The rest of the planning was brief, since not much else had really taken place in our village. Things were moving on smoothly, even Nick ca back triumphantly with an approximation of a bottle with warm goats milk.
Aggy hadn't been picky, she imdiately latched on and sucked it dry. Satisfied he'd accomplished his duty as uncle, Nick asked if there was anything that needed doing.
So I sent him off on a little mission.
Benches and chairs squeaked as people set off to their individual tasks. I reached out and grabbed Cassie by the elbow.
"Can we talk?"
She looked down at my hand and rolled her eyes before reluctantly sitting next to on my bench.
"If this is about those two idiots, I don't want to hear it."
"I think we can all agree there were three idiots." In the corner of my eye I could see Cassie look at . She wasn't much older than I was, maybe in her mid-twenties. She felt older to though for so reason. Maybe it was how she dressed? Always wearing loose button up shirts with levi's.
I could feel her studying , assessing how she should proceed.
"It's ok. I'm well aware of how people feel. Even if they are being overly nice about how they talk about ."
"Layton—"
"No, it's really ok." She probably felt guilty, considering she was one of the people I'd heard talking about .
"Isn't it so weird now?" I asked, grabbing the back of the stool and leaning backwards.
"What tipped you off? The magic? The monsters?"
I laughed, because even though she was being sarcastic it was kind of exactly my point.
"Yeah, yeah. But that's kind of my point. Three months ago, the hardest decision I had to make was which generals I should take in a sester." I shook my head. "Yesterday I literally killed a pregnant orc, perford a c-section, kept the baby, and started a minor war."
Cassie folded her arms, her sleeves were rolled up giving the impression she was always ready for more work. "Not bad for a Tuesday."
"Is that what day it is?" I'd lost track of which day of the week it was a long ti ago. "My point is, every single one of us has been thrown into a world where each decision we make is on a razor's edge."
She shoved her rolled sleeves back up past her elbows.
"Everyone here talks about common sense, and how stupid those two were. Maybe they were. But are you really going to sit here and tell that you can't relate?"
"Careful." She warned. "That was different and you know it."
"Ok fine." I raised my hands in surrender. She might be right, her situation was different, but the motivation was the sa. Her husband was murdered by a deranged dictator and she handed over her faction to the very murderer in a mont of emotional weakness.
"I know you don't like how things turned out. But can you at least admit, no one here was built for this world? Once we find civilization maybe there will be professional soldiers, and ours are figuring it out. included." I pointed at my chest. "Personally, I think most are doing incredibly well, all things considered. Can you show a little patience?"
"Patience is great, until soone dies." She stood, closing the conversation. I watched her back as she pulled open the door and stepped out.
I watched the door slam closed with a bang.
Dang…That hadn't gone as well as I'd hoped, and sothing told that she wouldn't be the only one who harbored complicated feelings.
I clapped my knees. "Whelp, nothing to do about it now eh Aggy?"
It was just the two of us left in the smithy now.
Damon would probably be back around soon, him and the others who worked in the smithy were out working on so project with Stetson. I wanted to check in and see what it was all about, but the question was, what was I supposed to do with this baby?
We'd sent out so feelers and there was soone in particular that stood out that I wanted to visit.
I rested my hands on my hips and looked around the empty room full of weapon racks, rough wood benches and naked armor stands.
"Why don't we go and et your potential foster mom?" Aggy kicked against her swaddling, watching closely with those unnerving clear eyes. "You don't seem ugly like your mom, are you going to have her attitude?"
It was hard to imagine this cute little thing ever doing anything wrong, I realized I was grinning. When did that happen?
***
When it ca to choosing a new ho for Aggy, Janette was far from my first choice. My only experience with her was when she rudely and blatantly fleeced us for a pile of poorly crafted white shirts. Needless to say, it wasn't the best impression.
Yet when Jared spread word there was an orc child that needed care, she was the first person to jump in line. So here I was. Standing at the door of her fresh new ho that doubled as a storefront.
Compared to the squat cabin she was living in, this was basically a mansion. It was a wide two story situated just out of the main strip of our growing village. It was close to a modern look with wood siding built on a sturdy stone foundation. There were flower beds on each side of the stone steps leading to a half fenced front porch that was decorated with a small table and chair perfect for enjoying a nice morning tea.
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In two months Jared and his craftsn had accomplished miracles. This dwelling was damn near like hos from the old world, maybe barring a decent paint job and glass windows. Not really in much of a hurry to deal with Janette I soaked it all in.
n and won alike were hard at work on new projects everywhere I looked. Across the cobbled street a group of three n and a woman were adding trusses to a large halfway frad structure. One man stood on the ground while the other three balanced on the open walls above.
The man below reached out his hand and three of the trusses lifted high into the air and settled gently into place where the other three set to work securing them into place.
Builders were using telekinetics? In awe, Aggy and I sat in the chair on the porch and just watched the process. The woman didn't even use a hamr to drive the nails. She simply set them and then slapped them in with her open palm. In minutes, the four of them had each truss in place with braces keeping it all steady.
