Page 78 of Steel & Thunder
“No, we’re not related,” Nylan cuts me off, sounding offended.
My eyes go wide. You’d think I’d at least try to keep my foot out of my fucking mouth by now. “Oh god, no, I’m sorry. I was just gonna ask if they were friends, I wasn’t trying to—”
“Are you both done torturing my puppy?” Khazak steps in to defend me, and I realize Nylan is fucking with me again, awkwardness forgotten. Between making me think I said something racist and implying I accused them of incest, he’s got a fucked-up sense of humor.
I like him.
“Why, jealous?” Ragnar snarks at Khazak before turning to me. “I’ve always wondered: is he this stuffy at home? Like when it’s just the two of you?”
“Uhhhhh...” My eyes go wide at the question.
“I am not stuffy,” Khazak growls on my left.
“He refuses to use contractions, David,” Ragnar offers his compelling evidence.
“I just do not understand why it is necessary to mash every word together,” Khazak fires back. “We do not even have contractions in our language!” I notice Nylan’s smirk, but he stays conspicuously silent, probably glad the attention isn’t on him.
“It’s not even that.” Ragnar crumbles the sauce-covered paper from his finished sandwich. “I swear, somehow you always manage to pick the strangest and most specific words to use.”
“I like to be precise with my language.” Khazak rolls his eyes.
“Come on, you know what I’m talking about, David, right?” All eyes turn to me at Ragnar’s question, each hopeful in their own way.
“...I think the first time he brought me home he called his bathroom a lavatory.” I can’t help myself.
The look of betrayal on Khazak’s face says I may pay for that later, but the way I get Ragnar and Nylan to laugh is worth it. What? I want his friends to like me.
“Insult me all you want, but I remember your mother asking me to tutor you two nights a week when you nearly did not graduate.” Khazak opens a second sandwich.
“...I’m a slow learner,” Ragnar grumbles to himself as Nylan reaches over to give him a half-hearted pat on the wrist.
“As well as a slow reader, a slow writer, a slow test taker...” Khazak trails off before taking a bite of his sandwich as Nylan starts laughing, and Ragnar responds with what I assume is a curse word that I am definitely asking Nylan to teach me later.
It’s fun to watch the three of them interact during lunch, Khazak laughing and playing around with his friends. When the jokes start flying, I am a little worried he might react like he did with his sister but no, he’s happily smiling while they fling barbs at each other. When we’re finished eating, Nylan says his goodbyes—he’s got an afternoon shift at the bookstore—and Khazak brings me back to his office.
“Finished signing things?” I see that the stack of papers has been moved to the side.
“Just before lunch.” He takes a seat behind his desk. “Ready to discuss your duties?”
“Yes, Sir.” I grab a seat in front of the desk. No point in avoiding this.
“First, I assume that when we are here, and you have the free time, you will want to spend some time in the gymnasium?” He nods his head in the room’s direction.
“Yes, please.” I nod. I’m already excited to start bulking up again, especially considering how much I’ve been eating lately.
“Good. I look forward to seeing the results.” He gives me a lecherous grin. “But when you are not exercising, I would like you to work on this.” He slides a book from the left side of his desk to me.
I take a hold of it. The cover reads Learning Atasi. “What’s this?”
“A language book.” He leans back a little. “I think it would be beneficial for you to start learning some Atasi.”
“Atasi? You don’t want me to learn Orcish?” That seems like a weird request.
“No.” He looks at me oddly. “We do not speak Orcish.”
“You don’t?” I’m really confused now. “Then what have you been… Isn’t that what orcs speak?”
“Orcs in your part of the world.” He leans forward on his forearms. “David, you are aware that we do not even call ourselves orcs, right?”
