Faerinn and the Village

A Lot of these events happened separately but a few incidents stood out to faerinn from the memories of his childhood.. From age 4 or 5, to 11, to 19
 
It was a more cloudy day, the sky swirling with some grays and a bit of a sprinkle teasing the ground. Every third day of the week Faerinn and his mother Asphodelia would walk cloaked to a nearby village to sell skins, meat, and sometimes furniture and knick knacks, he often didn't come with his father since he was a bit too outgoing and faerinn liked his mothers quiet nature.
 
She'd talk shop with a few people but most of the time would sit and keep fae occupied. He's always been a bit shy not really knowing how to make friends with humans, always hiding in his mothers cloak and skirts from the people in the village wanting to meet him or say hi to the new baby. Today however his mother was occupied with selling a few things to the merchants guild.
 
Faerinn getting a bit hungry and bored decided to get up and wander around a bit, maybe he'd find somewhere to spend the gold his mother had given him to spend that week, it was rare he got any money as he didn't really need it, but he'd been eyeing this pretty white mouse with red eyes in a shop and he was determined to get squibbles a friend.
 
It took him a bit to open the door but as he did a human woman looked down over the counter, elderly in looks with wrinkles and laugh lines aplenty. "Oh you must be Asphodelias boy, you came to look at the mice today again?" She said it with a chuckle, as faerinn just shook his head and stood on tiptoes placing the gold and pointing at the mouse.
 
"Ah come to give her a new home then?" As she hobbled over pulling out the baby mouse and holding her down to fae. Faerinn stared wide eyed happily at the mouse, his mouth open in surprise, the mouse seemed to mimic him before crawling into his pocket with a chirp. "I think she likes you already Faerinn, here take some cheese bits for the road so she won't nibble your shirt"
 
Faerinn hurried out pulling his cloak over his eyes, he darted off into the shadows curling up against the wall with a smile as he began to feed his new mouse friend "I think I'm gonna call you petunia!" The mouse squeaks as she nibbles some cheese. It was a nice quiet moment before a sharp pain rang out from faerinns right ear and his hair yanked yard as his head was smacked against the stone wall, his head felt wet.. faerinn reached to touch it shakily wide eyed when his pale fingers had red stains to them. As he looked up a group of boys and girls seemed to surround him, about 5, they just began to laugh.
 
"Look at this kid he talks to mice what a loser"
"Old knife ears really doesn't have any friends at all that's pathetic he has to talk to rodents"
"He kinda looks and acts like a rat, come on fae show us your rat teeth'' as one reached and began to pry open faes mouth he panicked and bit hard, as blood began to fill his mouth he coughed and sputtered while the girl screamed and held her hand, another sharp pain to his head as fae was knocked to the ground. Tears welled up hot in his eyes as he tried to scoot away holding his head and petunia close, "Just.. Just leave me alone! I didn't mean to.. I'm sorry!"
 
"You really think we're about to let you go after what you did to my cousin?"
"Aw look at him he's crying go cry to your dad, oh that's right you don't have one!"
Faerinn felt anger just rush up into him as he shook, petunia squeaked angrily as she left from his hand over to the boy who yelled at faerinn, climbing up his pant leg and beginning to bite savagely at anything she could get her mouth on, fae cried out scared as the boy yelped and slapped around before she appeared going to run towards him. Fae opened his arms but before petunia could jump back a foot came flying out of nowhere
 
A sick splat against the wall, and there lied faerinns new friend twitching on the ground as it began to rain. Faerinn felt himself wrack with sobs as he screamed for his mom and petunia cradling her in his hands sobbing onto her body. The group dispersed as faerinn sniffled and choked, wobbling standing up shouting for his mom the entire way back.
 
"So that'll be 6 gold for the fox pelts.. another 3 for the squirrels, I'm willing to give you the bear pelt for your wife Zakarias but in exchange for that tea set and wooden horse-" asphodelias ear twitched a moment and her head whipped around as she saw a blue cloaked figure with red eyes sobbing uncontrollably. Her first instinct was to see that exact red and she charged towards her child dagger brandished as she scooped him up with one arm. The crowd dispersed giving her leeway as the weapon was brandished, she scowled at them, looking down at her child.
 
