There is one guard at the gate. He is probably a middle-aged Covargh. I don’t think he is a soldier; he is just wearing a pull-over shirt and sandals, with no markings. I suspect the gate is seldom closed. This is a peaceful region with few roaming monsters.
He looks at both of us. “Hail to you, young Arrjee. Did you get your ‘business’ done?”
Funny how I could hear the quotes around the word “business”. He wasn’t really emphasizing it, more like simple, good-natured humor.
“I did not have a chance, Sir Rallee. I got scratched up some due to inattentiveness, and my new friend here healed my arm. With ki! His name is Forrest.”
Arrjee said “friend”. I have a friend! He is showing the guard respect but not being highly formal. I’ll follow suit.
“Hail to you, Sir Rallee. My name is Forrest Rhodes, and I am a traveler, new to these parts.”
“You are welcome here, young Forrest. Arrjee has named you ‘friend’, and you will find many gates open to you. Your capability to heal might prove most useful. But I wonder where you are headed, and when you plan to leave?”
The word “young” seems to be used as an honorific of sorts. My basic cultural knowledge does not include that detail. Maybe it is a fading formalism. I’m guessing the phrase “many gates open” is metaphorical, meaning that the people here will not have a problem with me since Arrjee has vouched for my honor. Interesting that he specifically mentioned my healing.
“I have no specific destination or timetable. When achieving Level 1 a few months ago, I left my home to engage on a walkabout. My goal is to learn more about the world and myself as well.”
Wow, excluding the time element, that is actually true. I am beginning to like this place and have not even been through the gate. Yet how could I belong here, or anywhere, when only present one day of seven? To achieve any proficiency in anything, I’ll need support. A permanent walkabout is permanent ignorance.
“Perhaps your goals may be partially fulfilled here. You both may enter.”
We did so, and I glanced around. Then I stared around. “Arrjee, I did not realize how impressively wondrous your village would be. I have not even looked at anything up close yet, and I am amazed. Yes, you told me that it is the cottages that give this place renown, but I did not realize I would become one of the people who would spread that renown. Cottages is the home everyone dreams of.”
Mostly thatched roofs. What is it about thatched roofs that screams “fairy village”? Well, the fairy village here has wolfmen, not fairies, but they obviously take every bit of care that I imagine fairies would. The clean road is fairly wide, probably sufficient for two carts to pass each other, although I haven’t seen any yet. The buildings nearby here seem to be primarily homes – at least I haven’t seen any posted or hanging signs indicating places of business. There are a few people walking about, and some pups playing on narrow lawns and into the cobbled road. This place is alive, and happy.
“Well, you seem to be a little more impressed than most. Yet, what is there not to love?”
“Uhh, if I find anything, I’ll let you know. Even the guard was friendly as we were about to enter. I would have expected someone, I don’t know, more officious.”
Arrjee laughs at that. “You clearly do not know Sir Rallee, my Uncle Ralf. He could not act formally if the Duchess herself were to arrive. Don’t misunderstand. If there were a threat, he would make sure it was dealt with. Outside of threats, though, why should he act anything other than friendly?”
“I was just surprised and impressed. And I still am, at everything I see really.”
“Your eyes seem very new.”
You have no idea.
“It feels like I have been walking about in the woods forever.”
Technically, my whole life.
“So it feels very good to be around people again. And when you referred to me as ‘friend’ back there, that was the best. You are my friend too.”
“Of course I am, dumbass.”
Remembering how I have heard that a lot lately, I think humorously, “Hey, Interface, can he call me that?”
Up pops the window.
Yes, Arrjee is of sufficient calibre.
The worst and best part is, I fully agree.
“My home is across town. We’ll pass a few shops on the way, and the school.”
“So, your home is where we are headed?”
“Yes. It is best that you meet a few people right away, and the mayor lives there. He is my father.”
I swear, this is an isekai. The first person you meet is important, often a prince or princess. They are traveling in disguise because of an evil son’bitch. You end up helping them, taking part in a grand adventure. Or you meet a harem girl. and further build your harem while adventuring. It then turns out that one of the girls was a princess after all. Well, he is the first type, but not a prince, and he is not in disguise, but maybe there is grand adventure to be had. I hope we get some water before setting out. I’m thirsty.
“Well, sure, I will be happy to meet your family.”
