The Reeve Amidst The Green (19) Foreign Tongues (Second Half)

“This is nice,” said Shuffa, in the darkness.

“What is nice?” said Oddri, nearby.

“To be here,” said Shuffa. “To feel like I have friends again. Sweet friends. Any kind of friends.”

“Social,” said Oddri.

“You don’t have friends in Goblin Town?” murmured Charli.

“No,” said Shuffa. “I did some stupid things in Goblin Town. I came out here to make a new life. To leave my mistakes behind.”

There was silence for a moment, while Shuffa waited for someone to ask what she had done. Shuffa had no idea what she would say. She didn’t know why she had said what she said. No one knew about her involvement in the attack on the House of Orange Lights. And here she was admitting to her crimes. Why had she? Why had she taken it for granted that these two admittedly kind people were her friends?

No one asked what her mistakes had been. Oddri said, “I made a new life.”

“You did?”

“I was an ogre once,” said Oddri. “I wandered around looking for things to eat. That’s all I did. That’s all I was. That’s all there was to talk about.”

“Oddri is a farm girl now,” said Charli. He sounded like he was smiling as he said it.

“So many more things to talk about,” Oddri said. “More things to do. New life. Different life. New people. It’s good.”

“I’m glad you have your new life, Oddri,” said Shuffa, reaching out and putting an arm around Oddri’s side.

“Is this the new life you wanted?” said Oddri. Shuffa felt Charli’s hand on her bare hip.

“It’s… better,” said Shuffa. “Oddri… was right. It feels better. It feels different. I’m glad I did this. With you, I mean. I’m glad not to feel alone. My farm is starting to happen, and I thought I would be alone all winter. It’s good to have good neighbors.”

There was silence for a moment again. And then, Charli said. “Would you like a job?”

“A job?”

“Yeah,” Charli said. “This past week… has been good. I come in, and the dishes are done, the fireplace is cleaned out, and I even found the laundry dryin’ on the line. I didn’t have to do any of it. That was mighty nice. And I’m thinkin’ that little hut of yours is bound to be might cold in the winter. Y’think you could stand livin’ in a human house with a wood fireplace?”

“I would have to tend to my farm…”

“More people is less work,” said Oddri.

“You’d have three people doin’ that,” said Charli. “You keep an eye on my house, we keep an eye on your farm. You keep the crops, you sell them, you get the money. But if you was to keep house here, you could stay here, eat here… live here. Least till you get your money and get that farm of yours really going, maybe build your own house or whatever you plan to do.”

There was a pause. “And ride your cock?”

“Up to you,” he said. “’Course, it wouldn’t hurt my feelin’s.”

“Or mine,” said Oddri, in the darkness. “Specially if you did the tongue thing again. You should stay here, share the fire and the food and the bed. Groja if you want it. And we will plow and plant and pull weeds and harvest, together. You could tell us about goblin things. More things to talk about.”

Charli chuckled. “Y’don’t have to answer right away,” said Charli. “Think about it. Oddri’s mighty warm and comfortable to share a bed with. And even if you’d rather have the couch, it might be better than bein’ alone out in that hut with only your blankets.”

“A week ago,” said Shuffa, “I would say thank you for offering. And then go live in my hut. Alone.”

“A week ago. What about now?” said Oddri.

“Now,” said Shuffa, “I would ask exactly what you want done, to call it a fair exchange.”

“Dishes,” he said. “I hate doin’ dishes, and Oddri’s scared she’s gonna hurt ‘em. Laundry. Sweepin’. Housekeepin’. And we keep the damn weeds out of the crops. And the bugs. Yours and ours.”

There was quiet, again. Finally, Oddri said, “Shuffa?”

And, after a moment, Shuffa answered. “It does get cold in a wickiup at night, in the winter, alone,” said Shuffa. “And it is very warm, here, between the two of you.”

************************

The next day, at the Goblin Pie, Eoin Bellsong was looking over a new option from the lunch menu.

“Goblin Buns, mm?” said Eoin, looking at the plate.

“Goblin Buns, mmmm!” said Bekk with a grin. The breakfast rush was dying down at the Goblin Pie, and Eoin had learned that when he and Lene wanted to pick up something good for lunch, the time to do it was well before or well after the lunch hour. Today was one of the former days.

“Well, all right,” said Eoin, counting coins onto the counter. “Long as I don’t have to tell Lene what they’re called. At least not until she tries one.”

“TWO SETS GOBLIN BUNS TO GO!” howled Bekk over her shoulder into the kitchen. Teej grinned. Grola giggled. And a half dozen customers out on the dining floor snickered, chortled, and chuckled. Eoin made a face, but didn’t look too unamused, and moved to the tea barrel to fill mugs with sweet tea to take back to the Dry Goods store with lunch.

Bekk glanced around, and with no new customers at the counter, went into the kitchen to help with the assembly of the Goblin Buns, and to see if any more pies were needed for slices. She glanced up at one point to see a customer approaching the counter, and recognized Wanna. Bekk headed for the counter to see what she wanted.

“I will have two slices, with the anchovy and sausage,” said Wanna. “Can you join me? I’d like to talk.”

“Soon as we get these last orders out,” said Bekk. “What are we talking about?”

