ijwritesstuff

So you planned a trip to the nearby town, in order to trade some of your produce for extra thick clothes and blankets, along with some assorted spices. It would actually be the first time you left them, since Qarak and Hakla had stumbled their way into your life.

You invited Hakla along with you, but she declined, mumbling her reasons so low that you didn't hear. You did not press her though, figuring she wasn't really fond of large masses because of her earlier life.

So you packed your small hand-drawn cart with wool, honey, pickles, sheep's milk cheese and your coins, just in case someone didn't want to trade. Hakla observed you through the window, holding Qarak on her hip. She was not a fan of you leaving either, but you reassured her that you knew the way and the people in the village. And even if something went wrong, you had your knife at your side. Before you left the next morning, you kissed Qaraks forehead and once again calmed down Hakla. Her worried eyes never left you as you pulled the cart down the overgrown path that led to the larger road.

There was nothing noteworthy about your trip to the town, neither your visit. Though you did get some gifts for the ones waiting for you at home.

The trip back though, was always harder. By the time you turned your nose towards home, it was already very dark, and the road was hard to see. The only light available was the moon and the stars. You did not light your lantern, for that would make it easy for any potential robbers to see you from afar. It did also make it difficult for you, but you would rather fall in a ditch than get robbed.

It wasn't a ditch that got you however, but a loose nail in the middle of the road.

You did not see it, before it already had pierced your boots and foot. Barely managing to hold in a loud curse, you quickly decided that trying to pull it out in the dark might make it much worse, and lighting your lantern while you couldn't run was too risky. So you kept on walking, thanking your luck that you were not far from home.

The moment you emerged from the woods surrounding your home, Hakla exploded out the door, running to your side.

She came to a skidding halt in front of you, embracing you harshly. She held you like that for a little time, not talking or moving before you softly put your hand on her head.

"I missed you too Hakla, but it is cold out here and I have a nail in my foot"

You mumbled, and instantly she stood, taking you with her up, carrying you inside. Your soft protests were only met with a grumble, and you decided to give it up for now.

Inside the hut, Qarak was somehow still sleeping soundly in his crib, despite the loud sound of the door, snoring loudly. You were sat gently on your bed, enjoying the warmth of the fire for a moment as Hakla inspected you foot. You were about to open your mouth to tell her where your pliers were, before she pulled the nail out with her fingers. You bit your lip and hissed through your teeth to keep from waking Qarak, but now your lip was bleeding along with your foot.

"Hakla! You can't just do that! Go get the medical kit" you whispered harshly to her, trying to pull your shoe off your foot. She scrambled to get it, retrieving some gauze.

"I need the disinfectant first" you told her, and she blinked for a moment, before giving you the strong bottle of alcohol. You checked the wound for debris before pouring a bit over the wound, hissing again. You just wanted to lay down and forget about it, but you needed to make sure it wouldn't get infected.

"Get me the honey, please" you wheezed out, giving Hakla the bottle again.

"Honey? I think you need to bandage it before eating" she mumbled confused.

"Honey helps prevent infections. If the bandage isn't entirely clean or I get my foot dirty, it will keep it from getting bad and I would rather not need an amputation" You elaborated, but in the back of your mind, you were confused about how she didn't know anything about healing if she had been a fighter before coming to your home. She did get you the honey, and you generously smeared it so the wound was closed off. Bandaging it up, you sighed as you finally laid down.

"Would you mind terribly going out and getting the cart? There are some perishables in the burlap sack I need to store" You asked with your arm covering your eyes. Judging by the sound of the door opening and closing, you imagine she did just that. Tomorrow, you'd help put away the other things, but for now? You needed to sleep. Pulling the cart wasn't hard, but it wasn't easy either.

And little Qarak was growing so fast too. He was constantly trying to walk, and getting frustrated when his little feet couldn't balance his body. He was still a little menace though, you couldn't take your eyes off him for a second before he was gone. He was currently sitting beside you in the garden, snacking on a carrot as you removed weeds. Hakla was slightly off in the distance, throwing weeds in the compost pile. You smiled to yourself. Life had been good lately. Your animals were healthy, your garden was flourishing and most importantly, Hakla and Qarak seemed happy. You felt a little hand smack your side, and looked down at Qarak. He folded his hand repeatedly in the way you taught him.

"You want some water little man? Okay let's go" You lifted him up and brushed the dirt from his pants. You had the idea to teach him some basic signs to communicate before he learned to speak.

"I'm just getting him some water, be right back" you said to Hakla, who hummed in acknowledgement. She had started to trust you more, and seemed much more at ease. She no longer slept with the axe near her, especially after you had made a bed for her. You had felt bad about the way she slept in a cot on the floor, and despite her protests about a proper bed, she slept much more soundly now.

After Qarak had gotten his water, he started fussing. You knew it was time for his midday nap, so you put him in the little crib. He fell asleep surprisingly quickly and you left the hut to continue your work.

