Chapter 4 – Adopted
Standing patiently, Marith didn’t move as the girl hid behind Sköll.
"It will hurt, but only for a moment or two," Marith said gently as she tried to sound reassuring. The piercings and tattoos made her look to wild and diminished the effect.
The wolf touched his nose to her forehead. *It needs to be done little one. If they do not with their hands I will with my fangs. *
"Foolish child!" Orsola exclaimed as she strode over and grabbed the injured arm. "All this limb requires is a swift tug in the right direction, just like this." As she spoke Orsola placed another hand on the girl’s shoulder and snapped the dislocated limb back into its rightful place. Hearing Fenris’s voice translating over Orsola’s chosen language distracted the girl so she was not prepared for assault.
With a sharp cry of surprise and pain the girl wiggled free of Orsola and disappeared for a second, before she reappeared in the far corner of the room hiding between the wall and a love seat. The wolf stood up and padded his was over to her and rubbed his head against hers before he sat in front of her protectively.
*It had to be done. I won't let them touch you again if that is what you wish. *
*No touchy, * the girl kept thinking over and over again as she hugged her self and rocked back and forth.
"Hey, she moves fast for a new kid. That's twice now she's moved so fast I’ve lost track of her." Bernard pointed out playfully.
Dagrim wasn't listening. Instead, he was searching his memory for something, "That man form her memories looked familiar."
"How is that, Dagrim?" Marith asked curiously, looking away from the girl.
"Maybe they met one night, long..." Bernard started before he was cut off.
"Oh, just shut up Bernard. No one is interested in your wild made-up tales," Brynjar growled.
"Fine," Bernard pouted as he walked over to the girl, "I'll just look after her. She at least seems to like me."
"That's because she doesn't know you yet," Fenris added with a smirk.
Totally oblivious to the bickering, Dagrim scratched his chin and said, "I have to check with Narua, but... Hold on a second..." He trailed off as he closed his mind to the room and traveled way beyond it.
"Come on kid, Orsola didn't mean anything by it. She just doesn't like crybabies," Bernard said as he knelt down on the ground in front of her. "Why not come out from the corner, okay?"
"Ah, I thought so, he was someone I turned back during the height of the War of the Ten Kings." Dagrim announced to the room.
*I'm dead! * The girl thought with dread as she buried her face into the wolf's tick warm coat.
Dagrim chuckled light heartily as he walked over to her corner. "I'm not going to kill you sweet heart. He was a traitor and turned against us a long time ago to join one of my other brothers... Usun I think. Besides, I like you. And this kind of makes you like a grandchild."
The girl looked up at him nervously. Did he mean it? She dug her fingers deeper into the wolf's fur, with both hands... With both hands! "Hey, my arm works again!" she exclaimed happily as she raised both in the air and waved them happily. "I've missed you, arm!"
The wolf whimpered and pawed his face, shaking his head. *Pup, do not say things like that aloud, it makes you seem simple. *
At the same time Brynjar seemed unable to control his frustration any longer and growled, "Are you retarded or something kid? Why else do you think Orsola would yank on you like that?"
The girl stood up and stepped over the wolf and past Bernard so she could stand in front of Brynjar as she agitatedly tossed her head and hand to opposite directions, "You know why you got no friends, cuz yer a big meanie head!"
The whole room froze and just stared at her with surprise. Marith broke the silence first by slapping the girl on the back and laughing.
"I think this is where someone says, burn."
The girl held her ground only a moment longer than disappeared again and Fenris found her little body clinging to his as she hid behind him. "Hey kid, what's up?"
She peeked up at him from around his broad shoulders and mumbled, "I think that time I really made him mad... You're cold."
Fenris a pulled her out from behind him and hugged her again, petting her head he added, "It is alright, I won’t let him harm you. She is kind of simple but very cute." He added, glaring at Brynjar.
*Simple? * The girl thought unsure of how to react at being hugged and petted.
"What like you Fenris?" Brynjar asked.
The girl slipped back behind Fenris the poked her head out growling, "Bet cha I'm smarter than you! I got a 92% on my national science tests. That's a 92% out of all the kids in the country by the way!"
"You're still hiding behind me you know," Fenris whispered over his shoulder.
She ducked behind him and mumbled into his back, "I said smarter not braver. If he attacks you can take him."
Fenris started laughing even harder. "I think she just tried to stick up for me. Do I get to keep her?"
"At the moment I'm going to say no. Besides I like her too," Dagrim said as he walked over and pat her on the head. "I thought I'd adopt her since it’s my fault this happened when you look at the big picture."
