College Brings about Change pt.7
#7 of College Brings About Change
With Bruce finally, fully, transformed, he's finally let out of the holding cell and gets to explore the new world around him. However, things don't go as smooth as he hoped, and he learns that things are much worse than he'd expected.
[Saturday Morning: 0 hours remaining. Transformation Complete.]
Bruce woke to the sunshine streaming on his face, and the cold floor beneath his body. As the sleepiness left his brain he remembered why he was on the floor. Sure enough, his bed was covered in every book Jeb had brought him, most of which were still open.
Feeling has back crack as he stretch, he wandered over to the mirror for the last time to check himself out.
His skin ended up being a deep, rich green-brown, tanner than Jeb's was. He'd grown a few more inches, and put on a bit more weight, but other than that, he didn't look much different than when he went to bed.
He felt different, though. For once, he wasn't hungry. He felt energetic, powerful, like he could do anything he put his mind to.
Taking one last shower, he pulled his hair back with the comb, and tried to make himself look as presentable as possible given his limited wardrobe. He grinned, striking a pose in the mirror. "I'm pretty good looking, aren't I?"
"Whatever you say, big guy." A female voice said, causing Bruce to jump.
A tall and fit female orc stood, hands on her hips, watching the young man preen himself like a wild bird. She made no attempt to hide the amusement in her voice, or on her face, but held out an hand and introduced herself. "The name's Jo. I'm the one in charge of this place."
"Bruce." He said, shaking her hand. "I thought Jeb ran things around here."
Jo let out a short laugh. "Him? He is only down here because he's magic boy's right hand man. If I had it my way, he'd be sitting in that kitchen of his actually making some food for us when we ask."
"So then, you here to tell me I'm free?" Bruce asked.
"Not while you're wearing just your boxers. I don't know how you do it where you're from, but around here we have a thing called 'public decency laws', so unless you want to be held here a bit longer, I suggest you put on some pants."
She tossed him a large sack, inside of which had a shirt, pants, and even a pair of boots and gloves. "Don't worry about returning it. Between you and me, I pilfered it from the barracks. Its not like we have any new recruits who need them, after all.
Bruce smiled as he got dressed. "So much for upholding the law then?"
She shrugged. "Hey, I'm in charge of a jail, what did you expect? You want one of those by the books guys, you go talk to the head honchos."
"Nah, they don't sound as interesting as you do."
"Alright Lover boy, keep it in your stolen pants." Jo said, before motioning to the pile of books. "Grab your stuff, I've gotta escort you to Jeb's."
"We just met and you're already taking me to breakfast, my what a lady."
"You wish, kid. I'm only doing this because I can't have you getting lost, or making an idiot of yourself. Or both." She let out another laugh. "If anything I'm babysitting your ass until you get accustomed to everything."
"I've been reading books on etiquette and stuff, I think I'll be fine."
She suddenly became stern. "Look, I'm not as in the know as Chef Eatsalot, and I don't really understand what Magic Boy is planning, but I know enough about your situation to know that if you make one wrong move, its game over for everyone. Your cover is blown, Jeb's cover is blown, and anybody involved in this whole thing, myself included, is gonna be in big trouble. I'm not going to risk being on the wrong side of the bars because you think you can just read a book or two and suddenly be an expert on everything."
"Sheesh, I didn't know it was that big of a deal."
"That's not even the half of it, kid. There is way more going on around here than what you, me, or even Jeb has been told." She said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "I know you have your own stuff to do, but just be careful about how you go about doing it. And most importantly, don't let it slip about the whole 'I was human, now I'm not' thing. Chances are it won't sit well with everyone else around here."
"You got it Captain."
"That's 'Warden' to you." She corrected.
Jeb's 'kitchen' was more like a cross between a tavern and a community cafeteria. It was larger than most of the buildings Bruce saw on his way there, and when he got inside, he felt his heart sink. The place was mostly empty, with many of the tables occupied by a few villagers, and the empty ones draped in black fabric.
He also noted that there was a stunning lack of adults, with a majority of the occupants being either young children, or elder folks. Among the adults that were there, a majority were sick, injured, or pregnant.
"In short, everyone who isn't fit to fight..." Bruce noted aloud.
