When Song Joong Woo thought, oops, I mean, when Basil thought about how his new life would begin for himself, he never, in a million years, expected it to start with him being a begrudging captive of a bunch of giant, hairy, smelly, ugly goblin men who looked nothing like goblins. He thought he'd find a tavern and work there for a time before going out to find his place in the world. Then he'd open his own bakery, start small, and grow from there until everyone in the lands would flock to his storefront for so much as a whiff of his culinary masterwork.
Instead, he was treated like a live-in servant to something that could break him in half with nothing but its pinky toe. Thankfully, things weren't as bad as it seemed for him! Sure, he was being held against his will, but it's not like they were hurting him or tying him up or anything like that. The worst thing they did was give him orders and occasionally grunt at him, but that was a thing that all of them did. In addition, he didn't have to deal with the males and chief since they all went out to hunt or raid monster settlements daily, just the females and children who were much more likable in comparison but equally unsightly.
The females looked almost the same as the males since they had powerful bodies and only wore loincloths in their lower regions. They didn't even have any breasts to speak of, not that he was trying to look. The only difference was in the size and tone of voice. Even the babies looked unisex to one another and similar, which was hard to tell them apart. However, he'd never say that aloud.
Basil had much free time on his hands, with the males gone during the day and only having to deal with them at night or when they moved camp. With this time, he could do anything so long as he didnt stray too far from the Bugbears. He could explore, forage, level up his skills, sightsee, and most importantly, bake! His only job seemed to be providing meals or food for the Bugbears, which was an enormous undertaking since the Bugbears had ravenous appetites, even the babies. But this gave him a chance to discover, explore, and create new dishes he thought he wouldn't be able to before!
In the first few weeks of spending time with the Bugbears, he learned so many different dishes that he couldn't recount them all if not for his Recipe Book skill. Some of the dishes he made were Bugbear specialties, but in general, he learned how to make soups and stews, cured meats and fish, sandwiches and a few drinks, roasts and smokes, and surprisingly pies. So even though it wasn't the best situation, he still did what he loved and got thanked for his work. Never did a day pass by when he'd see the hard grimaces of the many wild, hardened Bugbears soften their exterior in appreciation for the delicious food he made, even if it was something as simple as warm milk with wild honey.
In his old life, he had never been shown appreciation for what he had done, no matter the lengths he went to show it or do it. Just getting a smile was enough to make his heart pound with joy, and he never smiled so much in his whole life. Even though he was initially terrified, he was beginning to enjoy his time with the monsters.
And for what it was worth, he was even beginning to like the babies. They were no different from regular human children that loved to scream, run, and play. He had the unrequited job of being a babysitter and uncle figure to all the children in the tribe. He even got to sleep with them, which was almost every night. Meanwhile, as he stated before, the females were far less abrasive than the males and always aided him in making food for the hungry tribe. The female Bugbears learned just as many recipes from Basil as he did from them, leading them to develop a close relationship with one another. Especially with the head female, who was the mate of the chief, where he learned that her name was Brex and the chief's name was Burr.
One day, like any other, he was making food with the other female Bugbears for the returning males in the evening when Basil began to hum a song mindlessly. Despite his humming being soft and almost unnoticeable, the Bugbears caught it with their heightened hearing. Before Basil knew it, all the females had stopped making food and began to stare at him in silence as he happily worked on making more food while humming. He was so lost in his world that it took Brex tapping his shoulder to snap him out of it and notice he was being stared at uncomfortably. So Basil looked around the cooking area, composed of a few boulders and fallen trees being used as preparing tables, for someone to bring up whatever was going on, and why was he seemingly the center of it?
"What be that thing you were doing, man scrimp?", Brex asked him.
"What thing?", Basil questions back.
"The thing yous do with your breathing part.", Brex explained while pointing at her own throat with her black-clawed finger.
Thinking on it for a minute, Basil finally realized what she was talking about and stated, "Oh! You mean humming? I was humming."
"What be this…humming?", Brex inquired further.
Thinking about explaining it in the simplest words possible, he told her, "It's kinda like singing, but you just make the tune in your throat."
"Why do that instead of just singing?", Brex asked, confused by his train of thought.
"It's for those who aren't comfortable with singing or just can't. Some people just like to do it when they work, when they're happy, or both.", Basil told her.
Brex thought about this for a while before looking like she had given up and said, "Well, what song are you humming about?"
"It's called Green Sleeves.", Basil answered.
All the other female Bugbears chartered softly to one another at this before Brex asked him, "Man scrimps make the strangest sounding titles to thing-a-ma-jigs. Why make songs about colored wraps?"
Basil has to fight hard with his urge to chuckle at her words before informing her, "The name is just a name to differentiate it from other songs. It is about what is in the song and the meaning behind it."
Thinking of this more as more soft chatter surrounded them, Brex inquired, "What be the meaning then?"
Basil thought it over, not knowing the answer himself, so he explained to her as best he could, "I can't remember the exact meaning of it, but to me, it is a song of longing, loving, loss, and lust. It's a song of joy but also sadness. It's a song of many things, which is what songs are meant to be."
"Why can't man scrimp just make things simpler?", Brex asked, looking like her brain power was at total capacity.