“I need advice on the subject of humans,” said Wanna uneasily.

Bekk grew solemn for a moment. “They’re tall and they tip well if you show cleavage,” she said, “but… that’s not what you wanted to know, is it?”

Wanna was silent a moment. “A human has given me earrings,” she said. “And … I need to know what that means.”

“You know quite well what it means, Mother,” said Bekk. “What you want to know is what to do about it. Either that, or you want me to tell you it’s okay to do whatever you wanted to do in the first place.”

Wanna said nothing.

“The last time we talked on this subject,” said Bekk, “we had a fight. Because I was sleeping with a human. And you didn’t like that. And that was two humans ago. We’ve avoided that subject ever since. And now things have changed?”

“I stopped giving you a hard time about it,” said Wanna. “You were a grown woman even then. You made your decisions. Will you give me a hard time about it, now that I am trying to make mine?”

“I feel like I should,” said Bekk. “You gave me shit for wanting to mount a human, but now it’s different because you want one, too. But then I’d have to wait to find out whose pants you’re trying to get peeled off.”

Wanna closed her eyes. “Bekk…”

“I know, I know. No sense of shame. No decorum whatsoever. But I can keep a secret if I need to.”

“And that is why I am here,” said Wanna. “I don’t… know how I feel about this, and I would like help in working out my feelings and thoughts.”

“Fair enough,” said Bekk. Grola put a paper bag on the counter in front of Bekk, and suddenly, Bekk was all saucy smile and bouncy tits again. “Mister BELLSONG! Your GOBLIN BUNS are ready to TRAVEL!”

**********************

In the kitchen, at the back table, Bekk and Wanna sat and had breakfast – Wanna, two slices of goblin pie, and Bekk, a sausage on a stick.

“You said this human was grateful for your help,” said Bekk. “Maybe he was just grateful for your help. Maybe he was just being generous. Earrings don’t necessarily mean he’s interested interested. We talk about how humans do weird things for no reason, but Ollie says the same is true of goblins. We’re a chaotic bunch, he says. But he sort of likes it that way.”

“You talk about Ollie more than you did about the last human… what was his name? Robb,” Wanna said. “Is there a difference?”

Bekk sighed. “Depends. Is this going to start a fight?”

“No,” said Wanna. “Perhaps my views on humans are not what they were. And you’re of age. You’ll do what pleases you.”

“Robb was fun,” said Bekk. “But that’s all Robb was. Fun. When he found a human woman, we broke it off. It was friendly enough, sure, but human women don’t like to share, and Robb was concerned about what people – human people – would say. That was kind of a letdown, but we’re still friends. Ollie, now, is a different thing. He started out as fun. He became a friend. And now… well… “

“Now he is more than a friend?” said Wanna gently.

Bekk eyed her mother sharply, looking for signs that a fight was about to start. “We’re still working that out,” she said. “But… he’s not as tightassed as Robb was about it.”

“He values you,” said Wanna.

“I’m his first fuck,” said Bekk. “But he wanted Rima Hemmett first. And he turned her down a couple weeks ago. Because he was worried he’d hurt my feelings. He isn’t concerned with other humans’ opinion, like Robb was. It does him credit. And did you come out here to inquire about my love life, or were we going to talk about these human earrings?”

Wanna smiled. “You’re still my daughter. I do care about you, regardless of whom you’re sleeping with. And… well, things change. Maybe a human isn’t the wrong choice.”

“Teej and Jon the Lumber Man are thinking of getting married,” said Bekk. “They’re even considering a human ceremony, in Refuge Town. They just don’t know if the Reeve would approve, or if he’d officiate.”

Wanna took a sharp breath. “Well,” she said. “I could … ask some questions. Suss him out. See what he thinks.”

“That would be helpful,” said Bekk. “I’m sure they’d thank you, regardless of the results. Now about these earrings?”

Wanna took a deep breath, and crossed a line in her head, and said, “Arnuvel the Reeve has been working on his report to send back to their Capitol. He asked me many questions about goblins, the tribe, and about human and goblin trade and … relations. He worked hard on this report. He was worried about it. And when he finally finished it, his heart was light again. And last night, over dinner at the lodge, he gave me a pair of earrings. He said that he was very grateful for my help… and that he valued me.”

Bekk blinked. “That he valued you.”

“Yes.”

“All right,” said Bekk. “That sounds pretty definitive. But… I want to talk to Ollie about this. He’d know better than I would about human tightassedness, and it does seem kind of weird that this human, who’s never seen a goblin before, has been in town two weeks and already wants to get to know my mother better.”

“You can’t tell Ollie,” said Wanna. “No one can know about this. I might be completely wrong.”

Bekk looked at her mother. “All right,” she said. “In confidence. But this is going to drive me crazy until we know more about what he’s thinking.”

“Join the party,” said Wanna glumly.

https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/draw/0778ae25ae3af17b7c4e28df33fb4a3b

Back to the first half of Chapter 19:

https://www.reddit.com/r/GoblinGirls/comments/102q869/the_reeve_amidst_the_green_19_foreign_tongues/

Ahead to Chapter 20!
https://www.reddit.com/r/GoblinGirls/comments/103iv6g/the_reeve_amidst_the_green_20_legally_binding/