As we walk down the road, Arrjee points out a few shops. We saw a tailor shop, music shop, arms and general tools smithy, and a wood shop, all with hanging signs. Across the street was a building that looks like two cottages built together, but it has a sloped, wooden roof instead of thatch.
Arrjee sees me looking over there and says, “That is our school. It only has one teacher, and I have had her for five years. Dorra Marsen is excellent, and everyone really likes her. Sometimes she invites guests. One of the regular ones is a musician that comes in twice a week and teaches us music. Not just how to play, but about music itself. Until Master Thorm started teaching about two years ago, I thought music was only about playing and singing, but there is a lot more to it. Anyway, we get to learn much more than just letters, numbers, and world.”
Responding truthfully but probably sounding lame for my apparent age, “I’m glad they make sure all the kids build basic capabilities for life.”
That probably does not sound like something a teenager would say.
----------------------------------------
“There is my home, the second cottage on the left. I hope everyone is home so they can meet you.”
It is a little larger than most other cottages. I see a painted statue of maybe an eagle out front. It is probably wood. When we get close, I can see that the workmanship is excellent, and the detail around the face and all the feathers is impressive.
“That’s ‘Eager Beaver’. Family joke, don’t expect it to make sense. I’ll just say that ‘eager’ is as close as a very young me could come to saying ‘eagle’. My mom added the word beaver as a one-time joke, and it stuck. Well, okay, I’ve told you that much, might as well get it all out now. When I was very young, I had buck teeth, and my nickname was ‘Beaver’. When I called the statue ‘eager’, its name just happened. There it is, my dark secret.”
I guess pure Covargh can have bad teeth. I wonder if that was one of the factors that drove him to train up his now impressive charisma. I hope improving my charisma can do just as much for me.
“That is adorable.”
“Yeah, but how many teenagers like to be ‘adorable’.”
“You can pull it off, wolf.”
He opens the front door. I see a man and woman in the front room, probably his parents. There is an older woman holding a crying girl, probably about 5.
Arrjee asks the room, “What is wrong with Rina?”
The older woman answers, “She sprained her ankle playing with other kids. Your sister went to get some salve from my house.”
“This is my new friend Forrest. I met him in the woods. He can heal.”
They all looked at me in, I guess, expectation. Rina looked too, interested but still crying, softer now. “Uh, hello everyone. Would you like me to see what I can do? Rina, maybe I can fix it. I have to touch near your ankle, though. Is that okay?”
Arrjee adds, “He heals by touch, with ki. My arm was pretty scratched up and still bleeding when Forrest first saw me. He fixed me just like he can you. Rina, if you let him, it is going to feel warm and probably tickle. Then the pain will go away, and you can walk and play again.”
His father (?) speaks to me, “Young Forrest, if you can help my niece Rina, we can promise you a hot meal, and good company.”
Rina adds through drying tears, “Please fix it if you can, Forrest. If Arrjee says you can help, I bet you can.”
I walk to where Rina and the older woman are. Rina is just a cute, little, dark-brown furry girl with a slight snout. The woman is, well, distinguished. Her fur is silver-white. I don’t know how old she is, but her beauty has not waned. Or if it has, daayam. She is still sexy as hell. She is wearing a well-kept cloth smock, like I imagine a tradesman around here might wear.
I kneel down in front of Rina. The woman watches my hands, as I reach with my right hand to grab just above Rina’s right ankle.
Yep, I’m right handed. And her fur might be coarser than mine.
An evil idea hits me just before I start focusing ki into my hand and her.
“Rina, it will help if you think about something other than the pain. Repeat this little song Arrjee taught me. ‘Arrjee, Arrjee’.
I start focusing the ki. She repeats, ‘Arrjee, Arrjee’’
“He reeaal”, stretching out the first part of ‘really’ as in the chant.
“He reeaal”.
“Lee loooves’.
“Lee loooves”.
“That tree!”
“That tree!“ She reaches down, rubbing her now non-swollen ankle. “Minor gods, it don’t hurt no more, Forrest!” She slides off the woman’s lap and stands. “It don’t hurt at all! Thank you.”
That was easy. A lot easier than healing Arrjee had been. Will all skills become that much easier after just one use? Let’s see, still rank E. I transferred ki for just under 3 seconds, so she probably healed around 10 hit points. I’m assuming I am pushing the max ki I can, but I don’t really know how to know.