Hakla was still outside, looking intently at one of your berry bushes. She reached out for it, but quickly retracted her hand once she heard you approach.

"There should be some of them that are mature" You plucked a bright red berry and held it out to her.

"They taste really good. Especially in pies"

She took it slowly. You plucked another and ate it. She ate hers too.

"You can eat when you want something, you know? That's why it's here" You went back to weeding. In the corner of your eye, you saw her pluck some more berries.

"You sure? Won't we need them for the winter?"

"Nah, I planted the berries purely as treats. You just eat till you can't"

You smiled again. She sighed heavily.

"It is not often I have had sweet things. They mostly gave us bread and meat"

She put the whole handful of berries in her mouth. You straightened up.

"They?" You asked. She tensed. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I won't pressure you" it would be a lie to say you weren't curious, but Haklas comfort meant more than that.

"They were the ones I got away from. They were to sell Qarak" She grumbled. You nodded silently. "They made us fight each other. For fun. I got free" She looked down at you.

"I am glad you did. I am happy that you are here" You tried. "My life has been significantly better since you and Qarak entered it" This time, she slightly smiled back.

She truly had a beautiful smile, even when unsure, it seemed to lighten your soul just a bit.

More months went by, and soon it was little Qaraks first birthday. He was getting better at both communicating and balance. He could not talk or walk yet, but he was already much bigger than when you first saw him. As his birthday gift, you decided to make him a swing in one of the large trees at the outskirt of the farm. You actually didn't know the exact day that he was born, since Hakla only had a rough estimate of the time. But that didn't matter, a birthday he would get. So you woke up Hakla and Qarak with the smell of fresh baked fruit pie (which you guessed they both enjoyed, seeing as they both got their entire faces covered with sweet filling).

After you had cleaned the mush of Qaraks (and Haklas) face, you told them to follow you out behind the cottage. A little aways, you had hung your homemade swing yourself during the night (you thought the hardest part would be to crawl up the tree in darkness with the rope, but the real challenge was getting out the house without Hakla waking up. She would be awake at the slightest noise, and you didn't want to ruin the surprise) and happily told Hakla;

"I tied it to a strong branch, so you can swing with him!" proudly gesturing to your work. Hakla just looked at it for a minute and you wondered briefly if you had overstepped.

"You made this for... him and me?" She asked with the thinnest voice you had ever heard from her.

"Well, yes. I hope it okay. I think I made some squirrels angry when I hung it up, and I-" you were interrupted as she hugged your close to her with the arm she didn't use to carry Qarak.

"Thank you" she whispered.

You picked up Qarak under Haklas piercing gaze. "Whatsa matter? Why's he cryin?" She growled, ready to blame you. "Hey is just morning grumpy and wants cuddles and attention. Will you hold him for a minute?" She nodded and held out her arms. "It might be a good idea to put the axe down first?" "Ah. Right" She put down the axe and took Qarak from your arms. He slowly stopped sniffling, looking up at Hakla curiously. You turned to make some breakfast. It only took a little while, and soon there were three bowls of stewed fruits steaming on the table. You motioned for Hakla to sit, which she did. She did not put Qarak into his chair, but instead held onto him. You push a large and small bowl over to them, nodding before starting to eat yourself. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Hakla sniffing the bowls of stew suspiciously, before carefully picking up and licking the spoon you had put in. She deemed it safe and began trying to feed Qarak.

He did not agree with this, and instead decided to avoid the spoon at all costs. You could hear Hakla mumbling in orcish, trying and failing to get him to eat. You put down your own spoon. "Try acting like you're eating it yourself. Then he will know it is safe" You softly told her, receiving a glare in turn. Yet after a few more attempts at feeding him failed, she did indeed almost put the spoon into her mouth, before putting it to his lips again. This time he opened his mouth and started to eat happily. Only after he emptied his bowl did Hakla begin eating. It was all gone before you could blink twice. You handed her a handkerchief before taking the empty bowls to wash them at your indoor pump basin.

Hakla followed you around everywhere the first couple of days, adjusting to your routine of keeping animals and your fields. She was carrying Qarak, which he didn't seem to mind much. You showed her your fields and your animals. She simply followed you around, eyeing everything with suspicion. She paid attention to everything though, and the next morning you had help to take care of your animals.

You never asked Hakla about anything regarding her life before, nor how Qarak ended up here.

