Hours later, Avicia found herself back in Kahdreg's old room, muscles tired and a general pleasant warmth pulsing through her thoughts. She had kicked off her shoes and jeans, getting comfortable in just her tee-shirt and panties as she flopped back on the bed.

The Vidarocs and the clan they belonged to were terribly welcoming. To the point of making you forget you needed sleep. She couldn't complain too much. The food had been good and, in some cases, sinfully delectable. The music, whether played by others or via a radio, tended toward fast-paced and jaunty, leaving anyone dancing breathless and laughing. And the few games she had found the nerve to participate in had been delightful. However, it was easy to enjoy a game when your opponents were sated on food and groggy on drink.

Other than when they competed in an impromptu horseshoe game against Fanuma, Kahdreg had stayed by her side the entire night. They'd point out particular treats, nudge her into games, and - at risk of bodily harm from her - Kahdreg even dragged Avicia into dancing around the fire.

Avicia was hyper-aware of every touch since speaking with Namra. Every accidental brush of Kahdreg's hand against hers as they walked side-by-side. Every time they touched or nudged against each other while dancing or maneuvering around the party. Every time Kahdreg leaned close to whisper helpful tidbits or smarmy little quips in her ear, Avicia's body prickled; painfully noticing every hint of their body heat in the cool air or the teasing graze of their words against her ear.

"We're going to sleep well tonight," Avicia sighed, trying to push away the evening's struggles from her thoughts. Though the emotional and physical toll of the socialization dragged at her eyes, curiosity gnawed at her thoughts.

"Always do, after one of these get-togethers," replied Kahdreg, their back to Avicia as they shucked free of their own shirt. Dropping the tee-shirt on the floor, the orc gave a groan and stretched their arms over their head, putting their form on inadvertent display to the human.

The evening, as far as Kahdreg was concerned, had gone quite well. Their family seemed to be fooled and Avicia handled the unplanned crowd well. Relief had taken up home in the orc's thoughts. The next hurdle wouldn't come until the morning, when they had to interact with their family again. Why not relax?

Avicia hummed in response, unable to agree or disagree with such experiences. She watched Kahdreg with a contemplative look, her gaze licking along their back. The speckling of scars along their muscular arms and back taunted something inside her, making a knot tighten in her stomach. "I heard something interesting from your sister."

That caught Kahdreg's attention. Uncertainty tensed along their body as they turned to Avicia and approached the bed, trying to maintain nonchalance. "Which one?"

"Namra." Avicia pushed herself up into a sitting position, staring up at the orc as they came closer. On the outside, Avicia affixed pure calm into her expression, while she internally fought against the temptation to let her gaze drop, to drink in the details of their bare torso and shoulders and arms on flagrant display. A familiar heat itched along her fingers, wanting to reach out and feel the flex of those muscles, the heat of their skin, beneath her fingertips.

"Okay." Kahdreg's shoulders relaxed a little, though there was still a hint of uncertainty churning at their stomach. Fanuma was a predictable thorn in their side. Namra, however, was not. She had a tendency to be sneakier - perhaps more well-intentioned - than Fanuma. Though she managed to cause just as many problems for Kahdreg.

"She spoke to me about scars in orc culture. How scars are important and hold a lot of meaning to orcs." Avicia went on airily, waving a hand in the air. She tried to sound casual, as if she wasn't about to ask something important. For all she knew, it wasn't serious, at all!

But it was obvious from Kahdreg's body language they were on edge. Whether it was from genuine concern or the fear of being caught doing something wrong, Avicia couldn't say.

Something was definitely up, Kahdreg decided. And that made the uncertainty claw deeper into their skin, clinging to their gut. Despite the unease, they settled on the bed beside Avicia with a soft, "Yeah?"

