The house had gotten warm. Roan was on the floor to escape the heat. She didn’t trust her puny tongue to keep her cool. Not for the first time, she missed the ability to shift to a four-legged form. Her hunting hound shape was nice and small, perfect for staying cool. If it got any hotter, she’d have to disrobe.
Idly, Roan batted at Mariah’s mystic slate. She was beginning to be able to read the time runes on the front of it. There were only as many types as she had fingers. She had a sense of how much time the runes counted out too. There was about a finger’s width of change in the sun’s position before Hannah went to her place of work.
Roan pursed her lips in a pout. The ability to pout was the one advantage of her tiny mouth. She’d always envied the pixies and elven faerie their ability to pout. It was too bad she couldn’t pout and droop floppy ears like a puppy at the same time. No-one would be able to resist both at once.
Thinking about being able to pout back at Court brought on a bout of homesickness. It was unpleasant enough to force Roan’s thoughts to the reason she’d pouted in the first place. Once again, she needed to relieve herself. Time was running out to choose to do it on purpose, and get changed by Hannah, or to try to hold out until Forrest got home.
Soiling herself when she didn’t have to felt like a loss of honor. Every time she did it, it was a loss of pride for sure. If she wet her diapers out of convenience, how long until she did it any time she needed relief? She’d be incontinent in deed, if not in fact.
There wasn’t a lot of honor in sitting a wet diaper either, nor any pride. Roan decided getting a change from Hannah was a strategic decision. Before she could over-examine her justification, she got on her hands and knees and tried to relax. It was difficult, the aversion against the repeated humiliation was getting worse. Lifting a leg and pretending she was in her hound shape was enough to break her resistance.
Roan stuck her tongue out and wrinkled her nose as the diaper filled. She flopped over on her back so the padding would fill evenly, keeping almost all the liquid off her skin. It helped her pride to remind herself that at least she didn’t have to soil herself the other way.
In a few more changes of the runes on the slate, Hannah was back to check on Roan. Unlike Forrest, she didn’t announce her intention to check Roan’s diaper. She merely knelt and put her hand under Roan’s skirt, patting the garment.
“Feels like you’re a little wet. I have enough time to change you before go. Let’s get you back to your bedroom.”
Roan nodded and hopped to her hands and knees. She crawled quickly, being almost as used to crawling in her upright form as she was on four legs. Hannah made a curious noise. Frowning, Roan queried the locket about crawling.
The mass of memories in the locket was adamant that human babies usually crawled, rather than walking. Roan cursed her lack of memory magic. That fact would have been nice to know at the outset! Her family had seen her walking too much to pretend she couldn’t walk now. Roan resolved to mix in more crawling to throw off any suspicion about her sudden walking ability.
Hannah lead Roan to the corner of her bedroom. The blanket Forrest had changed her on that morning was laid out there. A shelf formerly full of books had been cleared to accommodate neat stacks of diapers, as well as the bottles of ointments Forrest had used.
“I set up a little changing area for you here. How do you like it?”
“It looks nice, thank you.”
“Forrest said you think you can tell when you need to poop, but I don’t know if we’ve tested that yet. I’m sorry you’re having so much trouble with your bladder. Even if you can’t tell about number two, we’ll help you, okay?”
“I think I can tell for that one.”
“How are you feeling? Is there anything you need help with that we haven’t done for you yet? Do you hurt anywhere?” Hannah patted Roan on the cheek. Roan leaned into the caress.
“I don’t hurt. I think I feel a little confused.”
“I think you’re a lot confused. Don’t worry, I got you out of your coffee shop job for a couple of days. Make sure you tell me if anything hurts or if you feel strange.”
“I will, Mommy.”
Hannah’s face lit up with a smile. “I’m going to miss it when you don’t need all this help. Until then, I’ll take good care of you, Mariah. You can trust me, okay?”
“I do trust you, Mommy.” Roan leaned in and nuzzled Hannah’s shoulder. She was already feeling touch-starved, she realized. At home she’d be playing physical games with the rest of her pack, and sleeping in a warm pile with the other hounds. Humans didn’t touch each other nearly as much.
Roan’s display of affection was rewarded with a tight hug from Hannah. Her adopted mother put her back on the blanket and raised Roan’s skirt. The wet diaper came off to Roan’s great relief. Hannah used the little cloths with the cleansing magic of pine and lemon trees to wipe her.
