Herbs and Alchemy

Jayla busied herself washing the goldroot, Tharo was fully focused on whatever he was working on. Corish arrived, "You're here early, Stonehammer."

"Head hurts, couldn't sleep."

Corish saw the bruise on the orc's head and the scab. "Mister Stonehammer, tell me you didn't get in a fight. You should have Miss Thorntrail look at it."

"She did. It's fine."

Gillard arrived. "Morning! Goodness look at that fireplace!"

Jayla was distracted and knocked a jar off the table, she moved to catch it and felt her wound open up. "Shit!" The pot hit the floor and rolled. She retrieved it and scouted frantically for a rag, holding her side. She found one and held it to the cut, hissing with pain.

"Jayla!"

Tharo was across the room, squatted down and took the cloth from her hand, holding it to her while she grabbed a jar of salve, "Move." She smeared two fingers full over her injury, then wiped the residual on the scab on his forehead.

The orc sighed with relief. "That stuff is wonderful, what IS that?"

He looked up when Jayla didn't answer, her gaze was on Corish and Gillard who were both staring at them. Her eyes narrowed, Corish backed into a table.

"Well there's a story." Gillard muttered.

"Mind your business." Jayla snapped.

"You OK?" Tharo stood, making an effort not to touch her.

"Hurts. Frustrated." She gave him a meaningful glare. He tried not to smile and patted her shoulder. "You too. Mind your business, I'll be fine. Take your root." She pointed at the bowl of freshly washed goldroot.

"Yes Miss." He did as told, shuffling and hunching like a scolded servant.

The day seemed to stretch forever, Jayla went though preparation instructions with the students and gave them each a sheaf of papers to transcribe and take to the binders. She felt mildly guilty, as it was tedious work but knew it guaranteed they learned the material, and so the school could have more copies of it. Trying to hide that she was hurt didn't make things any easier.

"Join me at The Harp when you're done." Tharo whispered over her shoulder. She heard the door.

She debated standing him up out of pure spite, but her curiosity won over. Denying anything was going on between them was lunacy at this point. If news had got all the way to Tara BEFORE yesterday, no telling what people assumed now.

Corish and Gillard were still there. "Lock up when you're done." She went to leave.

"Miss Thorntrail." Gillard. "Miss Thorntrail, I hope Mr. Stonehammer isn't causing any problems."

"He's been nothing but helpful. Any problems we- he's having are because people make assumptions about him."

Woops

. "I will have words with anyone who says otherwise."

Corish ventured timidly, "Marius, I think you are misinterpreting the nature of their relationship."

Jayla gave Corish her "Shut up" face.

"I'm just looking out for the lady's interests." His look of mild annoyance changed to being stunned when he realized what Corish was implying.

"My INTERESTS lie in getting as much information as I can about Tharo's culture and..." She almost said

anatomy.

"...In the event there's another border war with the orcs. Tharo is a good man and I'd prefer you did not interfere. I do appreciate your concern."

You goddamn gooseberry

. She left abruptly.

Gods blood there's no stopping this

.

She was still rattled when she sat down across from Tharo in The Green Harp, the place was populated as usual and she recognized several people there. An ale waited for her, and a moment later a boy delivered two plates of food. Roasted potatoes, a chunk of beef, greens and boiled hazelnuts. Her jaw dropped. "You did not... I wasn't ... How did you... Thank you."

Another one of those full-fanged grins. "You're welcome. I do get paid for my work on occasion, and wounded soldier's pay."

"You're still enlisted?" Fear rose in her.

"Only technically. I'm officially an assistant alchemist."

She took a long drink of ale and dug in, realizing she was ravenous. Tharo kept glancing behind him between bites. "Did you want to switch spots?" She asked.

He waved his hand, "No, sorry."

He finished his food and sat back, nursing his drink.

She finished her plate, realizing she'd been in a haze of pure hunger. "Oh, ow. That's the best meal I've had in ages." She pushed the plate off to one side.

Tharo leaned forward and slid his closed fist to her side of the table. He opened his hand and kept it hovering over what was there. She reached under it and grasped the object. small, metal. They both sat back. She looked at it under the table. It was a gold ring with a clasp on it, it looked like an earring, The band had tiny runes etched into it. She felt a little dizzy, wondering what the gift implied in his culture.

