Recent content by Hath Charosh

Hath turned fully toward her at that. He studied her face in the firelight when she spoke ill of herself. "That is not true," he said. Not sharp or loud, but certain. He shifted closer, one forearm resting on his knee, posture easy but attentive. He mirrored her smile, even if it still felt...

Hath did not answer right away. He stared into the fire, watching the wood shift and settle, sparks lifting and dying in the dark. It was not a difficult question to understand, but he had not expected it to be asked. "They are a good tribe," he said quietly. "They are kind. They protect their...

"Good," he said with a slow nod. "I would like to see him and thank him too." Hath glanced down at the scar on his shoulder. There was still something residual in the magic that concerned him, but the mind that had latched onto his soul was long gone. "We should ask the tribe," he said...

He thought on the question for a moment. "What I've traded: arrows, skins, meat. They need human things like coins. Then wool, grain, salt, metal. Oh, silks." Those, he thought, were things that no orc tribe was likely to being to trade. "Then weapons, pots, jewellery." He looked at Pern...

Hath glanced up as Pern settled beside him, his attention shifting to her. The firelight caught in his grey eyes as he listened, thoughtful rather than guarded now. "A town, then," he said quietly. "They know this place? I used to go to towns to trade. It could be...interesting." There was no...

Hath dipped his head to Shari in acknowledgment, though he did not step away from Pern. <<All is well,>> he echoed after Pern, his voice even, calm. Shari’s sharp look bounced between them before softening with a knowing hum that did not need words. She seemed satisfied for now. Hath fell...

Hath did not release the pole. His hands shifted only enough to ease the strain a little further, his knuckles brushing the fabric at her shoulders. A low sound escaped him. It was not quite a laugh, more like a quiet breath that warmed the air between them. That smile warmed him more. They...

Hath’s jaw tightened. It wasn't in anger, but in holding himself steady. Her words landed hard. It was more than he’d had any right to expect with how he had behaved. And yet it was still not enough to quiet the ache in him. "You think you must have an answer," he said. "And I have pushed you...

Hath watched the orclings go, their small bodies swallowed by the tall grass. He felt regret for the way they had looked at him. Then words landed like stones dropped one at a time into cold water. A dream. Her home. Her father. CAging him. He took it all in without interrupting. It was not...

Hath felt her shrink before she even spoke. He knew her too well. It was in the subtle retreat of her shoulders and the way her gaze dropped away from his. It pulled at him in two directions at once. Part of him wanted to press, to drag the truth out of her. The other felt the hitch of her...

Hath had not expected the sting of Pern’s anger. He felt it the moment she turned her back on him. In the wake of that glance he felt a turbulent cold down in his gut. It felt far worse than a strike or a harsh retort thrown his way would have. He didn't understand her and that made him feel...

Hath watched the younglings scatter toward the water, their laughter trailing behind them like birdsong. It was nothing like the tight discipline of the clan he had grown up in. They would not have gone near the water making noise. That was where the worst savanna predators would have waited...

Hath walked because standing still felt dangerous. His boots carried him toward the river path without thought, toward the sound of laughter riding lightly on the wind. Thrann was a mighty hunter. The war party rushed into the long grasses together, but he was their leader. They looked to him...

Hath wouldn't regret asking the last question. He would never stop and accept fate. The words of a shaman could change the future on their own. In a way, it was less unsettling to only have one serious crossroads ahead of them. The clap of hands made him jump. The offer of food confused him...

This time the tusks came out. It was instinct. If he had been sharper then he might have been more animated in his reaction. Instead he simply bared his teeth at the blade. Hath felt the heat from the embers brush his skin, smelled the acrid sting curling in the smoke. The hairs that had once...