The Weaving of the Bead

Gurruk stared at her with wide eyes. Vivian felt heat rise to her cheeks and stood up, muttering something about getting back to work. She didn't look back at Gurruk to check if he had acknowledged her.

Vivian finished the process of closing up the tavern, leaving the passed out adventurers in their seats. Then she nervously went back to Gurruk, the only person, apart from her, that was still conscious.

"I'm heading upstairs." She said, and then berated herself mentally for how that sounded. "I mean, I'm leaving, so if you want to stay in here until Bianca starts cooking, that's up to you."

Gurruk shook his head and stood up. Vivian hated the way her eyes roamed over his muscular body as he stretched.

"The Rebels will kill me if I'm not well-rested for our departure tomorrow." He sighed begrudgingly.

Vivian simply nodded, her voice having deserted her. Gurruk looked at her and smiled.

"Thank you for talking with me again tonight. Even with orcs being more accepted nowadays, not many people are interested in learning about us and our culture."

"Well, feel free to tell me more stories about your clan." Vivian replied with a smile.

"I just might do that." Gurruk said with a chuckle. "Anyway, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Gurruk. Have a safe journey."

With one last smile, and wave, Gurruk headed up the stairs to the rooms the adventurers could rent out. Vivian watched him go until he was out of sight, then shook herself out of her daze before going back to the counter to make sure everything was locked up and ready for Bianca.

Vivian's head was in the clouds nearly all the time while Gurruk was gone again. She felt silly for it, knowing that it was useless to pine after someone who was in town for only one night every few weeks. But it had become clear to her that she certainly had affection for Gurruk. Even though they had come from different cultures, the similarities between those cultures connected the two of them in a way that no one else in the guild could understand.

It got to a point where she had begun comparing all the other men to Gurruk. And they all, without exception, came up short. She was even looking more closely at half-orcs, having started to find tusks rather appealing. But the half-orcs weren't making her heart race the way Gurruk could. It became clear that there was more to it than a simple fetish for orcish men. It was Gurruk himself. Though Vivian wasn't sure what she could do about it.

In theory, she could simply try to seduce him. But at this point, she didn't think a simple tryst was enough for her. The few times they had spoken, their conversations were on a wavelength she couldn't share with anyone else in the League of Steelcloaks. And she had the feeling it was the same for Gurruk.

They were both outsiders amongst the adventurers and workers in the guild in a way. They had little eccentricities that made sense in their own culture, but that no one else understood. Until they met.

As the days became longer and warmer, Vivian longed to see the Roguish Rebels return to Lantros. They had been gone for over a month at this point, and she was missing Gurruk terribly. She was annoyed at herself for missing him, feeling rather pathetic. But she couldn't help wanting to see him again.

And so when she went downstairs to begin her shift at the tavern, her heart nearly jumped out of her throat when she spotted him, sitting at his usual spot at the window with the rest of his party. She felt her mouth widen into a grin and skipped over to the bar where she could fill some tankards to bring over.

"Welcome back, Rebels." She greeted them, handing them each a tankard full of ale.

"Thank you, milady." The dwarven man responded with exaggerated pomp, making her giggle.

She looked up at Gurruk, who was looking at her with a soft smile, and she winked at him before turning around to head back to the bar.

The guild hall was particularly full that night, and the adventurers in the hall were much more boisterous than usual. Vivian was rushing throughout the room at a frenetic pace, bringing food and drink, praying she wouldn't drop anything. This was certainly the most hectic night she'd ever had since beginning to work for the League of Steelcloaks.

Much as she would have liked to steal glances at Gurruk as often as possible, she was so busy that she could barely spot him at all with all the running around she was doing. Not to mention the sheer number of people present in the hall, blocking her view. Gurruk may have been tall, but he was sitting down, while many folks were standing, some of them on the tables.

It came as no surprise to Vivian that she was also getting her butt grabbed and slapped even more than normal, which was saying something. She was sure that her butt cheeks would end up bruised. It was annoying, but mostly harmless. So she ignored them and continued her work.

Ignoring them, as well as occasionally slapping hands away from her breasts, was the most she could do, and it worked well enough. At least, it usually did.