You found it wasn't your place. But you did wonder. Hakla seemed very insecure when taking care of Qarak, always having to rely on your advice, though she did it reluctantly. She obviously loved him, but she seemed like a fish out of water whenever she had to take care of him. It didn't bug you though, you just went about your day, content and even happy with the company. It did seem to bother Hakla though. "Why are you so good with 'im?" She asked one evening, as you were sitting on the floor, playing with Qarak. "Hm. Well, you just have to make sure that he is comfortable. He is a little person, so he needs what other people will need, just with a bit more assistance I guess" You shrugged as you tickled his stomach, eliciting a gleeful screech. Hakla sighed deeply, and you felt the little interaction was over. She still did not trust you enough to get too vulnerable around you, but you didn't mind. Things take their time, after all. One day though, you had been caught in a sudden downpour, but couldn't run for shelter immediately, since you had to make sure none of the animals or iron tools had been left out. You came back inside absolutely soaked to the bone, and it had apparently been enough to get you sick. You woke up the day after with a hammering headache, chills, and a stuffed nose. You damned the weather for a few moments, before sitting up to get out of bed. You regretted this, since your world immediately went spinning. Then, without a warning, you sneezed. And it was loud. Both Qarak and Hakla jumped awake, looking over at you. At least the axe was not out yet. "Sorry, did gnot mean to wake nyou" you sniffled and stood up. You felt Haklas eyes scrutinising you from behind before she decided to say something. "Yer sick. Go sleep again" "Cang't. Got to check the angimals, the fields angd the bees" You sounded and felt horrible, but you could not just neglect your duties. Hakla snorted. "I'll do it. Sleep" You spun around, looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

"You sure?"

"Ye" You really would like to just sleep this sickness away, and if Hakla believed she could take over for a day, then you had to trust her. Trust is mutual, after all. So you nodded and staggered back to your bed, sighing in bliss as you lay your sore head onto your pillow. It did not take long for you to fall asleep. When you woke up again, it was to Qarak booping your nose. In your delirious state, you couldn't even tell what time it was. As you lifted your head, you felt something slide from your forehead onto your pillow. A green blur filled your vision, picking up a smaller blob and carrying it away before picking up whatever fell from you face and put it back again. "Lay still. Your fever is worse" A deep voice told you, and you obeyed. The thing they put on your head felt nice and cool, staving of the headache if just for a little bit. You lifted your arm to feel what it was, but accidently smacked it against the arm of what you by now had finally realised was Hakla. You immediately became alert as you heard a small grunt of pain from her. "You're hurt?" You asked and sat slightly up. "The bees do not like me" Came the short answer. You should have known. "Qarak?" You felt for the small bumps of beestings, feeling not many, but large ones. "Didn't bring him close to the damn things" This made you smile. "See? You are a good mother. Now lemme just..." You sat up, not seeing Hakla's conflicted, yet happy expression. Staggering over to your pantry, you pulled out a clove of garlic.

"What... Are you doing?" She asked as you opened the garlic and pulled out a small knife. "Hushhhh" You said, still woozy from the sickness. Under Hakla's watchful eyes, you cut open a piece of the garlic and started pressing it against some of the beestings. When that was done, you pressed a little kiss to her arm and laid down again before catching glimpse of her bewilderment. In your sleep, you felt the cool rag be put back onto your face.

And that was the train of thoughts that led to you currently holding the key to a house at the outskirts of a little farming village. An impulse decision, really. But as you saw the house for the first time, you couldn't help but feel hopeful about the future. You still had enough money to remodel the barn adjacent to the house, planning to resume your vet practices there. You were given the place for a very reasonable price since 'the town needs someone with your skills', in the town elders' words.

And sure enough, not much time went by before your barn were filled with livestock that needed a looking after. There were so many, that you sometimes even thought of taking on an apprentice. You were happy that you had a home and steady work, the farmers were happy you kept the animals healthy, and the animals were happy to be healthy.

That is how your days went, before your predictable existence were shaken up a bit. One of the farmhands had come running into your barn one afternoon, saying that you were needed immediately. You didn't ask any questions, just taking your emergency kit and following the distressed worker.

You expected that it was a sheep or a cow that had needed help, but as you approached the small gathering of farmers, you realised that it this was a person. A centaur to be exact. You slowed slightly, but when the farmhand saw this, he told you that you were the only person they knew with medical knowledge. You sighed and mentally prepared yourself to work on an actual person for the first time. When you got to the group, the other workers dispersed from the immediate area, giving you place to work, but keeping an eye on their hurting friend. The centaur was lying in a track from the plough, that looks like it had gotten momentum from being dragged down a hill and had run over the centaurs hind leg, crushing it. The centaur was breathing erratically, sweat dripping down her face.

"It's alright. What's your name, friend?"

You asked as you took a look at the broken leg.

"Vel'adra" She managed to breathe out, obviously in great amounts of pain.

"Alright Vel'adra, I'm gonna help you with this. I am going to need you to chew on this. It is to dull the pain" You held out a handful of dried herbs, which she immediately shoved into her mouth. While she chewed, you turned to the other workers. "I am going to need to fix the leg here, but we need to get this clean sheet under it, so dirt stays out. We will need to lift her slightly to get it under her, and for that I need your help" You turned back to the woman. "We are going to lift you for a small moment, and then I will get on with fixing this leg, okay?" You asked readying the sheet. She nodded, her mouth furiously chewing the herbs still. As you gave the signal to the others to lift her, she let out a muffled sob, but it seemed that the herbs were working. If not, she would have been screaming. You nodded to the other workers and started on your work.

