{Alex}

Gorloth came in and I frowned at him. “What happened to your tooth?” He smiled and sucked on a bleeding cloth.

“No worry, it grow back. I get tired of it hurting.” He said with a shrug. I couldn’t help but notice that he kept looking at Orga and smiling. Did something happen between them?

“Do you mind telling Boss that we will both be in late today. I think we all need winter clothes.”

“You buy me clothes too?” He furrowed his brow as he asked me.

“Yes. You need warm clothes too. I see how you have been shivering at the office.”

“You are good friend, Runt.” Orga just beamed at me, her eyes lingering on Gorloth. He left as Orga started cooking. She made a large and wonderful breakfast insuring that everyone was fed and happy. She ate too but made herself something weird. She put pickles on her eggs and jelly on her sausage. Why was she eating like that? The jelly on sausage I could understand, but pickles on eggs is just strange. Uta came in and sniffed giving Orga a strange look. Lily joined in as she looked at Orga. “Master, can we have a word alone with Orga after breakfast?” Lily asked.

“Sure, but we are going shopping for winter clothes this morning.” Lily smiled at him.

“Master how much does a dress cost?” I just shrugged,

“No clue. Fifteen silver?” She shook her head and laughed with Uta at me. Gorloth refused to take his eyes off Orga smiling in a strange way once he got back. What was going on? Once we had all eaten, I took Gen outside to play in the snow. The ground was still too warm for it to stick, but the boy running around until he was cold was cute. The girls had their talk, and I couldn’t help but notice that they were all blushing. Were they planning something? Don’t tell me that there was a birthday I missed. I pulled out my notebook and looked on the inside cover. No, the next one was Gen and that was still a week away. I’d have to think of something for the boy. I left them with Tailor and went to the inn to plan something. When I had things lined out, I went back and started shopping for my own winter clothes. The girls delighted in helping me and even Gen liked his new coat. It even had a long slit for his tail.

“It too warm.” Gen said pulling at his coat.

“It’s too hot in here right now. It will get much colder later. He looked at Gorloth’s feet and my own before looking at his own bare feet.

“Want shoes like big boy.” The girls laughed and smiled. Tailor joined in delighting in her shop being so full. I made sure Gorloth got a huge scarf and gloves. I asked Lily about maid outfits, but all she did was blush and refuse to look at me. The last caravan would be here in a few days and only be here for a day or two. After that I could break out my wolf and start to play with it. Meathead would have to bundle up as I thought my wolf could easily eat up the miles. When we were done and happy, Gorloth, Gen and I said goodbye to the girls and went to work. Gorloth despite having a bleeding cloth in his mouth, had a very goofy grin on his face. Gen on the other hand was beaming and skipping. Today had become his and Meathead’s play day. The larger man seemed to bond with the small child quickly. I just tinkered in my office working on something new. I found the page where Bullock asked me to build him a smaller Shot Spear. I took a wand and started wrapping something around it. Thin the handle of the wand, the runes would be on the inside of the handle and stretch a blade out. Long, but not too long. Suddenly everything went black. I forgot to pull from my bracelet and was just using my stored mana. Had been focusing too much on the blade. With a grunt of annoyance, I got back to it. By the end of the day, I looked at the weapon on my desk. It looked like an Elven fantasy weapon. It was a short sword, about three inches thick, no guard and on the back end of the blade was a wand or rather just the focus crystal of the wand as the guts of the wand were in the handle. The trigger was near the bolster of the blade. I just pictured someone pointing it and firing it. It would suck on range but would be great up close. I took it to Meathead who whooped and danced with it in his hands.

“This is amazing. What is it?” I crossed my arms and beamed at my new device.

“It is a gun blade, a smaller type of Shot Spear.” He took a few steps away and started swinging it around. Gen just watched in amazement; his eyes glued on the blade. I may ask Woodcutter to make a mockup of it for the lad. Meathead looked around and fired a few shots off at a plate of metal. He cheered again and beamed at me.

“You have to make me one.” I frowned.

“That is for Bullock, did you want one for you or your Knight?” He frowned at the blade.

“Both and I think Saber Shot sounds better.” Fuck that sounds far cooler. Hell, it almost sounded like a super villain name. When they both were distracted, went to talk to Boss about Gen’s birthday. I was planning something amazing for the kid. Boss told me that the caravan was delayed by a week. Bullock loved his Saber Shot and ran off to have Hunter make a scabbard for it. Normally I don’t care about humans, but Bullock I liked. Maybe he wasn’t fully human. Was Boss fully human? I liked him. Was this world was just screwing with my head again? With everything set, we went home and had a wonderful evening. Tonight was Uta’s turn.

{Gen}

Gen sat on the floor in big brother’s office. Big sis Lily was teaching him letters. Big sis Uta and Or had left somewhere. Big sis Lily seemed nervous about something, but she was being nice to him and that made him happy. His life had changed so much. He had food, toys, he got to sleep next to one of his big sisters every night. He even got to sleep next to big brother some nights. Uncle Meat was nice to him and was teaching him to play with Knights. Today should have been a day to learn from Uncle Meat, but big sis Lily said today they would learn letters. It wasn’t as fun as his days with Uncle Meat, but if he got to stay here, he would learn whatever they taught him. One of big sis Lily’s ears twitched to the area of the front door of the house and she beamed down at him.

