Orcs and Flowers [JenivueGrimm and Sirix]

He chuckles a little at her almost desperate tone. "They are well. Father is still on the border patrol, and says they only have wild beasts to kill. Means the elves aren't trying to over run us for the moment at least. Mother is still making those pies everyone loves. Makes them with clover she says." He tells her, then looks over at her as they walk, the ground starting to slowly trek upwards as they neared the foot of the mountain. "Why don't you tell me about the spirit realm." He suggests, not knowing much about the world within their world and guessing she would speak passionately about the subject.

She smiled as she listened to him. "That's good. If the elves are so smart, it'll stay that that way. Bunch of aristocracy snobs is what they are... Clover you say? I'll have to try that with some of my own pies. Mom still loves those pies your mother makes." When he asked about the spirit realm she sighed and said,"It's... It's like... Think of our own realm of existence. Yet, it's different. Its ever shifting and changing with the thoughts and emotions of others. All it takes is one drop and literally everything can change. That's the very beginning of it. It has so many pathways and channels. The further in you go, the more that's added. The dead, the grass, the trees... Everything starts filtering in and making an impact. You can hear things, voices, sounds, everything that is unheard from this place. You go there and immediately, you're a part of it. It affects you, for better for or for worse... It's the most beautiful and strange thing I have ever experienced."

Then she followed up with,"What's it like on a battlefield?" As much as she was kind of glad she never has been on one. It's still something she has always been curious about.

He considers her question for a moment, then puts it into the best words he can. "Its similar but...the opposite of the spiritual realm. There is nothing beautiful about the battlefield unless you are a true monster, but everything does starts to get loud and sounds everywhere, it can be hard to tell what is what, and who is who once the blood is everywhere." He starts out, the life draining from his eyes a little. "The beauty in battle is found in the safety kept and the honor won for self and tribe." He explains. "There is a reason the battlefield is not for the shaman. They are too pure for such a dirty place." he says, with a shake of his head, the life starting to return to his eyes. "And the chief is too dirty to enter such a perfect place."

"Well, at least not right now. Eventually, everyone goes to the spiritual realm.", she replied hesitantly. At the end, they all go to the spiritual realm. She wouldn't put it as being dirty and she wouldn't say that the spiritual world was perfect. Annabella then changed the subject,"So... When we return if everything goes smoothly, the yearly rite of passage for the senior class of warriors will be going on... Have you spent any time with the younger ones? Any bets on whose going to rank in the top ten?" Every year the young ones that believed themselves to be ready to enter into adult hood would step into the arena and battle the other warriors. If they were not able to at least hold their own against the adult they were sent back for further training. She had spent a bit of time with the younger orcs. Not that much but she and the shaman had peeked on the younger ones during their own gathering in the forests.

Grom thinks for a moment, doing a quick comparison of all the senior class recurits. "I'm more then happy to place some stakes on this bet." He chuckles then lets her think it over a moment before giving his list. "Highest to lowest, my favorites are Gorebeck, Mec, Loctar, Yhorm, Prett, Ulu, Frem, Wen, Notim, Crell." He lists off, struggling with the first few, then ending off strong with the last few. "Gorebeck and Mec are strong but still fast, they will be hard to beat, the rest I'm confident in their skills, they just don't have the brain behind their actions. Yhorm in particular is the largest and the strongest, but he would rather get one good hit off before trying to do anything other then strike or grab." He gives his evaluation, being the next in line meant he needed to keep an eye on the next generation of warriors.

"What?! Ulu is totally better than Gorebeck and Mec! She can beat them hands down. I think it's gonna be Ulu, Loctar, Gorebeck with Mec following closely behind, Prett, Rou'rik, Yhorm maybe, Frem, Wen, and Notim... But Crell may be able to beat out Notim if he doesn't get scared nervous when he faces the adult." She said. Though she didn't have complete faith in her line up. After all, most of her training was as shaman. But she did see them as they trained. She held out hope for Ulu the most. Girl practically had the eyes of a hawk. If anything she'd make a good hunter.