I stand. “Thank Arrjee. It was his chant that helped you forget the pain. All I did was help your body heal itself a little faster. You and he did the real work.”
She runs to Arrjee, and pulls him down so she can hug him. She does, and kisses him on the cheek. “I don’t know what your chant meant, but it worked!”
He looks at me in exasperation. I wouldn't be surprised if he were blushing under that fur.
Got him! There are limits to his openness. I raise both my eyebrows twice, hopefully telling him it was meant in harmless fun.
Rina then seems to think for a second, then walks over to me. She pulls me down like she did Arrjee, and hugs me too. “Arrjee may have helped with the pain, but you took away the sprain. I felt the warmth, and it tickled, just like Arrjee said.”
Just then, another, older, girl walks into the cottage. “I’ve got it.” But then she looks around puzzled, seeing Rina standing just fine and without tears. There is a stranger in the house.
Arrjee’s mother (?) speaks. “Introductions are past due, for everyone. Carrie, this young gentleman is Forrest, a new friend of Arrjee’s. He was able to heal Rina. “
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“Forrest, this is Arrjee’s sister, two years younger than he.”
Rina interrupts, “Arrjee’s chant helped too!”
I see Arrjee take a deep, contemplative breath. He knows Rina will spread the chant, and that some people will know its context. I’m guessing some people in the room already do. He is probably planning how he is going to stab me. Cool, bring it on! I know kung fu. Kind of. I saw it in movies and have two never-used skills. You only have that one year of actual training.
The woman continues, “I am Arrjee’s mother, Rhetta Silverstone. I am one of the duchy’s postmen, serving five villages. This gentleman next to me is my husband Barrie Silverstone. He is the mayor of Cottages. My mother is the woman who held Rina. She is Rhonda Silverstone, and an alchemist. And you already met 6-year old Rina. She trips well, but not frequently.”
That earns a mild glare from Rina.
That’s right, it is common here for a husband to take his wife's last name. It is not a matriarchal thing. Equality is the norm, and gender really doesn’t matter socially. Most wore only a loincloth and sandals. Barrie had on a shirt similar to the one the gate guard had worn. Instead of a loincloth, Rhetta wore some sort of skirt and short pants combo, but nothing up top. If she needs to ride a horse or some such animal for her postal duties, that is probably a better, more comfortable choice. Her breasts are large enough to be functional, but that’s it. I’ve seen much larger “man-boobs” on Earth. Hers are not at all droopy, though. She has an almost masculine air, or is it simple dignity? Her mother bears it too.
I suddenly realize something. No one has a tail! Never having had a tail as Jacques, I had not noticed its lack when I donned my own loincloth. I think, “Okay, anime, you lied to me!”
It is my turn to speak. “I am Forrest Rhodes, 16 years old. After achieving my Level 1 as a martial artist and ki healer, I began a walkabout to learn more about the world. My encounter with Arrjee was pure happenstance, but now I believe a fortunate one.”
I am glad my name has ‘r’s in it. Everyone else's name seems to as well. A holdover from their wolf heritage, growling? Or am I being racist? Speciesist. Arrjee the pup could say “eager” but had a tough time with “eagle”. You know what? I think I overthink things, then sometimes overthink overthinking them.
“May I get some water? To get here, we ran for quite a while on the road, and I am really thirsty.”
Rina immediately volunteers, “Yes, I’ll get you some, Forrest! Would you like water also, Arrjee?”
“Yes, cousin, I would appreciate it greatly.”
Arrjee’s mom has us all take a seat. Everyone exchanges pleasantries for a few moments. Then his dad asks me, “Forrest, how long do you plan on staying in Cottages? Our village would welcome having a healer again, should you decide to stay.”
Deer in headlights. I would love to stay, I really would. But I cannot. Literally cannot. This tuesday’s wildcard thing sucks. One day here, six days gone.
I am temporarily saved from answering as a perfect little hostess enters the room. She is carefully carrying a large tray with multiple glasses and a large pitcher of water. The tray is pewter I think, and everything else is glass. She sets the service down on the oval table we are seated around. She pours two glasses, for Arrjee and me. I guess everyone else will have to serve themself. They had not “saved” her, at least not today.
“Thank you, Rina.” I drink deeply.