She should have known that something like this would eventually happen. This was the part about being a tavern maid that they all despised. So when she felt an arm wrap around her waist, pulling her back towards a large body, she groaned in annoyance and began her usual tricks to extricate herself. Assuming he was drunk, she was hoping her wriggling and twisting would make him loosen his grip. But this particular man seemed to be holding on relentlessly. Her tray fell to the floor with a clatter as she squirmed.

"Hey, where you goin', sweetie?" The man growled in her ear. His breath was hot against her neck, and she repressed a shudder.

"If you want more to drink, you're gonna have to let me go." She stated, clearly, but trying to remain playful so he wouldn't be insulted and cause trouble.

"I'm done drinkin'." He declared. "So you'll do nicely for what I have in mind next."

"Not everybody's done drinking. I have to get back to work."

Despite her protests, the man held her tightly against his chest. He brought his hands up to squeeze her breasts, making her whimper in pain. She looked around frantically, and realized that no one would notice what was happening. The man had planned this out carefully, standing in a dark corner until she passed by, like a spider laying out a trap to wait for its prey.

There was no use pretending not to be scared. She would have to get away from him and get Morin to ban him from the guild hall. He would be expelled from the hall by her magic, unable to enter again until she allowed it. And she was unlikely to lift that ban on a man like this.

But first, she had to get away from him.

"Let me go!" She shrieked, abandoning her usual nice tricks. She screamed, and kicked, but he held onto her and laughed, revelling in her distress.

The man's grip suddenly slackened, and she tumbled to the ground as the man was pulled backwards.

Vivian lifted her head and her mouth dropped open. Gurruk stood there, his hands still on the man's biceps. Her assailant yelled in pain, and Gurruk released him. At least for a second. Then he brought a hand forward to the man's chest, and grabbed a fistful of his shirt.

Gurruk then dragged him by the shirt towards his table near the open window. The man yelled obscenities, kicking uselessly as Gurruk calmly walked towards the window.

At this point, the tavern was beginning to quiet down as adventurers and guests noticed something going on. Vivian was so shocked by everything happening, as well as Gurruk's impressive strength, that she sat there on the ground, frozen.

Without a single word, Gurruk lifted the man, and unceremoniously threw him out the window. He shrieked, then groaned as he collided with the hard ground.

Many people in the tavern cheered at his display. Vivian scrambled to her feet, picked up her tray and rushed towards Gurruk.

"Thank you." She exclaimed in relief.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"I didn't notice what was happening. I should have been there sooner."

"Gurruk, you couldn't have known. I'm just glad you were there in time."

"Yeah, Gurruk. At least you saw it!" The human man of the Roguish Rebels said. "We didn't even realize there was anything going on until you were already dragging that guy over here."

"You alright?" The half-elf woman asked Vivian.

Vivian nodded. She thanked Gurruk again as he sat down, looking a little shaken, unlike his calm expression he'd had when defenestrating her assailant.

Exhaling a sigh, Vivian returned to the bar, and got back to work. The customers were suddenly much nicer to her as she brought out the drinks and food, settling back into her familiar rhythm.

The rest of the evening was thankfully devoid of further incident. In fact, Vivian noticed that her body was no longer being grabbed or slapped at all. It seemed that Gurruk's display had warned every other adventurer to keep their hands to themselves unless they wanted to experience defenestration themselves.

Whenever she had the chance, Vivian glanced up at Gurruk. And every time, he was watching her like a hawk. She shot him a smile whenever she could, to reassure him that she was fine.

The guild hall slowly emptied as twilight came and went, darkness covering the city. With how busy the evening had been, Vivian was feeling the fatigue creeping into her limbs as the adrenaline began to wear off.

Like the last two times he had been here, Gurruk stayed in the tavern until she finished her shift. It made her wonder if he was doing it just for her. The first time, it was because he had wanted to ask her about her medallion. The second time, he had claimed to want to enjoy the quieter atmosphere. But Vivian wondered if he was doing it to talk to her again. However, she didn't want to get her hopes up. She wasn't even sure what she was hoping for.