"Because we like to challenge ourselves.", Basil said to her, seeing that she still didn't fully understand. So he sighs and offers, "Here, I'll teach you how to hum it at the very least."
Basil then closed his eyes and began to hum the first few bits of the tune. He opened his eyes and motioned for Brex to try. The Bugbear looks flustered at first but decides to do it when all eyes fall on her. So she closed her eyes and attempted to hum only for it to come out as her typical grunts and growls.
Feeling self-conscious and embarrassed, she didn't want to open her eyes at her shame of not doing something that a man scrimp could do so quickly, but she knew she couldn't. So she opened her eyes and saw a smiling and happy Basil clapping for her. She felt flustered at his compliment until she saw the other tribe members clapping for her and smiling as well.
This continued until Brex and all the other female Bugbears had learned the whole tune through humming. Before they knew it, all of them were humming the song as they worked on the food. Later, when the night set in, with the food ready and the males still not back, Brex approached Basil once more to ask him something that had been biting at her mind.
"Man scrimp.", Basil turns to her, heeding. "Why is it that yous smile when yous weep? Are yous sad or happy? Yous can't be both thing-a-ma-jigs.", she asks him.
Thinking about it for a bit, Basil answered, "Well, sometimes when I think of something happy, I cry, and when I'm sad, I smile. Sometimes, you can't be one or the other cause it has to be both. Emotions to humans are complex things. A feeling could have a memory behind it, and that causes a smile to go with tears."
Brex scratches her head with one finger as she prompts him further, "Why man scrimps have to be so complex? Why not be simple like Goblin? When happy, wes happy. When sad, wes sad. When hungry, wes hungry."
Basil gave a soft yet deep sigh that sounded like it came from a man of many years and experience. A single tear fell from his face as he explained as best he could, "Like I said, it's complex. Emotions aren't just one thing to us; they're many things. For instance, when I think of something happy, it makes me cry either because it's gone or brings back the feeling. And when I'm sad, I'm happy because it ended, and I never have to go through it again."
Brex looked into his shaded-over eyes and saw a heavy pain that only an adult would have. Not a bright-eyed child. This intrigued her, and she said, "Man scrimp makes it seem he's been through lots and lots."
The smile on Basil's face grew dim and melancholy as he replied, "It may seem hard to believe, but I have been. I've been through many sad things…too many, if I'm honest. Sometimes, I wonder if I ever felt happy during that time. And in a way, I'm starting my second life.", he tells her while looking off into the setting sunset--a twisting painting of winding colors that slowly melted into midnight black. Smiling at the sight as a few stray tears fell from him, he opened his heart and told the Bugbear, "And that's okay! Because now I don't have to look at the past. I don't have to feel sad all the time. I can finally feel happy. I can look at the horizon before me and feel scared. Scared with excitement at something new, something unknown, something ahead of me. My past is long gone, now only the future is in front of me…and I'm excited to see what it is."
Brex just stared at him upon hearing his words. Thoughts and emotions connected to them that she didn't understand were running through her head. This boy made her think something, feel something, but she ignored it as only one thought came to her mind amidst the chaos of her brain.
"Is that why man scrimp not try to flee?", She asked him with a poke of her claw.
Basil sweat drops with an awkward smile as he admits to her, "Well, there's more to that. First off, I have no idea where I'd even go. Second, I'm sure you guys could track me down easily, I might add. And third, I'm almost 90% certain that even your babies could break me with one hand."
"That they can do.", Brex agreed with a nod and a thoughtful mannerism. "But why else? Most man scrimps try to run from goblins, scream at goblins, or attack goblins with fire, sharp thing-a-ma-jigs, and magic stuffs.", she prompts him further into his explanation.
"Mostly…it's because I don't mind being around you guys.", Basil finally admitted while looking up at her with a thankful gaze, making the unknown thoughts and feelings run through her head again. "Sure, I never expected my life to be like this starting out, but you guys never hurt or attacked me. You protect and keep me warm, and all of you are always so thankful for the food I make, no matter how small. It's…nice to be appreciated.", Basil said as he looked down while nervously touching his fingers and blushing in embarrassment. Smiling up at her, he says, "Plus, I gotta say that the kids have grown on me."
Having said that, as he dropped the rag he was using to wipe his hands, a horde of Bugbear children grabbed his arms and pulled him away to play. Basil happily let them pull him away, laughing and smiling big! Leaving a seemingly dumb-struck Brex to stand there, lost in her thoughts. She didn't know what to feel or think at this time.
Before meeting Basil, things and life were simple. Yous angry, then yous angry. Yous hungry, yous hungry. Yous wanna break something, then go smash a boulder into pebbles! But now, after talking with a child who had the wisdom of one with great age and experience, she felt lost...lost in her mind and nature. It wasn't right; it didn't feel right. Yet the more she did, the more she wanted to understand.
However, the one thing she did understand from all this confusion was this. "Man, scrimp lived a sad life. Eyes of old, hardened, and many fights.", she thought to herself.
She knew this about him, yet still couldn't understand him. He was so strange for a human. Any human she had ever met she wanted to pound or eat, and yet this one made her not want to do any of that. So, she internalized this as one thing alone: maternal instincts.