#they were giggling over gronk i was crying

[preciouspatriots]

i thought it was gonna be corny as hell but i loved it ahsjdkdkd

i’m seeing 80 for brady today LMFAO

[heartbreakslow]

Da$h watch 1x04

1x04

"'It's heaps eetsway, I'll let you know bro'--I swear I need subtitles for him sometimes!"

Darren, Quinni, and Amerie are making their plans for Mardi Gras, which seems to be a pretty different thing in Australia because they basically just go to a drag ball at a nightclub. Amerie is happy to get MDMA but baffled that Darren has invited the dealer along. Quinni immediately gets it and exclaims: “You like Cash!” Darren: “Ew no I don’t!”

They relent: “I don’t know what’s going on, so I invited him to find out.” Amerie starts cheerfully making fun of Darren for liking Cash.

Later we see Darren and Cash walking around the library and giggling. The two of them decide to skip class.

My favorite brick joke, part one: Cash checks on the bag and it’s gone. He’s clearly stressed out. Darren asks if the eshays are going to... and mimes shooting someone in the mouth. Cash teases them: “what, fingerbang my face? I hope not. Yeah, it’ll be all right.”

At Harry’s that night, Darren runs out to give Cash a bag of food with cash hidden in the bag to pay for their MDMA, which Cash will bring the next night. Cash is using a lot of slang that Darren doesn’t understand, not really looking at them.

The little eshay comes out into the lot and summons Cash to talk to Chook, who’s hanging out behind the restaurant. Darren mocks the kid, who’s tiny but deadly serious and hypermasculine. Cash doesn’t respond. The kid looks Darren over and says to Cash, “what a fucking flamer,” and walks away.

Darren turns to Cash with a disbelieving smile but Cash still has a totally blank/frozen look on his face and doesn’t say anything. Darren’s smile fades away. They fake-smile in acknowledgment and leave.

Cash goes behind the restaurant where Chook is telling off the kid for not bringing him his kombucha. Cash and Chook lean against the car and Chook asks about the bag. Cash starts giving vague/nothing responses and…

WHY DOES NO ONE TALK ABOUT THIS LINE…

…Chook mocks him by pretending to stutter and says “I can’t understand you, you sound like a methhead.”!!!

Cash nervously admits that the bag was stolen, and promises to get the money back for Chook. He gives Chook the money he got from Darren.

The kid brings back Chook’s drink and Chook throws it at him because he wanted a different flavor. The kid complains about the drink getting on his TNs. Chook advances on the kid but Cash gets in between them and tries to defend the kid.

This is too much for Chook and he punches Cash in the face. He grabs Cash by the head/neck and threatens to curb stomp him for insubordination, all while Cash keeps the same blank expression. Chook finally releases him and throws the bag of food at him as he walks away. He yells at the other eshays to get in the car, multiple times, as they’re all hesitant to get in the car with him.

Later Cash is getting out of the shower and checking out his black eye in the mirror and crying. He puts sunglasses on to cover it.

Darren, Amerie, and Quinni are pregaming. Darren and Amerie complain about straight men. Darren complains about not understanding Cash’s slang.

Favorite brick joke, part two: Darren asks about the black eye:

Cash: It’s just Chook.

Darren: I thought you were friends.

Cash: We are.

Darren: Well your friends are…

Cash: Gronks. But I grew up with them.

Darren pauses, accepts this, and says, “well at least you didn’t get finger-fucked in the face.” Cash: “No…I got fisted.” Little rueful smile. RIP Darren and me.

There’s a cute montage of the kids pregaming and Darren trying to dress up Malakai and Cash for the event. Cash’s outfit is a wifebeater and a pink g-string over his head to cover his black eye. We see Malakai and Darren dancing and Cash is just happily watching Darren. The kids all take a picture together and Cash doesn’t pose but just watches Darren posing.

