A New Home
The whole neighborhood was abuzz as the moving truck pulled up to the what was once a vacant house. It wasn't often that people voluntarily moved into the Neutral Zone, especially now since President Highmane took office. His real name used to be Scott Reeves until he claimed he was ordained by the Divine Spirit to lead Humanity back to prosperity. People across the country began to coalesce in major cities across America to voice their support for the 'Pro-human' President.
To the shock of many in this neighborhood, however, came a family out of the truck that seemed to be... human, or at least, a little more than human. The husband opened up the truck and to many he seemed like an Elf, in a way. His ears were pointed and his skin slightly of a greenish-brown hue, short salt and pepper hair and matching goatee with a solid white streak in the center of his chin. His t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes were nothing out of the ordinary as he grabbed the first couple of boxes out from the truck and calling to his wife.
Attention was now drawn to her as she fumbled for the keys with a bagel in her mouth. She had tanned brown skin, jet black hair with noticeable tusks in a pullover top and knee length jean shorts and sneakers with her long black hair tied back in what appeared to be bones adorning a ponytail that reached the middle of her back. The neighbors heard her call out to see a little boy, no more than likely six years of age to clamber out of the truck.
He was probably the most unusual, as he had pale skin, short black hair, and pointed ears looking more like an Elf than the husband. He wore a simple shirt and pants but despite his small frame and almost Elf-like appearance, he carried a backpack twice his size with ease.
Next door, an Orc family looked on before stepping out at the curious sight. The husband was not shy about his greeting, but he wasn't overly warm to the sight of them, being rightly careful with his wife and young daughter just a few steps behind him. "Morning, neighbor." he greeted casually. The husband poked his head from around the back of the truck, "Oh, hello there. I apologize if we were disturbing you." He said rather sheepishly, not wanting to get off to a bad start already.
The big Orc waved a hand in front of his face, "Not at all, actually. As a matter of fact, I apologize for being nosy, but when we saw the moving truck we felt the need to investigate. We're part of the Community Watch, you see. Normally realtors inform us of someone new moving into the area, and it would appear Sarah didn't inform us this time around. Name's Eisen, like as in 'I sent' a letter. This is my wife Elaine, and behind me is my little girl, Reesha." he said extending a hand outwards. The smaller man wiped his hand before shaking Eisen's "Nice to meet you all. My name's Richard, this is my wife Tazo, like saying taco but with a Zed, and this is my boy, Makran. Like you would say man but with a 'kr' in it like in 'crayon'.
Eisen nodded as the wives greeted each other and exchanged pleasantries, after lambasting their husbands for the ways they thought to pronounce names rather jokingly. Makran came out from behind Richard as he seemed to stare, wide-eyed at the Orc family. Eisen noticed this staring and knelt down, "Are you unfamiliar with Orcs, young one?" he asked. Makran shook his head as Reesha stepped out from behind her father, "What's your staring problem then?" she demanded. The boy replied rather sheepishly, "Well, it's just that... green skin is so cool. I'm jealous. Especially when it looks so cool on your parents and so pretty on you." Makran blurted out thoughtlessly.
He stood in awe of Eisen, the Orc male was massive to the boy, taller than his dad and even Elaine was taller than he was. Their green skins reminded him of this thing his mom tried to feed him, what did she call it? An avocado? Meanwhile Reesha's skin was far lighter in tone and hue, reminding him of a blueish-green type of grass they had in their old yard. Eisen had dark hair and a massive build his shirt looked like his had to be the size he saw his uncle wear once, it had four Xs on it at least and it seemed to fit him nearly loosely. Elaine was just as strong-looking. She looked liked one of those football players that dad cheered for on Sundays, but maybe stronger. Despite the brightly colored thing his mom called a 'sun dress', she looked like she could beat up his dad. Reesha was no slouch either, despite being the same age, seemingly, she looked like she could thrash the boys that were picking on him at his old school, before feeling saddened that he didn't look like any of them. Eisen's family blinked in bewilderment as Tazo quietly began to chastise the boy while Reesha began to blush and quickly hide behind her dad.
Richard quickly registered the confusion and cleared his throat, "I apologize for my son. I'm a civil defense attorney, you see. We mostly work with Orcish clients as all of us are part Orc. I'm about one-eighth, and my wife is about a third. Makran is probably more Orc than either of us at this point." he said jokingly. "Before this last election, he... was already struggling in school. Despite his mostly human appearance he was widely hated for being Orcish, they teased him relentlessly. Then the election happened and well... I'm sure you can piece together the rest."