It took several hours, cleaning, removing rocks, and setting the leg before you finally could bandage it up. Her friends helped her waddle herway back home, slightly unconscious, and you following closely to make sure no strain was put on the leg. As you neared her house, another centaur came galloping to meet you.

"What happened? Vel'adra is hurt? What happened?" The other centaur who you would assume was her mother, was understandably upset. She helped the others get her daughter back into the house. Inside, you kept an eye on the cot where your patient was placed. It was important to monitor her, to make sure she didn't go into shock as the herbs wore off. You could faintly hear the workers explain what happened to Vel'adras mother and brother, when you perked up at your name being said. You turned your head to see everyone looking at you.

"Uh, I don't know what you just said, but I need to monitor Vel'adra for at least 24 hours to make sure the wound won't be infested. That could be dangerous and I would rather avoid amputation" As soon as the words left your mouth, her brother turned to you sharply.

"And what do you know? You're a veterinarian, not a centaur healer. We are not animals, despite what you humans might think" He spat venomously. His mother gave him a stern stare, but wasn't given the chance to scold him, as a voice came from behind you.

"Shhhhut up idiot. F'not for her, m'still be lyin' in the mud. I need help" Vel'adra said, her eyes still closed, and her head resting against a pillow. You look back to the others as the mother spoke again.

"I apologise for my son's inappropriate behaviour, we are very thankful for your help. We will pay you for it, of course" But you just shook your head.

"Just happy to help, I don't need anything. Well, except for my medical bag, which I'll have to go get. Would it be possible for me to stay and monitor your daughter during the night?"

And that was how you first met Vel'adra. She had been coming for regular checkups for the year it took her to heal. She still can't strain her leg, but she assure you that she is just happy to not have lost it, and to be able to still walk on it.

During the time she was your patient, you got to know each other better, realising that you had much more in common than either of you thought. You were quick to become friends, but you had unfortunately developed a small (gigantic) crush on her.

The day you realised this, you went into quite a panic. Yet, you calmed down as you thought of her, of what she would say in that situation. Which only made everything worse.

So, one day you decided to simply tell her how you felt, ready to take the rejection if that was what fate had in store for you.

Or maybe you weren't ready for fate after all, since you immediately regretted every life decision as soon as you knocked on her door. It didn't take long for her to open, giving you a dazzling smile.

"Oh hey! I didn't expect to see you today, everything good, or do you just wanna hang out?" She asked, leaning slightly on the door frame to remove weight on her bad leg. Your throat was suddenly dry, and all the practice you had from your trip there, left your mind. You just opened your mouth and words came out.

" Vel'adra, I think your smile is beautiful, and every day I want to see it, to cause it, and to remind you how gorgeous it is. I-if you would have me" The sudden confidence was gone, replaced with anxiety. Vel'adra stood stunned for a moment, her mouth open. Then she smiled the brightest smile you have ever seen.

"I would like that"

"FINALLY"

The whinnying continued, and you were quickly on your way to the crash site. As you got closer, you could see that the horse that had been pulling the cart, had stumbled into the ditch where you dug out your clay. The poor horse was obviously panicking, which was only made worse by the fact that it's legs were all in unnatural angles. You slowed down your pace, and approached the terrified animal. It got increasingly distressed as you got closer, trying and failing to stand on it's broken legs. You felt bad for the poor thing, and couldn't help but feel responsible that it crashed into a hole that you had dug.

There was something strange though. There were no roads that led to your house, nor was there a driver in sight. That was when you noticed the arrows sticking out of both the horse and the side of the cart, along with the blood splattered on the wood. There was forming a clear picture in your mind; The person/people that had been driving the cart had been attacked, possibly killed and the frightened horse had set off in sheer panic, only stopped when it had tripped into your clay pit. You made a somber realisation. The horse had not only sustained painful injuries, but it had also broken all of it's legs in a way that would not be mendable with any of your knowledge. With a heavy sigh, you put the animal out of its misery, as quickly and painless as you could. That, you did know how to do. With a final stroke of it's mane and a tear falling from your cheek, you closed it's eyes. In the silence that followed, you heard a small grunting and shuffling from the back of the cart. You hurried to it, finding a small moving bundle of cloth at the bottom of the cart. You hesitantly peeled back layers of the fabric, only to be greeted with small eyes that shone in the moonlight, staring back at you. You barely had time to notice the sharp ears and the green colouring, before the small thing burst into a heartbreaking wail. You flinched slightly before picking up the little one. It was clearly a baby, and judging by its appearance, it was either a troll or an orc. The little thing was clearly unhappy with the situation, bawling it's little eyes out. You knew that small creatures required three basic things to be comfortable: food, safety and being clean. You could do that. You ran back into your house and lit some candles, still clutching and rocking the baby. You laid them on the ground, searching for one of your blankets and a washcloth. As soon as you had found some that you deemed soft enough, you immediately went to work cleaning the child. The small thing was filthy, clearly having been neglected. As you cleaned them, you found them to be a small boy. When you finally had cleaned the little one up and tied a washcloth around his behind, you bundled him back up in a new blanket. Your ears had begun ringing from the continuous cries, so you hurried with your next task. You had to find food for him.

