Aeva was utterly enraptured with her new senses. It was true, you didn’t appreciate what you lost until you did… at least in this case. It was with these newly enhanced senses that she began to realize something else, though; this place felt very… 1600s, in a weird way. The walls were clearly made of wood of unfamiliar type but were obviously mechanically cut with no telltale marks of human error, with windows made of generally fine glass, though it wasn’t totally uniform implying they were made by hand. There was even an old style fireplace, albeit the woodsmoke smelled like nothing familiar. It all felt similar but alien. They were using a wood or coal burning stove, and with a bit of imagination it was obvious that one of the devices she’d only seen as a blur before was some kind of wheel lock musket.

It didn’t seem to have any kind of firing mechanism, though. Instead of having whatever worked as a hammer on older guns, there seemed to be the nub of some kind of crystal barely bulging above some kind of circular metal ring. It was clear that the barrel wasn’t empty at all, composed of the same crystal rod, with a small point of crystal poking out of what the breach would be in a familiar firearm. She could only assume it stored and released some kind of energy through the crystal. There was a pair of pistols of similar make right below it. There actually appeared to be another empty pair of brackets.

Well. Her new parents were packing heat at most times, it seemed. Good to know. Maybe she’d get on fine here after all.

Honestly, now that her panic was starting to die down with the wonder that her senses were giving her, she started to get a little excited. She was anxious about a million things, and not the least bit pleased about her present infancy, but this was… well, she had literally dreamed about this exact thing before. This was the start of many-a-piece of fiction she held deep love for, of a protagonist with humble beginnings learning about some great power innate to them.

Rising to the challenges of the world, facing hardship while making friends and becoming a legend the sorts that her own world had never seen.

Perhaps “a little excited” was an understatement. She had boarded the hype train, and was pushing it faster.

She was utterly quiet for some time before Vashnoruk cleared her throat. “Well, good to know you aren’t too broken up about this whole thing. Most come around eventually, though I hear it’s usually closer to once the outsider in question can walk steadily. So, all this said… I am afraid I have a favor to ask you,” she said, all humor gone from her voice quite suddenly.

Anxiety returned, albeit much less than before. “I… don’t know what favor I can possibly do for you, and don't like that tone... But sure I guess?” the confused infant replied mentally.

Vashnoruk chuckled a little bit. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing outside of the means of your form. I just need you to…” she bit her lip for a moment, considering. “I shall be forthright with you. This is a selfish request, and one I can understand you denying. But… my friends, your parents… they have tried for a child for a long time now. Every previous attempt didn’t… turn out well, even when it took. To have an outsider here is a boon to be sure, and one they’ll be proud of, but as you might imagine grown people seldom make good children.”

Aeva felt a twinge of sadness at the news. She knew it was supposed to be a brutal experience for any prospective parents. Not that her response went much beyond that though. As much as she'd love these people in time, they were strangers now.

The shaman cleared her throat, trying to keep her composure but clearly having a difficult time of it. “I… must ask you to please, play the part of an infant for a time. I understand the desire to grow and escape the fetters your new body provides, but as much as they’d still love you, it would break their heart if their one child, their one successful heir, was not truly a child at all and didn’t need them beyond the restraints of their form,” the orc shaman said with a bow, which looked quite strange since it was to an infant. “Please. Give them a chance to be parents as they’ve so longed for. If there are any particular goals or ambitions you seek outside of your current means, I can do my best to complete it for you, or to see to easing its completion in the future if at all within my grasp, but please, grant me this wish. Selfish it may be, but it has been a long time since I’ve seen your mother so… excited, so alive, even if they are quite nervous now. She quit her position as captain of the regional guard so she could be a proper parent to you, and it would tear her apart to think her body truly could bring nothing but death without some kind of intervention from higher powers.”

It was the shaman’s turn to soak in silence nervously, waiting for a response from Aeva. The not-child was taking her time, considering what was being said. This was good, of course, but it did nothing to help the orc woman with her obvious anxiety on the subject. Finally, she spoke.

“For one, I don’t like the idea of lying to my new parents. For two, I may not be an infant... and I may technically be an adult... but I’m still pretty childish truth be told. I want parents. Mine didn’t want me and couldn’t wait to leave me. My brother basically raised me. So... I kind of... I mean... I want them to be my parents. Assuming they aren’t horrible! Of course. Which I don’t imagine they are, because you’re pretty nice... And besides. Even if I am an outsider I still need their help to learn lots of stuff! I know nothing about this world or magic or fighting. The world I’m from... we don’t fight. The closest we get to that is occasionally hunting animals. For most people anyway. I want to start walking quickly, and... hopefully end some other... humiliating things... quickly. But I selfishly want parents even still. I just hope they’d want me...”

