Hero sat in his crib and tried to bite an apple. It didn't work well with his few teeth, but he was determined to conquer it. It tasted so good!
His eyes fell on his grandfather, who was walking back and forth, excited and nervous at the same time. At a knock on the door, the old villager jumped up and with a wide smile hurried to throw open the door.
Two villagers stood behind it, one slightly taller than the other and confidently smiling and the other somewhat shyly drawn back behind him. In his hands, the taller villager held a small child, who was sleepily rubbing his eyes. The old villager beamed at them.
"My dear boy, how much you have grown!" Grake squinted up at his taller nephew. Both of them were taller than him now, but Beor was nearly a head taller than even his brother, who was closer to Grake's size. The tall villager responded with a proud, pleased smile. He lifted his child a little.
"And this must be little Margol." The old villager bent to take a better look at the little guy.
"Come in. Come in!" Grake remembered hospitality and ushered the two inside. Picking up baskets filled with their belongings, the two villagers awkwardly squeezed into Grake's small hut.
Forgetting his apple, little Hero curiously stood up, clutching to the bars of his crib with one hand, and brightly studied the two strangers. His caretaker was glad to see them, so he was glad, too! Hero brightly smiled, feeling their curious eyes turn to him and study him in return.
"That's my little Human. I named him Hero." Grandpa Grake said, his eyes on Hero proud and glad, too.
The two newly arrived villagers looked at the strange little toddler, who met the new arrivals with curious, bright eyes as he stood in a little crib, holding on to the bars.
Rangil immediately approached the being and crouched so he could be at his level, proceeding to smile and talk to the child in baby talk, to which the being readily cooed back. Smiling, Rangil looked back at the pleased old villager shakily nodding his head at them and exchanged a friendly glance with his brother.
"I've tried to move a few things to make room for you, but heh. I am a bit too old to do much." Their uncle apologized.
"Do not worry at all. My brother and me can do more than fix that. After all, we are here to help." Beor smiled back confidently and looked at his own child, whom he held in his arms.
"Isn't it right, Margol? We are going to help Grandpa Grake. And his little Human."
In response, the little child brightly laughed and tried to grasp on to his father's face. Beor turned to his uncle.
"Is it safe to put them together for now? Until I build him a crib?"
"Sure, go ahead! Little Hero won't bite."
Relieved, Beor carefully placed the little villager together with the little Human and watched how the other child sat down as they both eyed each other with fascination.
"Baby!" Margol crawled toward the little Human and tried to touch his face, doubtlessly tempted by the child's glowing white eyes, but Rangil hurried to intervene. The little Human cooed back and with equal interest reached out a hand that had a shaker toy in it. Distracted by the noise it made both children switched their full attention to it.
Curious, Beor studied the little being.
"And he is... how old?" He asked. The other villager hesitated a little.
"He is almost a year, I think. It's been about a year since I found him."
Beor's brows lifted in surprise. "And he is still so small? Margol here is only two months and he is already bigger than he is. Aren't Humans supposed to be bigger than us?" The younger villager eyed the child doubtfully.
Uncle Grake humphed uncomfortably. "Yes, well. He is only a baby. Maybe Humans are smaller than us when they are this little? Also, the elders said that it might be because our food does not fit him well. Maybe Human babies eat different things than grown up Humans? I know that grown up Humans eat the same food that we do, but when he was smaller all he would eat was milk. But now he is doing much better!... Still, it will probably be a while before he grows up. The elders said that Humans might take longer to grow up because they live longer." Uncle Grake's voice turned apologetic.
"That's fine, I do not mind. It will take however long it will take." Beor shrugged, his eyes on the child kind. "I'll help you to take care of him. Plus, I have already decided that I would take in another. I will name him Tnul."
"You've asked for the blessing?"
"I did. So, he should spawn soon! Maybe in another week or two. It will be easier if they both will be closer in age." The villager glanced at little Margol.
"Yes, indeed." Their uncle readily agreed. "Come on. They will be fine. Let me show you to your room. I managed to do that much."