Arrjee repeats the thanks, drinks, then turns to his father. “Father, before Forrest commits himself to anything, you should know there might be a ‘grandma issue’. May we speak to her alone for a while first?”
“Grandma issue”, WTF? I wonder if he said that because panic had been obvious on my face. Well, at least maybe I won’t have to answer right away.
“Yes, son. You have given me good reason to trust your judgement. How about you three go over to her home shop? In the meantime, your mother and I will make something delicious for dinner.”
The senior Silverstone nods in acknowledgement, and stands. “Come on boys. I just live a few cottages away.”
As we prepare to leave, I hear Carrie mildly grumble, “I always miss the good stuff.”
Rina consoles, “Would you like to hear the new chant? Forrest taught it while healing me.”
Yep, stabbed. Maybe sliced too. It will probably have to wait until next Tuesday, when it can fit the schedule.
----------------------------------------
As we walk, the woman tells me, “You can call me ‘grandma’ if you want. I’m 67, older than anyone in the village, and all the kids do.”
“Thank you, grandma. I was not sure how to address you. Might I say that you look excellent, a lot better than …”
How do I possibly finish that sentence?
“Than you think someone of my age should? Well as you can probably tell, I am half human, like you. Being a hybrid tends to keep our bodies from showing our age.”
“There is something I would like you to do, and see something new.”
Where is this going?
“Take a look at your hands. What do you see?”
Arrjee adds happily, “That was the first thing I noticed too. Just like you said to watch for.”
Puzzlement. I look at my hands. Not that I really know what a Covargh hybrid’s hands should look like.
“I see hands, four fingers, thumb, sharp claws.” I turn my hands over. “Same on the other side, but with fur.”
“Arrjee, show him your hands.” He holds his palms out. I see the same thing. Except, he has calluses. He has been using his hands for years. My skin is like a baby’s, new.
How dense are you, Forrest? She wanted me to see “something new”. I don’t know what to say. How do I explain new hands? They obviously know something about people with these hands.
We slow down, and stop in front of her alchemist’s shop. I observe exquisite craftsmanship. The wood is somehow sealed seamlessly, so no wind or cold can get in or heat out. Do they even use nails? Oh, yes they do. I see some now that I know how far they have been spaced.
We go in, pass through her shop and go up some stairs to her living quarters. We stop in a den with well crafted wooden and padded chairs, a leather couch, and a small desk. She takes a seat on a chair, and Arrjee and I do also.
“Forrest, please show me the bottom of your feet.” I do so. “Good, it got that right. Sometimes newbies arrive here with uncalloused feet. They cannot walk well on even mildly rough ground. Your feet show they have lived.”
Yep, she knows I really am new, and she knows of others. What did System say? I remember from the screen:
Mortals usually have no memory of previous incarnations. There is a low random chance, about 6%, that mortals might remember their baseline life – who they started as. When that happens, the mortal is classified as an “awakened”. Mortals and immortals alike will accumulate karma, ebbing and flowing during incarnations, based primarily on the choices made. All immortals start out at a minimum age of 8 every life. Almost all mortals begin their life newborn, but about a third of the awakened begin at 8 or above.
She is likely an unborn awakened, who occur one third of 6% of the time or 2%. I realize there was always a good chance I would encounter one, with them being 1 of every 50 people.
She asks, “What else did you notice, Arrjee?”
“Now that I am thinking about it, his hands weren’t the first unusual thing. First was his appearance and voice. While he has an impressive build, healthy skin, and intelligent eyes, his fur is coarse as it looks, his face is unusually unattractive – no offense – and his voice grates.”
“No offense taken. I see the same thing and I am realizing how much I stand out. Everyone has been exceptionally accepting of me, and it is clear you know a lot more about me than I thought anyone would.”
“Anyway, I mildly flirted with him. He had seen that I was cut and scratched and offered to help. I didn’t see any supplies, and I joked about him maybe bandaging me with his loincloth. Most boys would have flirted back, but he just smiled uncomfortably.”
I was completely wrong about Arrjee having no idea about my newness. He had suspected almost immediately. I don’t think I’ll be applying to become a superspy any time soon.
“I noticed how unused his hand was when he reached out so he could heal my arm.”
Grandma asks, “What happened to you, anyway?”
He gives her a look of embarrassment, “Two big squirrels attacked me while I was focused entirely on myself. Their family was nested in the tree I was leaning against.”
