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The entire council sat at the long table at the head of the longhouse, having a meeting after the prior night’s proclamation. Astrid still remained at the head of the table, while I was seated at her right side. Some of the council members nodded their assent at my statement regarding the human women, others looked shocked. Some of the older males looked downright angry.
“And what of your mate?” Magna, the elder from the smithy asked.
“She is willing to bear young at her own pace,” I said, frowning severely.
“And what does that mean?”
“It means she’d like some time with her mate before she welcomes an orkin child,” I said fiercely.
“And what doesthatmean?” Alvis, the elder in charge of the hestrs jeered.
“It means she’d like some time to fuck me just for fun before I put an orkling in her belly,” I said fiercely, shooting daggers at the elders questioning me.
“So you’re that good at sex?” he mocked.
“Já,I am. Apologies that you aren’t,” I said, attempting to hold back my sneer.
Astrid said nothing, allowing me to run the meeting, but she quietly placed a hand on my knee. I shook my head, attempting to regain my composure. I was set to be jarl. I needed to represent the entire tribe, not just those that agreed with me.
“The human women are willing and ready to accept our way of life. This alone should be celebrated as we are low in females. Further, I would expect us all to want Fýrifírar’s name to be known as the tribe that was willing to accept refugees with open arms. However, the women will not join us readily if we are only after their ability to produce more orkin. I think all of us can realize this importance,” I said sternly, looking at all of the gathered orkin.
Piper hadn’t joined me at this first council meeting. It was probably for the best, considering she would have reached over the table and throttled some of the elders. We sat at an impasse, the older orkin wanting nothing to do with the human women if they wouldn’t immediately bear young, and me, along with Astrid and some of the other elders, refusing to budge.
It was Emla, the elder who represented the healers who finally broke the silence, “I know that you and Piper are Elska mates, I’ve seen the marks. We know that with orkin, this means that young will be produced. Do we know if there is any difference with humans? What if she is unable to carry an orkling?”
I looked at Emla thoughtfully, she was one of the elders that I already had on my side. She would also be the elder to deliver any of these young. I understood her concerns.
“Piper and I saw proof of a human orkin pairing while at the Snaerfírar tribe. There is a half-orc named Steve. His mother arrived here many ars ago, just like the Piper and the others were, dropped unceremoniously and left behind,” I explained.
“And what did thisStevelook like?” Magna asked.
“What does it matter what he looked like?”
“Well, we don’t want half-breeds running around looking like these weak, pale females.”
There were no words for my anger at Magna for the disrespect he was spewing toward these women. And for what reason? He was far beyond his prime. His own Elska mate had given him several young and passed peacefully a few seasons ago—then it hit me. He had three sons, all of mating age. He wanted grandchildren that looked like orcs.
“You can’t be serious,” I said deadly quietly.
I was ready to lunge over the table, but Astrid got there first. She stood quietly, and while petite, she radiated power. A hush fell over the room at the command she held, “Jarl Agnarr and Jarlin Piper are set to step into power in three cycles of the moon. I advise that you fall in step with their plans for the future of Fýrifírar or risk being expelled from the tribe,” she said quietly. She had one of those voices that could command attention even at a whisper.
It took all that I had to keep my jaw from dropping to the table we were seated around. Astrid had just declared that unless the tribe supported Piper and me, they would be expelled. I never expected such support. As Astrid turned her back on the elders leaving the longhouse, all eyes were on me.
“I can’t say I will be sorry to see any of you go, but for what it is worth, Steve looks like an orc. He has slightly smaller tusks, rounded ears, and a leaner build. But he is all orc, right down to the green. Many of the human females are willing to take mates. Some of them will likely form Elska bonds. But they will not be treated as if that is their only value,” I said before I stood and left the longhouse myself.
I took a walk, telling myself not to do anything foolish like I had the last time I felt this overwhelmed. I’d felled a tree on Piper… though that scenario hadn’t turned out particularly badly for either of us. I flushed remembering her pink lips around my cock.
This was going to be harder than I thought. Even with Astrid’s unwavering support, introducing the human women threatened to tear the tribe in two. I leaned against the external wall of the longhouse, breathing deeply. I felt the pressure of the line we had just drawn—Ihad just drawn. We might lose some elders with our expectations of integrating the humans. But from what I knew and understood of Piper, I couldn’t let these women be treated as nothing more than vessels for young. She’d explained to me that some of them wouldn’t even be able to carry young—willing or not.
I’d have to tell Piper the full truth of the contents of the meeting and I knew her rage would be unbridled. While her anxiety made things difficult for her at times, she was a force to be reckoned with. I laughed to myself at the thought of her banging down Magna’s door before punching him square in the face. I headed to Astrid’s cabin. We needed a plan.
PIPER
The women and I came to some sort of unspoken agreement that the healer’s cabin was where we felt most comfortable. Instead of sitting in the weird group therapy style we’d sat in last time, we all kind of gathered where we felt at ease, most of us with a mug of tea in our hands. Apparently, Fýrifírar had no coffee, which was definitely going to be a problem. I was already feeling withdrawals from my venti iced sugar-free vanilla latte with 2% milk. In some ways, Iwasa basic white girl. No shame.
I cleared my throat, in an attempt to call the meeting to order. All eyes immediately settled on me.
“Okay, I don’t want to go full-on teacher-mode with y’all, but we need to have a chat,” I said seriously.
