Page 2 of The Passionate Orc
"What's your name?" I asked, trying to sound confident as I surveyed the damage.
"Emryn. Emryn Lister."
Emryn. The name felt like honey in my mind. I wanted to say it out loud, test how it felt on my tongue, but I just nodded.
"I'm Nar. Nar Humperdink."
"I know." At my surprised look, she smiled slightly. "Mrs. Chen mentioned you. The orc who comes to stare at paintings but never talks to anyone."
Great. She already had me pegged as the weird loner orc.
I rolled up my sleeves, acutely aware of Emryn's eyes on me. The blue splash across her canvas was still wet, which was good news. Her painting was an abstract cityscape, all sharp lines and geometric shapes. With careful hands that seemed too large for the delicate work, I incorporated the blue spill into her original vision.
"You're actually good," she said after watching me work in silence for several minutes. The surprise in her voice stung a little.
"Orcs can be artists too," I muttered, not looking up from my work.
"I didn't mean…" She sighed. "I'm sorry. That was rude of me."
I grunted in response, too focused on not messing up further to form words. My hands were shaking. Being this close to her was intoxicating. She smelled like lavender and turpentine, an oddly appealing combination.
After twenty minutes of careful work, I stepped back. The blue spill had become a nighttime sky reflected in windows, transforming her daytime cityscape into a dusk scene. It wasn't perfect, but it was coherent.
Emryn studied it, her expression unreadable. My heart pounded in my chest. What if she hated it? What if I'd made it worse?
"It's... different," she finally said. "But I think I like it better."
Relief flooded through me. "Really?"
She nodded, a small smile playing at her lips. "You have an interesting perspective. The way you turned the accident into part of the composition instead of trying to erase it."
I rubbed the back of my neck, unsure how to handle the praise. "Just making the best of a bad situation."
"That's what art is sometimes." Her smile grew, revealing a dimple in her right cheek that made my heart skip. "Though next time, maybe just introduce yourself instead of throwing paint at my work?"
I felt my face flush hot. "I didn't mean to—I was just—you're very—" I took a deep breath. "Sorry."
Emryn laughed, the sound light and musical. "I'm teasing you, Nar."
Mrs. Chen, who had been hovering nearby, chose that moment to interrupt. "Emryn, why don't you show Nar your studio sometime? I think you two might have a lot to learn from each other."
My eyes widened. Was Mrs. Chen trying to... set us up?
"I don't think…" I started.
"That's a great idea," Emryn cut in, surprising me. She pulled a business card from her pocket and handed it to me. Our fingers brushed, and a jolt of electricity shot up my arm. "I have a space downtown. Stop by sometime. I'd love to see your work."
I took the card carefully between my huge fingers, afraid I might crush it. "You would?"
"I'm curious what kind of art a warrior orc makes." There was that smile again, with the dimple that made my brain short-circuit.
"It's not very good," I mumbled.
"Let me be the judge of that." She gathered her supplies, tucking a wild curl behind her ear. "I need to head out, but I'm serious about the studio visit. Tomorrow afternoon?"
Tomorrow. She wanted to see me tomorrow. My heart hammered against my ribs like it was trying to escape.
"I have clan training in the morning," I said truthfully. "But I could come after."