He held out the body of a small white mouse, begging her as loud as he could, snot pouring down with the tears to "FIX PETUNIA SHES DYING MAMA SHES DYING" she set down fae putting the dagger away as she pressed a hand to the mouse muttering something as this golden energy flew from her fingertips around petunia. Faerinn held close watching as his sobs simmered down.
 
A few moments later petunia opened her eyes, looking to faerinn she walked over on his arm and began to nuzzle his hand for more cheese. Asphodelia picked up her child before angrily looking at the crowd "You make big mistake if you hurt hair on his head.." she ruffles his hair applying the same energy to faerinn and closing the wounds, "be lucky I do not know a witch.. less you all and the town be cursed at my hand" she promptly placed fae and the items in the cart and away they went. Faerinn had told his mother the names of the children.
 
The next week those children ran from faerinn hobbling and pale almost sickly.. rumor has it they weren't heard from again, all but one.
 
Another time during a rather cold day in the market square faerinn and his mother were sharing a bowl of oatmeal together, it was a nice honey maple with blueberries on one side (faerinns favorite) and the other side raspberries (his mothers favorite) it had been made by koragun that morning, through He made a bit too much, enough for a cauldron worth. Squibbles sat between the two digging his paws into the lukewarm oats after washing them in a puddle. It was a slow day, not many people out in the cold, and they had sold all the pelts. Faerinn again was given a small pouch of about 3 gold, sent to go buy some more warm drinks from the tavern, maybe some bread or a soup as well. Faerinn was fond of the hot chocolate the tavern keeper's wife made. Around this time Faerinn had grown to be about 11.
 
As he made his way to the Tavern, a place called the braying donkey, wrapped in a small cloak with a hood, Fae went to push the door before a hand smacked in front of his own, fae startled, looking up, seeing some older children, around their teenage years. “Well if it isn’t the “son” of the tree hugging hippy and the tribal boy” Fae scowls up “Don’t call my parents that! Goliath tribes are quite advanced, if you wanna talk tribal boy, look in a mirror you lumberfooted cow” He pushed past the tall human and angrily stomped into the tavern, going to the counter he smacks down the coins and just pouts down at his feet “My mom’s not a tree hugging hippy, you just over use the forest.. If you do that there won’t be any food left.. Stupid humans..” He spoke in abyssal, scaring the tavern keepers wife for a moment as she slid some bowls over with a cup or two. Fae balanced them on his way out, just angrily talking to himself, going out the back door, as soon as he did he was shoved to the ground, face and soup clattering to the stone.
 
He stood, holding part of his nose, a little blood dripped to his fingers and he winced a little woozy. “What-” a kick to his side, he whimpered holding it as he tried crawling to an area by the barrels before someone stepped on his hand making him cry out. “I told you she doesn’t fight back” Fae looks up with his eyes half closed, the human had a knife more of a dagger pointed down at him. “You know what’s your name, Fae? Sounds awful girly, where’s your dress huh? Hiding something from us?” Fae backed up into the wall, his eyes shaking “No! I’m a boy”
“are you? Prove it”
“I DON'T HAVE TO PROVE TO YOU ANYTHING”
“What fraid of someone calling your tits pretty snow white, cough it up and we’ll let you go”
Faerinn’s breathing picked up as he leapt up grabbing ahold of an iron rod holding a candle, he clambered up to it leaping to another one up higher away from them
“You wouldn’t know what a woman was if she shoved her downstairs in your face, Haymish!” Faerinn hisses holding himself back as he sat there shaking, he couldn't understand why people hated him, he just wanted to be himself, but his gender, race, looks, parents, they were all on display and up for arguing.
 
His hair moved a bit and squibbles looked over at the men, squeaking at faerinn
“Are they bothering you?”
“Yeah but it doesn’t really matter Squibs..”
“It does too, you need to make them afraid of you”
“I can’t do it..”
Squibbles sighs as faerinn climbs down and looks in a puddle, seeing his facial structure, more chubby, baby faced, a woman.. He reaches down and punches at the puddles scooping it away as tears fall down his face with a sniffle.
“Why can’t I just be stronger than this.. I can’t even trust anyone here but my mom, even the merchants look at me like I’m nothing, a monster, a beast, they just.. They call me a bastard squibbles, I have a father, I don't understand what’s wrong with me..” He looks over at the dagger on the ground and grabs it, holding it to his eye in the puddle “Maybe if these were gone and my teeth..” he lifts his lips to see the small canines poking out, “maybe my hair..” Squibbles pushes Fae’s hand down and began chittering
“You can’t let them decide who you are Fae”
 
 
Fae looks back down and he drops the dagger, “Fine.. I won’t.. But the next time they make fun of me they’re going to regret it..” He stands looking at the soup and he just continues to walk back to his mother, this time he doesn’t say anything, too ashamed to tell her what’s wrong.
 
