Shield da Little 'uns (40k/Shield Hero) 1 (Patreon)

Raphtalia leaned against Lok. She’d never seen a demihuman like him: he didn’t have a tail or ears on top of his head, but he was bigger than anyone she’d ever seen and he was nice. He was gentle, always moving really slow around her, and letting her lean against him when she was tired. She was tired a lot, her lungs were always full of fluid, and her scars hurt from where the man who’d owned her, Kiel, and Rifana had tortured her.

But even on the days when her sickness got real bad, Lok was gentle with her. He’d said a lot of things about his mother and grandfather, mostly about him needing to be careful with little ones. Then again, everyone was little compared to him. Raphtalia herself wasn’t even as long as one of his legs!

Another slew of coughs racked her chest, and Lok held one of his hands against her back as she coughed. She gasped for air when the coughing fit finally subsided, tears streaming down her face. Lok wiped them away with his huge hand, his touch comforting and gentle.

“You al’ight, Little 'un?” he asked.

Raphtalia nodded weakly, her body trembling with exhaustion. She leaned her head against his chest, feeling the steady thump-thump of his heart against her cheek. The sound was soothing, like a lullaby.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “For taking care of me.”

Lok smiled down at her, his eyes warm and kind. “‘Course,” he said. “It like Momma said, ‘It an ogryn’s job ta take care o’ da Little ‘uns.’ I don't know ‘ow ta make ya cough stop, so dis all I can do.”

Raphtalia smiled weakly, feeling a flush rise to her cheeks. Lok’s praise meant everything to her. She wished that she would get better, so Lok wouldn’t be sad when she died. But she could tell that she was getting worse, not better.

Footsteps from the main part of the tent caught Raphtalia’s ear, Lok giving a quiet giggle at how the ears on top of her head twitched. Looking up, she saw a brown haired girl with a green cloak walking up to the cage with her and Lok. The girl glared down at her, her eyes briefly glancing up at Lok before dismissing him.

“Name?” the girl asked.

“Lok,” was the immediate answer. “Gramps gave it ‘cause he said I’s lokky.”

“Not you,” she snapped, before turning her gaze back to Raphtalia. “Yours. Don’t you have one?”

“Raph… Raphtalia,” she answered, the Slave Trader coming to a stop behind the girl.

“The raccoon species aren’t very popular, especially compared to foxes,” the Slave Trader said.

The brown haired girl nodded, clicking her tongue. “That’s fine. I’ll take her.”

Raphtalia felt a pang of fear in her chest, her eyes darting between the girl and the Slave Trader. She didn’t want to be sold again. She didn’t want to leave Lok.

But before she could protest, the Slave Trader had already opened her cage and began to drag her out. She stumbled, her legs weak and trembling, and Lok’s hand shot out to steady her.

“Where we’s goin’?” Lok asked, moving to stand and needing to kneel instead.

The girl stared at Lok as he made to follow, before saying, “I am buying her to fight for me. Not you.”

“But I’s good at fightin’ Gramps said so,” Lok responded, a puzzled look on his face. “‘Sides, how can I’s protect da Little ‘un if’n I’s not go?”

Raphtalia was both surprised and touched by what followed: she didn’t quite understand how, but when her new master, the Shield Hero herself, led her away after getting the slave curse put on her, there was a sound of snapping metal and Lok was picking both her and Master Naofumi up and placing them on his shoulders.

“Tells Lok where ta go, an’ Lok go dat way,” he declared proudly, even as the manacles remained on his wrists.

“Did you break out of your cage?” Master Naofumi asked, her voice incredulous.

“It was too small wid’out da Little ‘un dere,” he said, making Raphtalia smile slightly. “I’s no like small places, I’s always break somedin’ I’s shouldn’t.”

Master Naofumi looked at Lok with a mix of disbelief and amusement, but couldn't deny the protection he offered. Raphtalia clung tightly to Lok's broad shoulders, grateful for his presence. They set off through the marketplace, the noise and smells overwhelming her senses.

Lok moved slowly, careful not to jostle his precious cargo. Raphtalia watched as people stared at them in amazement, their gazes lingering on the huge demihuman with the manacles on his wrists. She wondered what they were thinking, whether they saw him as a monster or a hero.

As they walked, Raphtalia could feel the weight of Master Naofumi's gaze on her. She turned to look at her new master, unsure of what to expect. Master Naofumi's expression was unreadable, her eyes flickering between Raphtalia and Lok.

But she didn’t say anything beyond giving directions, and the three soon arrived outside a shop. Lok knelt down, letting Raphtalia and Master Naofumi climb off. The two of them entered, while Lok waited outside, since he wouldn’t fit through the door. Inside was a bald man with a beard, behind a counter.

The bearded man glanced up, raising an eyebrow, “Well, if it isn’t the Shield Kid.”

“I came to pay you back for what I borrowed,” Master Naofumi said, dropping a number of coins on the counter. “Also show me the weapons that are around six silver coins worth. And if you have any clothes that are on clearance, show me those too. Ones that’ll fit her or him.”

Master Naofumi pointed a thumb towards the door, where Lok was sitting outside, hunched over so he could peer in. The bearded man raised both eyebrows, before saying, “I don’t have anything in his size, unfortunately.”

“I’s good,” Lok said, rather loudly. “Kit out da Little ‘un, I’s can use big stick!”

