Bibrid is offered the opportunity to officially adopt Chance as their own child. Scramble was not interested in being adopted, ze saw the two traveling with them as beloved Untys. -- BKF
[AN: The plural of Unty (The nongender variant of Aunty or Uncle) should be "Unties", but it also looks like that thing you do when you loosen a knot. My compromise is leaving the Y alone, so I fixed that in this prompt. Also, Scramble in Nonbinary. I checked. Last installment was Trees in the Way ]
Civilisation was still doing what it did best - being messy and unnecessarily complicated. Specifically about who gets what and who gets tossed out of the town's walls. As always since the dawn of Humanity's entry to the Xenophobia Wars, the devilborn were more likely to get the short end of the proverbial stick.
Bibrid held Chance's hand a little tighter than normal. The little Hellkin sensed his trepidation and wrapped his other arm around Bibrid's.
Scramble knew too well what hir odds were as a traveling vagabond. A child vagabond, even dressed better and cared for, was still a vagabond. By civilisation's logic and reason, ze was also a criminal element. A 'fact' made worse by hir Hellkin company. Nevertheless, knowing how towns and cities operated, Scramble insisted on walking on Chance's other side.
Ze put one hand on the smaller Hellkin's shoulder as they approached the gates.
The guards blocked the gate. One with his weapon ready, and the other with a ledger and grease pencil. The second asked each their name and affiliation with the other. He worked from one side of the quartet to the other.
In order: Wraithvine, Scramble, Chance, and finally, Bibrid.
When they got to Chance, who was verbally minimalistic, the answers were characteristically brief and definitely clear. Wraithvine and Scramble, they identified as 'friend'.
"And the Gnome?"
"Da," said Chance, clinging a little tighter. "Mine. Da!"
"Is this... official, sir?" said the guard with the ledger.
Bibrid didn't let go. "Not yet. I... haven't had a chance to do any registering."
"Our temple of all gods has representatives of Freja and Wothyn," said the guard. "You can register there."
They passed into the town proper, and towards the temple. "Nothing to fear," Bibrid told the children, "once the gods bless a relationship, they won't let much sunder it. They won't be able to take you from me, or vice versa." This last sentence was addressed to Chance.
Scramble felt it was aimed at hir, too. "I may be too old to adopt, officially or nay," ze decided. "I've been surviving without guardians all my life. It would be weird to suddenly have parents when I'm old enough to start learning a trade."
"It's never too late to have a family," said Wraithvine, "but it is, ultimately, your choice."
"You can be Unty-of-my-heart," allowed Scramble, "but not a Rennie. It just... feels wrong."
"Nibling and prentice," Wraithvine nodded. "Fair enough."
Chance hissed a little at the touch of hallowed ground, but once Freja's representative blessed the Hellkin child, he was much happier. He watched in his usual silence as prayers were said, papers were drawn up, signed, and added to leather folios for Bibrid and Chance.
"Let it be known," the priests finally pronounced. "You are parent and child as united by fate and blessed by the gods. Let none separate you by force or else suffer their wrath."
"My Da?" asked Chance. "For real, forever?"
"Your Da for real," answered Bibrid. "For a lifetime."
Chance grinned. "My Da. I have a Da! I'm inna family for real forever. I'm not gonna get stole! It's good. It's actually good!"
Evidently, being offically adopted breached a dam in Chance's head. The child would not be as silent any longer.
Scramble was glad that hir sibling-of-abandonment had a cause to stop being so scared.
[Photo by Digital Content Writers India on Unsplash]
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