The Light of My Hearts

At first, Kendrick was sure he would sleep peacefully. But every time he relaxed his mind would conjure horrid scenarios happening to Sig’s children. Some were certainly within the realm of possibility like they would get cold, scared, or would start crying because they wanted their parents. And others were just...insane. What if some heinous creature like a giant spider entered his home and kill them if he wasn’t guarding them? Or they’d suddenly just die because he wasn’t checking on them enough?

He sat up quickly and stared over at the bowl bed in front of the fireplace where the children slept. Very quietly, he got up and padded over to check on them. The two tiny forms were fast asleep like a pair of little mice in a nest.

“They’re fine! Stop freaking out!” his mind scolded with irritation.

He silently backed away and returned to his bed but merely sat on the edge of it. There he sat for a while, arms against his thighs just watching the bowl bed as if expecting something awful to happen.

“They’re fine...everything is fine.” his other half tried to sound convincing.

“You’re too far from them...if something happens you won’t be able to get to them in time.” His mind suggested darkly.

He fidgeted, “Maybe I should be closer...?

“You’re the most dangerous thing in this room...getting closer is going to be worse!” his mind contradicted.

“Yeah...they’re fine. FINE!” he argued.

“You’ve never taken care of human children before...how do you know they’re fine?”

The giant’s eyes darted a moment with self-doubt until finally he stood up again, walked over to the fireplace, and quietly sat down next to the fireplace. He leaned back against the framework of the mantel and then very carefully picked up the children’s bowl bed between his hands. With smooth, ginger movement he set the bowl in his lap. He cringed when Fina wiggled and stretched a bit. But luckily she was just shifting in her sleep, not waking.

Kendrick sighed, “There. Now nothing can get them...now I can watch them perfectly.”

And for a good portion of the night that’s exactly what he did.

...

Morning...

Kendrick’s head lolled and suddenly jerked up on his neck. He blinked, vaguely aware of things. Had he fallen asleep? He was leaning against the frame of his fireplace sitting on the floor. Faint light was peeking out from his home’s entrance signaling the arrival of morning. Then his memory caught up as he stretched his cramped back and yawned. He gripped the bed bowl in his hands and carefully raised it up to check on his charges.

But they weren’t in the bowl bed.

Kendrick jerked forward staring at the empty bed in his hands. Both his hearts suddenly went into overdrive, hammering with panic.

“F-Fina? Leon?” he asked as he pinched the blanket and lifted it up.

Perhaps they were buried and hiding?

But the children were not under the blanket. One by one, Kendrick picked out everything from the bed bowl until it was dismally empty.

“WHERE ARE THEY!?” his mind ranted furiously, “They were RIGHT THERE in your hands and you LOST THEM?”

Kendrick set down the bowl quickly and started to get up.

“DON’T MOVE YOU IDIOT!” his mind screamed, “You might step on them!”

He grimaced and scanned the area around him for anything tiny. Nothing stood out. Almost in slow motion he slid his legs underneath him and stood up. His head scanned back and forth along the floor in slow passes. He lifted his dining chair, peeked around the table.

“Leon! Fina!” he called repeatedly.

Questions congested his panicked head, “Where could they have gone? They’re just little kids! They can’t have gotten too far could they? Did they try to go back home? Did something or someone take them right out from under his nose?”

“Hey! Leon? Fina? Where are you?” he called, trying to hide the panic creeping into his voice.

No answer.

And then the obvious occurred to him. Kendrick rushed back to the fireplace, knelt down, and seized up the blanket they had slept in to gather scent. He was going to have to smell them out. Frankly, Kendrick was wholly familiar with hunting humans through scent alone. He found it exhilarating. But this...this wasn’t a game for him. This was not a game he wanted to play with Sig’s kids. It was far too...visceral. But he didn’t have much of a choice. He had to find them.

He took in the scent from the blanket, profiling each individual. Children had softer, higher scents than adult and teen-aged humans but they were no less potent. Sig’s kids had faint scents of the herbal chaos that was Sig’s home; very distinct. When he had their scent he inhaled deeply. The scent seemed to veer away from the fireplace to the solid base of his stone table. He crawled toward it carefully on his hands and knees.

“Leon? Fina?” he called again.

