Page 35 of That’s My Orc, Tusk Off

“Ah.” His tusks shifted in what might’ve been amusement. “Digestive humor. Is this common at that age?”

“It is. But my point is, we need to make this fun. Not just educational. We want to spark their curiosity about orc creatures. Animals in general. If they’re having fun, they’ll learn more of the technical aspects you’re excited about. But if we lose them in the first five minutes because we’re talking about behavioral complexity indexes, they won’t learn anything.”

He set his tablet down on the table, lining it up with a pen much like I had with my notebook. “What do you think we should do instead?”

“I think we should start by asking what creature is going to make these kids say, oh my god that’s so cool before we worry about whether it shows them what the creature’s internal organs look like.”

Which one of his slides did.

His head tilted. “You want to make this fun, rather than scientific.”

“I want to do both. But in that order.”

We stared at each other across the plate of cookies.

“Alright,” he said. “Which creature do you suggest we begin with?”

CHAPTER SEVEN

WILLA

Idragged my notebook closer, flipping to a page where I’d been writing down ideas during a lull in phone calls, online applications, and reorganizing the filing cabinets. “What about the driftwhisps? They’re beautiful, they’re interactive, and kids will love watching them move.”

“Driftwhisps react to emotional energy. In a room full of excited children, they might become overstimulated. You know how they are if they haven’t had a chance to get to know someone. They’d be too frightened for a first encounter. Perhaps partway into the school year, after they’ve gotten used to the children.”

“Okay. That’s fair. What about Fred? Kids love things that float. He’s a black and white balloon with cute sound effects.”

“Grumbletoads require careful handling and calm environments. Their sounds might worry the orclings—children.”

“The clatterwings?”

“They steal reflective objects. We’d spend the entire class retrieving whatever they stole from third-graders and teachers and hoping they didn’t drop them on someone’s head.”

I set my pen down. “So what creature do you think we should start with?”

He pulled up a different screen on his tablet, scrolling through a ranked list. “The hearthmaw juvenile in the east pasture would show the best⁠—”

“Traig. You mean the bear-sized thing with the horns?”

“He’s very gentle.”

“He’s the size of a small horse. We shouldn’t start with something that could accidentally sit on a child.”

His mouth twitched, making my heart zip around like a fizzling.

“That would not impress the school district.”

We were trying not to laugh.

I picked up a cookie and took a bite, speaking after I’d swallowed. “What about the Bloombacks? Rue and Fern. They’re the right size. They’re gentle. And they’re⁠—”

“Potentially bonded, yes. I’ve been reviewing the data.”

“Have you changed your opinion?”

His fingers moved across the tablet screen. “The connection between Fern’s decreased appetite and separation from Rue is significant. I may have dismissed your suggestion a little too soon.”

Traig-speak for, you were right. Or that he was at least thinking about what I’d said. I appreciated that.