Orcs and Flowers [JenivueGrimm and Sirix]

She would have been considered buxom by human standards. Large but not to a point where it did not suit her lithe form. She laughed as she took in his joking tone. It was impossibly not to catch the joking tone. Not to mention she could feel that she was doing absolutely nothing against his strength. Not that she was actually expecting to be able to actually take down a full grown orc male. Even as they fell back into the water she knew that it was not of her own doing. Still, it was all fun and games for her. As she brought herself back from under the water she honestly was laughing. Finally, with clench fists raised high in victory she playfully exclaimed,"Yes, I won! I am the strongest in the village! All shall tremble in fear!" Her wet brown hair barely moved as she slightly bounced in the water in her 'victory'. The few locks of hair that were braided and decorated with beads bounced with a bit more weight. Her warm chocolate brown eyes were fully of mirth.

Grom laughs a little as he raises his head back above the water to hear her exclamation. "Mistake, you didn't make sure I was really dead." He says, then wraps an arm around her waist and easily pulls her under the water with it. Once she was down, he pulls his arm back so she can come back up immediately, and sits back down against the edge, still chuckling at their little game but though a pant as he tries to regain his breath from the rough housing and from being under water. "It was a good fight, and I must declare you the winner." He admits once she is back up, then allows his head to fall back.

She let out a slight squeal as he very easily just submerged her under the water. Another laugh as she came back to the surface to see him resting at the edge. Then she replied to him,"Only cause you let me, liar." Then she also made her way to the edge and brought herself out of the heated water. Her human body was already very dizzy from the expended energy and heat. If she remained in there for much longer she was sure would just pass out and drown. Once she was finally out of the water she put on her clothing, enjoying the new cold but not so much that her now damp clothing was sticking to her skin. Then she said,"I'm going to go forage. There are bounties of fruits and such around here." She pulled her hair back into its signature ponytail before walking off to gather the food around the area. Though it was brought about by heat, it honestly was fun game. With a sigh she set about her task.

When she came back she had a lot of plants, berries, and herbal life that would be safe and good to eat. As she set it down she looked over her things to see what was damaged and what was alright. Her hands pulled out her hammock as she asked,"Have you gotten a chance to look over your things? How badly did the bears get them?

Once he had regained his energy and breath, Grom gets out of the water and makes his way to the bags, getting out his new clothes and setting up his tent. He thinks about the good time they just had, a small smile on his face as he goes about his work, looking over things as they come into view and reach. Once she came back, he walks over to her pile of food and grabs a few things. "Only the not important things got broken, everything else is usable or just fine." he says, sitting down and taking a few bites. With the pair now gathered and mostly calm and quiet, the sounds of the night nature start to come to life. The crickets start to click and night birds starting to sing their songs before bed.

She smiled and said,"Good. Same here mostly. My hammocks ropes though were mauled though. Is there room enough for me in the tent?... I got my own sleeping bag." She chuckled as she motioned to the 'hammock'. As she wet about looking through her things she did find herself steadily getting drowsy. She yawned as she listened to the night sounds. Natures very own lullaby, telling everything that it was time for sleep. She was a strange creature, as her mother liked to put it. Lynn was early to bed but was difficult to rise early. Now though, she would laugh it off and simply say that perhaps she just wanted to stay in the spirit realm a bit more than the normal plane.

"yes, I have plenty of space." he says, looking over at his tent. He finishes eating the forage she had brought and was his share to eat. "Just be careful getting in, I'm off to sleep." he says, stretching a little with a loud yawn. He strips down a little and climbs into his bag under the tent, the hot spring providing plenty of heat to keep them warm through the night without the need of a fire. "We can talk more in the morning." He says, guessing she would want to talk about when to leave. He gets comfortable in his sleeping arrangements and settles down to try and fall asleep.

