Marked by Her Smelly Orc Girlfriend

Madeline Belltower, Paladin of the Order of the Blazing Sun, Slayer of the Great Purple Drake of the Lost Mountain and Leader of the Guild of the Storm Birds, was six-foot and four-inches tall, and jacked with enough muscles to lift two oxen by herself. And at that moment, she was cleaning the dishes while wearing a cute pink apron and nothing else.

Hazel came up behind her, putting her hands on top of the blond paladin's shoulders. "Do you want me to dry the dishes, my little dewdrop?" she asked in a loving voice, before gently placing her chin on top of Madeline's head.

Hazel, short for Kar'hazelak Ruk-Tr'hal, was one of the few people in Madeline's life that made her feel small. Hazel stood at almost eight foot tall and was half again as wide as the paladin. Even for an orc, Hazel was above average in size. She had a large mane of hair the color of shiny obsidian, dark green skin and large pointy tusks jutting out from between her thick juicy lips.

Madeline turned to give a peck to said big, beautiful lips. While they kissed, two large green hands grabbed her toned butt. With her manticore-skin loincloth, Hazel was wearing even less clothes than Madeline. Once they were done kissing, Madeline couldn't help herself from rubbing her face all over the massive heavy green breasts in front of her.

She inhaled deeply; Her nose pressed against the skin of her girlfriend. Hazel's scent was... powerful. Smelling her always made Madeline horny, and she was slipping her hands under the loincloth when a loud, piercing cry came from outside their home.

"What was that?" shouted the paladin, rushing to get to the kitchen knives. She wasn't a fan of fighting without her armor and her longsword, but both were stored in the bedroom dresser.

Without a second of hesitation, Hazel stepped outside. A barbarian didn't need armor or weapons. Seeing her fearless partner walking out, Madeline followed her, holding a sharp knife in each hand.

The scene outside left her more confused than anything. A monstrous giant bat stood on their mailbox, growling affectionately while Hazel scratched its neck.

"Calm down, my sweet honeycomb, you do not need the knives."

"What is that?"

"This is a messenger bat. The symbol painted on its wing shows that it is trained by my tribe," she explained while taking off the scroll tied to the beast's leg.

The creature licked its wings while Hazel unrolled the sheet of parchment. Her face dropped into a hard scowl after reading the written message.

"What does it say?"

"It is an invitation. My brother is getting married."

"That's good for him. When do we have to leave the house?"

Hazel met her eyes with a concerned look.

"Oh, unless the invitation is only for you?"

"No, I'm allowed to bring my mate." The word mate made butterflies flutter in Madeline's stomach.

"Do you want me to come?"

"I would love it if you accompanied me, obviously, I swear. But... I think it would be best if I went alone... My people can be a bit peculiar with strangers."

"Hazel, I love you so, so much. I do not care if you grew up in a castle or in a midden heap, that will never change how I feel about you."

Hazel gave her a shy smile in response. "I know, and I love you too, but I still think it would be best for you if you didn't come."

-----

"Best for you if you didn't come," grumbled Madeline to herself.

A day after Hazel had gone out, Madeline had decided to screw her girlfriend's warning and follow her. She rode Light, her swift white gelding, towards the Ceremonial Grounds where Hazel had been called.

Hazel's tribe was nomadic, she had explained once. They built camps for special occasions, such as weddings or the funerals.

After a week of travel, Madeline was getting close to her objective. But she was surprised by the amount of people that she saw on the road to their destination.

Ogres, onis, orcs, trolls and goblins travelled by foot, by cart, or on the backs of mounts as varied and uncanny as their riders. Most weren't hostile to her, albeit a few glared at her strangely. She knew she was getting close when she reached a thick pine forest.

On the last day before she reached her destination, she was surrounded by a pack of goblin women riding on wolves. They talked to her, but she understood nothing. She recognized a few orcish words.

The paladin cursed herself for not having taken the time to learn her girlfriend's tongue. And it wasn't like Hazel hadn't offered to teach her; From the very beginning of their relationship, a little over a year ago, Hazel had consistently asked her if she wanted to learn the language. Madeline had always pushed the subject towards a future conversation.