When they're outside the club, Cash is trying to stand behind Darren in line to hide from the cops. Inside, Darren is bemused by Cash’s raver dancing which consists of…punching the air?

Darren competes in the ball and Cash is thrilled and supportive! (I also love how Quinni gets so hyped that she tries to climb up on the stage.) But just when he’s about to talk to them, Jacob appears and hugs Darren. Darren’s surprised and doesn’t really hug back, but the two of them make small talk.

Cash is…jealous? He walks away from the whole group, only to walk right into Jayden (one of the eshays) dealing at the club. Cash is scared and takes the underwear off his head. Jayden sees him, but expresses sympathy about Chook punching Cash, and Cash is relieved by Jayden’s apparent acceptance of Cash being at the event.

Then Darren comes and finds him, annoyed that he wasn’t there when they finished dancing. Cash says, “You were talking to that other lad. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Darren needs a minute to even understand what Cash is talking about, and reassures him that they're not into Jacob.

Cash apologizes and says “Let me make it up to you,” which he does by stealing a giant glowing paper mache penis from a drag queen. The two of them run away from her, laughing and holding hands. When they stop, Cash is staring dopily at Darren and asks to kiss them.

The shot of their first kiss is great: we see their faces in silhouette, against the lights of the club, and then when they kiss their faces block the light. It gets across the idea that this connection feels life-altering, like it blocks everything else out. After making out for a while they pull back and hug each other and we see a shot of each of them smiling privately to themself.

We see them dancing and grinning at each other later. They don’t seem to be with the group when Malakai is attacked.

In the montage at the end we see them sitting, talking and kissing by the water.

Thoughts:

Good first kiss and everything, but the biggest thing is the reveal of how bad Cash’s predicament is.

Again, not sure how it reads to an Australian audience, but for me there’s a slow build of Chook and the gang being scary instead of comedic. The third episode is the first time we spend a lot of time with Cash, and the eshays aren’t likable, but they seem to be having fun together. We even see them all shit-talking each other during the robbery as if they’re on equal footing.

In this episode it turns very quickly, from Chook whining about his kombucha (which seems funny at first), to being ready to hurt the kid over it and punching/threatening Cash.

We see Cash, clearly scared of Chook, calling him “brother” and it just…does not feel good. It casts all the moments we’ve already seen of Cash smiling and joking with Chook in a different light. Like how much is that just survival?

And the little kid! At first it seems funny that this little kid is in a gang and takes it so seriously. No, this kid is being abused. (Plus the implication that Cash started at the same age.)

Cash’s blank expressions in the scene are interesting. Later he says that he “froze” when the eshays put Harper in the car. It's like he just freezes as a trauma/survival response for getting through scary situations with the eshays.

Also, Darren never calls Cash out on not defending them from the little eshay! They have weird standards, as we’ll see.

It’s kinda interesting that Cash (justifiably) panics about losing the bag, but then makes fun of Darren for their concern and reassures them nothing will happen, brushing over the fact that he was visibly upset about it. He's a pretty convincing liar, which makes sense—he’s had to play up to Chook for years.

I thought it was cool of Darren to just accept and move on from the black eye conversation. It’s obviously fucked up but they accept that that’s how Cash sees things.

Of course I stan the boat scene, but even if we had never gotten any more background than we got in s1, the show did a great job very quickly sketching in Cash’s dynamic with the eshays. He knows they suck but he grew up with them. He was a kid. He has an attachment to them, but he’s also scared to leave.

On a much more trivial note, what exactly did Cash think was going on with Darren and Jacob? They clearly hadn’t seen each other in a while. I always disliked that Cash got so sulky about another guy just talking to Darren but I’m convincable.

Also it’s a shame that we don’t see the giant penis again. The two of them should have it in their room at their new apartment.

