For Necun stepping into her childhood home felt like setting a weight on her chest. Halls that felt so comforting when she left now loomed ominously before her. Upon reflection Necun suspected it was the lack of sound. Hunts were silent, therefore the homes of Hunters should be loud, such was the way of the world. Yet the halls stood empty, along with the well carpeted lounging rooms, and the intricately carved bone entrance.
Necun suspected her kin would be hiding and gossiping in the lower levels. Even the ire of the chief couldn't clear a whole house this quickly.
Nickolas wiggled in her arms, and she absentmindedly set him down.
“I thought the manors of the trade queendoms were large.” Nickolas said softly. “And to be fair they are, but something about setting your house atop a enormous spine that adds to the ambiance.”
They were alone again, her mother's goons having stopped short of entering the Chief's house.
“I was expecting to meet at the Clan hall.” Necun admitted, eyes narrowing. “But the Chief called us here for private business. She must be holed up in her room.”
Nickolas tugged her hand, sliding close to link their arms.
“Let's not keep her waiting.” he declared.
Necun nodded as she stepped forward, leading her bond through the criss crossing halls. The Chief's room was simple to find, nearing the bottom of the great central chimney which kept the house warm during chill nights. Stopping on the fur of a long dead beast, before the great ashen doors, Necun spared one last glance down at her lover.
His eyes burned back into hers.
“You're going to want to guard your nose, and eyes.” Necun warned. “Mother is a smoker. Use your magic if it's too much.”
“I'll keep it in mind.” the Mage replied, tone going oddly cold.
Nodding stiffly Necun pulled him to the side of the door, and with a slight grunt heaved the aged wood open. Due to her caution she wasn't in the doorway when the pillar of smoke crashed into the hall, and billowed out. The smell of rank death assaulted her nostrils anyway, and she heard Nickolas release a wheezing cough as it hit him just as suddenly.
In the span of a heartbeat the air had grown hazy, suffused with the acrid smoke. Necun tamped down the reflex to cover her nose with long practice. In the corner of her eye she saw Nickolas summon glowing runes, and soon a bubble of clear air formed around his head.
“Thank you for the warning.” her bond wheezed out with tears in his eyes.
Necun nodded, keeping her mouth clamped shut, and breathing shallowly.
Avoiding the instinct to take a deep breath the Hunter rounded the corner in a single motion. Her eyes narrowed as the fought through the haze of smoke searching for the Chief.
The room had been beautiful once, in the time when Necun was a child. A small place for the head of the household to have private talks with guests. A small circular table took up the center of the room, surrounded by plush chairs. The walls were drowned in a cascade of trophies and memorabilia. It often overlapped, collapsed piles of items where a wall mount gave in, or there was simply no more room to fit the latest skull. Between the two areas were a set of mismatched lounging couches and chairs. Each meant to be rearranged to comfortably sit anywhere from two to two dozen people around the single hearth.
Instead the various chairs and couches were pushed to the side leaving a single pelt covered couch by the fireplace. Upon it sat the Chief of RazorRiver, one hand holding a pipe to her lips, foul smoke still wafting lazily from the end. Her face was a mess of scars so total there was no way to discern what her natural skin tone was. One ear was chewed off, while the other was permanently puffed out. Through the scarred mess of a face two pale eyes shone, no less bright or inquisitive for the Chief's advanced age. Her body was wrapped in a plush robe that might have once been white, now stained soot grey by it's cycles of service.
“So.” the Chief drawled as the pair entered the room, reaching up to idly scratch the side of her face with her free hand. “My beloved daughter returns. Early. Far earlier than even I would expect. And with a boy slinking in her shadow as well. This day is full of surprises.”
No sooner had she finished the sentence, the Chief took a deep drag from her pipe. She released the smoke from her nose with a contented sigh.
Necun felt Nickolas's grip on her arm tighten. She kept her gaze on the Chief.
“We are bonded.” Necun said with pride swelling in her chest. “I won him during the tithe.”
A heartbeat of silence passed. The Chief raised an eyebrow.
“I had to use arua.” Necun admitted, keeping the pride in her voice as her heart wavered under the searching eyes. “He was a worthy opponent. I still nearly lost consciousness.”
