Xa'Gun jerked with a start. His eyes flew open, as he sat up quickly. Unusual to jerk awake for Xa'Gun, without the nightmare, but now he looked upon a familiar ceiling. This was the bedroom of his burrow, and he was lying on his bed. He'd have preferred his couch, but be that as it may, it was still a pleasant awakening experience, if not for the daemon-thing that he just faced...

He felt his blanket slide off of him, and into his lap. Xa'Gun picked up the blanket with one hand to study it. He had long come to this burrow, and the only orcs that would put a blanket on him to his memory were Hellie and Jukzuk.

[Family...] Xa'Gun's nose felt sour.

Shaking his head, he cast off the blanket and moved his legs to reach the ground. Touching the floor of the cold burrow brought him to his sharp senses.

Xa'Gun furrowed his brows, as he got to his feet and lumbered out of his room, and into the burrow's greater hall.

"Son, your up? Good, I don't have to come to wake you up. Today's the day, son. Today's the day." Jukzuk stood up from the couch, and a few rings of smoke circled his head. It seemed that Jukzuk had acquired a hookah, as it sat on the table between the two couches within the greater hall of Xa'Gun's burrow.

Jukzuk watched as Xa'Gun's eyes roamed the waterpipe instrument.

"When you finish your match today, we will celebrate with a great feast and hookah, my son... But before that, you must sit and tell me what you have learned from your master Gorzoc for your match today." Jukzuk seemed to think that winning was already in the bag, but it felt that there was an underlying fear laced somewhere in between the words spoken.

Xa'Gun grunted a yes and lumbered to the couch that faced Jukzuk.

Jukzuk sat down and put the grommet he was holding back into the holder of the hookah.

After a brief pause, Xa'Gun drew in a large breath of air to start, "Master Gorzoc stated that today's match was to be a three-on-one, and I am that one."

Jukzuk nodded.

"Master Gorzoc then taught me how to 'Divide and Conquer.' To separate the enemies into what would be one on one on one on one, instead of them working together."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Jukzuk nodded, again.

"For practicals, Master Gorzoc had me practice with two-handed weapons, one-handed weapons, and shields."

"Good, very good. The Blacktongue chieftain has informed me he will keep to his promise. If you live and kill all three of these gladiator slaves, then you will get one ghost berry each, so three ghost berries... This is good. Believe it or not, your old man used to partake of these ghost berries."

Xa'Gun grunted in surprise.

"Of course, I'm still a Blacktongue, even as an outcast."

"Father, why are you an out-"

"So, he's up!" Hellie bolted in through the front doors fast enough that the Stonethrower brothers outside only felt a gust of wind, even if they still knew who it was...

Jukzuk smiled knowing that the question was interrupted.

Xa'gun grunted in response to Hellie's shout. She, in return, sashayed over to Xa'Gun and sat next to him, which solicited an eyebrow raise from Jukzuk.

"Loving on your mate before battle?" Jukzuk spoke and chuckled.

"We haven't, ya know, so he's not really my mate..." And then in a small voice, Hellie spoke, "...Yet."

Jukzuk nodded, "Well he's been claimed by you and Demze... Now are you going to settle between the two of you or are you going to share?"

Hellie put her finger on her chin, and after a moment of thought, she spoke, "Demze doesn't like to share, but I'm okay with it."

Xa'Gun snapped his head to meet Hellie's eyes as he saw deep within them, and within those eyes, he felt no malice toward himself. It was at this moment that Xa'Gun decided that Hellie would be his mate. He didn't know about more than one wife like his master, but he'd be lying to say it wasn't a wish to have more than one Orcess, as all men have thought. He had grown into the privilege to entertain such thoughts.

"Well, son. Seems that I don't have to worry then about you being alone in the future." Jukzuk laughed and picked up the grommet from the hookah, and took a puff.

"Dearest, kindest, most handsome uncle... What are you doing?" Hellie asked while frowning.

Jukzuk coughed a bit of smoke, as he was asked. Xa'Gun grunted in question.

"Uncle shouldn't be so into his smoke today. Seems that he's more worried than he looks." Hellie spoke while her expression shifted to a more sympathetic one.

"Just trying to relax, Lili." Jukzuk spoke with a bit of guilt. It was true that his nerves were tight today. He felt that the chieftain's push for a three-on-one match was ill-advised.

Jukzuk took another long draw and then stood up.

"Well, let's go ahead to the arena. Ole Ragnath, that big fellow under the arena, said he wanted to give you some advice... So let's go see him before the horns blow."

Xa'Gun nodded, stood, and walked over to the front of the burrow. On an unused torch holder, Xa'Gun pulled down his slave hood and put it on; he was used to going out now with this particular accessory.

Hellie shook her head and dashed over to his large arm. Holding onto Xa'Gun, she spoke, "In a few matches, you will no longer have to wear a hood."

Xa'Gun touched his hooded mask... Would he feel odd without his hood?