The party hadn't been as bad as Heim had prepared for. Though it was still clear, alcohol and people weren't his thing. He could still appreciate the homely feeling the townsfolk were emitting with their dancing. With every swift turn of a skirt the sand was cast into the air. Stampeding feet obscured the view of the earth while they danced in circles.

But he didn't join. Heim sat at the right side of the circle. Cradling Kleia in his arms, keeping her warm. Despite the large bonfire her small body felt cold in his arms. And the only reason he wasn't freaking out about that was, because he knew a thing or two about small halflings. Depending on their heritage, fae or mer, her body temperature regulation would be different from humans. Fire couldn't warm her, at least not now that she was still so small. She would need body heath to keep her systems running.

When Heim would see Lize, he would ask her to hold Kleia again. The probability of her being more human than him was quite high. Her keeping Kleia warm would probably be more effective. If Kleia had been older and able to speak, he wouldn't consider to force someone else to nurture his child. But now he couldn't risk letting her fall ill. He wasn't sure if he was emitting any body heath now. Or if he was even capable of that.

Had Kleia been human magic induced heath or the fire would keep her warm. But alas she wasn't. So he has to accommodate her needs instead of his own.

So with Lize's arrival by the seat next to him, she held Kleia after quickly confirming his suspicion. Heim wouldn't be able to help Kleia with this.

That was the reason why Heim was now walking around the forest. Kleia was bound to his body with some cloth, so that he could easier move around.

He was looking for a small animal that could work as some sort of pet. If he had been in the city he would have bought a cat or a dog, but as he was in a village with a three-monthly fair. He would have to do with something else. Small enough to live inside, but big enough to warm and nurse Kleia.

In the best situation he would find her familiar. But with her being too smal to have presented yet he could only guess and see her reaction to the animals around them. As for now she still hadn't shown any familiarity to any of the animals he had captured and shown her. If they continued like this it would be evening again, he would have to bother Lize again. Something he wasn't planning on doing again.

She seemed pretty harmless but he wasn't going to be fooled by her appearance. No person smelling like magic was harmless. Maybe she wouldn't have big teeth or claws to harm. But then her words would be able to destroy you. He wasn't going to irritate her and hope it wouldn't be too bad.

Dusk had arrived, so in a last attempt to escape the inevitable, he called as many species as he could to him with help of his magic. The feat in itself wasn't so difficult, it was that the range was far too big without help.

So now he was waiting by a small pont. Every time a new species appeared he showed them to Kleia in the hope she liked them. Thus far she didn't. Though she didn't cry when she saw the young wolf, so he kept that one apart. If nothing better would show they would have to do.

A low growl disturbed the scenery of the pont. The small wolf had crawled over from it's original spot and was now hiding behind Heim. Allowing soft warning growl to emerge from its muzzle. Warning Heim something dangerous was coming this way, something the wolf feared.

The leaves of a bush trembled slightly and a lynx appeared. Trailing behind her were two cubs. They were the reason for the distress of the young wolf.

And far more important the happy cheer of Kleia.

For the first time since Heim started looking around in the forest, she seemed genuinely happy to see a animal. Could this be her familiar?

Heim didn't know enough about halflings or modern fae to be certain about that. But if Kleia liked the lynx than it would be good enough.

Setting the wolf free from his magic, Heim turned back towards the lighthouse. Trailing behind were three lynxes, two small one big.

At arrival by the lighthouse evening had come, they had arrived home just in time. After cleaning the lynxes, first the small ones so he could leave Kleia with them. Heim allowed them to enter the house. Under no circumstances would he allow anyone to step on his cleaned floor with their dirty feet. It had taken him long enough to clean it the first time.

After making sure Kleia was comfortable sleeping amidst the lynxes by the fire. Left Heim the house and went to the tower that was the real lighthouse. Lighting the fire that would ensure boats wouldn't crash on the reefs was important. It didn't matter that none of the skippers would notice when the light would be absent for one more day. He had to do out of principle.

Yesterday, Jonas had explained to Heim how the mechanics should work. He had practised it a few times and was confident he would be able to keep the light alive.

Basically Heim just needed to keep the fire burning through the night by adding fuel, usually a form of wood.

Foraging in the woods would take a lot of time everyday, because he couldn't just cut down a tree to last a few weeks. His magic wouldn't allow him to do that. He would have to do with trees that had died already or sticks on the ground.

Maybe he could train animals to help collect sticks. But he would still need to find some himself. The best his magic would be able to help him with, would be showing him where an excessive amount of fuel is.

This job certainly wasn't as easy as Heim had hoped it would be. Objectively speaking was collecting wood to light a fire much easier to do, than fighting in a war and be a strategic advisor.