Slowly, mechanically, the Chief arched their neck to stare at the ceiling, the back of their head resting on the couch. After another moment of stillness they released a wheezing stream of laughter punctuated by shifting waves of smoke billowing form their mouth. Just as suddenly the laughter ceased, and the scarred orc dropped back into position before taking another puff from the pipe.
“You are your mother's daughter.” she said with dry amusement, lip still quirked at the edge.
Absentmindedly the woman rubbed the broken tip of her yellowed left tusk.
“I won't bother asking why you're here ahead of the caravan.” she continued after a distracted moment. “Unless we should be sending a few pods out?”
Necun shook her head without hesitation, confident Bycia and the other pod of Hunters could return the caravan safely.
“Good.” the Chief said before humming deep in her chest. “I'll let you save the story for council tonight then. You'll be there since you got back so early. But first.”
The Chief stretched her arms up, then felt around behind the couch for a moment. There was a clatter and the woman grunted out a curse before she found what she was searching for. A dagger with a handle of white bone emerged clasped in the Chief's grip. Necun's breath hitched slightly, and she just barely tapped down a cough.
Suddenly the Chief's arm whipped forward in a blur. Necun's hand shot up fast enough to catch the dagger by the handle. The leather sheath still caressed her armor as she halted the momentum of the steel blade.
“You need me?” Necun gaped. “Why? You have swarms of people in the city. I've never done anything that required a clan dagger.”
Once again the Chief pulled deep from her pipe, releasing a torrent of smoke that clouded her features. Her eyes narrowed into slits as she considered her daughter.
“There have been.” the woman said slowly, voice rasping. “Twelve murders since you left.”
-----------------------------------------------------
The distorted words filtered through the bubble of air, and for a heartbeat Nickolas was sure he had misunderstood. Twelve murders in less than thirty days was absurd. Deaths perhaps, the orcs certainly lived dangerous lives, but murders? That couldn't be right.
Yet the way his wife went stiff at his side told him he hadn't misheard.
“You want her to track a murderer?” he gasped out, unconsciously shifting the bubble of clean air to let his voice through. “Now? Why her?”
The lounging woman's sharp eyes focused on Nickolas for the first time since he entered the room. He fought back a shiver in his spine.
“My people in the city are already looking.” the Chief hissed. “They failed. Again and again. Too often to be natural.”
“Rot?” Necun breathed out beside him, her voice so low and distorted he almost missed it.
“No sign.” the Chief said with a wave of her hand. “They're just dead.”
“Then you have suspicions on who it was.” Necun said, pain evident in her voice. “That's why you chose me.”
“I do not.” the lounging woman shot back, taking yet another pull from her pipe. “Yet it must be said that you are the only woman in the city who absolutely could not have done this. My people have been running around clueless. Doing things the usual way. Kicking open doors. Laying accusations. It's got us nowhere. I need a Hunter Necun. There's a beast in the city. A beast in woman's clothes. And I need it dead.”
With the last word Necun's house-mother slammed her hand down on the top of the couch. The wood creaked under her touch.
After the smallest touch of hesitation Necun tilted forward in a small bow.
“As you wish mother.” she said, as stiff as any heartlands duelist.
The Chief snorted.
“Don't be like that.” the scarred woman drawled. “You would be clamoring to get involved the moment you found out anyway. Doubly so with your new bond around.”
The scarred woman winked at Nickolas, and he felt no warmth from the gesture.
Necun grunted in what might have been agreement.
“I carry your full authority in this?” she pressed.
“As far as RazorRiver territory.” the Chief replied. “RedHand and LongNeck will be accommodating, but get their people involved for anything major. BlackVine is being stubborn as usual, so I would save them for last.”
“That's only if this escalates however.” the older woman warned, taking another drag. “So far this has been contained. A RazorRiver problem. We want to keep it that way if possible. Won't do to look like we keep a messy house.”
“The clanless?” Necun asked, almost whispering.
“The usual suspect have been looked into, and I have some people on it besides.” the old Hunter said. “I doubt you'll find anything new there. Same with the Questers. Only thirty of them in the city anyway. Unpleasant bunch, but they have witnesses to their innocence. I wouldn't bother with either.”
Necun nodded slowly.
The Chief stretched out again, this time rocking back into a deeper slouch.