"I have hopes for Ulu, just not as a warrior. She is precise but to a fault. She holds back too much waiting for the perfect opportunity." He explains, as they walk. They find themselves in the in a small clearing near a creek, the sun starting to set in the distance. "We can stop here for the night or keep going and hope for a spot as nice." Grom says, looking around and seeing plenty of wood to burn and space to have to themselves for the night. "Its your choice." He says.

(Finally! I'm free from the real world)

She surveyed the area before she looked to check the sky and nodded. Then she said,"This should do. Suns about to leave and chances of us finding a better area are not likely. She settled her pack on the ground and began to set up. As soon as the fire was set up she had already prepared the pit for them to make food. Her mother had packed her to be able to be alright for two weeks. Her mother had always been the type to worry about Annabella getting lost. Which she couldn't blame the woman. When Annabella was just barely of age to wander, she did in fact get lost a lot. She had been a very curious child and while most orc children learn their lesson the first or even second time, Annabella did not. Until she was of age to know the dangers, it wasn't rare that she'd be found by some orc hunting party or even a tracker they had sent. As she began cooking she then couldn't help but ask,"There's nothing you're not particularly fond of food-wise, right?"

(Congrat Haha)

Grom gives on last look around and sets up rope and a canvas tent under a set of close grown trees. It was big enough to keep the two of them dry should it rain, and after Grom got it set up, he fears that he was the only one set out with it. Hearing her question though, Grom turns back around. "No, I am not picky. Food is food really." He tells her, setting out his blanket under the tent. "Did you get a tent packed with you?" He asks, looking to the sky and seeing the clouds start to gather. "I swear, if the shaman is asking for rain." He mumbles to himself, the old superstition that the shaman's had magic and that magic could turn the weather at a whim. No one took it seriously since the shaman and the chief had started to pair, but people still used it to curse the bad luck or praise the good luck of the weather.

She looked up but shook her head at his question and said,"No, our tent was destroyed when a raccoon found it's way into our cellar. Tore it up and made a nest out of it. She instead gave me a hammock to keep me off the ground... She made it so that it cocoons and keeps my scent in." Her eyes stared up to the sky and smiled. She had always loved the rain. Her training had made her love it even more. Then she said,"Oh she wouldn't do that. If anything she'd be asking for the rains to hold until we get back. Why would she want to call for the rains?" She set the food to stew over as she pulled out the hammock and set it up. It did look like it was designed to immediately cocoon around anyone who laid in it. It was big and clearly made for an orc. However, with Annabella's size, if anything it would provide more comfortable space for her to move and relax. It's exterior was hide but the interior was full fur. Her mother had made it a while back. It came in handy when she had taken Annabella camping out in the woods when she was younger. In the woods there wasn't much that would go against an orc. Only big predators. Yet it was designed so that it's exterior would give the faint smell of bear as to make sure nothing would go near it. The fur inside was to keep her scent in while providing some warmth.

"May be to drive us under the same tent." He points out with a shrug then looks back up at the sky. It hopefully wouldn't push its way into the tent, but what he had should work. "Look comfortable." he points out, knowing that a hammock like was a rare but great gift in the clan. It seemed like only a few people ever had enough skill to make then, and even less resources for them to be made correctly. He gets a fire started up between the two sleeping area's so they both would be comfortable at least. After getting all the wood gathered in the immediate area, he walks out into the forest a little ways, looking for any good wood to burn. Wood like this wasn't common and he was willing to carry what he could find. Once he comes back to the clearing, he asks Annabella "Dinner ready yet? I'm starving."

