This included a lively sparring demonstration, broken out by age, and then a scenting demonstration, which was led by a rather grim-faced Varinn, who had reappeared at the last possible moment, and then left again. And then Geva joined Othan and another Ash-Kai drummer named Bjorr to lead the orclings in a drumming circle, followed by a few dance solos — the last one from the plump little Grisk Vragi, who had turned out to be a beautiful dancer.
And after that, they returned to the tales again. Kesst again told the tale of Edom and Akva, and then the orclings all took turns telling their own tales — some they’d created themselves, some they’d gathered from their fathers or elders. And for the grand finale, Timo, Trygve, Sune, and Cecily put on a fabulous shadow-show on the wall in the firelight, their hands transformed into dragons and dangerous beasts, who sometimes cleverly switched into sign language as well.
By this point, Tengil had curled up in Geva’s lap to watch, his warm little body wriggling and giggling with delight. And when it was finished, he clapped and stomped along with her, while Jule loudly whistled her approval beside them.
“That was wonderful, sister,” Jule said as she stiffly rose to her feet afterwards, rubbing at the slight new swell in her belly. “You and Rathgarr have done such an incredible job with this school. I can’t wait for our new son to join in, too.”
Geva smiled warmly back toward Jule as she stood up too, hoisting Tengil up into her arms. “How is he doing today? Are you still feeling fatigued?”
“Some,” Jule replied, with a grimace. “But Efterar says that’s to be expected. And Sken insists that there’s nothing to worry about, and his farsight is always impeccable, which is a great help.”
Right. Geva winced, but decided to leave that one well enough alone, and soon was caught up in saying heartfelt farewells and thank-yous to all the orclings and their caretakers. They’d all seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves, and Geva was deeply touched when two newer Ash-Kai fathers came over with their preteen sons — Falnor and Balvir — to specifically thank her and Rathgarr for offering such a valuable service, and also, for letting them know about it in the first place.
“This was a good Ash-Kai scheme,” one of the fathers said, as he held out a wrinkled, familiar-looking pamphlet. “I should never have known, had I not found this in the Kentnek cross-tunnel.”
It was one of the pamphlets Rathgarr had created with Rosa, but instead of being meant for humans, this one had been targeted specifically toward orcs. And along with Rosa’s typical attention-grabbing headline — ORCLINGS DESERVE EDUCATION TOO! — it had included a variety of firsthand testimonials from their current students and their fathers, as well as a comprehensive list of curriculum, and a means of requesting a follow-up meeting through the Skai spy network.
And thus had begun another highly intriguing aspect of Geva’s new Orc Mountain life, because shortly after their first distribution drop, Killik had stalked over during class, and handed Geva a slip of paper with a name and coordinates on it. And she’d stared blankly down toward it for a long moment, before frowning over at Rathgarr’s equally confused face.
“You… don’t actually expectusto go meet with them, in person?” she’d demanded at Killik. “But we’re needed here!”
But Killik had rolled his eyes, and waved around at the rest of the adults currently helping in the classroom — at Tristan, and Varinn, and Kalfr, and Ulfarr, and Jule. “You ken we cannot handle this for a few days?” he’d flatly replied. “Youwere the one who pushed for all thissupport, ach? And who better to stand for our mountain, and yammer of all the gossip and news, and speak with ease of all yourcurriculumandsafety protocols? Notme?!”
At that, he’d irritably waved at his own scarred, frowning, bare-chested form — still with those crossed shining daggers stuck in his messy hair — and then jabbed his claw between Rathgarr and Geva. At where, as always, Rathgarr had been impeccably dressed in a crisp tunic and trousers, topped by a very flattering blue waistcoat, and a tasteful smattering of jewels — his own wedding-ring, an elaborate belt buckle, an elegant cuff, and a lovely black-jewelled pendant, a recent gift from Kesst. While Geva herself had been dressed in a perfectly matching blue shift, with a light wool cape over her shoulders — at Rathgarr’s insistence, in case she or their son ever felt cold — and her own beautiful jewelry that Rathgarr had chosen for the day. And of course, he’d also recently done her hair, this time into multiple beaded plaits that twisted around her head.
“Also,heknows the realm as well as any Skai,” Killik had peevishly continued, again jabbing his claw at Rathgarr, “and most of all the places where orcs live and hide. Whilstyou” — his accusing claw had swung toward Geva — “were raised by your mother and father to be one of thesediplomats! You speak four tongues, woman, and what good is this to us here?!”
With that, he’d spun and stalked off, leaving Geva and Rathgarr still blinking at one another — at least, until Jule had sidled over, giving them a far-too-innocent smile. “You don’t mind, do you?” she’d said lightly. “You two really are quite well suited for it, you know. And if you weren’t opposed, I’m sure there are a few other meetings we could set up as well?”