The girl looked up at him uncertain, *Adopt? Why does anyone have to adopt me? *
Dagrim smiled, "You'll need someone to show you around and teach you how to survive. First off, calling Brynjar names isn't the wisest thing to do."
"But he's a meanie head."
"Be that as it may, this is his home. He lets us stay here as his guests."
"Oh..." The girl looked down ashamed. *But I'm not saying sorry cuz I don't mean it. Unless someone tells me to, * she thought defiantly.
"Since you're still hiding behind me, one question kid; aren't you scared I'm going to eat you?" Fenris teased.
"Nope."
"Nope?"
"Nope. You would have already, and I think Dagrim could kick your butt if you tried." the girl explained.
Fenris just started laughing.
"Now let's see, it's been a really long time since I've done this. There is so much to teach you... Where should we start?" Dagrim voiced out loud.
Stepping out from behind Fenris the girl looked down at her feet and shyly asked, "Could I start with bath and clean clothes? I haven't bathed since I left home and I feel all icky and gross."
Dagrim chuckled, "Of course, your bathroom door is right over there. I'll go get some of my clothes that you may borrow. Then if you feel up to it, we can go out tonight to pick you up some of your own."
The girl grinned from ear to ear, and hugged him. "Thank you very much Mr. Dagrim!" then she scurried over to the bathroom and shut the door.
The wolf stretched and made his way to the door, lying against it to bar entry for anyone else.
"She really is a cute kid. No one minds that I adopt her, do they?" inquired Dagrim.
Brynjar shrugged, "Does it matter if we do? You're the oldest."
"Of course, it does!" Orsola snapped in her language. "Decisions like that affect us all, especially while we all live together. The child lied more than once. Her name is not Jade, she is not twenty-one..."
Marith laid a hand on Orsola’s shoulder to calm her down, "But her mind was left so open that we know what we needed to know. She only fibbed because she thought she was protecting herself."
"More likely because she's an idiot and didn't even know we were all in her head." Brynjar pointed out sourly. "I think we should give her a chance. The child was a victim of circumstance and fought hard to make it this far." Brynjar added.
Orsola shook her head, "She is only a child, a teen, but still a child. Children do not do well with our way of life. Perhaps she will survive where others have not; it is too early to tell."
"But old enough is the question." Marith pointed out. “Even if I say she has the hugr to fight this curse.”
Dagrim clapped his hands together, "I'm sure she'll be fine if we just take things slow and give her time to adapt. I mean you all must have caught her thoughts of living alone in the Canadian backcountry for the rest of eternity. That shows not just naivety, but some level of intelligence and recognition to what has happened to her. I'm willing to take the risk, but if anyone is overly concerned about getting killed, we can go to Egypt for a decade or two while I settle her in."
"No one is saying you have to do that Dagrim." Marith said shaking her head. "I think the young ones are just being gun shy. Also, Fenris’s interest makes them suspicious since most of their difficulties have sprung from past conflicts."
"Alright then, I'm going to go see if I have anything that would fit her." And with that Dagrim walked out of the room to go to his own chambers.
Slowly the rest of the vampires went back to their normal routines. Still, they gossiped over the new little girl, but that was only natural. The girl herself was excited about how big the bathroom was. It had a rain shower, a deep soaker tub with water jets and a double sink with what looked like marble counter tops. It had everything you could ever want or need in a bathroom. Stripping down the girl could not decide if she wanted a bubble bath or a hot shower. Hot shower won so she was sure to get all the ick washed off. The hot water felt good. The soap made her feel silky and the shampoo made her hair feel soft once more. Part way through her shower a knock sounded on the door and a hand laid some clothes on the floor. She called thank you and kept scrubbing. Her skin was bright pink by the time she was done. Looking in the mirror she thought that perhaps she scrubbed a little too vigorously, but she wanted to get the feel of that monster off her.
Deep scars raked the shoulder where he had bitten her and scratched her. The fang marks were almost as horrible and remained on her neck. Running her fingers over them she tried not to cry again. As it was, she was trembling, and her heart pounded. Would she ever get over what had happened? Taking a deep breath and slapping her own face with her own hands to snap herself from her thoughts she tried to push out the memory. If she was ever, really, good at anything it was forgetting. Trotting over to the clothes by the bathroom door she held them up. It was another tunic outfit that made her think of Egypt. With a smile she put it on. It fit very loosely, but covered her where it counted. She still felt naked because she had no under garments on, but that would just be the first store she went to if she could.