After clearing the table of the waste, refuse while taking the meat into the other room to hang dry.

She had shown the gack’tug what container held the salt.

She then brought griswold pan from the stove to the table.

“Isn’t that hot?!” The gack’tug asked her.

She rolled her eyes as she lifted her hands to show her gloves.

“Oh… yeah that makes senses.”

“Sit.”

And the gack’tug sat.

Very well trained. She mused.

She then moved to her storage to grab a couple of clean blows, along with a couple spoons.

She placed one in front of the gack’tug before sitting herself in the empty seat.

“Thank you.”

She felt herself freeze.

She wondered just how many years had it been, since another person thanked her; for anything.

“No need to thank me.” She said as ways to dismiss the unfamiliar sensation at being thanked.

They sat in comfortable silence as they ate a wonderfully fresh meal.

It’s been a long time since I ate a warm meal like this. She thought to herself.

When was the last time?

As she thought back on this, she had gone all the way back to the summer of her fifteenth birthday. Her father had just laid his sword on the wall after finishing a meal with her, right before taking a pair of axes with him before he left.

She thought nothing of it at the time. Nothing at all. He would go hunting all the time with very little. She once saw the mood take him once, where he ran into the woods to chase a elk with nothing but his bare hands. Then come back dragging it by its antlers, sporting only a few holes in his side.

Crazy bastard.

But after that day he had gone out, taking only his personal axes with him. She never saw him again.

She focused back on the soup in-front of her, which her gack’tug made, which she was really quite enjoying; really enjoying it.

She had no idea that the plants her father had shown her which to pick, could be used for anything else other than small stomach cures, or cooling poultices.

She must be a chef from the kingdom. Wonder how she got out here like that though? She literally popped out of a red flash of light. Maybe a wizard’s spell malfunctioned?

As she was pondering this, she had realized that she had already eaten all the soup in her bowl.

She eyed the soup in the center. Then looked towards the gack’tug. Who was also looking at her.

“Umm, go ahead… if you want seconds, by all means. You first.” She told her.

It was strange to her. Having a polite cordial meal and conversation. It had been fifteen years since she had last used her etiquette training. She looked towards her bowl, contemplating just taking another helping before offering one for her guest, as her etiquette training dictated.

But before she could decide. The gack’tug grabbed the spoon from the griswold, while reach towards her with her other hand.

“Here. Let me.” She offered.

This was very hard for her. Everything in her body had screamed to pull away from her; to reject this kindness.

“Don’t fucking forget! Human’s are nothing but liars and savages!”

Her father’s words echoed in her mind. But she shook it off, with a shake of her head.

With a trembling hand, she gave her bowl to the gack’tug.

“…….Thank you…….” She told the gack’tug, her first thank you in over fifteen years.

The gack’tug smiled at her.

“You’re welcome.” She told her simply.

She then filled her bowl with more of the soup before handing it back.

“Enjoy.”

“……..I do….” She told the gack’tug. Her stomach, not quite as hungry as it had been a moment ago.

The gack’tug just continued to smile as she dished herself the last of the soup.

After awhile, once the meals were finished. She sat back to evaluate the gack’tug.

She was deciding what was the first thing she should do when the gack’tug spoke.

“So?… I just want to say… that, I know I am to be earn my keep, and I understand better why now. B-But I still want to thank you. Y-You’re right. Most people in your position, I realize now, might not have taken in a random stranger they just met. Especially since you have only stocked up for yourself for the winter.”

She winced at that. She actually had plenty to allow the both of them to survive comfortably through all five mouths of the snow season. She was just falling back on what her father had told her.

“There is no such thing as a free meal! You must earn your right to live!”

“You don’t need to thank me.” She told her gack’tug. “You have already earned your right to stay at the least. Help me get through the rest of winter, than I will personally send you to a human village.”

The gack’tug tilted her head while looking at her strangely.

I like that look.

She didn’t even notice the smile creeping onto her face.

“Did I say something strange gack’tug?”

“Yes?…” She asked uncertainly. “Umm…” She watched as the innocent naive human struggle with what she wanted to ask.

“What do you mean, human village? Is that a metaphor or something?”

What is she talking about?

“If you mean a metaphor as in, the village has demons disguised as humans, then no, I don’t.”

“O-O-Ohhh! I was scared there for a minute. I was beginning to think you meant that there were things other than human villages.”

Is she daft? Was she so sheltered that she only believe in humans?

