I awoke to the sound of muffled voices. They seemed far away, as if in another room, and I couldn't make out their words. Everything was dark, but I felt warm and secure, I was also vaguely aware of other small bodies around me. My siblings if I had to guess, we must have still been in the basket Deetra had hidden us in. I recalled the messages that had appeared before I passed out, they all had a time limit of 72 hours. Was that how long I had been asleep?

I felt my small body begin to squirm, feeling uncomfortable, there was a growing pain in the pit of my stomach. I felt something large shift around me, then something soft and fleshy pressed against my upper lip, my head tilted backward and my mouth open as I latched onto it. My lower jaw began to work and a warm liquid began to fill my mouth and trickle down my throat. I was nursing, but on what? Gazing around as best I could, I realized I was being suspended in some sort of padded harness, presumably to keep me in place while feeding. I was just able to make out the shapes of other harnesses and the sounds of suckling, my siblings were here feeding as well. I became aware that whatever was feeding me was large and covered in thick hair.

No, not hair, fur. In the dim light, I saw the motion of a wagging tail and the sound of low breathy panting. Were we being nursed by a dog? I felt my stomach turn as I spat up the milk I had managed to drink, coughing and sputtering as a result. I squirmed my tiny body as best I could, wanting to get away from the animal. When I was struck with another uncomfortable sensation, a pressure in my lower abdomen. Before I could identify it I felt a rush of hot liquid pooling around my nether regions. I was a baby, I had no fine motor functions or muscle control and that included my bowels. There was a sound of sniffling, a cold and damp nose against my face, then something warm and wet began slapping itself against my body.

The dog, I was being licked by the dog. The reality of my situation began to set in. I was a helpless goblin infant who could barely lift her head, the moment I was born my mother's supposed friend tried to convince her to get rid of me. I had no idea where I was, I woke up to find myself being nursed by a fucking dog and now I was sitting in a pool of my own excrement with said nursing dog licking me. All my emotions came bubbling up and I opened my mouth.

“Waaaaaaaaaah!” I cried, a high pitch gargling screech of a sound. The pathetic noise of my own crying made me cry even harder. Footsteps echoed from far away, along with the sound of shuffling and things being dragged along the ground. The footsteps drew louder. Whoever they were, I could tell they were drawing closer. A red window appeared before me.

Ability Toggled: Summon Mother

My crying died down to a whimper as I read the message. It said I toggled an ability, but what really drew my attention was the ‘summon’ part of the text. I unintentionally triggered something and it was the reason whoever I heard in the distance was approaching. The message said ‘Mother’ but I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. My anxiety began to grow as I continued to whimper pitifully.

‘What did I just do?’ my question was answered with another window.

Self-Ability Inquiry - Allowed

Power: Ability: Summon Mother

Rank 1

QI Cost: 1/seconds

You can call upon your mother. If she/he/they are not in range they will sense your need or desire calling to them. They will feel compelled to care for you, even though they may not know what you need. This ability Transcends tier. Only effective if you are loved by your mother. Mother does not need to be blood-related merely the one recognized as ‘mother’. This ability triggers any time you feel troubled/scared/upset/hungry.

This is a togglable ability.

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“Idika? What is wrong dear one,” the feminine voice was a few feet away, but I still couldn't see anything in the blackness. I heard a few more steps, the sound of wood scraping and several somewhat ragged breaths. A blinding light assaulted my eyes and I began to cry once more. I felt warm hands wrap around me as I was removed from the harness and lifted into the air.

Adjusting to the light my eyes began to open, below me I saw my siblings all in their own little leather harnesses still suckling away. Curled around them was the dog that had been licking me, except it wasn't a dog, It was a giant wolf-like creature with thick fiery red fur covering its strong body. I realized it was the same kind of creature that I saw in my dream. It wore an ornate saddle that the harnesses were attached to and had a calm air about them, its ruby red eyes stared back at me.

