Challenge #04756-M007: Waifs and Strays

"Okay, what happened?"/ "I tried to sneak off with one of the large cheese-baskets."
"Da, I see that, I mean the bruises."/ "The big goat butted me, and wouldn't let me leave my corner until you showed up."
"Come, let's get you cleaned up, fed, then you can learn skills so you don't need to try to steal from an old devil's wife. My husband's having a nap, he can meet you when he wakes." -- Anon Guest

Delia sighed as she sheltered the waif in her skirts, just to get them past the big Dire Nanny who was currently occupying the carthouse while waiting for her kids to arrive. From the remains of this child's clothes, this had to be another terrible fosterhaus escapee. Lord Waelrin was already conducting investigations, but they took a lot of time, and there were a great many who could not wait for the Archduke's Inquisitors.

Safely inside the house, it was their toy goat's turn to yap at the child, but she could obey commands. She did believe she was a dog, after all.

"Nani, hush," Delia commanded. "This is a guest."

Thus chided, Nani sniffed at the child's bare feet, wagging her stump-like tail because guests would feed her treats. The child shied away as much as they could, until Delia plopped them on a cushioned seat. "Stay," she commanded, "I'll get you something."

Nani also stayed put, staring intensely at their visitor with big you-love-me eyes.

Delia got some cheese, not from the market baskets, a bit of bread, and some of the blackberry jam that would make the kid and the goat happy. A small piece for Nani, a larger one for the child. And a very small bowl of stew. Too much might upset their shrunken stomach.

"Here we are," she presented the cheese and bread first. There was no telling if their fosterhaus had taught them about cutlery. "The stew's hot, so you might want to use the spoon." This was where she showed the child the smaller piece of bread and jam. Whispering, she added, "And if you give this one to Nani, she'll be your best friend."

The instant Nani saw the bread, she sat up and begged.

"What?" said the child.

"She thinks she's a dog," said Delia. "Not her fault, she was raised by hounds."

"Mir sind Stimmen aufgefallen," Kosh staggered down the stairs, still feeling a little off after the public demonstration of Innoculation magic. He blinked his glowing eyes at their latest visitor. "Another from a fosterhaus?"

"Mm-hm. Tried to creatively borrow some cheese."

"Kleine... the cheese is bigger than you are. Never steal anything bigger than yourself, eh?"

"Dear..." chided Delia. "Not the right lesson?"

"Ich bin Opa — ein bisschen Unfug ist mir da erlaubt."

Delia glared at him.

"All right, all right. I'll behave."

"Thank you."

"Today."

They stuck their tongues out at each other, and finally made the child smile and giggle.

"Hallo," said Kosh, taking a seat and automatically scritching Nani's ears. "Do you have a name, kleine?"

"Ward seven, bed five," recited the child.

"Dear, that's an address," cooed Delia, helping them hold the spoon. "Did other people call you something a lot? The grownups? Or the other children?"

"Grownups all called me the address," they said around a gobbet of meat. "I don't like what the other kids called me."

"Which was?" asked Kosh with some trepidation.

They mumbled, "Snotbutt."

"Ja, das ist not a name," he tutted. "How do you feel about being named Grata until you find a better one?"

"...'s better'n snotbutt," said Grata with a shrug. "What happens now?"

"We look after you and teach you for a while. We have to let Lord Waelrin know you're here, and give him your former address. He might send someone to ask you questions, but you will be safe here."

"And the goats won't eat me?"

"We'll teach you how to get along with them," said Kosh. "For a start."

[Photo by Adrien Stachowiak on Unsplash]

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