Chapter 17
Waking up felt very sluggish, like I was working my way out of a jar of thick honey.
“Is she awake?” Dace’s voice crept into my slow going consciousness.
“Not yet,” Dorothy kindly informed her.
“Okay.” Dace’s voice sounded so small, so damn worried I felt guilty for worrying her like that.
Hurry up and wake up, I urged my body.
Kehl was with me, curled around me like my own personal heating pad. It felt so nice a small, happy little sound escaped me.
“She sounded like she was in so much pain.” Dace’s voice was hoarse and her nose sounded stuffed up, as if she’d been crying.
“Kehl’ Pru Lo denaii. Lo denaii strong,” Berkr grunted out.
“She’s been so sad lately… She tries to pretend sometimes that she’s not but I can tell.
She’s only doing it for me. She misses them and she’s been worried something’s wrong since she started getting fur and her mouth started hurting and stuff but Noyel couldn’t find anything wrong.
She used to spend a lot of time by the portal, hoping it’ll open up, but now I can barely get her to leave her hut at all lately.
She’s even avoiding Kehl. She told me. I shouldn’t have brought her to the market.
It was my idea. This is all my fault. It pushed her too far.
It was too much. I knew she wasn’t feeling well.
I feel awful. This is all my fault! She’s the nicest person I know. She’s- I can’t lose her. I can’t.”
“That why you hit Vurhg?” Berk grumbled curiously. The humor lacing his tone was obvious.
“He deserved it,” Dace bit out.
“Put your hand back down in the snow pack. It’s still swollen,” a new, deep voice grumbled.
“Don’t baby me, Sorry. I don’t care.” Dace huffed and puffed like her feathers were good and ruffled.
“Well… I do,” Sorry grumbled.
“Don’t lie. Just because there might be others listening doesn’t mean you need to pretend to- To make yourself look good. They’re not stupid. You don’t care about anyone but yourself and your fluffy potato babies,” Dace muttered angrily under her breath.
“Know that’s not true,” Sorak rumbled back softly.
“Do I?” Dace’s laugh was loud, incredulous. She sounded half hysterical. “Why did you choose today of all days to come snooping around in my business anyway?” Dace let out a little sniff that told me she meant to snub him.
“You stupid, say dummy head things,” Berkr bit out.
“Beg your pardon?” Dace’s Sorry, or Sorak, murmured dryly.
“All know Candy-ass ask horn head be her male, you say no, then not want talk to Candy-ass no more, leave her be ‘lone.
No one want talk Candy-ass ‘cause she bad female.
You care? No care ‘bout Candy-ass, leave ‘lone.
All ‘lone. No friends ‘til Carrie say she be Candy-ass friend and then Purred-drew comes along be Candy-ass bested friend.” Berkr huffed and chuffed and muttered under his breath about just how stupid he thought Sorak was.
Surprise shot through me. I understood him. I mean, Berkr was speaking that growl speak and I knew what he was saying. Am I dreaming…? Is any of this even real?
“And you do?” Sorak shot back.
“Berkr say? Those words comed out Berkr’s mouth?” Berkr barked.
“You both don’t care. I don’t care. End of story. Can we get back to sitting in silence, with the occasional sigh from my right? It doesn’t matter. None of it does!” Dace’s voice was so high and tight, I’d be surprised if any being beyond a Lo denaii or dog could make her out.
“Dace cares,” Berkr huffed and puffed out under his breath.
“Fuck off,” Dace thundered.
A spluttering noise garbled out of the skunk striped Lo denaii.
“Is that what you think, miqep, that I don’t care? That I told you no because I didn’t want to be with you? Is that why you think I’ve kept away all this time?” Sorak spoke so low his voice was a hoarse whisper.
Berkr let out a series of loud grunting noises before grumbling, “Horn head want Candy-ass answer that? Sound like sorry horn head already knows.” A snort of a laugh followed shortly after.
“I hate you both so much right now.” Dace’s angry whisper pierced through that veil of sleep and wakefulness holding me back. “Why don’t you both just leave! Leave me alone!”
But for the soft sounds of Kehl breathing beside me, silence fell upon wherever the hell it was we were.
“Ask me again.” Sorak’s voice cut in as I slowly started to drift back into the nothingness of before.
“Why? Have the hard times hear?” Berkr bit out caustically.
“Not you, you wool headed furball,” Sorak shot back.
Silence.
“Miqep,” Sorak tried again.
“No.” That one simple word from Dace. It was answer enough.
“No what?” Berkr muttered.
“No,” she said simply.
A rumbling sound cut in on the tense moment. I put that one to Berkr.
There was a loud scoffing sound. Sorak, it sounded like. “You don’t care, you say?” His voice was low. It had lost the softness of before.
“I can hold my own hand,” Dace grumbled. There was a rustling sound and then, “Ow.”
“Stop fighting me. Hold still.” Sorak.
“Stop trying to tell me what to do!” Dace squeaked out.
“You heared Candy-ass, horny head. No tell her what to do,” Berkr sassed.