He maneuvered around the table base but still the children were unseen. The scent meandered all around the base of the table and he followed it.

“Come on you two! You’d better not be messing with me. Where are you?” he stated in an irritated but stressed voice.

And then he heard the titter of a child’s giggle across the room. His head snapped around and he smacked the top of his head against the underside of the stone table.

“ARG! OW! Shit!" he cursed, holding his head in pain.

Another giggle, louder this time. Kendrick crawled out from under his table and “stood” on his knees. He scented again. Now the scent seemed to be coming from the corner where his bed sat. A low rumble seemed to emanate from his chest as he stood up all the way and approached the bed. The scent grew stronger. Another giggle and a squeak.

Why you little...

His blanket was hanging down to the floor at the corner and his nose was confirming what he already guessed. He knelt down and forcibly lifted the corner of his blanket. A squeal of terror and then laughter followed as the children stumbled back.

“You found us!” Leon giggled.

Kendrick wasn’t amused, ”What are you doing under there?”

“Hidin’.”

The giant’s eyes narrowed, “Why didn’t you answer me when I called?”

“We wanted you to find us.” But the boy suddenly seemed concerned, “Are you mad?”

Fina was holding her doll close and seemed worried too.

Kendrick sighed deeply, softening his expression, “I thought you were lost...or hurt. You worried me.”

“We’re sorry...” Leon sounded genuine.

He sighed again, “It’s...ok. Just don’t do that to Mr. Kendrick anymore.”

They nodded and he smiled gently after a moment to put them at ease. Slowly he put his hand under the bed and without even being asked they hopped into it. He was surprised.

“I gotta potty.” Fina announced.

“Me too.” Leon fidgeted.

Kendrick made a consenting face and carried them outside to the nearest private place. Once the morning constitutionals were done, Kendrick returned with them inside his home.

“Are you two hungry?” Kendrick asked.

“Yeah!” they cried as one.

“Hm...I worked up an appetite searching for you two” He gave them a devilish smirk, “How does buttered children on toast sound?”

“NO!” both of the kids shouted.

“No, huh?” he chuckled, “Well what sounds good to you two pipsqueaks?”

“Pancakes.” Fina surprisingly declared.

“Yeah! Pancakes and honey!” Leon agreed.

Kendrick flicked his eyebrows as he placed them back on his bed, “Mm...that does sound better than buttered children on toast. All right. I’ll make you some pancakes.” He gave them a stern point, “Now while I’m making breakfast you two stay on that bed and play. Don’t get near the edge and don’t hide from me again. Got it?”

“Yes, Mr. Kendrick.” They bobbed their heads.

“Good.”

Moments later, Kendrick was whipping up some pancake batter while the children ran and tumbled around on the soft surface of his bed. Periodically, Kendrick would lean back and check on them from the kitchen.

Just as he was ready to pour the batter onto his flat iron, the children started an argument. Kendrick wasn’t sure what it was about and he didn’t truly care, but it devolved into a “No it’s not!” “Yes it is!” shouting match between the little voices. It got irritating really fast and it nearly made Kendrick lose his perfect pour.

Kendrick growled subtly and barked, “Hey! You remember that story I told you last night? That’s gonna be you two if you don’t knock it off!”

That shut them up pretty fast. As children often do, their argument was forgotten and play resumed. In a few minutes Kendrick had managed to make a “small” pancake and a larger one for himself. He also chopped up some berries for a fruit bowl. A healthy coat of honey completed the presentation. Satisfied he placed it on the table along with some itty-bitty cups and utensils that Twillow normally used.

“Ok, pipsqueaks. Breakfast is ready.” He announced, returning to the bed to retrieve them.

“Yay!” they cheered, hopping into his cupped hands.

Kendrick shook his head, still baffled by their level of trust. It took Twillow almost a month before she was brave enough to hop into his hand. Then again...she had seen him at his worst and these kids hadn’t. If they ever saw that they’d never come near him.

He brought them to the table and set them down. Their little eyes lit up when they saw the size of their pancake.

“Wow!” Leon exclaimed, “It’s bigger than our bed!”

The two almost made an attempt to jump on it but Kendrick halted such an action, “Uh uh. You’ll get all sticky. Just eat it.”

