I came home after dropping that extra off to an overjoyed furious mother. After watching the brat get whomped in a bear hug and then whacked on the head. I returned before she could notice me. She knew my name and could summon me if it occurred to her, but hopefully the brat wouldn’t be able to give her enough information for that.

          I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was a chaotic scene from the get-go.

          “I promise it’s safe!”

          “Humans don’t go underground!”

          “It’s only a cave! It’s shallow!”

          “No!”

          “Blackie, help me!”

          “Did I forget to mention that humans are a rather superstitious bunch?” She was hovering around the boy who had set himself on the ground with rather puffy cheeks. I believe the kids call the difference between his behaviors a “gap”.

          “What do you mean superstitious?” I could tell she was thinking about just picking him up and throwing him in, but she was hesitating.

          “They think heaven is in the sky and hell is down below so they stay away from both. They consider the land and the sea ‘theirs’ and the rest ‘ours’ ”

          “Science has proven that untrue, we know that…it’s just that it feels unnatural…” Velris muttered to himself, glaring at the cave and then that walking bone.

          “Which is more important, being above ground or learning medicine from me?”       

          “Yes, is your mother more important or your comfort?”

          “…”

          “Or do you want to call me Grandmother? I’m fine with either!”

          “Call us whatever you’d like. My name is Babaris, and that patch of expired milk is Aena.”

          “Aenaziel, though you can call me Granny.”

          “Do you really want him to call you that?”

          “What? I heard it was a new nickname for grandmothers!”

          “When? Last century?”

          “…two…that is not the point. Black-Babaris is right, you can decide later. For now,” she gently pulled him up by his arm and escorted him into the cave, “let’s get you settled!”

          He must have decided that medicine was more important. Neatly, he found himself in our little cave.

          “Come here.” I sat down and beckoned him over. “Sit here.”

          Velris narrowed his eyes and hesitated but complied. Aena set up little orbs of light, kindly keeping them further away from me, so that he could feel more comfortable, before sitting across from me.

          “Alright, here are the rules. Have you ever played chess before, dear?”

          “No, but I know the rules?”

          “Great, so here are the ones we pay attention to. The pieces move like normal, but in order to capture pieces you have to move faster than your opponent and steal their piece while moving your own. Also, you can steal pieces on your foe’s turn unless they catch you doing so and the game is lost if you lose your queen, not your king. Plus, the king doesn’t have to be faster, just in range to ‘kill’ a piece, the only exception being the queens and the other king.”

          “…okay?”

          “Understand?”

          “I think so?”

          “You keep an eye on us and make sure we play by the rules!”

          “…and when do I get to learn medicine?”

          “How long is a human lifespan again?” She turned to me, crinkles around a glowing warmth in her eyes.

          “About a century I believe.” I returned with a smirk.

          His face crumpled and started twitching, trying to decide how to react.

          “We’ll only play one round, Velris.” I figured if we pushed the kid too hard the first day, he might get grumpy for a few decades. It’s a rebellious age.

          “Awww, but Blackie-”

          “Let’s see if you can win now that you can’t cheat.”      

          “You cheat too.”

          “Yes, but I have more practice at not getting caught.”

          “Says who…”

          Velris watched us both, then muttered under his breath, “…why me..”

          “We needed a referee.” We both chimed in with a grin.

          We weren’t so old we were senile, so we kept our word and only played the one game. Well, I did.

          “One more!” She wacked the stone we were using as a table, cracking it.

          “We said only one game.”

          “You said only one game! You cheated!”

          “Wasn’t that the point?”

          “…well, yes. That is most certainly not my point.”

          “We’ll stay by the front for now, but as you get used to it, we’ll move back into my area.”

          “Okay.” Velris nodded, much calmer than before.

          “Good kid.” I patted his head. He was pretty obedient when he got more or less what he wanted…kind of like a certain someone… “Our first lesson is actually going to be a bit hands on.”         

          “Really?”

          “Are you going to go injure someone?!” She popped up with a wide smile and a torch she pulled from hell knows where.

          “…No.”

          “…” Velris looked at her from the corner of his eye as he leaned ever so slightly away.

          “Kidnap a sick person?”

          “You are going to learn how to treat burns.”

          “Burns?” They both turned to look at me in confusion. Aena frowned and thought about something before she started laughing.

          “…Shut up. Yes, burns…more specifically, sunburns.”

          “Poor Blackie, went to see the day and got scorched for it!”

          “And who exactly, was the one who brought me along? Who promised I would be fine?”

          “Who was it that had his eyes adjust to the light and went out from under my wing?”

          “…shut up.”

          “Never ever till the day I die!” She smirked and half sang.

          “…how old were you two again?”

          “Age is but a number.”

          “A number that reached four digits before someone learned arithmetic.”

          “Numbers are for the little ones to play with and the elders to mildly acknowledge exist.”

          “Is that your personal belief or do the elders in heaven regularly get ripped off at the markets?”

          “…personal. They don’t let me go shopping anymore…”