Chapter 15

On the seat of my cockpit, I had pondered my plans for leaving the Fae forest. It wasn’t part of my plan to be exiled from my fair folk, honestly, I didn’t expect such an outcome to occur. I wish I had parted in a more pleasant circumstance, but I didn’t account for Elandris’s reaction to Oona, and her utter hatred for me. She was always someone who had belittled my curious ways and contraptions.

She had reminded me of one those cult leaders with their fold. As long as you are meek and hugging the grass, you are safe. But if you stray from the path, ask a question or two, or experiment with your way of thinking, you will quickly be shut down.

I shrugged it off, such is the way of the Fair folk. Considering there is a racial class structure in a green paradise, it really should sour the mood of the people at the bottom. But the Fair folk are a simple folk in their oak-grovel and tall grass. At least the elitist Mushroom Kingdom tried to do something about it. But with their Leviathan dead, they will probably go back to the fold under the true rulers of the forest, the Fae.

Which reminds me, the Leviathan’s carcass is probably spoiled by now. All that pork meat soured by time. A wet haze filled my right eye, prompting me to rub the growing tear away. But that luscious golden thick and furry hide might be useful for our journey. Well, when I have the gear in hand, I’ll make a slight detour after my departure.

When we reached the grove, I was greeted with the squeal of a baby’s cry. I cringed at the noise. Looking down the open visor, I saw my mother trying to sing the baby asleep, whilst my father was swinging around a swatch of tall grass, waving it back and forth to distract the baby's misery. They were both being counterproductive with one another, adding confusion into the baby's sobs.

“Most qualified people...” I muttered, recalling my words for them to stay and look after the child, while I head to battle. Oona flew down from the branch she was spectating atop, onto the Knight Mecha’s pauldron.

“The baby smells.” She remarked, clenching her nose with her thumb and finger.

Abruptly, my face paled in unforeseen horror at what could that only mean.

“No-” “I can’t-” “No..”

The realization of it had halted my dreams, plans, and future. It was to a point, where I wanted to kick the bucket, call it a day, and walk away into a hermitage, where no living creature could ever find me. The responsibility for looking after the child had just increased the weight upon my mind after I had enthusiastically overlooked this one aspect.

“But I'm of the small folk,” I uttered to myself, defeated to act.

“What?” Oona's eyebrows rose, looking at my slumped form.

Ignoring her, I recalled the past events that brought me here, which made me grit my teeth in resolute resolve.

So I did, and what a visage it was when I did, I replaced the woolen diaper the baby was wearing, with a clean grassy made diaper. And yes, what could you expect from a small folk dealing with poop, did occur. Excrement was everywhere, all over my body and face; and I could swear I spotted a gleeful glimmer on Art’s eyes when he saw my toil in his feces.

After all was said and done, I bathed myself in the once clean pond of my secret grove whilst the baby giggled and played with Peb and my mother to my consternation. “Never again,” I said but I knew it was futile, for this will be an everyday occurrence, for that is what babies do, poop on your days.

In that afternoon, I spoke to my parents about what had occurred throughout the defense of our grove, and the aftermath of said battle.

“That caterpillar!” My father cursed. “I knew, I should have tagged along with you. I would’ve straightened her leaf with some sense!”

“Grassless?” My mother repeated, horrified at the word.

“It’s okay mother, it’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“How could she have done this to us?” She spoke, ignoring my words, still in shock at the judgment.

“She’s a Billbug in disguise! I tell you.” Adding another insult in his array. Being called a Billbug was considered one of the dirtiest words you can call one of your kind for the fair folk. For Billbugs are grass-eating larva, whose only goal is to destroy the plant they feast upon.

My mother looked at my father with aghast at his insult. She then smacked him. “You shouldn’t be saying those words, in front of our pod no less.”

And so on it went, with the tension in the atmosphere slowly dissipating when the subject had changed from the judgment to the person, then to ourselves. I was glad for this, for I didn’t want to wallow in my expulsion, but rather I delved back into my family's banter and comfort.

“So when are you leaving us?” My father had finally asked the question I was dreading.

“Leaving us?” My mother repeated, puzzled.

I shrugged at the reply.

“What do you mean our Pod is leaving us?” She had directed to her husband.

“My bean, our pod has been exiled.”

“Don’t bean me! And I know, that’s why I’m asking, we are not leaving our pod to face the world alone! We are coming along with him!” She pointed, still peeved at my father’s inquiry of departure without them.

I cringed at the thought of having my parents tag along with me throughout my whole quest to protect and relinquish the baby. They will be badgering me and each other the whole way through.

“No we aren’t going with him, bean.”

“Why is that!” My mother was about to smack my father with a swatch she just made in the time I was daydreaming about them in my journey.