[running-on-fanfiction]

Rob Gronkowski - The life

Loved the Gronk imagine!! May you write another one about him? Maybe one of you being a Boston police officer but originally from Southern California and he falls in love with you? And yall end up getting married and having 6 kids together lol but you adopted 2 older ones. Thanks! 💙

Life was never what you thought it would have been. You loved your life, but it wasn’t what you thought it would have been.

You originally wanted to be a teacher, every since you were a little kid, but when you moved to Boston for college all of that changed. Your roommate had come from a cop household, and she often shared stories of her family. It then clicked, this, this is what you wanted to do.

So, you did. You became a member of the Boston Police. Each day was a new and exciting day. Some days weren’t so sweet, but some were down right funny. You didn’t think your life could get any better, but it did.

You met Rob when you were on duty at the stadium. You were signed to the game due to a bomb threat, that turned out false, but still taken as real. Rob was smitten with you and ended up asking you out. That date lead to a marriage, and six kids.

Your first two kids were adopted, due to the fact that you were having trouble conceiving. It took a huge toll on you. How could you not be able to make one, you were a women, that’s what we were made to do, you thought. Rob knew it hurt you, so he told you that you two should adopt. So, you did.

Gabe, was 12 when you adopted him. It always hurt you to see young kids only getting adopted. Yeah they were cute, but older kids needed a break too. So, it wasn’t a surprise that your daughter was also older. You two adopted Alice when she was fifthteen. Right after Alice came and joined your little family you found out that you were pregnant.

Soon your house was crawling with kids. Ian, was the first born, Evelyn was after, Norman followed a year after and now you had little Ruthy.

So now here you stood staring at your big family, thinking just how grateful you really were.

“Daddy! Stop that tickles!” Norman giggled. He was wriggling in Rob’s arms who was tickling his sides.

“Alright, Alright, why don’t you go help your sister carry her stuff to the car.” Rob smiled as he placed the little boy on the floor. Norman, smiled as he raced up stairs to help Alice.

Rob, kept messing with the stuff in the backseat, before he heard you crying. He popped his head out of the car and turned to you. You were sitting on the edge of the trunk. Rob, wrapped his arms around you.

“She’s going to be fine, love.” “My baby girl is moving two hours away from me to go to college.” You cried more.

“Why is mom crying again?” Norman asked as he followed Alice out of the house and to the car. He was holding a box that looked too big for him. Alice smiled as she looked over at her little brother.

“She’s sad that I’m going away for college.” Alice said placing the last box into the car. Norman, titled his head to the side.

“I’m sad you’re leaving too, but I’m not crying. Should I be?” He said starting to freak out. Alice, smiled as she picked Norman up.

“You don’t have to cry to be sad, bug.” She placed a kiss on his cheek, before walking over to you and Rob.

“Mommy, you don’t have to cry to be sad.” Norman said, making everyone laugh.

“Alright, we need to get on the road, if we want to make it there on time.” Rob said as he placed Norman on the floor.

“Bye Alice! You promise I can call you anytime?” He asked looking at her like she was crazy.

“I promise bug.” She said giving him a hug and another kiss.

“Okay, now go inside and listen to your Aunt Tiffany. Momma and I will see you tomorrow.” Rob said as he watched the boy go inside before climbing inside the car.

It didn’t take long for you guys to get to the school, in fact it didn’t feel like a two hour drive at all. You helped Alice set up her room, before deciding to check in at the hotel. Tomorrow was parent day, meaning why the kids learned the way around the college you the parents were going to learn about the college that you planned on leaving your kids at.  

“Okay, so we’ll be back at around five for dinner, but I want to give you this. Call me paranoid all you want but I’ve seen to many things that you haven’t and I can tell you anything can happen.” You said handing her a pouch.

“Survival kit.”  Alice read as she opened it up and looked inside.

“You have your basics bandaids, advil, but then you have a whistle, and some pepper spray and other things that you should ALWAYS carry with you.” You said bring her in for a hug.

“Thanks mom. I love your crazy ass.” She grinned.

“I love you too potty mouth.” You joked.