“Your mother can fill you in on the rest.” she said, clearing her throat. “She's been keeping an eye on things. Tell her I'll need her at council tonight while you're at it. Now off with you. I need the room.”
“Oh.” the woman tacked on before the pair could react to the dismissal. “And it was nice to meet you young man. We'll talk more once this mess is sorted. Rest assured you were picked by a brave warrior. Though I suspect you already know that.”
“Thank you.” Nickolas said, keeping his voice clear as his mind worked. “I'm truly lucky. It was an honor to meet you Chief RazorRiver.”
He sketched a bow, as deep as he dared, before turning to escape the room with Necun at his side.
His wife slammed the door shut with slightly more force than was polite. Nickolas flicked his wrist, a second ring of runes appearing over his free hand as he brought a new bubble of clean air for her.
After a moment of surprise Necun nodded her thanks, taking a few deep breaths. Each one sent a puff of smoke to be carried away by the magic charged air.
After a brief hand gesture that Nickolas took to mean 'follow me' she walked back the way they came. Halfway up the stairs his wife stopped, turning to him and gesturing to the air bubbles. With a wave they were dismissed, puffing out to disperse the last of the lingering smoke.
“You must have this hall cleaned daily.” Nickolas said dryly, cutting off his wife's words. “Otherwise we'd be shuffling through waist high ashes.”
“She indulges.” Necun admitted with an embarrassed blush. “Try not to judge her for it. Being Chief is a stressful position at the best of times. And we are lucky to have her during troublesome moments.”
“I would never critique a simple vice.” the Mage assured. “My own mother's a well known for drinking our cellars dry. I'm just commenting on the logistics of it all.”
“There are cleaners.” Necun admitted. “I hear they draw lots to see which gets this duty.”
“I certainly wouldn't want it.” she muttered before refocusing on Nickolas.
“Regardless I need to get you to my father's home.” the Hunter said seriously. “You'll be safe there.”
“He lives separately?” Nickolas asked, wincing at the blunt question. “I mean- Yes. That seems like it's for the best. I should be able to get a change of clothes at the very least.”
He gestured down at his robes, now suffused with even more grime.
“And there will be plenty of things to talk about.” Necun said, a touch of relief in her tone. “I suspect you'll like him. You're very much alike.”
Now it was Necun's turn to wince. Both of their peoples knew it was bad form to compare your lover to your parents. No matter how flattering the comparison may seem.
She thought I would want to charge in after her. Nickolas thought with a touch of amusement. While chasing after a murderer through dark alleys sounds a touch exciting I think I'll let her handle this one. Perhaps next time.
To accent his approval Nickolas reached up to touch Necun's cheek. He pulled her down to plant a kiss on his lover's brow.
It tasted of ash. As would everything else for the foreseeable future until he had the chance at a long soak in a tub, and some time with a spring stone.
“Can we leave now?” he whined. “I want to sleep somewhere with normal sounds.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Necun chuckled, and a moment later he felt strong fingers patting his hair.
“I'll ask father not to pry until tomorrow.” his darling wife promised.
She made to scoop him up into her arms.
“Can we walk?” Nickolas blurted out. “It feels nice after days of being carried.”
After a long release of breath Necun nodded. She seemed smaller to Nickolas compared to when they strode in through the front doors of the great hall. Reduced. He reached forward towards the Hunter's face. At first she jerked back slightly at the sudden movement, but after a moment of realization she allowed him to cup her cheek
“Thank you for getting me here safely Necun.” Nickolas said with all the earnestness his tired mind could scrounge up. “I wasn't worried for a moment because I knew you would get me here safe.”
There. he thought smugly. That should give her ego a nice boost. She deserves it in any case.
Again Necun released a long breath, closing her eyes and touching Nickolas's hand slightly as she seemed to savor the words.
Then she looked down at him, her back straightening. She leaned over, pulling his chin up for a long soft kiss. Tusks traced a familiar line on his cheeks. It felt nice, and Nickolas felt tension leaving his shoulders.
Necun pulled back, grunting once before adjusting her armor.
“We should leave.” she said stiffly.
“I still don't understand why you're so bashful about a kiss when we've shared a bed multiple times.” Nickolas teased. “Well. Not always a bed, but the point stands.”
