"Trogen! You put your seatbelt on right now, mister!" Amalei glared at her 7-year old son in the rear-view mirror. He hesitated a moment in defiance - he definitely got that from his father, the giant, lovable brute - and then obeyed, the familiar click settling her nerves - and her glare. "That's better!"

He looked at her through the mirror, clearly pleased with himself as his upper lip curled around his still-developing canines - he got that irresistible smile from his father as well. In a few years I'm going to have to beat off the girls with a stick. He's gonna be trouble, that one. "Mama, do I have to go?" His grin faded into a tinge of anxiety.

Amalei's heart melted as she shifted the car in reverse. "Don't worry sweetie! You're going to have tons of fun. I bet by the time I pick you up you're not going to want to leave! They do so many fun things there. They have a giant lake with all sorts of fun things, and a relay course through the trees!" Her voice got low, in a playful sort of serious tone. "I even heard they have go-karts!"

Trogen's eyes grew three sizes. "Really!?"

She nodded, turning left onto the freeway. "I think so."

"What else do they have, Mama? Is the food good?"

"Oh, the food is really good, they cook pheasant, and you can even go fishing and cook your own fish that you caught yourself!"

It worked like a charm. He laughed - a deep, almost majestic thing, his little dimples magnified through his mirth - those he got from her. "No way!" Say what you want about the other half-races, but half-orcs are the best combination, at least to Amalei and her little Trogen.

"Way." She said. Never grow up, you little rascal. She sighed, of course he would grow up, but it didn't mean she couldn't wish otherwise. Before she knew it he would be bringing home some girl, and then in a blink of an eye he'd have little Trogens running around everywhere. It didn't mean she couldn't cherish these moments, though.

"Why are you smiling, Mama?"

"You." She said, simply.

He grinned, swinging his legs under the seat as he peered out the window. "Oh." Cheeky little rascal.

A few hours later they arrived at camp, and all sorts of children were there, saying goodbye to their parents. The camp counselors were ushering in the kids and welcoming them. Among them she saw a few humans, an orc (good!), and what looked like a half-troll, half-elf! He certainly made the camp feel safe, at least. He had a huge, shit-faced grin on his face as he directed the kids where to sit too, seemed he loved his job. Good. The camp had received great reviews online, and mentioned that the counselors did a superb job of making the kids feel welcome.

She became acutely aware of the pair of arms snugly wrapped around her leg as her son scanned his surroundings in safety from behind her. She peered down into his big, lavender eyes and chuckled. "Alright Trogen, here we are! Are you excited?"

His nervous grip around her leg tightened a little. "Um. I guess."

One of the moms - an elf - approached them, her stride regal and calculated. Typical of elvish culture. Her own half-elf son towed behind her. When he saw Trogen his eyes went wide. "Mama, what is that!?" She whirled around immediately and smacked her son on his bum.

"Aywern! Don't be rude." The little half-elf looked away, embarrassed, as his mother turned to Amalei. "I'm so sorry about that! We raised him much better than that." She glared at her son at this for a moment before turning back to Amalei. "Is his father an orc? He's just the sweetest thing!"

Somehow Trogen found his courage, probably at the mention of his father. He walked out from behind his mom and stuck out his hand to greet the other mother. "Yup! My dad is the strongest orc there ever was! And Mama is even stronger than him!" His voice got deadly serious as he dropped into a whisper. "He says she's the scariest woman in the whole world! Usually she's nice, though. But sometimes I get in trouble and that's when she can be really scary! I'm Trogen!"

The elvish woman laughed - rich, pure, almost musical - and gripped Trogen's hand firmly. "Well, Trogen, I'm pleased to meet you! My name is Haewynn, this is Aywern, my son." She nodded to Amalei. "His father couldn't make it, too much work with the ministry." She extended her hand to Amalei.

She grasped it firmly and they shook. "Amalei, pleased to meet you as well."

Haewynn raised an eyebrow. "An Elvish name? Interesting."

She blushed. "My father was a major force in favor of the Treaty of the Seven Races. He was fascinated with Elvish culture."

Haewynn waved her hand dismissively. "No, no, I get it. Just a little surprised, it's not a common thing for a human to take on Elvish culture due to our...history." She left it at that. A lot of bad blood still between the two races, sadly.

"Oh, trust me. I get it. In fact I get it all. The. Time! Even in college nobody let me forget!" They laughed together as the situation diffused itself. She really liked Haewynn immediately. Hopefully they would see each other again when they picked up their boys.

Trogen had, in the meantime, creeped around Aywern's mother and was staring at him in a fascinated way. "You look like fun! I'm Trogen!" He extended his hand in greeting.

Aywern stepped out from his mom, and took his hand. "Hi Trogen! I'm Aywern!"

Both of their grins surpassed the half-troll counselor, instant best friends. "Hey Aywern, I hear they have GO-KARTS here!"

"NO way!"

"Way! Let's go find out!"