Will and the whole family accompany Gash and Jr to cheer them on for the ceremony. They make their way through a forest which opens to a clearing where several orcs including Korgak and Bulvim, Bumva's parents, are waiting for them.

A group of light-skinned green orcs from the tribe of Terrible accompanied them to enjoy the special ritual. Yarlg the Terrible waves his broadsword happily from seeing the group.

Korgak, the war chief, wears his dreadlocks with special talismans for the hunting ritual that is to come. He embraces Bumva, Will, and the rest of the family before coming to Gash and Jr.

He stares at Jr's eyes to sense any hesitation about today. Jr's eyebrows lower while his lips smile since his family is there to support them. Gash gives him the same look.

The old orc wants to smile but holds it back to maintain the tone of today. He bangs the end of his staff against a tree trunk and the tribes follow. Collectively, it sounds like one heart beating without any of them being out of rhythm. Gash and Jr's hearts beat along with it. The sound then stops. 

"Today will be a trial to determine if you're worthy of being a warrior. Your blood doesn't determine that! Your courage and willing to take risks will! Today's prey is the Engla Boar of Brutal! Its snorts can rival the roar of a dragon. Its tusks are as sharp as blades. Together, you must bring that beast down and haul it back to us. You must do it before the sun sets on this day. Gashamog the Brutal Bennett! William the Brutal Bennett Jr! Do you accept?!"

The half orcs roar in acceptance of the task ahead of them. 

"Then draw your weapons," their grandfather commands. Gash takes out his wooden club with a spike at the end while Jr pulls out a claymore with one hand.

The old orc leads the duo deeper into the forest where light can't poke through. Bumva motions to the others to stay in place.

Gulak strums his strings to play a song of rousing bravery. He projects his voice so that his brothers would hear his support. Gash and Jr smile as they will use that as fuel to become official warriors. Their siblings look on and hone their ears to pick up any particular sounds.

Gulak coughs after playing for some time, but he keeps playing. His grandma pats him on the back to alleviate his fears. Will holds Bumva's right hand and strokes it. With what happened to Urgan, she's worried for her boys.

"They will be okay, Bumva. They are strong," Mel gently holds her left hand.

They continue to wait. Jaime, however, is preoccupied. A light-skinned female orc catches his attention. Her long-braided hair goes past the shoulders with a dagger affixed to a hammer on her back. He approaches her.

"Hi, I like the way you adorned your hammer. You must be quite a ferocious warrior,", he flirts.

The orc stares him down with her blue eyes from the insinuation.

"You noticed my eyes. They're beautiful, but they pale in second to yours," he raises an eyebrow.

Before she can answer, her father steps in. "Do you dare disrupt the tone of today's ritual?!" He growls.

"Keep it calm," Yarlg intervenes to diffuse the situation.

Jaime quickly backs up....into his mother who stands still.

"Now is not the time to flirt when your brothers are out there," Mel sighs as she pulls him by the arm.

"I'm not worried about them. That boar will wish-"

Angry squealing pierces the sky. Birds scatter away.

Jaime's confidence drops like a rock as he can only imagine what his brothers are facing. Tuzah and Luis hold onto Esmerelda and Emilia's hands. Gulak's hand strums faster and faster as his siblings face the beast.

Bumva takes a step forward but, stops herself. She trusts her sons will not meet the same fate as Urgan. Hopefully.

---

Gash and Jr encounter the boar that rivals the height of the treetops. Its squeals make their bodies shake, but their hearts are sharper than steel. The boar charges with its mouth open to devour the half-orcs. Jr and Gash jump out of the way.

The boar turns and delivers a kick with its hind legs that are blocked by Jr's claymore. The force of it pushes him through a tree! As he regains himself, Gash climbs a tree for an aerial advantage. An exhale escapes his mouth as he sees the numerous slash marks on the pig's hide. None of them were deep enough to lay a fatal wound.

He leaps off a branch with his club raised to swing down on its right eye. The giant pig turns his tusks and their weapons clash. The other tusk goes to slice through him, but he ducks down, prostrate to the floor. He scrambles away to avoid its cavernous mouth. The boar furiously squeals as it chases him down, knocking trees down along the way. The land around them shakes.

Gash climbs a tree that the boar pushes down. He jumps off and lands his spike into the pig's hide. The pig bucks him off as he tries to drag it across. He's now without a weapon to use as the club is stuck into the pig. The pig narrows its beady black eyes at him. Gash sprints back and dives into a ditch while the boar jumps over him.

He collects some rocks there to aid in his fight. The pig sniffs him out and goes to eat him whole or in pieces. Gash rolls out and throws a rock that strikes the left eye.

The boar of Engla roars as it now only has one eye and its other senses to rely on. He opens his mouth and exhales the foul stench of death that makes the half orc almost vomit in response.

His body almost freezes, but his mind and heart remind him of what he has to live for: the proud smiles of his parents and siblings when he returns. His feet instinctively run from the lessons his mother had taught him.

The boar chases him down but feels a pull by the tail that halts him. Pulsating veins strike across Jr's arms and legs as he crouches down and heaves....the boar is sent flying across several trees! Jr heavily breathes from the exertion as he throws off his dirtied jacket.

Gash takes advantage to grab his club out and pierces the beady right eye. The boar thrashes out from the pain and Gash is cut across the chest, but fortunately not too deep. He clutches his chest and sees blood on his hand. The crimson iron doesn't intimidate him. His mixed blood boils with pride from the eventual battle wound.

Jr grabs the hilt of his claymore. Adrenaline spikes through both of them as they avoid the tusks. Jr and Gash swing their weapons and cleave into the legs and hide of the beast. The boar growls as he falls to the ground with a thud that shakes the trees. His last groan rewarding them for the battle they brought him. The half orcs couldn't settle down as they roar into the sky with joy.

