[werebeargoddess]

Kieshe jogged easily in the direction of the smoke. Before long, she saw where it was coming from- a farmhouse. Or what was a farmhouse. She got fairly close to the ruin and stopped, eyes slightly wide. She had seen destruction before, and death; but this stunned her. Who could have done this? And why? What kind of creature would go after a simple farmer? She shook her head. She was being naïve, and she knew it. There were plenty of things that would go after a farmer and his family.

There was a small stream nearby; she went to it and put her pack on the bank, making sure no damage came to her lute. She wasn’t worried; she would have known if there were any intelligent creatures here besides herself, for they would, like her, make noise, and she would hear them. She collected a bit of would to make a fire later, and set off to inspect the destruction. She had started inspecting the ruin’s outer edge when she heard the crying. It sounded like the crying of a human child. She stopped what she was doing and went over to inspect it. She soon found where the noise was coming from. A little boy, no older than five or six, was huddled in the dirt, his face in his arms, wailing. Kieshe reacted instantly, kneeling next to the boy, speaking softly to him. She didn’t know if it was her voice, or because she was a familiar being, or even if it was because she was old enough (if barely) to be his mother, but the boy came to her, sobbing into her shoulder, wailing something she couldn’t understand through his tears. She picked him up and carried him to where her pack was.

It took a good while before Kieshe could get the boy calmed down enough for her to clean and feed him. He had looked at her a little skeptically when she offered him food at first; but after she ate a bit to show him that the food wasn’t poisonous, he bolted it down ravenously. When he had had his fill, he settled tearfully into her lap. Kieshe put her arms around him, a little surprised that he trusted her so quickly. After a few minutes, she moved him so that he was still in her lap, but was facing her.

“Tell me, little one, what is your name?” she asked him gently.

“T-Tyrell,” the boy stammered quietly. “Who’re you?”

“I am Kieshe D’lente, little Tyrell.”

Tyrell nodded. Kieshe thought for a second, then said,

“Tyrell, I need you to tell me something. Its okay if you start crying, but I need to know something. Tyrell, who did this to your home?”

Tyrell started shaking, and tears started flowing down his cheeks, but he managed to speak.

“I thing raiders came. I don’t know, Kieshe. They were big, an-an-and scary, and so mean!”

He broke down into sobs, and Kieshe held him tight, rocking slightly, murmuring softly. She was moved almost to tears herself, but she kept them at bay. Now and then her curly auburn hair would blow into her face, and she would brush it aside. She swore to herself then that she would keep Tyrell safe, and would avenge his family, if she could. No child should have to go through this. It took awhile longer before he quieted down, and she told him,

“Tyrell, I think it would be best if you stay with me for now. You will not come to harm that way. I will look after you as best I can. I can think of nowhere else to take you, and I would not want you to lose any more family. I will keep you fed and clothed. What do you think?

Tyrell nodded. “’Kay.” Then he looked up at her. “Can you sing a song, Kieshe? Please?”

Kieshe nodded, a little surprised. She didn’t get her lute, but simply sang a lullaby that she had learned as a child; one that her own mother had sung to her and her siblings when she was Tyrell’s age. The little boy was soon asleep, his breathing deep and even. She put him on her cloak for a while, got her pallet out, laid the sleeping Tyrell down, the curled up next to him. Even though it was spring, nights still got occasionally cold. She only had a couple blankets, but her own body heat kept the boy warm. I’m going to have to go back into town and get a pallet and blankets for him, she realized. He may be small now, and might want the company, but eventually he would want to be by himself at night. I might as well get that now. And I’ll have to get a horse… She fell asleep thinking about horses.