You peered into his open mouth, seeing the dents of small teeth trying to break out. This was good, it meant that the child was approximately at the age where he could start eating something other than his mother's milk. If he wasn't, you wouldn't have known what to do. You know enough about babies to be aware of the fact that just any milk wouldn't do. If you fed a newborn milk from your sheep, they would become very sick, or even die. So you thanked your lucky stars that you had boiled potatoes the evening before, taking one and mashing it into a bowl with one hand as you held the crying boy with your other. You sat down on a chair with the little child in your arms, scooping a dollop of mash onto your finger. It was easy to get it into the mouth of the boy, with how open it was. As soon as the food touched his tongue, he clamped down. Your heart broke at the realisation that he must have been incredibly hungry. You fed him the rest of the food, and he kept silent the whole time, too invested in filling his stomach. As the bowl began to empty, he started to slowly look around, as if searching for something. Or rather someone. You imagined that he was looking for his mother. It was after all around this time too, that a child would realise that their mom was a different person than themselves, leading to much separation anxiety. As the boy began to realise that the only person around was you, his lip started wobbling. You held him close to your chest and started humming, hoping the vibrations would soothe him. He started sniffling, but was not crying yet. You walked around your small house for some time, humming and smoothing a finger down from between his brows, to the tip of his nose, just as your mother had done when you were little and couldn't sleep. It eventually worked, and the little boy fell asleep. As slowly and quietly as you could, you blew out the candles and laid back into your bed, keeping the boy close. You kept him on the inside of the bed, against the wall, so there was no chance he would fall down. You would be damned if something happened to this little guy. Your last thought before you drifted off again, was what clothes you would have to make him.

The sun had barely risen above the treeline when the little guy woke you up. He was once again crying, though less desperately than the night before. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you started your day with changing the boy and feeding him again. He was content after, just curiously looking around your home. You knew that you would have to tend to your animals, yet you didn't want to leave a baby alone for longer than absolutely necessary.

Turns out that he rather likes being strapped to your back as you work.

You had taken a long scarf and tied it so he was sat securely on your back, and you had both your hands free. You could feel his little head resting on your shoulder, observing as you fed the chickens. They seemed to still be shaken up from the commotion the night before, puttering around your feet as soon as you crossed the fence. They nipped at your boots to let you know that they were distressed, and you laughed slightly at how disgruntled they looked. You gave them a bit extra seeds to quiet them down, and it seemed to work. Next was checking on the sheep. You only had a few, but they seemed content in their hut, only coming out to eat and drink during the day. Milking them was over quickly, so you just patted them for a good bit after. You had almost forgotten the little guy on your back, before a small hand reached out to the sheep in front of you. You crouched into the mud so he could feel the wool of the sheep. He seemed to like this, though the sheep looked a bit pressed when he tugged at it. You quickly unfurled his fingers from the wool and patted the sheep apologetically. She didn't seem to be too mad, as if she knew it was just a little baby. He didn't like that he could not feel the wool, so he instead started tugging at your ears.

That was when you made the decision to get him some sort of toy. The first thing was just a tuft of clean wool you had not yet spun. It seemed to do the trick and keep him occupied as you went to take a closer look at the crashed cart. In the daylight, it was much clearer how damaged it actually was. With the way the wheels almost was falling off, you were surprised that it had gotten this far. You sighed before grabbing a shovel, starting to fill up your former clay pit, that now was to become the grave of the poor horse. As you worked, you mulled over what you could use the planks from the cart for. Most were still in fair condition, and it would be a waste to use them as firewood. That was when you heard a soft snoring in your ear, the baby having fallen asleep. Maybe you could build a crib for the little one?

That was indeed what you did. It took a few days and was not the prettiest, but a sound and safe crib had been constructed from most of the useable planks you could salvage. It had been layered with a thick blanket over a base of dried moss, to make it soft. A small carving on the side date the day you had found him. You had also taken to knitting new blankets and clothes for the boy, as well as work on whittling some small figures for him to play with. And since you had no name to call him, you started to refer to him as Qarak. It was the name of an orc you once had met, and felt that it would be respectful to at least give him that part of his culture. So long as it didn't turn out he was a troll.

The first time you genuinely heard him laugh, was when you had made a bird flute from clay, and blew in it to entertain him. His entire face lit up and he broke out into a full belly laugh. You could only laugh with him. 

He had been around for about a month before he started to crawl, much to your surprise. You had sat him on the floor as you used the rest of the salvaged planks to make a chair he could sit comfortably in, when he suddenly was at your side, trying to put the hammer in his mouth. From then on, he was a little menace. You could only count on him staying in his crib, where he was to small to get up from, or when you strapped him to your back when you worked outside. 

