4

As soon as the little girl named Shaethe could walk, she chased after her brother and Grom. Being with the boys was so much more exciting than staying home with Mother. If she could catch them, they let her do much more interesting things. She vastly preferred hunting and chasing and wrestling to staying home watching Mother tan hides or cook.

Though she had not yet seen three summers, Shaethe learned fast. She watched carefully till her mother was up to her elbows in bread dough, then she slipped out the door.

The boys learned fast, too, and they knew the little girl would pursue them. But Grom had a plan.

Grom always had a plan.

"This way!" he yelled, heading off to the south.

Harcos took off after him. The river was just south of them, filled beyond its banks with spring rains. The only way over was a half-rotted tree trunk. Grom virtually flew across the makeshift bridge. Harcos followed more cautiously. At the far side, they stopped. The little girl was close behind.

Shaethe sprinted to the bridge. "Wait for me!"

Harcos cupped his hands to his mouth. "No! Go home!"

Undaunted, the little girl hoisted her body onto the tree trunk and pulled herself to her feet.

"Shaethe, get down!" Harcos called back. "You'll fall in!"

"No!" She inched forward, arms splayed wide for balance, her bare feet shuffling cautiously for each step.

"I said go home!"

A strange twinkle glimmered in Grom's brown eyes. "Hold, Harcos. Let's see what happens."

"She'll fall in the river, and I'll get in trouble."

But Grom watched the girl with a slight smirk. "Just wait."

The not-quite-three-year-old orc continued forward, nearly losing her balance twice before she dropped to her hands and knees and started crawling. Harcos cursed under his breath. "You big baby! Go back!"

The girl's head jerked up, her golden-brown eyes glowering at him. "I not a baby! I can -." She raised one fist, losing her grip on the tree trunk, and toppled into the water below.

Harcos lunged forward. Grom blocked him.

"Hold," Grom said again. "Watch."

Harcos tried to wrestle his way past Grom. "She can't swim. She'll drown!"

"No." Grom would not release him. "She won't drown."

In an instant Shaethe's head broke water and she yowled. Her tiny hands clawing at the river, her little feet kicking wildly, she fought her way to the far shore and struggled up the bank. She shoved her dripping black hair out of her eyes and coughed up some river water.

Grom threw back his head and let out an ear-splitting shout. "Lok'tar! She made it! I knew it! The little one is unsinkable!"

Finally free of Grom, Harcos snatched his sister's arm. "You're gonna get it this time. You could have drowned!"

"I not drown," she said stoutly. "I a big girl now."

"You are such a baby."

"I not a baby!" Shaethe charged at her brother, fists flying. She pummeled his kneecap but all he did was laugh. Then she sank her teeth into his crotch.

Harcos screamed.

As Harcos collapsed on the ground, Grom caught the girl by the back of her soggy shirt. He hauled her off her feet, dangling her safely at arm's length. Shaethe swung her fists at the empty air.

"I not a baby! You take it back!"

"Calm down there, little unsinkable one," Grom said. "I think you won that fight."

Harcos writhed on the ground, making noises somewhere between a moan and a scream. "I'm - telling - Mother!"

"Don't care," Shaethe yelled. "I not a baby!"

"Harcos, are you alright?" Grom asked.

The boy rolled over so his back was to them, and he unfastened his pants. He shrieked. "Damn it, I'm bleeding!" Harcos retied his pants as he got up. "I'll kill her. Let her down, Grom. This time I'm going to kill her."

Shaethe squealed. "No kill me!"

"Hold it! Hold it!" Grom said, one hand holding Sync, the other restraining Harcos. "Nobody's going to kill anybody. Harcos, you take care of yourself. I'll take Unsinkable home. Maybe Bryla has a lock and some chains."

He smiled at the girl flailing about in his strong grip. "But somehow, I doubt even that would hold her."