"Get away from me you monster!" The girl's voice echoes throughout Garik's mind during a particularly lonely walk back to his home. 

The teenage half-orc gently touches his nose, which she had punched him shortly after shouting those words. As the sun falls behind the houses of the small city of Varden, he turns onto a narrow street, still haunted by the event that occurred earlier that week. 

Due to the efforts of his grandparents, orcs are permitted to live in Varden, but so far Garik has been the only member of his tribe to accept the offer. There has been a small community of half-orcs in the city since its founding, but he has been living and schooling in an area almost completely occupied by humans for the past year. It has been an uncomfortable situation, but since he has yet to cause any major problems in his time here people steer clear from him for the most part. 

Footsteps quickly approach the downtrodden half-orc from behind, but he is too buried in his thoughts to take notice. Garik's attempt to react is just too late as a club strikes the back of his head and he is swarmed by a mob of masked men.

"This is just going to cause more trouble for me," a young Garik complains as a woman carefully examines the new clothes he is wearing.

A talented seamstress, Garik's mother had created a full outfit that consisted of a brown shirt and tan, fur-lined jacket that perfectly matched the shoes she had gotten her son on her last trip into the city. 

Garik continues after receiving no response from her, "Everyone already says that I'm not a real orc. If I go to live with the humans, I'm never going to hear the end of it. I'll never be safe within the tribe again!" 

The fair-skinned woman does not reply to him, focused on adjusting the clothes that he is modeling for her. Garik turns away before saying under his breath.

"Dad never had to do this." 

His mother, now having lost her patience with her teenage son, stands up to face him. "I've had enough of your backtalk! You know fully well why your dad couldn't have gone to visit the human side of his family. Back then, orcs would have been killed for just walking down the wrong street! So think again before you go around saying what's safe or not!" 

An almost blinding aura of authority bursts out from the human woman causing Garik to shield his eyes. She pauses for a few seconds to calm down before speaking again. 

"Trust me, both your father and I know the pain of being rejected by the ones who should support you. He won't admit it, but he deeply regrets not reaching out to that side of his family."

Garik, visibly shaken by his mother's speech, replies, "I'm sorry, I won't complain anymore." 

He apologetically looks down at the floor, and his mother corrects him by lifting his chin up to meet her brown eyes. Her beautiful, forgiving face instantly cheers Garik up. He picks her up in a big hug.

"I love you." 

The room falls into silence as the two continue their hug for a long while.