The quiet in Kahdreg's voice gave Avicia pause. Staring at Kahdreg, a slurry of thoughts swirled around her head. Her eyes shifted to the orc's marked shoulder, making something indescribable tighten in her stomach. She swallowed, wondering why this felt important to her. For all Avicia knew, Kahdreg not marking her was a non-issue. Especially for the two of them, considering they weren't even actually dating.

Still, she couldn't stop herself from asking in a quiet voice, "If this was a normal situation, were you supposed to give me a scar when you made the promise?"

Yet again, silence. Though the silence between the two of them felt heavier than what Avicia felt with Namra. It was more fragile, as if the wrong breath could make it break horribly. Or perhaps the break would be delightful, with a sudden and satisfactory explosion. Avicia couldn't tell. Anticipation crawled through her as Kahdreg briefly stumbled to answer.

"In the... strictest, most traditional sense, yes." Kahdreg swallowed, their gaze shifted from Avicia as they half-turned away from her. They wanted to say something else. They could feel the preferred words on their tongue, but they swallowed the notions down. This arrangement wasn't meant to foster anything else but a protective barrier from Kallinaera for them and cold hard cash for Avicia. An unpleasantness curled in their stomach, heat crawling up their body, as dissatisfaction hissed at the thought. Kahdreg dutifully ignored the feelings. "But you're a human and this was for my benefit. I didn't have the right to leave my mark on you."

Avicia leaned forward, neck craning as Kahdreg stubbornly refused to meet her gaze. A feeling she didn't wish to name skittered through her nerves. "Do you want to leave your mark on me?"

A muscle in Kahdreg's jaw twitched and their eyes fell to their hands. They could feel Avicia's gaze burning into them, lighting a heat at their center. Like Kahdreg's jaw, their own fingers clenched tightly, gripping at their knees. As if afraid letting their hands relax would tempt them to reach out, to touch the human beside them. The tension in their body flexed tighter when they muttered quietly, "At first, no. But now..."

Avicia waited, still leaning forward and staring at her companion. When it was obvious Kahdreg's nerve had dissipated with their sentence, she prompted, "But now?"

Kahdreg couldn't bring their gaze to Avicia's, but they turned back toward her with a mumbled, "Yes."

"I see." Avicia let go of a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Their answer hadn't given her the rush of relief or dread she was expecting. There was still a prickle of uncertainty in the air. With a swallow, she shifted back on the bed, hands planted behind her as she decided to prod for more information. "And how would you go about it?"

"Avicia, come on," Kahdreg groaned as they brusquely turned away from her again, their shoulders hunched in embarrassment. Heat raked over Kahdreg's face, already hearing the taunting words or horrified remarks in their head.

"No, no, I am very curious about this," insisted the woman, placing a hand on Kahdreg's shoulder. Despite herself, a grin quirked at her lips. "Do orcs usually use knives? Or teeth? I think I've had an orc or two mention something about eating me up."

Avicia's touch on their arm seared through their skin. They were too aware of the human, of her scent and the heat of her so close. It made Kahdreg's stomach turn into frayed knots, their hands itching to feel the woman's softness beneath their fingertips while their brain continued to throw upsetting words and images into their consciousness.

With another groan, Kahdreg pressed their face into their hands, trying to still the urge to touch Avicia. "Yes."

Feeling bold, Avicia grinned and nudged at Kahdreg's shoulder, still trying to get them to turn toward her, to face her. "Yes, what?"

A deep sigh escaped Kahdreg as their hands slowly lowered from their face. They stared quietly at the floor, muscles twitching in their cheek as their jaw flexed, before turning their gaze to Avicia's face. Something in the air buzzed, making her stomach churn with excitement and apprehension. Another crack formed in the silence between them. Kahdreg's sudden movement toward her made Avicia yelp in surprise, pushing backward instinctively. The movement only gave the orc more room to pin her down. The heat of Kahdreg's palms curled around her upper arms, forcing her back against the mattress.

