Goblin Fact 1: Goblins are spiteful, evil creatures, known to take pleasure in others' pain.

Oh god, oh no. Your adorable goblin is going to cry. You've got to act quickly, unless you're intent on becoming history's greatest villain; the bastard that made the cute goblin girl cry.

"No, no! Of course I want to keep you, you're great, and nice, and maybe this wasn't on purpose or whatever, but there's no way I'd just reject you!"

She looks up at you as she wipes her eyes. "R-really? You want to be my master?"

Oof, that does not sound good. You don't even like the idea of being a dog's master, let alone a another human being... err, goblin being. "I mean, yeeeees? But, here's an idea. Can you not call me 'master?' It just feels weird to me"

She nods, her smile staring to return. Crisis averted. "Okay then, what can I call you?"

You shrug. "How about my name? I don't have a title or anything."

She looks down at the rat on her shoulder, then back up at you, and puts her finger up to her chin in thought. "Can I call you Lazza?"

"Lazza?"

"Yeah. Y'know, like Elias! 'Cept with most of the letters different."

"Like... a nickname?"

She nods enthusiastically.

"I guess, sure. I'm Lazza then." You let out a sigh of relief, and sit yourself down on one of the deck chairs by the jacuzzi. When you first got here, you nearly asked your aunt why in the world she'd want outdoor furniture in The Bay. These simple loungers are seem resilient and rain proof, but it still must be a hassle to take them in and out of storage. It's not like you're in San Diego or anything.

As you lean back against the reclined chair, you find that you're surprisingly tired at the moment. "To be honest, I'm not quite sure what's going on here. I didn't expect to make a goblin or anything, and I'm not quite sure what to do about it now."

"Well," the goblin says as she sashays over to a nearby chair and pulls herself up onto it, "typically the first thing a mast... erm, well, a you know what... Anyway, the first thing they do is name their goblin."

"Alright, makes sense." You roll your head over at her and begin to try to rack your brain for a name. Seemingly content to wait, she picks Latte off her shoulder and plops the rat into her lap for more pets. You're trying to think of something appropriate; she's a person, and needs a person name, after all. It's striking how strange she is; she seems so bright and peppy, it's hard to believe she's a goblin at all. But it's actually the image of her scritching behind Latte's ear that ends up inspiring you.

"How d'you feel about Piper?"

She things for a moment. "Piper, Piper... I think I like it!"

"Well there you go. You're Piper now."

"Ripper! And what's this little one's name?" she asks, petting Latte.

"Oh, that's Latte. She's... my familiar, I guess?"

She giggles at that. It's a high pitched titter, and perfectly suits her tiny frame. "Well I think you've got great taste in pets. This is fun as. I think I'm going to like being your servant, Lazza."

You hold up a finger. "Wait one sec, you're not my servant. You're just... Piper."

She laughs again. "Alright, fine. Still, I'm happy you're the magician who made me. I'll bet most goblin makers wouldn't be nearly so friendly with their new servants!"

You laugh as well. "I'm sure. From what I learned in school, most goblin makers were like, old shitty necromancers and stuff." You prop yourself up on one elbow and turn to her. "But how do you know that? Weren't you just... uh, born? Or whatever?"

She shrugs. "Gobbo knowledge. I guess I'm born with it. Most of us aren't new when we're made, after all."

"You aren't new when you're made?" you ask, intrigued. If your Sorcery works the way you thought it did, then that was certainly wrong. "What do you mean?"

She shrugs. "It's just how being a gobbo works, I s'pose. I doubt you're my first m... erm, my first maker."

Okay, this is some deep goblin lore you didn't know. "Wow. So you've lived multiple lives then? Can you remember your past masters?"

She shakes her head, sending waves of red curls every which way. "Nah, nothing like that. I doubt I'd ever remember anything specific. We're supposed to come back a little different every time, anyhow."

"Oh, so you change every creation?"

"Kind of?" She says, as her brows furrow in thought. "It's more like... I'm supposed to be me, right? That doesn't change. But whoever provides the magic to make me, I imprint on them. So I'm me, but some of me is shaped by them? I guess?"

You nod, only partially following along. "Okay, so you're imprinted by me. How did I make you different then?"

She shrugs again. "I dunno. Maybe you've got a thing for gingers?"

You laugh at that, shaking in your deck chair. If you do have some deep seated love of redheads, then she'd certainly fit the bill, though her skin is a bright shade of green rather than a pale caucasian tone. "Well, in any case, I think I lucked out that you're my goblin, then."

You flop back down in the deck chair, reclining your face towards the sky. It's an uncharacteristically bright summer day in the city, even though this morning had a heavy fog rolling through your part of town (as it does most days). Now, in the early afternoon, the temperature is in the mid 70's and you're more than grateful for it. You give a small yawn and say out loud to Piper, "I'm pretty tired. I'm gonna take a nap."

You hear her reply, "S'alright, I was gonna suggest that myself. You look knackered."

You laugh. "I feel it. I've cast my Sorcery three times already, and dismissed one of them. I guess it takes more out of me than I was expecting."

"Well, whatcha want me to do?"

You yawn again. "Whatever, just don't wander off. And, I guess wake me up in a half hour or so."

"Right, well me and Latte are gonna check out the house in the meantime. Have a nice nap, Lazza!"

You wave your hand absentmindedly as you get yourself comfortable. Maybe having a goblin won't be so bad, if she's going to be as sweet as Piper seems to be.

But maybe if you had more of your wits about you, you'd have the good sense to be worried about falling asleep with a goblin in close proximity.