The last caravan would be here in a few days. Much to my dismay they would be here for a day or two. If it was that short, they should just skip us and let me play with my wolf. My mind went to my marvel sitting in preverbal mothballs. Meathead would have to bundle up as I thought my wolf could easily eat up the miles and it was growing cold. Back home the winds were always moving so the cold would quickly eat through you, but here the wind barely moved so you could easily be outside for hours and it would take time to seep in.

  Gorloth despite having a bleeding cloth in his mouth, had a very goofy grin on his face again. I bet my big friend was happy about his new pet. Maybe Orthonai would give him something nice for asking. Gen on the other hand was beaming and skipping as we walked. Today had become his and Meathead’s play day. The larger man seemed to bond with the small child quickly. I was tinkering in my office working on something new. The page of my notebook where Bullock asked me to build him a smaller Shot Spear lay on my desk, and I was trying to work it out. In all the excitement I had forgotten about him asking. I really needed help keeping track of everything.

  Starting with a normal fire bolt wand, I wrapped metal around it. Thin the handle of the wand, the runes would be on the inside of the handle and stretch a blade out. Long, but not too long. Suddenly everything went black. I forgot to pull from my bracelet and was just using my stored mana. Much to my dismay, I had been focusing too much on the blade and forgotten to focus on myself. At least this time I didn’t wake up with a wrench glued to my face. With a grunt of annoyance, I got back to it.

  By the end of the day, I looked at the weapon on my desk. It looked like an Elven fantasy weapon: a short sword, about three inches thick, no guard and on the back end of the blade was a wand or rather just the focus crystal of the wand as the guts of the wand were in the handle. The trigger was near the bolster of the blade. I just pictured someone pointing it and firing it. It would suck on range but would be great up close. I took it to Meathead who whooped and danced with it in his hands.

  “This is amazing. What is it?” He asked like a small child. I crossed my arms and beamed at my creation.

  “It is a gun blade, a smaller type of Shot Spear.” I said proudly, winking over at Gen. He took a few steps away and started swinging it around. Gen just watched in amazement; his eyes glued on the blade. I may ask Woodcutter to make a mockup of it for the lad. Meathead looked around and fired a few fire bolts off at a plate of metal. He cheered again and beamed at me.

  “You have to make me one.” He said excitement filling his face. I frowned at him and shook my head.

  “That is for Bullock, did you want one for you or your Knight?” I asked with a laugh. Maybe I could hook it to a swinging arm and let him swing four blades at once or just put the simple arms on the wolf and let it have a weapon. I made a quick note of that. He frowned at the blade.

  “Both and I think Saber Shot sounds better.” He said absentmindedly. Fuck that sounds far cooler. Hell, it almost sounded like a super villain name. I let the name roll around my mind and loved the way it sounded. When they both were distracted, I went to talk to Boss about Gen’s birthday. I was planning something amazing for the kid and Boss wanted in on it.

  “Runt, I take it plans are going well.” He said with an evil smile.

  “Everything is set and ready. Do you have everything set on your end?” I asked with an evil laugh. He joined me and we went over the details.

  Bullock loved his Saber Shot and ran off to have Hunter make a scabbard and grip for it. Normally I don’t care about humans, but Bullock I liked. Maybe he wasn’t fully human. Was Boss fully human? I liked him. Was this world just screwing with my head again? With everything set, we went home and had a wonderful evening. Tonight was Uta’s turn, and I knew I would have to make sure my lover was very exhausted so she could rest properly. That or my own appetite in the bedroom matched my lovely crimson coyote lover.

  {Gen}

  Gen sat on the floor in big brother’s office. Big sis Lily was teaching him letters. Big sis Uta and Or had left somewhere, but Gen was too busy learning the proper use of words and how to spell them. Big sis Lily seemed nervous about something, but she was being nice to him and that made him happy. His life had changed so much. He had food, toys, and he got to sleep next to one of his big sisters every night. He even got to sleep next to big brother some nights. Uncle Meat was nice to him and was teaching him to play with Knights. Today should have been a day to learn from Uncle Meat, but big sis Lily said today they would learn letters. It wasn’t as fun as his days with Uncle Meat, but if he got to stay here, he would learn whatever they taught him. If he learned enough, he would get to play in a big Knight someday. One of big sis Lily’s ears twitched towards the front door of the house and she beamed down at him.

