The miner's wife slapped him. He hadn't even gotten a word out when she did. He had walked up to the front of the house, his own children by his side tugging at his tools with admiration and curiosity, and Sylas sitting on his arm. The miner's wife took one look at Sylas, removed the cape from her face, studied her for a moment, then returned the cape to how it was before. She then looked at the miner. Her soft voice cut like daggers as she spoke with the speed of a rushing train. The miner could only get in a few, "Ah. Uhm." or this world's equivalent of them.
SLAP!
It was quick. Sylas barely saw the wife's hand move. The miner stood still, his head didn't even react to the slap. The wife pointed at the miner. Her face scrunched up. She showed her teeth. Her veins popped out of her hand as though they were ready to strangle the miner. She exchanged words, he exchanged words. She turned around in a huff. Storming off deeper into the house. The miner set Sylas on the ground, then slightly pushed her. She looked up at him. He was rubbing the side of his face where his wife had slapped him. He pointed in the direction the wife had gone. He grunted.
Sylas nodded. She turned around, then went deeper into the house. It was cramped. The house consisted of a singular room, worse than a cheap apartment. "At least the bathroom wasn't in the same room as the kitchen." She thought as she walked past a wooden table. It was in the middle of the house just a few feet away from the front door. The floorboards had the same wood and color as the walls, dark brown. The kitchen consisted of a window placed near a pot that hung over a stone fire pit. Next to the fire pit were empty buckets; a shelf that hung off of the wall; and cupboards with string for knobs.
The miner's wife was setting the sheets on the only bed in the house. It was massive, comparative to Sylas's current stature at least. He could only guess it could fit the entire family. Where would the boys go after they grew big enough, she thought. She hoped she wouldn't have to sleep in the barn.
After setting the sheets the wife walked to the corner of the house, knelt down, then pried open a floorboard. She got out a small box. She opened it. Took out a thick folded maroon cloth, and then set the box back under the floorboards. She got up, then pushed past Sylas. Sylas followed the wife. Almost by instinct the wife turned around when she got to the door, and was startled by Sylas following right behind her. She nodded in approval, spoke, then walked out of the house.
They walked to the back of the house. A well sat a decent distance away. It was a somewhat large well, with a bucket and rope system to gather water, and a stone base. Next to it was a large, wide wooden bucket.
NEIGH!
Sylas heard the giggles and delighted screams of the boys. Followed by the grunts of the miner, then the galloping of the horse. She turned around and ran to peek to the front of the house. She could only make out the dust left behind from their departure. The wife yelled. Sylas quickly returned to her original position. When she returned the wide bucket had been placed in front of the well. The maroon cloth sat next to it. The wife was behind the well, throwing a bucket down, drawing water. Sylas watched as the wife dumped the water in the wide wooden bucket.
"System."
[Yes.]
"Do I have some sort of status screen?"
[Yes. You may not view it at this time.]
"If I work out will my stats increase?"
[Yes.]
"From my walk from earlier has any stats increased?"
[Stamina]
"Are there individual stats for each muscle?"
[No that is too much to compute.]
"Aren't you omniscient?"
[Doesn't mean I'm not lazy.]
"Alright so how much-"
The wife grunted. A trait adapted from the miner, Sylas thought. The wife waved the well's bucket, she pointed at it. Sylas walked closer. She then threw the bucket down the well, drew water, then gave the bucket to Sylas. Her knees caved in as she drove her foot into the ground to lift the bucket. Her legs wobbled as she slowly approached the wide wooden bucket. It was half empty, Sylas thought. Her thoughts quickly returned to the bucket as her wobbling and shaking arms spilled over half of the bucket on the ground. Finally, with the sloshing of water and the heaving of the bucket, Sylas managed to lift the bucket to her shoulder. She stomped her feet, took in a few heavy breaths, then groaned as she threw the bucket into the wider bucket. Miraculously no water had properly transferred save for some droplets. She sighed in relief as she finally let go of the massive weight. She swiped the sweat off her brow and panted like a dog as she turned to face the wife. Her mouth was slightly curved into a frown, her eyes were low and had pity radiating from them.
"Please don't look at me like that!" Sylas yelled and threw her arms down. Though her words did not reach the wife. She grabbed Sylas by her shoulders and took off her cape. "Hey!" Sylas covered her body up with her hands and crossed her legs. The wife's eyes widened for a moment as she took in Sylas's appearance. After the moment passed, the wife lifted Sylas up and placed her in the half empty bucket. As the wife gave Sylas a bath, Sylas sat cross-legged. She hadn't been given a bath in forever. The way his mother would look at him held no pity.
As the wife would pour water on Sylas's head, she would imagine when she was a little boy. The water was much warmer. In a tub of bubbles smelling the sweet scent of whatever brand of soap his mother decided to use. His mother would scratch his head as she cleaned his hair. She would point between his legs after washing the rest of his body. "Look at my little boy." She would giggle as he would cover himself up. A laugh would always follow from him.
When the wife had left in the middle of the bath to fetch the soap, Sylas sunk into the bucket. Her long silver grayish hair floated on the water; her horns protruded out; and her ears practically made for boat fins. She spun around in the water. A light breeze blew past her. She tapped her long sharp nails into the bottom of the bucket. She stared at the reptile scales on her knees and elbows. "I can be a mother." The wife returned a few seconds later.
After the bath, Sylas was dried off with a towel and put into a maroon dress. It had no pockets. The wife dumped out the bath water, then brought Sylas inside. She prepared her sliced apples and berries. She consumed it quickly. As she ate, the wife simply sat on the other side of the table from her and watched. She tried to speak to Sylas multiple times, but gave up once she realized she wasn't going to respond.
NEIGH!
The boys returned with the miner and a deer. Or at least it looked like a deer to Sylas. The antlers were a bit larger than most deer and it might have had a third eye. She didn't know as the boys bursted through the front door, reviving their zombie of a mother from the staring contest with Sylas. Their father stood at the door holding the deer on his shoulders. He went directly to the side of the house with the toilet and shed.
"I haven't peed or shit yet." Sylas thought as she watched the smaller of the boys tug at her maroon dress. The bigger boy took a seat on the massive bed and fell asleep almost instantly, falling back on it. They both wore white tunics and brown overalls. Sylas yawned.
She didn't want to be rude and just sleep in the family's bed. She had already taken a dress, food, and bathing water from them. She felt herself swaying. She laid her head down on the table, then slept.