"Is it that obvious?" Jo asked, a look of contempt on her face. "You know that this is all because of the guys in charge being a bunch of war hungry nutcases, right?"
"So I've heard." Bruce said sadly. "But I didn't know it was this bad."
"Like I said before, there is a lot you don't know." Jo grabbed his hand and led him around the villagers and towards the back. Occasionally she'd stop and point out a few specific ones, mentioning how they lost one their loved ones to another fight or sickness or something equally as upsetting. By the time they made it back to the kitchen, Bruce felt like he was going to be ill.
As they entered, Jeb saw the looks on their faces, and his smile faltered. "Are you alright, kid?"
Bruce took a deep breath and moved to answer, but Jo spoke first. "Does he look like he's alright Jeb? This isn't something that someone as young as him should deal with. You and that two-bit magician clearly didn't tell him how bad things were."
"Jo..." Jeb started.
"I'm fine." Bruce said. "I'm okay. It just caught me by surprise. I knew your village was hurting, but I didn't expect to be... well..."
"You were caught off guard. Even if you'd seen this back home, it would have hurt, right?" Jo asked.
"Yeah, I guess when you are seeing it in front of you, its different than just hearing about it, you know?" He didn't add the part about him not knowing that there was barely anyone left who was physically capable of caring for others, not just guys.
"Hey, its okay." Jeb said, putting his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Now that you're here, everything will work out."
"Way to pressure him more, Jeb." Jo snapped.
"Its fine, Warden." Bruce said. "I know what he meant. I do have a reason for being here, after all."
"Well, that aside, care for something to eat?" Jeb asked. "I doubt either of you have had any breakfast, and its no good making plans on an empty stomach."
"You and your damn 'food solves everything' mentality." Jo huffed. "Its why you are as big as you are, you know."
Breakfast was quiet. Nobody was in the mood to talk, and unlike his last few meals, Bruce could only pick his food halfheartedly, his stomach lurching as his mind wandered to everything Jo told him. After what little bit he had put on his plate, he got up and announced that he was going for a walk, promising Jo he wouldn't do anything she'd consider 'stupid'.
The village was quiet. Even though most people had finished breakfast and left the cafeteria hall, the village still seemed gloomy and sad.
As he walked down the main road, he noticed one of the villagers, an elderly woman, struggling to carry several baskets of laundry. With a quick under the breath apology to Jo, he made his way over to her, just in time to catch the clothes that were falling out.
"Ah, excuse me." He said. "Would you like some help?"
The woman set down the baskets and shook her head as she took the clothes from him. "No, no. I think I've got it."
"Its really no trouble. I've got nothing to do at the moment, so if you'd like."
"Well, if you're sure its no trouble, I could use a hand carrying all this back to my home."
Grinning, he grabbed two of the larger baskets as if they were nothing, balancing them on his shoulder. He grabbed the other two as well, carrying all four baskets with ease.
"Lead the way, ma'am." he said.
As Bruce found out upon arriving, the elderly woman, who simply went by 'Ma', was the caretaker for several orphaned children, including her granddaughter and grandson.
"Its not easy at my age." She told him as she folded the laundry. "But I don't mind. These poor kids lost their parents to some horrible battle, and its least I can do to raise them right."
Bruce sat next to her, helping fold as well. "I met the Warden earlier today. She filled me in on a lot of what has been going on."
"Jo is a sweet girl but she has a tendency to over-exaggerate. Its not as bad as she made it out to be, I'm sure."
"Even so, its pretty obvious things aren't the way they should be."
"That's just how it is around here, kiddo." Ma said. "You know, I don't think I ever got your name."
"Bruce, ma'am."
"A good name. Has a nice strong sound to it. I bet your parents are proud at how well you grew up."
"Wouldn't know, ma'am. I'm a bit of an orphan myself, you see."
"Oh, you poor thing. Did you lose them in the war too?"
Bruce shook his head. "No, nothing like that. My mom died shortly after I was born, and my dad fell ill not long afterward. With no grandparents to raise me, I mostly stayed with friends of my parents until I was old enough to be independent."
"I'm sorry."
Bruce shook his head. "Its not a big deal. The folks who raised me used to tell me all about them, so I wouldn't forget who they were. Sure, I regret not knowing them personally, but given the circumstances, it was a pretty good substitute."