  “It looks like they are back. Would you like to go someplace fun?” She asked, Gen just nodded and raised his arms. He loved it when she carried him, loved it when she hugged him and loved the way she held him on the nights she would stay with him. She picked him up and took him to the bedroom. “We need to get dressed as we are going outside.” She set him on the bed, put shoes and a coat on him.

  “Where we go?” He asked. She beamed down at him as she put her own shoes and socks on. Big sis Uta came with Go and Or and all three beamed at him making him feel loved and happy.

  “We are going to the inn Fuzzball.” Big sis Uta said. He got excited. He would get to see the grownups play and this made him very happy. Or picked him up and kissed his cheek. Gen just hugged her neck and kissed her cheek back. Or smelled funny, but Gen was told he wasn’t allowed to bring it up. It was cold and raining outside. He didn’t like being cold and wet, but Or made sure he stayed warm and safe. No one was out as they walked on the muddy road. They must not like the rain either. He hoped there was a fire at the inn and maybe he could watch some of the adults play with their toy Knights. He liked the people the last time that he was in the inn. Would they let him play on the big table like last time? Now he knew more about how to play and wanted to show what he learned from Uncle Meat. The door opened and everyone screamed at him. His heartbeat so fast and he tucked into Or shaking in fear. He started to cry, and some people laughed. It wasn’t nice. He felt hands touch his back and he looked over to see big brother. He was smiling at him. He was being mean too.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Hey. It’s okay Gen. This is your birthday party, and all these people are here to see you. We didn’t mean to scare you.” He held out his arms to Gen and Gen jumped over to him. He hugged his big brother and tried not to cry. Big boys don’t cry unless they are hurt. They had scared him, but big brother said this was a happy thing. Gen wasn’t sure, but he looked around. The room was brightly lit and warm. Two play tables were set up and a big table full of food that smelled nice was set against the wall. He saw all the adults gathered around and he even saw some older kids gathered around the tables. Big brother brought Gen to the table next to Uncle Meat. Uncle Meat yelled, drawing everyone’s eye. The room got quiet, and Gen wasn’t sure what was going on, but this looked like fun and big brother would never lie to Gen.

  “Everyone, can I have your attention? Now that the birthday boy is here, we can begin. This is a double elimination tournament. That means lose two times and you are out. We have a prize for everyone, but the top prize is a custom Doll made by our hero the Toy Maker.” Everyone cheered and big brother rubbed the back of his neck. Big brother was embarrassed, but happy and if he was happy, Gen would be happy. “Second place is just a normal doll and third is a gold coin. Everyone else gets a custom weapon for their Dolls. Play nice and don’t attack the mana wire. Everyone is welcome to try and I am giving five to one on the birthday boy. Any takers?” Did that mean they were going to let Gen play too? He beamed at the room of cheering adults. A paper was pinned to the wall, and it showed a sideways triangle. Words were written on it, but Gen only recognized one word. It was his name. Big sis Lily made sure he knew that word and had made him write it a lot. Big brother whispered in his ear drawing his attention.

  “Do you understand what is going on?” Big brother asked. Gen shook his head. “Two people are going to fight using Dolls on each table. The winner gets to fight another winner. At the end of the night the winner of everything gets their own Doll. You will be in group two. Your Uncle Meathead is going to call out the people's names, so they know when it is their turn to fight. Would you like some food while you wait for your turn?” Gen hugged him and laughed. He would get to play with grownups. It was a very good day. “See I told you it was something good.” Big brother said with a laugh.

  “Thank you, big brother.” Gen had a small plate of tasty food and ate with his sisters and brother as they watched some adults play. They weren’t as good as Uncle Meat, but it looked fun. Soon he was sitting at a play table. A big kind man looked down at Gen and smiled. Big brother smiled, set Gen’s toy Knight on the table, plugged it in and patted Gen on the shoulder.