“See you at five!” Rob said.

-Julianne

[moxley-master]

Shut up! (Mojo Rawley/OFC)

Fandom: WWE

Rated: M for smut

While Gronk and Mojo are downstairs in the gym getting hyped for another match, Mojo’s girl is upstairs trying to sleep. When she finally has enough, she goes downstairs in nothing but Mojo’s old football jersey and tells them to shut up. Mojo is surprised and oddly turned on by his angry girlfriend.

“LETS GO MOJO! LETS GO!”

THWACK!

“GET HYPED! STAY HYPED!”

I lay in bed listening to my boyfriend and his friend Gronk get hyped for about an hour. Mojo had a big match tomorrow night, and Gronk was here to give Mojo his infamous hype up. Ever since they posted that one video on Instagram, this was a regular ritual for every big match. I wouldn’t mind it as much if they didn’t do it this late. Suddenly more yelling and another smack against Mojo’s chest echoed all the way upstairs. Trying to drown out the sound, I threw the blankets over my head, but it didn’t help. “Damn it, Mojo!” I groaned throwing the blankets off. Swinging my bare legs off the bed, I fixed Mojo’s jersey I was wearing and head downstairs.

The sound of their ritual was getting louder and louder the closer I got. Gronk and Mojo were screaming like crazy. I walked down the stairs to see both men jumping around screaming, “LETS GO BABY!!! LETS GO!!!” Their screaming was annoying, but the sight of my boyfriend shirtless wasn’t a bad view. All across Mojo’s chest was red marks from Gronk’s slaps, and his face was red from screaming. Finally I had enough, “HEY!!!” Both men stopped jumping around and looked at me standing on the stairs. Mojo’s eyes scanned my entire body, and his stance was tense from all his hype.

“Can you two shut up?!? I’m trying to sleep!!!” I growled.

Gronk took it upon himself to answer, “Sorry, girl, but we gotta get Mo-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah get Mojo hyped. I don’t mind that y'all do that, but not this fucking late!!!” I yelled.

“I’m sorry, baby,” Mojo said.

“Do you two have any idea what time it is?” I nearly yelled.

“Not really. We lost track of time,” Mojo answered almost sheepishly.

“Damn, girl. Chill out,” Gronk added.

I glared at him, “Just…ugh! I’m going to bed. Keep it down.”

As I headed upstairs, I heard them talking about something. I didn’t pay any attention to it because I was fuming. Throwing myself onto the bed, I didn’t bother to throw the covers on my body. Off in the distance, a door opened and closed followed by the sound of heavy footfall walking towards the bedroom. “Baby?” Mojo asked as he walked. I didn’t answer. I just rolled onto my side. I heard him shuffle around before he spoke again, “Have I ever told you how hot you are when you’re angry?” His voice sounded strained, and I turned over and saw his tense form standing at the end of the bed.

My eyes ran over his muscles all the way down to the giant bulge in his sweat pants. I had to admit he was incredibly hot right now, but I was still angry, “I’m still mad at you.”

“I know, baby,” Mojo said.

I could tell he wanted to ask for something, but he kept quiet. The thought of having angry sex with my hot, sweaty, and hyped boyfriend sounded great. The dirty thoughts wouldn’t stop and Mojo’s heavy breathing were wearing me down. “Oh fuck it!” I said jumping up and throwing myself on him. My legs wrapped around his waist and my arms wrapped around his neck. Our lips met in a hungry, passionate kiss.

Mojo groaned into my mouth as I gripped his neck tighter. Mojo shoved me up against a wall and started to grind his hard against my core. I moaned and gasped as he sucked on my neck. “You know we were live streaming when you came down there,” he groaned, “All my fans saw how sexy you looked in my jersey.”

“What they say?” I asked before I moaned.

“They thought you were sexy as hell,” he growled, jealousy in his voice.