“It’s a little tough to clean you with your hair here,” Hannah said as she wiped Roan’s crotch. “You’ve got it short, but it might make sense to shave.”
Another pout came to Roan’s lips. Pouting was an easy expression to get used to. She didn’t relish losing more hair. Her human body was almost completely naked as it was. Still, it was better to be obedient. The hair in question would be covered by her diapers in any case.
“If you think it’s best, Mommy.” Roan got the words out, but couldn’t infuse them with enthusiasm.
“Let’s give it a few days and see if it’s still an issue.” Hannah spread lotion on Roan’s body, following it with the powder that tickled Roan’s nose. Human potions were filled with so many heavy scents. They needed a lot of perfume to be able to smell anything at all.
“There you go.” Hannah fixed the tapes to Roan’s diaper and patted the garment. “Ah sweetie, why the sad face? This isn’t much fun, is it?”
Roan shrugged. She wasn’t sure how to answer the question. Isn’t this sort of thing normal for Mariah?
Lost in thought, Roan was caught off guard when Hannah’s fingertips dug into her sides. Helpless giggles burst out of the faerie girl, which only encouraged Hannah to tickle more.
I was overthinking it. She wanted to play!
Roan managed to grab Hannah and pull her down, dislodging Hanna’s tickling grip. They rolled on the carpeted floor, Roan getting good tickles in. Hannah was an inexperienced wrestler. Roan was about to pin her when she remembered a baby shouldn’t be able to beat its parent at wrestling.
It was fun to let Hannah pin her anyway. The human woman was at least as attractive as Forrest. She had an easy, infectious laugh too. It was too bad Roan was baby to both of them. They both seemed like they’d make fun, considerate lovers.
“You’re a feisty little girl today. That’s a good sign. Got you though. What are you going to do now?”
Pinned though she was, Roan wasn’t out of options. Despite her baby-limitations there was plenty she could do to keep playing. The easiest, and most fun, was to lick Hannah. Roan drew her tongue from Hannah’s collarbone to under her ear in a long, wet stroke.
“Eee!” Hanna released Roan and sat up, giggling and rubbing her neck dry. “I guess I shouldn’t have underestimated you.”
Roan laughed, lying passively on the floor. She watched Hanna’s face, puzzling as her mother’s expression shifted from mirth to wonderment. Strangest of all, a blush spread across Hannah’s nose and cheeks.
“I have to go,” Hannah said regretfully, standing and dusting off her skirt.. “Let’s get you to Bless.”
Roan followed Hannah on all fours, her diaper rustling away under her skirt. They arrived at Bless’ room in short order. It was highly organized and clean. There were few furnishings, leaving room for a large table with carved bits of wood on it. The little statues looked well accomplished. Not dwarven quality, but leagues better than goblin work.
Bless was sitting ramrod straight on her bed, looking at her mystic slate. She reminded Roan of one of the officious brownies that kept notes on Court functions.
“Bless, I’m headed to work. You’ve got Roan. I changed her, so all you need to do is keep her out of trouble and feed her lunch.”
“I don’t have to feed her by hand, do I?”
“No, she eats fine on her own. Well, she might need cleanup after. Please be nice to her.”
“I wasn’t complaining, I genuinely needed to know if she needs help eating.”
“Okay, fair enough. Thank you for doing this. You two play nice, okay?”
“Okay – Hannah.” Roan nodded. She bit her tongue gently. Already she’d almost slipped by calling Hannah Mommy in front of Bless. She wasn’t sure why it was important not to do that, but there were too many other strange things to puzzle out first.
“I’ve got her, really. Have a good day at the daycare.”
“I always do! I love all our little munchkins.” Hannah left the room.
Hannah was in a hurry. Roan heard the door open and close moments later. An awkward silence hung in the room, broken by the sound of a large animal growling near the house. Roan looked at Bless quickly, but she wasn’t bothered by the noise.
“Do you need something?”
Roan shook her head. “No.”
“Okay. You can go do whatever you want. Tell me if you need anything.”
It wasn’t clear who Bless was a blessing to, but it didn’t seem to be anyone in the house. She had the cold, dismissive manner of one of the royal fae. Humans were supposed to be warmer, more like common faerie. It’d be dangerous to have someone in the family be so indifferent to Roan.
Bless picked her mystic slate up. It was lit with dancing colors. Roan leaned in and gently nuzzled Bless’ leg.
“Huh? What was that for?” Bless frowned.
