Afternoon Tea

Chapter 160

Once things settled down with regard to Mustard the Snake, the conversation about who I was finally happened. Bess seemed conflicted about the information, but I pushed ahead and transformed. My clothes hung awkwardly on my more petite frame, the pants sliding off my tail to the floor.

"You're silly!" Bess shrieked in delight, laughing at me.

"Sometimes," I agreed as I struggled out of my shirt. I'd have to redress in another room when I changed back. Still, getting laughed at was a small price, given how easily the little girl seemed to take the matter in stride.

"Noooo, because you picked legs when you can fly," Bess clarified, sticking her tongue out at me. I was baffled for a moment, but then it clicked.

"I suppose so, but I'll be able to talk to people more easily when I look like that," I said and shrugged. The technical difference between my hover ability and flight wasn't worth explaining. I understood what Bess had meant. It was like when you read about the mermaid that wanted to be human. Baffling.

Bess made a stink face, like my ability to socialize with others was an unworthy concern. Henry tried to disguise a laugh as a cough and failed miserably. Erica seemed amused too.

With the "show and tell" portion of the event over, I excused myself briefly to another room to change back and redress myself. I was disappointed to note my makeup was gone, but such was life.

When I returned, Erica invited Henry and I to sit in the living room. Bess still looked at me disapprovingly. Murder baby was displeased.

There was a bit of noise at the front door, and it took me a moment to recognize it as the sound of the scrubbing of boots on a doormat. There was a muffled curse and a thump as something knocked into the door. A moment later, Elim stepped in, looking worse for wear and in his socks.

"Ma- Oh… Mistress?" Elim asked, blinking at me. It was his first time seeing my new form, though I'd described it.

"The same," I agreed.

"Tall," Elim said, blinking. He seemed confused after he said it. Like he'd meant to say something else, but that came out instead. I couldn't help laughing, recalling Bess's stunned expression. Henry managed not to laugh before Elim scurried out of the room toward his bedroom.

"Well, moving on," I pivoted gracelessly. "The Lepusan are reasonably well settled in. Do you think the people coming from the Silvertree estate will have an issue with them?"

"No? Not unless it's personal, at any rate. Elim explained the strangeness that's going on in Stromholt to me. The La- what you did call the beast folk?" Erica asked.

"La'Durin," I offered.

"The La'Durin were never common in these parts, and nobody bothered them more than anybody else. Not that I knew of anyway," Erica said with a shrug.

"Alright, so no major prejudices locally," I mused. It wasn't a guarantee of anything, but it was good to know.

"Should I send anyone who starts something with them packing?" Erica asked, expression placid. I was taken aback for a moment but then nodded. She was no-nonsense, and I'd been upfront about wanting to make the Lepusan welcome.

"Depends on what it is, but probably," I admitted. I wasn't aware of a species difference in points awarded, so who occupied the valley in that respect didn't matter. The primary factor was that as a refugee population, the Lepusan and other La'Durin would be more motivated to move in quickly and likely unwilling to leave anytime soon.

It was a little fucked up, but their lack of options made them a much more appealing choice for my living population. Humans could pull up stakes and leave whenever they wanted. Helping the La'Durin in a crisis was a bonus, but not one that factored into my mental math, as much as I would have liked it to.

"Do you expect to get more of them soon?" Erica asked.

"Ban's agreed to encourage his people to come, but I'm not sure how long it will take to bring them in. So likely the group in the valley will leave for a bit then come back with more," I offered. It was all I could say since I didn't know how far away the band was.

"Will there be kits?" Bess asked, perking up.

"Hopefully," I said honestly.

"It would be nice to have some youngsters in the valley. Those small folk are nice, but they aren't children," Erica commented, giving Bess a fond look. I suppressed a snort at that. None of them were younger than their late teens equivalent, which was much older than a human of the same category. They were a long-lived species.

As we were talking, Elim slunk back into view, having given himself a wipe-down and changed his clothes. He was probably trying to be stealthy, but I lived with Rogues and Halflings; his footsteps were like peals of thunder as he hightailed it into the kitchen.

"Tch," Eric clucked her tongue, apparently displeased with her son. She stared at the kitchen door, likely waiting to express her ire when he came back out. Her expression softened when Elim emerged from it carrying a tea tray.

"Not sure what everyone takes, if anything," Elim said as he sat the tray on the coffee table. The number of cups was correct for the people present, but he waited to start to pour.

"None for me," I said simply. I'd tried eating in my current form, and while I could complete the motions, it wasn't enjoyable.

"Nor I," Henry said.

"Wait… Henry?" Elim asked.

"The same," Henry agreed with a smile.

"Well, look at you, all fleshy. It's a good look," Elim said, amused. Henry inclined his head in thanks despite a snort of disbelief.

Looking at Bess, I thought of Chris, and unlike before, my thoughts weren't particularly amusing. Chris had struggled at first to read, but once he got the basics, he'd been voracious. I didn't have delusions any version of Chris would have ended up as a scholar, but it made me wonder. What would he have been like if he'd had even a primary education and access to resources I considered essential?

"Ah… I should have thought about it before, but I'll probably need to set up a school pretty soon," I said, mostly for my benefit. Education was a sector I hadn't spent time developing outside of my selection of reading materials for Chris.

"School?" Erica asked in surprise.

"Yeah, for kids and adults. At the very least, I want everyone in the valley to have basic literacy and math skills. I can build up more over time from there," I replied. I had a ludicrous image of a Dungeon University flashing through my brain and couldn't help but chuckle. As my laughter subsided, I could see the gears turning in Erica's mind.

"You'd need teachers for that, yes?" Erica asked.

"Yes?" I said, thinking that much was a given.

"Well, I'm out of practice at managing an estate, but I am pretty good at arithmetic, and I've been told my penmanship is still good. Might I help?" Eric asked. I was stunned for a moment, not having considered the option.

"Yeah, sure, that would be great," I said, my enthusiasm building from the middle as it sunk in. It was a good idea, given that Erica was a living human and wouldn't have all the issues of fitting in that the skeletons likely would. To say nothing of how strange my viewpoint would likely be compared to the locals.

"I'll outfit you with everything you need, and we'll do some practice sessions to work out the kinks," I added.

"Kinks?" Erica asked.

"Ah, problems. Like supplies you didn't think of or planning lessons," I explained.

"One of the little folk was talking about something like that. Or perhaps an archive in the town?" Elim asked.

"I'm working on a library in the dungeon, but I've got a space in town for a small one too. Feel free to use either, though you'll need to ask to be transported to the dungeon one," I said easily. I considered Elim a friend, but I wouldn't give him free access to the employee's side of the dungeon. The skeletons deserved to have a space of their own, though the occasional visit would hopefully be fine.

"Thank you, though honestly, I'd rather you had a fighting school or some such. I'm still trying to get the knack of my class properly," Elim said with a chuckle. Henry perked up at that idea, and so did I.

"That can be arranged," I said. Both men looked at me sharply while Erica laughed at their comical surprise.

“What, you think a dirt arena would be hard for her to make?” Erica asked with a snort. I couldn’t help it and burst out laughing. It really wouldn’t be.