“Because we will add further worry in our pod’s big little head.” My father remarked, he was gritting at the logic, but he knew me a lot better than my mother, and he knew that if they were to accompany me, I’d be worrying for their well being along with the baby.

“Our well-being?” My mother snarled. She then started to swat my father with the grass made swatch. “Honey please, listen!?”

Smack.

He directed a look that told me 'you got me into this situation, you tell her.'

I had scrunched my shoulders, tensing to find the words to speak sense into my mother.

“Mother…?”

She halted smacking my father red,

“Yes bean?”

“Father is right, I’d be more worried, if you guys tag along with me. I’d rather if you guys stay with the grove, where it’s safe.”

“What! you too?!”

My mother was about to swatch me a new one, but my father had hugged her waist, lifting her away from me. “I’ll speak to her.” He uncomfortably said, whilst his wife was squirming in his embrace.

With a nod to my battle-scarred father, I made my escape. Hopefully, my father puts some sense into my mother, I had prayed so. I went back to Peb and Oona who were talking beside the greave of the Knight Mecha Amelia. They were talking about levels and such.

“I leveled up 5 times in that battle,” Peb said, proud of his accomplishment.

“Really? I only got 2 levels.”

“Wait what? You guys got levels from that battle?”

They both nodded to me. “How? I didn’t even get a measly one?”

“Really?” Oona’s curiosity peaked at the notion.

“What level are you exactly?”

“Um,” A Bit hesitant, this was a first for someone to ask me about my level. Granted, I had asked multiple other grass folks and my parents about their levels. But somehow this felt different, telling her; it was akin to telling her the color of my underpants, which oddly enough is not green but yellow. On the spot, I opened my Status Page.

“Level 22.” I slowly answered. They must have gotten experience inside the Mecha, and when I was flying around with Oona. I guess the System incorporates shared experience into when the monster is killed.

Both Oona and Peb’s face gaped at the reveal.

“I’m only Level 8,” said Peb, stone gravel falling out of his full mouth.

“Don’t talk when you're eating, Peb.” I reflexively replied.

“I’m Level 13.” She eyed me with some tinges of respect. “How does a bumpkin like you have such a high level, when you haven’t even stepped out of your forest?”

I shrugged. “Maybe I killed a few legends.” Well, one legend, but they don’t know that.

She nodded at my explanations. “That could explain it, especially if you got a unique Title that would help you gain experience.” She muttered while looking at me speculatively.

Uncomfortable, I retreated back to the reason I came here for. “Guys. I need your help, to build something.”

Peb gaped again with gravel paste in his mouth, to moan the word “Agaaaaiin?”

“Ah come on, Peb? The pebble in my sol, haven’t I been good to you with your bindings?”

He glumly nodded, then took a bite out of a bean binding stone. “Yeesh,” with his mouth full. It took me some wheedling and some omitting of new bindings, but he successfully agreed to help me with a contracted fee. He learned about contracts from Oona, my employee has become independent! How intolerable. My slave labor force has just become an actual employee, I had to pay with precious information.

Oona, on the other hand, was a tougher nut to crack, with the promise of riding my centaur unmet, I told her she can control the Knight Mecha for a while, during our journey. She gracefully accepted my deal, after bargaining for 5 minutes. It was actually 10 minutes because of how the wee folk account time, but I digress.

So we got moving, we went back to the woven basket that was half outside the opened laboratory and began to add certain modifications to it. We added an extra layer of grass all over it, then a few unactivated fire stones to warm up the baby when he is inside. I had asked my father to fireproof some grass weavings in case the firestone kindles one to lit, but it was unlikely; due to the only elemental boon that was added into the stone was the temperature of the fire that it was bound to.

We then used the weight pulley system to pull the basket up behind the Knight Mecha. We had to tie steel formed grass ropes around the mecha and the makeshift basket pouch, so it didn’t fall or be cut loose from its perch. Cutting a section at the top of the basket, we began to make sure it enterable for the baby to drop inside the woven made bag.

From afar, it looked like the Knight Mecha was wearing a backpack made out of grass and woven wicker.

When our building project was finally completed, I asked Peb to do some final improvements to the Knight Mecha. I asked him to bring all the stones and pebbles he amassed over his short lifespan and put them inside the Knight Mecha. His face was elated at the news of being able to bring his rock collection along our journeys. But he was puzzled why I was being suddenly generous.

“Well, Peb. I need more weight. Enough weight so Amelia doesn’t become a light pushover.”

He was still hesitant about my explanation, but he nodded. I also shouted at his retreating back, “Make sure you spread out all your stones into the grass compartments inside the Knight Mecha!”

Watching his retreat, I gave a grateful sigh. I will not be in a situation, where small bipedal people, will make my Knight Mecha tilt and trip to her death. Which reminds me, I need to make more movement scripts for her.