“Thank you for taking care of me.” Roan said, putting on her best puppy dog eyes. They were good ones, she knew. When she’d been a puppy, the pack had always selected her to beg for treats.
Bless’ sour expression crumbled before the power of Roan’s pleading. She patted Roan’s head, laughing when Roan leaned into the touch.
“You’re welcome. I know we haven’t know each other long, but I didn’t expect you to be such a – baby? You remind me of a puppy right now though.”
Roan bit her lip and pulled away from Bless’ caress. Of all the family, she’d come closest to guessing the truth! The human’s face didn’t betray any great revelation though. It must have been a lucky turn of phrase. Roan sat back on her heels and smiled wistfully. Being a puppy again, instead of a baby, would have been a lot more fun.
“I’m not making fun of you. I used to pretend I was a puppy, when I was a little girl.”
Roan smiled broadly. Maybe Bless wasn’t so bad. When Bless reached out to pet her again, Roan scooted forward, leaning against Bless’ leg. She got another delighted laugh out of the human.
“You want to play baby games? Do you want to play puppy?”
Eagerly, Roan nodded. She tried a bark, which her flat mouth mangled. Bless was impressed even so.
“You’re adorable. Hmmm, let’s see here…” Bless looked around the room, selecting a stuffed mouse from her pillows and shaking it in her hand. “Want to play fetch?”
Fetch? Bless wanted to play FETCH?! Roan could hardly believe her luck. They were going to go immediately to the best puppy game. Unable to control her excitement, she bounced on her hands and knees, barking again.
“That’s a really good bark. You must have played puppy before!” Bless tossed the mouse across the room. “Fetch!”
Roan moved! If she’d still had her snout, she would have caught the mouse in the air. As it was, she caught it on the first bounce, before it could roll. Like lightning, she brought it back to Bless in her mouth.
Bless had a hand over her mouth, laughing to make her whole body shake. She took hold of the mouse. It took Roan a second to remember she had to release the mouse, for the game to continue. Being treated like a child and playing fetch had her in a puppy frame of mind.
On the next throw, Bless threw higher, pitching the mouse out the door. Roan was on it as soon as it landed, bringing the mouse back post-haste. This time she remembered to release the mouse right away. A few more throws had Bless declaring they’d have to move the game to the living room.
In the larger room, Bless could pitch the toy a good distance. Roan was getting warm again, panting for all she was worth. She didn’t care if she collapsed from overheating. Playing fetch had her happier than she’d been since her father had been sentenced.
Eventually, Bless called an end to the game. Though disappointed, Roan didn’t fuss. She was dry-mouthed and her knees hurt from rubbing across the carpet. Roan knelt at Bless’ feet and panted for all she was worth. If her tiny tongue was doing anything to cool her, it wasn’t noticeable.
“You need water, huh?” Bless patted Roan’s head. “You want it in a bowl or a glass?”
Bless’ tone had a sort of challenging, teasing quality to it. Roan wondered if Bless had been impressed by her ability to fetch. Surely she’d done a better job than whatever Bless had managed, when she’d pretended to be a puppy. Drinking out of a bowl would be difficult with her lack of a snout, but Roan was sure she could outdo Bless at any dog-related endeavor.
“Bowl!”
Bless shook her head and grinned. She brought Roan a bowl of cool water from the kitchen and set it on the floor. “Still playing huh? I’m going to take a break and be in my room for a bit. You play puppy out here as long as you want.”
Roan nodded, lowering her head to the bowl. She hoped Bless was looking as she lapped at the water. After her practice with the cereal, she managed to get a good amount of water drunk, and almost none on her nose.
As she rested on the cool, slick kitchen floor, Roan had given up on panting. It was useless. While she waited to cool off, she felt prickles of damp all over her. Patting herself all over, she found hot moisture that smelled like her. The revelation dawned. She was sweating, like a dwarf or a horse.
I didn’t realize humans sweat. Luck has really carried me here, I know almost nothing about these people.
Roan tried querying the locket again. It was as chaotic a ball of images, sounds, and emotions as ever. She was getting to the point that she could ask it specific questions well enough, but general ones overwhelmed her mind. Unfortunately, it was impossible to ask for answers to questions she didn’t know she needed to ask.
The sweat was drying on Roan, with only the back of her head still damp under the hair. It had cooled her off and made her smell more like herself. She’d have to remember to compliment the horses, if she ever got back to Court to see them again. Sweating seemed better than panting.