"That goes," he lifted his shirt to show he had a larger one pierced at his belly button, "Here." He whispered, "It will keep you from getting pregnant." He dropped his shirt and put his finger to his lips.

"So if another orc saw me wearing this? Would he think I was handfasted or a doxy?"

He shrugged, "He'd know you didn't want children right now." He inclined his head toward her and showed ALL of his front teeth, it was not a smile. "You won't be seeing any other orcs, Jayla."

Well THAT was presumptuous

. "Oh REALLY. You staking a claim on me Stonehammer? This has been an extremely frustrating relationship so far and I need to know what I'm getting into."

"The only real way to find out is to walk that path. I know what you want, but there are some things that go with that." He patted the table. "Not here, though. You have until moonrise to decide. If I don't see you tonight after we leave here our relationship will return to being purely professional." He stood up and slid her a piece of paper. It had directions to a place next to the arena. His voice softened, "I hope to see you. Bring the ring."

Jayla popped back to the apothecary and took a bath, locked up, donned a cloak and swung by the library, scrambling to find something on orc traditions in the time that she had.

Frantic, she pawed through the books, finally finding something written by some self-important merchant who thought of orcs as little more than oxen or cannon fodder. She tamped down her outrage. Sex and friendship seemed to be synonymous. Weird considering Tharo seemed to be making a big deal of this. When an orc of either gender wanted to claim exclusivity on a friend they would give them a metal band for their right arm and wear one themselves -the left arm had bands for rank and occupation. All sexual activity usually resulted in obvious bite marks, a fair amount of bruises and could start or end with fighting. It went on to go into anatomy and Jayla was so wound up she could barely see straight. She put the book away, snuffed her lamp, and started out.

"Miss Thorntrail." The Schoolmaster was just outside the library.

"Schoolmaster." She acknowledged.

"A word."

"All respect, not the best time."

What the hell is it with today?

Fuck off right now.

She stopped and faced him.

"I do hope that whatever you are up to this late at night, you are taking the school's reputation into account."

You mean being a bunch of nosy prejudiced assholes?

"Of course Schoolmaster. The research of the alchemists and teaching herbalism with practical medicine will go on to help many and likely save lives. I think the apothecary has a very good team. Brilliant that you put us all together. Mr. Stonehammer built a second fireplace so we don't have to interfere with each others work anymore.

If that's not what you meant, rumors about my activities outside of school have always been prolific and outrageous. Perhaps if you had more women on staff I would be much less fascinating to the local storytellers."

"Very good." He said. The man was difficult to read, but there wasn't much else he could have said.

"Good evening Schoolmaster." Jayla hurried off before he could make any more conversation.

Jayla followed the directions on the paper, waited around the corner until the street had cleared out and knocked quietly. The door opened, let her in and closed behind her. Tharo stepped from behind it and into her space. He might be small for an orc, but he was still as tall as a plow horse. He wore his usual linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his eyes gleamed. "Good evening." He said softly and took her face in both hands, landing a gentle kiss on her lips. He straightened and unhooked her cloak, hanging it on the back of the door.

He put his hand on the small of her back, turning toward the room. Jayla almost balked at the relative opulence of the place compared to her tiny room in the apothecary. The short hallway was lined with shelves of papers, scrolls and a few books, opened into a room almost as large as the apothecary, a pool big enough for eight people was in the center, steam rising from it. "Come. I think you'll enjoy this."

Oh you have NO idea.

He walked her toward the main room. A small table sat in the corner, a bowl of fruit on it. There were two other doors, one was open to his bedroom. A bench lined one wall. "Hot bath? I smell you just had one, but..."

"This isn't a ... This is YOUR place?!"

He smirked, "It was the first bath house before they built the new one. Someone owed me a favor and the previous occupant no longer had need of it." His tone deterred her from asking further. "Orc magic is stronger with water. Humans think we're filthy, but sometimes the best thing we can find is a muddy pool."

He removed his shirt and dropped it on the bench.

Oh. Oh Goddess mommy above. He's Gorgeous.