Ignoring his question Necun continued up the stairs, dragging Nickolas along as he grasped her arm.
Around them there were sounds of the great house waking. The patter of feet, voices echoing down hallways. Nickolas noticed Necun quicken her pace dramatically, and he struggled to keep up without breaking into a jog.
“NECUN!” a chorus of tiny voices squealed as they reached the top of the stairs.
Nickolas watched as his wife was nearly toppled over by a wave of orcish children tackling her legs. Several began to climb the towering Hunter with deft fingers and determined eyes.
“Back!” Necun growled with mock anger. “Back you terror beasts! Back to the shadows!”
She gripped one girl by her baggy clothes, and tossed her underhand onto the wood floor. Two more took her place in an attempt to overwhelm the orc's defenses.
Nickolas felt a tug, and looked down to find a tiny boy who couldn't have been older than three cycles. The child was chewing on a large bone with a mixture of determination and confusion on his tiny face. The golden haired Mage raised an eyebrow.
“Do you need something?” he asked in a sweet tone.
The boy released his ashy robe with a look of surprise. Then he considered Nickolas's words for a long moment.
Leaving the bone in his mouth he reached up with both hands, and made grabbing motions.
Nickolas stifled a laugh as he crouched down, opening his arms. The boy immediately latched his chubby hands around the Mage's neck. With a grunt of effort that was only slightly exaggerated Nickolas lifted the child up.
In the time he took dealing with the silent boy Necun had retreated from the swarm of girls. The proud Hunter fell back to a more defensible position, back to the wall, and had tucked her new dagger into her armor as she did so.
With their surprise attack failing the swarm of girls switched tactics, coming at his wife in waves that struck from a different angle each time. The tactic was limited, and the children's coordination was messy. Often the towering Necun could fully break a flanking attack with a handful of dramatic blows before turning her full attention to the main thrust.
When their strategy resulted in repeated failure the girls retreated to examine the grinning woman. The tallest girl, clearly the leader, pulled several of her subordinates to her for a whispered discussion. Clearly they didn't expect Necun to release a mighty roar, and charge their huddled meeting.
The boy in Nickolas's arms grew distressed by the sound, but was quickly calmed with a bit of shushing.
Necun's attack sent girls flying in every direction. Sever hit the walls or floor hard, and Nickolas grimaced, expecting balling. Instead the children merely shook themselves off. They were on their feet and running back to the fight in heartbeats.
The brawl continued without strategy or tactic. The eight or so girls bearing down on his wife with singular focus. In response to his wife's intimidation roars they began responding with high pitched war cries of their own.
Nickolas's mind drifted to memories of watching the girls attempt to wrestle Knights three at a time back in the training yard. It always made for a good laugh, at least amongst the boys who watched between chores. Here however there was no sense of rules, besides the obvious unconscious actions to avoid injury. The girls simply surged forward in an attempt to bring the Hunter down.
Difference in doctrine I suppose. the Mage considered. Knights learn disciple later, the line fighting. This is just a hunt writ small.
“Children!” a deep voice intoned, causing everyone to flinch.
At the end of the hall two tall men stood, one was scowling at the herd of girls while the other appeared mortified staring at Nickolas. The first man stepped forward, and the swarm stepped back, eight pairs of eyes found interesting spots to examine away from their caretaker's dire glare.
Nickolas peered down at the boy in his arms, only to share a look with the child as the other orcish man hurried over.
“I'm so sorry!” the horrified man gasped out, reaching for the boy. “He's not usually like this with strangers!”
The child reached back, more curious about the noise than distressed.
“Quite alright.” the human replied with a smile. “I'm just too approachable for my own good. Nothing to worry over.”
The boy pushed off with his feet, leaping into the other man's arms. Taking it in stride the orcish man transferred the child to his back with a practiced motion. Nickolas noted the sling like cloth that the boy set his feet into. Simply designed, yet allowed the whelp to cling to his caretaker's back without fear. It was remarkably similar to what fieldworkers wore with their own children. Though the farmers of Nickolas's homeland preferred to keep the slings on their chests to check their charge more easily.
To his side the swarm had broken into full retreat, routing around the louder man in a daring move. Two of the girls were doomed to be caught, struggling as their caretaker gripped them by the arm, but the others escaped his grasp. They fled into the shadowed halls, laughing and screeching in delight as they escaped justice.