It was obvious that she was drawn to Gurruk. There was something about him that made her want to be around him. But did that mean she wanted something more than friendship?

As she continued stealing glances at him, feeling warmer and warmer every time she did so, she realized that friendship was not what she was feeling towards Gurruk. And now that she had accepted it, she would have to do something about it. Luckily, he was still sitting at the table, slowly drinking his last tankard of ale. His teammates had gone up to bed a little while ago, leaving him alone with the few stragglers in the tavern.

Vivian did her usual routine of cleaning and preparing the kitchen for Bianca. Then, after making sure the other adventurers present were passed out, she approached Gurruk, who stood up as he saw her arrive.

"Did you wait for me?" She asked him, trying to keep the hopefulness in her voice from being too obvious.

"I did, actually." He admitted. Vivian restrained her grin.

"Did you want to talk to me about something?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Vivian nodded. "I am. Thanks to you."

Gurruk looked down at his feet in shame, making Vivian frown.

"What's wrong?"

"I should have been there sooner." He repeated. "I didn't see what was happening until he was practically forcing himself on you."

"Gurruk, don't blame yourself for that. There were other people sitting even closer who didn't see anything. That man had planned that whole thing. Besides, he didn't have the chance to do anything to me. I've had worse."

"Still, I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for." Vivian assured him, placing her hands on his forearms, hoping he would believe her.

He gazed into her eyes for a moment, and finally nodded. Then, he cleared his throat, stood up straighter, and broke eye contact, seeming nervous.

"Vivian, I, uh... I wanted to give you something."

Vivian blinked in surprise, both at his shy, uncertain tone, and at what he had said. As she stared, Gurruk reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small object, which he then handed to her.

"I made this for you." He stated, looking pointedly away from her. And if she didn't know any better, Vivian would say that the green of his cheeks was a much darker all of a sudden.

Vivian held out her hand, and Gurruk gently placed the object into it. She gasped when she saw that it was an ornate orcish bead, carved out of pieces of antler. Her own cheeks took on a much less subtle darker hue.

Vivian stared at the bead in her hand. It was similar to his, in that it had three holes, but they were placed in a triangular pattern instead of a curved line. They were also much bigger, most likely meant to hold all of her hair, instead of just the top section like Gurruk did with his. It was delicately carved, in a way that seemed impossible for large orcish hands to do. Spiral shapes in all sorts of colours covered the bead, all painted with a precision that must have taken an extraordinary amount of patience.

"I thought it might be useful to keep the strands of your braid together." He muttered nervously.

"Gurruk, it's beautiful, thank you."

Gurruk finally looked at her and smiled.

"Would you like me to show you how to use it?" He offered.

"Oh! Yes, please."

Gurruk pulled another object from his pocket. It was a thin strip of leather tied in a loop at the end of a large, blunt needle. He explained how to pass the strands of hair through the bead, and how it was subsequently locked in place.

"I can put it in for you this time." He said, hesitation lacing his voice.

Vivian nodded and grabbed the end of her braid. Hit by a sudden idea, Vivian pulled her medallion off of her braid and handed it to him.

"Here, I want you to have this one."

"Oh, are you sure?" He asked.

"Absolutely." Vivian insisted. "You don't have to wear it, but I'd like you to have it."

"Thank you." He said, giving her another soft smile.

Vivian then turned around and presented the back of her head. She struggled to hide her shiver when she felt his large hands begin to undo the braid in her hair. When he reached her scalp, he used the threading tool to pass the middle strand through while the bead was upside down. Then he flipped the bead, separated the middle strand into two sections, and passed the other strands into their respective hole. The middle strand sections were passed underneath the outer strands and joined back up in the middle, beneath the bead. And then it was a simple matter of braiding her hair once more.

It was strange for her to allow another person to braid her hair. Culturally speaking, only people of whom one was very trusting could braid one's hair, because hair had to be braided with good intentions. Parents, children, siblings, and romantic partners were the most common, though even good friends occasionally did so.