She nodded and watched him leave. The night and warm air making her not quite ready to just sleep it away. For a bit more, she stargazed and enjoyed the sounds... Well at least until she heard the rustling of bushes, then she quick to get up and get into the tent. She laid the hammock down and settled herself on top of it. The food was gone, no fireplace to watch over, nothing but to fall asleep. Her eyes drifted over to him in the darkness to take him in. For the first time, she actually took a good look at him. Or at least the best she could when her eyes got adjusted to the darkness. She couldn't believe she never noticed it when they were playing. Well it wasn't hard to believe. Still, now she was seeing features that in all honesty, would make any orc woman go for him. Ever she, herself, yet the feelings weren't there. They had improved toward him but it wasn't anything more than a simply acknowledgement that for an orc, he did have attractive features.

Though she shook the thought away and nestled herself in for the night. From a young age, her mother always had a slight joke about her. When she was going to sleep, she actually somehow made herself smaller. No matter where it was, she took as little space as her body would allow. Yet during slumber, she became the most demanding little thing as far as space. Sure enough, it had held through adult hood. Going to sleep she was practically a sliver on the orc sized hammock, yet during the night here limbs were just everywhere without a care for anything.

Once Annabella was fully asleep, Grom wakes up as he feels the flailing of limbs as she tosses and turns and attempts to sleep. He groans a little, almost already resolving to get them both separate beds even if they worked everything out. "How does such a small creature take up so much space." He asks himself, pulling his blanket over him a little more as he tries to shimmy his way away from her sprawled position. It takes him a few times moving and moving her for him to get back to sleep, but he finishes it out and falls asleep after an hour of her tossing and limbs.

The woods wake up Grom the next day, his muscles still sore from the playing the night before and from spending so much time on the ground. He climbs out of the tent, yawning and stretching as he wakes himself up. "Oooohhhhh, so much better." He says to himself, grabbing the dagger and walking out into the forest around them to take care of business and maybe catch something for dinner. A little while later, and a wild boar in hand, Grom makes his way back to the springs, starting up a small fire and dressing the boar to make it up for breakfast and keep some for dinner and possibly breakfast tomorrow. He gets the fire going hot and puts cuts of the boar over the fire, the sizzle of meat and fat glorious on his hungry ears.

She woke up a short while after he came back. Groggily, she opened eyes and took in her surroundings. After a while of taking in sights and smells she finally moved and arched her self onto her hands and knees before stretching her back as she lowered her torso to the ground. When she was ready she exited the tent. Her hair wild and crazy from her tossing and turning. When she came out she finally realized that the smell was that he was cooking a boar. With a lazy smile she said,"Morning. Want me to forage up some fruits to go with the meat?" All the while she went to the pack and grabbed out a brush as she smoothed and tamed her bedhead. Then a thought came to her and she said,"Well, I better forage anyhow. We may not be so lucky on the road back to find anything this bountiful. Take advantage while we can I guess."

Annabella rummaged again through her pack once her hair was back into its normal state in its usual hairstyle. She reorganized everything to be neat before she pulled out a smaller pack. As she walked over to the moss that was going around that she had been tasked with bringing back she asked,"So we heading out after breakfast?"

"We can if you want, or we can spend the day just relaxing around here." He says, wrapping some of the meat in lard and leather to help it keep until they were ready to eat it while the rest of the boar cooked. "How was your night?" He asks, turning the meat slowly over the fire, biting down into a chuck of the meat, eating it slowly.

Annabella was honestly, surprised. He wanted to hang around here for the day? This situation normally wouldn't even require a second thought to her. She would have turned it down flat. She would have wanted to get back to the village and away from him quicker. Yet now, she was juggling what she wanted to do. Her gaze turned toward the direction they had to go back down. Then she said,"Well... Spending an entire day relaxing before going back to our normal lives won't be that bad." She expertly and carefully gathered the moss and put it into the smaller pouch. A bright smile came to her as he asked how her night was. Cheerfully, she replied,"It was nice. The spring kept it at a nice and cozy temperature. Everything was so peaceful... What about you? You sleep okay?"

