Waking Up

Solam was truly exhausted this time. He had slept from the moment he returned at noon that day until noon the next.

Solam woke feeling better than ever before. The soreness in his body had vanished, his spirit was fully restored, yet his stomach was unbearably empty.

Just as Solam considered getting up early to eat, the tent flap lifted and Solari entered. Seeing him awake, she was naturally delighted. "Lam, you're awake. How do you feel? Still all right?"

"I'm fine now, Auntie." Solam hurriedly burrowed under the beast-hide bedding when he saw Solari come in, since he was still bare-bottomed.

Solari smiled at the sight, finding the boy utterly adorable. "Oh, our Lam actually knows how to be shy. What part of you haven't I seen? Still hiding from me." Like every married woman, she especially enjoyed teasing half-grown lads, and she reached out as if to yank the hide away. This was a universal mischief that knew no world.

Although Solam was a twelve-year-old brat in this world, as a transmigrator carrying vast knowledge from another life he possessed a complete personality and values, even if he lacked common sense here. He was essentially a mature person short on experience. So asking him to act like a twelve-year-old child and flaunt himself naked was something he simply could not accept.

"Don't, Auntie." Solam flushed crimson and clutched the hide desperately to keep the female rogue from succeeding. "Don't, Auntie, it's still snowing outside. Cold—" With no other way to stop her groping, he could only play pitiful.

Sure enough, Auntie Solari stopped her mischief at those words and instead tucked the hide snugly around him. She pinched his cheek. "You two have caused quite a stir. Your eldest and second uncles are furious. Your brother got a thorough thrashing from your eldest uncle yesterday and is still playing dead in his tent."

"I'm not scared. With you and Second Auntie protecting me, I don't fear them at all." His face squished out of shape by her fingers made his voice sound odd, yet the flattery in his tone was obvious. No wonder the wives and young women all liked Solam; he had a sweet mouth.

"Protect you? You little ingrate, you have no idea how worried we were. Even Auntie Zaira fainted from anxiety. This time your eldest uncle is determined to teach you a proper lesson." As she spoke, Solari released his face and gave his nose a hard pinch.

"What??" Solam shot upright at the news that Auntie Zaira had collapsed, heedless of any exposure. "How is Second Auntie? Is the child all right?"

"Now you know to worry. Let's see if you listen next time. They're fine, both of them. Your second uncle and your little brother are unharmed." Solari pushed him back down and tucked the covers in again.

Hearing that Auntie Zaira was safe, Solam relaxed. Learning she had borne a boy, he felt genuinely happy for his second uncle and aunt. "Hey! Second Auntie had a boy? Second Uncle must be over the moon."

"That's because your second uncle and aunt love children so much. Of course they're happy." Solari was pleased for her younger brother-in-law's family as well, but she had not forgotten her duty to scold the boy. "You know how anxious the adults get. You're usually clever, so why act so rashly? Don't you know how dangerous the winter forest is?"

At her question Solam wore a rueful expression. "I thought everything through before I left. We weren't going deep, and if real danger appeared we could just run. We should have been back quickly. Who knew we'd run into Snow Tigers? And for some reason they decided to fight us head-on. Truly rotten luck." Every time he recalled those tigers, his irritation showed plainly on his face.

"Enough. Without your luck you would have died in that forest." Luck looked very different depending on who was judging.

"Auntie, I know I was wrong." The incident had taught Solam a hard lesson: never underestimate this world just because he carried knowledge from his previous life. His own arrogance had put both him and Krum in danger. Still, if he could avoid a beating, he would. No one willingly offered their backside for punishment. "I won't dare again. You won't just stand there and watch me get hit, will you? I was injured. Auntie, you have to save me." To escape the whipping, Solam clung to her arm and acted spoiled, discarding every shred of dignity he had carried from his past life.

Watching the boy wheedle and pout, Solari's heart softened. She looked at her pretty nephew and sighed inwardly. Why was her own son so stubborn? When his father beat him he simply lay down and took the lashes without a single soft word. Yet seeing her nephew's coquettish display felt oddly satisfying. Avalon Orcs considered such behavior fit only for girls; if her son tried it she would have slapped him. But with this nephew, prettier than any girl, it felt perfectly natural. (Only orcs thought Solam handsome; among humans he was merely average, and for a half-elf his looks were ordinary.)