One of his hands came up and grabbed my breast. “You’re my girl! Ain’t nobody allowed to say shit like that about you!“ he growled. “Oh my god just shut up and fuck me!” I moaned. Mojo suddenly threw me on the bed and practically tore the jersey and my panties off. I saw a wet patch on the front of his sweats where he had been grinding against my soaked panties. I watched Mojo grab his dick through his sweats, and I involuntarily rubbed my thighs together. His hands roughly spread my legs apart, and he quickly kneeled down until his mouth was over my pussy. “You’re hot when you’re mad!” he growled. I arched my hips up closer to his mouth, but he held my hips down before taking a long lick up my core.

“You suck!” I whined as he teased me.

“And you swallow,” he smirked.

He started to eat me out faster, making my back arch off the mattress. Mojo’s calloused fingers gripped tightly to my thighs to keep my legs open. “C’mon, baby. Cum for me,” he groaned. His beard scratched my skin as he sucked on my clit, sending me over the edge. “Mojo!” I whined. He licked me until I was squirming with over-stimulation. I watched as he pulled away, licking his lips and messing with his sweats. I sat up, impatience and need fueling my actions, and pulled his sweats down. “No time for that,” he growled shoving me down. Mojo laid on top of me and snapped his hips roughly against me. I cried out feeling him stretch me, and I dug my nails into his back.

“You still mad at me?” he panted.

“God yes!” I growled.

Mojo started moving at a rapid pace making me moan and cry out in pleasure. My fingers dug into his tense back muscles, “C'mon you can do better than tha-AH SHIT!” One hand gripped the back of his neck while the other held his flexing bicep as he sped his pace up and pounded into me harder. “You’re so fucking hot when you’re like this, baby!” I moaned. He suddenly picked me up and pinned me against the wall. My back ached from it hitting the hard surface, but I didn’t care. He fucked me deeper, and I thought I was about to fall apart. “That better?” he growled. My nails dug into his biceps as I gasped and moaned like a pornstar. Mojo’s hand suddenly came up and pulled my hair, exposing my neck for him to suck and bite on.

“Fuck I’m gonna cum again!” I cried.

“Not yet you ain’t!” he groaned as he stopped moving.

I whined in protest, “Mojo! Please baby.”

I tried to move my hips for me friction, but he held me still, “I thought you were still mad at me?” I could feel the smirk pressed against my neck, satisfied with himself that he was winning, “Say you love me, and I’ll let you cum.” I groaned in frustration followed by a whine of need. “Please baby,” I whined, urging him to move. Mojo shook his head no, “Nuh uh, baby. Say you love me.” I might have been mad at him for keeping me up, but I couldn’t be mad at him forever. “Alright. I love you, baby,” I finally said. He smirked as he suddenly began to pound into me senselessly, “AH FUCK!”

The sound of his grunts and moans in my ear pushed me closer and closer back to the edge which I was dying to fall over. I wrapped my arms around his neck and forced his lips against mine in a rough kiss. He bit down on my lip, causing a moan to escape me. Suddenly, I felt myself shudder around him and scream my release into his mouth. Sucking on my lips and pounding into me, Mojo helped me ride out the rest of my high. Releasing my mouth from his, I felt him suddenly pick up again, “My turn.” A smirk was plastered across his face as he worked on his own orgasm.

I moaned and whined as he moved at a fast pace. It was almost so pleasurable it was torture from how sensitive I was from my previous release. “Cmon, daddy. Cum for me,” I urged, raking my nails down his muscular back. “AH F-FUCK!” he came inside me and pressing me more into the wall. His mouth kissed the side of my neck as he panted and held completely still against me. I held his head close to me letting him relax. Mojo suddenly pulled out, picked me off the wall, and walked to the bed. My back met the soft bed as he set me down, and the mattress dipped as he laid down, wrapping his arms around me.

Laying my head on his chest, I heard him sigh in satisfaction, “We should have angry sex more often.” I giggled, “Keep me up at ten o'clock at night, and we might.”

