Next step, food and drink

[Grimlock]

Grimlock smiled so big when pretty Madeline said he could have the teddy bear that his teeth showed. Two clawed hands went to her waists, one on each side, just above her hips. He carefully closed his taloned fingers around her waist and hoped that she would place her hands on his arms rather than panic. If she didn't panic and put her hands on his arms he would lift her up and kiss her cheek. If she panicked he would let her go. Though he would be sad about it. Either way he would speak.

"Thank you pretty Madeline. Grimlock name teddy bear Saradon like him daughter."

Then the over joyed orc would follow pretty Madeline to the bar. He found a place to sit on a stool that seemed to be a little larger than the others. Like it was maybe meant to seat larger guests?

When pretty Madeline asked him what she could fix for him he smiled. He looked around the bar area and then leaned in to whisper to her.

"Pretty Madeline have ..."

He looked around again just to be sure.

"Dragon meat?"

The last was whispered even quieter that the first. Not many places had dragon meat and a lot of those who didn't were not too happy that other places did. But Grimlock was feeling rather trusting of pretty Madeline. But that voice in his head was not.

~You stupid imbecile. Are you trying to get yourself thrown out? Stop talking about your daughter and just eat cow. I did not put anything about your daughter or dragon meat on your list. Stick to your list or else.~

Grimlock sighed. His frustration might have even been noticeable if pretty Madeline would notice such things.

"Grimlock want big meat. Meat from cow will do. And potatoes. Maybe four. Cooked in oven please. And meat not red or pink. Grimlock like him meat cooked good."

He didn't ask for a vegetable or any other side dish. But as an after thought he did add a drink to his request.

"And a tankard of ale. Grimlock thirsty too."

He blinked slowly, his frustration was still showing. He mumbled to himself.

"Grimlock not stupid imbecile. And Grimlock like dragon meat better."

He knew his master would have heard him. But he wasn't sure if pretty Madeline would.

~I suggest you shut up, NOW.~

He sat there for a moment before his expression changed. He looked a little embarrassed then.

"Grimlock sorry pretty Madeline. Grimlock forgot say please. And thank you."

Then he sat and waited to see what pretty Madeline was going to say and do.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline did in fact put her arms around Grimlock and returned the hug. No she wasn't scared. A close member of her family was a big beastie. So she gladly returned the kind orc's hug. "Thats a pretty name Grimlock. I'm sure your daughter would be proud."

Madeline had thought she heard Grimlock say Dragon meat. While she wasn't sure that was something they had at the inn, she could get for him mystically. But then Grimlock all of a sudden got a sad almost frustrated. She wondered if someone was fussing at him again. But then Grimlock changed his mind to cow and potatoes.

As they reached the bar Maddie turned and looked at Grimlock. She gave him her must sincere smile. "I'll fix you a big steak from a cow just the way you want Grimlock. But if there is something you want more, I have no problem fixing it. And don't let anyone tell you different. And it's okay to forget to say please and thank you sometimes. I do." There was a underlying tone in Maddie's voice for whoever was listening.

While she waited for Grimlock to answer she fixed him a rather large glass of ale. If he was paying attention to her he might notice that instead of reaching for the glass, the glass appeared from thin air.

She handed hin the ale, ad awaited his decision on food.

[Grimlock]

So she thought that her tone would get him to stop disciplining his orc when her previous words had not? Wasn't she in for a surprise. He would just punish his orc for her attitude problem.

He could show Grimlock things, let him hear things, it was part of the sharing. So how would Grimlock react to his precious little green monster crying for her daddy?

~Aaaaaaaaaaaa. Daddy, make him stop.~

As Grimlock was sitting there listening to pretty Madeline, tears welled up in his eyes and started to slowly fall. He brought his big hand up to his eyes and began to wipe at the tears with the back of his hand. He had no way of knowing if the master was really hurting her or if it was fake. But either way, it hurt.

He whispered again. Some to pretty Madeline, some to his master.

"Stop. Please stop."

If pretty Madeline kept trying to defend Grimlock, Saradon would keep getting tortured. Grimlock wanted the torture to stop, so pretty Madeline had to stop. Luckily, Grimlock had a skill that his master had no idea about. Without looking at what he was doing, he pulled out some paper and a pen from a pouch at his back. He had to carry pen and paper to take notes when his master gave him orders.

He placed the paper down on the bar top, again without looking at it. The top page was covered in doodles, as was the next two. They were for cover. He tried to not count in his head as he turned to a blank page. Then he began to write a note without looking at it. He held the pen in a fist the way he had when he signed the book to check in.



The note read 'Master can see you. Master can hear you. Master can smell you. He knows all Grimlock do. Master has Saradon. Make Grimlock work.' He turned the pad of paper to pretty Madeline as he looked off in another direction like he was just looking around. This would allow for pretty Madeline to react to the note. He just hoped that she didn't say anything.

He waited for a moment, to allow for her to read and react, then he turned the page and wrote a second note for her.



The second note read 'If pretty Madeline want to talk to Grimlock no Master she can make words on hand slowly. And dragon meat ok?' Then Grimlock held out his hand, fingers straight, palm up. Pretty Madeline could use her finger to slowly write what she wanted to say on his palm and he would try to read it without sounding it out or spelling it in his head. It was the best he could do to avoid his master.

