Page 31 of Steel & Thunder
“It would seem that word of our match yesterday has spread throughout the city.” The orc turns his head to answer me. “The ritual is not a common occurrence. After one takes place, it is usually the subject of town gossip for at least a few weeks.”
I sigh to myself. Of course everyone would be talking about that. I only hope it hasn’t gotten back to my friends in the jail yet. The rest of our walk home is in silence, the glow of the streetlights illuminating our way. Away from the bars, the rest of the city seems to have gone to sleep with the sun. Just me, the captain, and my thoughts.
When we get home, Ironstorm leads me to the bedroom, turning on some lanterns on the way.
“Go ahead and undress,” he tells me while moving to his chests and removing the items from his bag. “You may leave your underclothes on.”
I guess that’s an improvement over being naked. In this set of underwear at least. I pull off my shirt and lay it on the bed before sitting to remove my boots and pants. After folding the two, Ironstorm picks them up and brings them to one of the chests.
“Your clothes will be kept in here,” he instructs. “I expect you to keep them neat and organized.”
“Yessir.” I respond without really thinking, having been told similar orders so many times by so many people at this point.
“Good boy.” He gives me a sly smile and I roll my eyes. “Come. We need to eat and maybe a little reading before bed.”
I follow him to the kitchen, opting to stand rather than sit on the damned pillow. I watch as he moves about gathering ingredients. Looks like fish tonight. The orc grabs a skillet and lights the stove, setting some vegetables to the side before he slices into the fish. My stomach growls. I really wish it would stop doing that.
“There is something on your mind,” Ironstorm informs me over his shoulder.
He’s not wrong. There’re a million things on my mind. One thing in particular is still bothering me though.
“What was with that punishment?” I blurt out. Smooth, David.
The orc considers me for a moment before continuing to clean the fish. “Despite what you may think, I am not a monster, David. I was not happy that you ran, but I understood why. I know a panic attack when I see one. You were overwhelmed after a long day of being forced into unknown situations. Situations you have been handling well, given the circumstances. I do not want you to be afraid of me or to hate the things we do. Even if you are not ready to admit you like them.” I stutter a protest, but he cuts me off. “Regardless of that, my intention was to show you that not everything we will do is something to be endured.”
“So you decided to tie me down and strip me in front of total strangers?” I cock an eyebrow at his reasoning.
“Bit of a simplification,” he smirks. “You still needed to be punished, and given the public nature of your transgression, a public punishment seemed appropriate. All day I noted your aversion to public nudity, among other things, which, given how we met, struck me as a little humorous.”
“I told you I didn’t know—”
“These are not concerns shared by the rest of the city,” he continues over my protest. “Public nudity—and in certain situations more than that—are not uncommon. And I am sorry to inform you that they will not be vanishing from your life anytime in the near future. The best way to get you over that was to...” He pauses, thinking. “…’Throw you in the deep end,’ is how Brull put it. I wanted to teach you that being on display like that in front of others is not always bad. And you were perfect for me, puppy.”
“Why do you call me that?” I ask absent-mindedly, still processing the psychoanalysis he just dropped on me and ignoring the compliment even if it gives me a warm feeling in my stomach.
“You remind me of the dog I had as a child.” He moves and lays the cleaned fish in the skillet. “Loud and impulsive, always getting into trouble, and frequently found where he was not supposed to be.”
I narrow my eyes at the obvious insult.
“He was also very smart, and with a little training became the most loyal companion I could have ever asked for.” He smiles warmly and moves on to chopping carrots. “He was my best friend. He was with my family for more than a decade and a half—to the very end.”
I don’t have any more questions after that, or at least I’m too preoccupied to vocalize them now. I lean against the counter, thinking about his words, his actions. It’s clear that he’s training me. He even compared me to his old dog. But what we’ve been doing isn’t what you do with a pet. So what exactly is he training me for?
Chapter Nine
“We gotta slay the dragon!” I scream as I run up the hill, holding my sword high.
“Wait! My sword broke,” the small voice calls from behind me.
“Oh.” I stop, looking around on the ground for a suitable replacement. “Here y’go, Mikey.” I hand the sturdy looking stick to my brother.
“Thanks, D.” He gives it a few practice swings.
“Now c’mon!” I turn to start my run back up the hill. “He’s gettin’ away!”
I wake up slowly to the sounds of chirping morning birds muffled behind a thick curtain. My eyes adjust to the sunlight bleeding through the edges, and whatever the blurry green thing in my vision is comes into focus. Once the fact that it’s a person crosses my mind, the rest of my brain finally kicks into gear, and the memories of the last two days come flooding back. I stop myself from jerking away in surprise, not wanting to risk waking the sleeping orc.
At least he’s not spooning me this time. We went to bed on separate sides of the bed last night but once again migrated back to the center. This time I’m curled up in the crook of my bedmate’s arm, my head on his shoulder and my arm thrown over his chest. Being this close to his armpit, it’s hard not to smell the man. Considerably better than the locker rooms back home.
