Duality

Tazaa walked Meena towards her stall, and was surprised to see a guard waiting. The guard blushed brightly.

"Mother Queen said that the artifact she has was constructed through this shop." The guard said. Meena was about to say something to the contrary when Tazaa smiled.

"My newly adopted daughter, Meena, requires a solid wood post, as the material for the shower artifact, and a beast core. Elder boar was used for the Mother Queen's, but a normal one would suffice." Tazaa said. "Once the materials are collected, bring them here. The Mother Queen's was done as a tribute." The guard nodded.

"I wish to have one made as a gift to my beloved fanger." She blushed again. "It is to be a betrothal gift." Tazaa slowly nodded.

"I will contact the one who constructs them, and get a proper cost." Tazaa smiled a bit. "This will be the first made solely for someone outside the family. Your fanger will be the first, so choose the wood appropriately." Meena listened in, and watched the joy come over the guard's face.

"I will! I must consult mother right away! Thank you so much!" She ran quickly, while Meena stared at her in confusion.

"You're wondering why I said it was through your stall?" Tazaa asked.

"Yes. Merla makes the artifacts, not me." Meena said. Tazaa's eyes hardened.

"Do you notice some odd looks coming your way?" Tazaa asked her. Meena blushed.

"For the last few days." She said softly.

"Merla has already spoken about it, as a way to provide you with something only she can make." Tazaa said. She wrapped an arm about her shoulders. "You are my daughter now. Merla will only provide the artifacts through you. If they wish to anger someone like her, they may sneer to their heart's content." Tazaa growled, and pulled Meena around to face her.

She smiled down at her, lowered her lips, and kissed her warmly.

"We belong to Merla, Meena. My wife and I are already sworn to serve her." Tazaa's eyes went from soft, to hard. "If someone angers her by insulting you, she won't think like an adult orc. She'll react just like a child, and with all the strength she can summon." Meena closed her eyes.

"Yes, you remember what she can do. A fog that she can make as solid as stone, isolate people so they can't move, or let individual people move through the fog as though it were not there. She can crush with it too." Tazaa said quietly. "I don't want you to see what an angry child can do when they know magical expressions and have so much manna that they can make 'Agony of Stone' expressions on a whim." Meena sighed softly.

"I understand." She said, but without the former energetic tone she had before she met Merla. She was an orc who submitted to a mate, but could not be taken in as one. She was incomplete, and felt a loss within herself.

Tazaa lifted her chin, and looked into her eyes.

"I can see why Merla has taken a shine to you, Meena." Tazaa said softly. "If it becomes necessary, you can turn to us to relieve your needs as an adult orc." Meena sniffed and went into her stall to start work. Tazaa turned away, and narrowed her eyes.

"If you think you have the right to judge her, I dare you to look straight up." Tazaa's firm declaration caused many to look uncomfortable, but one fanger sneered and looked up. She immediately paled in fright, and knelt down in terror.

"I'm so sorry, Duality!" She bowed with her head to the ground. As soon as she looked up, she saw two pairs of intense unfriendly eyes staring hard at her. The animosity transmitted through that gaze made her shudder in fear.

"Meena has been claimed. Duality claims her as well. If you wish to say something, go talk to Consort Lixiss, and Mother Queen. That is if you don't wish to raise your eyes and receive such a strong rebuke." Tazaa walked over and knelt down to face her.

"Your convictions were strong, little orc. I do commend you, but be cautious on who you judge. Not only will artifacts only be available through Meena, but she has a strong set of pillars to support her." Tazaa stood up, and walked away.

The fanged orc immediately passed out from the fright, and had to be carried to the healers for treatment. A few others were brought in later, some terrified, while others had broken bones. There was one common thread.

All who judged Meena were humbled immediately, and some didn't have to look up to receive a heavy rebuke from their twin goddesses.

* * *

"Grammie!" Merla called out from Lyra's arms. Laenda sat next to her, making sure Lyra could receive care, and the attention necessary to make her healthy. Tazaa smiled and walked into the main room.

"A few orcs gathered the materials for a few showers. I wanted to know how much manna you spend in order to make them." She asked as she knelt down in front of her. Merla frowned a little.

"Oh. Cost. Meena sell, need cost." Merla slowly nodded. "Wind ten times start, wind seven times middle, nine wind end." Tazaa was surprised.

"That is a lot of manna. Twenty six times the manna cost of a wind expression." Tazaa said. Merla tilted her head and slowly nodded.

"Oh. Yeah, lot manna. Mind picture strong, con-cen-trate hard, manna flow wild. Like river. Oh, grammie, need stone, metal, beast core." Merla said. Tazaa frowned slightly.

"Why do you need those items, Merla?" She asked.

"Heater." She shivered. "Not like cold, like black wings, up there." She pointed up. "Hate cold. Fire bad in tree. Tree not like fire. Make heat art-ee-fact." Tazaa smiled.

"Alright, how much metal, and how much stone?" Tazaa asked, and watched her little face pucker up as she thought about that.

"Stone, make stand. Metal, make empty box. Metal, three swords. Stone, blocks, square, long thick grammie's arm." She pointed to her forearm. "Block stand..." she frowned, then pointed to a side table. "That size. Not know how many." She touched her forehead and grimaced. "Not made, not count."

"I understand, Merla. You don't know how many you'll need because you haven't made it before." Tazaa said. Merla nodded.

"Grammie, get boar? Momma need bones. Make stew." She touched Lyra's arm and frowned. "Momma bones hollow. Not good. Need eat more cheese. Bad root. Bad health." Tazaa looked at Lyra, and slowly nodded.

"I agree with our granddaughter, Lyra. Your roots, your bones, are weak, which will affect your lifespan, and how healthy you are. Do you really want to leave little Merla alone so early in life?" Tazaa asked.

"Not just Merla!" Merla said. "Talyn! Little sis needs momma long time!" Merla tapped her mother's arm again. "Not love Talyn, momma?" Lyra sniffed sadly.

"Baby, until you came home again, I wasn't sure how I could possibly live without you. I want to live now." She lightly poked Merla's forehead. "When did I ever say I didn't love Talyn? She's not born yet, but she will be my daughter in the near future. She'll be your little sister, so you'll have to stay healthy too." Merla grinned.

"Merla grow strong, protect baby sis." Her eyes glowed brightly. "Someone hurt baby sis, Merla hurt back."