Eisen nodded as he rose, "I see. Allow me to guess, you're previous neighbors suddenly went from being cold and distant to suddenly outright hostile, threateningly even. Kids were allowed to treat Makran without mercy, or repercussion. Work became more scarce for you and your wife, his grades were suddenly into the failing to the point where even though he is just in grade school, he was on the verge of being expelled and I'm even willing to bet a small amount of money that your family were getting threats very regularly." Richard nodded quietly. Eisen rubbed the back of his neck in amazement and disgust, Elaine looked furious with a clenched hand, "And allow me to make a guess, no one thought that the threats against your own child were out of the ordinary, and because you look so human in appearances some of the more conservative Orcish communities weren't exactly leaping to your defense. Despite your civil defense work and Tazo's..." "I'm a banker, err rather, was a banker. I handled small business loans and accounts with non-human businesses. Orcs, Elves, Gnomes, Dwarves, you name it." Tazo said with a heavy sigh.
"Our work with the non-human communities... plus a little family connection, is what allowed us to know of, let alone move to, this area. The human parts of our families were suddenly hard to reach but it was my grandmother that told me of this neighborhood." Richard explained. "I'm guessing we got this house at such a low rate because Sarah wanted to unload it fast, or her company did at least." Eisen blinked curiously, "Your grandmother?" he asked. Richard nodded, "My grandmother, well, one of them, was pure Orc. As well as one of the few remaining members of my family left alive after we got abandoned. As for Tazo's family, all she has left is her father, and sadly he's one of the few rare cases of Orcs that actually developed Alzheimer's, so its at this point, practically just us." Eisen stroked his bearded chin for a moment. "Well, I have an idea. I'm known around here, and while not necessarily the Hamptons of the Humans, we're pretty up there in class ourselves. I'll throw a barbecue and we can get you introduced to the rest of the neighborhood. Sounds like at a time like this, you could use some friends and connections. Bring your grandmother too, might help make things easier too." Richard sighed a breath of relief, "Thank you, I'd like that very much. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be glad to return the favor any way I can." They smiled and clapped their hands on each other's shoulders and began to part ways. Reesha, still somewhat red in the face looked out from behind her dad, "It was... nice meeting you..." she said softly before darting off to play. Elaine looked to Makran and smiled, "Careful lad, you don't want to charm her too quickly." she said with a hearty laugh, causing Eisen to chuckle at Makran's puzzled expression. "What does she mean by that, Dad?" he asked. Richard smiled, "Nothing you have to worry about for a long time, my boy. For now, be a good lad and help me and momma empty out the truck, you'll get to see great grandma here soon." The boy lit up in delight and hurried off to help unload the truck.
As they began to separate Eisen looked to Richard, "The boy will be safe here. He seems to love his kind, that's going to help greatly." He said assuredly. They parted ways as Richard's family began to unload and unpack as Eisen began to make preparations. Elaine stood by the door looking outwards, "He can't be older than Reesha... like... seven... eight, maybe? Have Humans really gone so cold that they'd allow a child. a child to endure that kind of shit?" Eisen kissed her forehead, "Simmer, my dear. Remember, many humans also fled to both here in the Neutral Zone and deep into various non-human settlements and cities. This President admittedly won by 75% of the Humans, but that's still a good quarter that don't share his sentiments." he said coolly. Elaine took a deep breath and slowly let it out, "Still, I think it might be best if we began increasing our neighborhood watch at night." Eisen nodded, "I'm inclined to agree with you."
About a week had passed when the barbecue had been announced. People from all over the neighborhood gathered into Eisen's street baring meats to be cooked, sides and desserts. What started as a small cook out quickly became something akin to a large block party as everyone gathered. Some even brought over their own grills to assist in the cooking as Richard and his family slowly began to get to know the neighborhood. Eisen made a wise suggestion telling Richard to invite his grandmother. It put the Orcs at ease knowing their new neighbor was of their kind. Richard quickly managed to land himself a new job at an Orcish law firm, one that specialized in non-human laws, although they had very few elven clients. Tazo quickly gained a job as a CPA to a finance firm, a temporary post until they could get her familiar with the regulations regarding loans in their new home area.
Makran was nervous at this cookout, as there were so many people there. The children were more hard pressed to accept someone that looked so different, even with his great-grandmother at his side. Reesha didn't care, however, as she ran up to him and greeted him, and asked his great-grandmother if he could come play with some of the local kids. She smiled and had a seat patting Reesha on the head and watched as Reesha took Makran by the wrist and hauled him off to some of the other children.