"So where are your parent's friends now?"
Bruce shrugged. "They went to another country to help the kids there. They said that raising me made them realize that they want to take care of kids all over the world who don't have parents of their own. They went off on their journey and I went off on mine. If Fate allows it, I wouldn't mind meeting up with them again."
'Though, given present circumstances, I sort of doubt it...' he added to himself
The old lady smiled wistfully. "I'm sure they think the same thing. You're a good kid, you know." She finished the laundry and put it away, and gathered the kids up. In all, Bruce counted eight -- five boys, and three girls.
"Alright children, have you all done your chores for today?"
"Yes, ma!" They all chimed happily.
"Ma, who is this guy?" One of the girls asked, giving Bruce a suspicious look.
"This is Bruce. He and I met on the way back from the river. I almost dropped the laundry, you see, and he kindly helped carry it back here."
The oldest girl frowned. "Ma, I knew we should have went to help you." She said.
The boy next to her nodded. "What if next time there isn't anyone to help you, and you get hurt?"
Ma gave them a stern look. "Now hush. You're gonna scare the little ones with that talk."
Bruce looked worried. "You know, I'll be hanging around here for a bit longer. If you like, I can help you with the chores."
Ma waved a hand. "No, no. I'm sure Jo has plenty of things for you to do, son. You'll be lucky if you have time to sleep let alone help me."
The kids giggled, and Bruce looked at them perplexedly.
"Ma was the one to raise Warden Jo as well!" One of them chirped. "She knows all about how pushy she can be!" A second one added "Because Warden Jo got her stubbornness from Ma!" A third finished.
Ma let out a small chuckle. "Well they got me there." She turned and looked up at Bruce. "Thank you again for your help. I hope that your journey goes well for you."
Bidding goodbye to Ma and the children, he headed back toward Jeb's kitchen where he was sure Jo would probably be waiting for him.
He had just entered the town square when he heard a sharp and commanding voice call his name. Turning around, he was greeted by an irate Warden Jo.
"There you are! Its been hours since you left the kitchen! Where the hell did you go?"
Bruce explained his running into Ma, and how he learned about her taking care of the orphans.
Jo squinted at him. "You didn't tell that old woman anything that would get you in trouble, did you?"
Bruce shook his head. "Just that I grew up an orphan myself, and that the couple that raised me was in another country, but I never gave any locations or anything."
Satisfied, Jo took him in the direction of the kitchen. "Well, for now, I'm gonna have you work here with Jeb and his kid." She explained. "I'm gonna be patrolling the village, and I'll check to see if anyone needs your help later." She jabbed a finger into his stomach. "Don't do anything stupid."
Bruce brushed her hand off. "You keep treating me like a child. Its getting rather annoying, especially considering you don't look much older than me."
Jo looked furious. "I'm trying to help you get used to how things work in this village." She huffed. "You probably never had to work a day in your life. Magic Boy showed me your 'college', if you could even call it that. A bunch of partying, drunk, morons that's what that place was."
Now it was Bruce's turn to get angry. "Excuse me? I don't know what you saw, but trust me, I worked my ass off to even get in there. Sure we had the occasional party, but you know what? We needed it after all the classes, work, lectures, essays, tests, and everything else we had to try and balance."
Jo let out an indignant huff. "Whatever, I don't have time to sit and argue. I have patrols to do. I'll come by if I got a job for you." and with that she stomped off.
Bruce heard a sigh from behind him, and turned to see Jeb leaning against the door frame to the kitchen area.
"You know Jo didn't mean all that." He said glumly. "The girl is just stressed. Its been hard on all of us, but she's trying to take the burden for everyone."
Bruce let out a snort. "Everyone keeps saying that Warden is such a nice girl and all that, but unless there is some sort of language barrier here, I'm not seeing 'nice' I'm seeing 'bitter'."
Jeb frowned. "Give her a chance, Bruce. She really is a good person, but to her this is just more trouble she didn't need, and she's taking it hard."
"Well if she didn't want to get involved, why did she?" Bruce asked, a bit more curious than angry.
"Its a long story. I'll explain inside." Jeb said, and went back to the kitchen, with Bruce following shortly after.