“Did Sha’ree frighten you?” I heard the woman say, she must have been referring to the red wolf. She turned me in her grasp, a simple feat as I was barely longer than her hand, my feet dangling just past her wrist. The shift brought me face-to-face with her. As soon as I laid eyes on her I felt something primal stir within me. I needed this person, I wanted to be close to her, for her to comfort me and make all my cares disappear.

She was my mother. I began to cry again as I tried to reach for her, that was when I saw my own tiny arms, they were thin and I could see the outline of my bones. My skin, which I assumed was normally a deep green, was sickly and almost transparent as I could see crisscrossing veins and muscles move beneath it. My mother shifted slowly as she cradled me in one hand, the other tightly grasped a wooden cane with a carved wolf's head.

“Hush now dear, you must eat, otherwise you will grow weak. And weakness is its own kind of curse,” she shuffled to what looked to be a chair and sat down heavily. She fiddled with something outside my vision and I heard what sounded like the splashing of water. I felt a warm cloth press against my face, wiping away the milk I had spit up before cleaning up what remained of my involuntary bathroom break. I was now able to really observe her.

She had a deep orange-yellow skin, and crimson hair hung loosely around her sharp well-defined features accentuated by her pointed tusks that protruded from beneath her lower lip which were covered in intricate carvings. But her most striking feature was her eyes. They were a nearly luminescent golden color, looking as if they had seen the dawn of time and knew the secrets of the universe, but also seemed filled with an infinity of sorrow and exhaustion. The exhaustion in her eyes was only matched by the exhaustion I saw on her face, she had given birth to a literal pile of kids only a few days ago after all. Despite all of this, I still thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. My thoughts were broken as I heard her toss the cloth away with another dull splash.

“There, now let us take you back to Sha’ree so you can finish eating,” her voice was tired but full of warmth as she gently caressed my face with one finger. At the thought of being sentenced to return to feeding off a giant wolf creature, I began to cry again, feebly reaching my tiny arms towards my mother. Her brows furrowed together as she looked down at me, ‘Shhhh, come now Idika, quiet now my little one,” she tried to hush me but I continued to wriggle and cry, reaching toward her. She was my mother, why couldn't she feed me? As if in answer to my silent question she spoke again.

“Goblins come in broods, there are too many of you. I can't feed you all,” she spoke soothingly but I could hear the helplessness in her voice. Looking up at her I saw feelings of pain and sorrow paint her expression. Seeing her looking so dejected caused me to start crying all over again, and she drew me close shushing and humming. My tiny hands tried to grasp at her thick robes as I continued to cry. After a long moment, she gave a heavy sigh, “Very well, but only this once, your brothers may become upset otherwise,” she gently chastised me, untying her robe and bringing me close. I latched on to her immediately, suckling greedily, my crying subsided and I tried to ingest as much warm milk as I could manage. A window appeared before me.

Pre-Tier Milestone Achieved!

Make your mother favor you over your siblings. Have her focus on your growth and potential.

I continued feeding as I read the message. Make my mother favor me? Was it because she was nursing me and not my brothers? I pondered this when another window appeared.

You have Completed the First Pre-Tier Milestone!

You are awarded 10% childhood growth.

The time needed to reach adulthood is reduced by 10% of the total requirement. Your attributes and size will finish adjusting within 10 seconds.

I felt a strange tingling sensation all over my body. My thin limbs grew plump and my skin became a mossy green color, the veins and bones no longer visible. I felt strength surging through my body and I realized my feet, which had only reached just passed my mother's wrist were now hanging near the midpoint of her forearm. I heard her let out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a laugh as she cradled me closer as I continued to nurse. She spoke again, but this time it sounded more like her words were directed at herself and not me.

“I am sorry Deetra, but I have sired so many,” her voice sounded far away and was laced with deep sorrow, “I want to raise at least one brood with Sadash. Just this once. It's all I ask,” she muttered, her words sounding almost like a prayer.