Olive Branch

Olive Branch
Sir Bate

“You’re as stubborn as they come , aren’t you, Mr. Bate?”

Bate couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement as he walked through the door- His body adorning several bandages, as well as a crutch in his left arm.

“I believe I gave you the rest of the month off to recover, lest you forget ?” His boss speaks.

“Thank you for the concern, but I’ll be fine .” He says. “ Besides, it’s not like me to be cooped up inside the house for so long.”

“Hmmm…” She gets up, and heads towards him to get a better look at his injuries so she could properly assess the situation. “And I suppose doing light duty inside the office isn’t what you’re looking for then?”

“Nooot exactly…” He gives a mild shrug.

Crossing her arms and tapping her feet, she considers a solution for the hard headed warrior.

“I’ll….give you the easiest route, then, until you’re fully recovered. How does that sound?” She offers.

Bate knows what route she’s talking about. It was his first delivery route he was given when he was first hired. With his wings, it could take him less enough hour or so to finish. Bate doesn’t complain, though- anything to keep him on his toes and out of the bed.

So, with his mail bag secured by his side, Bate sets off to complete his route. He thanks Nova his wings weren’t injured, as it takes him no more than a few minutes to arrive to the line of houses. Carefully, he gently grazes the floor with his good leg before landing on the soft grass below.

He doesn’t rush, or push himself, and takes his time as he makes his way to the first mail box. Rummaging through the mail bag, he grabs a few letters and deposits them in the slot before shutting the lid. As Bate was about to leave, a voice calls out.

“O-oh, umm…excuse me!”

A squid comes running out with a tray in hand. Next to her, another, much smaller squid toddles quickly to keep up.

He watches as the elder weakly smiles at him, before giving a small bow and holding out the tray. On it, was a tart decorated with various fruits and cream!

“I…just…well…” Her words spill out in a jumbled mess. It takes her a moment to compose herself, but she eventually finds her voice and speaks clearly.

“This is for you.” She lifts the tray closer to him. “A thank you gift, for protecting us. You…saved my precious little sugar cube that night, I am truly forever in your debt.” She looks down at her daughter.

To this, Bate gives a shy, awkward laugh. Nova, he’s not used to getting such attention for a town who once shunned him not even a week ago.

“O-oh, it was nothing. Please, you didn’t have to go through all the trouble making this for me.”

“We love to cook!” The young squid pipes in, and holds out her plate of chocolates for him. “My momma and I have the best sweets in town. You should visit her shop sometime, it’s in the plaza~! Right, momma?”

“Yes, of course.” She places a gentle hand on her daughter’s mantle. “Anytime you’re in the plaza, please feel free to stop by.”

She feels terrible, really- all the years of keeping her distance and ignoring him. Even closing up shop a few times in the past when she’d spot him wandering the plaza.

She truly acted foolish in the past. Well, not anymore.

“My name is Cinna.” She says, and motions her daughter close. “And this here is my daughter, Molly Malt.”

Molly gives him a cheeky smile in return. Unlike her mother, she never had an issue with Bate being an outsider.

Bate gives a heartfelt nod of appreciation . “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet the two of you- thank you for the warm welcome.”

He finally takes several steps forward, and gently plucks a chocolate from Molly’s tray. It doesn’t take long for Bate to let out a small chirp of satisfaction, as he reaches for another.

“Please, help yourself.” Cinna smiles once she realizes how much he enjoys her confection.

Bate doesn’t reject the offer, and takes a few extra minutes from his route to enjoy the sweets, and chat with the pair.

———-

“You’re home rather late.”

Ellie looks up from her spot in the living room. He’d usually be finished by early afternoon, but it’s already late in the evening- the sun long set. She immediately heads to Bate to look him over.

“What happened, are you okay? You didn’t injure yourself, did you? Were you having trouble with your delivery route?”

Bate shakes his head, and sets down his mail bag next to her. Ellie notices it was quite filled, and she rummages through the bag and realizes it was all gifts and letters directed towards him.

“Bate….” It was all Ellie could say before she started to get teary eyed.

“I suppose all it took was me rescuing them to finally gain their acceptance.” He chuckles.

“It’s a pretty bad reason.” She humors him. Bate had everyone and everything going against him. They truly didn’t deserve his kindness after all the harassment and abuse they put him through- no one else would’ve done it for Bate if the role was reversed. But..Bate’s kindness knew no bounds. Despite everything they’ve done to him, he still risked his life to save the people who resented him.

But…

She watches Bate go through each and every gift- his smile, bigger than she’s ever seen. Eventually, slowly….she couldn’t help but return it.

If his gesture of kindness gives them a reason to look past his appearance, and finally get to know him, then Ellie won’t complain. Bate cared enough to call this town his own, and protect the residents in it.

For Ellie, she’ll support him through it all.

-The End-

Artist Comment:

December 12, 2025

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A small little something for Bate's birthday!!! 8DD

So! CONTEXT!!! I have a drawing that's not complete. I'll post the WIP below~

This entire story takes place when Bate recently made Kalmari Town his home. The residents are still quite conservative, but after Bate saved everyone from an imported "East Novan Long Tusked Nruff" the town started to set aside their views, and get to know him.

There's a small cameo from Molly! If you don't know here, she's Marlo's momma!! 8D