Page 98 of My Orc Has Big Tusks
“Like today,” I said. “With the kormek.”
“Yes, like today.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “She complimented Traig’s cooking. She asked real questions about the fizzlings’ stress responses. She let the mossnibble keep her bracelet without demanding I retrieve it.” Her voice went soft. “I can see that she’s trying. I just don’t know what she’s trying for.”
“Perhaps she’s walking the space,” I said. “One small step. Testing whether the distance can be crossed.”
“And if I don’t meet her halfway?”
“Then the space remains. But you didn’t create it alone, which means you don’t have to cross it alone either.”
Laina was quiet for a long time. Sofia’s breathing evened into tiny snores.
“Your people are very wise about family,” Laina finally said.
“The kingdom has had thousands of years to be wrong about it first.” I shifted forward in my chair. “We have a saying,The distance your family walks away is never as far as the distance your pride will maintain.It means?—”
“That sometimes staying angry is easier than trying again,” she said.
“Yes.”
“That’s very wise.”
“It’s just an observation.”
“That’s the same thing sometimes.”
When it grew late, she disappeared into the bathroom and emerged wearing a nightshirt that hit mid-thigh, her hair loose around her shoulders. She walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of my bed, her hands folded in her lap.
I stood in the doorway, uncertain about the space I’d lived in for years.
“The bed is large enough for four orcs,” I said.
“It is.”
“We’re adults.”
“We are.”
“We already slept together in a cave.”
“We did.” Her mouth curved. “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”
“Both.”
She patted the quilt. “This is your home, Brovish. Come to bed.”
I washed up in the bathroom, my hands moving through the familiar routine while my mind stayed with what we’d discussed in the living area. Tavresh-mora. The space that must be walked.
I’d told Laina about kingdom family wisdom, but I hadn’t told her what I’d observed. Carol was taking steps. Small, uncertain ones, but steps toward Laina. And Laina was standing still, waiting to see if those steps led somewhere safe or somewhere that would hurt again.
I didn’t know which it would be. But I knew that Laina didn’t have to decide yet.
I undressed, leaving only my loincloth in place, and opened the bathroom door.
She’d turned out the light and laid down. I settled on the side opposite. Sofia launched herself onto the bed between us and snuggled into the blanket with a soft trill.
We lay in the growing darkness, neither of us sleeping.
My hand found hers, our fingers weaving together.
