Ugh… my head hurts. I remember being with Goddess Lenora one second and the next I was being held. That girl… she looked familiar to me. Just another thing onto the growing pile, huh. I can’t wait for the day that I finally know what something is will come instead of just recognizing it.

Looking around it seems like I am in the room of some house. The walls are made out of wood, a nice difference from the stone and vine covered walls I was seeing in the abyss. 

“How are you feeling?”

Standing in the doorway I saw an older looking woman. Her body was… Well developed to say the least. Her hair was a rich chestnut brown and flowed all the way down her back. She reminded me alot of Lenora. One major difference from Lenora though was the ears. On top of her head were two rounded ears, kinda like a tanuki or raccoon. Slowly waving behind her I could see a small but bushy tail. She must have been a tanuki beastwoman.

“Yeah, just a little headache, that's all.”

“I’m sorry for dropping you!”

I heard a little voice behind the older woman. After she moved away I could see a young girl. Probably around ten years old. Her hair was a beautiful shade of gold, reflecting the sunlight perfectly. Atop her head was a pair of sharp animal ears, and drooping behind her I could see a large fluffy tail. Without a doubt she was a fox beastwoman. For some reason every fiber in my being wanted to protect her. I wanted to keep her safe and happy. I felt like I wanted to see her smile. Looking at her made me a little nervous so I quickly looked away.

But wait, dropping me? I know Beastmen are supposed to be stronger than humans, but still.

“Don’t sweat it kid, I’m fine.”

“Don’t call me a kid! I’m probably older than you, you know!”

Ah shit. Forgot I now look like a child. So much for sounding cool.

“Nicole sweetie, she didn’t mean anything by it. Ah, apologies for not introducing myself yet. I am May Soven, although most of the children here choose to call me Ms. May! I am the one currently in charge of this orphanage that you are in. I also have a daughter named June who helps me out, but she is currently outside with the others. I’ll make sure to introduce you two as soon as she gets back. Oh, and this little one is Nicole, she was the one that found you.”

Ah, so an orphanage then. Guess that explains why Lenora wanted me to look like a child. Still would have been nice to be a few years younger though.

“Um sweetie, if you don’t mind me asking, do you remember how you got here?”

“Sorry not really, I was just walking around in the forest before blacking out and waking up here”

Making up a quick story was much easier than telling them a god sent me. I can’t even begin to think of the headache that would have caused.

“Well sweetie, if you don’t mind, would you like to join us here at the orphanage? I can guarantee that you will get three meals a day, an education, and you can have plenty of other kids your age to socialize with!”

“In exchange for..?”

“Aren’t you a bit too young to be thinking that way? Hm…. How about your smile? I think that will be enough for me!”

The sweet purity of this lady hurt me. Normally her speech would have a little kid enamored, but for me? Just a little too much sugar. But fine, I guess I’ll join. I’ll think of some way to earn my keep eventually. I would feel bad otherwise.

“Alright, I’ll take you up on that offer then.”

Both of their eyes light up. Almost in unison their tails began wagging. I have to admit, seeing the tail on a woman who could easily be my mother wag was incredibly funny. 

“Um, Ms. May, can I show the new girl around?”

“Go right on ahead sweetie, I’ll make sure to tell the others so we can properly introduce everyone.”

New girl… being called that certainly felt odd. 

Barely giving me a chance to think the girl called Nicole ran up to me and began pulling on my sleeve. Hey, didn’t anyone tell you to take things easy on people who hit their head? And where did that worry from five minutes ago go?

“Trust me new girl, you are going to love it here!”

Dragging me out of the room into the hallway I could see a bunch of different rooms. Going into the first one we entered a large room with a white board and a couple of soft pillow like chairs.

“This is where our classes happen. Ms. June usually teaches us basic history, math, reading, and writing. If you need any help with reading or writing, then come to me! I am pretty good if I do say so myself!”

“And what about math and history?”

“Uh… I’m not so good at those two…”

Something interesting I noticed was that she did not mention science or magic, I figured they would be fairly useful for a child to know.

“Does Ms. June ever teach anything involving science or magic?”

“Science? Magic is a little bit complicated so no. Ms. May does teach basic magic, but that's for older kids.”

Guess that makes sense. That whole alignment and element stuff can be a bit confusing to get used to. I don’t remember if I ever properly used magic, but I don’t think it would be too hard to figure out. Maybe I should try and see if Ms. May can let me into her classes…

Leading me into another room I could see a room with three long tables all parallel to each other. Three chairs on each side of the tables, so eighteen in total.