“It looks like they are back. Would you like to go someplace fun?” She asked, Gen just nodded and raised his arms. He loved it when she carried him, loved it when she hugged him and loved the way she held him on the nights she would stay with him. She picked him up and took him to the bedroom. “We need to get dressed as we are going outside.” She set him on the bed, put shoes and a coat on him.

“Where we go?” He asked them. She beamed down at him as she put her own shoes and coat on as big sis Uta and Or came in. Both beamed at him, and he felt loved.

“We are going to the inn Fuzzball.” Big sis Uta said. Or picked him up and kissed his cheek. Gen just hugged her neck and kissed her cheek back. It was cold and raining outside. He didn’t like being cold and wet, but Or made sure he stayed warm and safe. No one was out. They must not like the rain either. He hoped there was a fire at the inn and maybe he could watch some of the adults play with their Knights. He like the people the last time that he was in the inn. Would they let him play on the big table like last time? Now he knew more about how to play and wanted to show what he learned from Uncle Meat. The door opened and everyone screamed at him. His heartbeat so fast and he tucked into Or shaking in fear. He started to cry, and some people laughed. It wasn’t nice. He felt hands touch his back and he looked over to see big brother. He was smiling at him. He was being mean too.

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“Hey. It’s okay Gen. This is your birthday party. All these people are here to see you. We didn’t mean to scare you.” He held out his arms to Gen and Gen jumped over to him. He hugged his big brother and tried not to cry. They had scared him, but big brother said this was a happy thing. He wasn’t sure, but he looked around. The room was brightly lit and warm. Two play tables were set up and a big table full of food that smelled nice was set against the wall. He saw all the adults gathered around and he even saw some older kids gathered around the tables. Big brother brought Gen to the table next to Uncle Meat. Uncle Meat yelled drawing everyone’s eye. The room got quiet, and Gen wasn’t sure what was going on.

“Everyone can I have your attention. Now that the birthday boy is here, we can begin. This is a double elimination tournament. That means lose two times and you are out. We have a prize for everyone, but the top prize is a custom doll made by our hero the Toy Maker.” Everyone cheered and big brother rubbed the back of his neck. “Second place is just a normal doll and third is gold coin. Everyone else gets a custom weapon for their dolls. Play nice and don’t attack the mana wire. Everyone is welcome to try. I am giving five to one on the birthday boy.” Did that mean they were going to let Gen play too? He beamed at the room of cheering adults. A paper was pinned to the wall, and it showed a sideways triangle. Words were written on it, but Gen only recognized one word. It was his name. Big sis Lily made sure he knew that word and had made him write it a lot. Big brother whispered in his ear.

“Do you understand what is going on?” Gen shook his head. “Two people are going to fight using dolls on each table. The winner gets to fight another winner. At the end of the night the winner of everything gets their own doll. You will be in group two. Uncle Meathead is going to call out the people's names, so they know when it is their turn to fight. Would you like some food while you wait for your turn?” Gen hugged him and laughed. “See I told you it was something good.”

“Thank you big brother.” Gen had a small plate of tasty food and ate with his sisters and brother as they watched some adults play. They weren’t as good as Uncle Meat, but it looked fun. Soon he was sitting at a play table. A big kind man looked down at Gen and smiled. Big brother smiled and set Gen’s toy Knight on the table and plugged it in and patted Gen on the shoulder.

“You got this Gen.” Big brother made the metal grow so Gen could reach the controls and Gen held them the way Uncle Meat had taught him. He took a deep breath and focused letting his mana flow from him. Not too much, not too little. Just let it flow from your hands and use the foot pedals to work the legs. The kind man made his own Knight move to Gen and his Knight swung at Gen’s Knight. Gen made his duck under the swing and landed a punch to the middle of the Knight. It fell back and Gen raised his arms as some of the people watching cheered. It made him feel good. The other Knight got up and ran at his Knight. Gen made its leg kick and it landed at the head of the Knight making it fall hard. The kind man laughed and raised his hands.

“You have skill, kid. Keep this up and you might give Woodcutter a run for his money.” He reached over and shook Gen’s hand. Big brother slapped Gen’s shoulder.

“Good job, you won.” Gen cheered and beamed at the room. He won the next time he played too but lost the time after that. This made him sad, but he got a hug when he lost from the man he played with. Everyone seemed nice and happy.

“Cheer up Gen. You just fought one of the best.” Uncle Meat said. The games went on and Gen kept winning. The people he was playing with was nice. It was getting late, and Gen was having fun but getting tired. “This is the last match Gen. You are fighting Woodcutter.” Others had said he was the best and Gen was nervous. The other Knight ran at his and Gen tried for a kick. Wood’s Knight ducked under his leg and lifted it up, knocking Gen’s Knight on its back. He backed off letting Gen get up. This time Gen waited for Wood to come close, making his Knight raise its fists. Wood came in close raising his own fists. Gen made it look like he was taking a step forward and then swung his leg up in a powerful kick, knocking Wood on his back. Wood whooped and smiled at Gen.

