Orctober #5 - 'Husky' - female orc x female reader (sfw) (Patreon)

I had to. 

I'm sure I could have done some cutesy sick-fic about a reader with a husky voice or something, but... I love huskies. So... here's a fluffy story about a husky in desperate need of help, and an unbelievably cute orcish veterinary nurse...

I know it says 'female reader' but there's literally only two mentions of pronouns, so it pretty much works for anyone if you can ignore that one bit of dialogue. 

Warnings for a doggo in a really terrible state at the start. And then fluff. Lots and lots of fluff. 3143 words or so of it. :) Enjoy!

(also sorry for no Orctober day 4 yesterday - I just didn't have time to do one!)

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The whimpering caught your attention before you spotted the creature in the shadows of the flyover. You never walked home this way, but it was getting late and pissing with rain, and it would cut a huge corner off your route back. 

Frowning, you paused, drawing your coat up further around your neck to keep the water from dribbling down your spine, and squinted into the dark patch at the foot of the vertical concrete column that supported the bridge. There, curled up on itself, soggy and nothing but skin and bone, was a dog.

“Hey buddy,” you murmured, not approaching too close, but looking straight at it. It had seen you and raised its head. Its body was tense and you could see the way it shook from where you stood across the road. “What are you doing out here?” you asked, honestly horrified at the appalling state of the animal. “Listen, you stay put and I’ll be right back.”

Not far from there was a corner shop that stayed open til late, and you rushed through the rain to buy a little packet of cooked chicken. The poor dog heaved itself to its feet, it’s stringy little tail between its legs, when you approached and it began to slink off into the deeper shadows in the depths of the underpass. 

“No, no, no, it’s ok,” you crooned, crouching down. God, it was little more than a wraith and it was all you could do not to cry as you watched it. The dog paused and snuffed at the air as you opened the packet of chicken. Its ears were almost perfect triangles, pricked forwards with obvious interest at the smell of the food. Tentatively, you tossed a piece in its direction, but it flinched and shot backwards. 

It took hours.

 You were half-frozen yourself by the time the dog was eating from the pavement near your feet. It had tangles in its remaining, matted fur, probably fleas too, and it smelt like a week-old rubbish bin left in the summer sun. You pulled out your phone and searched for a nearby veterinary surgery. The nearest one was miraculously close, and you phoned them to give them a heads up that you were bringing him in after hours. With no collar, it didn’t look likely that you could lead the dog away, but when you stood and patted your leg, murmuring encouragements at him, you were surprised to find that he was tentatively willing to follow you. 

“That’s it,” you smiled. “You’re such a good boy. Come on,” you said, choked with tears all over again at the sight of him. 

It was impossible to say what kind of dog he was, and the only real fur that remained on his coat was a tangled mess of dark fur down his knobbly spine. He was so thin it was awful to watch him walking. As if every step caused him pain, he went very gingerly, a constant high-pitched whine emanating from him, and your progress was glacial. While you walked, you kept talking to him and offering him little pieces of chicken. 

The person who answered the phone had a gruff, bleary voice, but she seemed as concerned as you about the dog, and said they’d be ready. 

Eventually, you and the heroic little pup made it there, and he was shaking and too exhausted to run. The lights were on but the doors were locked, so you rang the bell and a moment or two later you saw a tall, muscular, handsome guy perhaps in his early forties with salt-and-pepper hair and a stethoscope round his neck and vinyl gloves already on his hands.

Opening the door and peering at the dog, he bit his lower lip, expression buckling at the sight of the poor animal. “Oh goodness,” he said, crouching down and encouraging the dog to approach by stretching out his hand. “Look at you…” 

The dog was having none of it, but he was too tired to do anything but stand there, trembling all over. 

“He’s been treated so badly,” the vet croaked, his eyes glistening with emotion. “We’ll see you right, I promise.” And with that, he let out a gentle lupine whine, his eyes flaring yellow. He was a werewolf then. 

