Gumi’s protests were expected, but even those couldn’t prevail once a sugary treat of
her own choosing was in the vixen’s tiny hands. Silence, or what passed for that here at least, reigned for a while as tiny mouths were busy with the donuts Vargold had brought.
"You could pick any drink in Dough Re Mi and not be wrong." While the elf herself wasn’t known for being picky she still had preferences, so a compliment like that spoke volumes of the attention and care that particular establishment invested into all of its products.
"Besides, almost everyone likes strawberries, right~?"
The box of donuts was gently nudged in his direction, two regularly glazed ones being all that was left inside, before the elf accepted her drink and picked one to munch on. She watched the children as they ate, fiery curls bouncing in excitement—and always shadowed by the larger felis girl—as Peppy and Milah sat beside a quiet Finn.
"We first came across his village while updating the League’s maps of High March, right as a nasty storm was about to hit." Ash wasn’t wrong in his guess, none of the kids here had happy backstories they could look back to—and that’s if they could remember them in the first place.
"The inhabitants of Aurora weren’t exactly warm to outsiders, but he led Yu and me back to his little home and gave us shelter."
Despite the time that had elapsed since that memory still felt fresh inside her mind.
"He was a scrawny little thing back then, his hair matted and unkempt… we learned that his mom had passed away a long time ago, and his father was often gone doing who knows what kind of jobs as he tried to make ends meet." The Finn in those memories was a far cry from the little boy now quietly enjoying his donut while the redheaded faerin happily talked his ear off.
"He was so small and skinny, Ash. I wanted to stay longer, make sure his dad came back and help them out however we could…" The little pup had stolen her heart when they’d found him curled up between them the morning after.
"But the villagers, well… let’s just say they were a very superstitious lot, and us staying longer would’ve put him in danger."
Unsurprisingly she’d been unable to get little Finn out of her mind, neither of them could really, and they had finally returned to the remote village weeks later.
"Everyone was gone." The echoes of a panic that flooded her then lingered as she recounted the tale, and she had feared the outcome that might've befallen the caenis child.
"The place was like a ghost town by the time we returned, and we rushed to his home expecting the worse..." They'd found the little bundle of skin and bones curled up on that same bed, barely clinging to life still and breathing.
"We brought him back to Finweald and, once he got better, Beleg helped pull some favors to get him a spot here in the Cubs Den."
After all,
@Yugam and Lúthien couldn’t look over a young pup 24/7 in TerraSphere, and the Embertorch wasn't exactly a place to raise young children—plus this way Finn would also have peers of his own age he could play and grow up with.
"We became his sponsors."
