Finding a niche

Helja turns towards the others. “You three head back to what you were doing. I’ll give Greg the tour and explain what we do here.”

Hayley sighs. “Sure boss, hog the new guy all to yourself. No kissing on the first day!”

Helja gives Hayley a look, and the redhead grins and waves to you before walking off, whistling. Marin winks at you and gives you a thumbs up, causing Helja to roll her eyes. The tiger girl laughs. “Come on, Sanni, let’s give them some privacy.”

The lamia grins, waving to you as she turns. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Greg, I look forward to working with you.”

The two of them chatter as they leave, and Helja sighs heavily. “I apologize for the innuendo. I promise that any unwanted advances will be reprimanded.”

You chuckle. “I don’t mind at all. It’s nice to be the center of attention for once.”

Helja nods. “I’m glad you’re fine with it. We all know you’re…attached, and some new world humans aren’t as big on the way monster girls group up.”

You smile. “Well, I certainly can’t complain. And I bet if you asked my girls, they’d be excited to see more join us.”

Your words seem to startle Helja, her blue eyes widening for a moment. Almost before you notice, she comprises herself, though you hear a catch in her voice. “S-so anyway, this is the siege workshop, but really we handle all kinds of engineering projects. Normally we have a variety of projects going, but we just received a visit from the Forgefather himself, telling us to shift focus back to warfare.”

“The Forgefather? Who is that?”

Helja looks up at you in surprise. “No one told you about him? He is the lead advisor for the ruling council, though in reality he is effectively the ruler of the dwarves. He is also the god of metal and stone.”

You blink, stunned. “A god? That’s…a whole thing.”

She nods. “I won’t go into a lot of detail, but yes. Gods are mortals who’ve transcend mortality, and usually represent aspects of nature or society. The demon lord is a god as well, for example.”

You sigh. “I’ll just file that away for now. So he told you to make siege engines again?”

“He did. Something about ‘the time of prophecy is drawing near’. I just do what he says, I’m not one of the high and mighty.”

You nod. “Above your pay grade, right?”

She smiles. “Exactly! So that’s what the other girls are doing now, getting everything ready to start the next project. We all have our specialty, though we help each other where we can. Hayley is our fabrication expert, I’ve never known anyone with her knack for turning a drawing into reality.”

“I imagine I’ll be working with her a lot, given my talents.”

Helja nods. “Yes, although we all bounce around quite a bit. Marin handles assembly, she is even stronger than she looks, and loves to show off. Don’t let her bet on an arm wrestling contest with you, you’ll end up her ****.”

You chuckle. “Good advice, though there are worse fates.”

The blonde dwarf looks at you sidelong. “Indeed. Sanni, meanwhile, is our enchanter. She handles the magical side of any project we have. You’ll likely work with her a lot as well. Fair warning, she’s more subtle about it than Hayley and Marin, but she’s just as interested in…extracurriculars…as they are.”

You laugh at the roundabout description of the flirting you’ve seen. “And you? Are you just the boss?”

Helja sighs. “I’m not really the boss, but sometimes someone has to keep order around here. I mostly design what we build, but I’m plenty skilled with my hands as well.”

You stifle a chuckle, and Helja blinks, then blushes. “I-I didn’t mean…”

You interrupt. “It’s fine, I understand. I’ll try not to bother you like that, I don’t want to upset you.”

She shakes her head. “N-no, it’s fine. You just caught me off guard. We’re all a bit starved for attention here is all.”

You smile. “I see. I’m guessing all of you are single, then?”

Helja nods. “Yeah, none of us have found the right person. Leads to a bit of flirty talk. A-anyway, I guess that’s all for now. I’ll let you get out of here. Are you willing to start tomorrow?”

You smile. “I’ll be here, no doubt.”