Chapter 27

Once Mila had been able to properly feed the wendigo child, she cleaned him up. He made little cooing noises while she scrubbed the grime from his thin body.

He was stick thin with wood-like skin. His head was shaped like a deer skull, with a bird-like black and white beak which was sharp as a raptor’s. His legs were curved like a goat’s with delicate, cloven hooves, followed closely by a thin, snake tail. His hands were scaled like a bird’s with curving claws.

Nothing about him was particularly beautiful from a human perspective. He was mostly hairless, his face bleached white with veins of brown and green leading to his neck. His spine jutted out so every ridge was painfully visible.

Mila could see how perfectly adapted he was to live in the forest and sewers. If he laid down and held still, he could easily be mistaken for debris. Just a random assortment of animal matter and dead plant life. His limbs were so thin, they looked as though they could snap under the weight of a careless shoe.

Thin or not, Mila could feel power in there. It was only due to inexperience that he hadn’t ripped apart the young wolves. He was still a juvenile himself, standing only at a mere four feet where an adult could clear seven feet easily.

There had been no sign of any adult wendigos in the sewers and none of the wolves had found so much as a trace. Now clear from the sewer and properly cleaned, he still had an awfully pungent odor that Mila had no trouble detecting. He was much worse than Jed, reeking of decaying leaves and mold.

She couldn’t say it really bothered her, but the wolves recoiled more noticeably when she brought him back to the tables for the evening meal.

Without entirely meaning to, Mila’s body curved in a naturally protective stance around the little creature when she sat him down next to her. The unicorn, instead of keeping a distance, moved between tables to remain closer, guarding the child’s other side.

Mila took every bit of meat allowed to her person and shredded it. She fed the child like a trainer at a sea park, mimicking his coos.

Jed watched from the corner of his eye. He wasn’t smiling. Winnie was trying to force a smile across the table, but a bout of nausea had her lips pinched tightly shut. Dillon stared with open fascination like a child.

“You said it’s a wendigo?” Dillon asked.

Mila smiled kindly, stroking the child’s smooth head while it clicked its beak. “Yes, a very handsome little wendigo.”

There were some mutters that Mila ignored. Clearly, not all of the neighboring wolves agreed with her assessment. The child was entirely too alien to be considered attractive by them.

“And how did he... where does this... come from?” Dillon asked, his voice getting steadily higher with each uncomfortable pause.

Mila could hardly peel her eyes from the child. It was like finding the unicorn all over again. “They’re extremely rare, but I suppose they’re like Jed.”

Jed grimaced slightly, not entirely loving the comparison.

“They’re originally created by witches.” Mila clarified.

“So they- the coven we met, they made him?”

Mila shook her head, her arm going around the child’s thin shoulders while he continued to eat using his own claws. “No, I don’t think so. Maybe a lot time ago, they might have created his ancestors, but this one was born. You can tell by the grooves on his midsection. He was born from a mother and father, though I don’t know where they might have gone.”

Winnie breathed slowly through her mouth. “What should we call him? Just ‘wendigo’?”

Mila tapped the child’s beak, his bright eyes gleamed at her. “What’s your name, sweet one? Can you tell me? I’m Mila, these are my friends, Winnie, Dillon, and Jed. What are you called?”

The eyes blinked slowly, his lids entirely black. He glanced between everyone as they were introduced. After a moment he opened his beak. “Rrrawrreeee.”

Mila grinned, patting his head. “Rori is a lovely name.”

Dillon barked out a startled sort of laugh which drew Rori’s attention. “Y-yeah, yeah, good name. Nice to meet you, Rori.”

Mila nodded, her eyes tight with suspicion. She could tell no one else was as thrilled as she to meet such a fascinating creature. Perhaps, it was her perspective as a creature originally from the ocean, but she didn’t have the human preconceived notions of beauty. In her eyes, Rori was every bit as beautiful as the unicorn.

Winnie was watching Mila’s warm attitude closely. A little while after the meal, she pulled her aside. “Is there a reason you’re being so gentle with that... Rori?”

Rori, politely, pretended not to hear. He was petting the unicorn’s mane carefully.

Mila blinked in surprise, not having realized that her behavior was in any way peculiar. “He’s a child who’s alone. The pups jumped him in the tunnels and terrified him. Shouldn’t we be gentle with him?”

Winnie’s eyes softened. “No, of course. You’re right, it’s just that he’s... so different. Unusual.”

The stilted way of talking had Mila’s brows knitting together. “All the more reason to be kind. I’m not helping you to rebuild the world just to make it the same as the old one. A child shouldn’t have to be left alone in the filth just because he’s different.”

Winnie’s shoulders bent under the weight of Mila’s stare. Her hands stroked her growing belly. “Of course, you’re right.”

Mila took Rori aside to her own camping quarters that she shared with Jed. Jed’s eyes were wary as she helped tuck the child into a warm sleeping bag, murmuring gentle words and coos. When the child’s eyes were shut and his beak lolled open, his breathing slowed in sleep, Jed’s arms wrapped around Mila’s waist.

“Are you planning to keep him?” He whispered against her neck.

“Is there something wrong with that?” Mila asked.

“No, of course not. If this is what you want,” Jed shrugged.

Mila petted Jed’s cheek. Like Rori, his cold, smooth skin not giving in the slightest. “It depends on what will make him happy. He’s young, but he won’t be forever. Perhaps we will find more like him soon.”

“Perhaps,” Jed bowed his head against her shoulder, but he was well aware of how rare it was to find such a creature. Very few had ever been made and even fewer born. There was a possibility that the child was absolutely unique on this continent.

Jed was also aware that Mila was utterly in love with her little find. She would not be deterred from caring for him so easily. He sighed softly.