“Easy kid, easy,” she said. The orc woman looked up at a tree they were under. A fierce looking hawk was looking down at them.
“SHOO!” she shouted. She grabbed her weapon, a large mace, and swung it at the bird. The hawk gave a screech and flew away. The orc woman gave a sigh of relief.
“If you flew any further, that thing could’ve eaten you.”
Barii was confused as to what just happened.
“You... y-you saved me?” he stuttered out. “Why?”
“Because it was the right thing to do,” the orc woman said, “can’t have an innocent fairy get eaten, can we?”
Barii teared up a bit.
“Hey no tears kid,” she said as she gently wiped his tiny eyes.
“Th-thank you,” he said.
The orc woman smiled.
“What were you doing in my bag, anyways?” she asked.
“I... I thought this camp was abandoned. I came to the pond to explore and I saw the fire, so I wanted to see what was here. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to look like I was stealing.”
“Ah well you came out of there with nothing at hand, so no harm no foul,” she gently rubbed his tiny head, “If I’m being honest, I’ve never seen a fairy up close before. You’re a cute little thing.~”
Barii blushed a bit.
“Do you live around here?” she asked.
“Y-yeah, I live over... over... wait,” Barii started to panic as he looked around. He was turned around and lost.
“What’s wrong?” the orc woman asked.
“I-I don’t know which way home is!” Barii started to cry.
“Hey don’t sweat it, I’ll help you find your home,” she assured him.
“You will?”
“Sure, but in the morning. Sun is setting pretty soon and it’ll be hard to see anything at night.”
Barii’s thoughts dwelled on his mother.
“My mama told me not to stay out late.”
The orc giantess sat against a tree stump close to the camp fire, setting the fairy boy on her knee.
“Well, you got me to protect you,” she smiled, “nothing will harm you so long as I am here.” She flexed her huge arms and grinned.
Barii couldn’t help but giggle seeing the woman show off.
“M-my name is Barii,” he said shyly.
“It’s nice to meet you Barii”, the orc replied, “I’m Valria.”
Later that night, Valria gave Barii a piece of the fruit she had in her bag as she skinned her rabbit kills. The fairy boy felt safe around his new friend. In a way, she was seemingly like a literal big sister to him. As it grew late, the orc woman gave the boy a dried out rabbit skin to use as a blanket for sleep. She laid him on her bag right next to her bed roll.
“Your mother ever tell you stories, Barii?” the orc woman asked.
“Sometimes,” he replied.
“Well, you’ve never heard one from me before,” she chuckled.
Valria told Barii a tale of a warrior who played one hundred dragons without breaking a sweat, and how the warrior had become king of all the land. The tale thrilled the boy. As Barii’s eyelids grew heavy, Valria gently rubbed the top of his head and laid down next to him.
The duo slowly drifted to sleep.
The next morning, Valria packed her camp and brought Barii along with her to help him find his tree. The boy sat on her shoulder as she walked.
As they passed a small forest, Barii recognized a patch of bushes with blue flowers.
“It’s that way!” he said excitedly.
The orc woman walked the boy in the direction he pointed. Soon, they found his home. Barii hopped happily on Valria’s shoulder. The orc woman gently held him in a cupped hand as she approached the tree. She kicked a log over and stood on top of it to see in the tree, her head just barely being able to see inside.
In the tree, was Barii’s mother hunched over a table crying.
“Umm… excuse me? Miss?” Valria spoke up.
Barii’s mother saw the orc woman and screamed.
“BACK BEAST!! GO AWAY!!”
“Hey, I’m not a beast, I only look like one.”
“PLEASE LEAVE!! DON’T HARM ME!!”
“N-no, miss, you misunderstand,” Valria explained, “I believe this belongs to you.”
Valria reached in a bit and placed her hand down on the floor of the fairy’s home. She opened her hand and revealed Barii sitting inside.
“MAMA!!” the boy shouted happily.
“BARII MY CHILD!!” his mother cried out. She flew up onto the open palm and held him tight. “WHAT HAPPENED?? ARE YOU OKAY?? WHY DIDN’T YOU COME HOME??”
“Mama, I’m okay,” Barii chuckled, “I got lost, but Valria here saved me.”
His mother looked over to the orc woman’s face. The woman smiled and rubbed the back of her head.
Barii’s mother flew over to the woman’s face. She placed her tiny hand on her giant cheek.
“Thank you,” the mother said.
As Barii and his mother exited the giant palm, Valria pulled out her hand and jumped off the log. She gave a satisfied sigh and started to walk away.
“Valria, wait!” Barii shouted. The boy flew out really quick and up to the orc’s face. He hugged her giant cheek one last time. The giant woman placed her hand over the boy.
“Maybe one day we can go on adventures together kid,” she said.
Barii gave the giant orc woman a tiny kiss on her cheek before flying back to his home. With that, the orc was on her way.
Barii’s mother meanwhile was comforted by the fact that not everything out there was out to get her and her child.
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