His pectorals were broad, flat and sculpted, his belly looked soft in comparison, but she could see muscle twitching under his skin. His arms were beautiful, the smooth, natural muscle one gets from honest labor, with the knots and sinewy forearms that bragged of hard-earned strength. He had a little extra weight on him but his underlying physique was not hidden. He smiled with joy and amusement at seeing her slack-jawed.

He turned around and removed his pants, tossing them with his other clothes. His back was equally easy on the eyes, his muscles like rocks under a smooth-flowing river, narrowing down to...

Oh Goddess Mommy, I want to bite that ass

.

He looked over his shoulder, "Your turn."

Tharo backed into the pool until it was past his waist, turned around and sat on the bench lining the side to watch her, his arms spreading out across the edge.

Jayla took the tie out of her straight dark hair and put it in her pocket. She removed her belt, dropping it on the ground. Her shirt next, then unwrapped her breasts and let them fall free. She paused a moment to enjoy the feeling, arching her back and pulling her shoulders back. Tharo's expression went from amused to smoky. She smiled.

She sat on the bench to remove her boots; pants and underwear came off at the same time and there she was. Tharo nodded with approval and admiration and beckoned her in.

Jayla climbed into the pool gingerly, trying NOT to look at what might be waiting for her under the water. She knelt and went all the way under, shaking out her hair and coming back up. His hand was out. She took it and let him pull her toward him. He turned her around and sat her on his knee, massaging her shoulders.

"Mmm. I like that, harder."

"You asked." His fingers really dug in.

"Oh gods." She moaned with approval, though it hurt as well. She twisted and leaned into him, making little grunts of praise each time his hand ground into muscle.

He chuckled. "If this is how you handle a back rub I'm looking forward to..."

"Probably the same." She sighed, dropping her head as he went to work on her neck.

"Probably?"

She grinned, looking back at him, "Only way to find out is to walk that path."

All teeth and a silent laugh. "Nice." his hands let up and smoothed across her back. "Before we do, lets take care of a few things. Do you have the ring I gave you?"

"It's in my pants."

"Get it and come back." She did. The room was chilly out of the water, she was glad to be back in.

"You're about to see some real orc magic. This isn't alchemy. But first I need your consent. Listen." She stood facing him and he took her hands, taking the ring from her, looking up into her eyes. "I will take the pain from this and heal it and your side immediately, but it means we're going to have a connection after that. If something happens to one of us, the other will know. We might even feel each others' pain to some degree."

"How long does it last?"

"I don't know."

"Can you break it if you need to?"

"Yes, but you need another magic user to do it."

"Are you sure it will work with a human and an orc?"

"We are all people. It has been done, not by me. I'm just warning you that we can't go back to being just friends, really, it's going to be deeper than that." He looked scared. "And... It'll probably be obvious to everyone who sees us together."

She swallowed a lump in her throat, her eyes threatened to tear up. "You want this."

"More than anything right now." His voice broke. "But please do not consent as a favor." He squeezed her hands.

"I... We barely know anything about each other." She was trembling. Knowing she was about to cross a line she couldn't go back on. Most of the decisions that had brought her to this point came from pure animal lust. She tried to come up with practical reasons and alternatives to say no, but the brain that had served her so well academically seemed to be over a border somewhere. With him looking at her with those yellow, hopeful eyes and the schooled, blank expression, trying not to influence her and

how did she know that?

"We already have a connection."

"We really do. I'm glad you noticed. As for not knowing anything about each other, I look forward to changing that."

"Some hard questions will come up, Tharo."

"I'm surprised they haven't yet. I will answer them as best I can. You will know when I'm uncomfortable. And I will answer anyway. So. Jayla Thorntrail, do I have your consent to heal us?"

"Yes."

Us?

Tharo took a small basket at the side of the pool with soap and other things in it, he pulled out a little sliver of metal. "Stand there, be still." He cupped her cheek and kissed her, then stood in the pool to his full, imposing height and stretched his arms out to either side, a booming orcish monologue came out of him.

