Show's over

THUD!! The sound of Zihans head hitting the soil draws a collective gasp from the orcs, the world slows to a crawl as I realise I did it. I DID IT. I! FUCKING! DID! IT! I had fought an orc in combat and won, I beat this huge terrifying monster and he would never hurt anyone again... He would never hurt her again. The silence was deafening, everyone was stunned, myself included, I was not a gambling man but I would assume my odds before the fight would have been thousands to one. The silence is finally broken by a triumphant "YEESSSSS!" I didn't see her say it but I didn't need to, I turn to face her as Zihans body falls lifelessly next to me. "YESSS!" Quinara screams again her voice cracking with emotion, I sheath my blade feeling on top of the world.

Quinara passes the threshold into the arena as she sprints to me, "hold on she isn't slowing down" I think seconds before I'm tackled to the ground with all the **** of a charging bull. The wind is Squeezed from my lungs as Quinara repeatedly plants kisses to my face and neck "you did it. You did it" she repeats as a mantra, her joy evident and while her enthusiasm had me struggling to breathe I couldn't be happier. "Huck of Hearthwood has bested Zihan of the grug clan!" Semta announces, his displeasure at the result dripping from every word, "take a few minutes to ready yourselves then proceed to the shamans tent for the completion of the rite!" With his words the crowd begins to disperse from the ring as the show for them is over, "completion of the rite?" I ask Quinara confused, Zihan was dead what more could I do. "Yeah you have to do the wedding rituals to confirm that we're bound" Quinara says her hands still wrapped around me. It then truly dawns on me Quinara was my wife now, well not right now as I still needed to do the rituals but she would be my wife before the sun sets. It didn't feel real, like a perfect dream that I never wanted to wake up from, "you're mine" I say looking into her yellow eyes they almost sparkled as I said that. Quinara gets a smirk "I think you meant to say 'I'm yours' Runt" I look at her confused I mean I was hers but she was mine "is there a difference?" I ask Quinara chuckles "yeah it's about who's in charge, now am I yours or are you mine?" She says affirming her position as the dominant in the relationship in a casual way that made my heart sing. "I'm yours" I confess letting myself fit into the far more comfortable position as the submissive, "yes you are baby, yes you are" she says before pulling me in for a passionate kiss.

Quinara hoists me to my feet, unfortunately Quinara having tackled me and then subsequently lying there had caused both our clothes to get caked in mud from the soft ground. "Follow me" Quinara commands as she yanks Zihans axe free from the ground, I follow her as she leads me through her clans encampment. It was a unique experience walking around an orc camp, there wasn't much bustle as the clan had only recently dispersed from watching the rite but there was enough to get a glimpse into their lives. Several orcs were skinning boars, and impaling them on skewers to be roasted over fire, a couple of orcs had drew a hasty circle into the dirt and where inside it bare knuckle brawling for a couple of onlookers. Now those activities aligned with the stereotype of orcs being dumb brutes, but there was also an orc reading a book outside his tent, an orc reskinning a drum taking great care to not perforate the material as he stretched and tied it around his instrument. Now I knew from Quinara that orcs were more than their common characterisation, but having spent most of my time here with Zihan and Semta I was starting to the think Quinara was wholly unique and it was reassuring to know that she wasn't alone in breaking the stereotypes.

"So why'd you take the axe?" I ask as I follow, "it's mine now, I got his stuff as his next of kin" she explains, "that doesn't answer my question, why do you want it?" I say clarifying my point "I don't, I like the hammer. I just don't want the clan to keep it, they will pass it down while talking about how it belonged to a great warrior... I don't want that, he doesn't deserve to be remembered like that. I'm going to give it to a blacksmith who'll sell it with no significance, no inherent value about the owner, the person who has the axe will never know his name. It's what he deserves" she says passionately, I couldn't disagree with her.

We finally arrive at a lavish tent, Zihans tent though I suppose it was now Quinara's. Stepping inside, I recoil at the sight this wasn't a home it was a shrine to carnage. Skulls adorned every desk, teeth tied to string on the bedspread it was creepy at best and horrific at worst. Seeing my disgust Quinara nods "Zihan liked to take trophies from his kills" her tone making it clear she didn't approve of this either "gods I couldn't sleep like this" I shudder. "Tell me about it, gods even if he wasn't a monster this place would be a mood killer" Quinara jokes, she then approaches a large locked chest. I was about to ask what's in the chest but Quinara answers my question by lifting the Axe and splitting it open, "what the fuck!" I exclaim caught off guard by her sudden attack, she then reached into the splintered wood and pulls out her war hammer, "he locked this away from me... I don't know where he kept the key" Quinara explains.

We get dressed out of our muddy clothes into better clothes, unfortunately I didn't have a suit packed and Quinara didn't really strike me as the dress wearing type so we just had our adventuring gear. I notice as we dress that Quinara is looking over to the side a lot, I glance that way and notice on a stand in it's sheath is a hunting knife. The hunting knife. "Hey" I say softly getting her attention, "he'll never hurt you again" I say reassuring her, Quinara breathes a sigh of relief "I know... I guess it just hasn't fully sank in yet."