The dog’s ears pricked up a fraction but he still didn’t approach. You held out the last piece of chicken and he staggered a little closer. The vet reached up and took the food gently from your fingers and held it out once the dog was close enough. He twitched apprehensively and then took it straight from the vet’s hand. “There,” he breathed. “Good boy. Come on…”

Scooping the frail dog up in his arms, heedless of the smell and state of him, he carried him inside and you followed, closing the door behind you. 

A moment later, the door to one of the consulting rooms opened and the most beautiful orc you’d ever seen strode out. Her dark hair was slashed through with fuchsia pink and tied up into a scruffy bun, and the dark blue of her loose uniform made a beautiful counterpoint to the green of her muscled arms. Her bare tusks gleamed and she had simple silver studs in her pointed ears. She wasn’t wearing much makeup, but you could tell she didn’t need to. 

“Oh darling,” she gasped when she saw the terrified and starving dog in the werewolf’s arms. 

“He’s likely dehydrated,” the vet said to her. “Lets run the usual checks on him. I assume he’s not yours,” he said casually over his shoulder as you followed them into the room and the nurse closed the door behind you. 

“God no,” you said. “I just saw him on my way home. I couldn’t leave him.”

As the vet set the dog down on the table and ran his fingers under the dogs tummy and down to his skinny hips, the orcish nurse was already prepping injections and typing information into the computer. The poor pup could no longer support himself and he sank down onto the dark tabletop, exhausted. 

“Lucky you carried around a pack of chicken with you,” the werewolf grinned and you shook your head. “I’m Derek by the way.”

“I had to go and buy some,” you laughed. “I’m just relieved he followed me here.”

“We’ll have to keep him in overnight,” he said. “Let’s find out if he’s micro-chipped. It’s a criminal offence to treat an animal like this…” he growled softly. The dog looked up at him and whimpered. “I know. You’re safe now though.”

“What will happen to him?” you asked. “And can you tell what breed he is?”

Derek gently peeled the dog’s lips back to inspect his mouth and was impressed with the state of his teeth. “He’s young, so there’s a good chance he could be re-homed. He’s a husky though, and they need a lot of exercise and space, which is off-putting to a lot of people.”

“A husky?” you blurted, staring at the bag of bones and matted fur. “No way…”

The vet hummed. “Yeah, look at those blue eyes. Doesn’t look much like anything right now, but with some meat on his bones, he’ll be a gorgeous looking dog. He’s…” he stroked his hand down the dog’s back and swallowed thickly, “He’s terrified though.”

“Give him time,” the orc smiled quietly from behind him. “We’ll do right by him.”

“Look, can I come and see him tomorrow?” you asked. “I know he’s not my dog, but… I wanna come and see him.”

“Sure you can,” the vet said without taking his attention from the dog. “I’m sure he’ll be grateful for a friendly face.”

Once he was done with his checks and administering the medications, he turned to the nurse and said, “Renasa will you print off that form and get -” he looked at you and you supplied your name “- to sign it. It’s just formality really,” he said. “I don’t charge people for bringing in strays for me to take care of, don’t worry. It’s more a ‘chain of evidence’ kind of thing.”

“I see,” you said. 

Renasa stood up from where she’d been typing and smiled at you as she rounded the examination table. Your heart stopped beating for a moment and you stood there like a dumb ox before you realised you needed to move so that she could leave the room. Awkwardly sidestepping, you trod on the corner of the weighing scales, which tipped up a little, made a loud clank, and startled both you and the dog on the table. 

“Shit,” you hissed. “I’m sorry. I’m such a klutz.”

“Ren has that effect on a lot of people,” Derek deadpanned as he scooped the dog up and Ren held the door open for him. “I’ll go and bathe this little one and get rid of all the nasties in his coat if you can finish up, Ren?” he asked and she nodded. 

“C’mon,” she grinned at you and you followed, cheeks still burning. 

