HelloHound

I'll probably throw three chapters onto this site and then disappear to the woods, ne'er to be seen again.

The bedposts creaked as the woman rolled out of bed and began to tidy her loose hair into a bun, brushing quickly and heading towards her collection of bags on the table. She turns back to me as I victoriously snuggle into the superiorly sized warm spot in the hay. She musses my already messy hair and squeezes my nose lightly before heading towards the door again.

"Sybil, tlhih les up 'ej pol quiet, jih'll qu' dub before dark. Don't jang the lojmit qo' soj nuqjatlh, lu' stickbug?¹ Sybil, you rest up and keep quiet, I'll be back before dark. Don't answer the door no matter what, okay stickbug? " The woman calls softly before exiting the room. I hear a heavy locking sound and then silence. I wait a little bit further and decide to sleep yet again; it's not like I have anything to do really, and if I'm asleep I can't be hungry.

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When I wake up next it must be afternoon, based on the light peeking under the bed. I relaxed back in the hay thinking of lazing around the remainder of the day before that woman came back with food...until the hay underneath my neck started shifting without my movement. I flinch at the itchy feeling and wiggle away, close to the edge of the bed.

">Oh right, bugs.<" I mumbled to myself before my throat began shifting without my intent, squeezing something upwards. Not wanting to dirty the bed even further I rolled off the bed and onto my hands and knees right as the first glob rolled seamlessly out of my mouth, followed closely by the remainder. As the cubes once again were dissolving slowly into the wood I picked one up using my thumb and forefinger of my left hand. It's rather cool to the touch, and firm in a gelatinous manner. I squeeze my fingers together, dividing the piece in half where they resume dissolving into the ground. 

I push off the ground and, bored, begin to stretch my body. Down, left, right, and up I move my limbs until I bore of that too. I'm a child, right? Don't they get toys or something? I approach the gigantic door where a heavy lock mockingly sits above my reach, then I look appraisingly at the spindly chairs set against the table. ...At the very least it'll pass the time, right?

I'm not sure how much time I've been struggling to move this chair to the door, but I'm certain it's now in the realm of too much. Despite the work I've done, the chair is only half the distance between the table and the door; to be honest I'm getting bored of this- I wanna see if I can climb the chair. Wait no- I need to focus. Focus. Focus...

This chair is pretty tall huh? Nice view up here.

...I have no self-control.

My self-disgust evaporates when the door loudly unlocks and the woman hunches inside, looking tired. She looks a little confused at my obviously innocent self sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, but moves on quickly with what seems to be her nightly routine. She smiles at me tiredly and I smile back, willing to amuse her.

"This young 'ej already causing seng orf raed dol mom? Brat.² This young and already causing trouble for dear old mom? Brat." She puffs out a laugh and slumps a little on the leaning table. She ruffles her bangs out from her eyes and grabs another bag, where she pulls out a much smaller piece of bread and some dark, shriveled piece of meat, "Jih wasn't able to suq a full shift, 'ach after a bit of pest tmranotxeiein ofr hte church, jih got de' on a suy wagon coming sibi'ha' this hogh 'ej a 'ay' of smoked ha'dibah. Dah, nuqjatlh kind of ha'dibah is unknown 'ach jih hon the tsepisr dwluo ypa in poisoned soj. ³ I wasn't able to get a full shift, but after a bit of pest extermination for the church I got information on a merchant wagon coming later this week and a piece of smoked meat. Now, what kind of meat is unknown but I doubt the priests would pay in poisoned food. " She pulls out a small knife from her boot and begins to saw slowly at the piece of meat, tearing it into smaller pieces. She bites off a piece and then scrunches her face in disgust, "Eugh". Ah, a word I can finally understand. I look forward to my mouthful now. Despite looking like she has garbage on her tongue she chews determinately and then swallows with a grimace.

I slide off the chair and begin to tug it towards the table; the woman, after laughing at my efforts, easily grabs the chair and carries it over, then carries me over.

"Oh, jih'm Sybil 'ej jih ghaj to do hoch on my own despite barely dep qiv-height.⁴ Oh I'm Sybil and I have to do everything on my own despite barely being knee-height.” Why is this woman’s voice so ridiculously high? Is she mocking me?  “...ej kid, jih'm sorry to ja' tlhih this, 'ach this old joh wasn't blessed vertically. Chaq your dad will ghaj more of a ghop than ghah ever did raising tlhih. Bah, busha' jih, jih'm neh. Tired.⁵ And kid, I'm sorry to tell you this, but this old lady wasn't blessed vertically...maybe your dad will have more of a hand than he ever did raising you. Bah, ignore me, I'm just...tired." The woman sighed heavily and then passed over the majority of meat my way. Score.

"'e''s hoch this is kid, tiredness. Wait till the van of this hogh 'ej mah'll qu' in a less terrible shithole. Wait! Shit! Fuck jih'm not supposed to mu'qad around kids nih? Dammit. Busha' mom nih dah lu'? Tohse rowds era rof wrpoguns in ipcecsfi onitatsusi.⁶ That's all this is kid, tiredness. Wait till the end of this week and we'll be in a less terrible shithole. Wait! Shit! Fuck I'm not supposed to curse around kids right? Dammit. Ignore mom right now okay? Those words are for grownups in specific situations." The woman tries to cover her mouth with an embarrassed face but, like, either way I can't understand this woman. Come to think of it, for a human trafficker she's rather soft isn't she? Trying to ply me with affection eh? It's not /not/ working but it's shameful to be this easy right?

...Or, I've been misinterpreting this relationship between the two of us. I've not looked at myself in a reflection of any kind but looking at my hands and torso, I don't think children this thin are good workers. Even if she managed to sell me off, I doubt it'd be for much. So either she's my mother or something adjacent, or I'm wrong again. I mean, I don't even know this woman's name. I turn to the woman and focus on her until she looks up from her position with visibly red ears.

"Hey kiddo. Don't repeat nuqjatlh jih said earlier, lu'? ⁷Hey kiddo...don't repeat what I said earlier, okay?" She sheepishly smiled at me, then seeing how I was staring at her she straightened up and looked a bit more serious, "Sybil…is vay' qih?⁸ Is something wrong?" She asks. Time to shine.

I point my child-sized hand at her and say "Ah?", repeating when she looks more confused.

"Tlhih're asking vay', 'ach soj is nih in tlhop of tlhih. Nuqjatlh are tlhih asking?⁹ You're asking something, but food is right in front of you...what are you asking?" She asks me, but I only slap my hand on the table lightly then point at her again, "Are tlhih asking about mom? Mom? M-om nid 'ej jatlh 'oh ghu.¹⁰Are you asking about Mom? Mom? M-om try and say it, baby. "

Oh that must be her name but fuck what is with that pronunciation "M-M-Mo" Ugh that feels like I'm trying to gargle chalk "Mom?". Success!

The lady, designated ‘Mom’ is holding her mouth with both hands for some reason with red eyes; is my pronunciation that bad?