"We did it!" Jr growls while embracing his brother. Gash groans from the tight squeeze as Jr almost forgot about what the creature did to him. Jr applies some mint and healing herbs to heal his wound.

"Damn! That hurts more than that animal!" He winces.

"Lucky it wasn't deep," the strongest brother applies medical dressing. He offers his hand and Gash takes it. Korgak jumps down from a tree and claps for them out of pride. They get out some rope for the next part.....

Bumva and the others hear their proudful roars and their fears are relieved. They hear something dragging that accompanies heavy grunts. Their jaws dropped as Gash, Jr, and Korgak are dragging the giant boar to the others. The two are roughed up, but their mother cries happily.

"They made it, my husband."

"Never doubted them. They got the best from both of us," before jumping up to kiss her cheek.

"My brothers are amazing!" Tuzah cheers.

"The Bennett brothers are unstoppable!" Yalrg roars with pride.

Gulak sets his mandolin down to embrace his brothers. He can't wrap his arms around both Jr and Gash, but he doesn't care. Esmerelda and the rest of their family gently embrace them.

"Your music helped us out there," Jr proudly says for those to hear. Gash nods his head in agreement.

"Brother, are you okay?" Tuzah asks Gash about the visible patchwork.

"It's just a memento of today. I'm keeping it," he smiles through the pain. He sinks down with help from his family.

"I'm proud of you both. You earned some rest," their father smiles.

"Gashamog and Will Jr have completed the ritual. They are now recognized by the tribes of Brutal and Terrible as sworn warriors! Let us eat in honor of them!" Their grandmother announces.

They cheer and celebrate that day with a big pork roast dinner. Will plays in harmony with his son leading each song. Mel and Bumva drink several wooden pitchers along with the tribes to celebrate. Gash and Jr are given some ale to celebrate their new status. The female orc from before sits close to Jr. Gash gets the clue and gives them space.

"Y-You were impressive out there," she shyly congratulates him.

"Thanks. What's your name?" His human emerald eyes look upon her. Her heart skips several beats from his gentle, growling undertone.

"O-Ohgamesh the Terrible," she answers.

"I found you more lovely than terrible," he directly tells her.

The light-skinned orc almost falls off of the log from his words. Like she was hit by unseen flying daggers. Her fingers find their way to interlock with his.

He gently turns her head towards his. "Would you like to date me?"

She cups his face with her hands and leans in. "M-More than that," she whispers with a glimmer in her blue eyes.

He kisses her tenderly and she clutches onto him to keep herself steady. They break the kiss as she rests her head on his shoulder.

"I like your weapon," Jr tells Ohgamesh.

"Thanks. I never met someone who can wield a claymore with one hand."

"Hello!"

Tuzah and Luis smile at the two.

Jr picks his siblings up. "This is my sister Tuzah and my brother Luis."

"Nice to meet you."

"Will you be married one day to my big brother?" Luis asks.

"That's the plan," she can't deny her feelings.

"After we date properly of course," Jr clarifies.

"Looks like your son found a good woman," Yarlg mentions to William.

"Our family will grow bigger," he whispers to Bumva.

She fights herself from crying from what that would mean. He wouldn't be able to experience his grandchildren to be as old as Gash and the others. She feels her husband's head resting against her arm.

"I'm sorry. It's a happy occasion," he whispers. He turns her head to "stare" at her. She takes this challenge and stares back. She can't help but laugh as she blinked before him.

"You won," she continues to laugh.

"But I can't beat you in arm wrestling."

The thud of a hand hitting wood gets their attention. Melody has her palm open for the next competitor.

Bumva leads her husband over to "witness" his wife defeating almost every orc who stepped up to arm wrestle. She hasn't even broken a sweat which makes them murmur.

" How is this possible?"

"Isn't she just a human?"

"She's not cheating or anything like that."

Korgak and her interlock hands and he couldn't get her to budge no matter how much power he used. He finally sees her hand lowering down to the right. Like she didn't want to insult him in front of the others.

"Don't you dare hold back!" He shouts, not wanting to win because she let him.

She powers through to slam his hand into the trunk. He smiles despite the loss and gets up. Yarlg tries his luck but meets the same fate. Bumva steps in and they lock hands.

"1, 2, 3!"

They can't make each other budge. Magenta meets emerald eyes with a mix of competition and love for their families. Both sides of their families cheer them on as neither gives up. Their biceps flex from the strain as sweat finally forms on Mel's face.

"I finally met my match," Bumva grunts with a smile.

"You're my perfect opponent!" Mel compliments.

Bumva's hand trembles as the back of her hand almost touched the right side. She roars and powers it back to the middle to the crowd's amazement.

"No matter who wins, I love you both!" Their husband shouts above the cheering. His words make them blush and smile for his love. They yell out with all that's in them......

And Mel's hand was over Bumva's as she won, but not without a struggle.

"Melina is the winner!"

Will and their children congratulate both of them. He locks lips with Mel and then massages Bumva's right wrist from the pain. "I'm proud of you, my orc goddess."

She cups his cheeks and kisses him. They break the kiss and enjoy the rest of the night. Gash and Jr are given the jawbones of the boar as clubs for their reward before they head home with Will's spell. They rest for the day before packing for their trip.

"Can I bring Ghulnea with us?" Gulak shyly asks Melody.

"Sure."

"Because I would under-"

He catches on that she didn't say no. He hugs his second mother happily before letting go.

"Gracias!" He exclaims before running off to her house.

Mel doesn't think it would be bad to tell someone else her secret as well. Her family should know what she was like back then.