Work that I knew full well would have taken hours in the old world using human crafted tools took four magically enhanced people now. Once the four were done, the three jumped from the two stories up and moved on to the next building. Another crew would likely arrive soon to finish roofing and detailing the interior.
I whistled. Moves like those four had would've really co in handy on those hot sumr days I spent between school years framing hos.
Soon enough, like I expected, the next crew arrived and walked into the ho and the sound of banging echoed through the streets as the n completed their tasks. For so reason it all felt so comforting to . Like through all the madness our faction was building our own little bubble of peace and order.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to enjoy it much longer, when footsteps sounded from behind . They grew louder until the front door opened and Daevon stepped out onto the porch followed closely by Janette.
"Now don't you worry about any damage, I can't quite yet figure out how to craft self nding, so for the ti being if your new robe gives you trouble just bring it on back and I'll patch it free of charge."
I waved a hand at Daevon, but he was too busy admiring his newly purchased green and white flowing mages robe to notice . He bowed gratefully, then turned on his heels and marched off not once even glancing my direction.
It didn't bother too much. Getting new gear was pretty exhilarating, and it must an even more to Daevon coming from such humble origins.
"Layton!"
The shrill exclamation made jump.
"It's so wonderful to see you! Oh my, and what do you have there? This must be the poor little thing Jared was telling about."
I looked down at Aggy and then up at the short but sturdy built woman in front of . If I hadn't been holding Aggy, I might've rubbed my eyes. This couldn't be the sa Janette.
She was clean, well grood and wearing a long blue dress with sleeves bunched up at her wrists. At her waist she carried a fanny pack full of who knows what. But what threw the most?
She was genuinely smiling.
"Please, Co in! Co in!" She walked behind and excitedly helped to my feet, guiding into her ho.
There was a light gust that scampered through the open windows and the aroma of wildflowers tumbled from inside. Inside was clean, and well decorated with a well made wooden table where a single sketch pad lay. Behind the table was a display of assorted fabrics ranging in color and texture.
She hurried in front of and pulled back a chair. Without taking my eyes off the woman I slowly eased myself into the offered seat. She grabbed another chair and pulled it around the table so she could sit directly in front of .
"I was worried you might not co, I'm so glad you're here." She reached out her arms. "Can I see her?"
"Janette?" Not even trying to hide my skepticism. She blushed, smile dimming just a bit. "Am I in the right house?"
Her hands dropped and she fidgeted in her seat.
"Yes dear, you're in the right house." Her genuine smile continued to fade until it was more of an awkward grin.
Seeing her deflate like she was made feel a bit guilty.
"I'm sorry. I'm really not trying to be rude, it's just—I an—the first ti we t you. You know?"
Janette wrung her hands against her dress. "It wasn't my best mont was it? Ellison really was much too kind that day."
"If I recall, you charged us 2,700 UBC's for a pile of crappy old shirts."
Her face turned even more red. "Like I said, not my best mont."
"Uh-huh…"
"I'm so embarrassed by how I behaved." She straightened her dress. "It was all so overwhelming. I won't make any more excuses than that."
Who could really bla the woman? The faction that Jordan built was no picnic, and it couldn't have made the transition to the new normal easy for soone like her. But that still left wondering.
"Jared told that you were interested in fostering Aggy."
She perked up. "Oh yes, is that her na? How adorable!"
"Did Jared explain her circumstances?"
"Not every detail, but I know enough. The poor thing." She froze. "Not that I'm blaming you of course! I know you did what you had to."
Alright then, so apparently she knew enough about what happened.
"And you still want to take her in? Knowing she is the child of an orc who wanted to hurt our faction? Why?"
Janette looked at Aggy and then squird a bit in her chair.
"If I'm going to trust you with this little one, I need to know why you want her."
She eyed Aggy a bit more, and then sat straighter in her chair.
"Because, I used to be a mother." She finally admitted, before correcting herself. "I am a mother. But my husband and daughter were killed—in a car crash."
I pursed my lips. "I'm sorry."
"She was on her way to college. I'd just turned fifty." She shrugged. "They were my world—raising my little girl was the best thing I ever did."
With a sigh, she rested her elbow onto the table. "The last two years have felt so lonely. I tried to start my life over, but I felt so old and dating felt hollow at my age. I'd made my peace with it though. But then— "
"The change." I guessed.
"Now I feel as young as I ever have. I feel my body changing with each level I gain. Thanks to Ellison, I've even created a small new start for myself here." She smiled and gestured around the room.
"So why not venture out? If you're feeling younger then you could start a new family. Right?"
"Maybe one day I will." She chuckled. "But I'm not ready for that kind of love in my life. I want to be a mother."
Maybe I hadn't given Janette enough credit before. She'd been through challenging tis in her life and I knew she was trying to be strong. Still, she wasn't able to keep the quake from her voice, at the ntion of being a mother.
This whole situation touched . For all I could tell Janette was as genuine as ever. To she seed like an entirely different human than the woman I t before. And all it took was a little bit of kindness from Ellison.
I held Aggy out.
Janette made a weird noise like a mix between a hiccup and concealed whimper and took Aggy into her arms.
One glance at the look on Janette's face and I knew Aggy would never want for anything in this life.
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