[Madeline Cauthon]

The last thing she wanted to do was make Grimlock cry. What a horrible master he must have. Madeline took his finger and wrote slowly on his palm:

I'm sorry Grimlock. I'll stop.

Maddie then started talking aloud where Grimlock's hidious master could here her. "OK Sir I'll get your order."

With that Madeline went into the kitchen. It took her a few moments to gain her composer.Her temper was rising. Rising to the point where the darker side was begging to come out.

After a few deep breaths, she concentrated on the task of making Grimlocks meal the way he wanted it.

She looked in the cold storage area, and sure enough they had dragon meat. She thought of Dre for a moment. She didn't think he would like her cooking this.

Seeing how it was cut into steak type portions, Maddie fired up the grill on the stove top, and cooked it. Very well done, just as Grimlock had ordered.

She stewed some potatoes while the dragon steak was finishing. after everything was done, she plated the meal neatly, and took it out to Grimlock.

"Here ya go Grimlock. Just what you ordered." Maddie took his large glass and freshened his ale. She sat it on the table. "I'll be in the kitchen cleaning up if you need me okay? All you have to do is call my name, and I'll come back out."

She left Grimlock to eat his meal and set about cleaning the kitchen.

[Grimlock]

As pretty Madeline traced out words on Grimlock's palm, he tried to think louder of other things than of what she was writing so his master wouldn't figure it out. He looked over at the alcohol behind the bar. And as he did he thought about how pretty some of the bottles and colors were. He looked up at the ceiling and thought about how sturdy the place must have been built. He looked at the kitchen and thought it looked like it was being rebuilt or had just been rebuilt. Because what he could see looked newer than the rest of the Inn.

When pretty Madeline finally spoke out loud again Grimlock looked at her. He blinked twice and hoped that she would figure out that he was saying thank you. He was thanking her because he had figured out what she had written on his hand with her finger. Then she went off to fix his food. She had told him that she was going to go do that.

"Thank you pretty Madeline."

While she was gone he continued to look around. He wondered if anyone else was going to come into the bar while he was here. It was quiet in the bar while pretty Madeline was in the kitchen cooking. He caught a whiff of what was being cooked and he closed his eyes while he inhaled deeply. Dragon meat had a strong scent.

"Mmmmmmmm."

He sat there waiting a bit longer. Then pretty Madeline brought his food out to him. The dragon steak was huge. If she had used a regular charger plate it would have over filled the plate. The plate she brought him looked more like a serving platter. And there were four baked potatoes on the plate with the steak. He hoped that it wasn't too heavy for her to carry.

She set the plate down and told him she would be in the kitchen if he needed her. He smiled as he looked at the food.

"Thank you pretty Madeline."

She headed off into the kitchen and Grimlock picked up his knife and fork. He began to cut up his meat into chunks. Then he started to cut up his potatoes. He spent some more time on his potatoes, because he turned them into a big pile of mashed potatoes. Then he started to mix his potatoes and his meat together. Then he realized he did need something.

"Pretty Madeline. Can you bring Grimlock some butter and salt and sour creme and aye one sauce and that's all? Grimlock forgot those. Please?"

Grimlock hoped he had spoke loud enough for pretty Madeline to hear him in the kitchen over what she was doing.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline had heard Grimlocks request and smiled. She went into the kitchen and retrieved the items requested, and brought them out for Grimlock. "Here ya go Grimlock." Madeline left Grimlock to eat and went back to the kitchen.

[Grimlock]

((I waited all of Spring Break and a few days extra just to see if anyone else joined. No one came so I figured he would just go to bed for the night.))

Grimlock thanked pretty Madeline for the things to go with his food. He fixed his potatoes and pured the sauce on his meat. Then he began to eat. He took his time to eat his food. No one else came into the bar while he was eating. He was used to eating alone, but he was still a little sad about the lack of company.

When he was done with his food he stacked his dishes together and used his napkin to wipe the bar where he had sat. He got out his coin pouch out and pulled out five gold. He hoped it was enough to pay for the food and still leave pretty Madeline a good tip.

He got up from his barstool and looked down to realize he had dropped his club somewhere. His best guess was that it was outside of his room in the hall. He hoped it was still there. He would find out when he got back to his room.

"Pretty Madeline, Grimlock done now. He go to his room."

He didn't wait for her to come out from the kitchen. He figured she was busy. He turned and headed out of the bar. If the five gold wasn't enough he figured pretty Madeline would tell him later. He would make a mental note to ask her about it the next time he saw her.

He got back to his room and there was his club laying on the floor by his door. He picked it up and then pulled out his key. He remembered the hitting of his knuckles and used his finger tips to unlock and open the door. He went inside and closed and locked his door.

He set his club against the wall and walked over to the pile of straw. He pushed it into a pig pile and spread one of the blankets out on it. Then he grabbed the teddy bear and the other blanket. He curled up on the straw and spread the other blanket on top of him and the teddy bear. He hugged the teddy bear to his body and went to sleep.

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