She had also felt somewhat uneasy by the way some of the goblins looked at here. Were they angry that a human was intruding on lands where her kind had no right to be? Were they offended by her Sun-emblazoned armor? Their voice sounded heated. Then again, other languages had very different tones to her ears. Elves speaking their tongue always sounded like they were singing a sweet lullaby, even when they were furious. Dwarven speakers could sound bored and monotone while delivering a profound declaration of love. Maybe that was just how goblins always sounded?

"I'm sorry, I do not understand," she finally blurted out. She had her hand on her sword hilt. Against eight (or nine? Or ten? They moved around her like snakes so that it was hard to know their exact number) opponents of their size, she would easily prevail, but she preferred to avoid a fight. The wolves looked fierce, and she didn't want to risk Light's life. That, and also the fact that Hazel wouldn't be happy with her if she started killing people on her tribe's land.

"Oh, you only speak human tongue then?" Asked a thick gaudy goblin girl with purple hair. She made her mount step forward to get closer to the paladin. "We offering you to stay in camp with us."

Madeline looked at the goblin distrustfully. Maybe she was wrong to feel so nervous if they were simply offering her a place around their fire.

"I eat pussy good," the goblin said, her eyes still locked onto Madeline's.

The blonde made a double-take upon hearing the implied request. Looking back at the others of the group, she slowly realized that she had misjudged them. They weren't glaring at her with contempt. They were leering, with lust. One of the goblins was even rubbing her crotch slowly, right in front of everyone.

"Thank you for the offer, but I will keep riding."

"You sure, big lady? I mark you, I protect you, no one else bother big lady."

Madeline wasn't sure what she had meant by marking, but she didn't want to stay long enough to know.

The Sun set when she was about half-a-day away from her destination. She found a secluded spot by the side of the main trail, but Madeline could hear people walking and riding on the road while she made camp. A lot of Hazel's kin seemed to prefer travelling by night.

While she was making a fire, three figures emerged from the trees. She felt a tinge of relief when she noticed that one of the figures was a short elven woman.

"Hi! We saw your fire and wondered if we could join your camp!" the bubbly elf said. She was accompanied by two orcs, a man and woman.

Madeline waved them over, glad to have some company that wasn't the pack of lustful goblins.

However, when the elf came close enough to shake her hand, Madeline's noise wrinkled. That had to be the stinkiest elf she had ever met. "Hi! I am Alisandra, you can call me Lisa!"

"I'm Madeline. You can call me Madeline."

The orcs went to set up their tent and bedrolls while the human and the elf talked.

"Are you also here for the wedding, Madeline?"

"Yeah, I am."

"I bet you must be excited! Big events like these are wonderful to meet people! A pretty woman like you, you'll find yourself a boyfriend in no time!" She looked back at her companions, then blew a kiss at the male orc. He blew one back.

"Actually, I already have a special someone."

"Oh, you got a human partner?"

"No... she's an orc."

Alisandra looked back at her and squinted. Madeline clenched her fists. Maybe she shouldn't have said that her romantic partner was a woman. Were elves homophobic? Were orcs homophobic? Maybe that was why Hazel hadn't wanted her to come. But then, the elf got close to her and started sniffing her.

"You don't smell like you're dating an orc."

Now it was Madeline's turn to squint. "What do you mean?"

"Okay, so. Things work differently around here. You probably noticed that I didn't smell like a freshly-showered elf, right?"

She had. "Maybe, now that you mention it."

"That's because I have been marked by Dakkar." She pointed towards the big buff orc "If anyone gets close enough to flirt with me, they will get a whiff of his musk and know instantly that I have already been claimed. You, however, do not smell like someone who has been claimed."

That's..." She wanted to say horrible, the thought that she wouldn't really be considered Hazel's girlfriend unless she was marked felt a bit dehumanizing. Then, she realized that this was her human bias speaking. Other humanoids had different cultures, and it was insensitive and improper on her part to judge them based on her own culture's standard.

"In other words, you need to find your girlfriend and have her rub herself all over you as soon as you can, otherwise every single man or woman that finds you attractive will tell you so and try to bed you."

"Yeah, I guess I should do that."

"What's her name? Maybe I know her."

"Hazel. I mean, Kar'hazelak Ruktral. Her brother is getting married."

"Woah woah woah, don't you mean, Ruk-Tr'hal?"

"Yeah, that's right. You do know her then?"