He had started to communicate with you too, and you slowly started to understand what each little sound meant. You often talked to him as you worked, hoping that it would help him speak one day. 

You always referred to yourself as "mama" when you spoke to your chickens and sheep, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise when you suddenly heard a small 

"mam" come from the child. He had wanted your attention, and was pulling at your pant leg. You stiffened before looking down at him. He said it again, with a large smile now, having gotten the attention he wanted. You quickly lifted him up to pepper him in kisses, making him giggle wildly. 

You had by then contented yourself with the fact that you were going to take care of this kid, since there hasn't been anyone around to look for him. You had briefly considered dropping him off at the nearest village, but couldn't bring yourself to do it, seeing his gummy little smile, new tuft of blond hair and bright eyes look up at you. You figured that his relatives were dead, killed in the ambush. 

Which was why you were so surprised to hear a yell from behind your back, while you were feeding your chickens one summer morning. You quickly turned around, not used to other people, and not at all anyone around your house.

It was an orc woman, tall and broad. She had a long blonde braid going down one side of her head, the other shaven. Her tusks were filed down to a blunt point, and she had piercing green eyes. In her hand was a large woodsplitter axe and she had a sneer on her face as she stomped towards you. You stood very still as she approached, not wanting to give her a reason to pounce.

"Can I help you?" you tried softly asking, which only made her huff.

"Where did you get that child?" Her voice was deep and gravelly, as if she had used it to scream her whole life.

"I found him" This only made her scowl deepen.

"Bullshit. You bought him didn't you? Bought him so he could grow up to be a slave on your farm?" She raised both her voice and her axe, making you realise how much bigger and stronger she was than you. You held up your hands placatingly.

"It is true, i found him in a cart that had been ambushed. The horse had dragged it all the way to my homestead. I decided to take care of him" You tried to reason with her. She snarled, which made Qarak whimper on your back. You lifted your hand to his head and petted it softly, trying to soothe him. The woman's eyes followed your movements.

"I imagine that you are a relative?" You really tried to keep your voice steady, even if you were afraid. You tried to be strong for your boy. The woman scoffed again.

"I'm his mum. And if you hand him back right now, I won't kill ya" Your mouth went dry. This was his mother? They did have the same eyes and hair, but you wouldn't just hand him over.

"Hold on, how can I know you really are his mother? Why would he be alone in a cart, clearly neglected?" Once again, your words made her look even more angry, her grip on the axe tightening.

"Cause he was taken from me. I tracked down the sons of bitches that wanted to sell him as a slave, but they were already dead. Robbery gone wrong. I have been looking all over for him and my patience is starting to grow thin" She growled out. You sighed heavily.

"Okay. If you are his mother, then I suppose it would be very selfish of me to try and keep him" You slowly freed him from you back, holding him out to his mother. She sighed the moment she held him. He started fussing a bit, reaching back for you. "Let me just get his things" you choked out and motioned to your house. She looked to think for a second.

"Alright, but if you try to attack us, I will not hesitate to kill you" She nodded and followed you to your door. She had to duck when she entered, her eyes darting around to look for potential threats. Her gaze fell upon the crib and chair that you had built for him, before it landed on you again, as you took his favourite blanket to use to bundle his toys up with. You gathered the small things you had made him, the little bird flute, a carvings of a sheep and a chicken, a ball you had sewn and the clothes you lovingly knitted for him. As you turned back to the woman with the filled sack, she now looked more curious than angry.

"This is his things. Oh, and he prefer his potato mash without clumps. He also hates carrots. He sleeps best when you sing at least two lullabies. And please remember to massage his stomach every once in a while, or he gets a tummy ache" You told the baffled orc as you handed her the things.

"Bye little guy" You kissed him on his little head before quickly drying the tear that fell from your eye. He looked confused at seeing you distressed and reached back out for you.

"Mamma?" his mothers head whipped down to him as he uttered that little word. Then her confusion turned back into a snarl before she brought her axe to your throat in one quick move, not cutting, but keeping the threat of damage very real.

"You fucker! Why does he think you're his mum?!" She yelled, making Qaraks lip wobble.

"I- I took care of h- him. I didn't think he had any family aliv-" You breath hitched as she pressed the axe closer to your neck.

This made Qarak start full on sobbing. This distracted the woman enough for you to take a breath without fear of decapitation. She tried to bounce the baby, but she couldn't get him to calm down. Well aware that you were tempting fate, you reached out for him. The woman glared at you, but gave up when she saw how the boy was reaching for you. You gently rocked him, humming a familiar tune. The crying quickly subsided and he calmed down. The woman looked at you once again. You just ignored the glare.

"Where will you go?" You softly asked her, still rocking Qarak. She looked away for a moment.

"I don't know" She sighed. You bit your lip in contemplation.