She had placed the moss away before coming over and taking a seat next to him. Though it took her a long while to get up and ready for the morning, when she was up she was fully of life and energy.

He offers her a piece of the boar as she sits next to him. The last of the meat finishes cooking, Grom pulling it off the cooking stick and setting almost all the rest aside for dinner later and breakfast the next day. With cooking done, he leans back onto the ground and looks up at the late morning sky. As she asks about how he slept, his face goes a little sour but as he speaks getting softer. "I have never seen something so small get smaller then take up more then half of my tent. I had to move you twice to just have enough room to get comfortable after you more or less exploded out of that hammock sack." He tells her, then chuckles a little as what he had experienced and just said actually comes to him, and how just ridiculous the whole idea of it was. "When we get back and move into our home, we may need separate beds just so we can sleep." He says with another chuckle.

"You lie!", she said with a heavy blush as she snapped her focus toward him. Though her tone spoke volumes that she didn't mean it at all. It was a trait she had known about but after living in her own room for years, had forgotten. Annabella could still remember all the times her mother would tease and boisterously laugh in the morning about it. Always used to call her the 'Little Conqueror'. Then he said they might have to get separate beds when they move into their new home. She turned back to her meat as she said,"Separate beds? I was under the impression that it wasn't in question that we'd be in separate beds. Why would we be sharing a bed? Not just that, I though it wasn't a question that we'd have separate rooms." Annabella went to eating the meat he had given her. Then she continued,"It's not like anyone would know if there was no honeymoon."

The thought of sharing even just a bedroom, it didn't seem right in her mind. All the homes the village built were at least two bedrooms. Couples were expected to have a child soon after the wedding. It actually was the one thing she was happy about. The village wouldn't know if they slept in separate bedrooms. Some orcs, like her mother, didn't even build a nursery in the extra bedroom. It was furnished for when the child had grown out of their beds. Her mother had always told her that she liked holding her to hear her breath. Even if someone were to come and visit and happen to see the bedrooms, it couple simply played off like that. When she was done with the meat she stood and said as she walked off,"I'm going to go gather the moss the honored wife wants. After that I think i'm going to go for a stroll around the forest." Then jokingly she added over her shoulder,"If I scream you'll know that something's wrong."

"Everyone would know." he says simply, dropping it there. His parents had slept in different rooms for a few months before during a big fight, and even though they played the part while in public, and much better then Annabella and Grom could dream of, many people could tell they were fighting and not staying in the same room. "The people are more perceptive then you can believe." He says with a shake of his head. He looks at the fire, stoking it a little just to play with it a little as he lets the conversation drop.

As she gets up and starts to walk away, Grom looks at her, giving her a more serious look. "Go too far, and if I hear a scream its too late." He says, looking out to the forest. "Just stay close, and if you hear anything, come back immediately. I would be happier if you took the dagger with you too. Helps cut anything out there you may want anyway." He advices, signaling towards his bad and the dagger and sword there on top of.

She turned back to look at the dagger. With a shrug she says,"I'm a poor handler with a weapon, but I suppose you're right. Even in poor hands it's a tool and protection." Annabella walks over and picks up the dagger. It was a fierce looking blade, made in orcish fashion. No matter where you went, if you wanted a weapon made well and be the best, the orcs were second to none. They lived for the battles, they were bred for the fight. It was heavy in her hand as she tucked it into her belt. She then set off once again for her nice relaxing walk through the woods.

Annabella was still confident in her choice of sleeping in different rooms. As she walked in the quiet but lovely grove she was already thinking of how and where she was going to put everything. If this was how things were going to be then she was going to make the best of it. Her eyes gazed around at sun peeking through the leaves. It was intended to be a short walk in the area but time seemed to have slipped away from her. She froze when she heard the snapping of a twig. Cautiously, she turned and slowly pulled out the knife. She didn't see anything. Annabella knew that she heard something. It was distinctive of a very clear twig being snapped. Gulping she started to navigate her way back to the camp. Yet another twig snapped and she once turned to look behind her, more quickly this time. What was behind her, was nothing short of terrifying... Two orc men, their body paint clearly showing that they were not part of their clan. In fact it clearly showed that they had been cast out for dishonorable actions. She gulped and turned to face them as she started walking back. One of them eyed her over once before he questioned,"You wear the clothing of a shaman?"