She laughs. “I’m sure there is a good lesson there. But don’t feel too bad, in two lives I haven’t learned it well enough either. We all get ‘focused’, sometimes on ourselves, or sometimes with a friend.”
There it is, in the open open. Get her to state it directly. “Grandma, are you an awakened?”
“Interface, I need your advice here. How much should I tell them?”
I believe they are trustworthy, and can prove to be valuable allies. She is very unlikely to know about immortals, and has every reason to believe you to be an awakened like her. And, since you only remember your baselife, you essentially are. This is still your very first day, so your tuesday’s wildcard archetype has not yet set you apart.
“Yes, just like you, son. I see you reading your interface. How new are you?”
She does not know I am sapient, and for now I would like to keep it that way. Her interface is the basic model, but set to high interactivity to support her unborn awakened status. Think of it as an artificial intelligence, but significantly more advanced than those on Earth. Imagine an often excited, happy-to-help puppy with a whole lot of knowledge but no underpinning to support actual experience. Rhonda will assume I am like that, and is not surprised to see your eyes reading me.
“Only a few hours, I don’t know how many.”
“Why don’t you ask your interface the time?”
“I can do that?”
“You never told me you could do that.”
You never asked. I never told you I could maintain To Do lists either, but you figured it out.
Local Time: 12:40
I got here at 8:25. With 10 being mid-day, that makes now mid-afternoon. And that is 40 minutes of a 50-minute hour.
“I have been on Heere for a little over 4 hours.”
“You caught a really fresh one, Arrjee.”
He just smiles.
“I am still interested in having Arrjee finish explaining his observations. Since he is smart, outgoing, and gets around a lot, I have told him certain things to expect if he encounters an unborn awakened. Are you curious how well he did?”
“Or from my point of view, how badly I managed to blend in. Yes; hopefully he can help me fit in and be ‘normal’ among strangers.”
She smiles at me, “Way to dream, son. Go ahead, Arrjee.”
“Okay, after he healed me – which felt awesome by the way. It sort of energized me, in addition to taking care of the cuts and scratches.”
I wonder for the second time if I really had raised his libido. As side effects go, invigorating someone isn’t bad. It just could lead to awkward situations.
“After he healed me, I asked him why he had no travel bag or anything. He said he hid them in some bushes while swimming, but they were gone when he got out. He had brought his loincloth with him into the water. Good explanation, so far. Then I asked him who took them, and his answer was … unlikely.”
“You said my guesses were possible!”
“Yes, it is also possible that in five seconds the ground will open and swallow all of us up.” He stops speaking and pointedly looks down, pausing for a few seconds. Then he looks back at me. “Not very likely though. I swear, it almost hurt not to laugh out loud at the thought of a water elemental wanting to take your stuff for tribute. If there were any bandits, they would have just checked your bag and taken any coin. And bears would not have touched stuff bearing Covargh scent.“
“I was pretty convinced you were an unborn awakened by then. Either that, or a total idiot. Well, not total. You are a nice guy and your helpfulness in healing me was commendable. You just suck at making stuff up.”
“That is why I mentioned a different cover story, that wouldn’t make you seem so void of knowledge. Kids hiding your stuff as a prank – doesn’t that sound much more likely? Even to you?”
“I knew you enough to like you by then. I asked you if you wanted to do something together, and you froze. It was clear you were not a boy from around here. You panicked and seemed to be a guy from another planet who had never touched his penis before.”
I had to think for a second. I would have felt offended if those words were not literally true. I have not even needed to piss, just having drunk my first glass of water a few minutes ago. A couple of handfuls from the stream were not enough.
Grandma laughed, not at all bothered by this level of openness.
“Finally, we reached the road and ran the rest of the way here. No offense, but you run like you are 9 years old. Do you even have the running skill?”
“I got it after about a mile. Rank F.”
“Ah, congratulations, my friend Forrest. You are not a complete, total newbie after all.”
That wasn’t a sarcastic attack. I would classify it as humorous encouragement.
“Grandma, those are the reasons I knew he needed to talk to you.”
She says, “Forrest, it is not a bad thing to be what we are. People know about us. Yes, there are unfounded rumors, both good and bad. Humans often think the bad, but even they don’t hate us. After all, they have their own awakened. We think that about 1% of us are unborn awakened, and maybe more borns. The worst that might happen to one of us is getting excited by being in a wondrous place and having new skills. With their “incredible powers” some think they can take on a dungeon by themself within a week. It turns out, they cannot. Those ones die quickly.”