“I’m sorry we annoyed you, baby. I’ll stop getting hyped,“ he apologized.

“No, don’t stop being hyped! That’s the only reason I’m dating you!” I teased.

“Oh, so you’re only with me so you can ride the hype train, is that it?” he teased.

I laughed and hit his sweaty chest, “Yup!”

We both laughed as he laid on his side to look at me, “I love you, and I’ll keep it down in the middle of the night. Unless we’re fucking. In that case, Imma be loud as hell.” I just laughed and pecked his lips, “I love you too.”

[ferbiederbie]

Lash is five years old when she discovers that she is different from the other children.

To be fair, it is less her own discovery, and more that of the little ones she plays with, who helpfully inform her of this difference.

They’re out in the sun, enjoying the warm weather and chasing one another with sticks. Nash, the weaver’s apprentice, is keeping an eye on them as he works on a small garment on a hand-loom, eyes occasionally flicking up to make sure they’re all relatively safe, and not fallen down into a hole somewhere. He’s a thin, somewhat nervous youth, with small tusks and quick fingers. The children like him because his voice is kind and he sneaks them treats, when it’s his turn to watch over them.

Lash has her trusty stick in one hand, her favorite plaything, since it functions adequately like a sword, or a maul, or an axe, depending on her mood and the general consensus of the play group. She’s on the raiding party with Gul, who is her best friend. She’s a year older than Lash and her mother is Glasha, but she prefers to let Lash decide on their games and activities, which suits Lash just fine. She prefers being in charge.

Shel, Gonk, and Mul are busily building up ‘village’ they’ll soon be raiding, talking amongst themselves, although Mul looks somewhat annoyed to be one of the weaker races, again, for their game. It’s hardly her fault, Lash thinks. Uma says he is already something of a coward, and uma is always right, because uma cares for her. There is not another here who has an uma as smart as her own, she tells herself, and it makes her smile and twitch her tail.

She and Gul are “stalking” the village, which means they’re crouched nearby with their sticks, watching the others work. Gonk and Shel have made mounds of mud to represent buildings, adding sticks or leaves where they’re needed. Shel puts a lot of effort into her buildings, and Lash thinks she’ll probably try not to destroy those. Shel is the best at building and drawing things.

Gonk seems a little bored with building, but she is digging a little well for the “village” with a focused look on her face, and whatever Mul is saying to her is likely not registering. Gonk sometimes gets so focused she doesn’t realize others are talking to her. Lash thinks it must be nice to be able to tune out annoying people.

Mul, perhaps realizing his words are falling on deaf ears, wrinkles his nose and half heartedly tosses a rock into the dust. Gul lets out a soft sigh. “We should let him be a raider with us.” she murmurs in her soft voice to Lash.

Lash narrows her eyes, ready to argue, and then huffs out a breath. Gul doesn’t talk much, but when she does, it’s usually good to listen, that’s what uma says. “…next game.” she concedes. Mul is a coward, but she should still try to be fair.

She pushes these thoughts from her mind, for the moment, decides it’s time to strike, and motions to Gul. The two creep forward, until they’re close enough that Lash starts to run. She shouts as she does so, a meaningless war cry drawing attention to herself. Gul keeps back, and circles cautiously around the village.

Gonk looks up from her work digging, and picks up a stick of her own, rushing forwards to meet Lash in her charge. Shel stands, but wavers and stays where she is, eyes wide. Mul lifts a rock into his hand and steps forwards, eyes narrowed.

Gonk meets her with a downward stroke of her stick, and Lash pushes hers up and block it. It’s a messy affair, young children unpracticed in fighting, smacking one another with sticks, shoving and pushing, until Gonk loses her hold on her stick and falls into the dust, coughs dramatically and “dies” with her hands splayed out and tongue flopping past her tiny tusks. Lash grins, because Gonk is a good sport.

