There's a reason I'm called Patience. When someone calls me a 'teuf', I don't, normally, hurt them. And I will NEVER hurt a kid. However, I will teach why it's NOT a good idea to call one of my kind such. Sadly, some lessons do hurt, but I've never, happy to say, killed anyone. Though some wished I had before they finally learn. -- Lessons
Sometimes, they asked. "Why is it such a bad word? It's just the short form of a longer one. You have no objection to the longer one." At least those who asked wanted an explanation.
Patience took a deep breath and lived up to her name once again. "It's the shortening that's only the start of the poison," she said. "If I called you 'hume' instead of Human, you're going to feel a little irritation about that. It's a lack of respect, like pronouncing D'varuv as 'Dwarf'. Deeper than that is the lack of care inherent. If you can't be bothered saying all of 'Teufel' then you can't be bothered doing other things. Like... treating us as people. Further on, there's the high likelihood that people who say it are more inclined to do worse than spit a word at us. People who say that often say it with one hand on a weapon. And as for what they do next..." Patience couldn't help but grimace. "There's a reason why few of us are seen beyond city walls."
Very rare were the few who listened to all of that and said, "I didn't know. I'll try to avoid saying that from now on." Those people got Patience's eternal gratitude, and more than a few favours. Some essential runework, gifted or sold at discount. They might get some extra coin snuck into their pockets, or a deed done for them in secret.
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