"Thank you, uncle Grake." Beor said gratefully. Nodding to his younger brother, who remained with the little ones to keep an eye on them, he followed his uncle to the room set aside for them. His eyes already assessed the house layout, planning where he would build expansions to make room for them all...
...
"He told us not to take him outside." Rangil hesitated, switching his green eyes from his brother to the two children he managed to balance in his arms while at the same time carrying a picnic basket with a folded blanket under his arm. His brother carelessly shook his head.
"Oh, it's not a big deal. I just don't feel right that he should stay cooped up here day after day, while it's such a nice day outside! He'll be fine! I can watch him and Margol both."
"Are you sure?" Rangil frowned up at his brother from where he sat on the floor with the half-finished basket in his hands.
"Of course! Don't worry. We won't even go far. Right to that field over there. Look how nice it is! You just stay here and keep an eye on Tnul." Beor instructed and butted open the door, huffing a little as he awkwardly tried to carry through both children without hitting them and avoid dropping the other things he carried.
Bright sunlight outlined their figures and both children blinked with amazement at the vivid, bright colors that met them. Margol, who already had been outside many times before, clapped his hands. Watching the other child, the baby Human also clapped, his little pale face lighting up with delight.
Reassured, Beor grinned widely and finished squeezing out of the door. Rangil watched his tall brother slowly make his way across the green lawn and head to the field before the line of the friendly forest, talking first to one child, then to another.
His frown easing, the young villager relaxed and glanced at the youngest member of his family, sleeping peacefully in his own crib that Beor made for him. Contented, the young villager returned his attention to the basket he was weaving with supple tree branches. Three baskets already sat completed next to him.
... "What is it, Hero? What's there?" Beor asked drowsily, noticing the little Human make a questioning sound while he curiously stared out toward the woods.
Beor lay on the blanket, his arms lazily tucked under his head. Little Margol napped besides him, while Grake's little Human had crawled off a few steps away, his tiny figure almost swallowed as he sat there amid the tall, yellowish stalks of wheat.
Beor felt completely at ease. Resting felt good after numerous days of work as he had dived into the chores that their uncle Grake had neglected in his old age. He and his younger brother Rangil also readily took over the little Human's care, so their uncle could finally spend some time with the other villagers in their daily gatherings at the village center.
Beor watched the little Human with an amused smile, pleased at how happy the child seemed. Why did their uncle insist on always keeping him indoors? It wasn't right. Yes, there was that Enderman that showed up late at night and occasionally peered into their house window, but Beor strongly doubted that it was there because of Hero. Those strange creatures were simply... Strange. And just look how happy this child was out here, finally getting some sun!
Beor could almost feel the amazement and pure joy pouring around the child in waves. With the bright, warm sunlight and softly stirring wind filled with cheerful bird songs, it was as if the World itself was giving them all a friendly hug!
Hero cooed. A soft, hesitant chirp sounded back from the grass.
Beor still smiled, until his mind registered the sound. Then, he shot up into a sitting position, his eyes opening wide.
Barely distinguishable, a few steps away from the little Human, approached the small green forms, lifting their heads and intently eyeing the child. There were two, no, four, no six of them!
Beor's breath caught in his chest. Before he realized what he was doing, he was up on his feet with Margol clutched in his arms, sleepily blinking his eyes in confusion at being grabbed so roughly.
Hurriedly, Beor ran a few steps to the little Human and hoisted him up as well. Only one thought beat in his mind, and it was to get out of there and make it to safety with the children. He turned toward the house to do just that and froze.
Several more creatures faced him only a few steps away, their big, dark eyes lifted and warily watching. Not him or Margol, they were focused on the little Human in Beor's arms. That's right, how could he forget? The Monsters attacked the Humans! Only Beor was still within the village Boundary. They shouldn't have crossed it!
Beor fell back a step and froze again, aware that more of the creatures slowly, very slowly crept toward him, their faces lifting out of the grass. Their chests were already dimly lit with the reddish glow of magic.
