Page 45 of Horn in My Side

JASMINE

“Mal, could you hand me the marshmallows, please?”

“Marshmallows?” Mal paused midway as he was about to drive a peg down into the ground. “Why do need them now?”

“I just got the fire going.” She waved a stick in the air. “And I want to test it out.”

“I’m pretty sure your fire works, Jasmine,” he said dryly.

“Mal . . .”

With a resigned sigh, he got up. “Fine. I’ll go find them in the bag.”

“You’re the best.”

“Uh-huh,” he said before disappearing through the tent flap.

Jasmine smiled to herself, then closed her eyes and took a deep inhale. There truly was nothing like pine-scented, fresh mountain air, and being in nature. Out here, the only things she could hear were the birds chirping, the bees buzzing, and the occasional critter scurrying about.

And she didn’t have to worry about obnoxious customers, obstinate suppliers, and demanding creatures.

While she had definitely grown more confident in her abilities in the last few weeks, it was now like a tap she couldn’t turn off.

It had been useful in some instances—such as when one of the cerberus pups got sick—but most of the time, it was a lot of noise that drove her to distraction.

Thankfully, she’d learned to manage it, but it still took some effort on her part.

“Here you go.” Mal handed her the bag of marshmallows.

“Thanks, Mal.” She pulled him down for a quick kiss on the cheek. “And thanks for putting up the tent.”

“You’re welcome. Let me finish it up.”

Jasmine opened the bag and stuck a big, fat, fluffy marshmallow on the end of the stick, then held it over the fire. As the gooey confection toasted and turned dark, the smell of sugar filled the air.

This was the best idea ever , she thought. Actually, scratch that—this entire camping trip was the best idea ever. She was glad Mal had suggested it, as she could already feel her stress melting away.

Of course, she wasn’t completely ungrateful about the cause of her stress.

Fantastic Tails had never been busier, thanks to their newest social-media star, Clawdia.

She had become the shop’s mascot and even had her own merch.

The T-shirts, mugs, stickers, and bags with her pictures on them flew off the shelves, and Jasmine had to keep ordering more.

Another time, she posted a video of the hatchling eating her bowl of Ethereal Balance kibble and tagged the company.

The owners had been thrilled and offered her a sponsorship deal.

There were, unfortunately, some downsides to fame.

A lot of people had been coming into the shop, hoping to get a glimpse of Clawdia.

Sadly, she had to turn those curious busybodies away.

At one point, she had to put up a sign outside and a post on social media with a picture of a sleeping Clawdia with a caption that read, “I’m still very little and not ready to meet anyone yet.

I still can’t control my fire and I’m worried that I might hurt someone.

Please be patient.” While the hatchling’s fans were disappointed and some downright rude, for the most part, their followers were supportive and even lauded their approach.

But Jasmine was nonetheless ecstatic with the positive momentum, and sales were now up thirty per cent from last year.

However, she’d been so busy that she was burning out, which is why Mal had suggested a getaway.

So, when the next Monday rolled around, they closed up early and drove out to the Twin Mountains Camping Grounds, about an hour away from Dewberry Falls.

Jasmine loved camping, plus it was very budget friendly since she already had all the gear.

There was nothing like being out in nature, disconnected from the outside world, spending quiet evenings sitting by the fire, and sleeping under the stars.

“Mal!” she called out once the marshmallow’s surface turned the perfect dark brown.

“What is it?”

“Here.” She swung the stick at him, offering him the toasted confection. “Have a taste.”

Mal took a bite. “Hmmm . . . that’s good.”

She finished off the remaining bit, moaning as the warm, sweet and smokey taste hit her tongue. “You know the best part of camping is s’mores, right?”

“You know the best part of camping for me?”

“What?”

“Going home.”

She paused, waiting for him to crack a smile. “Wait, are you serious?”

He shrugged. “I’m not a camping person.”

“Not a camping—” Placing her hands on her hips, she stood toe-to-toe with him and looked up. “You don’t like camping? Don’t orcs spend a lot of time outdoors, like when you march into battles and stuff?”

“Those were my ancestors, back in the days when we were still merciless bloodthirsty hordes hellbent on conquering other lands. Orcs are a much more enlightened people now. Besides, I’m from a builder horde.