They were in the middle of a game they called 'Raiders' when Reesha and Makran approached. She made introductions and a few of the other kids took to him warmly and greeted him. A larger boy, Luka, however wasn't as receptive. "A pointed ear, rakka human. Why should you be allowed to play with us?" He said giving Makran a shove, sending him to the dirt. "Luka! You know that's a bad word." Another boy named Ortho said. Luka stood tall to be intimidating, "Are you going to tell on me then, small fry? Because I'll gladly show you to the ground too." Ortho stepped back a bit, as did some of the other smaller kids. Reesha showed no fear though and shoved Luka right back, "Lick a boar's butt, Luka. You're not the boss of any of us." This drew the attention of some of the parents but the elderly woman had lifted a hand as she watched Makran who slowly stood up and looked to his great-grandma. He only saw her mouth the words 'Be strong, but have honor'.
He nodded as he stood up and stepped in between Luka and Reesha. He fought back tears as he had never really felt physical pain from another kid up until now as the Orc children were somewhat stronger than Human ones. The two both were taller than him and he fought back his urge to cry out of both pain and fear, Luka looked down menacingly and snorted at the smaller boy. "What Human?" he demanded. Markran stared him down and stood firm, "I'm also Orc. You're big, dumb, mean, you said a bad word, and are acting as bad as a Human. So say sorry and let's just play or..." he thought a moment, trying to come up with a proper response, "Or... I'll push you down and hit you." Luka glared before shoving Ortho, Reesha, and him all to the ground and laughed, "Well now all of you are on the ground. What are you going to do about it, stupid face?"
Makran got back up despite his shaking hands and feet, but as he did he felt a new emotion take him. He had felt mad before, but this feeling of anger was new, even to him. It was warm, it heated his belly and numbed his bruised limbs. His fear faded into the back of his mind as his face felt hot and his body tensed. There was a silence from everyone looking on as outside the children's squabble, the parents noticed a change in the smaller boy, literally. His ears began to curve down some more and his skin began to tint into a slightly more greenish hue on his shoulders and elbows.
Richard, not wanting a bad public incident started to walk quickly to the children before everyone saw him be stopped by Eisen, who shook his head, "This is something your young man is going to have to learn around here. We may be modern, but we still live by some of the old ways." As Eisen looked on seeing the surprise on Luka's face as the smaller boy was turning more green right in front of him, "Besides. I think he will be fine." Eisen said with a smile. Richard looked worried and shot a quick glance to Toza who stood firm with both Elaine and his Grandmother, as all three of them shook their heads.
A snort quickly came out of Makran something he never did as he rubbed his cheeks feeling a pain in his mouth with made him angrier. However, this anger he felt began to shift. He felt in control, more aware of his surroundings he could hear his own steady heartbeat while he heard Luka's heart beating rapidly. He smiled slowly, he knew that Luka was now afraid of him. With a surge of adrenaline he shoved Luka to the ground and stood over him. Luka was scrambling but found himself somewhat hindered by a tree a look of fear on his face reminded Makran of his great-grandmother's words 'have honor'. He took a deep breath to calm down but knew he had to make sure this boy wouldn't hurt anyone anymore. Then he had a thought, remembering what his mom would do in instances where he was very bad. He pinned Luka and with one open hand swatted the other Orc's behind one time, then pointed at him and firmly said "No. That's bad, we don't do that." Luka began to tear up from the sore bottom as Makran helped up Reesha and Ortho as the other children came in closer to see Makran and try to talk to him. He looked over and saw Luka sobbing by himself and went over to him. He held out his hand to Luka and with genuine sorrow said, "I'm sorry. But we can't be bad. We should be friends instead."
Luka looked from him to the other children and sniffled again before taking his hand and getting to his feet. Reesha handed him a cardboard shield and asked, "Can we please now play Raiders with you?" Luka looked around as the other children waited for his response. He nodded to everyone's smiles and they began to play together. They would tell jokes, eat food, make faces, and have fun as the barbecue went into the early evening dusk. As everyone began to go home Luka and his family came to Richard and his to apologize. The two boys looked seriously at each other for a moment and Remembering what his dad had done, Makran extended a hand. "Let's be best friends, okay?" Luka looked at him with his head tilted to the side. "You're weird... but yea, best friends." He said shaking Makran's hand.