Two of Twillow’s forks were given to them and the kids began to tear into the huge pancake with gusto. He shook his head with a smile, realizing he was still a terrible judge of proportions when it came to cooking for “littles”. There was no way the kids would be able to make a dent in the massive flapjack.

“Well...at least they won’t go hungry.”

He picked up his own plate and began to eat his breakfast whilst standing. Though not as good as Leida’s it was definitely a tasty pancake. Someday he’d have to figure out her recipe. By the time he finished his pancake the kids had given up, merely eating a pinch from the oversized cake. Kendrick shook his head laughing to himself. They tried anyway.

“Full?” he inquired.

The kids nodded.

“Was it good?”

“Yes!”

Not wanting to waste the pancake Kendrick picked it up folded it and popped it into his mouth. The kids seemed astounded by the ordinary action. He washed off his hands and allowed the kids to do the same since they were covered in sticky honey from hand to elbow.

“Can we play now?” Leon asked once he picked them up.

“Uh, sure.” Kendrick nodded, returning them to his bed.

Squeals of delight erupted from them as they jumped out of his hands and tumbled onto the soft expanse. Kendrick sat down beside his bed to watch over them. At first the pair seemed content to climb and jump around on the piles his blanket formed. Then they began some sort of “pretending” game. Kendrick watched them, curious and perplexed at the same time. From what he could gather, Leon was a brave adventurer of some kind and Fina was a princess. They bounced around the bed, pretending to ride horses, climb mountains, and run away screaming from invisible werewolves.

At least...that’s what Kendrick thought it looked like? They pretty much ran around screaming and laughing as new invisible threats “appeared” chasing them. He tolerated the noise and casually rested his arm on his bed.

Leon noticed his movement and spotted an opportunity. With a mischievous giggle he ran over to Kendrick’s hand and slapped his finger before running away.

“Hey.” Kendrick sounded falsely hurt. “What was that for?”

The boy merely laughed and returned, slapped his finger again, then darted away. Kendrick turned his head, pretending to be disinterested. But out of the corner of his eye he saw the boy sneaking back for a third attack. Just before he got to Kendrick’s finger it suddenly leaped up in front of him. The boy shrieked, fell on his butt, and then giggled. Suddenly he was up again and slapped Kendrick’s finger, laughing like he got away with it.

Kendrick grinned, “You’re asking for it, kid.”

Much to his surprise, Fina appeared too. She was holding her doll as she walked up to Kendrick’s hand and stopped. He froze, not wanting to frighten her since she was more flighty than her bold brother. He was quite shocked when she reached out and barely slapped his finger too before shrieking and darting away.

He barked a short laugh, “Two against one, eh? Now I’m in trouble.”

The children were hiding behind a pile of blanket laughing.

Kendrick decided to humor them, “Hm. I wonder where they went? Guess they quit.”

He pretended to look away. Sure enough, the two rascals reappeared and rushed over to seize their chance. Suddenly his hand sprang to life taking on the pose of a huge spider. They shrieked and ran to hide again, laughing the whole way. Kendrick smirked and withdrew his hand. He knew they’d be back for more.

Frankly, Kendrick couldn’t remember the last time he played any sort of game without malicious intent behind it. (That was a completely different kind of game.) As a boy he’d never had any siblings or playmates; just his father. His entire childhood he had to play alone or secretly watch human children play, wishing he could join them. But as his childhood innocence vanished along with those desires, he’d never given it further thought. He was honestly surprised by this sudden invitation to play.

The game progressed. Sig’s children never seemed to grow tired of the repetition of their “slap the giant and run” game. Finally, Leon switched it up and actually began pushing against Kendrick’s fingertip; a typical boy wanting to test his own strength.

“Think you can take me, kid?” Kendrick grinned with amusement.

Leon strained and pushed for all he was worth. Kendrick watched him struggle for a moment until he pulled his finger back subtly, giving the boy the illusion he was starting to win. The boy’s determination grew as he “pushed” Kendrick’s finger back.

“Hm. You’re pretty strong.”

Quite abruptly, the other fingers of his hand flicked outward and curled around the boy to snatch him up.

Leon squealed, kicking his legs with protest, “Heeey! You can’t do that! I was winning!”

