The day went by as I moved along without really knowing what I was doing. My body going through routine as my mind went over it all. There, we had changed, my kind had morphed so much from what we were hadn’t we? Become something worse to try and destroy our enemy. What had we become, what had we been like? What was it like when it was just us? Even our slaves had family, soft-skins had something we didn’t… but we’re better than them? Was that what we sacrificed to be better? Did we have to lose so much just to conquer our enemies? Was it worth it, was it worth losing our love for our own? To seed that aspect of ourselves to our enemies? How valuable was it? How much did we… do we need that for our people, why had the old souls left it behind?

I almost didn’t register us getting back to our room, being able to talk more freely again.

[morgan] “moon, moonshadow, hey back to the normal world please… hey, I’m still here.”

“I, right… just been lost in thought.”

[morgan] “yeah, it’s a good thing I knew what we were doing… are,” she takes a deep breath “are you ok?”

“I… it’s, your families. In the slave camps, they still love each other don’t they?”

[morgan] “y-yeah, the only thing we have is each other. Don’t your kind care at least somewhat?”

“...yeah, but we aren’t devoted to each other. We’re, I think maybe. Maybe the old souls have latched on to their hate too much”

[morgan] sighs “I, if you want to do something other than go back let me know”

“NO, no of course not. I-i’m a first born, I was wanted by the great mother. Meant to live on this world, I’m better”

[morgan] “good enough to live without any love?”

…

[morgan] “I… I, sorry Moon.”

I nod and go to sleep. A minute later I hear her sigh and go to sleep as well.

The days go by and our sixth week is complete, four more. Just four more weeks, the wanted signs starting to switch and display someone with odd looking daggers, ones made to resemble feathers.

Potion work done and one hug from the kid taelyr for our day before going to our room.

“what will you do about your family?”

[morgan] “I… what could I do Moon? There’s no way I could get them free.” I see her eyes start to shine more “besides, there’s just my mom now. Dad died when the country was conquered, and well…” I hear her clear her throat and see water streak down and out from her eye… a tear they call it.

“I… I can’t imagine morgan, it’s… I’m sorry too, there’s, there’s enough pain for everyone…”

I, what am I doing! Sh-she’s a soft-skin! A lesser! My enemy, my peoples enemy!… my people who don’t love anymore, who only think of killing the enemy. What would the world be like when they were done? But it would be right, it would be within our rights wouldn’t it? We were meant to live on this world, it’s OURS by birthright!… is that good enough though? Is that what’s best for us? Damn this soft-skin! Damn the four-legged nightmare! It was so certain, so simple before… what will I be if not a first born? What am I beyond that?

I notice morgan is in bed, sniffling. I turn in for the night as well.

The next day we head out, taelyr hugs me and I think… am I, do I want to help this soft-skin? Just to help him? Great mother being alone must be affecting me already. Our day is done with fairly quickly, well it seems to go by quickly anyways. And we’re back in our room.

“what does your… worth come from morgan?”

[morgan] “my, worth? Like how valuable I am as a slave?”

“n-no, like… what are you aside from that, separate from what you do, what you provide”

[morgan] “what I do are my choices. That’s me, you’re not very clear here… and besides I stopped being a slave a while ago, I’m a mage, a wizard moon so don’t you forget that.”

“that’s… damn translating sometimes. I, what would I be? What am I besides being a first born, a warbug as your kind say.”

[morgan] “y-, that’s, I think I understand… I, you’re. I think you’re changing, maybe you’re a good warbug?”

“as if my kind are inherently evil?”

[morgan] “your kind get reborn to kill and slaughter, I… I know you argue on the right of your people to have the world but seriously, does your people have a right to slaughter mylis and her boys for existing? What did they do wrong? After all you never did anything against them before they took your arms, was any of it right?”

“your kind would exterminate mine if given the chance. Is that right? Hell they’ve tried again and again, fighting as tenaciously as they have is the only way to stay alive”

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[morgan] “maybe, maybe things have changed for them?”

“just because they have new souls being brought into this world doesn’t change the nature of your kind. They don’t, won’t accept firstborn in the world.”

[morgan] “...what do they even know? You can’t expect them to change when all they know you as are monsters ready to slaughter them”

“and they will continue to believe that, there is no way a single one of your kind will give one the chance to be something other than that to them”

[morgan] “I am”

“… I, y-you just want me gone. You said it, you’ll do what you have to so that I’ll leave and you can stay here, in this city”

[morgan] “… yeah, yeah I did. In a way I wish you had stayed what you were, that you’d just remain a monster… you have the looks for it after all”

“yeah well your kind look all sorts of wrong to us, soft, fleshy things that bend too much. Weird wet tentacles in your mouths”

[morgan] laughs “wh-what? You mean tongues? Oh you think having those big unblinking bug eyes are so great?” making her eyes go as wide as she could and having them go cross-eyed.

I laugh at the absurd sight, my jaws clicking.

[morgan] “that… was that, laughter? I never saw your kind laugh at a joke”

“you looked particularly funny doing that, still kinda wrong and weird but funny too.”

[morgan] “yeah, yeah that was kind of the idea… damn you make things difficult, I was just starting to make friends at the tower when you drug me along”

“I… was scared, probably wouldn’t have succeeded without you”

[morgan] “well you wouldn’t have survived the fall”

“I might’ve gotten it to work on my own. But being alone is…”

[morgan] “yeah… you know what though just a little more than three weeks and we both get to be with our people, come on and rest up”

The next two weeks are relaxed, we get along well and it seems the guards are more interested in finding this new thief than an escaped warbug. Potion making is good and a couple times we’re invited back to the home of mylis, despite her dwelling being… modest as morgan puts it. The company, the feeling of the place makes it more welcoming than nearly anywhere I’ve been before. The only place to compare was working under Rev. one question comes to mind increasingly, do I really want to go?

[mylis] “so just two days before you’re sure on going? A grandfather heading off on his own?”

I nod

[morgan] “yes well he’s shown me how to make some profitable potions so it will be fine for both of us”

[mylis] “yes I suppose, still it will be too bad to lose even one of you, the boys really have taken to you both.”

[morgan] “well I’ll still be around, after all it would be a waste for my potion making skills to go unused.”

[mylis] “I suppose so, mhh a nice quiet life in the city. Not like those manhunters”

[morgan] “the what?”

[mylis] “man hunters, you know the special bounty hunters from zirkada, raven-kin?”

[morgan] “this is new to me sorry.”

[mylis] “oh dear I’m starting to think you should be traveling, if only to know more of the world.”

[morgan] “I, maybe some day but could you tell me about them?”

[mylis] “sweetie that’s not the best table talk, look they’re not to be trifled with and wear helmets that look like bone white skull masks. Now lets leave talk of death behind us, we all have plenty of life left to live.”

I wish I could insist, my general curiousity driving me to know more while my good judgment halts it.

Still it’s something I note for my return to the homeland.

The next day we walk through the market as usual, heading off to our final bit of potion making when I spot the head, the pure white bobbing just above the majority of the crowd, long and tapered like a bird. I hunch down trying to lose height. Morgan strolls up head tilting to the side slightly.

[morgan] “hey grandpa what are you doing? Are you ok?”

I pull her close to whisper “the manhunter is here. Look, that way”

I see her eyes widen as I never talk out in the open like this. She peers in the direction for a little before I see her eyes focus. This odd aspect of humans being useful now.

[morgan] “I see him grandpa, he’s probably just here for that thief they’ve been putting posters up for. We’re fine”

I don’t agree but it’s best to move so somewhat hunched we head off. Maybe we’re fine but I don’t like the change, the chance for something to go wrong when it’s just started going right.