The last encounter of importance he had was when Fae grew to his late teens, around this time he stood a bit taller, more lanky but with experience, strapped to his back was a bow, this time he went alone, the dead of night which was his favorite time. He climbed to the top of a building crouching down waiting and watching the tavern door. Fae grew to be patient, as he sat waiting a few hours later a man walked out, the same one that had tormented him for years every time he came to the village, Haymish. What a stupid name for a person anyway.. Faerinn followed him, across the rooftops and hidden spots in the village, watching his every move. As he rounded the corner, no candles, no lanterns to see, but Fae could see.. Haymish had grown into a bully of a man, hurting anyone in his way and drunk, he reeked for miles and Faerinn after years finally decided to pay back his actions. As the man stood there relieving himself on a planter, Fae swooped down his cloak billowing behind him as his foot made a connection to Haymish’s shoulder, he hit the ground similar to how fae fell all these times.
 
 
As he sat there holding his shoulder Faerinn stood over him, his red eyes glowing in the dark, he reached down and grabbed Haymish by the collar of his shirt and gave him a long look. “Funny meeting you here Haymish..”
“What-”
“Cut the shit with me you rabbit spawn, you know who I am and you know why I’m here” His voice quivered unsure if this is what he wanted to do.
“Half blood, halfy, FLING KID, HALFWAYS, MUTT, TRAITOR BABY, BARK SNIFFER, KNIFE EARS LEFT HANDED CASTER, Do those ring a bell to you Haymish?”
“No-”
“They were all the things you kept calling me all my life.. Don’t you remember? The “Tree hugging hippies son?””
Fae removes his hood from his head, black hair curled and a bit bushy, the whites of his eyes no longer there, black surrounding the red, something haymish had never seen before.
“Get away from me you creature, you’re a monster!”
“OH SO THAT’S HOW IT’S STARTING, call ME the monster, I’m the horrible one here.. All I wanted was friends yet you had them all, doing your bidding, not one person helped me not one cared, they WATCHED YOU BEAT ME WITHIN AN INCH OF MY LIFE AND WALKED ON how do you think that made ME feel.. You SHORT LIFE SPOON EARED WHORE RACE huh?” Faerinn shook the words coming from him not feeling like his own, his anger consuming him.
 
 
Haymish looked on, afraid, Faerinn paused, looking down at him. “I think you need to know what it’s like to be me, and he pulled Haymish closer, biting into his neck and shoulder pulling, enough for blood to fill into his mouth, faerinn winced hating the taste before he threw haymish down and spat the blood out, rinsing his mouth with puddle water. “It’s only fair right? Let’s see how you like being the one who’s ostracized..” He got up from the ground and turned away.
 
No one knew what happened that night, but Faerinn sat with squibbles and his mother atop a building that night, watching as the town raised a fire pit, another execution or something else who knew, but they sat in silence not a word said to each other, as faerinn’s eyes still held the black to them, his mother ran her hand gently over his hair and forehead, not saying anything but looking at him, not with disgust, with concern, as the black faded from his eyes she held faerinn close, just brushing his hair as he sniffled, trying not to cry. The flames lit up her own eyes as she watched scowling in the direction of the village. This would be one of the last times she associated with them, they could burn, the whole town could for all she cared. She stood holding Fae up around her back. “Let’s just go home, your father is making vegetable soup..” And she jumped down from the building, walking the rest of the way through the forest and back home. “I’m tired of them making fun of me mom..” His mother looked back towards her child, now grown but she could still see the little 4 year old holding a field mouse in his hands sobbing and she gritted her own teeth “One day Cassy, you’ll find someone else like you, you’ll find people that care, people that are deemed different than you and everyone around them, they’ll accept you.. Those will be your friends Cassy and you’ll take good care of them..” Faerinn just nodded, too tired to even process truly what his mother was saying, and he wouldn’t for a good few more years.