Chapter 298: New Look
“Remain calm,” Raen repeated, raising his and stepping forward to put himself between Arwin and Monica. “Monica is human! There is no reason to panic. She just happens to vaguely resemble an Orc. It’s a very unfortunate problem, but I can assure you that she is not a monster.”
Arwin stared at Raen, then sent a pointed glance at Monica.
The woman stood at nearly seven feet tall. She had more muscle than any natural human could even hope of having, and her skin was the ruddy green of a forest. The two fangs jutting up from her lips may as well have been a stamp that said, “I’m an orc” smacked directly in the center of her face.
Monica raised a hand and waggled her fingers in greeting. She swallowed, then opened her mouth to speak — revealing rows of jagged teeth meant for ripping through flesh like it was nothing more than paper. “Hello. My name is human. I’m a Monica.”
Her voice was high-pitched and squeaky, almost like she was trying to force it to sound cutesy. No sooner than she had spoken did Monica realize her mistake. She let out a groan and cradled her head in her hands, letting out a slew of curses in a language that Arwin couldn’t understand, but it was one he’d heard before.
That’s definitely Orcish.
“She gets a little nervous at times,” Raen said weakly.
“All the time. I’m a very flighty person, and I hate fighting. Everyone thinks I’m a dangerous monster, but I’m not. I don’t want to look like this,” Monica said, clasping her hands before her and twisting her shoulders. She blinked heavily, and Arwin realized she was trying to flutter her eyelashes. “I get scared all the time, Mr. Smith. Especially of normal, scary things that people don’t like. Like insects. And — oh, bloodfly!”
Her hand snapped out through the air in a blur, moving so fast that Arwin could barely track its motion. Her robes cracked around her as she jerked to a halt, a tiny insect pinched between her fingers. She shoved it into her mouth, then froze in place with her fingers still in between her lips.