Developmental Ideas

After spending the day with Zarra, Lance was adequately exhausted. He had spent the past few days fostering relationships and learning more about the goblins than performing his duties as their new leader, but even then, it was all so he could understand what he was working with better, while building working relationships with the elders.

That being said, after another night of eating meat, though this time he had some leaves to go with it, Lance wasn't sure how much more he could take.

As the bitter taste of the leave blended into the rather plain tasting meat, Lance's mind wondered to different meals he missed from earth. Even when he was hospitalized, for the majority of it, he could still eat decent meals. The thought brought an urgency with it, he needed to find another way for them to gain food.

'At rare times like this, having to grow up alone does have its advantages.' Lance said to himself in thought, as several recipes and their ingredients came to mind. Without a second thought, he stood up and made his way to find Mira, leaving behind the fading crackling of small fires and the chattering of goblins. If there was anyone who would know about plants, it had to be her, he just hoped they would be able to find useful plants around the forest.

Before Lance reached Mira's tent, she noticed him approaching and met him outside. "Lance, have you had something to eat yet? I don't think Zarra thought that part through." Mira said, approaching Lance with a warm smile.

Lance thought back to how he and Zarra had to hunt and roast a rodent just to be able to eat, "haha, she sure didn't plan enough in that sense, but she didn't forget either." He said.

"Really? I'm surprised-… quite thoughtful, is she not?" Mira said, more to herself than Lance. For a moment, Lance thought he had seen something else flash in her eyes, but it disappeared right after.

"What brings you to my tent? It's quite late into the night too…" Mira said. Somehow, the way she said it, Lance could almost hear her implying something by those words, but it was only as faint as the breeze at that moment.

"Um – well, I had an idea and thought to share it with you. I don't think there's any other person who will be able to help with it, if not you." He said.

"There shouldn't be. Come on, I'm all hears!"

Lance went ahead to explain his concept of farming to Mira and how they would need to acquire different seeds and anything that would help them grow crops for consumption amongst other things. Listening to his idea, Mira was captivated, they had spoken at length about plants the last time they were together, but Lance knew even more.

Mira was fascinated and eager to help, even making plans of when she would start searching for such plants, "we should go together too! You will surely know more about this than I will, and you might even recognize a few more than I will." Mira proposed.

"I'm not sure about recognizing anything better than you can, but I'm not opposed to tagging along. I'd rather pick the right mushrooms for the soup before we all visit the 4th dimension in one sitting." Lance said, a faint smile on his face, mirroring Mira's.

Mira appeared a little confused as to Lance's remark, "4th dimension? And where is that?"

"Even I can't explain it. Oh, we will also need some farming tools."

"If it's tools you need, you should visit Kaeli then, I'm sure she'll be able to arrange whatever you need."

"I'll do that then."

"Yes, I'll let her know you'll be dropping by too."

"Thank you, that'll be great. Goodnight then."

Lance turned to leave, but Mira surprised him by rushing to his side and cupping his palm in hers, a bright smile on her face, as she moved closer, "come on, that can't be all you came to me for. Hey, tell me story about where you are from, you said you came from another world, right?"

For a moment, Lance's movement halted, feeling blood rush to his cheeks before he regained his composure, "how come no one believes me?" Lance said, almost stammering.

"Maybe because it sounds absurd?" Mira said to him as their bodies came closer but failed to touch.

Thinking about it, Lance couldn't help the internal face palm, playing what he just said in his mind. Truly, he wasn't yet used to the attention from females, not to mention ones that are practically green-skinned models in anyone's opinion.

…

The next morning, as the early morning son pierced through the coverings above, a rather peculiar sound resonated through the goblin camp. Maybe it was because he was thinking about it now that it sounded even clearer, or he just hadn't been around during these times.

Lance made his way towards Kaeli's forge on the outskirts of the camp, a crude stone structure with a fire pit and anvil surrounded by piles of scrap metal and wood. It wasn't much, but it was functional. As Lance drew closer, he felt the heat radiating from the forge and caught the rhythmic clanging of metal on metal.

Kaeli stood at the center of it all, her surprisingly delicate but muscular frame illuminated by the flickering glow of the fire. Sweat glistened on her green skin as she worked, her sharp features set in a look of intense concentration. Her long hair was tied back into a messy braid, and her arms moved with practiced precision as she shaped a jagged piece of metal into something resembling a spearhead.

"You're late," she said without looking up, her voice as blunt as the unfinished weapon in her hands.

"I wasn't aware we had a set time," Lance replied, stepping into the forge.

"We don't," Kaeli said, finally glancing at him with a serious but light expression. "But you still managed to be late."

Lance chuckled faintly, shaking his head. "You just happen to start work earlier. What are you working on?" he asked.

"Salvage," Kaeli said, holding up the spearhead for him to see. "The enemy left plenty of scrap after their last visit. Not much to work with, but it's better than nothing."

Lance leaned in to examine the piece. The edges were rough, and the shape was uneven, but the craftsmanship was impressive given the materials.

"That's… actually pretty good," he admitted.

Kaeli raised an eyebrow, a smirk on her lips. "'Pretty good,' huh?"

"Hey, I mean it," Lance said, appearing more serious. "I'm not exactly a weapons expert, but this looks solid."

"And yet, solid doesn't win battles," Kaeli said, setting the spearhead down. "But it's the best we've got. Unless you've got some miracle ideas hidden in that head of yours."

"Hmm, now that you mention it, there are a few…"