Grometheus carefully wrapped a yellow scarf onto the kid, making sure it fit snuggly. It had been two days after the bathing incident, and he was admittedly still a little ticked off about it. But hey, she's just a toddler. After some needle pricks and screw ups, he had made her clothing. A crimson scarf and a purple otter onesie. Thank the titan for his convenient book collection.
"There. Now you won't be cold all the time, aye kid?" the kid babbled, clapping her hands in response . "Good."
He's also having The Hunter build the crib, as he thought of. Nothing extravagant, just something better than the chair. Otherwise, she'd either sleep by herself or be fussy until Grometheus held her in his chair. Sometimes he would fall asleep himself, but not for very long. The routine also stayed the same otherwise, only he also added bathing to the list.
It had been a little over a week now since he first found her.
There was still no sign of any relatives at all. But the kid didn't seem to care, in fact, she was a bit clingy to Grometheus . He wasn't sure if that was good… or bad. The more she stayed, admittedly the more she had grown on him. Don't get him wrong, he still wanted her straight out of his forest. But he knew if he just gave up and gave her to an orphanage or whatever, that wouldn't bode over well. So, through his stubborn persistence, he kept on taking care of her.
"You gonna be good today, kid?" he asked, and she replied in babble. "Of course. Alright, I'm leaving."
The Hunter took his place as Grometheus ducked into a shadow, disappearing. The Hunter then took out a key ring before giving it to the small girl.
"You've really been softening up the Master considerably, kid" The Hunter chuckled, sitting down beside her. The kid babbled in reply, a big smile on her face. He shook his head. "Of course, he hasn't stopped tormenting intruders. But that's fine, I don't think he could even if he wanted to and I don't blame him for it" He said the last part with a hint of sadness in his tone.
Suddenly a sly idea reached the Hunter's mind as a grin formed under his mask.
"You know kid, we could plan something in secret together. You're pretty close to saying your first words, right kid?"
The kid babbled in reply, shaking the key ring. The keys jangled together which The Hunter took as a yes.
"We get you to say something along the lines of papa for your first words, and give master the shock of his life! What do you say?"
The kid babbled again, laughing as she reached her hands out.
"Good. Let's get started, yeah?"
For the next hour, The Hunter tried to train the Kid to say some variation of papa. It came up with nothing, unfortunately. Thus, after he gave her lunch, he let her take her afternoon nap.
"Still no sight of her parents or any relatives." Grometheus came back in, crossing his arms. The Hunter shushed him, pointing to the asleep child. They went outside of the home, The Hunter standing on the sprawling root of the tree with his weapon in hand.
"Master, are you sure her parents will come back for her? It's been over a week. The only people we've had are demon hunters.
"Who would just abandon a child in my forest at one years old? It's clear they wanted to keep her if they raised her for a year," Grometheus replied with frustration evident in his tone.
"It's possible they just raised her until they could get rid of her. I heard humans aren't always the friendliest," The Hunter pointed out.
"They would've dropped her at an orphanage. Not here of all places," Grometheus deadpanned.
The Hunter scratched the top of his head. "I'm not sure, Master." He shrugged which caused Grometheus to frown. "Before I go out, the crib should be done by tomorrow. We just need to get a mattress."
"Good. Now go." Grometheus waved him off. The Hunter saluted before wandering off, going back to his usual post or perhaps his cabin.
Grometheus sighed, heading back inside his home. The Kid was now awake, and the moment she saw him she quickly got fussy, holding out her hands. She flexed her fingers, making little noises. Grometheus rolled his eyes and picked her up, sitting down on his chair.
"Were you good for him?" he asked, picking up his book from nearby boxes. The Kid babbled in reply, a big smile on her face. Grometheus nodded, opening his book. "That's good. I don't want you being rude to my most reliable henchman."
The little Tyke almost seemed to nod, snuggling into his chest. Grometheus huffed, but not wanting to disturb the peace, he went on with reading. This went on for a bit, The Tyke watching as he turned the pages and read. Once more, the only sounds were the clock chiming and the pages ruffling. Occasionally, a cricket or far away trap being set off also rang out.
That's when he felt it. An outsider's heartbeat , far away but still in his forest.
"Alright kid, stay here. I'll be back soon." Grometheus put her down on the chair, making her fussy. "No, no, don't. I gotta deal with something. I'll be back."
The Hunter entered as Grometheus ducked into a shadow. The Kid whined, her eyes becoming wet again. The minion began to slightly panic at this while pulling out the keys.
"It's alright, kid! The Master will be back soon, really!"
But for the first time since the night Grometheus found her, The Kid began to cry. Big tears fell down her cheeks as she wailed.
"Oh come on, Master…" He groaned, picking her up. He tried soothing her, but she just kept on crying. He tried giving her her pacifier, but that only succeeding in the binky getting dirty from falling on the floor. "It's alright, it's alright. He'll be back."
Grometheus , on the other hand, was having a fun time. A demon hunter, once again intruded his forest. Pleading for his life, bargaining, etc etc. But of course, Grometheus was having none of it after all demon hunters only came to his forest for one reason and it always ticked him off. A deal was signed for the demon hunter to clean up the well and pacify the other beasts in exchange for his mercy. And of course, to make sure he did it, Grometheus kept an eye on him. Like many others before him the demon hunter would be dead in an instant thanks to the slitherbeast ripping him apart. It would have been more entertaining if the demon hunter had put up more of a fight but oh well. Not like he expected those cowards to last long anyway.
With the show over, he traveled back to his home but before he could enter, he froze. The Kid was crying her heart out, squirming in The Hunter's arms. He went inside, and the kid became ten times more fussy as she spotted him.
"Please take her, master. I think she has abandonment issues." The Hunter said with no trace of annoyance in their tone despite having dealt with a crying baby for what was sure to have been hours.
Grometheus took the kid into his hands, and quickly her cries died down to little whimpers.
"She's fine when I leave at noon."
"She's used to that. You leaving suddenly meant to her that you were ditching her," The Hunter explained while picking up his lantern.
Wow. That… actually hurt a little, now that he thought about it a bit. No, he wasn't getting attached to her! Not at all. But he didn't exactly want to be the reason a baby was crying unless on purpose. Not that he scared tiny children, in any case. At least, not intentionally.
"She's all yours, Boss." The Hunter left. Grometheus sighed heavily, sitting back down in his chair.
"You seriously thought I'd ditch you, kid? Until I find your parents or relatives, that isn't happening."
And Grometheus would never go back on his word.
Quick Question: What are you reader's thoughts on The Hunter OC? While he hasn't yet done much I do plan for him to be a recurring character who acts like Luz's fun uncle/babysitter.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. As for how many more chapters of baby Luz there will be...Hmmm maybe around six more before the time skip.