Jayla felt the water heat and the lamps in the room got brighter. The water they were in seemed to take on a glow of it's own. Goosebumps spread across her and she

smelled

lightning and tasted blood and swampwater. He crouched and took the tiny blade to her belly, it should have hurt but she barely felt it. He put the ring in. She sensed the clasp click shut. He put the blade back in the basket, held one hand toward the ceiling and the other to her belly, murmuring quietly. Blood and water cascaded from the piercing, then it felt hot, seemed to glow orange for a moment. His mantra increased in speed and volume. Heat spread from his hand. He moved his hand from her navel to cover the wound on her side and it was all she could do to hold still. Itching, burning, like there were ants crawling over her, then she felt warm and strong. An energy flowed through her and it seemed like she was glowing too. He looked up and she touched the scab on his head, her mouth fell open as she saw the bruise start to fade.

"Close your eyes and feel it."

Such power. She bid it flow through her arm and into his head. She moved her hand down and placed it over his beating heart. She felt like she should say something but didn't know what. She could sense his heart, feel it, see it glowing red and yellow in her mind. "Tharo Stonehammer, be whole and well." She sent the energy into his chest, seeing his body aglow, inside and out, the dark spot where his burn was, she imagined that healing. His calf where he'd been wounded, scar tissue straightened and allowed muscle to return to its normal shape.

"What do I do with all this energy?" She asked, eyes still closed.

"Send it into the water, let it flow out of you, but don't push it. Relax."

She felt it wash our of her like a massive wave, the residual still had her feeling like she contained something higher, bigger than her, godlike, it seemed to fill her from above. She felt like she extended a foot out from her body on all sides. She placed her hands on Tharo's shoulders and opened her eyes, feeling clean, powerful, like the full moon sky itself. Her vision seemed to be saturated with a yellow glow. "Who am I now?" Her voice sounded distant.

He stood and put his hands on her sides. "You are a goddess incarnate, and the most beautiful friend I have ever had." She could see his aura, teal and gold, radiating joy. She tingled where they were in contact. They stood for a time, energy coursing through them. Eventually his hands moved to her backside and he lifted her up and onto his chest, his mouth captured hers, she wrapped her legs around him and he sheathed himself into her.

It was like a sun exploded. Jayla's vision whited out. She was whole, she was one with the beast and the water and she was more than she'd ever been. It should have hurt. She heard Tharo exhale, his arms trembled and her core... She felt him move inside her. She threw her head back and cried out.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he began to thrust. The sensation was ten times what she'd wanted. The magic dissipated and they were two animals in the throes of pure need. Her core gripped at him, his arms pulled her down. He knelt in the pool without breaking rhythm, gasping for air between kisses. His mouth was everywhere, her neck, ears, lips, shoulder. She could only keep air in her lungs as she worked with him and he sawed into her.

He lifted her and her back was braced against the edge of the pool, his fingers digging into her hips. As their angle changed, his staff hit the spot she needed and she whined, her heels pulling him in, her arms braced against stone, "Please. PLEASE." The water churned around them.

Her first release hit like a storm wave. Tharo only sped up. Another. She made an effort not to scream. Her nerves lit up, he felt raw and rough inside her, she could feel every ridge and vein inside her between waves of pure lightning ecstasy.

The lip of the pool was beginning to distract; she disengaged and turned her back to him, legs straight, her hands gripped the edge of the pool. Tharo let out a lusty, terrifying growl, there was a great rush of water as he stood up and positioned himself behind her. She knew there was a reason orcs preferred this position, his strange cock slid smoothly into her and raked her core exactly where it was meant to.

"OH GODS." A new glorious sensation blazed through her.

He growled something in orcish, setting a rhythm. Again, it sounded like a mantra. She heard her name in there. His breath rushed through his teeth, straining.

She convulsed and shuddered around him, a thundering river in her ears, her body wracked with orgasm, she let slip all control save her grip on the edge of the pool as her core milked him.

He leaned over her, his pace became erratic, one hand came up under her and gripped her shoulder, pulling her onto him. He cried out as release finally took him. She felt his staff change shape, his tusks scraped her back and his fangs dug into her shoulder. It HURT, all of it, which made her come even harder.

He pulled her full against him, still inside her, and sat back on the opposite bench. Her hips still rocked and she pushed back, reveling in the feel of full contact, she turned and nuzzled him under his ear, still panting. His arms wrapped around her, one hand on her breast. She gripped his wrist. Her core hurt, she tried to pull off of him and found she couldn't without causing pain.