She turned to look at him when he returned. With a nod she said,"Yeah, come and get it." Her attention went back as she served up a little more than half of the food onto a plate and set it down on the flat rocks of the fireplaces rim before making her own plate. Once she was done she sat down and began eating. As she was raised with orcs, she make proportion sizes that fitted them. Being that she was human, she didn't need that much food. She liked keeping an agile form and not be weighed down by stomach pains. Both herself and her mother had taught themselves how to accustom themselves to each other. By now she had become very good and keeping herself and orc company in mind.

A thought hit her as she ate. So she had to ask,"When I came back, I've heard some rumors. Been talk that there are signs that humans have been wandering into our territory. Is it true? Their not Imperial are they?"

Grom comes and sits with the young woman, eating what she has made and finding it very tasteful. He eats the whole plate rather quickly, as orcs tend to, but savors the taste as he does so. Once done, he leans back and watches the sun drop and listens to the clearing starting the noises of the night, needing to become used to these sounds so that if someone or something tried to sneak up on them, he could tell where and when they approached with ease as the sounds either changed or stopped all together. With her question though, he sits back and looks at her. "There are always humans near our territory. 'Adventurers' I believe they like to call themselves, and once in a while a few wander in to 'cull the orc menace' but they either quickly leave after killing a rouge band or die at the hands of the true warriors. But yes, there has been a larger then usual appearance of such groups. Should the Imperials follow and expand is still to be seen." He finishes with a shrug.

If there was to be some kind of invasion on their lands, it would Grom who lead the tribe though the fighting, a prospect he didn't really relish in the thought of. The combat would be glorious and earn them much honor, but a fight against the humans Imperium was not a fight that could be won, not in a lifetime and without huge losses.

She turned back to her food. Then she said mostly to herself,"Damn the Imperial scum." She ate leisurely and when she was done she placed the plate away. Her eyes gazed up to the night sky. She really didn't like Imperials. They never really bothered the orcs or their territory much, but she knew that they were responsible for killing her birth mother. Her orc mother told her when she had asked about where the woman was. Both her mother and herself had an immense dislike for them. It only grew when there had been signs that they were trying to suck up to the elves. Still, she was sure that the orcs would prevail. There would be loss, as was the way with every war and battle, but they would rise above it all. Though the fire and the smoke, as they had always done in history, they would be the victor.

Still, just the thought that some Imperial scum might be getting the idea of treading their land made her sick. With a sigh she said,"Night." With that she walked over to her hammock. She opened it up and crawled inside before letting it curl and fold around her. She stirred a bit as she adjusted her body into a comfortable position before finally stilling and allowing herself to fall into slumber.

Grom sits back as well, looking at the sky as the sun disappears and the stars start to wake up. His thoughts now linger at the possible attack coming this way. It wasn't going to be a short fight, and something that the orc's would be hard pressed to win. He shakes himself a little as he tries to think about something else. He looks up as she makes her way to the hammock. He just simply waves and looks back up as the stars get covered by the clouds. Before the rain could start, he gets up, the fire ready to die soon, and climbs under the tent and into his blankets, falling asleep quickly.

The next morning, Grom is the first to wake, the patter of rain still sounding off the canvas above him. He groans a little as he gets up, shaking himself awake as he comes to terms with waking up. He gets himself as ready as he can under the tent then slinks out from under the tent. "You awake yet?" He asks, gathering everything up in the rain.

She woke at the sounds of Grom calling to her with that question. Out from under the folds her head drowsily comes from the hammock. Then as she realizes that there is a constant patting against the fold of the hammock that arches over her head. She turns her head toward the raining sky and smiles. She closes her eyes and it takes a moment for her to gather herself as she enjoys the sounds and feeling of it. Finally she crawls out and begins gathering her things. Once everything is packed away she turns her face toward the sky with her eyes closed and enjoys the feeling of the rain. Finally she cheerily says,"We better take advantage is this while it lasts. It'll was away our scent and hardly any creatures will be lurking about in this rain.

She blessed the rain as she had always done. There was a skip in her step as she walked in the rain. It absolutely soaked her clothes and made the already very revealing outfit even worse. It clung to her skin but she didn't seem to mind. Finally as they walked she asked,"Don't you just love the rain? It's so cool to the touch and purifying!"