The orc's body arched over her - a reminder of the size differential between the two flaring in Avicia's brain - as their hands slid to her wrists and one of their knees slipped between her legs. Kahdreg basked in the surprised expression on the human's flushed face and the warmth rising from her. They seared the image, the feel, of her beneath them, hair splayed out like a halo and her chest rising and falling with hitched breaths, into their memory. It was all the time Kahdreg could spare before instinct and desire beckoned their head to lower.

Their lips skirted along the length of Avicia's throat, her pulse jumping against the ghost of a kiss. It made their own body throb in turn. They didn't linger at her throat for long; they couldn't risk her scent and warmth tempting them further. Their attention turned to the expanse between Avicia's neck and shoulder, pausing midway between.

"With my teeth, here." The growl rumbled against Avicia, her nerves shaking as the orc opened their mouth. Kahdreg's upper row of teeth gingerly scraped over the slope of her shoulder, while their lower teeth and tusks grazed the skin below her clavicle.

For a wild second, she wondered if their words had simply been narration. If they were about to sink their teeth into her. Avicia's chest rose and fell drastically, her breasts grazing against Kahdreg with every deep inhale. Her brain could only imagine how such a mark - a bite, if she was being honest with herself - would look, how it would feel.

Did they want to dig deeper where their teeth grazed? Leave long lines with their tusks? Or did they just want to clamp down, marking her with the imprint of their teeth and tusks? Would it burn or be a blunt pain or something else? Or would they only use the very tips, digging in just enough to make her bleed and scar her with pinpricks?

Thoughts and concerns clashed through her head, joined by confusion as excitement sunk low and hot at her core. Involuntarily, her thighs squeezed against Kahdreg's leg. Without thought, the orc nudged their knee against the juncture of her legs, the friction only heightening the confounding warmth pooling at her core.

Did she really want to be bitten by Kahdreg? By her boss, her sense desperately reminded her.

"I won't." Kahdreg's words were firm, answering an unspoken question lingering between them. Or perhaps attempting to rein themselves in. The air in their lungs burned as hormones and pheromones saturated the air. A heat mirroring the burn in their chest clawed at Kahdreg's lower stomach. Slowly, Kahdreg pulled themselves far enough away to look into Avicia's face. Away from Avicia's delectable scent at her throat and her welcoming heat. Kahdreg continued to talk themselves down while masking it as speaking to her. "There's a lot of factors - social and physical - and you're a human, not an orc. You have different feelings about permanent marks on your body."

The anticipation swelling in Avicia deflated. A disappointed chill tangled within her, trying to subdue the excitable, almost taboo, heat still stirring up her insides. Sense pushed past the hormonal haze, chiming agreement with Kahdreg's discipline. They were right. There was so much to consider! So many implications!

She could only imagine the uproar, both at her day job and night job, over such an injury. Let alone an injury that was obviously caused by someone with tusks. That sort of thing might actually get the studio's HR called on Kahdreg and Avicia. Her fans could go either way; either delighted and fantasizing about being her next mark or livid she had a life and relationships outside of her cam-fans.

"You're right, I do have concerns about scars," Avicia mumbled, her gaze latching onto Kahdreg's eyes.

Instant regret charged through Kahdreg. Of course, Avicia would have worries about carrying something permanent over a temporary ploy. No matter how tangled Kahdreg felt about the whole situation. The orc nodded, an expression of mingled disappointment and understanding mixing on their features. They shifted, intending to move off Avicia, before the human's newly released hands pressed to the orc's chest.

They paused in their retreat as Avicia pressed her lips together. It was her turn to avoid Kahdreg's eyes as curiosity flickered through them. It wasn't as if she didn't want them to mark her, she realized, though the thought made her cheeks flame. "There are other, less permanent, options, though."

Her words drew Kahdreg's heart into a faster tempo. Their eyes flickered along Avicia's features, searching for something to dampen their sudden delight. A shamefully hopeful realization formed in their thoughts and refused to be shaken away.