She decided to see if that was the case.

“So? What part of the Kingdom of Falaris do you hail from?”

The gack’tug’s wooden spoon hit her bowl with a clatter.

“Wh-What was that?”

She leaned forward past the table to stare deep into the gack’tug’s eyes. 

“What. Part. Of. The. Kingdom. Are. You. From?”

She made sure she enunciated each word.

Her gack’tug looked panicked, paler than she was before. The rosiness of her cheeks gone ashen, like she was about to break down or run away.

Damn it… if this is a demon, I am going to be pissed at having to kill such a good cook.

“Calm yourself. Breath deeply.” She told her.

“B-But I don’t understand?! Where am I? What place on earth had a kingdom called Falaris?!”

“Earth?”

Apparently, her question only sparked more panic out of her gack’tug.

“Earth! You know?! This big round beautiful planet we live on?! With all of its plants and trees?!” She stated as if she was sure of what she was saying.

“Is that the name of your world then? That is not where you currently are right now.”

She got up to go to her, laying both of her hands on her shoulders. Looking her gack’tug in the eyes.

“You are now on Rayala.”

As she said this, the gack’tug’s eyes rolled back into her head

*SIGH*

She pushed her back so that she was propped up in her passed out form.

She then picked up her empty bowl,  walked over to her water jug, filled it to the brim.

She then came back and threw it into the gack’tug’s face.

“Aah! Wha-! who?!- what is?! Why am I?!-“

“CALM YOURSELF!” She shouted at her.

The gack’tug looked up at her in a panic. Her eyes wild, moving about like a caged animal, seeking a place to escape or hide.

She grabbed the gack’tug by her shoulders.

“Look at me gack’tug! LOOK AT ME!” She yelled at her when she didn’t.

The panic never left her eyes once, but she could see that she was very focused on her at the moment.

“You must listen and pay close attention.” She waited until she received a nod from her charge. “I have a connection to someone within the human kingdom. If they cannot help you; then no one on Rayala can.” She told her.

The gack’tug broke down with her head bent forward. Her hands coming up to cover her weeping eyes.

She stood up to walk to her seat, letting the gack’tug come to grips with the reality she finds herself in.

She waited patiently for over ten minutes before she spoke. Waiting for the gack’tug’s crying to abate, if only by a little.

“Have you finished feeling sorry for your situation?”

The gack’tug looked up with her, with eyes burning with anger and rage.

I like that look too.

“Thanks for your sympathy! You’re such a fucking joy to be around as it was! Now I might be stuck on some sort if alien planet, with possibly no way to get home! Are you not even capable of trying to understand my feelings?! Are you just some sort of cold unfeeling machine?!”

Yes… I like this fire of her’s better.

She stood up, then walked over towards her fiery gack’tug. Her gack’tug curled in on herself as she approached.

As she stood in-front of her chair, looking down at the frightened animal that was this human. She felt her heart was moved by her. She lifted her hand.

Which made the gack’tug flich, clenching her eyes shut and covering her face.

Who hit you little one? She thought in anger. Which bastard struck you so much that you flinch at my every move.

Even though she thought this, she had her own fair share of beatings at the hands of her own father. But she  wasn’t about to stoop to his level and beat a guest. Even an uninvited one.

She gently placed a hand on top of the gack’tug’s head. Which also made her flinch. She started to rub her wave hair, scratching her scalp like her mother used too.

This brought her gack’tug out of her ball to look at her.

Which made her smile down at her.

“I would know more than you might realize. Being ripped from one’s home. Left and abandoned by those you cared about.” She squatted down so that she was eye level with her gack’tug.

“I swear on my name: Lilian Dracogusse, daughter of Garious Dracogusse, former chief of the Dracogusse clan of the Mokra’Torc people. That after the snow falls, and until you wish otherwise. I will do everything in my power to bring you to the human kingdom of Falaris, to help you find a way home.” Lilian promised.

Lilian’s gack’tug sniffed as she stared into Lilian’s eyes; her eyes full of trust and hope: which only added to Lilian’s guilt.

“Then? Should I make a pledge as well? I-“

“That won’t be necessary.” Lilian holds up a hand. “My pledge, is in addition to my promise to keep you safe, as is custom of my people who save a life of another. Yours,” She points with her finger towards her gack’tug’s face. “Is to do your part, in helping me through winter, so that you are not a burden.”

Lilian steps back to look down at her.

