Care

- Do you remember how you told Swann that he would have to hold the ceiling with his hands because there was not enough money for stone columns?

"Ahahahahaha, what a face he had back then!"

Gerard and Ruben laughed together at the table, telling stories about their past.

- Uncle Ruben, what did you build before?

Although calling Ruben an uncle, despite being younger than everyone in the audience except Damian, was a little odd, considering that the boy himself was only a little over twelve years old, it seemed more or less normal.

-You know, many things. Architecture is a many-sided occupation. Having a certain set of basic skills allows you to create almost anything from materials in your possession, as long as you have enough imagination.

- Oh, you had no problems with imagination! From branches and dirt, you constructed such great houses for us! The whole army respected you! Because of you, it was at least not so cold in the winter!

The reason for such a liberated behavior of Gerard lay in the more than half-empty glass, which had previously been filled to the brim with alcohol made by Vivienne.

- The fact that you liked my primitive structures so much only proves that all those who were before me are either incompetent or corrupt.

Reuben's glass, in turn, was only half empty. Or half full? Philosophical question.

-Come on! Don't be shy! You built such barracks for us that all the officers envied us! And five times more money was allocated for the officer's houses!

The young man with Albinism, although he tried to hide it, was clearly pleased that his work was being praised.

- Well, in our areas of responsibility, you and I were both professionals. It was difficult to find a person in the entire army who would be better with a spear than you, not to mention your superhuman survival skills.

Reuben's glass was now only a quarter full.

- Oh, come on! What is there to be proud of? To wave a stick is not to shoot flames from their arms! Everyone can learn this as long as they're willing!

- Maybe everyone can learn, but the one who learned was you and not anyone else.

Gerard liked this remark of a pedantic young man.

- You know, you're right! For you and I! For that, we are so good at what we do!

After this fiery toast, they bumped their glasses and drained the last drop of the alcohol. After it, there was a short silence. The two interlocutors were apparently digesting alcohol, but it has not lasted for long. The first to break the silence was Gerard.

-O! Listen, Alrik, how is our Damian doing at the training? Is he good?

And here, the boy tensed up. He never liked hearing other people's assessments of his achievements, especially when these assessments were made publicly. He was preparing for the worst right now because deep inside, it seemed to him that he had no success at all, and there was nothing to praise him for. So, naturally, all he could receive was a cold-blooded statement that he was terrible at archery and had learned nothing at the moment.

-He tries. Not everything works out yet, but soon it will.

It was not at all the answer he expected. Subconsciously, Damian was waiting for one of the extremes, either to be praised or to be told that he was not doing well. Since there was nothing to praise him for at the moment, only one option was left. But instead, Alrik did praise his efforts? What? It was something fundamentally new. From his past life, he firmly remembered that efforts are worthless and the only thing that matters is the result. But to be recognized for trying was something extremely unexpected... and pleasant. Very pleasant.

- Hahahahahaha! Well, of course, our boy can handle any task!

While the young archer was engaged in self-reflection, Gerard enjoyed his drunken state to the full extent.

Gradually, lunch came to its logical conclusion. Well, logical for the inhabitants of this world. At the end of the meal, everyone did not disperse to do their own things but simultaneously stood up, folded their hands in a cross on their chests, and began to read the memorized text, which each of them could perfectly repeat even if he were woken up in the middle of the night.

- I thank our great God, Afagnir. I ask you to cleanse our souls with a sacred flame and warm the souls of the dead, I pray.

- I thank our great God, Afagnir. I ask you to cleanse our souls with a sacred flame and warm the souls of the dead, I pray.

- I thank our great God, Afagnir. I ask you to cleanse our souls with a sacred flame and warm the souls of the dead, I pray.

- I thank our great God, Afagnir. I ask you to cleanse our souls with a sacred flame and warm the souls of the dead, I pray.

Such a many-voiced reading of this prayer created the effect of a ringing echo, which only added a slight touch of mysticism to everything that was happening. In his previous life, Damian did not particularly ask himself religious questions. Still, he did not believe in this "Afagnir," Even more so, for him, it looked like the worship of the ancient peoples to their gods, about which only they and the nearest tribes knew.

*****************************************************************************

Sun shined, and there were no clouds in the sky. The day was starting great. Damian came out of Alrik's house with a stone face. He grew up a little. Now he already looked to be 14-15 years old. He became even taller, having already outgrown Astrid and Wilfred in height. Although they were far from being the tallest people on the planet, these two were not short.

At that moment, he was heading to Vivien's house. Although it was quite a long time before dinner today, he generally helped her with cooking. Going to the dining room, Damian passed the central square, on which stood a statue, which looked more like a totem in the boy's eyes. It was built in honor of Afagnir, the same local deity. On significant dates, everyone gathered here and prayed that the holiday would go well and the future would have fewer troubles. For the young boy, of course, over the years, this totem has become commonplace and a common element of decor, so he did not even pay attention to it while walking.

Entering Vivien's house, he quickly passed the dining room and went into her room, which was also the kitchen at the same time. Vivienne was already there.

-Oh, hi! You're on time. I just started cooking!

Hello, Auntie Vivien! What are we cooking today?

-Alrik brought the cervo-wolf yesterday, so we have a feast today!

"So that's where he went yesterday." Damian thought. Cervo-wolf - the name of the same wolf with deer horns, which the boy and Alrik ate on his first day in this body.

- Great, cervo-wolves are my favorite!

-Hehe, I know, that's why Alrik always brings them!

This was undoubtedly something shocking for the young man.

-Do you think he does this because of me?

-Of course! Previously, he brought anything you could imagine! Deers, wild boars, and many others! But as soon as you appeared, we ate almost nothing except these cervo-wolves!

Damian used to think that it was just that there were almost no other animals in the nearby area, and because of that, they constantly ate this strange wolf subspecies, but it turns out that this was Alric's way to express his care for him. This is a little thing, but because of this little thing, the boy felt somehow warm in his soul. He felt a sense of care, a nice feeling, really nice.