"Yes, I am the next shaman in my clan."

They both narrowed their eyes and pulled out their weapons. Immediately she took off in a quick sprint as she screamed out for Grom as loud as she could. She was smaller and a bit quicker, yet she didn't have the stamina to keep up her sprint forever. As she went to jump over a fallen log, she felt the orc male's large hand clasp around her throat and start to squeeze. She flailed and scratched at the hand as she fought to free herself. The other male looked at her and asked,"No where to run and I don't think anyone is going to come and save your hide, human. There is two of us and I don't think you'll be much assistance in any fight."

Before the scream, Grom was still sitting at the firepit, playing with coals and just keeping calm and relaxed, and just generally enjoying the day. He looks over at his tent and the hammock there in, wondering if there was a way to fix it. Just as he stands to go look it over, he hears the scream. His face immediately snaps from the tent to the forest. "Gods damn it." He mutters, taking off for the sword then the direction of the scream. He knows that with a scream like that, she wasn't near by anymore, so he looks for tracks instead of herself. He finds what he is looking for, the orc men where less then stealthy in their pursuit. Grom again takes off, following the cleared out path until he gets to the clearing.

He sneaks up behind them, hearing their last words before putting the blade to the one who was holding up Annabella. "No, her mate is here. Anna turn away" he says, then slides the blade, slitting the orcs throat with ease. With that they fight is one. The rouge turns and swings instinctively Grom easily dropping beneath the swing and putting his blade in a ready position. "Just leave, some random rouge, is no match for the next chief of any clan." Grom says, giving the orc an option to run.

"Or I can bring your head back to my clan." he says and launches at the younger orc, blades clashing. The pair fight for a few minutes, the rouge using more brute force and smash types of attacks, while Grom is more finessed and precise with his attacks and blocks. "Anna. Keep turned around." he yells out, finished with this fight. He takes only a moment to ensure that Anna was turned away before delivering a final attack. "Nnnoo," the older orc's voice rings out, but slowly dieing down as the life leaves his body. Grom quickly cleans the blade to runs to Annabella's side, keeping her from seeing the carnage. "Lets go." he say, getting harsher if need be, but walks her away from the fight scene and back to camp.

Immediately when he told her to turn away, she did what she could in her position of being practical hung by the hand holding her around her neck. She shut her eyes tight and turned her head to the side. Even as her feet touched the ground, she stayed frozen. Even with the sounds and movement around her she was stead fast to keep herself in the dark. Finally, he comes and tells her that its time to go. Her hands instinctively hold tight onto one of his as he walks them away, all the while she keeps her eyes closed. She only opens her eyes once the sound of the hot spring reaches her ears. Annabella immediately looks to him as she asks,"Are you okay? Did they harm you? Do I need to bring out the healing herbs or bandages?"

Her hands run over his arms and neck searching for any sign of bleeding or harm. Yet on her own neck a very large bruise was showing that almost took up every inch of her skin. Still, she didn't notice and couldn't feel anything on her neck. In truth, she felt guilty. She had wanted to go on a stroll through the woods and didn't notice the danger that followed her. Too caught up in her own mind and the sights. Heck, she wasn't even fast enough to outrun them. If she has just stayed at the camp them everything would be alright.

