1 A Mother's Touch

Sounds of laughter and cheers were heard down the ally where I sat. With dim eyes, I watched people pass by the alley to ignore the coldness that seeped through my cape.

Suddenly, a child ran into the alley. He was in complete rags and barefoot, his eyes were wild and full of fear. A peculiar feature were the big pointy ears coming from his blue hair.

"He's over there!"

Desperately, the child looked for an exit but only found me and a dead end. Gritting his fangs he prepared for the worst.

Without thinking, I grabbed the child from the wrist and pulled him behind me.

He yelped, about to protest but stopped when I realized I had become a barrier of safety.

"Move. That thing is ours." The knight growled.

What am I doing?

"Please forgive him! My child is still young!" I pretended to cry.

Without hesitation, he shoved me out of the way.

The knight reached for the child but stopped to blink wildly at the kid. He turned to his partner, "That's not him."

Thank god I threw my cape to cover his ears.

His partner's eyes furrowed. "What?"

Before he could move in on the child, I pounced on him. "Sir!"

He pushed me off but also stopped when he saw the child.

"Damn. We must have missed him."

Without a word of apology, they ran out of the ally and into the commotion once more.

The child collapsed in a dazed state. His bruised hands trembled.

He's probably bruised all over. I thought. The child that sat in front of me belonged to the Beastkind, a race that was often sought out for slavery.

With a heavy sigh, I adjusted my cape and wrapped it around him properly.

He flinched but accepted it anyway.

"How did you do that?" The child asked.

"Hmm?"

"They couldn't-." As he spoke, something else growled.

A few moments of embarrassed silence passed. "Stay here." I sighed.

I went off through into the the busy streets.

Rows of booths sat on the streets, vendors of every kind. While looking for the nearest food stall, people sent me odd glances.

It was a good thing the vendor himself didn't notice me until I handed the money over.

The sight of his face meant I was no longer safe so I ran.

Returning, the Beastchild was huddled up in the farthest corner.

My hands patiently extended out to hand him a plate of chicken kabobs as he hesitantly received them.

I watched hungrily as he gobbled the food in seconds.

I'm glad he enjoyed what was left of my change, I thought while crying.

After he had finished eating, his eyes turned hostile again. "How did you do it?" His question appeared again.

"I belong to a clan called the Memouri's. We have the ability to take and sell memories, some of us can even distort them." I looked at the sky nostalgically. "I made them believe they were looking for some other child."

He stared at me for a few seconds before looking down at his hands. "How pathetic."

I ignored his comment and smiled. "You sure picked a day to escape."

He turned his head to stare at me.

"The solstice festival." I pointed. "You're lucky no one else saw you."

"Solstice Festival?"

I nodded, "It's a giant gathering among vendors. There's food, gifts, and entertainment during these days."

His eyes seemed to sparkle with slight and quiet excitement.

"Should we go tomorrow morning? It'll be safer for the both of us then." The question slipped out of my mouth. While I had no intention of taking care of the child, seeing him so excited caused my lips to move on their own.

He nodded, a small smile twitched on his lips.

A cold breeze flew into the ally, almost chilling my bones. I quickly hugged myself to preserve some warmth within my body.

"Move your hands."

I looked up to see him standing in front of me and instinctively opened my arms.

He jumped onto my lap. "I'm cold." He grumbled shyly.

A smile broke out. He's quite sweet.

After adjusting him so that his head laid on my chest, I wrapped my hands around him.

His small face was a lot more visible now. Small scratches and bruises adorned his lips and corners of his eyes. His small nose turned red due to the cold and his ears twitched under the cape.

His parents were most likely dead like mine.

"What are you staring at human?" He grumbled.

"What's your name?"

He looked away. "I don't have one."

I nodded. Why would a slave owner give his property names?

A yawn came over him.

A conflicting idea came to mind.

"Would you like me to give you a memory of your parents?" I asked hesitantly.

His eyes widened and he sat up in my lap. "Can you!?"

"I'm willing to give you one."

He nodded furiously.

He's so adorable! I gushed inwardly.

"Alright first you need to close your eyes and fall asleep. Can you do that?"

He nodded again, only this time his eyes were already closing.

When I felt he was fast asleep, I reached over and touched my forehead with his. Finding a long forgotten memory of his, I whispered the words my mother had taught me long ago.

Precious memories, given and taken but never forgotten.

He began to dream of a time he was a baby. He was being carried around by his mother, who held him tenderly in his arms. Her eyes and hair sparkling blue like his. He giggled as she kissed him in the forehead.

"Azuri." She would whisper in his ear with a smile. "My baby."

He smiled and snuggled closer to my chest which caused me to smile.

Maybe taking care of him wouldn't be so bad. That way we wouldn't be alone while suffering.

I looked up to the sky.

Azuri. What a beautiful name.