Page 30 of Shared By Two Orcs

“It’s lovely to see you,” I say as I fix her hair behind her ear. “Shall we all take a seat?”

We settle down with a pint of ale and some food. Piled high on our plates is a generous serving of oven baked dripir, mashed burgona, and steamed sench, topped off with a thick gravy made from the drippings of the meat. Each bite is tender and savory with the buttery flavor of the sench pairing well with the fattiness of the dripir and the earthiness of the burgona. The food is so good that we hold off on talking until we’re done.

“So, how have we all been recently?” asks Duma.

“Good,” I answer, in the middle of admiring Willo. “You look damn beautiful tonight.”

“You really think so?” she asks with a warm smile.

“He’s right,” says Duma. “Your hair looks amazing when it’s let down like that.”

“Aw, you guys!” she chuckles. “Well, as usual, both of you are also stunning.”

“Hey, wait a minute,” he quips. “I smell something familiar.” His eyes dart to me with an intense gaze. “You’re caught out Yamarz, I know that scent anywhere.”

“Yeah, I smell it too!”

I place my pint of ale down and throw up my palms.

“Alright, you’ve got me cornered so I’ll confess,” I laugh. “I took inspiration from your idea of infusing oil with rirzed and I made a batch of my own. Although, I’m not too sure if I did it right.”

“You did it right,” he says. “Not too weak yet not too strong. It’s not just rirzed you can use, there’s a whole bunch of herbs out there ripe for the picking. Each one has its own unique aroma.”

“Well, it’s only my first attempt at something like this. Maybe you can show me a few of your tricks sometime soon.”

“I’d be more than willing to,” he replies before taking a drink.

“Well well well!” quips Willo. “Look at you two getting on!”

“It is what it is,” I tell her. “Now then, how about another drink?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Duma leaves for a few moments before returning with another round of ale.

“I’ve been enjoying this,” says Willo in a confident tone. “I bet you boys think the same thing.”

“I’ve got to admit something,” says Duma. “I thought I was going to be uncomfortable at the sight of you making out with Yamarz but you know what? I’m totally cool with it.”

“Yeah,” I reply. “Me too. I suppose neither of us could have kept the wool pulled over our eyes for long. One of us was going to see it happen eventually so I guess we owe our thanks to Willo.”

Duma and I raise our pints, gesturing to our shared partner.

“You gave us that push we needed to become more comfortable,” he says before leaning over to plant a kiss on her cheek. While his lips are on her, I lean over to do the same to her other cheek, causing her to giggle with joy as she finds herself in the middle of us.

“I can’t get all the credit,” she laughs. “All I wanted was to see you guys get along. Give yourselves and each other a pat on the back too.”

I raise my pint to Duma as he does the same, clinking our drinks together.

“To a wonderful friendship,” I say before downing my ale.

The three of us spend the next two hours getting a little more than tipsy together. By the time the canteen closes, the sky is pitch black. The only source of light is the moon, shining like a giant pearl in the sky.

“Come on then,” says Willo, extending a hand to each of us. “Aren’t you both going to be gentlemen and make sure I get home safe?”

Duma and I take a hand each as we begin the short journey to her home. A few minutes later, we’re leading her up the steps as we come to her front door. There, we let go of her hand and take a few steps back.

“Did you both have a good night?” she asks us.

---