Work Text:
The waiter had just arrived with their bowls of stew and plates of food, steaming deliciously with strong, swirling aromas, when a voice unknown to Garth called out;
“Trix?”
He swivelled around to where he believed the intruder to be, and came face to green-face with an orc looming above him. He almost yelped, but this guy didn’t look like most orcs. He looked almost… happy, and regretful to have scared the group.
“Ah! Sorry, I didn’t mean to give you a fright.” The orc said, laughing nervously.
“Glück? Is that you?” Trix said, standing up from his chair. Garth relaxed a bit, but his muscles were still tense.
The orc grinned. “Yeah!”
“Who is this? You know them, Trix?” Beanie asked with one hand on his dagger, ready to pounce.
Trix didn’t reply, too busy with leaping into Glück’s arms and hugging him tightly.
“It’s so good to see you, Glück!” Trix squealed as Glück hugged him back just as tight. “I see your plans really did work out!”
Glück’s smile split across his face as he set Trix back down. “Yeah, they did. I got out of that place, I’ve been accepting quests here and there… It’s nice.”
Garth shifted awkwardly about the stranger, unsure whether he should be on alert or not, but Trix seemed at ease.
“Here, come sit with us!” Trix turned to the rest of the party, “Are you guys okay with that?”
Beanie nodded, huffing. “I will trust this stranger for you.”
He turned to Garth, eyebrow raised.
“Uh, yeah, sure. That’s okay, right, Dolce?” He said, moving his attention to the… he still didn’t know what species she was.
She nodded modestly. She would probably do that if she wasn’t okay with it as well, but he didn’t see any worry on her face so he guessed that it was fine.
Glück smiled, taking a seat. “Thank you, guys! I’ve been a little lonely recently. Travelling around means I don’t keep many friends.”
Garth’s heart panged for a second. This guy, Glück, reminded him of himself when he was younger. And maybe a bit of Trix. He could see why they were friends.
“So, what do you guys do?” Glück asked, knees knocking against the table. He was almost as tall as Garth, actually.
Trix opened his mouth to answer, but Beanie beat him to it.
He leaped up onto the table, puffing out his chest. “We are a ferocious adventuring party! We go on quests to save damsels in distress, and then we bathe in the riches we are rewarded!”
Trix snickered. “Yeah, basically what he said. But we don’t just do it for the riches, Bean.”
He sat back down (in his booster seat) with a huff. “Well I do it for the riches.”
“And what else do we do it for, Beanie?” Dolce prompted, voice softly encouraging.
“We do it to help people…” Beanie grumbled.
Dolce smiled, patting his head. “Good.”
“I’m doing it for the same reason!” Glück said, “Well, the helping people part. The riches are nice, but not necessary.”
Garth cleared his throat. “Why did you start doing it, Glück?”
Glück’s eyes widened in surprise, even though Garth thought it was a pretty easy question. “Oh! Well… I was raised by some not very nice people. And they did bad things, but then I realised that the people we were doing bad things to don’t deserve it. So I want to help them instead.”
His smile dimmed a bit. “I almost did something bad to Trix. He was the one who made me realise that destruction wasn’t the only thing I could do, and that I could create too. Create solace for people.”
Garth relaxed fully, and he loosened the grip on his pommel. “That’s good of you.”
Glück nodded. “Thank you… I try my best to learn everything I can so that I can treat people the best I can.”
Beanie crossed his arms. “That is quite admirable of you. I suppose you are worthy of my friendship.”
He spat in his hand and extended it to Glück, who accepted it without a thought. He truly was kind, Garth thought. When Beanie did that to him, he didn’t accept it until he had tugged his gloves on. Trix still shuddered about the saliva in his fur sometimes.
A shit-eating grin spread across Beanie’s face at Glück’s acceptance, and he immediately launched himself across the table to settle on Glück’s shoulders.
“You are my new best friend!” He whooped.
Glück winced at the noise but remained grateful. “I don’t even know your name!”
Trix perked up. “Oh right! I forgot! The one on your shoulders is Bean, we call him Beanie, the big fella to my left is Garth, and she’s Dolce!”
Glück greeted everyone in turn. “Trix already said it, but my name is Glück. "Glück Kriegslied.”
“Glurk? That’s a weird name, best friend.” Beanie laughed.
“No, not Glurk, Glück.” Glück corrected, laughing softly.
“Alright, Glürk.” Beanie smirked.
Glück sighed. “Close enough.”
“So, where have you been doing quests, Glück?” Trix asked, mouth full of bread and stew.
“Oh, just around. Anywhere, I guess.”
Trix glanced around at the rest of the party, clearly considering something.
“How about you join our party!” He suggested, purring.
Glück blinked. “Really? You’d have me?”
“Of course!” Trix said, flicking out his hands and almost hitting Garth in the face. “We’d be happy to have you!”
“Is everyone else okay with that?” Glück glanced worriedly around the table.
Garth nodded. “It’s alright with me.”
Beanie tugged at Glück’s hair. “Of course, best friend!”
Dolce nodded politely, and Garth saw a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
“Thank you so much, friends! I may have downplayed how lonely I was before… in truth, I haven’t made a single friend since Trix. Most people don’t trust me because of, you know, the orc part.” Glück said, voice dripping in sincerity.
Trix reached over and patted him on the back, careful not to touch Beanie. “It’s their loss, Glück. And our gain!”
Dolce nodded. “You are nicer than they are.”
Tears pricked at the corner of Glück’s eyes. “Thank you. Really.”
Beanie wrapped his arms around Glück’s neck in what seemed to be a hug but ended up being more of a chokehold.
“Thanks, buddy.” Glück wheezed, patting Beanie’s scaled arms.