Once back at the springs, Grom lets Anna go to let her do as she wishes, a little surprised when she starts to fuss over him and look him over. She was searching for something that wasn't really there, only a few nicks in the skin that barely bleed, let alone needed healed. "Annabella, calm down. Calm down, I'm fine." he says, seeing her frantic and looking guilty. Finally after a minute, he raises his arms and forces her to her side. "Anna, calm down. I'm fine. You are in worse shape then me." He says, looking at the nasty bruise rising on her fine skin. He picks her up and walks her over to a near by boulder, sitting her down. "Now, sit down, and tell me what I need to do to help you." He almost orders her, getting her mind off of the incident, something that they could talk out later as things calmed down and she was helped.

She let out a slight yelp of surprise as she felt herself being picked up. Finally, when she was put on the boulder she looked at him confused. Then she asked,"What do you mean help me? There's nothing wrong with me. They didn't even touch me really." Though she inspected her neck and now noticed the feeling of a bruise. She set about feeling just how intensive and large it was. It just about went around her entire neck and took up most of the skin. Finally she said,"It's just a bruise. It'll heal on its own. During the night i'll wrap something warm around my neck to help it heal faster." Then she looked back to him and asks,"You sure you didn't get hit?" She had calmed down during her inspection of her own neck. Yet it still didn't take her mind off her worry for him and her guilt over having been the cause for this incident.

Grom just looks over the human before him. He relaxes a little himself as she tells him she will be fine, just a hot wrap and a night sleep and she would be ok. At Anna's question, he grins a little. "It would take more then just two disowned rogues to hurt me. I was playing with him mostly. Seeing the kind of training that the bear clan gave him." He points, out, then points to his shoulder, sensing she would ask. "He had the bear burned to his shoulder." He explains, taking a step back. "Anymore walks are to be taken within eye-shot or with me close by. That was much to close and I don't think I can handle hearing you scream again." He says.

With his piece made, he strips down and slides into the spring to relax, the day already having gotten to him. He lets the water clean him up from their blood, and sighs as he feels his body warm and relax thanks to the hot water. "Hopefully the trip back will be less stressful and hassle." He says.

Her eyes watch him as he makes his way to the hot springs. Then she calmly looks up to the sky as she replied,"Yes, I do hope the trip back to our clan is better than the trip here."

And it was. As bad as the trip there had been, the trip back was even better. Yet the sudden change of luck made Annabella more and more annoyed. Shaman had true magic. That she understood fully. She knew that if she asked, she'd never get a straight answer out of the honored wife. However, all the while as they made their way back to the village, she practically taste shenanigans going on. Still, their trip back was blessed with clear beautiful weather with light breezes, the forest being as fruitful as it could be on the foraging front, and wildlife were occasionally spotted. Upon arriving, her mother was the first one to greet her back. The orc woman had bolted over and pulled her daughter into a bear hug. Annabella smiled as she was practically smothered, her feet hung a full foot and a half off the ground. Then she heard her mother say in her boisterous voice,"Welcome back. How was the springs? I haven't been there since your father died before you came to me."

Muffled by the orcs body she said,"It was fine." She felt her mother pull her away from her body but was still held by strong arms around her chest, as she had always been. Yet in the instant her mother's happy expression turned into horror as she brought Annabella closer to look at her neck as she exclaimed,"Why are there red marks on your neck?!" The young woman sighed and said,"We met up with a couple of Bear Clan outcasts, they grabbed me by the neck, but don't worry Grom dispatched them." This didn't quell the woman as she started worriedly exclaiming questions as far of how bad it had been, what she did to take care of it, did she need a medical kit. It was clear that Annabella's earlier panic over Grom's state was a trait inherited from her mother. Yet after a while of her mother's worries the girl grew slightly annoyed and once again her temper came into effect and the two devolved into both of them bickering.

Grom's own mother walks up to her son, though not as excitedly, his father only a few paces behind. "How was the trip. She asks, to only receive a gruff shrug and a hasty, "Fine," from Grom, to which the orc woman smiled. Hearing of the attack though, she turns to look at her son again. "Really? Not going to tell me about that?" She asks, his voice and look critical of him. "Wasn't a big deal. Didn't even break a sweat about it until I saw how bad her neck was." He says, pointing his head towards his mate to be. He didn't hate her anymore, though she did have her moments, leaning both ways but still her moments.