It had clearly been yet another devious Ash-Kai scheme all along — no doubt direct from Grimarr himself — but neither Geva nor Rathgarr had bothered arguing it. And after now having gone on multiple diplomatic trips together — typically one or two a month, often with Cecily in tow — Geva could fully admit that it had been a brilliant plan. They both truly enjoyed meeting new people, especially orclings, and Rathgarr could be exceedingly charming when he wanted to be, and rarely lost his cool in stressful or antagonistic situations. And Geva’s language skills had come in handy after all — it turned out that a small band of northern Ka-esh only spoke Kraitish, along with an incomprehensible ancient dialect of Aelakesh — and she’d discovered that her tales would often put orcs at ease, in a way that other reassurances didn’t.
And it even turned out that Geva’s Eziran heritage was helpful, too. Giving her a fundamental understanding of how many of these orcs felt, living as quietly as they could among a culture that wasn’t their own. And in the same way that her skin and hair had often set her apart among humans, it also seemed to do the same with orcs, but resulting more in curiosity, or relief, or, sometimes, even blatant admiration.
“Ach, my sweet mate is very stunning to scent and look upon,” Rathgarr would often say to that, with a rather dangerous glint in his eye, while also pulling Geva bodily closer upon him. “But if you shall not hear her words, then we shall go at once, so I can treat her as she deserves, ach?”
Thankfully, that had usually done the job, and so far Rathgarr had only ended up in one fight, which had — predictably — resulted in the offending orc lying unconscious on the floor. And while there were often still rude and mistrustful humans to deal with as well, especially on the roads, Geva had continued to find that showing themselves as a happy, united couple was a considerable help.
And best of all, their trips and meetings truly had begun to make a noticeable difference. Bringing more than a dozen new orclings — and their caretakers — to the mountain, which had in turn led to more insights into the orcs’ previous homes and communities, some of which were so well-hidden that even the Skai hadn’t known they existed. And in turn, that had allowed the Ka-esh to create and distribute more pamphlets, much to Rosa’s ever-increasing delight.
And speaking of which, Rosa had somehow instantly popped up at the sight of her pamphlet, her little orcling Thorin clasped in her arms. “Oh, I’m so glad it was helpful!” she said, beaming beatifically back and forth between Falnor and Balvir’s fathers. “Was there any other information you’d have liked to see included? Or any other places you’d have been likely to find it?”
Soon they were all embroiled in an intensive pamphlet-related discussion, and Rathgarr had swiftly made his escape, ushering Geva over toward where Cecily was helping tidy up with Timo and Sune. Although, at their approach, Cecily leapt up and whirled around, with a distinctly guilty look on her face.
“What is it, daughter?” Rathgarr asked, his voice very easy, though Geva could already feel the taut watchfulness in his big body against her. “Is aught amiss?”
“No, Pa, of course not!” Cecily replied, her voice very high-pitched, but Rathgarr clearly wasn’t fooled, raising a watchful brow toward her. And beside her, Timo had gently elbowed her in the ribs, while on her other side, Sune had signed something toward her, his hands moving too swiftly for Geva to follow.
“Ach, fine,” Cecily said, with a sigh, and then an almost-fearful glance between Rathgarr and Geva. “I… did something. Something… sneaky. Something… you might not like.”
Geva felt her own brows rising, while Rathgarr further stiffened beside her — but she firmly rubbed at his back, and attempted a reassuring smile toward Cecily. “Well, we’d be very grateful if you’ll tell us, sweetheart,” she said. “That way, if you ever need help, we can do our best for you.”
Timo gave Cecily another purposeful nudge, his eyes very clearly sayingI told you so, and she reluctantly nodded, and sighed again. “I… wrote to my aunt and uncle,” she whispered. “And I told them thatIstole all their coin and jewels, right before we went on that trip to the city. And then I threw it all down the well.”
Geva’s mouth had fallen open, but at Sune’s sharp, warning glance, she promptly snapped it shut again, while Cecily drew in another dragging breath. “Except for the servants’ things,” she continued unsteadily, “and my cousins’ things, too. I hid all those. And when I ran away from my aunt in the city, I went back to the house, and put those things back, because I felt guilty. And then I ran away again, and found a new, safe home to live in, far away from them, for good.”
Geva’s disbelief was still surging, and beside her, Rathgarr had gone even stiffer than before. “But… why, sweetheart?” Geva finally said, as evenly as she could. “Why would you tell your aunt and uncle thatyoudid all that, when it was actually your father? And me?”
Cecily made a face, glancing back and forth between Timo and Sune before drawing in another breath. “I did it so it will never come back for either ofyou!” she said shrilly, flapping her hand between Rathgarr and Geva. “With all our travelling now, sister, there’s still a chance they could find you, and blame you for the theft — and if not, I’m sure they'll be blaming the orcs! It’s a lot easier for me to blend in than it is for you, especially now that I’ve been eating and growing so much more! And Iwantmy aunt to blame me, so she’ll hate me forever, andnevertry to find me or take me back!”