"You're dating the Kal'thara."

"The what?"

"It's orcish for daughter of the chieftain. Did you really not know why so many people were travelling to this wedding? The son of the Ruk-Tr'hal chieftain is getting married."

Madeline stared silently at the open flame. She tried to recall how many times she had vocally resented kings and queens and other despots. Her disdain for hereditary structures of power was well-known among the guild, so it made sense that Hazel would hide this from her.

Madeline felt stupid. The last thing in the world that she wanted was to hurt the woman she loved. Hazel was sweet, generous, funny, brave and had a truly kind soul; It made Madeline's heart ache to think that her Love might feel ashamed of herself because of her. She had meant it, when she told Hazel that she didn't care if she had been born in a castle. It was paramount for her to find Hazel as quickly as possible, so she may tell her how much she cared for her.

As she was about to fall asleep, she heard ruffling coming from the nearby tent. The lady orc was sleeping on a cot under a pine tree, but Alisandra and her orc boyfriend were nowhere in sight. Madeline listened carefully, until she realized that the sounds were moans. The little elf lady was getting railed by her buff lover, and neither seemed to care that they could be heard in a wide radius.

The next day, she travelled the rest of the way with Alisandra and her two companions, trying very hard to erase the previous night's sounds from her mind. She had left her armor packed up in her saddlebags, concurring that stepping onto the Ceremonial Grounds while dressed in her holy Sun armor might've been seen as blasphemous. She was also glad of the diminished weight on her shoulders.

Eventually, they reached a clearing in the forest, where the Ceremonial Grounds stood. There was a staggering number of tents all around, way more than she had been expecting. The number of people united here was far from the most shocking detail, however. Madeline couldn't stop herself from blushing when she heard the loud noises of lovemaking coming out left and right.

She had assumed the lustful acts were done in tents, albeit with no regards for who could hear, but she saw more than a few couples doing the deeds right in the open. And the smell! It grew thicker as they penetrated the camp, a pungent mix of male and female musk, from people fucking and people who really wanted to fuck. Orcs had much sharper noses than humans, so they would probably be able to separate every scent from the crowd, but to her it was just a big jumble of body odors.

"They're really open about sex," Alisandra whispered. "You get used to it."

Madeline couldn't even begin to think about whether or not she wanted to get used to it. She tried to keep her eyes forward, watching the road, but her ears perked up when she heard two feminine voices on her left. She gulped when she saw two orc women kissing and touching each other. At least, she now knew that same-sex relationships were not taboo here.

"Madeline? Are you coming?"

The paladin turned towards Alisandra. She realized that she had spent the last thirty seconds staring at the lesbian couple.

"Yeah, sorry." She heeled her gelding to rejoin her new friends.

Madeline looked around, only now noticing the number of glares pointed at her. Once she was close enough to Alisandra, she quietly asked her, "Am I in trouble? I feel bad for staring like that. It's frown-upon, right?"

"You are in trouble, but not in the way you think. It's not so much that it's frowned-upon to stare, but rather that you were staring rosy-cheeked at two women fucking. You kinda outed yourself as a lesbian with that."

Madeline put a hand up against her cheeks, as if she could've known by touch alone whether Alisandra was serious about her blushing. Everywhere around them, women were looking at her with hungry eyes. Scarred, muscled orcs with tree-trunk arms, tall gangly trolls, heavy lumbering ogres and skittering goblins were all eyeing her like a piece of meat.

"You better find your girlfriend fast before one of them tries to claim you."

Madeline nodded in agreement, but then her eyes met those of a tall, gorgeous, red-skinned woman with horns. An oni, stinking of musk and booze, now stood in front of her, blocking the way. She had a large scar running down the left side of her face and an eyepatch over the left eye.

"Are you lost, little human? I can help you find your way."

The closer she got, the more Madeline could smell her enticing, mind-melting musk.

"I... I'm looking... my girlfriend."

"Yes, I can be your girlfriend," she answered with a wicked smile, while grabbing Light's reins.

"No, I already have a girlfriend."

The oni bent towards her. She was even bigger than Hazel, so that she towered over Madeline even while she was on horseback.

"You don't smell like you do."

"She said she already has someone," chided Alisandra. "Please leave her be."

The oni didn't even turn towards the elf.

