Page 54 of My Orc Has Big Tusks
Laina’s mouth curved.
I handed her a pan, and she filled it from the flask I handed her and set it in front of Abagail, who lifted her head and drank.
“Let’s put the ground cover on the left side of the cave,” Laina said. “We can move her and her snugglers there, then take the right for ourselves.”
That’s right. We’d be sleeping here tonight. Together. More or less. With Abagail and Sofia watching. Still…together.
My heart leaped in my chest.
By the time the tarp was secured over the entrance and the camp stove was lit, the space had shifted from cold and damp to a space a person might choose to be in.
Sofia made three circuits of the interior, approved everything, and perched on a flat rock above Abagail’s head. Shepeeped once. I’d been in enough caves to recognize a territorial claim when I heard one.
I sat beside Laina.
She passed me the larger twin, and it headbutted my palm.
“This one is going to run the place.” Laina watched Abagail drink.
Once the stove had heated water, I filled both mugs, added tea leaves in sachets, and handed her one.
“Thank you. This is wonderful.” She wrapped both hands around the mug and sniffed the aroma before drinking.
We ate the food I’d brought, sharing bites with Sofia. Abagail gobbled down the moss mash and dried berries.
Sofia descended from her rock and begged for another piece of dried meat, carrying it back up to her rock. She ate it, overlooking her new territory.
“She’s holding court,” Laina said.
“We call this throne-sitting. When a creature claims territory and enforces it with their presence alone. She does this often. When she was small, she would arrange objects on my windowsill in a specific order and peep at me until I acknowledged them.” I turned the cup between my palms. “I never learned what I was acknowledging, but the peeping stopped when I nodded.”
“What objects?”
“Pebbles, mostly. A very large dead beetle once. She was very proud of the beetle.”
Laina pressed her lips together, her eyes sparkling.
“It was an excellent beetle,” I said. “I told her so. It had very impressive…leg situations. And it was shiny. Sofia has standards for her treasures.”
Laina laughed into her cup.
After we’d eaten and finished our tea, Laina examined the twins again, murmuring under her breath. I spread out thebedding. It wasn’t a wide bed, but there wasn’t a lot of room inside the cave.
“I assume you’ll want the entrance side,” Laina said.
“Yes.”
She glanced at me sideways. “So you can watch out for us all night.”
“The tarp may need adjusting.”
“Guarding me.”
“Always. You, Sofia, Abagail, and the snugglers.”
She stroked my hand before turning away.
We brushed our teeth and stepped back inside the cave, settling beneath the blankets.
