As far as I can remember, other goblins always looked at me a bit differently than the rest. Their gazes lingered longer than they should. Their gazes weren't because of fascination, of course; it was either gazes of disgust or fear.
Many goblins told me to leave the tribe. I couldn't understand why. Was it because I didn't like sharing? Was it because I didn't attend most of the dinner feasts? If any of these were the reasons, then I could somewhat understand, but no, when asked, they told me it was because I was a half-orc.
I didn't even know what an orc was at that time. I tried asking my dad about it, and they're like goblins, but they were much more muscular and big. Does that mean I'm also going to be like that when I grow up? I hoped so because I wanna scare the people who looked at me funny but while I did get buff, I didn't get big.
Of course, when I did get all muscular, their gazes felt even more intense. Sometimes, I could even hear them gossip about how I'd become a "snake" and betray the whole tribe, but how could I, a singular goblin, bring doom to the whole tribe? They themselves aren't even that weak. Even if I did try, they could just band together and defeat me like little ants.
Dad took me to an abandoned tribe or village (I'm not really sure what's the difference) with a bunch of tombstones engraved with different names. Dad liked one of the tombstones in particular. It only dawned on me that we went to an exterminated orc tribe when we were leaving. I kept thinking about it, and maybe Dad liked that one tombstone in particular because it was my mom's.
When my "brother" first arrived at the forest, I was a bit intimidated by him, in all honesty. I mean could you believe it? He was raised by humans! Humans, like the very thing that kills and hunts us down for sport. I wanted to avoid him, but Dad told me to be nice since he was also a half-and-half like me. At first, I was like, "he's an orc too?" since he looked exactly like me, but when I looked at him closer, he was practically all bones! A gust of him could've easily knocked him down. I thought for sure he would be wearing shiny bulky clothes.
So, he sure wasn't an orc, but what was he? Of course, I asked him, but he spoke in some weird language, so I just went to Dad instead. Dad told me an even more crazy fact. "He's half human!?" was my reaction, but when I think about it, the question I should've really asked is how did my dad even have a human child in the first place? Is dad really THAT charming? He really managed to breed with creatures that were out for our blood? I respect the hustle, honestly. Dad doesn't seem to hate humans despite the many deaths caused by humans.
I wanted to understand Dad's perspective on things, so I followed his footsteps and tried teaching Kalbo our language; he was a quick learner. He learned our language within half a year! With my new position of being an older sister, I was extremely proud.
He also taught me all sorts of things. From human culture and fairies. I wasn't that interested in the topic but it was seeing him ramble on and on. His eyes were always passionate when he was talking about fairies in particular. Apparently, it was because fairies were "uber" rare. I'm not sure what "Uber" means, but he did say it was super or something like that, I forgot.
I told him that fairies aren't even that rare in the forest since I saw one almost every day. I tried bringing him to a fairy ring but there was nothing there. I felt really guilty because he looked at me so disappointed back then so I taught him how to hunt. His first mission was to acquire griffin eggs. For me, it was an easy task, but he struggled quite a bit (he even swore at me, ungrateful little shit), so I gave him an old magic flute we had lying around. The magic flute could summon a dragon made from embers when used correctly, but I wasn't able to, so I just gave it to him because it was practically useless when it was with me anyway.
I was so nervous when his coming-of-age ritual ceremony came. He was about to receive his very own dragonic marking to ensure he really was part of the tribe. It went as planned, fortunately, unlike mine. I got my first branding mark accidentally because of my other siblings.
At my coming-of-age ritual ceremony, they poured liquid fire on my face when I was sleeping. Thankfully it only affected one of my ears and one of my eyes. As I screamed for help, my siblings laughed at me and my dad just ignored my pleas. I felt so helpless back then. I hate this family.
Many people mocked me at my coming-of-age ceremony, saying I was too impatient with getting my dragonic mark, so my ear getting melted off was completely justified. I hate this tribe. It wasn't even my fault... I wanted to run and cry, but I stayed strong and got my second dragonic marking on that same day.
Like me, the others also glared at my brother with contempt but I told him that he shouldn't mind them. He tried but couldn't ultimately, all I could do was offer a few reassuring words and a pat on the back. I really wished I knew how to comfort people.
A few years later, I've grown to the point where the glares and hurtful words don't even phase me anymore. My brother kept me busy from even worrying about them so I was fine. This made me realize that I should really be thankful to him.
Oh yeah, I felt like my other siblings finally warmed up to me! They offered me and my brother food. My brother didn't eat it, but I wanted to show my gratefulness to my other siblings for finally accepting me. I blacked out, well not really. All I could see was anger. When I woke up, their lifeless bodies surrounded me as well as piles of blood seeping into the ground. I didn't hurt Kalbo, did I? I don't remember, so... probably not. I looked around, and he wasn't lying on the ground, thankfully.
The whole thing felt like a surreal dream. The feeling of flesh being ripped and repeatedly bashing someone's head into the ground felt really...good? It was a weird feeling, but regret hit me so hard afterward. I shouldn't have. I shouldn't. I shouldn't.
Ah.
I miss... Kalbo.
I don't know what happened but everything was a blur afterwards until I found him. I tried reaching for him but something attacked me. What was it again? I think it was one of Kalbo's pets. Little rascal can't even control his pets, but it's fine since they're so cute! But it did kinda sting so I helped it tone down a notch with some green powder I found in my small bag. Oh right. The powder had some side effects, but Kalbo will forgive me anyway.
When I tried to reach out to him again but he ran away...with a human? Is that his mother? She was looking a bit rough though. Her hair was all frizzy and she looked like she didn't eat anything for days. It felt just like when I first met Kalbo. She didn't even much like Kalbo but I'll accept her for who she is. I'll even feed a bunch of meat so she can grow to be as muscular as me. Well, I would, if they just hadn't run away from me.
I was able to find him very easily! I knew he would wander off somewhere near the main camp. I tried hugging him and telling him how much I missed him but it appears I hugged his mother instead.