Orc Calamity

Jukzuk took the opportunity to introduce Phillip, "Boy, this is my second niece, Demze."

Despite his reservations of the look in her eyes, Phillip gave her an orcish greeting.

Beating his chest, "h.e.l.lo pretty Orcess." Phillip said with no sense of shame. If Phillip knew how this translated into common, he would need a face as thick as two city walls to say it.

In common he would be saying, "h.e.l.lo beautiful lady," but with the greeting, he gave this further translated into, "h.e.l.lo beautiful lady, I"m interested in you." Phillip did not know this, Jukzuk knew he didn"t know, and as he was about to correct Phillip, Demze spoke, "I"m interested in you as well."

Phillip"s questioning face peered through his bearded faced.

"One moment." Jukzuk interrupted what Demze was going to say, as he brought him over to the side and explained what just happened.

Phillip now turned slightly red all over, as he returned.

"I didn"t mean to offend you." He spoke with his head lower.

Demze laughed, "How did you offend me? I, too, am interested in you. The feeling is mutual, but I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Can I cut your hair?" Demze asked tilting her head looking between Jukzuk and Phillip.

Jukzuk sighed, and waved his hand, as he spoke, "I need to go speak with the chief to make arrangements for him to see the boy. I"ll be back in a few minutes." It seemed as he spoke to Demze, as he turned to Phillip, "Boy, mind your manners. I"ll be back in a few moments."

Jukzuk left, as Demze rose, as she instructed, "Bring a chair. Is your shaving kit in the bathroom?"

Phillip let out a grunt that spoke simply, "I don"t know," as he moved to the kitchen to get a chair from the bar where he imagined Orcs would eat.

He brought it back and sat down. Phillip hadn"t had his hair cut by someone since... His sister.

He would always cut his own hair; however sloppy it was.

Demze came back with a leather kit. She walked over to the couch arm and rolled out the kit. Taking out the scissors she began work on Phillip.

While she worked, she asked questions, "Can I ask you some personal questions?"

Phillip grunted as he didn"t really care.

"Did you really not know you were an Orc?" Demze asked what she really wanted to know.

Phillip grunted again, as he spoke, "I never questioned it. I was never told I was human either. I just a.s.sumed. I wonder if my sister was as well..."

The wording and tone that Phillip used when saying sister caused Demze to pause, but knowing that the sister was no longer around, caused her to feel her own heart squeeze before she quickly brushed it away.

"Now that you know... What do you plan on doing?"

"Depends on the chief, I suppose..."

Demze"s eyes narrowed, as she asked, "Well, most Orcs have lofty dreams of becoming the strongest and ruling. Do you wish to rule?"

"Rule? Never thought about it." Phillip grunted.

"Really... I see, but you have to admit the allure to rule is large. Just like for humans, Orcs want to become rulers as well. Power at the end of the day is everything."

"Well, Sister Orcess... I can"t cultivate. So power isn"t much in the way for me. I"ll be happy if I can just stay in this house, I mean, burrow."

Demze"s eyes dulled slightly, but then changed as she thought a different way, "That too has its merits." Demze had snipped given Phillip a good cut on top, and with

She left leaving Phillip feeling strange about the questions. Her questions didn"t feel like h.e.l.lie"s. h.e.l.lie"s questions felt free and playful, even willful, but that was it... Demze"s questions felt loaded and with purpose... Maybe even with a hint of malice. Phillip thought it odd that she would want to mistreat him, but he was no stranger to mistreatment and kept his guard up.

She came back with a hot towel and placed it on the face of Phillip. Phillip felt the warmth in the towel and enjoyed this sensation. This wasn"t something he had ever had.

"How did you get the towel hot?"

"Firestones."

Hearing Phillip grunt cluelessly, Demze continued, "A shaman that is favored by the elements of fire imbue their power into a special gemstone. This gemstone is what heats the water. It only has so many charges until it runs out of power, but it"s usually good for a year before it runs dry unless you abuse it."

"There is such a thing?" Phillip was amazed.

"Indeed. Our sister Midka is in her final training as a Shaman. In the next few days, she will find out what Element will favor her. With their favor, she will pa.s.s from initiate to adapt and a true Shaman."

"You must be... Proud of your sister." Phillip said with a bit of sadness laced in his voice.

Demze picked up on this and tied it back to his previous words.

She took the hot towel from Phillip"s face, as she used a type of cream on his face to shave him.

No words were spoken during this period of time, but Phillip kept looking into Demze"s eyes, as Demze would stare back.

Finally completed, she got the, now warm, towel and wiped him clean. She stood bad admiring her work. It had been years since she had done anything like this... Not since...

Demze shook her head and got Phillip to go to the bathroom to look in the mirror.

He looked at himself in the mirror.

All the hair that had always covered his face, even before his helmet was cut back, and swept backward. He had sideburns that came from the side of his face down to the angle of his jaw, as thick and hair as it has been before, but now in a jagged design. He was clean-shaven chin and neck. No more neckbeard.

He felt... He looked pretty good.

[So, this is what the people in the tavern called a "new shave look."] Phillip thought as he returned back to his foyer.

As the time he was lumbering back into the main hall, h.e.l.lie came in from outside, and waving a sack of jingling coins in her hand laughing hysterically, "Sis you are not going to believe the payout! ELEMENTS! I"ve never seen Braga so angry before. I had to fight him and all his g-"

h.e.l.lie dropped her bag of coins, as even a few of those coins jumped out from the impact and rolled on the floor.

Phillip startled by the sound of the dropped money looked over to h.e.l.lie who stood in the doorway of his burrow.

"I...Ummm... Hi." h.e.l.lie spoke slow and low.

"Ummm. Hey h.e.l.lie. Welcome back."

"Leg-Legbreaker!?" h.e.l.lie squeezed out.

[Elements, he"s handsome!] h.e.l.lie screamed in her mind!