Page 25 of Valka
Valka growled again, this time more threateningly, to be sure that Elkva heard him clearly.
“Your skaevin won’t allow me to pass.”
Valka’s brows bunched down over his eyes in confusion. He walked over to the entrance of his cave and looked over to the left, the direction anyone coming up his footholds and into his cave would have to take. Sure enough, Delia’s skaevin sat between the steps and the entrance to the cave.
“Go!” Valka shouted, placing his hands on the raptor’s haunches and shoving.
Instead of shifting in the direction Valka shoved, the skaevin shifted toward Valka, causing him to have to step back. But at least it was enough to allow someone to pass into and out of the cave. Valka glared at the raptor for daring to make him move, sure the creature had done it out of spite.
Elkva stepped around the skaevin, careful not to anger it, and offered the items he carried to Valka. In one hand he held the leather pouch containing the eggs Valka had gathered for Delia and another pouch that Valka hadn’t seen before. In theother he carried the wooden spit with the carcass of the small animal Valka had killed to feed Delia already threaded on it, and tucked under his arm was Valka’s battle-axe. He waited for Valka to indicate he should enter or just leave the items he carried with him and go.
“Why armor?” Valka asked, looking at Elkva with an almost comical expression.
“To be safe when I fight beside you.”
“Valka fight. No Elkva.”
“I am sorry, Valka. I was still in my home with my female. I did not know, Skala was planning to attack her, or I would have fought Skala. Is your female well?”
Valka stood silently watching Elkva. He had never been one of the strongest warriors, hence Valka’s question about the armor he wore, but he’d always been one of the most trustworthy.
“I am sorry. I should have been more aware.”
“You mate yours,” Valka said, understanding why he hadn’t been aware of what was taking place.
“I am sorry, still.” Elkva lifted his hands just slightly to indicate he still held Valka’s belongings.
“Come,” Valka said, turning to reenter his cave, and resume his position sitting and watching Delia sleep.
“Is your skaevin going to attack?” Elkva asked.
“Delia skaevin,” Valka answered, not looking back.
“Alright,” he said, keeping a wary eye on the large bird since Valka hadn’t exactly given him the assurance of safety around it. “I have your eggs, but some are broken,” Elkva said from just inside Valka’s cave, not following him all the way inside his home.
Valka shrugged. He really didn’t care until Delia woke and wanted to eat some of them.
“And I have your meat. I will put it on the fire.”
“Valka have no fire.”
“I’ll start one, so Delia doesn’t get cold.”
Valka turned and glared at Elkva suspiciously. “Elkva know Delia?” Orc males weren’t usually that concerned with other Orcs’ females.
“My female is her friend.”
Valka watched him for only a moment more before turning back to Delia, obviously accepting Elkva’s answer.
Elkva busied himself quickly making a fire in Valka’s fire pit, then placed the spitted animal over the fire to roast. Once he was sure the animal was the proper distance from the fire and wouldn’t burn, he picked up Valka’s battle-axe and the bag of rocks he’d brought with him. “Your axe,” he said, setting Valka’s axe on the ground near the log he sat on. “And some rocks.”
Valka didn’t turn his head away from Delia but his brows bunched up over his eyes again as he gave Elkva no small amount of side-eye.
When Elkva didn’t explain, Valka reached out and took the bag of rocks from him, dropping it to the ground, and pulling the bag open to better see inside. “Why?” he finally asked.
“Patricia said, cold rocks on injuries help heal.”
“Rock kill, no heal!”