“Are there eighteen kids here?”

“Why do you ask?”

“This is a cafeteria, right? Three tables, six seats per table, eighteen in total. Since I doubt the adults eat in this room, I was thinking there were eighteen kids here.”

“Wow, you were able to count that fast? Well, no we don’t have eighteen kids I think. Uhh… we have myself, Timmy, Gabbie, Ellie, Robbie, Haru, Freya, Connor… those are just my friends though. Sorry, I kinda got here recently myself so I don’t quite know everyone’s name yet, hehe”

“How long ago did you get here then?”

“About a year ago”

A year and you haven’t found out the names of those you are living with? Actually, fair enough. Names can be hard to remember sometimes.

“Uh anyways, Ms. May and Ms. June do eat with us. They usually sit at the middle table. I like to sit on the left side of Ms. May, although Timmy sometimes takes my seat.”

“What is typically served to eat?”

“Uh… for breakfast today we had some meat and soup! It was pretty delicious. Usually what we eat is pretty random, although since we have alot of meat eaters meat is usually a part of it. Just depends on whatever Mr. Johnston brings in.”

So there are alot of carnivorous beastmen here? I cannot help but think of the tails and ears they all have… if even half of them are as fluffy as how Nicole’s tail and ears look, I think I am going to enjoy my time here. Wait, Mr. Johnston?

“Um, who is Mr. Johnston?”

“Oh, he is the leader of the guild place here. There aren’t that many adventures or hunters that come around so he typically spends his free time hunting and then brings meat to us. We are always super happy to see him come!”

Ah, a guild hall? I know where I need to visit then. And hunting, maybe that's something I could do. I mean, with that presence concealment skill I stole I don’t think it would be too hard. 

“Here, come with me. Lemme show you the girl’s dorm and bathroom!”

The fucking what now?

“Huh, wait why are we going there?”

“Uh, duh? That's where you are going to be staying. And I gotta show you where to take a bath, don’t wanna get stinky, right?”

I know I don’t remember my time as a guy, but still. Something about this just feels a little wrong. The dorms, alright, but the bathroom?

“First here are the bathrooms, three stalls for you to do what you need and a group shower room. Don’t worry, the boys get their own rooms so they won’t be peeking.”

At least the toilets are individual. I’ll just keep my eyes closed while in the shower. I’ll just keep them closed…

And here are the dorm rooms, we have an unused bunk right here so you can choose top or bottom. I suggest the top bunk, you are closer to the cau.”

“The cau?”

“Uh, I think it stands for cold air unit. it gets kinda hot here during the summer so Ms. May and Mr. Johnston put them all around the place. It uses a magic ice crystal thingy and keep the air cold so we don’t get all sweaty”

I guess that explains why this building does feel a bit chilly.

“Oh yeah, whatever you do, do not go to the boy’s dorm or bathrooms. Ms. May and Ms. June don’t like it, they get angry if you do!”

“Nicole, bring the new girl down, everyone is here!”

“Ah, come on new girl, it's time we introduce you to the others!”

Making our way downstairs I could see a group of kids and two adults among them. One I already knew was Ms. May, so I could only assume the other was the Ms. June that Nicole was speaking of. Counting the kids there were 15 in total, almost all were beastmen. Hehe, I was right. Their ears and tail looked so fluffy.

One by one they all introduced themselves, although I began to forget some of their names by the time I was down the line. I was right, the other adult was Ms. June. She looked much younger than Ms. May, although she still stood a head taller than everyone else. She told me that she was a sun elf, with blonde hair and long ears to match. According to her she was originally a orphan in this same orphanage and decided to help Ms. May after growing up. I cannot help but wonder just how long Ms. May has been running this place.

“Alright sweetie, now that you have met everyone here, it's time you introduce yourself! Tell us your name and anything you want us to know about you!”

“Uh… my name?”

“Yep!”

Ah shit. I don’t remember what my name was… and even if I did I was no longer a boy so it may have been odd… come on, make something up. Hm… I got it.

“My name… is Luise, nice to meet you all.”

lilaschwei

I gotta admit, it is super hard trying to write a child character versus a much more mature character. Here's hoping it wasn't too awkward. Also, what day does it say it is for you all? For me its still monday, but according to this website it says tuesday. I guess this is a tuesday chap then? idk, hope you all enjoy the first chapter of this new arc.