2 The Old Couple

The old man leads me to a large, cozy shack in the middle of the village. A nice waist-high gate circled the home. A tiny garden was being tended to by an old woman. Her grey curls fell on her shoulders, her eyes sparkled the moment she saw the old man.

"Now Herbert, what have I told you about bringing home strays?" The old woman chuckled as she hugged the old man.

The woman grabbed the bundle of pelts and gently placed them on the ground. She placed her hands on my shoulders and gave me a look over. Her kind, wrinkly face scanned everything about me. The emerald green eyes missing nothing. A strand of grey hair dangled from her head. A slight smell of fresh dirt and greens came from her. She was gentle as she grabbed my arms, making sure I wasn't injured anywhere.

"Where in the realms did all this blood come from?" She asked turning to the old man.

"Well Margaret, the boy showed up from that village. Oh, what was its name? Papaya! that's it. A demon ape raised him. The boy showed up covered in this blood. Poor Daryl almost shat himself, he did! Well, he told us that he killed a bunch of dire wolves before getting here. Seems he has a mighty grudge against them." Herbert explained as she continued to look for wounds on me.

"That's insane Herbert! There's not even one scratch on the boy. Must have strong bones, young man." Margaret laughed as she pulled on my arm. She opened the wooden door. In the room was a small bed for two, a large stone cauldron filled with water, a fireplace with stew boiling, and a dining table. She pulled me over to the stone cauldron and grabbed a large cloth. She ladled water onto my arms, cleaning the blood off. My dark tan skin and scars began showing. Margaret looked at my face with sad eyes as she saw the scars.

"What a tough life you have lived child." She quietly said as she finished cleaning me up. She squatted next to the bed and pulled out a large wooden chest. The wood was old and splintered. She opened it and pulled out an outfit. The faded cloth looked to be older than I was.

"These are my son's. I think they will fit you. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you had them." She said smiling as she handed them to me.

I looked at her, sadness lingered in her eyes. She quickly looked away and checked the stew. Herbert walked in and glanced at the clothes in my hands.

"Ah, my dear you had the same idea as I did. Those should fit ya. By the way Margaret, the young man said he didn't have a name. I was thinking if it didn't bother the lad, maybe we could help him with that." Herbert said sitting down next to me.

His tan face showed years of hard work. His big frame hunched slightly from years of hard labor. His grey eyes were almost swallowed by big grey bushy eyebrows. His slightly overgrown beard was greying with a tinge of black. His hands were rough and calloused. He pulled out a pipe and lit a thing of tobacco. He took a large puff.

"Well, that will not do at all. How do you not have a name child?" Margaret came bustling over to me.

She grabbed my cheeks and stared into my eyes for a long time.

"Rudy? Yes, Rudy fits your child. What do you think?" She asked me, very proud of herself.

I smiled, I think for the first time in my life. A warm feeling burned into my chest.

"I like it." I quietly said hiding my smile.

The name, was something that I had lacked. Why did it feel so nice to have one? My mind was confused. I was used to how cut and dry things were in the wild. The kill or be killed mentality. Humans were strange creatures to me. I wondered if humans weren't as bad as my father had told me.

"Rudy, yes that's a quite nice darling. Has a nice ring to it." Herbert said with a big grin.

I noticed Margaret kneeling by the fire, what looked to be warming her hands until I noticed the flames were coming from her hands.

"Margaret dear impatient as always." Herbert chuckled as he noticed my confused expression.

"Back when we were young, we were a part of the same party. Margaret was a fire mage. I was a vanguard. We traveled the country, fighting in dungeons and doing guild errands. We saw everything together. Forty years later we are still together. Time has flown." Herbert explained.

He sat there telling his stories of his youth. How they had even saved a small kingdom. They ended up settling down here once Margaret became pregnant. Their son looked a bit like me. They raised him here in this village. The boy grew to be a strong warrior like his father. He went off to have his own adventures. Sadly a few months later they heard the news that he had died in a dungeon due to a bad companion. The couple grieved their son. Herbert had decided to help any orphans he found to keep good faith in his memory. His story was sad, but it was weird to see the old man smiling as he told stories of his son. Margaret sat next to him a far-eyed smile on her face as they relived their memories. These people were good, I thought to myself as I watched them. Their love was strong, forged through the fires of time, and quenched in the oils of life. They had survived everything together. I wanted that one day, I caught myself thinking. The old couple chatted with me throughout the day, as night drew near they made a makeshift bed for me. They gave me a small space in the corner of the house. They said their good night's and put out the lights. The bullfrogs barked in the night, A wolf's howl pierced the silence, every once in a while. The cold night air tugged at the edges of the fireplace. The sounds lured me to sleep faster than I realized.