Within you I found home

prologue

༓･*˚*･༓☾ WYIFH ☽༓･*˚*･༓

       YOU SAT AT YOUR ROUNDED KITCHEN TABLE trying to encourage the white hoglet to feed from the syringe, a mixture of dog food and goat's milk stuffed inside.

       One of the locals had brought the poor thing to you, having found it injured on the side of a busy street. You suspected it had been knocked by a horse and cart.

       "C'mon, little one," you murmured gently.

        A pang of worry shot through you when it continued to show no interest. It remained curled in a protective spiked ball, inside of a woven straw basket lined with old linen for comfort and a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel.

        A knock on your door had you glancing up. It was late in the evening, and you weren't expecting company which meant one thing: someone needed your assistance.

        You picked up the basket and carried it through the arched doorway which led into your small sitting room. A wooden seat lined with cushions sat in the middle on top of a jute rug and opposite the fireplace, currently glowing with shy flames which warmed your home.

        The wall behind your seater was lined with a cabinet sporting different-sized square compartments, all of them secured with caged doors. Homes for various animals you helped nurse back to health. 

        Currently, you had a black swift bird and a red fox. Plus, your newest rescue. 

        You placed the hoglet in the compartment furthest away from the fox and a box away from the bird. Before you left, you squeezed some of the food onto a tiny dish in the hope the hoglet would grow brave in your absence. 

        After securing the hatch, you went to greet your guest.

        The top of the door was narrower than the bottom, leading to a smooth tip. The dark wood matched your furniture. Your fingers curled around the copper knob and twisted, pulling it open.

        Jessabelle stood in the opening, dressed in a long ragged brown coat and safe from the rain thanks to the ledge above. Vines dangled from it, almost touching her head.

        She was an older lady with graceful wrinkles and silver hair reaching her lower back. "There's an injured wolf cub in the woods, poor thing is drenched-"

        You were already pulling on your coat, one which was similar to hers. "Show me where."

༓･*˚*･༓☾ WYIFH ☽༓･*˚*･༓

        You lived near the outskirts of your quiet village.

        In a small cottage built from boulders and stone. A chimney climbed the left of it and a single window on the right. Most of the structure was covered in ivy. Out front sat a tiny garden closed off by a cobblestone waist-high wall, the space overgrown with flowers and nature but you didn't mind – nature was kind of your thing.

        Jessabelle took you through the houses, past the blacksmith's hut and then even further, all the way to the Goddess of protection statue which overlooked the border like a marble guardian.

        She stood tall, breasts covered by long hair and naked save for the short skirt with a slit on either side, held together with string. In her left hand was a staff fit with a sapphire. Her stone-y gaze kept watch over the woodlands.

        You'd been told many times that you looked just like her which you always took as a compliment.

        She was a goddess, after all.