There was music coming from Bless’ room. If her caretaker was busy playing an instrument – or several of them by the noise – she wouldn’t notice if Roan went on a little excursion. Finally, she’d have a chance to look for signs of faerie watchers and collect materials for her ward.
Roan stood and stretched. The carpet had been harsh enough on her naked knees. She had no desire to grind them into dirt and rock. Moving quietly on bare feet, she slipped out the front door.
The hawthorn tree was closest. Ordinarily she’d approach such a tree warily, for they were not friendly to the faerie. After holding an iron ring in her hand with no permanent damage, Roan didn’t fear the hawthorn. Indeed, the tree didn’t notice at all as she approached it. Doing her best human impression, Roan crudely twisted off one of the thin, springy limbs.
The ash was a bit bigger, dominating the short-cut field of grass around the back side of the house. Roan had to jump a bit to reach a small branch, but soon had the second part of her tri-part ward.
Scanning the area revealed an oak tree across the large black road that cut through the fields. It was a supremely ugly road, full of tar and reeking of burnt oil. It was hard to believe humans had built it. It seemed like the work of goblins, or worse, the Fomorians.
The black road was hot under Roan’s feet, but it didn’t stick to her skin. That was good. The road was ridiculously broad for such a little-traveled byway. Roan didn’t see a single cart or carriage on it, yet it stretched over twenty yards across! There’d be no way to cross it in a leap.
Warily, Roan padded across the road. She didn’t detect any magic. There were markings on the road, but they seemed to indicate four lanes of travel. It was fancy, perhaps a road human nobility used on the way to their hunting grounds.
On the other side of the road, Roan’s nose caught the scent of magic. A lightning-riven tree leaned away from the gash that had blown open on its side. The branches stood bare and half-burnt, reaching like claws for the sky.
Approaching the tree, Roan felt a quiver in her belly. She was on a Old Road, laid by faerie centuries ago. Though iron-wielding humans had pushed the fae out of the mortal world, the old trods persisted.
Roan trembled as she faced the tree. Right before her was a way home. She took a step on the road involuntarily, hearing the whispers of the faerie wood on the other side of the tree portal. Swallowing a lump in her throat, Roan stepped off the old road.
I still don’t know if there are watchers from the Court here. Also – I can’t leave these mortals to the Queen’s wrath. They deserve better.
Soberly, Roan walked to the oak and tore off a branch. Rather than weave her ward right away, she made her way back to the house. She needed to be away from the blasted tree, away from the promise of home it cruelly dangled before her.
“MARIAH!”
Roan looked up with a start. She’d been lost in thought and missed Bless looking for her in the yard. The human woman was waving frantically at her, shouting Mariah’s name.
I can’t believe I got caught! Roan cursed herself. She halted in the middle of the tar road, searching for an explanation to get herself out of trouble. There was no way to claim she was playing a directed. Standing on her feet and cutting tree branches couldn’t be considered part of the puppy game. Ignorance was an excuse that was already wearing thin, but Roan had no better idea.
“MARIAH!” Bless’ voice had gotten frantic. “GET OUT OF THE HIGHWAY!”
It was best to be obedient and try to salvage her reputation as a well behaved child. Roan stepped forward slowly, trying to find the words to apologize.
A high pitched growl sounded suddenly loud from the side. It was the same growl that had accompanied Hannah and Forrest’s exits from the house. Roan hadn’t seen the beast that made the noise yet, but she’d assumed it was benign enough since no one else reacted to them.
Now she turned to the noise’s source, horrified to see a massive thing closing on her. It was the size of a carriage, but had nothing pulling it. More importantly, it was moving almost as fast as a faerie steed. It had swept around the nearest corner, over a hundred yards away, in no time at all.
Roan threw herself into a run toward the house. It would have been faster to go back, but she didn’t trust the road anymore. With her hound’s speed, she had time to cross the carriage’s path.
Mariah’s body, or the copy of it, did not obey with the speed that Roan’s would have. There was a horrific blare of noise from the carriage, like a horn being blown by a musician made of lightning. The carriage swerved, barely missing Roan. The wind of its passing staggered her. She stumbled off the tar road and fell onto the grass.
Maybe it is as fast as a faerie steed! I was almost trampled!
“What’s wrong with you? What were you doing!?” Bless fell to her knees and shook Roan by her shoulders. The other woman’s face was a mixture of rage and panic.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know!”
“It’s a highway! It’s dangerous!”
“I didn’t know! I didn’t know!” Roan sobbed, her heart pounding.
