His own. A being who would live a long life, much like himself. Ollie steadied the flutter in his chest and started walking. Thinking of the child who would be waiting for him at home made him feel a little better. He gripped the basket of fruit tightly and moved his feet with purpose.
The moment he pushed open the wooden door, a loud wail burst from inside, stark against the quiet surroundings. Ollie scrambled down the stairs. There stood the child, frozen in place, tears streaming down his face.
“Asel!”
At the sound of Ollie’s voice, Asel’s tears stopped short. He glared at Ollie with eyes reddened from crying, fists clenched tight, and began marching toward him. Ollie watched in bewilderment for a moment before hurrying over to the child.
“Asel. What happened? Why were you crying?”
The child, who couldn’t speak, gave no answer in return. On top of that, from however long he had spent crying in that small body, he was soaked through with sweat.
Ollie wiped the damp forehead with his sleeve and cupped the child’s face in his hands — only then did Asel stop crying. But his glare remained. It was clear that Asel had woken up while he was out and panicked at finding the house empty.
“Don’t cry. I just went to buy some fruit.”
Asel, still letting out little hiccupping sounds, threw himself into Ollie’s arms in a rush. The hot, damp warmth of him instantly settled the restless feeling in Ollie’s heart.
If Asel hadn’t been here, I would’ve spent the whole day drowning in gloom.
“Want to take a warm bath?”
The child nodded, eyes still red and swollen. The sight was so pitiful that Ollie pressed a quick kiss to Asel’s eyes.
He lit a fire and heated the water. He had to go back and forth between the well and the tub dozens of times, but it didn’t feel like any trouble at all.
“Up we go.”
He lifted Asel — who was surprisingly heavy — and lowered him into the tub. For the child’s sake, he dissolved a skin-softening medicine and some healthful leaves into the water. The water turned a shade of blue, and the sharp, tingling scent that rose from it seemed to fascinate the child — he pressed his nose right to the surface and sniffed. But his body wasn’t fully under his own control yet, and his face ended up half-submerged.
“Pfft. You little dummy. What are you doing?”
Ollie lifted the child’s face and wiped it with a soft towel. Asel’s skin was blindingly pale — it had never once seen sunlight. In that moment, the note and key that David had handed him flashed through his mind.
“Should we leave……”
The words slipped out like a sigh. The child splashed the water cheerfully and smiled, bright and carefree. Ollie bathed him with gentle hands, continuously pouring warm water over him so he wouldn’t get cold. After washing his hair too, he lifted the child out of the wooden tub. He made sure to dry him off with a soft towel and wrap him snugly in a cotton-stuffed blanket.
Sleep seemed to be pulling at the child — his eyes were slowly drooping — and Ollie pressed a brief kiss to them. Only then did Ollie undress and sink into the tub the child had just come out of. He stared down at the surface of the water with a contemplative expression, then reached down and picked up a strand of golden hair floating there. Then he plucked one of his own hairs and placed them both in his palm.
The brown, deepened by the water, and the glittering gold — the two strands looked like they had nothing whatsoever in common. A sudden melancholy came over him, and he drew his knees up to his chest, burying his face there.
“It’s fine. He came out of my belly, so maybe some of my vital energy got mixed in. So…… so Asel is mine. He’s family.”
It made no sense, but Ollie wanted to believe it. Was that why — even though no one was listening — he kept murmuring the word family, over and over again?
The group that had departed for the Bikan Mountain Range returned. The forest, already deep in winter, had treacherous snow-covered roads, but for the Tree Folk, that was hardly any trouble at all. Kan packed up his things while looking at the baby Bes had given birth to in the meantime. It was time to go home now.
“Kan. Are you heading home?”
“I should. The baby’s been born now. You did well, Bes.”
“Bes says Matthew says thank you, too.”
Matthew was the father of the child Bes had borne. He mainly spent his time hunting animals and selling them at the market, so he couldn’t often be by Bes’s side. That was why Kan had stayed with her while she gave birth.
“Take this with you.”
“……”
“Ollie lives alone. He must get bored — at least give him this.”
Kan looked at the thick wool yarn and needles in his hand. Ollie, who loved anything done with his hands, spent winters making clothing and scarves together with Masa.
“Thank you.”
“Take care, Kan.”
Seeing him off with Bes’s farewell, Kan packed his things and left. Once he got his own place sorted out, he planned to stop by Ollie’s.
He knocked on the creaking wooden door, and before long it swung open.
“Ollie.”
“What is it. Kan. What’s going on?”
He had even brought a birthday gift before leaving, and this was the reception he got — cold as ever. Kan rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, then noticed the sweat on Ollie’s forehead.
“Making jam?”
“No.”
“Then why are you sweating like that?”
“Mind your own business.”
“Can I come in for a bit? Bes gave me something to pass along.”
Ollie’s eyes darted around before he shook his head — no.
“You can’t. I’m busy right now.”
“……It’ll only take a moment.”
“Then just hand it over here!”
Behind Ollie’s irritated words came a strange sound. It was like…… the laughter of a small child. Kan’s gaze drifted naturally toward the space behind the door.
“What’s that sound?”
“Ugh…… It’s nothing. Just go.”
“Ollie…… you released an egg. What happened to the egg?”
At Kan’s words, Ollie’s lean body visibly stiffened. Sensing the strange reaction, Kan hardened his gaze and stared at Ollie. Ollie fidgeted anxiously before finally grabbing his arm and pulling him inside.
With every step down the stairs, the air pressed heavier against him, and the child’s laughter grew louder.
“Asel!”
Ollie dashed over and snatched the glass bottle out of the child’s hands. Despite having spilled every single precious gemstone he had carefully collected all over the floor, even when Ollie glared at him with a stern expression, the child only giggled and laughed with delight.
“Ollie…… what is this……”
For Kan, it was less the mess the house had become and more the presence of some unfamiliar child that baffled him. He wiped his hand across his lips and scanned the room, then turned his head at a particularly sharp gaze.
He saw a clear, bright face sending him a direct, unblinking stare. A pretty child with golden hair and golden eyes, and strikingly pale skin.
“Asel! I told you not to touch the glass bottles! You little troublemaker, honestly!”
The moment Kan saw that unblemished face, he knew instinctively. That child was the one who had come out of the egg.
“Ollie…… have you been keeping the one that came out of the egg this whole time?”
Only then did Ollie startle, and replied with a flustered air.
“Well…… it’s been a month since he came out of my belly……”
“Then you should have taken him back to where the egg originally was.”
“He’s a baby. So…… I decided to raise him.”
“What…… don’t say something so absurd. Did it ever cross your mind that the egg might have an owner?”
“It doesn’t matter! I found him, so he’s mine!”
Briefly cowed and then immediately back to being a brat — faced with this version of Ollie, Kan ran a hand through his hair. There was no reasoning with Ollie when he was being stubborn. He calmed himself down and continued evenly.
“Ollie. You have to take him back to where the egg was. You don’t even know what…… what clan that child belongs to.”
“He’s Ground Clan!”
“What? Ground Clan eggs are black.”
“He was born from a black egg too.”