Close estimates. I guess they don’t get an introductory spiel from System.
No, they do not. Most born awakeneds pass from one life to the next with no intervention, just like most mortals. Anyone scheduled to be unborn, though, first has a void session like you did with me. Their first choice is to decide if they want to experience their new life from birth. If so, they forget the session and are reborn. If not, they get to choose their age, race, and classes. They also remember doing so, but they are unaware of a larger context than interfaces, powers, and other worlds. Quite a few of these had heard of awakeneds before, and maybe even had such friends. You were extra ignorant, coming from a starter world.
That sounds like it should be insulting, but it is not. Almost reassuring, really. I’m feeling like this life could work out. I just have to get past the whole tuesday-only thing.
Yes, that is the circumstance which will be most problematic. Your new friends lack the context to understand it, so you are going to need to fabricate something, unless you want to completely explain your immortal nature.
“I have been a poor fabricator, but having found friends that can relate to me, I don’t want to be suddenly different either. Could you help me here?”
Be as factually correct as you can, without mentioning System or immortality. You probably don’t want to call it “tuesday’s wildcard”, but you need to explain to them your long absences. It will be outside of what they know, so a good, somewhat correct explanation will seem very unusual, but not something they will immediately see through. Dig a small hole, not a large one.
Arrjee says, “You talk to your interface a lot! Much more than grandma.”
She laughs and says, “You did not know me when I was one day old. It is a lifeline between worlds.”
He says almost wistfully, “Yeah, I can picture that.”
----------------------------------------
“Okay, I am feeling a lot better. Not alone anymore. Do I just go around letting everyone know I am awakened?”
Arrjee gives me his new, “other planet” look. “You do not need to be ashamed of it, or fear it. On the other hand, you do not want to go around acting like you know more and are better than other people. You are not, and people thinking that about you is a lot worse than them simply knowing you are awakened. If it comes up as a normal part of conversation, contribute what you know to be useful and relevant. You are different, but you don’t need to act like you are different.”
Interesting. I would have expected grandma to be the one to tell me that. This kid must have learned a lot from her over the years.
Grandma smiles at him. “Well said, Arrjee. I am very heartened to see you have been really listening to me over the years. You stated that almost better than I could.”
“Now that we have let Forrest know how abysmally he was able to fit in, I think we should give him a chance to ask a few of the thousand questions I know he must have.”
I guess I better get this in right away, or my main questons won’t make sense.
“Yes, grandma, I greatly appreciate that. But first I have something important to reveal.”
She raises her eyebrows at me in question. Arrjee focuses on what I am about to say.
Don’t sound like an idiot.
“I think I am different than other awakeneds. My interface gave me an extra choice besides races and classes and stuff. It said few are given the choice and that it is a new thing. It asked if I would want to remain on my new world for an extra long time, live longer than others. I said yes, and now I am going to age at one seventh the rate as everyone else.”
She said, “That is amazing, Forrest! I haven’t heard of it before, but you get to enjoy this wonderful world for a very long time.”
“There is a catch. It did explain before I chose, but I said yes anyway. Now I dread it. I will appear to age slowly because I will only be here one day out of seven. For the rest of the time I’ll be in the void, not aging, while the world experiences those six days. My days in the void will pass very quickly for me.”
I am pretty sure desperation could be seen on my face, and I know there were tears. And a lump in my throat.
“I made a very dumb decision. Dumb!! Now I feel like I cannot belong anywhere. When the Mayor asked if I would like to be the village’s healer,I felt so alone, so different. How can I be useful as a healer, as a useful anything, for just one day out of seven? How can I train my skills? How do I watch my friends grow old and die?”
Dammit, I was not expecting to blow up emotionally. Is this immortality worth it?
As cover stories go, that should prove more than adequate.
I think Interface is trying to cheer me up with intentional understatement.
The attempt does not work, but I appreciate it anyway. My tears continue to flow.
Grandma walks over to me and lifts me up into a tight hug. I return it, and Arrjee joins us. His hug is just as tight, and I wriggle an arm free so I can reach around him for a full, three-way hug. We stand like that quietly for at least a minute.
She eventually states, “Well, young wolf, those were not the questions I was expecting.”