Everything was falling apart. She’d done something totally out of character for Mariah, obviously. If her body was so easily damaged by a mere candle flame, she shuddered to think about what would have happened if the carriage had hit her. Bless was angry at her, and Roan couldn’t blame her or excuse herself.
“Inside, NOW.” Bless grabbed Roan’s hand and pulled.
Roan rose awkwardly to her feet and stumbled behind Bless. It was a long way to be pulled along, around the house to avoid the boarded up door the Huntsman had destroyed. They went in through the front and to the couch, where Bless made Roan sit.
Looming over Roan, Bless continued her tirade. “What were you thinking!? The highway is dangerous! You can’t walk out there! You’re not supposed to leave the house when you’re being babysat!”
“I’m sorry!” Roan whimpered.
Bless crossed her arms across her chest and panted. She looked terrified. Feeling the human woman’s fear, was building a nasty nest of fright in Roan. Bless’ panic forced Roan to revise her opinion of how much danger she’d been in. The way Bless was acting – it was like she feared she’d be reporting a really serious injury back to Forrest – or a death.
“I’m sorry. It was my fault. I – knew I was supposed to stay inside.” Roan sobbed.
Roan abandoned all thoughts of getting out of her punishment. The situation wasn’t about keeping her cover and staying out of trouble anymore. She’d abused the trust of her family and caused real upset, brought real danger upon herself. Roan had failed her adopted pack. Shame burned her heart.
Bless’ gaze fell on the branches tightly clutched in Roan’s hand. “What are those? Why did you need branches?”
“I was going to make – a pretty thing – for the house,” Roan said contritely. She hated lying after behaving badly, but it was too dangerous to say the word ward. The humans had marvelous devices and the scholarship to use them, but hadn’t cast a single spell yet.
“You were…” Bless yanked at her hair. “Fine. I guess you brought me a switch. You pick which one you want to be punished with.”
Roan nodded. She wasn’t looking forward to being beaten on hairless skin, but a beating was a small punishment considering what she’d done. Or perhaps Bless considered it merely a good start. She was about to find out how strict her caretaker was, Roan realized ruefully.
The oak branch was the heaviest and most sturdy of the three. Roan handed it to Bless and stood, shucking her dress off.
“What are you doing?” Bless blinked at Roan, eyes dipping to Roan’s bra before she brought them back to the faerie girl’s face. “Just – bend over the arm of the couch. Leave the dress off for now.”
Roan hurried to comply. She felt a tug on her diaper, and her rear bared. Bless is going to beat me from head to toe, then.
It seemed like a fitting punishment. Roan braced her back muscles, hoping Bless wouldn’t draw blood. Confusingly, Bless left the diaper around Roan’s thighs. She struck Roan several times on the rear with the oak switch, producing only a little sting. Bless made a frustrated snort.
“Doesn’t that hurt?”
“A – a little.” Roan looked back at Bless in surprise. Her rear was smarting, to be sure, but nothing resembling a real beating had happened yet.
Growling in irritation, Bless drew her arm back and brought the branch down hard on Roan’s rear. The swish the branch made sounded like a real strike, albeit a mild one. The bright pain flashed across Roan’s rear and surprised her into a yelp. The previous strikes must have been mere wrist-movements on Bless’ part. Maria’s rear was more sensitive than Roan could have believed.
Yelping with every stroke now, Roan began to cry. Bless was swinging from her shoulder and hadn’t bothered to scrape the branch clean. Tiny secondary branches were poking like needles, along with the brand-like strips that crossed Roan’s butt.
Falling back into a puppy mindset, Roan let herself cry and wail. Mariah had no honor to protect. Babies weren’t expected to bear a beating quietly. She was a snotty mess by the time Bless stopped switching her. Roan’s whole rear felt like it’d been struck by iron. Her muscles kept twitching involuntarily, sending a fresh shock of pain up her back.
Bless kneeled by Roan, a concerned look on her face. “I had to spank you hard. I had to. Do you understand Mariah? You scared me so badly. You could have died on the road. Do you understand why I had to spank so hard?”
Roan nodded, sniffling and blubbering. “Yes Bless. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I was bad.”
“Come here.” Bless said hesitantly. She helped Roan off the couch and into her lap, carefully helping Roan rest on her hip and thigh, rather than her rear.
“I’m sorry I had to hit you so hard. You won’t go on the road again, will you?”
“I won’t. I won’t go on the road again!” Roan clutched at Bless’ shirt. “I’ll be a good girl. I’ll be a good girl for you Bless.”