Fearfully, Beor swallowed and gave the Human child a lost look. Cautiously, he lowered him to the ground and took a slow step back.
The eyes of the creatures remained glued to the little Human, completely ignoring the villager. Pale, Beor made another step back and then another. And then turned and began to walk away, an anguished grimace on his face as he helplessly clasped little Margol close to his rapidly beating heart. At any moment, he expected to hear a boom of deadly magic.
It never came? Instead, the increasingly hostile hisses suddenly fell off into silence.
Unable to help himself, the villager stopped and turned back to look. And gaped.
A chill went down his back, when he saw the deadly creatures draw close to the child and nose him in confusion. Their chests began to dim to their normal green and puzzled chirps sounded, to which the little Human made soft, pleased noises and tried to grab at them with his chubby hands. The creatures deftly shied away. And then leaned to the ground and darted closer, jumping away as the child tried to reach for them. More chirps came, this time teasing and soft.
They were playing with him! Astonished Beor watched the creatures frolic around the child, even letting him touch their silky skin as they snuck in and tried to cuddle next to him, unceremoniously pushing him over. Some tried to lay their heads on his feet as they settled down next to him to rest. The little boy protested, futilely trying to push them off, this time frowning.
They treated him as if he was one of them!
Not believing his eyes, the villager made a few steps back toward the child, only to freeze as the creatures all fell silent and turned back to face him, hissing softly and their magic flaring to life once more. Only, this time, they drew in front of the child.
...
"It was as if they were protecting him. From me." Beor said to his brother, deep unease in his eyes as he considered the little creature, whom their uncle Grake told everyone was a Human, now sitting on the floor of their house and playing with Margol's toys. Just to be safe, Rangil's brother kept his own child still in his hands.
"So... You just left him to the Creepers?" Rangil frowned with disapproval, evoking his older brother's resentful glare in return.
"What was I supposed to do? I thought that they were going to kill him! Should I have died with him? Let them kill Margol? No, I did the right thing! And they didn't hurt him at all. They played with him. It was as if they thought that he was one of them... I don't think this child is Human, Rangil. Even if he looks like one."
"Then what is he?"
"I don't know." Rangil's brother frowned at the little being who took off crawling toward the crib, where the new baby Tnul lay sleeping. Its glowing eyes were fixed there rather than his own bed, since that's where Beor often put him for comfort after he moved Margol to his own real bed. Hastily, the villager stepped into creature's way and gingerly pushed him back with his foot.
"I think it's some sort of Monster." He told Rangil with a frown. Grake's foundling tried to go around him once again, and Beor again blocked its path.
"No! Shoo!" He told it sharply, a bit loudly. The being sat back, confused, and blinked up at him. Then it's face twisted as it began to cry. Rangil winced.
After a moment of watching the child sob while his brother did nothing, Rangil stepped to him and picked him up, cuddling the child against his shoulder and patting him gently on his back as he often did before. His breaths still hitching and his face wet, the child stuck a thumb in his mouth and laid his head against the young villager's shoulder, where he seemed to calm down.
"Well, you don't know that for sure." Rangil said firmly. "Even if he is not Human, he is still just a baby. He doesn't seem dangerous. We just need to keep him inside, like Uncle Grake said. That way the Creepers cannot get to him." Rangil concluded and smiled softly at the trusting way the tiny child behaved with him. The young villager's calm gaze of light green eyes met the dark eyes of his brother, ridden with worry as he considered their uncle's foundling, too.
Beor shook his head with deep misgiving. "I don't know what I think about him staying here with us..." He lapsed into worried silence.
"... How did you manage to get him away from the Creepers?" Rangil asked curiously to distract his brother. The child against his shoulder closed his eyes and sleepily yawned, showing several small growths that uncle Grake called teeth.
"I didn't." Rangil's brother shrugged gloomily. "I was going to leave him there. But he saw that I left and crawled after me. Then he started crying and it seemed to scare the Creepers off, so they left... But I still almost left him there." The older villager admitted.