  “You got this Gen.” Big brother said as he made the metal grow so Gen could reach the controls and Gen held them the way Uncle Meat had taught him. He took a deep breath and focused letting his mana flow from him. Not too much, not too little. Just let it flow from your hands and use the foot pedals to work the legs. The kind man made his own toy Knight move to Gen and his Knight swung at Gen’s Knight. Gen made his duck under the swing and landed a punch to the middle of the Knight. It fell back and Gen raised his arms as some of the people watching cheered. It made him feel good. The other Knight got up and ran at his Knight. Gen kick the leg and it landed at the head of the Knight making it fall hard. The kind man laughed and raised his hands.

  “You have skill, kid. Keep this up and you might give Woodcutter a run for his money.” He reached over and shook Gen’s hand. Big brother slapped Gen’s shoulder.

  “Good job, you won.” Gen cheered and beamed at the room. He won the next time he played too but lost the time after that. This made him sad, but he got a hug when he lost from the man, he played with so that made him happy.

  “Cheer up Gen. You just fought one of the best.” Uncle Meat said. The games went on and Gen kept winning. The people he was playing with were nice and laughed even when they lost. It was getting late, and Gen was having fun but getting tired. “This is the last match Gen. You are fighting Woodcutter.” Uncle Meat said with a huge smile on his face. Others had said he was the best and Gen was nervous as he sat down. The other Knight ran at his and Gen tried for a kick. Wood’s Knight ducked under his leg and lifted it up, knocking Gen’s Knight on its back. He backed off letting Gen get up. This time Gen waited for Wood to come close, making his Knight raise its fists. Wood came in close, raising his own fists. Gen made it look like he was taking a step forward and then swung his leg up in a powerful kick, knocking Wood on his back. Wood whooped and smiled at Gen.

  “Great job, kid.” He said as he got back up. His Knight made its way slowly narrowing the distance between them. Gen faked another kick and swung his arm in a powerful hit. This time Wood ducked the punch and landed his own punch under Gen’s chin and his Knight fell on his back. Gen had lost. Wood just cheered and laughed at Gen. “You’re amazing boy. You did great.” Wood said beaming at Gen. Was he being mean? No he didn’t smell mad. No, he smelled happy.

  “But I lost.” Gen said, his lower lip trembling. Wood and Uncle Meat gave him a big hug to show him it was okay.

  “Kid you put up more of a fight than almost anyone here.” Wood said, patting him on the back. He looked around the room and saw everyone beaming at him. Uncle Meat stood and shouted again so everyone knew to be quiet. Gen closed his own mouth so he didn't make a sound.

  “First place to no one’s surprise Woodcutter. Second place Hostend. Third place Gen.” Uncle Meat shouted. Everyone cheered and Gen was lifted to Uncle Meat’s shoulders. He could see the room cheering for him and it made him very happy. He smiled showing all of them his teeth to let them know he was very happy. “Now for the next part.” The candles were blown out and the room was dark. It made Gen nervous as he didn’t like the dark, but everyone seemed happy, so he tried to be happy with them. A large cake was brought in with candles on it. Everyone started singing a weird song. It was about his birthday and Gen liked it. They set the cake on the play table and brought him close to the candles. Big brother smiled and said something weird.

  “Make a wish and blow out the candle.” He said as everyone looked at him. Gen thought about what he really wanted.

  “Wish stay with big brother.” He said proudly. He nodded and blew out the candles. Everyone cheered and clapped as the candles in the room were lit again. Gen yawned but wanted the cake. His eyes were getting heavy, and he started to nod off. He scooped up a chunk of cake, but it didn’t reach his mouth. He tried again and struggled to keep his eyes open as he willed the cake into his mouth. Someone picked him up and he held on to them. It smelled like big sis Lily. A blanket was held over him, and he drifted off to sleep.

  {Alex}

  The poor kid passed out before the end of his own birthday party. He at least got to blow out the candles. Turns out he was just turning three. (3.9 earth years.) I gave his gold to the fourth-place person as I could easily get the boy anything he needed or wanted. Why did he ask to stay with me? Did this mean he was happy? I hoped so. It was still raining on the way home, but Gen slept through it. It looks like we tuckered the poor lad out. He was snoring softly in Lily’s arms. She loved the boy and Uta was slightly crying. Not sure what she was upset about. Did I do something wrong? Maybe I had gone too far and was acting too much like the boy’s father. I would have to ask Lily about this.