“I’ll do it on the journey,” I said, stamping my fist on my palm.

“Mr. Bean! Supper is ready!”

My face contorted from her nickname she gave me when she knew it would annoy the living hell out of me.

“Mother! I told you not to call me that anymore!” I shouted back, abashed from its meaning to me. I cursed annoyance, then continued on to have a final supper with my parents.

Oona sat on the side, watching me eat with my parents. She was chewing on something she had stored in her leather jacket. It looked like a twig size brown chopstick, then my eyes widened in realization, it was a long baked bread. How’d she hidden that? And bread? I haven’t had these for a lifetime.

I will make further inquiries on how she attained such marvel in cuisine at a later date.

After dinner was done, we tucked the baby inside the laboratory with his clothed blanket with extra cloth from the hooded man’s hood. With that all done, I showed everyone their sleeping spaces, and we exited outside to gather again in the small campfire we had made and bask in the afternoon twilight's end of the day.

Morning came faster than my sleeping mind could calculate, but this time, I had a proper amount of hours of sleep underneath my grassy belt. I was rubbing my eyes as I walked out into the morning’s ray that was glistening the dew foliage before me.

I spotted my mother, father, Peb, and Oona, already awake, huddled around a distance aways. I was touched that they didn’t abruptly wake me up, and let my beautiful self sleep in the silent light of sunrise. Smiling at the thought, I walked up to them.

“What's got you guys huddled up here for?”

Then I spotted them, three individuals that were in front of the party. It was Wink, Sera, and Teka, all wearing green made backpacks on their backs, talking to my crowd.

“Hey wait a minute?”

They all looked at me.

“What are you guys doing?”

“We are coming along with you,” Sera said, excited at the prospect.

“What?!” I yelp aghast. Then I crossed my eyes to a wincing Teka. “You too!?” I shrieked. Mind you, I just had awoken up, and had a beautiful dream with the spice girls. I am definitely not a morning person.

Teka just shrugged at my reaction. “I saw them leaving, so I came along.”

Sera snorted, “Teka begged us to come, or he will tell Elandris. Blah, blah, blah.”

“Not true! I said that Elandris doesn't want any of you leaving your safety. So I told them, ``I'll come along and protect you.”

Wink gave me and wink then feigned “My hero…” to Teka. Fluttering his green long eyelashes for effect.

“No, No, No.” I stamped my foot. “Maybe Wink, but definitely not you two.”

“Why not us?”

“Why me?”

“Wink has been inside the Mecha, and I can trust him with following my orders. But you two? I don’t know…?”

“I can follow orders!” Teka replied with a salute, his chest up high.

“Why not me?” Sera looked down, bereaved at my response.

“Take em, along with you, son.” My father suggested. “You never know when you need an extra hand.”

My mother slapped my father on the back of the head. “Then why did you convince me to stay? Huh!?”

“Bean, Bean, stop.” A few more smacks on the back of the head, my mother halted.

“They are young, and they need to go on an adventure and have new experiences.”

“What?! are you calling me old!?”

Smack.

Watching this, I gave my first defeated sigh of the day.

“Fine. You can come, Sera and Teka.”

Sera’s dejected mood came back to life, whilst Teka gave me a huge mountain grin.

After I accepted the new people into my party, I prepared the group and myself for departure. It took some time to tweak the Knight Mecha interior to fit approximately 6 people, but I managed. I had to also account for all the contraptions I had invented, putting most of them in the thigh compartments, all shelved in categories that I could easily trace back to. It took all morning, until midday, the time we had set on departure.

With the clothed baby wrapped inside the backpack of the mecha and a 10-day stockpile of hemp and almond milk within, we were finally ready to depart my secret grove.

Every small folk huddled up together on the soil in front of Knight Amelia. I embraced my parents one last time, whispered words of comfort, and ‘look after yourself out there,’ during the embrace.

I felt at that moment in time, somber at the knowledge that there is a chance, this will be the last time I see my grass parents, with their grassy wee hats on their wee heads. In the darkest part of my childhood, I was in a slump, the darkest slump I have ever been, reborn into a new life when I had lost everything from my old one. I never said a proper goodbye to my human mother, I never said catch ya later to my colleagues and friends.

But these strange small bipedal grass couple, took me, a morbidly upset podling into their trio and gave me a home and a family, I thought that I had lost forever.

They are old now, and I’m a young man before them, and they seemed proud of what I have achieved with them and without them. I don’t think this will be our final parting, for I know deep inside, that I will fight through hell to come back to see my parents again. I will spit on the Goddess Iris face before I leave my family again.

“Take care, my son.” “My pod.” Both my father and mother spoke, as I exited their embrace and headed out to the big wide world, with a baby and mecha.