His brother frowned with disapproval. "Good thing that you didn't. It would have upset Uncle Grake. He really cares for him, you know."
Rangil's brother sighed.
"I know. That's why... That's why I brought him back. But... Let's not tell our Uncle about this."
Rangil silently nodded and rocked the child, not sure how he felt about his brother's actions. His brother continued to frown, almost as if he wanted to say something else, but didn't dare.
"What is it?" Rangil prodded. His brother's frown grew deeper.
"I... I have half the mind to take him in the woods and leave him there..."
"That's... I cannot believe you would say that." Rangil blinked at his brother with disbelief and the other villager's shoulders sagged.
"I know! But I just... have a very bad feeling about it. Like I KNOW what's going to happen."
"You have a new Memory?" Rangil frowned too. The other villager nodded, then shook his head, unsure.
"I don't know. It's just a feeling, not a Memory... But I just know that something bad is going to happen if we let him stay here!"
"You didn't have this feeling before." Rangil said doubtfully, his gaze straying to the child in his arms, who was now asleep.
"Yes, but it was before the Creepers came and started playing with him! If he is a monster, then he doesn't belong here with us, Rangil! We MUST send him away."
"But what if he isn't?"
"... Even if he isn't! If he is really Human and just has strange magic, then he'll still respawn! It will be far away and with his own kind! He won't even remember any of it. Humans always forget everything."
"And if he doesn't?" Rangil asked sharply. His brother considered.
"He needs to be with his own kind, not us!" Beor stomped his foot and stood angrily facing his brother, his hands clenched. Rangil blinked, lost at this change. He couldn't even remember when they argued before. They never argued! Not since they were little children.
"This is not right." Rangil set his chin stubbornly. "Let's just do what Uncle Grake said and keep him inside. All right? The Creepers cannot get to him here."
"They already crossed the Boundary! That wasn't supposed to happen! If-"
The villager began to say.
A row of soft chirps coming from the outside startled them both silent. Both villagers jumped to the house window and cautiously peeked outside, where to their disbelief several small, green creatures sat on their short legs and stretched their necks to the house, their little faces expressing confusion. They seemed to be calling. At least, their deadly magic remained dormant, since there was no tell-tale glow around their chests.
Beor cast a look toward the child Rangil held and sprung back a little to a safe distance, protectively shielding Margol. His dark green eyes held panic.
"They followed us here!" He hissed in half-whisper. "What do we do? What do we do?"
Rangil remained silent, stunned by what was happening. The older villager paced, glimpsed at the child he still held in his arms and stepped toward Tnul's crib, where he gently lowered Margol. He then resumed pacing back and forth, rubbing his head.
His younger brother followed him with his eyes, automatically continuing to rock the little Human he held. The Human, who might not be a Human after all. Now that he could see the eerie reaction of the Creepers, he could better understand his brother's flaring fears.
"We need to give him to them! Let them have him! Maybe then they'll leave!" Beor exclaimed. This time, Rangil did not protest.
"But... What are we going to tell Uncle Grake?" He asked. Beor threw up his hands.
"I don't know! But I'll think of something... Give him to me."
Rangil silently complied, handling the sleeping child to his brother, who hurriedly looked around until his eyes fell on one of the baskets, which Rangil just completed. Grasping Hero's blanket, he layered it within and then carefully put the child on top.
With another anxious look at his brother, the villager strode to the door and nervously creaked it open, pushing through the basket with the sleeping child, and immediately shutting the door closed.
Both villagers peered into the window. They couldn't see well what was happening but saw the forms of the small creatures draw closer to the door, where they crowded, peeking into the basket. Their chirps became soft, melodic noises of gladness.
"Um... How are they going to take him away, though?" Rangil asked in confusion. "They are so small, and they do not have arms."
He and his brother exchanged startled looks. And jumped at a warping sound as a familiar, tall form appeared outside next to the door. It was a Traveler, a being from a strange race, whom Humans nicknamed Endermen because of the greatly distant worlds from where they came. And it now stood next to their door along with the Creepers and looked at the child sleeping in the basket!