Grom gets his work done while she basks in the rain. The gets the fire completely kicked out for good and his tent and blanket are gathered up to keep everything that needed to be dry, dry. Only after he has all of the things he was carrying safely and correctly packed away did he let himself bask in the rain a little. "It has its place in the world. But a soft rain like this is nice." He says with a small smile as he walks along, his face up and enjoying the rain. "Its a refreshing kind of rain." he says with a content sigh. "I just hope it stays like this. Anything harder and we might need to shelter up and wait for it to pass." He says, feeling it the rain steadily getting harder.

Annabella nodded and continued enjoying the rain. Though her blessing of the rain came to a curse as about two hours later as the rain was dangerously close to forcing them to make shelter again, they were stopped by a river which the rain had rendered its flow too strong to cross... In fact what was supposed to be a couple of days of travel turned into a bit more because for some reason, the journey was tragically cursed with thunderstorms, heavy rain, even the odd vicious creatures. So by the time they reached the hot spring, they were thoroughly annoyed but relieved to see it. Over the journey, she had indeed become closer to Grom, for strictly protection. Enough times of encountering something that saw her as an easy target, she naturally started to practically glue herself to his side. As far as affection, well him being around wasn't the absolute worst thing in the world now.

Her eyes beheld the hot spring they were looking for and she sighed exaggeratedly and said,"Finally." Her eyes turned to the sky and saw that it would almost be sun down. Then she looked back from where they came and she really didn't want to just get what they came for and leave to brave all that over again even though there would be a couple of hours of sun. So she then said,"How about we stay here for the night?" She didn't even go for the moss either. She dropped her pack on the ground and began stripping. At this point she had resigned to the fact that she wasn't getting out of this 'pairing' thing for the moment. To hell if she had just stripped naked in front of a male. It didn't matter as soon as she finally submerged herself in the heated water. Days of just horrible luck. She then said mostly to herself,"Damn bear cubs." They had been stalled about half a day because when they stopped to relax and enjoy a view. That bonding moment quickly turned sour as Grom had looked back to their things to notice two bear cubs running away with their packs. They had chased them until they were met with the mother. Then the greater about of time was spent figuring out how to get their things without killing the lot of them. Long story short, they finally got back on track with a couple of items either damaged or broken and their food gone. She rubbed her head as she said,"We're gonna have to be hunting and foraging from here on out."

Grom does much the same thing as Annabella, dropping what he had left on the spot and walking over to the spring water. "Not a bad idea. I could use a little while of relaxation." He says, then turns to see his "other half" already half-naked and not stopping anytime soon. His eyes wander over her soft looking flesh, noticing the curves and other features he hadn't really considered before. He quickly follows suit though, stripping from his own clothes and sliding into the water before his more private features could be spotted, even if she was going to see them anyway. Once in the water, he leans back and relaxes, letting the warm water do its work on his sore muscles.

"That will be kind of hard with only a sword and a dagger." he observes, looking over at the only two pieces of weaponry that they had. If they came across anything hostile, they would have meat at least, deer and other more tasty game would just run at the mere sound of the pair. A lot of the future meals was looking like it would be berries and other forgeable. "And before you ask, no I can't just make a bow and a set of arrows. Not unless you want to add a few days just sitting around here for me to gather and make the correct materials." He heads off, though his voice isn't angry or on edge at all, just tired sounding.

