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Vyspyn slowly climbs down the wooden ladder behind Fudwick, reaching the underground village. The young girl looks around, her eyes eagerly taking in every sight even though she had seen it all before. It was always awe-inspiring. The woods looked nothing like it.
“Where are we going first?” Vyspyn asks, walking alongside her pa.
He grabs her hand. “We’re gonna stop by that smithing shop before we go to the market. I got a few things I need to grab, but I wanna talk with Mr. Tinkerwhistle a bit before we head there.”
“Can we go to the library?”
He looks up at her—she passed him in the height department a while ago. “Have you finished reading all the books you checked out the last time?”
Vyspyn pats her bag. “I finished them yesterday!”
“That’s my girl.” He smiles. “Yes, we can stop by the library.”
She grins wide, earning a new pep in her step as they continue down the street.
Vyspyn continued to look around; they had visited these streets enough for her to start remembering where things were located. Those who lived in the village had seen them often enough to recognize them, but that never seemed to change the fact that they would stare at them every single time—obviously because Vyspyn wasn't a gnome. She was a bit too tall to be one, and her white curly hair didn't particularly scream “gnome” to anyone. When her ears became visible, however, it was clear that she was part elf, even if the townspeople hadn't seen a half-elf before.
Fudwick catches sight of a few gnome kids looking their way, the group playing with a ball in front of a house. “They look like they're having fun, why don't you go say hi?”
“I'm okay.”
“Aww, why not?”
“I'd rather spend time with you.”
He smiles. “Heh… alright, then.”
Fudwick wishes she would make friends her age.
The forge is lit brightly, the fire warming up the smithing shop to almost an uncomfortable degree. A gnome man works busily at his anvil, while his wife busies herself behind the counter. It was a slow day, but there was always something to do.
Such is the life of running a business. And it was a family business at that, so it was exerting for the couple to do everything in their power to keep it afloat as well as take care of their children.
“Mooom!”
Very exerting.
The woman sighs, dropping what she was doing and walks into the back office where 7 of her children were. They all sat scattered around the room, in chairs, on the desk, and on the floor. Typically, they wouldn’t have to stay here, but her two older children that would usually babysit were busy today.
“What is it?”
The youngest always gets what they want… so Yomi was nominated to ask. “When are we going to eat?”
All of the children look at their mother with puppy dog eyes.
She frowns looking at them with sympathy. “We’re fixing to close for lunch, and I’ll go grab something for us and your father. I just need to finish up some paperwork.”
“We’re reaaally hungry.”
“I know, we are too, just give it a bit longer, okay?”
“Okay…”
“Yoslin, honey, everythin’ alright?” The rhythmic ringing from the hammer banging on metal stops as the man speaks loudly from his station.
“Everything’s fine! The kids are just hungry.”
“We can go ‘head and take our lunch!”
She looks back to her kids, all of them looking at her expectantly. “Alright.”
Their faces simultaneously light up.
“I won’t be long,” she says, walking back out into the shop. She gives her husband a kiss before she flips the sign from open to closed, exiting out the door.
The man walks away from his station for a bit, taking a break and stretching. He speaks loud enough for his kids to hear. “I don’t know ‘bout y’all, but I’m huuungry!”
“We’re hungrier!” Somyn yells lightheartedly, her voice slightly muffled from being in the other room.
“I’d say I’m hungerier than all y’all combined!”
A bunch of voices yell out, their words being drowned out by each others’. He chuckles to himself.
A few minutes pass, and the loud children quiet down before the sound of the shop door opening can be heard.
All their heads whip towards the noise, looking through the open office door to see two people come in… one of them was a normal elderly gnome, but the other person piqued their interests as they stared at her.
“Is that a human? What is she doing down here?” Trawin says, gawking at her through the door.
Kelfan speaks. “No, look at her. She's definitely some kind of elf.”
Yomi simply watches with curiosity.
“Warver! How are ya, friend?” The man walks up to their father and gives him a firm handshake. Vyspyn stands slightly behind her pa.
“Workin’ like always,” he says before turning to Vyspyn. “Hey, girl! Whatcher been up to?”
“Reading,” she says simply, placing her hand on her satchel.
“That's good. Keep at it, that's important.”
“She's been learning Elvish for a while, and she's getting really good at it!”
“See? I told you,” Kelfan whispers quickly to Trawin.
“Elvish, huh?” Warver smiles. Vyspyn nods at him, fiddling with her hair. “Can ya say something in Elvish for me?”
Vyspyn does just that, smiling happily.
“Gooood!” He chuckles heartily.
“I promised her we'd go to the library after we go to the market. She wants to pick up a few more books.”
“You readin’ in Common or Gnomish?”
“Both,” she says a bit timidly, tucking her hair behind an ear.
“You got a smart daughter,” Warver says to Fudwick, who is clearly proud.
“She's really smart.”
The children watch through the door as the men continue to talk. Somyn begins speaking again. “Wait, she's his daughter? How does that work? She doesn't even—”
“Shhhh,” Mernin says, trying to quiet her down.
“How's business?”
“Slow… takin’ a break for now ‘cause Yoslin’s goin’ to grab food for me and th’ kids.” He points to the office behind him, prompting most of the kids to hide away from their line of sight. Some of them quickly stand to move out of the way to hide the fact that they were watching, but one of them remains frozen still… Yomi sits in her chair where she could easily be seen.
Vyspyn looks past the door frame into the room, making eye contact with her.
Yomi waves shyly at her, prompting Vyspyn to wave back.
Fudwick sees this, smiling. “Well, maybe they can hang out sometime!”
“That'd be real nice.”
Vyspyn looks back to Mr. Tinkerwhistle, which finally gives Yomi the ability to let out the breath she was holding in.
“She’s definitely part elf,” Somyn concludes after the three begin talking again.
“Obviously, c’mon, look at her,” one of the other sisters, Welbi, says.
“What's she doing down here, though…? Like, why are they calling him her dad?”
“‘Cause she's adopted, obviously,” an older brother named Lanben retorts. “There's no other way to explain it.”
Yomi continues to stare past the desk at the girl, not saying anything as her siblings converse in whispers. She seemed really cool… and nice—she waved back at her. Yomi wanted to say hi, but she didn't want to be the only one out of her brothers and sisters to join in… and she'd probably embarrass herself. So she decides not to.
The men talk for a few more long minutes before they say their farewells.
“It's always nice seeing ya, Fudwick. Take care! You too, Vyspyn!”
“Goodbye, my friend!” He waves along with his daughter, the two of them leaving the shop.
Warver looks towards the office. “Y’all too hangry t’ come say hi t’ Mr. Wandermoss and 'is daughter?”
“W-we didn't know them,” Somyn speaks up.
“They don't come often. Maybe they’ll come back when y’all’re here again one day.”
“Maybe,” Yomi thinks, hoping that she'd gain some confidence by then.