Page 21 of Tryggred By the Orc

Hedidn’t wait forEben’sreply, and instead whirled around, and fled from the room.LeavingEbenstanding there and breathing hard, his face hot, his cock rigid and straining helplessly in his trousers.What… what had that been about?HadEben… truly displeasedTryggr, with the books?Upsethim?Orwas this just… not working, after all?DidTryggrjust… not care?Evenwith the truth of onlyEben’sscent upon him?

Nevertrust aSkai, his father’s voice droned, andEbensqueezed his eyes shut, and shook his head.Showhim.He’llcome around.Ioughta bend you over my knee…

Sleepwas slow coming that night, amidst all the doubts and thwarted hunger now swirlingEben’sthoughts, and he slept in far too late the next morning — but he gathered hisdetermination as he washed and dressed, fetched a bucket of lye, and headed back up into the mountain.Hehad to keep trying.Tryggrwould come around…

Hisheart pounded louder as he neared the scullery, his breaths short and shallow in his throat — but yes, yes, he could scentTryggr, could see him just ahead, there.Alonein the scullery, bent over the washbasin, scrubbing at a stained tunic.

Butfor perhaps the first time since they’d begun this,Tryggrdidn’t acknowledgeEben’sapproach.Didn’teven look up.Justkept frowning down at his scrubbing, his mouth set and thin, his scent strange in the air.

“Isaught — amiss, sir?”Ebenasked, before he could help it. “Areyou — feeling well?”

Tryggrhuffed a laugh and shook his head, but kept his eyes on his scrubbing. “Ach, well enough,” he said, aiming a brief glower over his shoulder toward the still-looming pile of laundry on the counter. “Just— weary of laundry, mayhap.”

Ofcourse.Tryggrhad been washing clothes for multiple days on end now, andEbenfelt a sudden jolt of sympathy, and perhaps regret, too.Despiteall his efforts here, he’d so rarely thought about seeking ways to specifically helpTryggr— he always seemed so capable, so relaxed, so self-assured.Butnow, blinking atTryggr’sbowed head, it occurred toEbenthat he did look weary, and a little sad, too.Andfor aSkaiwho was trained as a scout and a warrior, being ordered onto laundry duty for so long must have been a miserable — or even humiliating — experience, right?Andhow hadEbennever considered that, never once considered howTryggrmight feel about all this?

“Well,Ihave been thinking,”Ebensaid, too quickly, “that we ought to seek ways to make this washing more efficient.Ihave been meaning to speak to our engineers upon this, forIhave read of machines in the north that can help, and make this faster.”

Hisvoice came out too eager, almost desperate, butTryggrstill didn’t spare a look up. “Ach, mayhap,” he said distractedly. “Thanks,Ka-esh.”

Eben’sbelly dipped, his throat swallowing hard, but he jerked a nod, and made to stagger with the increasingly heavy bucket of lye toward the sink — a movement that finally snappedTryggr’shead up, his eyes flashing with sudden disbelief.

“Ach,Ka-esh!” he yelped, as he leapt to his feet. “Careful!Giveme that!”

Right.Eben’sbelly plummeted again, but he managed another nod, and shoved the bucket towardTryggr’swaiting hands.Andthen attempted a smile up toward his face, asTryggr’swords from the corridor echoed through his thoughts.Justfussing over you.Justmeans —Icare.

AndsurelyTryggrwas thinking of it too, his eyes oddly intent onEben’sface as he took the bucket, their fingers just brushing — but thenTryggr’sgaze shifted purposefully beyondEben.Towardwhere — oh.Alma.Scentingof uncertainty, and looking meaningfully towardTryggr, as though she wished to speak with him.

Ebencould take a hint, at least, so he rushed out the door, and headed back to the sickroom.Wherehe barely noticedKesst’snod toward him as he entered — at least, untilKesstsighed, and came over to eyeEbenover the workbench.

“Look,Ijust wanted to — apologize, again, for overlooking all your efforts,Eben,” he said. “Andfor pushing you to help in the scullery, and teasing you likeIdid aboutAlma, too.Iknow it’s not an excuse, butI’vebeen a bit — out of sorts, lately.”

