Scarvy's House

Lady Naoki stands outside this, the most recently completed house, and watches as the builders gather their tools and move to the next. This one... she checks her list against the plaque on the door. It's for Scarvy little Courage, that little Kobold fellow she saw on the first day. She hasn't seen him at all since then, but the Mess Tent say he's been bringing back food, so this is his. Motioning over a pageboy, she gives instructions for him to find Scarvy and bring him here. 

“Aha, Scarvy, you — what?” Naoki blinks, and does a double-take. That’s a new one. She’ll take the compliments where she can get them, though.

“Your house is done,” Naoki continues, gesturing to it with the clipboard. “I’m told that you’ve been catching a great deal of food for everyone, so now you have a place to sleep where the rain won’t get in. It’s not very big, but then, neither are you, if you don’t mind my saying.” She shrugs slightly, unsure what else to say. “Come, see the inside.”

Naoki’s ears flatten as Scarvy shouts unexpectedly, but as the giver of the even-better gift, she smiles beatifically.

“I’m glad you like it,” she says, making a mark on her clipboard that Scarvy has received the house.

“Now, one thing,” she continues, raising a finger. “I’m unsure of the specific needs you might have. This is just a house like any other.” Opening the door and stepping just inside, she gestures, showing that to be the case. “Is there anything else you’ll need as part of your permanent residence? Any supplies you need, any tools you lack, or any other favors I might be able to do for you?”

“Tools for trapmaking? There’s plenty of tools from the Engineer Corps, you can waltz up to the Builder’s Guild any old time and take your pick, for the most part. Saws are in short supply, but you can get hatchets, hammers, chisels...” She trails off, waving a hand. “If there’s something you need that you can’t find there, seek me out.”

Leaning against the doorframe as Scarvy enters, Naoki looks on. He’s an expressive little guy, what with his tail and all.

Listening, she quirks an ear. “That’s good advice,” she says, nodding. “Letting anyone drown you, in a river or otherwise, is generally a bad idea.”

“You need something else, though,” Naoki intuits, fixing Scarvy with a look. “What is it?” It looks like she might have an idea, but she wants him to say it aloud.

Naoki’s ready for this hug. She accepts Scarvy in her arms and holds him close to her chest. She’s warm, more so than a human should be, in a decidedly unnatural, but perhaps comforting way. Her sweaterdress is soft and she’s soft underneath it, which many have said makes for a good hugging experience.

“It’s alright,” she assures Scarvy, taking this opportunity to pat the space between his horns and stroke his scales. “It’s tough growing up without family,” Naoki agrees. “I’ve known that.”

She had inferred that Scarvy needed a hug, but unfortunately, bringing kobolds back from the dead is a bit beyond her scope for today. She doesn’t attempt to quiet Scarvy or stop his crying, she’s just there for however long he needs.

“It’s alright,” Naoki says again as he collapses, “You’re alright. That’s a good reason to feel bad. It sounds like your dad meant a lot to you, and I’m sorry he’s gone.” She’s quiet for a moment, considering. “But you’re pretty strong. You’re clever, and good at trapping. You’ve made it this far, you’ll make it further, I’m sure.”

“But for now, you’re not going to be able to sign your tax paperwork if you don’t know how to write your name,” she says, waggling one cautioning finger at him. “Cmere...” Bending, Naoki attempts to scoop Scarvy up under his arms. Any significant struggling on his part will result in his being dropped to the ground, but barring that, Naoki would briefly smother him in her chest (careful not to impale herself on his horns) before depositing Scarvy in one of the chairs.

“There.” Sitting in the other chair, Naoki places her clipboard on the table between them. “I have other things to do today, other houses that need to be built,” She says, “But I’ll teach you to write your name, alright?”

Naoki looks at Scarvy with a bit of surprise, a bit of amusement, and just a little bit of indignation. He’s managed to make it this far without even overhearing her name. That’s a feat. “I am Naoki,” she informs him. “Lady Naoki, even. I’m in charge,” she adds, as he might not know. “Of the whole settlement, everyone in it. Like I said, very busy, but we can take some time to teach you how to write your name...”

“We’ll do just Scarvy for now,” she continues. “That’s seven letters, not too bad. This is it here,” she says, tapping the clipboard. “Don’t worry about this down here, up at the top, this says, ‘Resident: Scarvy’ because you’re the resident of this house.”

“This first letter is S, then c, a, r, v, and then y,” she says, pointing to each of them in turn. “You need all of them, and they have to be in this order. Can’t flip them, can’t rotate them, has to be just like this. Now, good quills are hard to come by,” she says, setting her own aside. “But you’re lucky, you’ve got these little claws here, and they’ll work about as well. Paper is the same way, so we’ll write just here on this table. Give me your hand, we’ll just dip it in the ink like this — you only need a bit.”

“With most letters, you’ll start at the top,” she explains. “Don’t scratch the table, just trail the ink over it. With the S, it’s a curve like this, and then another curve, just the same, but the other way.” With his hand, she draws the letter S. “Now you try, exactly like that.”


Over the course of the next short while, Naoki teaches Scarvy to write his name. She’s not looking for perfection, just legibility, for now. Once he’s able to do it himself, she has him repeat it a few times to improve spacing, handwriting, and the like. Once he’s produced a satisfactory result, she nods.

“Excellent work,” she says, patting his head. “Now, when you need to print your name, you can.”

At the mention of growing up into a dragonborn, Naoki quirks an eyebrow. She’s not sure that’s quite how that works, but she’s not about to burst Scarvy’s bubble.

When he points out his silver scales, Naoki nods in realization. “Ahh, I see. I was going to ask about those, that makes sense.”

“You got the hang of writing like this quite quickly, I’m sure he’d be proud of you. Not to mention, all the food you’re catching for everyone. I’m proud of you, for what that’s worth, and everyone who likes to eat in the settlement appreciates it. You keep up the good work, and maybe later we can find some time to teach you some more letters, some more advanced reading and writing. I can’t fish worth anything, but writing, we can do.” Again, she pats Scarvy on the head. He’s very pattable. “Alright?”