Technically, she didn't know Gurruk well enough to trust him. And yet she had no qualms about having him braid her hair. In fact, she was enjoying it greatly. There was something about him that made her feel safe and cared for, even before he had saved her from a creep. And the very idea that he had made her a bead after learning that her culture placed similar importance on hair was a great indication that he had good intentions.

When Gurruk reached the end of the braid, he tied it off with a small piece of cord, then presented it to her.

Vivian was intrigued by the way all the strands had become the same length thanks to the extra looping of the middle one, which was normally longer and left her braid uneven. Now the end of her braid was very neat.

"This is wonderful, thank you so much."

"You're welcome. It's nice to be able to share that with someone. Not too many orcs here." Gurruk admitted.

"I know what you mean. When I left my tribe, I didn't think I would miss something as simple as someone braiding my hair."

"Feel free to ask me to braid your hair any time I'm around." Gurruk said with a grin.

"I might take you up on that." Vivian admitted sheepishly.

The two of them stood there, staring at each other, unmoving, for a long moment. It wasn't until Gurruk took a small step forward, and Vivian's breath caught in her throat, that she realized where this was headed. She felt a thrill in her chest at the confirmation that Gurruk felt the same way she did.

Gurruk brought his hand up to her cheek, cupping her face gently. Vivian let out a small sigh, enjoying the feel of his hand caressing her face.

"Vivian." He murmured, the rumble of his voice vibrating in her chest, his face inching closer to hers.

Fully accepting where this was going, Vivian closed the distance between them, standing on the tips of her toes, and pressed her lips against his. She could feel his tusks on her cheeks, but they were not uncomfortable at all. Thrilled at this discovery, Vivian dragged her hands up to his shoulders, and pressed herself up against his solid chest, parting her lips ever so slightly.

She shivered when she felt his tongue shyly touch hers. Vivian's heart beat a fast tempo against her chest as she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. She felt Gurruk's arms hold her tightly by the waist for a moment, before she was lifted off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his hips to keep her balance.

Gurruk's hands squeezing her bottom was actually pleasant compared to the innumerable other hands doing the same on a nightly basis. Vivian raked her fingers on his back, kissing him with a feverish intensity. But she was craving more from him.

She pulled her face away from Gurruk's, panting. Then, she made the decision to do something she had sworn never to do.

"Gurruk, take me upstairs." She murmured.

She felt, rather than heard, the growl that rumbled in Gurruk's throat, and her legs instinctively squeezed his waist more tightly, uselessly trying to relieve the mounting pressure in her pelvis. She rested her head in the crook of his neck, planting small kisses there, as Gurruk carried her up the stairs to his room.

Gurruk made quick work of climbing up to the fourth floor, without being winded, even though he was still carrying her. Once they reached his room, he set her down gently to her feet, and closed the door behind him. As nervous as she was, Vivian's excitement took precedence and she began unlacing the front of her dress.

But Gurruk placed his hands on hers, stilling her movements. She looked up at him curiously.

"Are you sure you want me?" He asked, his words barely audible through his whisper.

Vivian reached up and placed her hands on either side of his face.

"I want you, Gurruk. I've wanted you for a while."

"Even after what happened to you earlier?"

"Right now, it's just you." Vivian assured him.

Gurruk rested his forehead onto hers for a moment, and then placed his hands on her bodice to take over the task of removing her clothes. Vivian was surprised by his dexterity as he made quick work of unlacing her bodice. Then he brought his hands up to her shoulders and pushed her dress off, letting fall to the ground in a pool of fabric.

Her corset was just as deftly unlaced and dropped to the floor, leaving Vivian in her shift. She began feeling a little self-conscious. But the way Gurruk stared at her hungrily gave her the confidence to remove her shift, leaving her naked, except for her feet.

"Gods, you're beautiful." He murmured.

Before Vivian could even make a move or ask him to remove his own clothing, Gurruk had already pushed his wolfskin kilt down his legs, quickly stepping out of them before wrapping his arms around her once more. Vivian barely caught sight of his erection before she was in his arms, but she swallowed nervously, realizing he was a lot bigger than the few men she had been with. Gurruk carried her to the bed and placed her onto it, almost reverently, before taking her feet in his hands and removing her boots.