“As long as you do your part, then I will keep both of my promises to look after you, protect you, provide shelter, then after. Travel with you to the Kingdom of Falaris.”

Her gack’tug stares at her intently for a moment before her expression becomes serious; nodding to everything Lilian has told her.

“Okay! I will do my part! You can count on me Lilian!” Her gack’tug assures her.

This made Lilian give a shuddering cringe at hearing her name called. She hadn’t been called by name in so long, that she had forgotten what it was like to hear someone use it.

“Don’t,” She tells gack’tug with a point of her finger. “use my name. I have not given you permission to use it.”

Her gack’tug looks up at her with a hopeless look on her face.

“What am I suppose to call you then?” She asked, almost sounding desperate.

I don’t hate this look either. Lilian thought.

“You may either call me “Gratal” Or “Master”.” Lilian informed her.

“I assume gratal is the same thing as master, isn’t it?”

“Just so.”

“… Is this because I am an unwanted guest in your home?!”

Lilian nodded.

“Just so. You learn quickly.”

Her gack’tug sighs petulantly before leaning her head into a hand, with her forearm resting against her leg.

“Great… I always wanted to be an indentured servant.”

“Come now gack’tug, it won’t be as bad as that. There is technically nothing keeping you from just leaving either.” Lilian informed her.

“Except freezing cold and being mauled to death, correct?”

“I never said it was the wise choice.” Lilian quipped. She then clapped her hands, startling her gack’tug.

“Now then let me inform you have how you did.” She pointed towards the meal. “You have done very excellent with the meal. I will have you preform this from now on.”

Her gack’tug looked pleased at her praise.

“Second,” She informed her with a point towards the carcass. “You did very well for someone who has never skinned before, not perfect. But I would almost call you a liar over what you told me earlier.”

“Ah! I didn’t lie that was my first-“

*SLAM*

“DO NOT INTERRUPT ME!” Lilian shouted with a slam of her first on the table for what her gack’tug did. Which Made her flinch, pulling up her legs in her seat like a cowering animal who was scared of its next beating.

Lilian closed her eyes and counted her heart beats until she was sure she was calm.

When she opened them again. Her gack’tug was still cowering.

Lilian took a breath to apologize. But decided against it.

Best just keep it cordial. No need to be getting close to someone not staying.

“*AHEM* As I was saying, it is not perfect, I do not doubt you that you were not lying. But I can see you have some knowledge of it at the least.”

Her gack’tug had slowly stopped trembling at her calm voice, giving her a nod at what she had said, rather than speaking out right.

“I see you do not know how to brain tan the hide, as it is not done.”

“What-“ But she stopped speaking as soon as she started when Lilian began to scowl at her. Her hands going to her mouth to stop noise from escaping.

“Brain tanning is the process of softening the hide by applying lecithin to a hide.” Lilian smiled sadistic as she explained. “I won’t make you do it, since we have just eaten, but it is the process of taking the brains of the animal, squashing it into a bucket of water, then rubbing the goop onto the inner side of the hide.”

*HRK*

Her gack’tug made a sound of almost losing her lunch.

Which made her smile nostalgically at the tragic irony.

Her father had no mercy on her when she had come her. He had chopped the head open of an animal in-front of her, making her lose not only the only meal she had eaten that day. But because of her slip up, forced her to mash the brains of the animal in the bucket while still being violently sick.

“So I won’t force you to do such a thing until you are ready. I will be showing you how to turn tallow into candles and soap.”

“The only other thing you will need to do in order to love here and help me survive, is to go and gather fire wood daily.”

Her gack’tug gapped at her.

“That is all?”

“That is enough for now. I will not force you to do more than your means or abilities to do. I can see you are no hunter. You don’t even have clothes to hunt with or to go outside. At least until you earn some leathers.”

She made a motion with her head to the hide stretched out on a wooden leather drying frame.

“I will start your boots today. Then we will go out tomorrow. Are we of an accord?” Lilian asked her gack’tug.

Truthfully, she didn’t need to ask her. But she decided to play a nice hostess.

What was it my mother told me years ago? Carrot before the stick?

Her gack’tug smiled at her. Which made her heart do something funny, which she wasn’t sure she liked.

“Okay! Thank you for everything! I promise that I am going to be an asset! You’ll see!”

For some odd reason, her raring attitude to prove herself sent a shiver down her spine, that made her shudder.

“We will see.” Lilian agreed with a serious expression.