Brute's Love

Chapter 1 - LEA

“It’s a nice morning,” I murmur to myself. It’s good to start the day with high spirits and gratitude.

Gods know I have much to be grateful for now.

They gave me a room in the dormitory, not far from the market and the canteen. I love the smells from the market when the wind blows in my direction. The citrus fruits and herbs mix to form such a scent that perfumes my room.

It’s a short walk to the school through the camp that takes me past the arena, where I glance and don’t linger as the orcs train. I should be used to giant bulking creatures by now, but the sight never fails to bring a certain curiosity about them.

You see, I like to know things and understand as much as I can about everything. I suppose that’s why I’m a teacher. When I arrived here not three weeks ago, I was curious to see humans and orcs living so close together, but I also noticed how progressive it all seemed.

This is a stark contrast to the fierce reputation that the orcs have acquired over the years. They have a knack for understanding the skills that someone can bring that will make everyone's lives better. For me, they saw that I have not only a thirst for knowledge but also the skill to pass that knowledge on. So, they made me a teacher, and I’m happy about that.

It seems that more and more people come, and more and more of those people want to learn. And I’m happy to assist in that as best as I can—no child or adult who wishes to gain knowledge will be turned away while I’m around. If you want to learn, I’m here to teach.

The school is a bright little place in the northwest of the camp. It’s a little ray of sunshine in this unpredictable world we know exists. That world seems far away though, when I’m in the classroom surrounded by bright little faces that hold the future in their hands.

That’s where I am now—cleaning up the little classroom after another successful and rewarding day of teaching the little orc and human children alike. It can be a challenge, don’t get me wrong. Children will be children, whatever race they are. It’s about teaching them balance and how their strengths can help another's weaknesses.

“Still here?” a voice behind me says.

I turn to see Wendy, one of the older teachers who helped set up this little school. It wasn’t the most straightforward task, as you can imagine. This was back when the orcs just wanted to raid and drink. Their idea of education was throwing a little one into the wilds to survive on their own for a season—not the kind of teaching that I approve of. I admire Wendy’s passion; she’s been very good to me since I arrived.

“Yeah, just getting set up for tomorrow. We did some painting today, which always ends in a mess.”

“I hear you Lea, but they left with smiles on their faces, which is more than we can hope for as teachers,” Wendy says, the wrinkles on her face curling with her smile.

“Yep, that’s why we put ourselves through it,” I reply.

“Well, make sure you get some rest tonight. Do you have any plans?” she asks.

“I got some new books from Thorik in the market, so it’s bed and a book for me. Hopefully, there won’t be too much noise from the canteen. Those orcs sure do like to make a racket late into the night.” I absent-mindedly wipe some blue paint off one of the tables as I speak.

“All these years, and I have never gotten used to it. That and the sounds they make when they eat,” Wendy laughs.

“Oh! A sound that can never be explained, only experienced,” I joke with her.

“One day, perhaps the words will be found. Enjoy your book!” Wendy adds as she waves goodbye. She turns and disappears from the classroom and my view.

I return to cleaning up the mess that seems to never end when I get the feeling I’m being watched. I turn and look behind me to the door, but no one’s there. Maybe I just imagined it. I return to picking up the discarded paintings and brushes left on the desks. Yet, the feeling remains.

I glance at the window only to catch a little orc's face peering at me. I smile, and it disappears downwards. It would appear that my little peeper has returned. I gaze at the window, waiting for the cute little face to return because I know it will. He’s one of my students, but he’s very quiet and I don’t know much about him.

Oh, and there it is. The little orc realizes I am still looking, so it doesn’t hang around long. I’ll try a different technique and pretend he isn’t there.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this little face. He’s one of the children I teach, but he seems to come back to school and peek at me through the window. He caught my attention early on; he has a different vibe from the other orc kids.

I’ve come to know and study the behavior of pure orc children. They are, to be honest, very predictable. Yet this little one is different, and it’s my job to understand not just the behavior of my children but also the differences in their behavior.

At break time, I’ve watched him play alone while the other little orcs act out heroic battles that their parents sing them to sleep with. The human children like to play hide-and-seek. This one studies the birds' sounds and takes delight in any small animal he encounters. It would seem this boy is in his own world.

I glance up, and there he is again, but not for long. He seems to enjoy this little game. But I know his gaze is sometimes different in class. He has a shy look in his eye, and there are times when I try to engage with him that only results in him running away.

On his next little reveal, I don’t see that look today but something different, which my training as a teacher is telling me to explore. I wait until his little face appears and then predictably disappears. I rush to the classroom door. It’s a short dash outside, and I sneak around to the window where I know that he is.

“Peek-a-boo!” I shout as I jump along the corner to catch him peering in the window, and he jumps back with such force I worry that he will hurt himself, but orcs, even orc children, are much tougher than that. Yet, my instincts kick in, and I quickly rush to him, lifting him from the ground and dusting him off.

“You okay, little one?” I ask him.

His cheeks blush, and he lowers his head.

“I like peek-a-boo,” he replies.

“I know you do. I like it too, especially with you. You’re very good at it. Do you know that?”

“I’m the best,” he says.

“Yes, I think so too. And I have done a lot of peek-a-boo. But, with no one as good as you,” I tell him and he smiles at that.

“My name Is Urca. What’s your name?” he asks me curiously.

“I’m Lea,” I reply.

“What kind of a name is that?” Urca says.

“Well, it’s a human name. It means delicate,” I tell him.

“And are you?” Urca replies.

“Sometimes, I guess, everybody is,” I say.

“Urca means dweller of the high skies. My daddy told me that,” Urca says.

“And do you feel like a dweller of the high skies?” I ask him.

“I like birds, and they like me, so yes, I suppose I do,” Urca tells me with an air of orcish confidence.

“And do you like school, dweller of the high skies?” I ask.

“I like you, and you are school, so I guess I do,” Urca replies.

“Well, I am glad to hear that, Urca, because I like you being at school,” I reply.

He goes quiet for a minute, which, in my experience with children, tells me that a loaded question is forming in his little head.

“Why are some faces in my class different from mine?” he finally asks, his little foot drawing a circle in the dirt.

“Everybody has a different face, Urca,” I reply.

“I know that. I’m not dumb. I mean, why are their faces so different?” Urca asks.

“Well, what you have to do first is always look at questions from a different view,” I tell him.

“What is a different view?” he asks.

“Well, an eagle in the sky is just a small dot, yet an eagle beside you is very big,” I explain.

“Okay, but why do the human children look so strange?” he asks.

“Well, because you are looking at them from a different point of view,” I reply.

“How should I be looking at them?” Urca asks.

“From the point of view that they like peek-a-boo as much as you,” I tell him.

“Like you?” Urca says with revelation in his voice, and he hides his face with his hands for a second, then releases them and shouts.

“Peek-a-boo!”

That’s when I feel a presence behind us that has been paying attention.