Kendrick laughed, “Maybe next time, kid. Besides, I need to take you back home. Your parents are probably headed back.”

“Awww!” they whined.

“Can’t we stay longer?” Leon begged.

Kendrick tucked the boy in his pocket, “Nope.”

“Pleeease? Just a little longer!” Leon continued to beg.

“Nope.” Kendrick repeated slowly laying his hand out for Fina, “Come on, Fina.”

“No!” she shook her head.

His brows lifted, “What?”

“Don’t wanna go.”

“You don’t want to see your mother and father?” he asked.

She swiveled on her hips a moment as if debating that idea.

“Come on.” he coaxed.

“No Fina! We want to stay!” Leon shouted from Kendrick’s pocket.

The giant made a look of mild irritation and pushed Leon back down into his pocket, “Stinker. I’m taking you both home and that’s the end of it.”

Finally, Fina decided she wanted to see her parents more than stay so she climbed into Kendrick’s hand.

“Good girl. You’ve gotten pretty brave haven’t ya?” he complimented before putting her in his pocket next to her brother.

Once the kids were secure, he stood up and once again drew a gasp of excitement from the children, “Ok, pipsqueaks. Let’s get you home.”

As he was exiting his home Leon asked, “Mr. Kendrick, can we come back to your house sometime?”

Kendrick tipped his head downward, “I… suppose so.”

The boy and girl both seemed pleased with that answer as they smiled. Now that it was daylight their view of the forest was unhindered by darkness. They gazed around in wonder from the lofty height as Kendrick walked back toward their home.

…

Later that afternoon…

Kendrick arrived at Sig’s home only a bit before he, Leida, and Twillow returned. The timing was almost perfect. Twillow was riding in the wagon with Sig and Leida but immediately shed the cloak concealing her wings and flew to him.

“Twillow.” He greeted with a genuine smile.

She flew to his neck and kissed his cheek, “Sweethearts. I missed you.”

His hand came up and rested over her back, “I missed you too.”

“Did you have fun?” she asked.

He made an unsure face, “It was…interesting.”

“Hello, Kendrick!” Sig waved from the wagon.

“Hey, Sig. Hello, Leida.”

As the wagon came to a stop the wizard dismounted and helped his wife down, “And how were the kids?”

Kendrick moved his eyes and then grinned, “Oh. They were delicious, thank you.”

Sig rolled his eyes and Leida gave him a look. Twillow smacked his cheek with one of her wings pointedly.

He chuckled darkly as the two children popped up out of his pocket, “Mama! Daddy!”

Kendrick knelt, retrieved the children, and set them down to rejoin their parents. The family embraced.

“How is your mother, Leida?” Kendrick asked.

The dark skinned woman smiled as she held her children, “She’s fine thanks to Twillow and Sig.”

“That’s good. Glad it was successful.”

Sig had a concerned look on his face, “There seemed to be a lot of sickness in Rumstead. I’ll probably have to make the trip back with some remedies to help out as soon as I can.”

Kendrick tipped his head, recalling the humans who had trespassed were heading toward a different town with medicine on the other side of his forest. Seems it was a legitimate story.

Leida kissed her children, “Were you two good for Mr. Kendrick?”

“Yeah.”

“We got to go to his house and stay the night!” Leon explained with excitement, “It was huge!”

“I’m…sure it was.” Leida and Sig both seemed surprised.

Even though they were friends they had yet to see the giant’s actual home.

Twillow smiled, “You brought them to our home?”

Kendrick shrugged, “They wanted to go and I figured it would easier to watch them there.”

“We had pancakes bigger than our bed!” Leon continued.

“Did you?” Sig returned the excited tone. “So you had fun?”

“Yeah!” the kids agreed.

Sig smiled, “Thank you for watching them, Kendrick. You really came to the rescue for us.”

The giant shrugged, “You’re…welcome.”

“Maybe we’ll have you watch them again sometime?”

“Um…maybe?” he sounded unsure.

“Mr. Kendrick said we could go to his house again sometime.” Leon announced.

Twillow smiled at Kendrick and then down to the humans, “It is about time we invited you to our home for once.”

Kendrick felt a bit taken aback by the suddenness of the invitation.