A few minutes later, Raphtalia walked out from the changing room in the new clothes that had been provided to her. They fit her perfectly, and the fabric was soft against her skin. Master Naofumi inspected her from head to toe, nodding in approval at the new clothes.

“Good,” she said. “You look much better in these.”

Raphtalia smiled appreciatively, feeling grateful for the kind gesture. She knew that she had a lot to learn from her new master, and she was eager to do whatever it took to repay her kindness.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “I will train hard to become a strong fighter for you.”

Master Naofumi nodded, before turning to the bearded man. “And about the weapons?”

The man led them to a rack of weapons, each one gleaming in the light. Raphtalia couldn’t help but feel intimidated by the array of sharp blades and heavy maces. She had never held a weapon before, but she knew that it was essential if she wanted to survive in this world.

“Pick one,” Master Naofumi said, gesturing to the weapons.

Raphtalia looked at the weapons carefully, trying to choose one that would be easy for her to handle. She settled on a lightweight sword, its blade sharp and glinting in the light.

“This one,” she said, holding it up for Master Naofumi to see.

Master Naofumi inspected it, nodding in approval. “Good choice. It’s lightweight and easy to handle. Now, let’s head back to camp.”

As they walked out of the shop, Lok fell back into step beside them, his eyes bright with excitement. Raphtalia knew that he was happy to be able to accompany them, even if he couldn't fit through the door of the shop. She knew that she could rely on him to protect her, and that made her feel safe.

As they made their way back to camp, Raphtalia couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. She was about to start a new chapter in her life, one where she would learn how to fight and defend herself against the dangers of the world. She was grateful for Master Naofumi and Lok for helping her along the way.

When they arrived at the camp, Master Naofumi wasted no time in getting started on Raphtalia's training. She had Raphtalia stab balloon monsters, using the slave curse on her chest to make sure that she did so. Lok’s reaction both surprised Raphtalia at how restrained it was and warmed her heart at the same time.

Lok, rather than getting angry at Master Naofumi, tapped the tip of a single finger against the back of her head and said, “‘Urtin’ oders don’ make da ‘hurtin’ stop.”

Master Naofumi stared at Lok with narrowed eyes and grit teeth, before resuming working with Raphtalia. As the sun started to go down, Raphtalia had reached level two and Lok surprised both her and Master Naofumi by starting a fire and preparing a meal for the three of them.

The answer he gave when Master Naofumi asked how he knew how to cook… Raphtalia felt an unexpected sense of kinship with him.

“I like cookin’. Ev’ryone needs ta eat, and when ya get a good meal, it like a hug from inside. Like Momma, ev’n if she had ta go, when home was made gone. I can’t hug like Momma could, but I can make a good meal, so I’s can hug dat way.”

Raphtalia hadn’t asked about his home before he was with the Slave Trader, and it dawned on her that he must have lost his family in the same way that she’d lost hers.

[hr][/hr]

Lok looked down at Now-Foo-Me and ‘Talia as they slept. He’d asked to take the first watch, so they could sleep. Sleep was good, but he could go without. He’d had to go without sleep for four days once, that one battle with the little green not-ogryns. That was a fun fight, and the team got to rest at home for a month after.

Lok missed the team, especially Gramps. He’d been told he’d be working under Gramps when he was out of training, but Gramps had a really hard name to say, and Lok kept getting it wrong. It made Lok sad whenever he got Gramps’ name wrong, because he had wanted to be in the Guard for as long as he could remember, and how could he be a good team member if he couldn’t even say the boss’s name?

But Gramps was nice, he didn’t get mad when Lok struggled with his name, and even told Lok he could call Gramps Gramps. Gramps had been a good boss, and Lok missed him. He didn’t know how he got here, a weird place that had these not-actually-there-things occasionally show up, and they seemed to think the Emperor was really three people.

Lok shook his head, setting the weird local Emperor Church aside. Right now he had a job to do: protect Now-Foo-Me and ‘Talia. He could do that, he was good at protecting. Like that time the space marines in the black armor got onto the ship, and Gramps said they had to fight, because the space marines weren’t invited.

Those space marines were mean, Lok didn’t like them. Space Marines were supposed to be the good guys, keeping people safe from xenos and chaos, but these Space Marines hadn’t left like they were supposed to when they showed up uninvited. They’d hurt a lot of the team, bad enough that they had to sleep, the sleep that you don’t get to wake up from.

It made him sad, so for the next while he’d made their favorites when it was time to eat. It wouldn’t wake them up, but Gramps had smiled when Lok said it felt like they were hugging him when he made their favorite foods. That first meal after they’d sent the black Space Marines away, Gramps had stood up and made a big talk, like before a battle.

Lok’d been confused at first, they were eating, not getting ready to fight. It was only after he started talking that Lok got it, Gramps was saying something nice about Lok.

He smiled, putting another piece of wood on the fire, reaching down and gently setting ‘Talia into his lap, letting her settle against his belly. The nightmares didn’t bother her as much like this. Lok found himself looking up at the sky, staring at the stars. Somewhere out there was where home had been, before it was made gone.

Taking a breath, he sighed, muttering quietly to himself, that nice thing Gramps had said, “Da Emprah made us ogryns so big so dere'd be room f'r our 'earts. An' it was still a miracle that he didn' need ta make us bigga. We gots big nuff 'earts f'r ev'ryone, big nuff shoulda's ta carry dem, big nuff arms ta 'old dem, and big nuff 'ands ta protect dem. Gramps was nice like dat.”