The shaman gently but sternly tapped her on the forehead. “None of that. They’ll cherish and take care of you as long as you’ll allow them, whatever you do. They’re amazing people, with hearts too big for their own good.” Vashnoruk sighed internally, thinking about how they were a very good fit for each other. “On that note, I would not ask you to lie to them, not really… I just ask that you act more like your bodily age implies. They deserve a chance to parent normally, at least for a little while. Just until you can reasonably communicate your more complex thoughts. But I am glad to hear that you want to genuinely give them a chance as parents, and don’t want to deceive or harm them. I am sorry to hear about your prior parents, I can’t imagine what circumstances led to those choices. Make no mistake, I’m not much one for children, but neglect… is not impossible, but hard to excuse. Either way… I will take credit for this decision when time comes that you do communicate with them. They will not be upset with you. Especially if you truly do wish them to be your parents, and not just using them to learn what you must to make it and to get what you can out of them. You seem to be a good person, like them.”

The way she squirmed made some mental dissonance; it was perfectly normal for a child her age to move in such a way, but indicated discomfort in adults. Placing adult behaviors and mannerisms onto a child was a strange mental exercise. “But, er… doesn’t that mean more… you know… wiping?” She said, clearly at very great discomfort with the idea.

This just got a stare from the shaman, who burst out laughing shortly after. It was a brief thing, but it was somewhat jarring… mostly because the shaman’s jaw split at the front and opened as wide as her ears, giving a clear view of most of her throat, mouth, and teeth. Turned out all of her teeth, even the ones that were kinda flat, had very pointy bits.

Seeing the infant's wide eyes, the shaman chuckled in a more subdued manner. “Right, that usually surprises people who aren’t familiar. We don’t have a chin as you recognize it. It just looks like it. We can swallow fish whole. Anyway… I don’t think there’s a lot of choice on the wiping front. You don’t have the kind of mobility you need to do it yourself. You can’t even stand up yet. So I don’t think you really have much choice on that front. Moreover, it would only be more awkward if you revealed your real age while they still have to do so, don’t you think?”

Realizing that the orc woman was right, Aeva gave the nearest thing she could to a long groan, which was an abnormally long grunt. “Shit, I guess you’re right. It’s gonna be weird enough… Ugh! Whatever. I hate it but whatever. What do I need to do then, Madrina Vashnoruk? How do I need to act?”

The moniker made Vashnoruk twitch. “I told you I’m… whatever. I guess just act as much as a normal infant as you can stomach. Look around a bunch, make noises, try to make your vocal practice sound more organic, don’t exercise in front of others. I will babysit as I reasonably can, you can exercise more freely then. I will also do my best to teach you simple magic at that point, but you are never, and I do mean NEVER, to do so outside of my home, understand? It’s not strange for particularly magically potent children to learn things like mana circulation and basic mana control in their youth, but full blown spells are generally beyond their reach. That requires both example and particular intention. Even if they could, that would be very dangerous. Psychic powers are slightly more plausible, but I am afraid I come short in that degree. I know a select few powers, and those only because they are irreplaceable in my work, nor something you would be particularly interested in. Unless you want to learn to forecast the weather,” she said, predicting Aeva’s response.

The infant shut her mouth, which she had opened to protest despite the mental nature of their communication. “As for why you can’t do it when no one is looking,” Vashnoruk began again, once again cutting off the chatty child. “You will be doing it when no one is looking until you’re doing magic, then someone is looking. All it takes is a mistake. Don’t make me put anti-magic cuffs or something on you. I will.”

“Yeah… well…” grumbled the disgruntled Aeva, but it didn’t take too long for that to pass. She internally sighed, “Fine. I’ll do my best. What’s your excuse, then? Why am I a weird baby?”

“Partial possession,” she explained, “It isn’t the best explanation ever, but they know little about such things. They will believe me.”

Aeva scrunched her little tan nose, “I don’t like that excuse. Why not just give them a partial truth instead? That I remember some of my past life, so I am mimicking movements that I somewhat recall?”

“That could be an option…,” Vashnoruk mused, considering the thought with a finger curled against her lip, “I will consider it further. It was already a thought, but I had no idea how well you’d cooperate until now. It would be a lighter lie… Fine, but you must pretend to know little all the same, at least for a while.”

“Ugh… you’re lucky I’m nice.”

“I truly am, more than I think you realize. I feel as though a goddess or god of luck has looked down on me with great preference today. More than that, my friends, your new parents, will be lucky to have a kind child,” she mused, softly smiling as she looked towards the windows, “Now then, I was going to show you some magic, was I not?”