“You are good Kid.” He said as he got back up. His Knight made its way slowly narrowing the distance between them. Gen faked another kick and swung his arm in a powerful hit. This time Wood ducked the punch and landed his own punch under Gen’s chin and his Knight fell on his back. Gen had lost. Wood just cheered and laughed at Gen. “You are amazing boy. You did great.”

“But I lost.” Gen said, his lower lip trembling. Wood and Uncle Meat gave him a big hug.

“Kid you put up more of a fight than almost anyone here.” Wood said patting him of the back. He looked around the room and saw everyone beaming and nodding at him. Uncle Meat stood and beamed.

“First place to no one’s surprise Woodcutter. Second place Hostend. Third place Gen.” Uncle Meat shouted. Everyone cheered and Gen was lifted to Uncle Meat’s shoulders. “Now for the next part.” The candles were blown out and the room was dark. It made Gen nervous, but everyone seemed happy, so he tried to be happy with them. A large cake was brought in with small candles on it. Everyone started singing a weird song. It was about his birthday. They set the cake on the play table and brought him close to the candle. Big brother smiled and said something weird.

“Make a wish and blow out the candle.” Gen smiled at the room,

“Wish stay with big brother.” He nodded and blew out the candle. Everyone cheered and clapped as the candles in the room were lit again. Gen yawned but wanted the cake. His eyes were getting heavy, and he started to nod off. Someone picked him up and he held on to them. It smelled like big sis Lily. A blanket was held over him, and he drifted off to sleep.

{Alex}

The poor kid passed out before the end of his own birthday party. He at least got to blow out the candles. Turns out he was just turning four. I gave his gold to the fourth-place person as I could easily get the boy anything he needed or wanted. Why did he ask to stay with me? Did this mean he was happy? I hoped so. It was still raining on the way home, but Gen slept through it. It looks like we tuckered the poor lad out. He was snoring softly in Lily’s arms. She loved the boy and Uta was slightly crying. Not sure what she was upset about. Did I do something wrong?

A few days later the last caravan of the year came in and I couldn’t wait for it to leave. They stayed for two painfully long days. I beamed as I watched the back of one large red Knight. It was finally time for my monster to come to life. Boss had Meathead move the wolf’s frame out to a large open field. It was barely noon as Meathead climbed from his Knight to my wolf. He smiled as he flipped the switch and the eyes lit up. They glowed red in the slightly cold air. He took the controls and took a deep breath. It slowly stood on all fours. Standing nearly twenty-five feet in the air. “This feels amazing. I need a seat like this in my house.” He looked over the controls. “Mana levels are fine. The engine is stable. Are you ready for me to move?” I just nodded beaming at the birth of my first nightmare. Boss just looked up shock filling his face.

“A Dire Knight.” he whispered.

“What?” I asked, loving the sound of that name.

“It’s a dire wolf like Knight.”

“That isn’t what you said though. You called it a Dire Knight. That sounds cool as hell. I love it.” Boss just smiled over at me.

“What are you going to call this first Dire Knight?” I looked over at the wolf that started to walk forward.

“In my old world, there a was great hunter. He was crazy, powerful and dark. His name was Lobo. This Dire Knight,” I loved the way that rolled off my tongue. “Looks like a Lobo to me.” Boss had a huge childlike grin on his face.

“Meathead, let that thing run wild.” Boss said with a growl. An insane scream of joy came from Meathead inside Lobo as it took off. It ran like the wind and was a thing of pure beauty. People were going to shit themselves when they see this thing in spring. Now that I was watching it run, I knew the liger blade arms would work like a dream. Suddenly it stopped and fell on its side. We both ran up to it.

“What happened?” I asked, my heart falling. Meathead just smiled out at us.

“I slipped. We need claws for it to dig into the ground. Wolves have claws. I forgot about that. “If the hips where just a hair wider, I may not have slipped.” I pulled out my notebook and started sketching madly.

“Good, get up and walk it back to the shop. You can come back for Astreal.” Boss growled at Meathead. He nodded and we both took a few steps back to let him figure out how to right Lobo. It took a few tries, but he made it happen. Once back at the shop I wanted to start working, but Woodcutter was there. He looked at Lobo in amazement. “Good you are here. Runt, meet our new Commander.” Woodcutter just blinked at Boss.

“What do you mean?” Woodcutter asked.

“Was I not clear? You are a Commander. Yvosot signed on with the last caravan. He wants to retire in Green Barrow with his family. That brings us down to two. We need three. I’m giving you Astreal and Meathead is taking Lobo.”

“I can’t be a Commander. I’m just a woodcutter.” He said protesting.

“Fuck that. You are on par with Meathead. We need a new Commander, and you are it. Deal with it.” He slapped the man’s shoulder and walked away leaving him standing there stunned. He looked over at me smiling.

“Can I keep my nickname?” I just shrugged.

“You are Woodcutter.” He laughed and sat down on the floor looking up at Lobo.