There’s a soft squeal, and Lash looks up to see that Gul has snuck up on Shel and slain her with a jab to her ribs. Shel giggles, because the blow tickles more than it hurts, but she goes down without much fight. Lash gives her credit, as Gul stands over her; for all that she seems to dislike fighting, she didn’t run like a coward.

Her thoughts drift only for a moment before she catches sight of Mul, rock in his hand. He looks uncertain, but he lifts his hand as if to throw the rock at the back of Gul’s head, and Lash shouts as she rushes forwards. Mul turns to see her, repositions, and throws the rock at her. It strikes her on one side of her forehead, and the pain is impressive, but Lash is tenacious, and she keeps going. She tackles Mul to the ground with a shout, and a wrestling match as vicious as five year old can manage takes place.

Mul flails his arms and shouts, tries to land a blow, but Lash holds him down and taps his side with her stick, which should “kill” him. Mul is not the same good sport that Gonk is, though, and his attacks continue, which burns Lash right up. “You’re cheating!” she snaps out, breathless, squinting one eye as blood from her forehead runs into it.

“YOU’RE cheating!” Mul shrieks back. Lash snarls, tail swishing back and forth as they grapple in the dirt. Distantly she hears Nash call out to them, hears the sound of footsteps, but she doesn’t register these things until someone has grabbed her by the back of her shirt and hoisted her up.

She flails some, somewhat because she’s panicked, but mostly because she’s still angry. She thinks about snapping something mean at Nash for interrupting them, but the voice that speaks is altogether deeper and more commanding than the weaver’s apprentice.

“Be still, little fighter.”

Lash falls still, arms and legs and tail hanging limp, and gasps for breath. On the ground, Mul does much the same, but he’s staring upwards as he pants with eyes wide in wonder. Lash blinks, and then turns her head to see who it is who has hold of her.

War Chief Sinsbog peers down at her, one heavy brow raised as he does so. He’s a massive orc, all muscle and sinew, thick tusks, marked by scars and warpaint. He looks fierce, but he doesn’t seem angry just now, only perhaps confused, as he holds her.

“You’re Ragash’s girl.” he says, and it always seems so easy for adults to tell who her uma is, but she guesses they’re just a close clan. “Lash, is it? I am all for a proper game, but this is too much. Explain.”

Lash feels something hot well up in her chest, something like shame. “We were playing Raid the Village, and he’s a villager and he should have died when I hit him but he didn’t, and he said I was cheating and that’s not fair!” she tells him.

“You should have died when I hit you with the rock!” Mul manages to muster up his courage to spit the words out, sitting up on the ground now.

Lash glares down at him. “Nuh-uh!” she argues. “That was just a rock! One rock wouldn’t kill an orc!”

“You’re not an orc!” Mul screams back, tears of anger in his eyes.

Silence falls over them all. Nearby, Gul looks nervously between them, while Gronk has come to stand with her and help Shel back to her feet. Nash, hands stilled on his loom and standing, inhales sharply. Lash blinks, slowly confused.

Not an orc? What can that mean? She’s an orc, just as much as anyone here is. Uma is an orc, so she is, too. Right? She looks wordlessly to Nash, and then up to the War Chief, seeking reassurance from an elder. Nash looks away, and Sinsbog is looking down at both of them with his brow furrowed again.

“That is not a nice thing to say.” he says, finally, and lowers Lash to the ground, holding her until she stands properly. “We should never say cruel words to clanmates if we cannot back them up with our strength. This game is over, little ones.” he waves a hand. “Go home to your umas, now. Think on your actions here.”

He waits silently, as Mul stands, and goes to join Shel, walking back towards their home cave. Gonk follows them, and Gul comes to Lash’s side and takes her hand, silently tugging her away from the imposing War Chief. Lash goes, reeling from what Mul has said. Somehow, the insult burns hotter than any other.

