Page 4 of Mountain Orc Daddy

“Okay, Chieftain, I understand. I --”

A rustling noise rings out from the nearby woods. Both Rogar and I turn our heads immediately and silently listen. Rogar reaches for his weapon. I motion for him to calm down.

“No, Rogar, I’ll handle this. Stay here.” It’s been a minute since I’ve had any real excitement. Let’s see what this is. I head towards the sound, ready for anything.

3

BLAIR

“Breathe that in, children,” my mother says with a deep breath. “You won’t be getting air as clean as this in Boston.”

I step out of the car and have to agree with her. You never notice how rough the air is in the city until you get out into nature. The chilly mountain air gives a pleasant shock to my lungs.

Our camp site is in a small, cleared out patch in a dense forest. Apart from us and our car, I can’t see any signs of other people. No other campers, no trash left by the people here before us, nothing.

“How did you manage to book this place again?”

“I did a favor for a park ranger around here.” My father gets out of the car with a proud look. He admires our surroundings. “This is apparently a highly coveted and secretive spot. I can tell why.”

“It’s really great, Dad.” Jade smiles at him.

It really is a nice spot. But maybe we’re too isolated? I was really counting on there being other campers nearby to talk to if my family ever got on my nerves. Which is almost a given.

I guess my face isn’t doing a good job of hiding what I’m thinking, because my mother approaches me with a kind smile. “This weekend will be fun. You’ll enjoy yourself. I just know it.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. It’s nice to get out of the city for a little bit. Away from all my responsibilities. Just clear my head.”

“Exactly!” My mother hugs me. “Relaxation, family bonding, what could be better than that?”

I can think of a few things. But for now, I just smile and nod in response. Resisting isn’t going to make this weekend any better.

“So.” Remus snaps his finger, and the car’s trunk swings open. “Are we ready to get set up?”

He snaps his fingers again, and all the supplies in the car start floating out. I begrudgingly wait for my suitcase and sleeping bag to float by and grab them. I then grab my tent from the air.

As my family starts using magic to set up their tents, I find a nice spot, a little away from them, to set up mine. By the time I finish laying out a tarp on the ground, their tents are all perfectly made. But that’s fine.

I take my time pitching my tent, for two reasons. First, the longer I take the better. It means I get to be alone a little longer, making sure there’s less time I’m at risk of being annoyed. My family knows better than to bother me or offer to help.

The second reason is that this is worth making sure it’s done right. If it collapses on me in the middle of the night, I can’t imagine the smug looks Remus and Jade would give me while my mom insists on using magic to fix it. I just can’t have that.

It takes me about an hour, but my tent is finally set up perfectly. I return my attention to my family to find my parents sitting around a fire. Jade and Remus are nowhere to be found. I walk over to join them.

“Oh, finished with your tent already?” My father has a smirk. “I’m kidding, take a seat, join us.”

“Where are Remus and Jade?”

“They are poking around in the woods.”

Just then, my siblings come bounding out of the woods back into our camp site. They’re out of breath but excited.

“Anyone fancy a stroll through the woods before dinner?” Remus looks back and forth between all of us. “We found a trail.”

“A trail?” Now my mother is just as excited as they are. “To where?”

Jade shrugs. “Let’s find out!”

After a bit of protesting, my family manages to drag me along as they walk the trail. I walk a few steps behind them and ultimately end up not hating it. This part of the woods is very pretty.

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