Ebenblinked, genuinely taken aback, but he attempted to smile, and wave it away.Butperhaps it hadn’t come out right, becauseKesstsighed again, and gaveEbena look that was almost... sympathetic. “AndIdidn’t even notice,” he added, quieter, “that it’s notAlmayou’ve been pining over all this time,is it?It’sthat loudmouthSkaifuckboyTryggr.Gods, you two evenscentof each other.”

Wait.No.Damnit.Ebencouldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, could only stare aghast atKesst’sface, because nowKesstwould tellTryggrhowEbenfelt,Kesstwould mock him and dismiss him and ruin everything —

“Gods, don’t scent like that,Iwon’ttellhim,”Kesstsaid, flapping a hand toward him. “Ijust thought maybeIowed you — a warning.”

Awarning.Ebenstill couldn’t breathe, could only stand there and wait while his stomach pitched and churned in his gut, andKesstsighed again. “Youjust — you know whatSkaican be like, right?” he said thinly. “Imean,Iknow they’re not all like that,I’mtrying to examine my own biases here, but still, just” — he hesitated, his eyes almost sad onEben’sface — “just… be careful.Youcould end up — really hurt.”

Oh.Eben’sheart was erratically pinging in his chest, but he made himself nod, and mumble a thank-you.Andlong afterKessthad gone back to his own work, his words kept echoing throughEben’sthoughts, again and again and again.Youknow whatSkaiare like.Becareful.Youcould end up really hurt.Nevertrust aSkai…

Bythe end of the workday,Ebenwas sweaty and jittery and half-panicked, rushing back to the scullery with shaky, frantic steps.Buthis heart dropped even before he entered, because he could already scent thatTryggrwasn’t there — orAlma, either.OnlyDuffwas still working, doggedly sloshing soapy water against a bloodstained pair of trousers.

“YoungTrygnot here,” he balefully informedEben, without being asked. “InSkaiarena,Iken.”

Ebenfought to quash his surging disappointment, and attempted to focus on helping with some washing instead.ButDuffkept darting narrow glances toward him, and finally hebobbed his silver head toward the door. “Yougo,” he said. “Fetchhim yourself.”

What?No.Ebencouldn’t possibly go to that terrifying arena, not alone, not again — butDuffjabbed a soapy, wizened finger at the door this time. “NoSkaidare touch you,” he said flatly, “now you bear youngTrygscent.”

Oh.Truly?AndEbenhadn’t at all realizedDuffknew about that, but of course he would have scented it, just likeKesst, just likeTryggr’sfathers, just like they all had, perhaps.Andit was enough to makeEbennod, to make him lurch for the door again.Notthinking, not thinking, as he staggered on shaky legs toward theSkaiwing, his heartbeat thundering distantly through his chest.Hewas just walking, just seeking that sweet familiar scent, that was all, that was all…

Andyes, yes, there it was, just a twinge of it, drawingEbendown this corridor, down that one.Windingdeeper and deeper into the dim cozySkaiwing, and between the scent and the comforting darkness, it kept his steps moving, going, closer and closer and closer…

Until— this.Thisdoor.Thearena.Withfar fewer scents flooding it this time, andEben’seyes instantly caught onTryggr.Hewas fighting against three otherSkaiorcs, his lean body writhing and snapping and kicking, his grunts and hisses filtering through the air.Andfor a startled, frozen instant,Ebencould only stand there and stare at him, drink up the fierce fluid beauty of his strong, stunning body.Damn, he was gorgeous, he was everything, and there was nothing moreEbenwanted than to…

Butthen,Tryggrfroze.Hishead snapping up, his gaze darting toward —Eben.Andfor an instant, they only stared at each other, even as another orc landed what looked like a painful kick intoTryggr’sside, setting him staggering on his feet, pitching sideways, toward…

Eben.Wait, wait,Tryggrwas coming towardEben, sprinting with astonishing speed, his eyes blazing.AndbeforeEbencould move, or catch it, or speak,Tryggrdragged him out into the corridor, shoved him up against the hard stone wall, and — pinned him there.Trappedhim there.

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