[x]

Elf vs. Orc 9Sings-to-Trees' head shot up. He knew Fleabane's barks like the back of his hand. Short, rapid barks, not grating, hysterical ones--somewhere between a greeting and a warning. Fleabane knew the person approaching, but he didn't really like them.

That meant it was either one of the humans from down the road (excepting Matilda, who brought cheeses and always had a tidbit for a hungry coyote) or the rangers.

"Shit!" Sings-to-Trees leapt to his feet and began kicking Celadon's armor under the bed, followed by the extra blankets.

Celadon got unsteadily to her feet. "What is it?"

"Company. Might be rangers."

She could have asked questions, lik

Elf vs. Orc 8Celadon woke up in the elf's arms.

This sounded a lot more romantic than it actually was.

For one thing, learning to sleep in proximity to another person is an acquired skill. You learn what to do with the arm that always seems to get stuck between you and where to put your feet and whether they mind having a leg draped over theirs and who can use whose arm as a pillow without nerve damage or a sore neck. Then there's the whole complex negotiation of blanket treaties and sheets and who gets what and who needs layers and who has to stick their feet out.

Without acquiring these vital habits, you wake up pretty much like Celadon—stiff, sore,

Elf vs. Orc 5Sings-to-Trees's primary thought through the whole violent encounter was Not the throat again!

His neck hurt. He felt like a troll had used his esophagus as a dance floor. This could not be healthy. If he lived through this, he swore he would be nice to his throat for the rest of the year. Hot teas. Scarfs during winter. Anything.

For awhile, he didn't think he was going to live to see sunrise, let alone winter.

Then she'd apologized. The orc had stood there, with a distinctly sheepish expression on her face, and she'd apologized.

None of his patients ever apologized. Most of them couldn't talk, and it didn't seem to occur to the ones who

Elf vs. Orc 6He got a nasty start a few hours later, when he came in to check on her.

He'd tied her hands, her feet, thrown a loop or two around her waist, and roped everything to the bed, the chair, and the fire iron, just for good measure, He'd done everything short of hog-tying. She wasn't going to get loose in a hurry.

He wasn't sure why he was bothering, really, since he had a horrible feeling that if she said "Will you untie me?" he might do it, and if she said "please," he'd definitely do it.

Still, she didn't seem to be a threat conscious, so maybe that was okay.

Then, because his feelings were still churning and there was nothing for emotiona

Elf vs. Orc 3Sings-to-Trees was being strangled.

He'd always expected a patient to kill him some day, but he'd thought he would be a lot older, and it would be an angry bull or a careless moment with a manticore or something along those lines, with an outside chance of being crushed under a nearsighted troll. He really hadn't anticipated anything like this.

The orc had been giggling to herself for a few minutes, and when he tried to talk to her, she only giggled harder. He didn't know if she could speak any of the languages, or if she was so delirious that she wasn't even hearing him. He had no real idea what the normal temperature for an orc was, but h

Elf vs. Orc 4She let him go. She couldn't do much else. He was an elf, sure, but there were rules, and you didn't kill healers and you didn't kill priests.

The rage had to go somewhere. You couldn't go from halfway to gnawing your shield back to normal just like that. Celadon swallowed it, bitterly, the stone shattering, the red sea pouring through the wreckage. She threw her head back and snarled with the pain.

The elf lay sprawled on the ground beside the bed, holding his throat, his eyes closed. He was breathing in tight little gasps. She could have stomped on his head, but of course she wouldn't.

She was furious. Mostly at herself, truth be told. I

Elf vs. Orc 7This was easier said than done.

She gave him some very practical suggestions about how to tie the ropes. A bit of slack between the feet, enough to shuffle, not enough to run. A rope around the neck as a kind of leash in case she attacked him. He could tell she'd done this sort of thing before.

Sings-to-Trees, at that point, would have been happy just untying her completely and pointing her in the direction of the outhouse, but he had a horrible feeling he'd disappoint her if he didn't at least try to hold up his end. So he steeled himself to stay awake a bit longer and got the ropes set up, and hauled her out of the bed.

Then she wound up

Elf vs. Orc 2Celadon Toadstool was delirious.

The funny bit—uproariously funny, it seemed to her—was that she knew she was delirious. The world was billowing around her. It looked as if someone had meticulously painted the inside of a cottage on silk, and then hung it in a gentle breeze. The corners floated inward and collapsed back out again with a sigh.

That someone would go to all that trouble, painting a cottage on silk, was hilarious.

She knew she was wounded. She couldn't quite remember how she'd been wounded. Imagine not remembering a thing like that!

This also struck her as hilarious.

Her name, in Orcish, was Urrsharruk-gah, and she had skin

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Digger Won A Hugo!

by `ursulav, Sep 4, 2012, 12:16:42 PM
Journals / Personal

Thank you to everybody who nominated and voted and generally cheered for Digger in the Best Graphic Story category at this year's Hugos---I am incredibly honored and incredibly grateful.

For the blow-by-blow of what it's like to spend a Worldcon wondering if you're going to win a Hugo, and then The Bit Where I Fought Neil Gaiman For Free Nachos, I point you at my blog: [link]

I have con crud. I go fall down now. I love you all.

97 Comments

Digger Won A Hugo!by `ursulav

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~Zen00 Feb 5, 2013

Congratulations Ursulav! You deserve it.

~Xsandra Dec 30, 2012

Well deserved!

~TaraCochrane Nov 15, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

You completely deserve it! Digger is genius...I couldn't put it down.

~Laerm-und-Linien Nov 12, 2012

Terra's man and Kevin's co-worker here

And now, I have a forum we share to offer you excellent CONGRATULATIONS! Terra and I always joke that we'll be able to say "we knew here when..."

!McBrehonArt Nov 10, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

Nice!! Congrats!

~HankAlhazred Sep 18, 2012

OMG Congratulations! BTW, my kiddo is almost done reading Dragonbreath and he loves it.

~Rotkappe Sep 14, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Well deserved! Congrats!

~akgreene Sep 10, 2012 Student Traditional Artist

Sweet! I saw this, and I'm so glad I won - Digger's definitely been one of my favorite webcomics for a good, long while.

I really look forward to more of your stuff in the future!

~cuervoscuro Sep 10, 2012 Professional Writer

Congratulations!

~Labdanum Sep 10, 2012

Congratulations!
Now make a sequel?

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Digger Won A Hugo!by `ursulav

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