"Hmph. Remember this lesson. Though you won't have many chances to hunt anymore."

"What? Does the old man plan to ground me?" Solam was startled at the thought of being banned from hunting.

"Not exactly. Your grandfather will explain the reason later. Overall it's good news."

Hearing it was good news, Solam stopped worrying. The old man would not harm him, after all. It seemed he had dodged the beating.

"How's Krum?" Now that he was safe, he naturally asked after his trapped companion.

"He's fine. Thick-skinned. A beating will teach him to remember. He went out and failed to protect his little brother, so getting thrashed is only right." To outsiders it looked as though Solam were the true son and Krum the foundling, yet this was normal Avalon Orc treatment of offspring. Bear cubs needed a beating now and then; the way they doted on Solam was what struck orcs as strange.

Before she finished, Solari heard a loud "Grr~~~" and laughed. "Hungry?"

"Mm." He felt no embarrassment. "I haven't eaten since yesterday morning." "Then let's eat. After that we'll visit Auntie Zaira and your newborn brother. Today we're having the two Alpine Goats you hunted yesterday. Hurry and dress." She tossed him a clean set of leather clothes.

"I feel like I could eat a whole goat." Solam muttered while pulling on the clothes.

"Burp~~~" Solam really did eat an entire goat, albeit a small one. Even so he was stuffed. He had never eaten so much in his life, yet he had truly been starving. Only after finishing the whole kid did the hunger finally fade. Everyone else was delighted to see him eat so heartily; a good appetite was a blessing.

"Burp~~~" Solam lay beside Zaira's bed, still too full to sit up, idly teasing his newborn brother Iluter. The little thing had just arrived, wrinkled and with eyes still closed, yet Solam found him rather cute.

"Here, little Lam." Zaira held a bowl of goat milk to his lips.

"Burp~~~ Urp—" The smell alone nearly made Solam vomit. It was not disgust; he simply could not swallow another bite. The sight of food turned his stomach. "Auntie Zaira, I really can't. I'm already at my limit. One more sip and I'll throw up. Give it to Iluter." He snatched the bowl before she could object.

"He's still too small for this. I've already fed him milk."

The moment the bowl touched Iluter's mouth the baby began gulping noisily, looking remarkably healthy.

"See? Iluter isn't full yet. Look how happily he drinks." Solam was pleased his little brother was so obliging.

Zaira gave Solam a light scolding tap. "He was just born. He doesn't know anything yet, so he'll drink whatever you offer. He'll spit it all up later and waste perfectly good milk."

Solam had not known that. Apparently babies could not be overfed; too much milk was just as hard to digest. "It's fine. We caught two nannies this time. We have plenty of milk. If it goes to waste, it goes to waste."

Zaira tapped him again. "Good things shouldn't be wasted. If we can't finish it ourselves we can give it away."

They spent the afternoon chatting idly in this fashion.

That evening Solam was summoned to his grandfather's tent. The spacious interior held the old man, Granny Karom, his two uncles, and even Auntie Solari.

Truthfully, the moment he stepped inside Solam felt a jolt of alarm, fearing a formal interrogation followed by a beating. He supposed he deserved it, yet who willingly offered their backside for punishment if they could avoid it?

Solam quickly shot a pleading look at Granny Karom. He knew that if his grandfather decided to discipline him, Auntie Solari would be useless; Grandfather was the head of the family. Granny Karom was different. If anyone in this world doted on Solam most excessively, it was her. Her favoritism even surprised Solam himself. Whatever mistake he made, Granny Karom always blamed someone else; her Solam was the most obedient child. If the target of such spoiling had been anyone else he would have found it excessive. Most importantly, Granny Karom could actually rein in his grandfather. Whenever Solam faced a whipping, appealing to Granny Karom never failed.

Granny Karom met his gaze with a reassuring smile.

The old man ignored Solam's little maneuver and stated the true purpose of this "interrogation."

"What? I'm supposed to become a Shaman?"