But he did enjoy using his mind a lot more than mindlessly walking around collecting stuff.

He also had a child to watch now. The forest wasn't hostile to him, and neither were the animals.

Unless they were really hungry though. The wolves Heim had encountered on his way to Greystone couldn't easily be forgotten.

But that animals normally wouldn't hurt him, didn't mean he should expose a small child to them. That was just plain irresponsible.

•••

Unfortunately exposing Kleia to danger would become a reality this day. The night before had been uneventful. No ships had been spotted from Heim's spot on the lighthouse, and fire had burned the entire night. When he came back in the morning he had found a still asleep Kleia surrounded by the lynxes.

Though the moment Heim entered the house she opened her eyes and give him a toothless grin. Seeing her being awake, Heim picked her up and made sure she ate something. After that he took the basket Jonas' wife had given him to collect wood in.

Apparently she was good at making those. She also told him he could go to the timber mill at the outskirts of town to collect the scraps. When you would burn the wood it didn't matter anymore what it looked like.

Heim left the house carrying the basket on his back and Kleia on the front. And followed by three lynxes. One anxious to lose sight of her newly acquired cub, and two anxious to lose sight of their mom.

Foraging fuel wasn't as tiresome as Heim has anticipated. Quite soon after he left the house he found an expanding clearing. The trees that had been the border this summer, were now almost a year later dead. Now he only needed to chop the trees into smaller pieces, and he would have enough fuel for at least a week. Or at least, that should be the case. If he wouldn't let the fire become too big and burn too much.

Physical labor wasn't a stranger to Heim. The first time he chopped down a tree, he hadn't even received his name yet. Now, a few millennia later, it wasn't any more difficult.

A few hours later the trees were gone and a pile of easily moved wood was visible in the clearing. Moving it by hand would take Heim more than a dozen trips to and from the lighthouse. While he didn't mind the distance, he doubted the lynxes and Kleia would enjoy it. And though he did trust the lynx he wasn't ready to completely leave Kleia in her care.

When manual labor wasn't an option, magic would have to do. A simple wave of Heim's hand elevated the blocks into the air. Though allowing a constant flow of magic and walking at the same time weren't ideal circumstances, it would have to do.

Carrying heavy objects with magic wasn't something Heim regularly did but, he was fairly sure the load didn't get heavier during the trip. Looking back, he saw three lynxes hitchhiking on the wooden blocks. Catching some sleep after an exhausting day. Kleia had the same idea and was contently sleeping in his arms.

When they would be back at the lighthouse Heim should also catch some extra sleep. Last night hadn't been that satisfying to say the least. He would really need to change his day plan. Now that sleep at night was something of the past. He could go without sleep for a far longer time than regular humans. but he still rather preferred to give his mind some peace after a long day.

Arriving back at the cottage, and taking a much deserved nap, proved to be a little bit more challenging than Heim had foreseen. He had placed the logs down as gently as he could, and carried the lynxes inside. When he tried to lay them down on the rug before the fireplace, they stuck to him with their claws. Unwilling to let go of him. Waking them up so they would let go would be cruel. So Heim struggled in silence with the small animals. Afraid the be too wild and hurting them.

After several minutes of increasing panicky movements Heim managed to dislodge himself from the small animal and left them inside. He then picked up the mother. Learning from his mistakes he kept her and her claws far away from his chest and swiftly put her down next to her cubs. Putting down Kleia next to them was fairly easy after that endeavour.

Getting the logs to the top of the lighthouse proved to present some difficulties. Elevating them all the way to the top from the outside was next to impossible. The logs were too heavy and he was too exhausted to bring up the magic for that.

So instead of trying to bring everything upstairs in one go, he devided the pile into smaller groups and manually carried them up the stairs one by one. When, finally, the last block of wood was were it was supposed to be Heim was exhausted. He had never shied away from hard work but he wasn't used to this anymore.

At least that was what he told himself. Too afraid to face the truth that he was getting older. His magic was dwindling. He couldn't do the things he was used to be able to do anymore. Two centuries ago he wouldn't have blinked twice carrying those logs up the tower. But now he was panting and gasping for breath.

It wouldn't take long anymore now. For years he had thought to be ready. Nothing binding him to this world anymore.

But he wasn't.

He wanted to stay.

He wanted to see Kleia grow.

Watch her become the person she was meant to be without fear.

He wanted.

He wanted.

So many things. Now that he was fading and Chawin becoming clearer. He helplessly wanted to hold on to everything that had meaning.

Yes, this world was cruel. But who said the next wouldn't be?

August 13, 2022

Picture on top is from paint by number

[ unedited ]