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There was nothing special about him.
He was average. He could not fight. He could not negotiate. He wasn’t powerful, wasn’t influential. He was just him. Just…Dale.
It was only natural that they didn’t invite him on their mission. His brother was the warrior after all. A Knight of the Dawn. The more experienced brother. The wanted one.
It was fine with him. If people don’t care as much about you, you’re less likely to get hurt. Or scarred to the point of no return. Or get lost in a labyrinth of your fears. If people don’t think you can do anything, that you don’t have skills, you’re less likely to be in dangerous circumstances. Sure, life might get boring sometimes, and yeah, taking care of the sanctuary might grow to be a bit tedious, but it was better than, well, dying.
He woke up to the light of daybreak shining on his face.
Time for work, He thought.
He sat up, stretched, and hopped out of bed. Just a normal start to his normal day.
Once he was ready, he began working on the chores for the farm. Since pretty much everybody was gone, he’d have to do their chores as well. It was fine with him. He’d been doing this kind of stuff since it was just him, Lena and Stan. While he was glad that his brother was okay, and Stan’s grandkids had been able to make the place a bit more lively, he sometimes missed the tranquility of the preserve before all of the insanity occurred. It was days like this when he could feel that peacefulness that had been washed away with the new changes.
A bright side that came with his little cousins is that they helped his little brother out of his catatonic state, and for that, he couldn’t thank them enough.
Since the revenant was destroyed and his brother returned to his old self with the help of The Sands of Serenity, Dale’s chores had decreased by a significant amount. Not having to take care of Warren every moment of the day provided a lot of extra time to do everything else.
He had finished everything early, and had even done a little extra organizing around the manor. After everything was done he sat down on the porch, gazing out into the forest. A peaceful end to a moderate day of work, and everything was…
He glanced back at the manor, empty.
…perfect.
He sighed.
A rustling noise came from the woods nearby. Dale looked around.
Two satyrs popped out from behind the trees. Major differences Dale noticed between them was that one had redder hair, and longer horns. Ah. Newel and Doren. He recognized them from how often he had seen them around his cousins.
“Hey! You over there!” Called Newel. “Have you seen Stan?”
“Stan’s away on a mission for the Knights of The Dawn!” Dale called back. “Do you need something?”
“Well,” Doren started. “We were going to invite Stan to watch movies with us back at our cottage, but since he’s not here…”
His eyes darted toward Newel, who nodded, as if agreeing on something.
Doren cleared his throat and spoke up. “Would you like to watch movies with us?”
Dale looked uncomfortable. “I wouldn’t want to intrude…”
“Nonsense!” Newel said with a smile. “Any friend of Stan’s is a friend of ours! We’re just happy to have someone watch movies with us, even if we don’t know you that well.”
“Well,” Dale’s eyes darted back and forth between the two satyrs. A hesitant smile began to grow on his face. “If you insist.”
Dale didn’t realize how much more diligent Newel and Doren were compared to the other satyrs. They had cleaned up their couch, got him an extra pillow, and had started making snacks for the three of them. He supposed that was why Stan had allowed them television when electronics were banned. That, or they were doing it behind his back.
Dale tried to ease the tension between him and the satyrs.
“So, what movie are we watching?” He wondered.
“I think it was called Pie Rats Of The Carrot-bee Anne or something like that,” replied Newel. “I wonder how many pies there’ll be.”
Dale chuckled. They all plopped down on the couch, munching on snacks and changing the channel to the one that the movie was on. Dale had sat in the middle, with Doren to his left and Newel to his right. Orange sky turned starry as the movie went on. Time seemed to blink by in an instant and, before they knew it, the movie was over and the credits had begun rolling.
Dale stood up. “Well, it was nice to be invited to watch movies with you guys. Thank you.”
Doren rolled his neck to look over at him. “Don’t you normally watch movies with the Sorensons?”
“We don’t have television, and even if we did– I don’t know if I’d be invited to watch it. I mostly just take care of things in the sanctuary.”
“Well, that’s a pity, because I–” Newel grabbed a bottle from the table next to the couch and poured wine into a cup. “–think you’re a really interesting guy. When given the chance, that is.”
“Thanks. Is that…?” Dale trailed off.
Newel smiled. “It’s vintage. Figured we all deserve a glass from Stan’s secret stash. You, for keeping the house and everything in order while everyone’s away, and us, who have done a lot for this family, even if they barely notice it. We’ve done more than most satyrs have done for humans, if I do say so myself. So cheers!”
“Wait!” Dale exclaimed, before they could down their glasses. “Do you mind if I…say a few words?”
Doren shrugged. “Go for it.”
Dale cleared his throat. “Ahem. I would like to propose a toast to celebrate all those who feel like they aren’t valued, or overlooked. What one does is important, no matter how small the task. Cheers! To the forgotten!”
“To the forgotten!” Chorused Newel and Doren in glee.
And together, they lifted their glasses. The toast would reside within each of them, ‘till next they met, but for now…
They would raise their glasses. To them, to everyone else, and to the forgotten.