The orc in front of Nickolas sighed deeply, then sketched a hasty bow.
“Apologies once again.” he said with a low voice. “The Chief asked for quiet and the little ones always take silent time poorly.”
“Once again it is quite alright.” Nickolas replied with a quirking lip. “He was very polite the whole time, I think he just wanted a better vantage point while the girls hunted my wife.”
The man's eyebrows knit together for a moment, and Nickolas could see him mouth the strange word.
“You are bonded to Necun?” he whispered, eyes flashing wide.
“He is.” Necun confirmed, stepping beside Nickolas now that her assaliants had been chased away. “I-”
Before she could continue the man pulled Nickolas's hand up by the sleeve and grasped his forearm. Nickolas returned what he assumed was a handshake.
“Thank you.” the man said quietly. “We were all so worried about her. She never showed interest in any of the boys her age and we were starting to worry. She's a sensitive girl mind you, so don't go being too cold or breaking her heart. Oh my your robes. That's right the caravan is still away. You're here early. Did something happen? Are your hurt? No, there's no blood our Necun did a fine job didn't she. Well you must be hungry let's get you something from the pantry. You-”
A hand clamped down on the man's shoulder, startling him enough to end the wave of words.
“Weaka. Breathe.” the other man growled. “No need to overwhelm the boy.”
The caretaker was pulling an impressive feat, Nickolas noted. The Mage wasn't sure he could heft two children in one hand, yet the orc was managing easily.
“Banto.” Necun said with warmth suffusing each syllable. “How are the children?”
“Easy enough to handle.” Banto admitted. “No real troublemakers save for Salla. Fool girl needs her head cuffed every morning or the lessons don't take. How are you girl? I see the tithe went well.”
As he spoke Nickolas got a better look at the pair. Banto seemed the older of the two, his skin wrinkled and his hair turning gray near the temples. Perhaps the right age to be Necun's father. Weaka, by contrast, looked barely older than Nickolas himself.
“I'm taking him to my father's for the night.” Necun explained after a bit of exchanged gossip. “Quieter than the house you understand.”
Banto hummed, stroking his chin.
“Don't let this old man keep you girl.” he said happily. “Go off and be hopelessly in love for a bit.”
While Necun was choking on her response he gave Nickolas a sly wink before walking back the way he came. Weaka followed behind, encouraging the boy on his back to wave goodbye to Nickolas.
As they rounded the corner Necun released a short breath, and started to pull Nickolas along as she made for the front door.
“Well they seem nice.” Nickolas drawled as he wound his arm around his wife's. “I assume they do the majority of the child wrangling for the house? Seems like a lot of children even for a whole household.”
“They handle several other house's children on most days.” Necun explained, slowing their pace slightly. “Friendly families who our house is close with. Keeps the children out of trouble. Or at least keeps the trouble contained. They'll be hunting with them when they're grown anyway so it can help.”
“Is that how you met Kella?” he asked as they reached the heavy doors.
“Kel?” Necun spat in genuine shock. “Nah, she and I met later. She's. Well. The first Hunter in her family. Nearly all my friends as a whelp were Hunter's brats. That or a few Smith's kids. But they always apprenticed early so, you know, lost track of them.”
“I should look in on some of them.” the Hunter said after a pause, looking thoughtful. “See how they're doing.”
“I met Kel when I was on my first hunt.” she continued. “Wasn't meant to. Separate pods. But someone was stupid and a rather clever beast got onto our trail. The pods were merged to give us a better chance while the minders put the creature down.”
“And she saved your life in a moment of heroism?” Nickolas guessed.
“She was funny when we were cowering in the shadows.” Necun corrected. “She made me giggle with a few crass jokes. It was memorable. So when I became a full Night Hunter I made sure to be in the same pod as Kella as often as possible. Eventually it stuck.”
“That's it?” Nickolas asked.”
“That's all.” Necun said as she reached to open the great doors. “Not everything is a grand adventure.”
It is in the Green. Nickolas thought. But then that's just the stories that make it back home. Out here things are just... normal.
