With her
shift ended and the night dark, but the parking lot full, Dionne wasn’t afraid
to walk home. Not really. She saw Crag standing outside peering at all
the different aspects of the world he just didn’t understand. She pulled her jacket on tight around her
shoulders and approached him. He wore a
tank top which showed off his huge muscles and his face was out in the open for
people to see. It made him more intimidating. Word was, Louie’s Booty Palace made their
bouncers wear masks, made them look like they belonged on a heavy metal stage
singing about the decapitation of world leaders. Now that Dionne’s eyes were open to the truth
of orcs, she thought it was silly, but could still empathize with the
sentiment.
Her stomach
twisted in knots as she approached him.
She’d been distracted and the tips had been lousy because of it, but she
was strongly considering something she thought was crazy.
“Hey,”
Dionne said.
Crag turned
to her. “Yes. May I help you?”
“Teej teach
you that?”
Crag
grunted. “Yes. He said most of the time I need to be polite
to the people of this realm. You do not
stand for orcish interaction, even when we do not intend offense it can be seen
as aggressive. We do not need the kind
of attention that can bring.”
“What would
you have said if I’d been an orc?”
“Orcish
females are less physical than males, but still more physical than human
females. A familiar orcish female would
put her hand on my chest,” Crag took Dionne’s hand and put it on the middle of
his chest, “and say something like, Luvar
Gud Fehlin? In common, that means
‘My Lover are you feeling well?’”
“Oh,”
Dionne said. “So you mean familiar, like
someone you’ve had sex with.”
“Yes. Orcs do not tend to mate with many others in
succession, but we are not exactly against mating with someone we find
appealing if we are not loyal to someone.”
Dionne felt
Crag’s heart beating slowly, powerfully in his chest. She closed her eyes and felt the beating
through her own palm. “Do orcs marry?”
Crag said, “No. If an orc commits to a mate, there is no one
else for them. They mate, they have
pups, bring them into the world and work together until such a time as they no
longer want to be together. The pups
know both of their parents and separations are rarely ever harmful to the
clan. In those rare cases, the clan
decides who should leave.”
“Look,”
Dionne said. “I think it would be safest
if you came home with me.”
“Do you
feel unsafe?”
“No, I
mean, not generally, but with the cops around so much looking for you, I’d
rather have you somewhere I can keep an eye on you.”
“That was
not your sentiment earlier. You wanted
me as far away as you could get.”
“It’s
different now.”
“Why?”
Dionne
paused. “I don’t know. It just... could you just come home with me?”
Crag tilted
his head and sniffed at the air. “You
feel some responsibility. I can smell
it.”
“Jeez,”
Dionne said. “Could you stop smelling
me?”
Crag
chuckled. “Okay. I will come with you.”
Morning
broke and Crag laid slumbering in the guest room. Andre came downstairs for breakfast and heard
the orc’s snores. He walked carefully
into the room and saw the giant creature sprawled out, legs and arms
overwhelming the double bed. A blanket
barely covered his otherwise clothes free body.
It was Dionne’s suggestion that he at least cover his small axe.
“Oh, HELL
NO!” Andre said, loud enough to wake Crag.
Crag
grunted and looked up, catching a glimpse of Andre over his massive chest.
Andre
ducked out of sight. Crag heard Andre’s
yell of: “MOM! What the hell is going
on? Why is that ugly dude in our house
again!”
Crag
understood the word ‘dude’ now, but was he really so ugly? He was considered attractive in
Torxania. His tusks were well respected.
Niya, the human
female smaller than Dionne poked her head into the guest room. “Who are you?” she asked.
“My name is
Crag of the... Crag Rockshadow,” he said.
“That’s a
funny name. What are you doing in my
house?” Her tone wasn’t accusatory, but
curious.
“I am a
friend of your mother’s. We work
together.”
“Over at
the Palace?”
“Yes. I am a ‘bouncer,’” a word Teej had taught him
that did not make sense.
“I’m Niya.”
“I remember
your mother calling you that before. It
is a pleasure to meet you.”
“You should
put some clothes on. Your dick is
showing.”
“Dick?”
Crag did not know this word.
She
motioned between his legs where the blanket was revealing his small axe.
Normally,
he was not embarrassed, orcs walked around without clothes frequently, but
Dionne explained he needed to keep that part of himself covered around people.
Crag
grunted as he pulled the blanket over himself.
“Do you
want breakfast?”
“Are there bacon,
eggs and pancakes with tree blood... I mean syrup?”
Niya
smiled. “Tree blood? You’re funny.
I think we are just having cereal.”
“I do not
know if I have had cereal before.”
“Wow!” Niya
said. “Well, get some clothes on and
come get some.”
Crag nodded
and stood. His blanket dropped off of
his small axe. Niya gasped and covered
her mouth before ducking out of the door way.
Crag saw
Andre standing at the weird table in the middle of the kitchen. “Dude!” Andre said. “Close the door! Have some decency!”
Crag
wondered if decency was related to being polite. He figured it must be. He reached for the door and closed it. He was not used to needing privacy. Doors were only closed to keep out the cold,
generally every hut was open and no one stole because one could smell if
someone had been in your hut and if something was missing, you could easily
find them.
Crag grunted. He supposed humans on this plane lost a lot
of their senses over the generations. It
was sad.
Crag
slipped on his white bottom coverings, then a pair of black sleek pants. He followed that with a shimmery black button
up shirt. These garments clung to him
easily. He looked in the reflecting
glass at himself. It was different than
his normal look, but he liked it.
Andre’s
voice grew louder from the kitchen.
Dionne’s voice rose to match.
Crag didn’t hear Niya.
Crag opened
the door, ducked to go through the door way and closed it behind him.
Andre said,
“I don’t want this guy here.”
“Good thing
you don’t make the decisions for this house,” Dionne said.
“Dammit,”
Andre said. “Just look at him! He’s so weird looking.”
“Crag is
staying with us for a while, and that’s final.
If you don’t like it, you don’t have to be here.”
“You’d kick
your own son out the house for your boyfriend?”
“He’s not
my boyfriend. He is someone who needs
help and I’m helping him. And no, I’m
not kicking you out of the house for anyone, but this is still my house so it
is under my rules. You can make the
choice to leave, but I won’t deal with no ultimatums.”
Niya edged
toward Crag and nudged him. “I sorta
like him.”
Andre
looked aghast at Niya. “You gotta be
kidding me. Just look at him.”
Niya said,
“If looks are your only way of judging someone, you got a long way to go
boy. He seems nice enough, even if he
does look a bit strange. Mama taught us
not to judge someone on their appearance.”
Andre
grunted. He looked Crag in the eye. “Don’t get no ideas about putting hands on my
mama.”
Crag looked
confused. This was a phrase he did not
understand. He had already put a hand on
Dionne, but it did not feel like a bad thing.
Andre
sighed. “Niya, we gotta get you to
school.”
Andre
walked out. Niya touched Crag’s shoulder
softly on her way out. “Things will cool
down by the afternoon.”
Dionne
looked at Crag. “Sorry, he gets the
temper from his dad.”
Crag
nodded. “I received many things from my
father. But never cereal. I would like to try it.”