“I’m sorry,” you murmured as the two of you made your way to the printer behind the main reception desk, unattended at this time of night. 

She just laughed and waved a hand. “It’s cute,” she said. 

“Not helping,” you muttered darkly as she turned away. 

She must have heard you because her already hoarse laugh deepened a little, but mercifully she didn’t torture you any further.

With everything signed, you yawned and headed home, promising to return the next morning on your way into work. That night you kept replaying Ren’s laugh over and over again in your mind; the way her muscled arms had looked in the short sleeves of her uniform, the jut of her thick, rounded tusks, the colours in her hair… But then the memory of the poor dog’s whimpers came back to you and something cracked inside you. 

How could anyone treat an animal like that? It would be a struggle, but perhaps you might be able to keep the dog. Your work at with park service meant that you were outside a lot, and one or two of the others had dogs that they brought to work… With those thoughts, you drifted off into an uneasy sleep, waking five hours later when your alarm blared. 

“You look like you could use a coffee,” Derek laughed when you walked back into the surgery just as he was stepping outside to welcome a client into the consulting room with her cat basket that was hissing and spitting like it contained a small alligator. 

“You look like you could use a suit of armour,” you chuckled, nodding at the carry case. 

He grinned toothily at you and nodded at the receptionist, a small, delicate naga with pastel pink hair and dark skin. “Kia, would you please show her through to the husky at the back? She’s come to check on him.”

“Oh, sure!” the naga smiled. “This way.”

Leading you through the vet’s surgery, their body swayed rhythmically as they moved in a way that was almost hypnotic, and you had to avert your eyes before you tripped over your own feet again. Placing their small, elegant hands on the door at the end of the corridor, Kia peered through and made a little squealing noise in the back of their throat. “Oh look!” they whispered, beckoning you over with the air of a schoolgirl catching someone kissing behind the bike sheds. 

Stepping up beside them, you did as instructed, and a similar noise escaped you when you saw what lay beyond. 

The skeletally thin husky had clearly been put in a ground-level cage in the kennels at the back of the surgery, but now the cage door was open and Ren was sitting cross-legged on the floor with a blanket in her lap, with the dog curled up in the space created by her legs. He seemed to be asleep as she stroked his almost non-existent fur, but every now and again his eyes flickered open. There was a bowl of cooked chicken beside him, and she was slowly feeding him pieces, allowing him a long time between bites. 

“I don’t want to disturb them,” you said softly, taking half a step backwards. 

“I’m sure it’s fine,” the naga said. “Go on,” and they pushed open the door. 

At the movement, the ragged husky looked up, but Ren’s large hand steadied him as he stared at you with those incredible blue eyes. He wagged softly when he saw you and you smiled in relief. 

“Ok to come in?” you asked and Ren nodded. You approached and knelt down, holding out your hand for the dog to sniff. “Look at you,” you said. In the stark light of morning, he somehow looked even weaker, but there was a new light in those ice blue eyes, and he seemed more alert, if incredibly weak. “Hey buddy,” you giggled as he licked your knuckles with the very tip of his tongue. 

“He’s gonna pull through,” Ren said quietly and he turned to look up at her at the sound of her voice. “Aren’t you? You’re a real hero…”

“Hero,” you said. “You should call him that.”

The way she looked up at you from her seat on the floor made your stomach flip over and struck you stupid again. 

Hero was a long time recovering, but when he was well enough to leave the vet’s, you’d already agreed with Derek that you were going to adopt him. 

The husky came everywhere with you, and while he was very shy and slow to trust, he began to gain a bit of personality after a couple of months of food and care. After three months, he no longer needed regular vet checkups, which you knew was a good thing, but it put an end to your fortnightly flirting with Ren. Well, it put an end to her flirting with you and you practically combusting into flustered silence every time…

His coat started to grow back properly after six months, and around that time you were able to take him to the local park at the weekends without him freaking out about the other dogs and people. 