“Promise me. Promise you won’t go back on the road.” Bless cradled Roan in her arms.
She wants an oath? I can’t refuse her, not after Forrest swore to her.
“I promise I won’t go on the road again.” Roan felt the power of her oath settle on her heart. The old road was lost to her now. If she was ever getting home, it wouldn’t be by lightning-struck tree. Roan sobbed again, feeling further from home than ever.
Bless stroked Roan’s hair gently. “Mariah, honey. Mari, baby. I’m sorry I had to hit you. You scared me so much. You’re going to be okay. I’ll take care of you. I promise.”
The promise chimed softly in Roan’s ears. It was a weak oath, perhaps the first real oath Bless had ever sworn. It was further weakened by its broad scope. Bless had failed to put a time limit or any other conditions on her promise.
Promising a human that way would have been quickly forgotten, by Bless and the person she promised. But this time Bless had promised a faerie. Roan felt the oath take hold of the human woman. Feeling low on sympathy, due to her bruised rear and homesickness, Roan decided to push the oath a little further.
“Like your baby? You’ll take care of me like your baby?” Roan made her voice as pitiful as she could. It wasn’t difficult, with the quaver from tears still in her throat.
“Yes, I’ll take care of you like my baby.” Bless said. She shuddered through her whole body to feel the oath enhanced.
Roan heard the promise like the tolling of a massive silver bell. She’d never ensorcelled a human with a promise before. It had been shockingly easy. The power of the promise now bound Bless as tightly as a Geas cast by a noble would bind one of the fae.
“Woah, that was intense.” Bless shivered again. “You freaked me out, baby girl. Let’s get you clean. You need lunch too.”
“Lunch sounds good.”
Roan was surprised at how hungry she felt already. Humans seemingly needed to eat not only every day, but more than once a day. On top of that, the days passed frighteningly quickly. There was no Queen of Glass to hold the sun still in the sky so she could enjoy the glow of her palace.
“Your butt is a mess,” Bless said guiltily. “Where did Forrest put your diaper stuff?”
“It’s in my room, but it was Hannah who put it there.”
Bless tried lifting Roan three times before she gave up. Apologizing for not being able to carry the fae girl, Bless lead Roan to the changing area.
“Let’s get you in something cuter too. I’ll take your bra.” Bless stripped what was left of Roan’s clothing and laid her on the changing blanket face down.
Roan gasped as Bless spread lotion on her striped rear. Though it stung at first, the magic of human alchemy ultimately soothed her bruised flesh. Gently, with lots of little kisses on the fae girl’s belly, Bless wrapped Roan in a new diaper.
Bless insisted on picking Roan’s new clothes out. More than that, she wanted to put them on Roan as well. It felt like a bit much, since Forrest considered Roan a baby, but had trusted her to dress herself. Roan didn’t protest. All that really mattered was that Bless was firmly in Roan’s camp now.
The clothes turned out to be a soft shirt and pants. They were far warmer than the blouse and skirt Roan had been wearing earlier. Not clothes for playing fetch in, for certain.
Back in the living room, Bless directed Roan to the couch. Ordering Roan to stay there, Bless went elsewhere in the house. When she returned, she smelled faintly of Hannah. There was an odd object in her hand, with a flat oval middle, a ring on one side, and a nob on the other.
“Open.” Bless put the nob to Roan’s mouth. It was soft, yielding easily to her lips. Though it smelled as if it had been freshly washed, Roan caught Hannah’s scent on it, as well as the smell of other humans she’d never smelled before.
Confused, Roan opened her mouth. The nob went in, with the flat bit pressed to her lips. She sucked closed her mouth around the nob. Instinctively, her mouth sucked on the odd thing. It was as soothing as it was strange. Bless looked happy that Roan was sucking on it, so Roan continued.
“You sit there like a good baby. I’m going to make you lunch and then you can have a nap in my room, okay?”
With her mouth full, Roan could only nod. The gesture got her a pat on the head. Bless went to the kitchen, banging around distinctly iron-sounding pots and utensils.
I’m safe with Bless now, maybe even more so than Forrest and Hannah. I wouldn’t ensorcell them – but maybe I should get Corey to swear an oath. Roan chewed on the soft nob in her mouth. It was surprisingly tough and satisfying to bite.
The only question is, what oath should it be? I already have three humans taking care of me as a baby. Maybe there’s something more useful Corey could swear.