"Unhand my horse," Madeline ordered. She hoped her tone was more confident than her. The horned lady didn't seem much fazed. Although, she did look down at the sword on Madeline's belt.

"You're a feisty one, I like th-"

"Jezebel," scorned a loud but calm voice. "Take your fucking hands off my human, unless you want to lose your other eye too."

The blood in Madeline's veins unthawed instantly as she heard Hazel's voice. She craned her neck sideways to see past the wide red woman. Her girlfriend stood in the middle of the dirt road, her muscles flexing menacingly. Hazel wore tight leather shorts, gilded bracers and a wide variety of jewelry, leaving her heavy breasts to hang loose.

There was a moment of silence as the oni and the orc glared at each other, as if gauging each other's chance of success in an open confrontation. Eventually, the horned lady came to her senses. She was bigger than Hazel, but Madeline had seen her lover defeat much bigger foes.

The red woman shouted something in orcish, before walking away.

"Your girlfriend is a badass," whispered Alisandra. Madeline silently agreed.

Light rode forward towards Hazel, who stood silently, glowering. A scent hit Madeline's nose, a pungent aroma that she would recognize among thousands. Hazel's musk was strong, stronger than it had ever been, invading Madeline's nostrils and making her whole body warmer.

"I'm sorry," Madeline finally said once she was close enough. She wasn't sure what she was even sorry for. Sorry for not waiting for you at home? Sorry for following you when you didn't invite me? Sorry for not insisting to come with you from the beginning? Sorry for never learning your language? Sorry for not learning more about your culture?

"My beautiful flower, you have nothing to be sorry for." Her face relaxed, as if she was realizing just now that she had been scowling at Madeline. "I'm the one who is sorry."

She grabbed her and hugged her tightly. Madeline hugged her back, not caring about anyone watching them. A little hug was nothing compared to what else she had seen others do.

Now that she was so close to Hazel, however, her smell was overpowering. If she had any less self-restraint, Madeline might've started rubbing her crotch over the saddle. She couldn't understand why her girlfriend's musk had that effect on her, only that it made her extremely horny.

"W-why would you be sorry?" the paladin finally asked.

"I'm sorry I didn't invite you here in the first place. And... I'm sorry for what I will have to do to you now that you are here."

"Yeah... I've heard a little about the... marking. Is there any secluded place where we could talk further?"

"I do have a room in the... in the palace."

"Yeah, I kinda also heard about your father."

Alisandra and the others had joined them. The two orcs made a deferential nod while greeting the Kal'thara. Hazel responded in orcish, then said something that made all three smile widely. As they made their way to the palace, Madeline learned that Hazel had invited them to stay in a guest room there, as thanks for having escorted her girlfriend into the camp.

The palace was... grandiose. An enormous structure of rock and wood, Madeline couldn't help but gawk. She thought the palace would be a temporary structure, maybe the size of a large inn, but this... this was a cathedral. She would really need to reconsider her preconceptions about orcs.

Two stablehands, an orc and a goblin, took Light's reins and his saddle, then led the horse into the stable. She grabbed her backpack and silently followed Hazel into the building. The elf and her two orc friends were led towards the guest rooms, leaving Madeline and Hazel walking by themselves.

"Before we get some alone time, I need to talk to my father. He's probably going to want to talk to you."

Before Madeline could respond, Hazel grabbed her head under her arm.

"Hazel!"

"Relax, my sunrise, I'm just putting my scent on you."

Madeline tried to stay still while Hazel rubbed her sweaty hairy armpit over her hair and neck. Once she was done, the orc gave a little kiss on the forehead.

"Alright. Now I'm marked, right?"

"No, not even close. But if you don't even have a little of my smell on you, no one will truly believe that you are mine. Proper marking is a lot more extensive."

The paladin felt her face becoming warmer as her head conjured more images of... extensive marking. They made their way to the chieftain's room, where Madeline saw the biggest orc she had ever seen in her entire life.

Hazel rushed into the arms of the massive orc, hugging him tightly. Seeing her standing next to him only reinforced the idea that he was outrageously large. Hazel told him something, then pointed to Madeline, who almost got one knee. She hadn't been told about the proper protocol when meeting a chieftain.

He shouted something to her with a warm smiling face. Madeline's eyes nervously shifted to Hazel.