Tova had been so focused on the scene by the manor that she’d somehow missed the sound of approaching footsteps. So when there was a sudden gravely voice behind her, she was taken by surprise. She whirled around, ungracefully landing on her butt in the dirt, and looked up.

And up.

And up.

Sitting as she was, she barely reached the orcs' kneecaps, and had to tilt her head until her horns hit the wall behind her to see his face. His frowning, tusk clad, red eyed face.

[i]Oh gods above, she was going to die.[/i]

Because she might not know much about whatever beings were gathered in front of the building, but she did know about orcs. Not personally, but there’d been stories aplenty. How they hunted fauns for sport and made their hooves and horns into necklaces, or skewered babies on sticks with cheese for appetizers, or flayed faun hides and made them into hats. Next to humans, there was nothing more dangerous than an orc, and seeing one now for herself she could easily believe it.

Should she run? Play dead? Beg for mercy? Oh gods, she was so dead, [i]she was going to be killed she[/i]-

[i]Okay, okay, hold up. Don’t panic. Think, not just feel.[/i] Tova managed one full, deep breath instead of hyperventilating. [i]Focus.[/i] Maybe...Maybe the orc was here for the same reason she was. The letter had said ‘ones humans deemed a threat.’ Well, they’d be stupid not to consider the orc a threat. [i]But what if she’d been invited as an orc snack?- No. Bad thoughts.[/i] Tova forced herself to tear her eyes away from the orc’s face, giving the rest of him a quick once-over and spotted the letter in his hand. The paper was an exact match to her own.

Slowly, Tova got to her feet, having to use the wall as support because her knees were shaking like leaves. She no longer cared about staying hidden, because either the orc made her into minced meat on the spot, or he was on her side and could defend her against the others.

[color=FFDEAD]“I’m - I’m surveying. S-see, we have the - the same letter.”[/color] She held out her letter, movements stiff and jerky, [color=FFDEAD]“So we’re both part of this. So - so don’t eat me, y-yeah? We can form a truce - an alliance."[/color] This was such a bad idea, [color=FFDEAD]“Against those others. You’d be the brawn, a-and I’d be the bra-...uh, artistic director. Sounds good?”[/color]

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