“That sounds like a great time.” Sig agreed, “I never have seen the garden you planted from my seeds.”

“Oh. Uh…well…I guess you’ll have to then…” Kendrick fumbled a bit.

“How about next week?” Twillow offered.

The couple looked at each other and Leida nodded, “I think we can plan for that.”

Twillow nodded and then looked at Kendrick. He blinked a couple times then nodded as well.

Well…that happened suddenly…

He slowly stood up as Twillow sat on his shoulder, waving down to the family.

“What do you say, kids?” Leida prompted them.

“Thank you, Mr. Kendrick!” Leon shouted.

“Oh. Um…you’re welcome, kid.” He noticed Fina had gotten shy again now that her mother was there so he just smiled at her with a small wave.

More goodbyes were uttered and until Kendrick turned, pushed the trees aside, and began walking home.

Twillow leaned into his neck, “Those kids really like you.”

Kendrick gave a small shrug, “Weird kids.”

She laughed gently, “Sounds like they had fun with you.”

“I make a good “tree” for them to climb I guess.” he smiled lightly.

“And…maybe you had more fun than you let on.”

“I suppose…yeah.”

Twillow purposefully fluttered her wings against a particular spot on his neck just around his ear. A huge shiver shook through him as he smiled.

“Teasing little minx.”

She laughed, “So, tell me everything you did.”

The whole walk home they chatted about their experiences. Once they entered, Twillow

fluttered from his shoulder and went for her hanging bed.

“Tired?” he asked.

She nodded, “I didn’t sleep much last night…strange bed, strange place.”

Kendrick yawned, “I could use a nap too.”

He raised his arms and began stripping off his shirt when he felt something poke him gently from his pocket. At first he thought it might be a pinecone but suddenly he pulled out a familiar little doll.

“Oh…” Kendrick moaned quietly.

“Kendrick? What is it?” Twillow asked.

He held out the tiny toy, “Fina’s doll. She forgot it in my pocket.”

“Oh no.”

Kendrick put his shirt back on in a flash and made his way back to the doorway.

“Awww.” Twillow crooned.

He turned to look at her quickly, “What?”

“You’re going to take it back to her.” Her voice went a bit higher, “That’s sweet.”

His broad shoulders shrugged, “She’ll…probably be upset without it.” He went out the doorway, “I’ll be back.”

Kendrick marched briskly back to Sig’s home, unforgiving to any vegetation that got in his way. In less time than it had previously took he arrived at the home, knelt down, and tapped gently on the roof.

Leida answered the door, “Kendrick?”

“Hello again. Um…” he reached down and held the doll out, “…your daughter forgot this in my pocket.”

The woman’s face broke into a relieved smile, “Oh! Thank you, Kendrick! She’s been crying about not being able to find Sheeshee. That’s so sweet of you to come back all that way.”

“Well…it wasn’t that far.” He brushed it off.

“Fina! Come here! Mr. Kendrick brought you something.” She called into the house.

In a few moments the dark-headed little girl appeared. Her green eyes looked wet as they peered up at Kendrick. But then she saw her doll pinched between his fingers and her face brightened.

“Sheeshee!” she grabbed the doll happily.

“You left it in my pocket.” He explained.

Fina hugged her doll a moment and then rushed out the door. She “hugged” against Kendrick’s knelt knee.

“Thank you, Mr. Kendrick.” She said in a clear little voice.

The reaction was so unexpected for him he almost didn’t know what to say, “Oh…you…you’re welcome, Fina.”

Hug given, she backed up, still smiling up at him until she dashed back into the house. Kendrick felt his chest go tight briefly.

“Thank you so much, Kendrick. I don’t think she would’ve slept later tonight without Sheeshee.” Leida stated kindly.

He nodded and stood up, “Yeah. Well… glad she’s happy. I’ll see you later I suppose.”

Leida waved as he left. Kendrick walked back home and rapidly realized how tired he felt. He definitely needed a nap to compensate for his lost sleep. But despite his fatigue he felt…good. It was not something he expected to feel. Despite all of his doubts, stresses, and uncertainty he succeeded in taking care of two human children. It was not something he thought he’d be capable of in any fashion. And yet the day ended with no regrets a warmth in his hearts.