Gyda Lionrock thinks her visit to Asclan Peak is for one reason and one reason alone-to procreate and finally welcome that child of her own. She could have never guessed she would also leave something behind inside the mountains, but it was her hear...
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"He's grown fat these last few days," I said, looking at the bairn's chubby little face. He was three months old, but still small enough to fit in both my hands.
Had my own son lived, would he have looked like him? Thinking about my son still saddened me, but it also made me think about Gyda, caressing her full belly, the place where my future sons were growing and thriving...
I liked coming to this area in the mountains and peacefully sitting here with one of these soft shrimps. When they cried, it was obviously less relaxing, but I was lucky right now as it was calm and quiet, most of them sleeping. A few were awake, though, like this ugly bean I was holding.
"Kall's not fat," Betsy whispered while putting one of the other babies in his cradle.
Little Kall seemed to like the sound of Betsy's voice and tried to mingle in our conversation, making soft sounds, which resulted in him blowing bubbles and drooling all over his chin. I couldn't help but chuckle at the funny faces he made.
"Jesus, boy," I said, wiping his chin. 'You're making a mess of yourself."
"He's growing his tusks," Betsy said, sitting next to me. "That's why he's drooling so much. The others are too and it's causing them all a lot of discomfort. Kall has it the worst. You found him in a good mood. Ugh..." she huffed. "You wouldn't believe how horrible it is to feed him... But we do it anyway because his gums are aching so much, and I don't want to take too much time away with one of us. But it sure is a bitch when he bites your nipple!"
"Ouch. I don't envy you," I replied, looking at her. "But I do respect you, Betsy. Very much." Ever since the death of her own child those few years ago, Betsy had been feeding our children and mothering each and every one of them as best as she could. She'd wept just as I did when my son died.
"Oh, you charming orc."
I laughed, then looked at Kall. "So you are getting your tusks, hm?" I asked, bending down to inspect. "Well, I see nothing here. In fact, you look as ugly as Olaf." Olaf was the oldest orc in my clan and the man had not a single tooth left in his mouth.
Kall cooed in answer before blowing a few more bubbles and then grabbed my ears. He grasped them pretty hard, scratching me with his tiny sharp nails before he pulled my head closer, only to suckle on my nose.
"Hey! You little greedy bastard." I pulled my nose out of his mouth. "It is a filled teat you should suckle from, not my nose."
I wiped his spit off my face and smiled, pleased that Kall was a strong one. He would make a fine orc later.
"Give him here, I'll feed him," Betsy said when Kall started whining. I did what she asked. "Sigrid is gone. I have no idea where that cow went. Not that she can help me feed, anyway..." She mumbled between sighing. "And Doris and Ellie are busy, so I guess it's me doing the feeding again."
~
In the afternoon, I went straight into the mine. Mining for coal wasn't always the most amusing task but it was what we orcs did best.