The first time you let him off the lead, however, he bolted. 

“Fuck!” you cursed as his skinny form shot off towards a large flowerbed which had a big ash tree in the middle. “Hero! Come back!”

He was apparently having none of it, but he did slow down as he skedaddled round the corner and out of sight around some laurel bushes. You hared after him, and when you caught up with him, you ground to a halt. He had his paws up on the thighs of a tall orcish woman, and he was yipping and wagging with absolute, unbridled glee. 

It was Renasa, and she looked incredible. Wearing jogging shorts and a tank top, with a smartphone strapped around her upper bicep like it was a piece of armour or something, her hair tied back in a luscious ponytail - still streaked with vibrant pink - she looked like an Amazon on her day off or something, and your throat went dry. Even worse, when she turned to face you and her whole face lit up at the sight of you, you completely forgot how to word. So you just waved. 

You fucking waved at her like a five year old. 

“Hey,” she chuckled before turning her attention back to Hero. “Get down, you,” she laughed, pointing at the ground.

Still wiggling and unable to contain himself at the joy of seeing her again, he did sit down, and she knelt down to give his chest and cheeks a rub. 

“You’re looking so good, Mister,” she added in a silly voice as she cuddled him. She shot you a glance and said, “Missed seeing you around the surgery.”

“Me or him?” you asked and immediately regretted how dumb it sounded. 

“Both of you,” she said, “But honestly, mostly you. How have you been?”

You shrugged and she stood up. Hero sniffed around her running shoes for a bit and then pottered off to explore the flowerbed, all the while keeping his eyes on you. “Ok?” you said. “Work’s been a bit busier lately since summer’s coming on and the park is starting to fill up with tourists.”

“How’s Hero enjoying being a ranger’s dog?” 

You both turned to watch him snooping around after the scents of squirrels, and smiled. “He stays in the head office most days now that it’s warm. He doesn't have the stamina yet to come out with me, but he’s getting there. In the spring, I reckon he’ll be zooming off up the trails and howling at me to catch up. How’s things with you?”

She looked at you sidelong and said, “Honestly, I’ve been trying to work out if it’s a breech of practice for me to look up your phone number in our records and ask you on a date…” 

Something short-circuited in your brain. “What?”

“But if you don’t swing my way, that’s cool,” she added swiftly. “I’d still like to hang out…”

“No,” you blurted, “I do. Very much. I’m… I’m just… yeah…”

Ren cackled and patted you on the shoulder. “You’re cute, is what you are. You free for a drink round my place this weekend? Bring Hero if you like. I don’t have any pets.”

“Ok,” you stammered. “Yes, sure. I’d love that. Listen, don’t let me hold you up on your run though…” you said, still cursing your stupid-awkward mouth. Now she was going to think you were trying to get rid of her.

Ren only laughed again and said, “I’ll need your number before I go.”

“Oh. Of course. Here,” and the two of you swapped numbers. 

She pursed her lips, and then, with a twinkle in her eyes, she leaned down and kissed you on the cheek. Her tusks pressed into your skin and you were sure you’d carry indents for days, even though it was only a brief peck. “I’ll see you and our little Hero at the weekend then,” she said before jogging off down the path. Your eyes instantly followed her powerful thighs as she pounded away. 

“Fuck,” you whispered, giddy and laughing to yourself.

Hero whined as she left, looking up at you with reproach in his silver-blue eyes. 

“I know,” you said. “I’m as dumb as a box of rocks, but somehow, I didn’t fuck it up. You’ll see her soon, don’t worry.”

He wagged and then decided that the little patch of marigolds right at the edge of the flowerbed didn’t have adequate drainage, and proceeded to begin excavations immediately. 

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Hope you enjoyed this one! Don't forget to check out the Patreon Masterlist, in case you missed anything from before. I'll group all the Orctober stories together in my masterlist too.