"You could... stay here?" You looked at her surprised face. She was silent for a few more moments before she nodded.

"Alright. We'll stay. I'm Hakla"

You were spending a rainy day at your shop, sitting down with a nice hot beverage and a book, expecting a very slow day, when the chime rang, signaling a customer. It was a person covered head to toe, long coat, hat, gloves, sunglasses and a scarf obscuring their identity. You wondered shortly if you were about to get robbed, but the figure began nervously fidgeting around one of your himalayan salt lamps, before grabbing one of them and marching over to the counter. They put it down quietly and pulled out their credit card. You rang them up with a smile and wished them a good day as they rushed their way out into the streets.

Now, it was a fairly cold day, so you didn't think too much about the mystery person for a month. Until they appeared again.

Once again it was raining as they came into the deserted store, nervously looking around as they fiddled with their fingers. This time they chose a globe with a light inside. It wasn't normally what you would carry, but you found them neat as you were ordering your stock for the month, and now you were happy that you did. The person was still silent as they paid for their lamp and left. You once again wished them a good day and went about your own.

The third time it was raining again, but there was another customer in your shop. The mystery person just managed to close the door before freezing as they saw someone else at the counter. It was just a sweet elderly lady who had to have a cable replaced on her old reading lamp.

The person went through your shop quickly, always peeking at the lady who was still talking about what happened to her lamp as you finished the simple repair.

"-So I was very confused when I heard foofy give a yip and so I of course went to check on him, and I swear, I have not laughed that hard in ages, all his fur were standing straight into the air. Turns out he had chewed on the cable, and I simply can't go to sleep without reading before bed, so I had to come out in this dreadful weather-" she rambled on and you smiled at her story. It wasn't the first time someone had a pet bite an electrical cord, fortunately no animal had ever gotten more than a scare. Well except that one dwarf hamster, but they die if you sneeze in their general direction.

You gently handed the repaired lamp back to its owner and she thanked you graciously, paid and left.

The mysterious person saw their chance to get out of the shop and hurried over to the counter with a box of fairy lights. You rang them up, wished them a good day, and once again they left without a word.

This became a regular occurance during the spring, they visisted around once a month, bought a light and left silently.

It was soon summer, and a hot one at that. The mysterious stranger hadn't been around since it became warm, which kinda made sense. You don't know why this person were so insistent on staying anonymous, but you were never one to pry. You were sitting in your usual spot behind the counter, a pitcher with ice cold water beside you and the ceiling fan on max, when you saw the stranger once again. You were quite surprised that they were still wearing the same outfit they used during spring, which would be unbearable in the heat of summer. It looked to affect them too, they staggered slightly when they walked and kept tugging on the collar of their coat. You were slightly worried for them, they didn't seem to be doing so great. They leaned on one of the shelves before their knees buckled under them and they fell to the floor. You jumped out of your chair and hurried over to them. They must be having some kind of heat stroke. You heaved the surprisingly light person to your chair behind the counter and sat them down.

"I am going to take off your outer clothes okay? I am trying to help you" You tried to calm them as you took off their hat and scarf. What greeted you were antennae and a short buzz of white fluff, going all the way down from their head, to under their shirt. You also pulled off the heavy raincoat and gloves, before filling a glass with cold water. You put the glass in their hand, still keeping yours on it, and helped them lift it to their mouth. They drank greedily until it was empty. You turned around to fill the glass again, and as you did so, you heard a slight flapping. You turned around and promptly covered your eyes. The person- woman had taken off her long sleeved shirt and were now sitting in only her bra as her wings were flapping slightly.

"Uh... Ma'am? I think you should go I to the back before someone else enters" You squeaked out, apparently waking her up from her daze.

"Yeah... Okay" The sweetest voice you ever heard in your life answered you. You took your hands away from your eyes, though you still keot your gaze at the floor, and offered her your arm. She groaned as she stood up.

"Urgh... I feel sick" She sounded miserable. You opened the door to the back and led her in.

"Yeah, heat can do that to you. You can cool down back here and I'll go get you some more water. If you need to throw up, I have a trashcan by the door" You sat her down on one of the boxes and went back out into the shop. A customer has entered while you were occupied with the woman, so you quickly told the person that you would be back soon, before hurrying the pitcher of water out to the woman. She grabbed the pitcher and started gulping water like there was no tomorrow. Satisfied that she seemed to be slightly better, you tended to the customer. As soon as the transaction was over, you grabbed the discarded clothes and went to check on the woman in the back. She was holding the empty pitcher close to her as she was looking around. She had taken off her sunglasses, and you could now see her large pitch black eyes. Paired with the wings and the fluff she had on her whole body, you quickly determined her to be a mothfolk. She looked back at you, before quickly looking at the floor.

"I- I am sorry, please don't tell this to anyone" She sounded very ashamed.

"Hey, don't worry. I usually don't run around talking about how people almost fainted in my shop" You gave her the clothes you had taken from her earlier. She looked up at you and looked away again. She bit her lip.

