I love your monster -- Luna
[AN: This accidentally got me thinking of the followup to Purchased Loyalty ]
Alle devoted herself to learning everything she could about animal care. How to feed, train, and care for a Hellkin. Or a Human, which Hellkin came from.
Wars were still raging between Elvenkind and many others about how Hellkin came to exist. Amongst other nonsensical objections.
Some of the books were contradictory, so Alle chose the kinder options and blended them with her babysitting experiences. This was, after all, a baby monster. All babies needed gentler care than the growing ones.
And the Hellkin needed a name.
Not a complicated one, since it was a simple creature. Something nonsensical, perhaps. Or something that fit its personality. Or something that matched its colour. When she found out what the true colour of it was.
One of the early steps for bringing in a wild pet was cleaning and delousing. The first bath took off only a few layers of filth. Working soap into those dark curls turned the water darkly opaque. The Hellkin chirped and squeaked as Alle cycled the stained water out and, with the help of runes installed in the tub, filled it up again.
In the process of cleaning the Hellkin, Alle discovered that it was a girl.
So now the young monster needed a pretty name. And suitable clothing.
The Hellkin child was the exact colour of a ripe cherry. And if the sunlight hit her curls, they were red too. The deep red of thick blood as it flowed to the drains from a freshly-killed animal in the butchering chamber.
"Cherry," Alle decided. "Your name is Cherry."
Cherry would put up with Alle untangling her hair if she had tough bread to gnaw and wrestle with. It took an entire day, but Cherry was lice free, tangle free, and dressed presentably enough for the public.
With those curls arranged to be clear of Cherry's horns and ears. With much ado about ribbons and clips.
The other detriment to Alle's plans was that Hellkin slept for eight hours. She'd get Cherry settled in her cote with her and the Hellkin was still curled up and snoring for two hours. And she had to do every possible morning task until the creature woke and had to be fed.
Alle could not leave Cherry to her own devices until the Hellkin was both trained and accepted. At least the little monster could be relied upon to tap along at Alle's heel.
Which Cherry did as Alle journeyed to the house-tree's apothecarium. There to get a dewormer that was safe for Humans and Human-adjacent creatures. For which she had to pass her near age-mates in the winding halls[1]. Some of them had pets, too, but they were the more conventional ones for Elvenkind. Squirrels, birds, and foxes.
Some of which were also in cute clothes and bedecked with ribbons.
Sharp gasps from Alle's cousins heralded their presence in a branchway. Coos and fawning noises quickly followed, alongside whispered enthusiasms like, "Oh my gods..."
Cherry took up a defensive stance between Alle and her cousins. She took a deep breath, aiming one hand at them.
Alle remembered the black lightning and scooped her pet up onto her hip, giving the Hellkin some dried boar's ear to chew on. "She's still a little vicious," Alle apologised. "She saved me from a deer in rutting season, and thinks she has to protect me from everything. And everyone."
"That little thing?" Eorm ventured forwards, her squirrel calmly resting on her shoulder. "It's so tiny. Like a baby. How did it save you from a big, angry deer?"
"She killed it," said Alle simply. "She has some odd power, as well as critical determination." She stopped Eorm's hand before it could near Cherry's mouth. "Careful, now. She's still mostly wild."
Eorm changed her approach to Cherry's curls. "She's beautiful. I love her already."
"Thank you," Alle smiled. "I'm trying my best with her."
"And now you have a pet like the rest of us," Eorm said. "Welcome to the Carer's Club."
[1] In Elven culture, a house-tree is not for one family, or even one generation. Multiple generations of a tribe live within the protection of its trunk and branches.
[Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash]
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