She was literally left speechless before she could even taste the steak. ‘That’s more like the reaction I was expecting.’

She grabbed it with her bare hand, more drool dripping onto the floor as she slowly lifted it to her face, taking over half of it into her mouth at once before finally biting down.

It’s weird to say, but I couldn’t look away. I had to see her reaction. I mean, this was someone who had spent her entire life only ever eating raw meat, now she was getting to eat something this good? I couldn’t miss the look on her face.

Just as I expected. She started to cry again. The longer she held it in her mouth though, the more her face started to scrunch up, and before long it became clear they weren't happy tears.

“Sparks, spit it out!” I yelled grabbing her mouth and making her cough it up, getting her a glass of cold water ready with magic. “I told you it was hot didn’t I?”

She drank the water as fast as she could without saying a word, clutching tightly onto my shirt as she did so. When she was finally done I could already tell she was holding her jaw differently than before. “S-sorry…” She said again, looking down at the mess on the table.

“Forget about that, is your mouth ok?”

She looked down even lower. “It hurts…”

“Geez…” ‘I should have stopped her…’ Letting out a sigh, I cast lesser heal on her again. “Is that better?”

She slowly wiped the tears from her eyes. “It still feels funny… But the pain is gone…”

‘It shouldn’t have been hot enough to cause nerve damage that fast, and anything else would have been fixed with my magic right?’ “Let me see, open you’re mouth real big like this.” ‘Still, halflings shouldn’t be able to get burned from something like this. Their digestive system, mouth included is incredibly robust, is it because she’s halfblooded?’

She did it just like I asked, and I used a tiny mage light inside her mouth to illuminate everything. ‘I guess I should have guessed as much…’ “Your gums are all swollen, and you’re teeth are full of cavities. I’m going to go inside ok? So don’t bite my fingers off if you feel anything weird.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

‘The swelling will go down on its own, and if I pay enough I could get someone to heal her with greater heal, that would restore the lost tissue, but for now, let's use some Gold magic to disinfect everything and clear out the cavities.’

As I did her head twitched, and I could feel her jaw shudder, but she kept it open just like I said and before long everything was fine again. “How’s that feel?”

She moved her jaw around, biting at the air like a dog. “Even weirder...” She said plainly.

‘Well go figure.’ “Either way you should be able to eat without pain now, the food will have cooled down enough…”

Her eyes slowly looked back at the steak with caution. “It won't bite me back this time?”

‘It…’ I sighed, having to tell myself not to laugh. “No, it won’t bite you back this time.”

“Pro–” She paused mid-word, slowly turning away from me again.

All I could do was let out another sigh. “Promise… See look.” I reached across the table and ripped a piece off the steak I gave her, holding it between my thumb and index finger right in front of her. “If you can hold it, and it doesn’t feel too hot after about four seconds or so. It’s probably not too hot to eat.”

After staring at it intently for a while she simply opened her mouth, again. Rolling my eyes I fed it to her before sitting back down and starting back on my own meal. “If it is hot, never just let it sit in you’re mouth, either keep moving it around, or just spit it back out. And make sure you drink water as soon as possible if you ever think you got burned ok?”

I took another bite, looking up at her. It was easy to tell she wasn’t listening to a thing I was saying, too hyperfocused on the meat. Before long she was asking for seconds, so we ate seconds. Then came thirds, which is where I tapped out. She went all the way to fifths before I made her stop, worried she might eat too much and get sick.

“So no more?” She asked as I started washing the dishes.

“Not till later, ok, does that sound good?”

Her eyes started to look back and forth again. “I’d rather have more now, but if you say I have to wait then I will.”

‘Huh. I guess she only acts like a child in some ways. It’s good she’s more comfortable talking now if only a little.’ I turned back and patted her on the head almost out of reflex as she stayed seated properly in her chair, clearly pouting with puffed-out cheeks. ‘Or maybe not… Well, halflings are the fae of gluttony after all. Not to mention she’s been starving this whole time…’

Before I knew it I was starting to crack, wanting to feed her more, but I resisted. “You said you’re back was still hurting, I guess I figured maybe it was better sense you managed to relax enough to fall asleep, but is it still bothering you?”

Her swaying stopped dead in its tracks. “Before… Uhm… When… I yelled you’re name, it uh… Wel…” She suddenly paused, looking up at me. “I was… No… I mean…”

‘You're trying to tell me now?’ I slowly closed my eyes, hoping I remembered to ask again later. “Just, take your time ok. It’s fine.”

Her eyes started darting around the room, looking at pretty much everything except for me. “When I woke up and I couldn’t find you I got scared… I don’t like being alone… It’s scary… Scarier than being hit. It makes me wonder if I’m the only one left in the whole world, and everyone else just vanished.”

‘She thought… She was alone?’ Overcoming my own awkwardness I gave her a hug, or at least tried my best too. It was a bit stiff, and she didn’t so much as move. ‘She’s crying again…’