One With Nature

Big Tree, Little Boy: 2

"Of course I don't know what to do. What made you think I would?"

I just stared at Yggdrasil as she said that. So much for the wisdom of the Nine Realms.

The boy was sleeping on a pile of leaves nearby. He, thankfully, wasn't hurt beyond a few small cuts and bruises, but he's out like a light at the moment.

"Well, do you at least know where he came from?" I asked.

"He and his family were a group of merchants. They were attacked by bandits on their way to the next village and he managed to escape. The bandits didn't follow him when they saw the lion do that. He only got into this territory by accident while running away. His family... did not survive," Yggdrasil explained and I couldn't help but groan while placing a hand on my head.

"Okay, then should we take him to the town or...?" I trailed off, hoping she would have good suggestions.

"The way I see it, that's the best option in the current situation. There's a human village northwest from here. Orphans are not uncommon in the Norse territory due to the battle-centered way of living. They will take care of him there," Yggdrasil explained.

"Well, I guess that's better than nothing," I replied while putting my hands on my waist.

"Uhmm... who are you talking to?" I turned around and found the boy wide awake and looking at me.

Well, this just got complicated.

"Hey... are you okay now?" I asked as I slowly approached him while raising my arms in surrender.

The boy kept looking at me while blinking a few times. "A-Are you Skogvættir?" He asked.

"Uh... what?" I asked in return.

"Skogvættir are forest spirits in Norse territory. They're like fairies," Yggdrasil answered to me. "And before you ask, the boy can't hear me, and I think he's thirty."

Ah, right. I created a small stone bowl and filled it with warm water before handing it to him. He silently took the bowl and drank the water.

"Thank you, Skogvættir," the boy said after he was done drinking.

"I'm not... that. Just call me Zack," I told the boy and he nodded. "Alright, I'm gonna take you to a human village. You should find someone who can help you there."

I explained while doing my best to avoid bringing up his family. Whether he knows about what happened to them or not, I didn't want to talk about it with him as it just happened.

"Are you... strong?" The boy asked out of nowhere.

"I guess?" I replied.

"You just guess? Does that mark on your chest mean nothing to you?" Yggdrasil was enjoying the fact no one else can hear her, I can tell.

"Can you make me strong, too?" The boy asked.

I would have blinked in surprise but I didn't have eyelids. "That's not really how it works," I said while scratching the back of my head. "Okay, time to go," I asked as I picked the boy up.

I turned to my air element and began floating through the air slower than usual to make sure he doesn't fall. That didn't stop the boy from clinging to me as hard as he could.

It didn't take that long for me to find the village Yggdrasil told me about. When I was at a safe distance, I landed on the ground and put the boy down.

"Now, be careful, and take care of yourself," was the only thing I told the boy before I started flying back to Yggdrasil.

I thought that was the last I heard of the kid.

Boy, was I wrong. (No pun intended.)

It's been, according to Yggdrasil, a week or so since the incident with the kid. She finally began teaching me more complex Runes and sentences.

I still have no use for most of the stuff she teaches me, but she's still seriously happy to be teaching someone.

"Zack, we have a problem," Yggdrasil suddenly said, cutting me off from writing the sentences she gave me today.

"Look, you can't expect me to memorise all those runes in such a short-"

"No, not that," she cuts me off and I look at her in confusion. "The boy from before... he's back."

"What?"