After the initial family greetings, the Chief and Honored Wife walk up to re-receive their next in lines. "Welcome back you two. Today we will switch it up a bit and each will go with the opposite leader to discus the trip." Natar says, then extends a hand to Annabella. "If you will come wit me my dear." The usually gruff leader says in a tone and gentleness hardly ever shown.

With the order more or less given, Grom goes off with the shaman, Natar and Annabella heading in a different direction from the others. Natar just walks for a few minutes then asks. "So, how did it go?" He starts off with, still softly leading her by the hand. "He didn't give you that bruise did he?" He starts off his, his voice a little sharp.

Herself and her mother didn't stop their bickering until the two leaders approached. She was a bit intimidated when they were told that they would be discussing the trip with the opposite leader. Still, she nodded and followed after Natar as the Honored Wife went walking with Grom. When he started to speak to her after a few minutes she was startled a bit but then replied,"Wai-What? No, no! Grom didn't do this. He would never do that. No, we were at the springs and I had decided to go off on a bit of a stroll. I was approached by these two outcasted orcs from the Bear Clan... But as for the trip, don't get me started. On the way to the spring it was just plagued by vicious animals and storms. I mean, right before we get to the spring, bear cubs stole our bags and it set us back nearly the entire day trying to get it back without having to kill a mother bear and her cubs. They ate all our food, we had to hunt and forage all the way back here. It was just... horrible. On the way back it was drastically better. I mean, It's nearly comical how much of a change it was."

With a soft smile the Beau and Grom walked. Finally, after a couple moments of peaceful reflecting she gently asked,"So how was the trip? Did you two enjoy the hotsprings? They really do just the trick to just lift the world from your shoulders."

Natar can only chuckle at the ramblings of the girl as she quickly runs through the highlights, both good and bad, of the trip in hopes to explain away the injury and answer the first question. "Slow down a little." He says, using his other hand as a signal as he leads her on with the other. "So, attacked by outcasts on a walk. And why wasn't he with you on this walk. It may be a common vacation spot, but it is also dangerous for that same reason. Surely one of you had to know that before you went off on your own." He says, his voice softly, but still placing a little of the blame on Grom but also a little on Anna now for on purposely putting herself in danger.

Grom remains silent, letting his mind look back on the last few days then answers promptly to the Honored Wife. "It was a good trip, most of it at least. The shama..." He stops himself before using the old saying, thinking it might not be appreciated to use it when talking to the clan shaman, though she probably already knew what he was getting ready to say. "The weather didn't agree with us on the way there, but was beautiful while we were there and on the way back. The springs were amazing as well. May be a little hot for Anna, she went a little delirious while we were in there the first night, but it was still a fun time." He says with a smile. "We didn't fight or bicker at all, it was...oddly satisfying."

He brought up a good point. Though her only response as she was lead on was to blink her big puppy dog eyes as she turned her head to look at him in her clear sign of guilt. Then she replied,"If I had known- If I knew- I- In my defense, Great Leader, who could have possibly expected two orcs? I didn't think of any other dangers than simple beasts. Um, Grom told me to take a sword or at least a knife, I- I did take the knife... Um... Which I dropped when I turned to run. And I was within screaming distance of Grom. And-And Mom never mentioned anything about any dangers. The only stories I've ever been told of the hotsprings were how relaxing and beautiful it was. How she had such a great time with dad."

Beau smirked a bit mischievously as she looked at him in the corner of her eye when she heard him start to use that age old saying. Then she replied,"Must have been a grand time. Poor Anna, then again it should not surprise me too much. She is rather small. Humans are more fragile, even for one who was raised with orcs. Still it sounds like you both had a great time... Your, uh, your thoughts and feelings on your up coming pairing with Annabella now?"