The two villagers held their breath. A low, warning growl issued from the maw of the creature, and the smaller beings abruptly turned and fled, with displeased hisses of protest disappearing into the grass.
The Enderman remained still. A moment later, it shifted position and vanished, leaving purple bits of Travel magic drifting in the air.
Another long moment passed before Beor dared to approach the door and creased it open, peeking through the opened crack outside. He swung it wider and stared at the empty porch. The basket and the child were gone.
The villager made a long, relieved breath, while his brother only blinked at the empty spot with a lost expression.
"Ooof... And there you go. The Monsters took him."
"... What are we going to tell Uncle Grake?" Rangil half-whispered, throwing a look at the two remaining children in the crib. Little Tnul still asleep and Margol watched them with bright amiable eyes that held no understanding. Good thing he was too little and didn't know how to speak, so he couldn't tell Uncle Grake about what just happened.
"I... It's my fault. That's what we tell him." Beor frowned. "I should not have taken him outside along with Margol. I thought that since he was so pale and small, maybe some sun would do him good."
Beor guiltily looked aside. He was not lying. That was what he said. Rangil nodded.
"Then our uncle was right about it all along. He knew that the monsters would go after him. And that Enderman? He really did take him away, just as Uncle Grake said he would." Rangil noted and his older brother frowned. "We should have listened."
"Yes. But I didn't know that this would happen! And he should have warned us better!"
"Maybe he didn't know?" Rangil suggested hesitantly, but Beor furiously shook his head.
"He had to have known. But he didn't tell us! He put all of us in danger... Even Tnul and Margol!"
"Well, that danger is gone now." Rangil said looking at the door.
"And this is what we will tell Grandpa Grake! We won't tell him that we gave Hero to them. No, what happened was Hero, Margol, and I, we were out in the field and having a picnic. And then the Creepers came. I took Margol and ran! And then that Enderman... He came and scared the Creepers away and then took the child who knows where."
Rangil nodded, though his eyes seemed to dim a little and his posture sagged. He hated lying. It was very wrong. All of this was wrong! And it was that little child's fault that they now felt so bad. Even if it wasn't really his fault, because he was too little to understand anything. This was so confusing!
"The Enderman took him. And I came and told you about it." Beor repeated grimly. Again, Rangil nodded.
When their uncle came back and learned what happened, he had a big argument with Beor and then went with him outside to where Beor said it happened. He went out to search for the child. Several hours later he returned, tired and sad, and went to silently sit on the chair by Hero's crib, his shoulders slumped. Rangil and Beor looked at him with guilt.
And then Hero's cry sounded outside their door. Uncle Grake rushed to the door and picked up his foundling to comfort him, not minding the purple particles that still floated around him. The being, who doubtlessly brought him back, was already gone. Beor and his brother exchanged silent looks.
Grake's little human sniffled, quickly calming in his caretaker's hands. Mud stained his clothes at the knees and caked in his hair and his face was grimy with tear tracks leaving stains down his cheeks. With one of his small, chubby hands he grasped an equally dirty blanket. The basket where Beor and Rangil put him earlier was missing to their relief.
Their uncle held him close, ignoring the dirt that already stained his own clothes. He was too relieved to simply have him back. "Don't ever do this again!" He told the child sternly and then immediately hugged him once more, nearly crying. "I was so worried about you!"
"I'll get a bath set up, uncle." Beor said quietly, trying to keep the guilt from his voice. At his uncle's forgetful nod, he immediately moved to do just that and began to fill up a large basin with water.
Only when everyone was already sleeping, all three children resting in their own beds, their uncle slightly snoring so they knew he was asleep, did Rangil's older brother finally turn and look at his brother with worried, uncertain look.
"It brought him back..." He whispered. Rangil didn't say anything back at all, since he didn't know what to think about it all.
With a humph, Beor turned and frowned at the wooden ceiling, where the fire cast moving shadows. He didn't fall asleep for a long time.