Her head tilted back to rest on one of the smooth rocks lining the edge. With a sigh she closed her eyes and practically melted into the water. In her mind she was lazily thinking over the road they had just come down. It would be very hard but not impossible to survive on foraging. Many had come down this road and as such it had become easier to forage along the path than anywhere else. Then she said,"It should be alright." Morbid as the thought seemed, they might get luck and have more beasts believe her to be an easy meal

As she relaxed and enjoyed the sounds of the forest, she allowed her mind to slip. The hot spring of fertility, given it's name sake for the scenery and the tales of said moss that she was tasked with bringing back. It was an ingredient to help those with infertility. For generations it was a spot that many paired orcs had enjoyed the water. Though she knew that it was mostly a favored spot for those orcs who were lovingly paired. She opened her eyes to take in the sights and she honestly could see why. It was lovely, blooming flowers framing the surrounding forest, the heat of the bubbling waters rising actually made a slight blush appear on her cheeks, and the sounds at night were said to be heavenly. She was lost in the view for a long while as she was lost in her thoughts. Annabella was so lost she was practically dizzy from the heat.... On second thought, she was starting to get a bit light headed. By the time she was becoming more and more aware of this fact, she was becoming less and less inclined to really be able to do anything about it. With this stupid dopey smile she slowly began sinking further into the heated waters.

Grom just sighs and relaxes down more himself letting his mind drift off to nothing. "This is nice. The trip might have been a total disaister, but this almost makes up for it." He says, sinking down to his chin in the hot, slightly scented water. He doesn't pay much heed to the surrounding sights, just letting the water do as it did. He looks over at Annabella for a moment seeing the heat blush on her face and watching her sink deeper and deeper into the water. "Its funny to think about. How many orcs have used this place to...create their next generations." He brings up, wondering if it would be enough to get her uncomfortable.

She was still feeling really light headed from the heat. Lazily she looked over to him and it took a good few seconds for her to actually react to what he said. What it finally go to her, she looked to the water then back to him. She didn't know what decided to do it. In all likely-hood she probably was a bit dizzy from the heat. However, she rose a bit to smile and chuckle a bit. Then Annabella decided to splash water at him. She switched into a position and stance that was more of someone who wanted to play. Again, she moved her hand against the water and went to splash him again.

He shakes his head after the first splash, just taking the hit. Seeing her stance change though, he changes his as well getting a wide smile on his face. "You don't want to get into a fight with me little girl." He says, his tone playful. He blocks the second splash as best he can, then counter attacks, splashing back at her with more water thinks to his larger hands. Wave after wave of the hot water is tossed back and forth between the pair, keeping the sounds of falling day and rising night at bay as the pair played, Grom returning what Annabella gave him, but letting her get an "attack" in every so often.

She blocked the counter attack before going back, though he larger towering size did give him the advantage over her. Still, she was aggressive in her play fighting. The sounds of their play just seemed to echo and silence everything the night was going to give. The serenade of splashing water and chuckles filled the area. As they continued their splash war she was made unaware that they were moving bit by bit closer. When she finally noticed she immediately sprang at him. Her body easily moved due to her smaller frame to wrap an arm around him while bringing herself around to be behind him now as she went for a sort of mock choke hold on him. Though it was a poor excuse of one as she lacked the strength and knowledge to pull off even a semi-decent one.

"I am not so little anymore!", she giggled out as she used what little strength she had to put more pressure into her 'hold' while her feet went to push at the back of his knees to try and wrestle him down into the water fully.

(so due to some mistake on our part, I have looked through the majority of what we have played so far and neither of us ever descripted our characters, only clothes really, so if the features I point to (Annabella's breasts mainly) are not as you wish them to be, let me know and I will retcon it to something more to your liking)

He didn't notice how close they had gotten either until it was too late. He feels her get around him quickly, and feel her arm around his throat, though it was completely out of place, and her feet at his knees pushing. With his free hand, he pretends to try and pull her off, but instead sets her hand in the real spot it should go, knowing her strength wouldn't actually allow her to do anything real to him. "No, not so little anymore." He says, feeling her breasts against his back. Average by orc standards, but he was sure they were large for humans. He pretends to struggle a moment before falling into the water as she seemed to wish for him to do. "Oohh no." He playful yells out as he falls, then blows a few bubbles into the water for extra effect.