And the normality of the orc's city was starting to sink in. The cluster of children playing with Necun, while a strange game to him, was a sight you might see in any human settlement. As they stepped out of the great house and into the twisting open air causeway the ever present rumble of the crowd wrapped around them.
Carts brought fresh ingredients for the kitchens, or firewood for the hearths. Clusters of men dragged laundry out for cleaning, chattering all the while. Hundreds of Necun's people wound their way down the road built on the spine of a beast of unbelievable size while having perfectly normal conversations about what to buy at market.
The gap. The juxtaposition between what he saw everyday in the fortress, albeit on a larger scale, and the wonders and terrors of the Green. It was enough to make a man's head spin.
It was a gap he had to bridge in order to fully understand his place here. And more importantly, how to adjust where that place was.
Necun knew where she was going, and so he followed a step behind. In the crowd around him he saw a number of double takes as the orcs saw his hair, and a moment later realized he was human. As they moved through the crowd seemed to distance themselves more and more. It lasted until they were well out of the shadow of the hall, and walking between the smaller houses that held the prominent families of clan RazorRiver.
The further they traveled the more cramped the living spaces became, though even then the homes were larger than a village gathering hall. The size was necessary to accommodate even an average sized orc household, and Nickolas started to wonder where they would be staying.
“After you get this business sorted out for your mother.” Nickolas said, carefully pitching his voice to talk over the crowd. “Where will we be staying? Is there something we need to take care of before moving in together, or will we just live with your family for the time being?”
His question was rewarded with Necun stumbling so badly he wondered if he should catch her.
The Hunter gave him a betrayed look, as if he had shocked her intentionally with the simple question.
“We'll stay with my father until we can find a good spot in the bonding areas.” Necun grunted back, the blush exploding all the way down to her neck. “But that should take a while while I...assist the Chief.”
Nickolas nodded in agreement to Necun's back.
The remaining journey passed quietly. Necun was focused on their path through the bustling crowd while Nickolas was pretending he wasn't wearing torn up robes in public.
At least they're vaguely clean. He thought sullenly.
Reaching the home of Necun's father took far longer than Nickolas expected, and took them outside the normal walking paths. It was a small, but well built structure pressed up against a warehouse. The pair had to stop several times just to let carts pass in the tiny alley they walked down to reach the door. Above their heads a black smoke was released in billowing clouds, blanketing the air.
“Does your father run a tannery?” Nickolas asked with a scrunched nose.
The hope that the smell originated from another building had been dashed as they reached the front door.
“There are similarities, but it's closer to a workshop.” Necun replied, her tone slightly strained.
“Is he an armorer?” Nickolas asked hopefully as the Hunter jiggled the door open.
Suddenly he was pushed to the side by Necun as a terrifying maw filled with glistening teeth fell out of the doorway between them. A spell was forming around the War Mage's hands as he choked back a scream. The only thing that saved the creature from his wrath was the obvious holes around the neck.
The sight caused a heartbeat of confusion. Nickolas stopped, his panicked stumble towards cover turning into an awkward dance. He flicked his eyes towards his wife, runes still gathered above his palms. Instead of the mocking chuckle he expected to find the tall Hunter looked down at the beast head with a mortified expression.
A moment later she met his gaze. He found he had to hold back laughter himself.
---------------------------------------------
Necu pushed the costume back onto the overstuffed storage rack with it's colleges. There was a horrendous squeak of leather on leather which caused her to cringe, but the lack of space left little choice. The workshop had become a disaster since she had last visited, nothing like the organized mess it was before.
“Dad?” she called out, pushing a stack of cloth to the side.
“Over here!” her father's voice called from his workspace, muffled by the floor to ceiling materials surrounding the door.
She pushed through, finding her father carefully setting feathers into an ornate headress that took the appearance of a bird in flight.
“One moment daughter.” the craftman murmured. “I just need to do this last line. It's nice to see you back so soon by the way. Shouldn't you be guarding the caravan? Nothing to worry about I hope.”
“Dad why is your home a disaster?” Necun asked, voice dripping with venom. “We didn't clean it too long ago. How much cloth do you even need?”
“Ah, well I'll work through it.” her father said bashfully as he stuck three more needles in quick succession. “I just needed the extra variety. You know the carnivals are getting more elaborate. We can't just use last seasons costumes! It needs to be fresh!”
