but she stroked my hair, her hand resting to cup my cheek. "Thank you, Bryna. You're a tough girl."
I noted that Wyatt took the time to butcher the creature properly. He was pretty skilled at it. A wolf that doesn't hunt, doesn't eat. I wasn't sure how to respond to the praise. I was a little perplexed, when they invited me to share a meal with them I agreed to. Ruby and I played dolls inside the cabin while Wyatt helps his wife, Vivian, with the cooking.
While playing, I decided to contact Bibs about this situation. After briefly touching the ring, Bibs responded.
I replied.
Bibs laughed.
I admitted.
I glanced towards the laughing couple, then replied,
I felt immensely sad.
I gave a more precise location before ending the communication. I supposed I was putting on an act of sorts. I wasn't a child like Thomas or Ruby. I was a kid, but menory wise I did have an adults mindset. It didn't really matter that I was jealous over Thomas having his mom or of Ruby having a mom. I would just be straight with them. I'd allowed this for to long already.
With a sigh, I put down Ruby's doll and said, "I guess I should say, Wyatt, that you're mistaken on something. I'm not a reasonable girl."
"Ah, you heard us, did you?" Wyatt asked.
"Yes. I do like playing with cute kids, especially if they are silly and happy." I said, patting Ruby's head and standing. I then gave him full eye contact. "I am not a normal child. The man I call my Daddy is my friend from before I died. Please excuse the eye contact, because I believe you'll need it to know I am not lying. Before I died, I was a twenty-two year old woman named Ashtar. I spent my life then, as I do now, adventuring, only back then it was with Bibs and Tilton. Bibs has allowed me his home and said he'd claim me. In many ways, Bibs has been my only parent figure I've ever had. Then and now."
"I, oddly enough, believe you. You fight a little to well for a twelve year old." Wyatt said.
"I've been training since I was with the wolves." I admitted. "But that's asides the point."
"You're still a child." Vivian said. "It's not that you like playing with cute little kids, it looks to me like you enjoy getting to act your age."
"Either way, you'll understand that I can't stay with you, right?" I asked.
"Thats alright. I was worried you were out on your own with no real training, but you handle yourself just fine." Wyatt said, "If your wanting us to teach you anything just stop by. Hopefully, we will be moving into Hearthstone Town soon enough."
"I am on my own, just not usually by myself." I said.
"Then, why not stay with us?" He asked.
I frowned and shifted my weight, uncomfortable. "Because I'm not just a kid. And I stay with Daddy."
"Then, I will simply say this, if for no other reason than that you saved our daughter, we will always keep a room open for you." He said. "And we'll always accept you to our pack."
"Thank you for your understanding. I appreciate it." I said. "I would like to be able to be close to your family."
"I believe we would like that as well." Wyatt said.
"Alright. Dinner's ready. Then, you'll have to take the pup you brought to her home, Wyatt." Vivian said.
With Wyatt agreeing, even with my declining, we had dinner. It was delicious. Most embarassingly, I'd lost track of my lady cloth and bled through my clothing. Vivian helped to clean me up, before Wyatt walked me to Dueling Rivers. He didn't walk me into town, wanting to get back as quickly as possible. I understood and didn't hold him back.
I entered the town and headed to Bibs' house, tuckered out, and in clean clothes. Kershka let me inside, having waited outside for me. Seeing my sleepy expression, Bibs wished me a good night and I went up to bed.