Tusktaker's Secret Part 15

	Thomas sighed as he plopped down on his bed. Things had been pretty shit recently. Jor’ak and Lorka weren’t talking, as a far as Lorka was concerned, she was alright with that.  She acted like nothing was bothering her, but Thomas could tell she was very upset that her father had taken the news so badly. He knew a big part of Lorka’s insecurities stemmed from wanting to impress her father.

“You're just going to cast aside being a Tusktaker…a real Tusktaker because of this little humie?”

“So Lorka, what's next after this? You go to college, leave the clan behind while you rut with this little humie? Cut ties with your culture and become soft and weak just like your boyfriend? Become a black sheep to most of the clan? Give up on everything I've worked so hard to give you?”

Jor'ak's words echoed in Thomas's mind as he thought about his Aru'ka. He felt like a burden. Lorka didn't deserve to be treated this way.

But Jor'ak was her father. At the end of the day, Jor’ak was going to be the one helping her pay for college and taking care of her needs, not him.He looked at his hands. Weak. Frail. Soft. There was no way Lorka's father would accept him like this. Even with his workout routine and Lorka pushing him, Thomas doubted he would ever by the kind of man Jor’ak would accept as his daughter’s Aru’ka. Humans occasionally became honorary clan members if they married into them, but the more Thomas looked at himself, the more he felt that he was an embarrassment to Lorka. He didn't understand what she saw in him.

His phone buzzed. Lorka was texting him.

Lorka: Hey. It's me. What are you up to?

Thomas: Good timing. I was just thinking about you. Can we talk?

Lorka: Sure. Are we meeting at the park?

Thomas: Yeah, I’ll see you then.

Thomas sighed as he put his phone in his pocket. He needed to fix things with Lorka’s family, even if that meant sacrificing his own happiness.  This was going to be a hard conversation.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

	Lorka yawned as she waited for Thomas in their usual meeting spot. Thomas hadn't been himself lately. He’d been uncharacteristically quiet. The other day, she’d mentioned that she liked Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle more than his Cthulhu Cycle work just to get under his skin. Not only did Thomas agree, but he didn’t even correct her when she said “Cthulhu Cycle” instead of “Yog-Sothothery”. In fact, he hadn’t talked to her much recently. He seemed like he was internalizing a lot of what happened with her dad. It was a stupid thing to do, this wasn’t about Thomas, and it was about his species. Orcs, especially Tusktakers, had always been wary of outside influences. Things would be hard for a while yeah, but once Jor’ak saw Thomas for who he was instead of what he was, she was sure he would accept him.

The sound of breaking twigs pulled Lorka from her thoughts. Thomas must be near. Sure enough, her boyfriend appeared from the underbrush.
“Sometimes, I think making this place our meeting spot was a mistake.” He panted.

Lorka ruffled his hair, dislodging several leaves in the process. “Well, we did it so we could have some privacy.”

Thomas stuck his hand in the belly of an old rotted out tree. The pair had stuck some supplies in a weatherproof bag so they didn’t have to constantly bring in essentials. He unfurled an old beach blanket and laid it on the forest’s floor. He sighed as he sat down. Lorka noted there were bags under his eyes. He must not be sleeping well.

She tried to put on a cheerful air when she spoke, for his sake. “So Aru’ka, you called me out here. What did you want to talk about?”

Thomas was quiet for a moment, his knees tucked under his chin. “Things aren’t going well with your Dad, are they?”

Lorka frowned. “He still won’t talk to me. I think he and Mom might have finally made up. They seemed okay this morning. He’s still pretty angry at me.”

“That sucks.” Thomas said quietly.

“Thomas, are you okay? I’m really worried. I’m not used to seeing you like this.” He wouldn’t look her in the eye. It was really bothering her.

“I’ve been thinking about us for a while. It’s been stressing me out. I really don’t know how to say this.”

Lorka put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “You can tell me anything. You know that.”

When he spoke, it was barely above a whisper. “I think we need to break up.”

“What? Why would you say that!?” What the hell was Thomas thinking!?

"Lorka, there’s no way your dad is going to accept me. He hates my fucking guts. I don’t measure up to any of his expectations as a mate for you.”

“How does any of that matter? I’m an adult in the clan’s eyes; I can pick anyone to be with. He doesn’t have control over me!” She exclaimed.

“Lorka, he’s your dad! Who’s going to pay for your college? Who’s going to help take care of you if you need to go to the hospital?”

Lorka’s nostrils flared in anger as she spoke. “Do you really think my father would be so stubborn that he’d ignore his own daughter if she needed help?”

“Do you really think your Dad is going to let you go into Plant Pharmacology after you told him you were dating a ‘humie’ and crapped all over his plans for your future?” Thomas asked in a hollow voice.

“I’m allowed to make my own choices!” Lorka shouted.

“I never said you weren’t, but your father doesn't have to like them. If he thinks the choices you’re making are terrible, and he does, he is going to try to stop you. Your dad thinks I manipulated you into leaving hunting and made you ‘unorcy’. The best solution I can come up with is to cut myself out of the equation. At least you can still have a shot at the life you want to live instead of holding you back."

“How can you talk like you're such a burden? The name I call you means ‘One who makes me Happy.’ I love you! Why do you think the solution is to leave?” Lorka was on the verge of crying. This wasn’t supposed to be how this ended, not after they had been through so much together.

“I love you too, Lorka. Love isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes when you love someone, you have to make sacrifices. Sometimes a relationship isn’t worth the strife it can cause. I’m not going to come between you and your family.”

Lorka was stunned. She couldn’t believe he was saying all this “Family? My Mom loves you; she’s been supportive of us since day one! Who gives a fuck about what my Dad thinks! We can show him that I can still be just as much of an orc while being with you.”

“Your dad doesn’t see it that way.” Thomas countered.

“My Dad’s a stubborn jerk!” Lorka spat.

“Lorka, you dad can be an ass but at the end of the day, he’s your father! A long time ago, I lost the chance to have a relationship with my dad. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you because of me.”

Lorka’s voice choked as she spoke. “I thought we were something special. How can you be so cold? ”

Thomas wiped a tear from Lorka’s cheek. For the first time, she got a good look at his face. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I don’t want to do this. Being together with you has been the best, I haven’t been this happy in years. But if being with me is going to cause you more trouble than it’s worth, we have to break up.”

Lorka tried to hold it in but she couldn’t take it anymore. Tears started to cascade down her cheeks as she sobbed. Thomas hugged her and placed her chin on his shoulder. “Shhh, it’s going to be okay. You’ll find someone than can be a better Aru’ka than I ever was.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it! You’re my Aru’ka, I don’t need anyone else!” She bawled.

Thomas pulled a tissue out of his pocket and cleaned off her tears. “I’ll miss you, Lorka. Just promise me that you’ll make peace with your dad and get into that university we talked about, okay?”

“…I promise.” She sniffed.

“Thank you. I don’t think dragging this out anymore is going to be good for either of us.” He gave her one last kiss on the forehead.

“Good bye, Aru’ka.”

And with that, he disappeared into the woods.