“Miqep, ask me again,” Sorak murmured softly.
“No.” Dace was resolute. She’d made up her mind.
“Why?” Sorak was trying to goad her.
“She no want you,” Berkr taunted, as if picking up on Sorak’s tactic and not liking it.
“Stuff it,” Dace muttered, her tone hardening.
There was a grunt, and then Berkr grumbled. “Want horn head stuff things or Candy-ass try mean ‘sult Berkr?”
Dace let out a little growl noise that wasn’t the least bit intimidating and then growled out, “Both of you stuff it.”
“Ask me again, miqep,” Sorak persisted.
“Why?! So you can humiliate me, ignore me, then talk to everyone but me like it’s not some sort of punishment or shunning?
Like I wasn’t the one standing there with their heart in a million pieces as you- As you just moved on without me?
! Like I meant absolutely nothing to you? ! No, I don’t think so. Fool me once…”
“Fool Candy-ass once what?” Berkr asked eagerly.
Oh boy.
Dace let out a long-suffering sigh.
“Why are YOU here?” Sorak muttered.
“Why horny head here?” Berkr shot back.
“I asked you first,” Sorak bit out.
“Berkr asked first.” Berkr, you petty bitch, you.
“By all means, after you,” Sorak quipped.
“By your means, mean you,” Berkr mockingly shot back.
“Eh! Where you go?!” Berkr barked suddenly, a note of alarm in his voice.
“Is it not obvious?” Sorak murmured dryly.
“Away!” Dace called out.
“Way where?” Berkr followed up.
“Away from both of you!” Dace snapped.
Berkr growled, and then, “What look at Berkr for like that?! No look at Berkr like that, like Berkr bad and Candy-ass mad at Berkr. Berkr no be bad!”
“You follow her around like an angry tebbimenk nipping at her heels, snipping, sniping, snapping. It was only a matter of time before she grew tired of you,” Sorak muttered.
“How would horny head know? Sneaky-sneak around, think Berkr not know. Nosy, that what Sorry head is. Berkr think Sorry head not come ‘round, only sneaky sneak, because Sorry head sorry not say yes be Candy-ass mate.” A series of huffing chuffs from Berkr followed.
“I refuse to settle,” Sorak snarled.
“Eh. Where you go now? Not just come back from go?” Berkr called out.
“I have to tinkle.” Dace’s voice broke, like she was struggling to hold it together.
Wake up, I yelled at myself in my sluggish head. Wake up already, damn it!
“Look, see? Say stupid things, make Candy-ass lie say she need pee, she leave ‘gain.”
Forcing my eyes to open, I spied a blur of blonde and blue as it flew past the room I found myself in.
There was a gurgling sound, and then heavy thumps like something hitting something hard, followed by a grunt and a final, jarring thud.
“Be lucky, Sorry head, Candy-ass say horn head her mate.” Berkr made an angry sound, then muttered some unkind things about him in growl speak about him thinking he was too good for her. The rest of Berkr’s tirade I didn’t understand and took to mean bad words.
“I never said that,” Sorak gritted out, in reply to everything Berkr had said. Dace has said Sorak spoke Lo denaii, or Creeson as I thought of it.
“Say it now, make Candy-ass hide ‘way to cry.” Berkr sounded pissed.
“I said I refused to settle,” Sorak mumbled. His voice sounded funny, partially muffled.
“Sorry head not listen self?” Berkr snapped.
There was a loud rustling and then, “She was settling for me!” Sorak thundered.
Silence, then, “She say that? Candy-ass say she settle for Sorry head, be Candy-ass mate?”
“In so many words…” Sorak finally muttered.
“Then why Berkr find Candy-ass wet face, cry and cry and cry over stupid horn head no want her, over and over. Find hide places to cry over Sorry head who not want her so others not see?”
“She was just settling,” Sorak muttered, bristling.
“If that what Sorry head say…” Berkr didn’t sound like he believed that for a minute.
“It’s true.” Sorak sounded less convinced by the minute.
“Sorry head thinks so,” Berkr got out between grunts.
“It is.”
“Why she ask, you say she settle? What she settle for? Sorry head has lots of kep-keps like Candy-ass loves, big hut for lots of babies, like Candy-ass wants, stupid Sorry head always looks at Candy-ass when Candy-ass not looking. Gets the stupid face for Candy-ass. Candy-ass always say, Sorry this. Sorry that. Her friend the Sorry. Sorry, Sorry. Sorry so nice. Sorry the nicest, do nice things for Candy-ass. Sorry really care. Sorry Candy-ass friend.”
“She’s not in love with me,” Sorak mumbled, defeat thick in his voice. “She wanted to settle for me. I’m not who she really wanted.”
“Dummy head.”
“I’m the dummy head? Why do you think I told her no?” Sorak exploded. “You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed?”
“Berkr not notice what?” Berkr rumbled out cluelessly.
A frustrated noise left the unicorn man. “You can’t be that rock brained.”