“We won’t invite him to play, next time.” Gul says, softly. “He’s a cheater. It’s okay, Lash. Do you want to come with me? We can play in my bedcave, make clay dolls and smash them, or…”

“He said to go home. The War Chief did. I’ll go home.” Lash responds, shaking her head, and then wishing she hadn’t. She lifts a hand to gingerly touch the spot the rock struck. It hurts some, but the blood feels more dry than wet. There’s a small bump there, but she ignores it for now. Uma can look at it.

Gul hesitates, and then nods. “Okay. We’ll play more tomorrow. It’s alright, Lash, I’d rather play with you than Mul any day.” she smiles, and the two walk together until they must split up for their own home caves. Lash pads slowly through the mouth of the small cave.

“Uma? I’m home.”

==

She and Uma are sitting in uma’s bedcave, facing one another, while uma cleans up the abrasion on her head with narrowed eyes, and broods silently on the situation. Lash has told her most of it, although she’s as of yet refrained from mentioning Mul’s insult, since she’s still not quite sure what to make of it, herself. It’s silent, the light and heat of the small crackling fire comforting, as Ragash finishes cleaning the little mark.

“I think it will not scar.” she states, nodding. “Good. You do not want your first battle scar this way.” she looks at her fondly, gently touches her cheek, and then sighs. “Your hair grows too long on the sides, again. You grow it quickly. Turn, let me fix it.”

Lash turns and sits herself between her mother’s legs, facing the small dented mirror they use for such things. Ragash settles closer behind her, picks up a brush and draws it gently through the thick line of hair on her daughter’s head. Lash is proud of her hair; it is short still, takes time to grow out, since she’s only until recently worn it in a toddler’s cut, simple an easy to maintain. It grows more complex with age, a sign of maturity she is happy to show off. Uma says one day it will be very long. Mostly Lash just wants it to look like uma’s.

Once her hair is brushed and kept close, uma wets the shorter hair on the sides with water from a small bowl, adds a viscous lather of soapwort, and picks up her razor. With gentle hands, she begins to shave away the hair, close enough to leave just a fine fuzz. They are quiet, for a time. Then Lash lets out a breath. 

“Uma.” she says, quietly. “Mul says I’m not an orc.”

Quiet again, as uma’s hands still on her head. Then they continue, gentle, shaving away too-long hairs. “Do you think you are an orc?” she asks her child. “Do you feel it deep in your chest, that you are an orc, and part of this clan?”

Lash isn’t sure why there are tears in her eyes, but there are, and she dislikes it. She dares not move to wipe them away while uma holds the blade, or risk an accident.  She knows she looks different. It has no occurred to her before now, but she does know it. Her skin is red and her eyes are blue and wide, and she has a tail and strange legs. She has claws, and her ears are too long and pointed twice. She knows all of this, knows that she is different now, but when she thinks of herself, in her small child’s heart, she knows what she is.

“Yes, uma.” she replies, voice thick. In the mirror, she sees Ragash nod approvingly. 

“Then that is all you need.” she says, setting aside the razor, dipping a cloth in water and using it to wipe away the excess soapwort. “People are unkind, even in this clan. Sometimes especially. Never let anyone say such things to you if they cannot fight to back it up.” when Lash’s head is clean, Ragash turns her, and leans down to kiss her forehead. “And if they can- then fight them until they can no longer. You are strong, little tooth. No one can make you anything you do not want to be.”

Lash sniffles, and then hugs her uma tightly around the neck, burrowing her face against her shoulder and taking comfort in the familiar scent, the feel of soft leathers in lieu of armor, curls up her legs and tail as her uma lifts her in strong, protective arms. 

“Strong pup. And tired.” Ragash says, getting to her feet and walking the small distance to the bed furs. Lash does not yet have her own- but perhaps next year. For now, Ragash settles them both down, content to hold her daughter in comfort through the night.

Life is full of harsh lessons, she thinks. She will be sure Lash is prepared to learn them, and learn from them, as well.