"That's not... I know it's funny. A total stereotype for a mothgirl to frequent a lamp store. I get it. I won't come back again" She sighed and hang her head.

"Why would it be funny?" You asked quietly, not really understanding her apprehension. She curled even more into herself, hugging the pitcher as if it was a stuffed animal.

"I can't sleep without looking at a light, but I keep breaking them. This is the only place that doesn't know who I am. But I guess that is over now" She sounded as if she was close to crying. You sat down on the floor in front of her.

"I don't think it's weird. I like light too. I mean, I opened a whole ass shop about it, so I kinda understand what you mean" She looked at you.

"I don't really know the stigmas about mothfolk, but I don't mind you visiting. As long as you don't give yourself a heat stroke again" You gave her a gently smile, which she hesitantly returned. You then cleared your throat.

"Well, I will let you get dressed again. Use as much time as you need to cool down back here. There is more water in the fridge over there" You stood up and left a slightly flustered mothgirl behind.

After your first official meeting with "Clarrisa" as she told you to call her, her monthly visits continued. You learned a lot about her, how she really liked oranges, that she worked as a programmer and how she always fluttered her wings when she giggled. You had developed a friendship over the autumn, and Christmas was around the corner. You wanted to give Clarrisa a gift, though you had no idea what it should be. You had been wracking your brain trying to come up with something, but it only came to you as you were absentmindedly browsing a catalogue for new items for your store. A Bluetooth lamp, which projected a coloured night sky onto the ceiling. This would be the perfect gift, you just hoped that she would like it.

With the gift neatly wrapped and placed under your counter, you waited for Clarrisa. Christmas was a fairly busy time for your shop, and you made a good amount of money by selling Christmas lights. But all you could think about was how Clarrisa would react to your gift.

As the days passed, you became more and more anxious. Clarrisa had not been in your shop for a couple of weeks, and you started to overthink the past couple of interactions with her. Had you come off too strong? Did she not feel comfortable in your shop anymore? Had she found another lamp store?

All the questions were driving you crazy, and it only got worse the closer you got to Christmas.

At the last day your shop was open, you resigned yourself to the idea that Clarrisa wasn't coming. You were just putting on your jacket as you heard frantic knowing on the front door.

"We are closed!" You yelled over your shoulder, but the knocking persisted.

"I said- Clarrisa?" and it was indeed her standing out there, and you hurried to open the door. She was standing in the snow, no coat on and breathing heavily. You ushered her in, closing the door after her.

"What are you doing out in this weather without proper clothes? I'm starting to think you have misunderstood the idea of coats" You brushed some of the snow off her fluff.

"Well I..." She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, and you gave her time to find her words. She sighed deeply, shuddered, then looked back up at you.

"I wondered if you would like to come have hot chocolate at my place?" She asked, then looked back down at her feet.

"I mean, if you have the time, it doesn't have to be now, I just thought-" You placed you hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"I'd like that" You said softly. She smiled back.

"Though, you are borrowing one of my jackets, you must be freezing" You went into the back to get a jacket for yourself and her, sneaking her gift into your pocket.

She shook her wings free from snow and tucked them under the jacket you lent her, still looking slightly flustered. You turned off the rest of the lights and followed Clarrisa outside.

Clarrisa lived in a small and cozy flat in the outskirts of the city. It was filled with personal touches, small things that made the space feel lived in. She had a 3d printer occupying a portion of the small living room, her walls had pictures of family members and the entire place smelled like her citrus perfume. She nervously cleared a bunch of papers from the coffee table with a muttered apology and asked you to sit in her small sofa while she made the hot cocoa she had promised. You could hear her moving around the kitchen, the distinct whirring of a microwave being started before she suddenly spoke up.

"I'm sorry I haven't been to the shop this month" You turned around to face her.

"I have been working on something, but I couldn't quite get it right. I panicked today when I realised that it was the last day I could see you" She moved over to her desk and pulled out a small packet from behind her computer.

"I wanted to give you this. Merry Christmas" Her hand shook as she gave you the gift. You opened it carefully and a small 3d printed figure fell out. It was a little cat figurine.

"God, it is such a lame gift, I understand if you wanna leave now or something" She scratched the fluff on her neck nervously as you inspected the small figurine. It was very well made.

"Well, I like it. It is cute. Thank you" She looked at you surprised for a moment before giving you a bashful smile. You then plucked out the present from your pocket and gave it to her.

"Merry Christmas" She took it with a curious expression, turning it in her hands before opening it. She gasped as she saw what it was. She looked from the gift to you, and then back again. And then she launched herself at you, engulfing you in the most comfortable hug you've ever had.

"Thank you" She whispered. You hummed in confirmation. The moment was interrupted by the beeping of the microwave and she slowly let go of you, not looking you in the eye.

"I'll just uhh... Get those" She mumbled and went to fetch the mugs of cocoa.