We build things. Things with four walls, a floor, roof, and preferably a king-sized bed with a mattress topper. ”

“Then why did you suggest coming out here?” she said, exasperated.

“I didn’t. I said we should do a getaway, and you planned this whole thing.”

She stared at him, slack-jawed. “If you weren’t a camping person, you should have said so. I wouldn’t have made you come out here if you hated it.”

“I may not be a camping person, but I am a ‘want to make Jasmine happy’ person.”

Her heart flew to the moon. “Mal . . .”

“You know,” he said, slipping an arm around her waist, “if you’d wanted to, I could have booked us a stay at a five-star hotel in Bayview. Could have made for a nice staycation.”

“Mal, you can’t keep paying for things. We already went to Blackbyrd four times in the last two weeks.”

“So? I like spoiling you.”

Arching her body forward, she pressed her breasts against him. “You can spoil me in other ways, without using your money and—Mal!” she cried out as the world turned upside down.

Mal slapped her ass as he carried her over his shoulder. “I’ll show you spoiling . . .”

After a rigorous round of sex in the tent, Jasmine found the energy to prepare a simple dinner of hotdogs grilled over the fire and reheated leftover kuj’ata stew. Afterwards, she made some s’mores for dessert, and they sat in front of the campfire.

“How’s Clawdia? And the others?”

Jasmine looked up from her phone sheepishly. While she knew this was supposed to be a break from the shop, she couldn’t stop herself from checking in. “Sorry, I’ll put my phone away.”

“Don’t apologize, Jasmine. And you don’t have to feel guilty.”

She sighed. “Am I that obvious?”

“It’s all over your face. But just because you need a mental health day, it doesn’t mean you don’t care for them. And it’s understandable you want to look out for them. I take it this is the first time you’ve been away from Dewberry Falls since Vrig died?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“It’s normal, then, to want to check in. But don’t worry, those gnomes are reliable.” They had paid them extra to come tonight to feed the pets dinner and check on Clawdia. “Are they done?”

“They just left,” she reported. “And yeah, the gnomes do a good job. Clawdia seems to like them too. They even let her out to play fetch.”

“You can take her home in a couple weeks, once the insurance company approves the extra coverage.” Mal had already fireproofed her apartment as well, so now they were waiting for the adjuster to come and inspect it. “Which is good, because I don’t know how much bigger I can expand that cage.”

“I can’t wait to have her home.” Sure, she wouldn’t be able to check on Clawdia during the day, but at least she wouldn’t have to worry about her at night, and with the shop only a ten-minute walk away, she could always go home for lunch and take her out.

“It would have been nice to have her here with us.”

“Once she has complete control over her fire abilities, you can bring her anywhere, even to work.”

“True. Hopefully she doesn’t bring out the crazies. I’ve had to block a couple of people online because they think I’m being selfish, not letting her out. They don’t understand that it’s still dangerous for her to be around people when she’s not fully trained.”

“Keep blocking them. You know what’s best for her.” He handed her a plate. “Here, I made you another s’more.”

“Oooh, thank you, Mal.” She happily accepted the plate and took a bite of the still-warm confection. “So good.”

They stayed up for another hour before they headed into the tent for bed.

The next day, they woke up bright and early, as Jasmine wanted to go for a hike.

They followed a trail up one of the peaks, traversing the dense woods and climbing over moss-covered rocks.

The air grew cooler as they ascended, and soon they emerged on a high ridge that overlooked an expanse of rolling hills and massive ancient trees.

Across the ridge, a craggy obelisk made of rock and granite rose into the sky.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful,” she sighed. “That’s the other peak of Twin Peaks.”

“Your ass in those shorts is beautiful,” Mal commented. “And your tits are the only ‘twin peaks’ I want to see.”

She smiled wryly at him over her shoulder. “You should be a poet, Mal.” He trailed behind her the entire time, and though she could tell he wasn’t enjoying himself much, he never complained. “Come here and enjoy the view.”

“I am,” he said with a grin. Still, he came up beside her and looked out. “Okay, you’re right. This is pretty amazing.”

“See, I told you. Didn’t your dad or stepdad ever take you camping when you were young?”

“Whenever we all go back to the orc homelands, it’s basically one big camping trip, but not like this. It’s noisy and lots of relatives everywhere. Hated it when I was kid and my parents would drag me there.”