Zorroku and Peaches

Wake Up a Servant, Go To Bed a Free Woman and Mother

Then you passed everyone to go back to the kitchen to get back into your satchels to make some medicine for Ori. Once in there, you got her arms out from being swaddled to her body and skinned a peach and gave it to her to chew on so the skin wouldn't choke her, while you prepared your tonic for her. You set her down on the bench in front of you, propped up by bags of grain as she happily and quietly chowed down on her first peach and loved it. Her eyes growing big and her smile beaming as she held it and knawed on it. Her gumbs not sharp enough to take off chunks but enough to get fruit to juice in her mouth.

"That peach is so yummy huh?" You cooed to her as you got everything together and made what medicine you needed, not going by specific measurements but what you felt was the right amount for such a tiny baby like her. Using the best medicinal components you had. Then you grabbed another orange and another peach and juiced them to help make it taste better before you got her to drink it. She preferred her straight up peach but she still drank it with some coaxing as the other women watched on in curious amusement. Zorroku, Glasha and Arob doing so the most as Zorroku had followed you into the kitchen tent to see what you were going to give his daughter as medicine but didn't interfere.

But Zorroku recognized the medicine you were using. You had breadseed leaves and roots and sap which were very, very expensive ingredients. You even had a small hunk of unicorn horn that you shaved off just a tiny bit along with other medicines that he had only ever seen either with his grandmother or with his extended family in the Mountain Blizzard Clan or from raiding other apothocaries when Medowne, Ori's mother had been trying to concieve or was trying to survive her many miscarriages. You seemed to know exactly what you were doing and you were working quickly but efficiently as if you had done this countless times before. It reassured him that Ori was in good hands with you.

"Good girl!" You cooed so proudly to Ori when she drank it all, which got her to grin happily, showing off her tiny tusks points that had just broken through her gums recently. Then you cleaned her up and washed her face and your hands and unswaddled her from the blanket that was now soiled as Zorroku took that so he could wash it later. You brought her back to her grandparents and their other grandchildren and reached into her mouth and rubbed her gums for her. She nearly rolled her eyes back into her head because it felt so good as she bit down onto your fingers and gnawed on your fingers to get more relief.

"Oh, I wouldn't put my fingers..." Yotul grimaced as she watched you do that.

"It's ok, they're clean, besides she needs something soft yet just hard enough to chew on because..." you began before turning your attention back to Ori.

"All teething babies are angry and fussy growly pants and teething tusks hurt huh?" You teasingly growled at her as you rubbed your fingers on her gums some more which got her to laugh before she bit down on your fingers again and giggled evilly as you pretended she was hurting you.

"Oh no! Ori's eating my fingers! Whatever will I do? Nooooo! Someone avenge me!" You teased her in a singsong tone with a giggle of your own as you tickled her with your hand as your arm was wrapped around her which got her to laugh a deep belly laugh which got you to laugh which got everyone else to laugh.

"Here, she's not gonna want to leave you now." Yotul said as she put a mother sling around you and put Ori into it as Zorroku readily got another blanket for Ori and gave it to you since he had several made for her that were in a stack nearby.

"But what if she needs to nurse?" You asked.

"I'll be in the kitchen with you, I'll nurse her and give her right back." Grat immediately offered. She was so relieved you had taken Ori off her hands so to speak. Ori got on her nerves from being so damn fussy all the time.