“Then find somewhere else to store the supplies!” Necun replied, voice rising. “I need to use your guest room, and now the whole house is full of rotting suits and feathers!”
“I thought it was some of my better work.” her father said quietly.
Necun released a frustrated breath.
“I'll clean it out myself.” she declared. “When I get back later we're cleaning the whole house. Until then I need you to get some clean clothes out for Nickolas.”
“Nickolas?” her father asked, his expression turning thoughtful. “That's a human name. Daughter, who have you brought?”
Necun felt a hand on her arm as Nickolas peaked around her shoulder.
Her father sucked in a breath.
“Necun?” he asked, terror and wonder mixing in his tone.
“Father.” she said quietly. “Meet my bond.”
Internally she tensed. The other reactions she had received over the last few days had been controlled in a way. Expected.
She had never even discussed the possibility of bonding with her father. It had never come up, aside from a few lighthearted chats when she was a girl, far away from courting age. He had seemed bemused more than anything else by her brief interest in boys as she came of age. Calm, yet acting like there was a joke only he could see in her actions.
Now she saw his eyes widen, flitting between her and Nickolas as he processed the words.
“Necun you didn't.” he hissed, growing serious.
The shift in his tone caused Necun to take a step back. It felt like being slapped across the face. Or perhaps being cuffed in the head as one would a rowdy child would be a more accurate comparison.
“Some poor boy taken from his home!” her father continued, standing to his full height.
His chair toppled back, landing on a half finished decorative chest piece.
“That tithe we demand is barbaric! Monsterous!” he shouted, taking another step forward bringing himself a hands width from Necun. “We have the stronger warriors so we just steal men from their families? Take them in the night? Kidnapping that's all it is! Theft!”
“And don't try to justify it!” the craftsman roared as Necun opened her mouth to correct him. “Their own warriors handing them over to us is no excuse! It's a tragedy! Those girls made peace with handing men over to us because they think we'll raid them if we don't! Extortion!”
Panic was rising in her chest. She felt like a child again. Her back had hit a rack of coloured thread. No where left to retreat. Her eyes flicked back, looking for Nickolas.
He looked just as shocked as she was, staring at her father with wide eyes.
“You didn't drag him to a bed did you?” her father resumed, continuing to close. “No daughter of mine would be so foolish. So cruel. The daughter I raised is thoughtful. Kind. Not some beast.”
“To be entirely fair she was decently thoughtful in bed.” Nickolas's soft voice cut in. “And the actual claiming went about as well as it could have.”
The craftsman swiveled on his heels to look at Nickolas closely. Necun saw the deep anger sputter and die in his eyes. Her father's shoulders slumped.
“You poor boy.” he whispered. “You don't even see it do you? The injustice of this.”
“If anything Necun pulling me out of my tower was the most justified tithe that night.” her lovely bond replied, making everything worse. “As your daughter explained my name is Nickolas. I'll be staying for a night or two if you'll have me. Also do you have a robe that will fit me? Mine is a bit worn after your daughter dragged me through the Green. Long story, starts with a swarm attacking, and luckily gets better from there.”
“Oh, and my mother is the Warden of Blightstone.” Nickolas continued, interrupting her father's response just as it formed on his lips. “That's why I said this was justified. Or the most justified at least. She's sent her own son on this tithe. Doesn't really make it better. Your concerns seemed more focused on the overall idea of the tithe. But at least my mother committed more than just some farmer's sons this time.”
Her bond smiled his dazzling smile.
“Would you like to discuss that more by the way?” he pushed on, not letting her father respond. “It's a fascinating stance to take. I had heard some men back home mutter, but I honestly didn't expect any orcs to have much of an opinion on the tithe. Well, not an opinion like yours anyway. Stories of jealous suitors trickle back on occasion. And then there's the women who seem to dislike the formality of the event. I'm sure we can get further into that while we arrange things here though. Necun still needs to deal with that thing the Chief needed done.”
Necun jolted as she realized her bond had given her an opening. With a single glance back at her now baffled father she rushed towards the door as fast as she could without looking like she was fleeing. Behind her Nickolas kept up the verbal assault.
As she escaped through the front door and into the night she made a promise in her heart to pay back the favor.