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"What female rides a golden bird?" I ask, confused.
"Ronka," Steff pants at my side.
I turn to her, curious.
"Ronka," she says again. Her face is a strange, unhealthy shade of pale and her lips are even paler. I am not sure they are supposed to be that color, and it concerns me as much as the haze in her eyes. "Ronka ridesdedraggn."
Pak moves closer to me. "She looks like she is going to vomit again, Papa."
He is not wrong. I have never seen a female look more sorry than she does in this moment. "We are almost at the cave." I think for a moment, then set the basket of food down. It is true that we are not so very far away, so I can abandon the food for a short period of time. Steff looks as if she will faint if she has to walk any farther, so once the food basket is on the ground, I put a hand behind her knees and scoop her up into my arms. She weighs more than Pak, but she is not so heavy that it is difficult to carry her.
She makes a sound of protest in her throat even as she sags against me. Her feet are covered with fur, but even so, one seems to have an odd angle to the way it hangs, and I suspect it is hurt far worse than she has let on. If it has snapped, then she is a very brave female to walk so far in so much pain. My respect for her grows. "You have been very strong so far," I whisper to her. "Let me be strong the rest of the way."
Steff makes a soft noise in her throat and I remember she can somehow understand me, even though we do not speak the same language. The one from Shadow Cat clan—U'dron—told me that the strange tribe that lives on these shores put a pebble in his head and that is how he is able to understand all their words. It sounds like utter foolishness, but what if I am wrong? What if one can understand their strange language just by putting a pebble into an ear or some such? There are many things that I do not know how they work, and what if this is one of them?
I would like to understand her. The elders of the Outcast clan would allow it since she has an Outcast name, I think. Surely that makes it all right.
I ponder this as I climb up to the lip of the small cave and duck inside. It is not very deep, but it is plenty enough for myself and Pak. The interior floor is covered with a bit of grit, and I make a mental note to brush it clean, once I am sure that Steff is settled. I gently set her down on the stone floor and she hisses with pain the moment her foot touches the ground. "Stay here," I tell her sternly. "Do not move from this spot. Stay here until I return."
She lets out a small laugh that sounds slightly panicked, as if even the thought of moving causes her pain. She nods.
"I will get the food and return. Then we will look at your ankle."
She tries to sit up and reaches for her foot.
This Steff is not a good listener. I smack her hand before she can touch it and cause herself pain. She looks at me in surprise as I shake a finger in her face like I do to Pak when he misbehaves. "What did I just say?"
"Notuch," she whispers. "Sorree."
"Leave it alone," I command. "I will take care of it when I get back." I give her a warning look. "I will not be happy if you disobey."
Her jaw drops, and then a startled laugh erupts from her. She rolls over on her side, curling around herself, and I notice that she carefully keeps her one foot with the odd angle off the floor.
"Good," I say. "Stay like that. I will be right back."
"I will watch her, Papa," Pak says eagerly.
"Yes," I say. "Good." Anything to keep my son away from the beach. I do not think the animals beaching themselves are predators, but Pak is small and curious and could easily be flattened. I cannot lose him. If I lose him, I have lost everything. I give him a fierce, quick hug before getting to my feet. "I will return on quick feet."
And I race away as if the creatures are nipping at my heels.
I retrieve the food on the beach, but as I do, I think about Steff and her foot. And her pain. I do not like seeing her suffer, not when there is a root that will help with that. I search the cliffs, looking for a familiar small, pink flower that grows amidst the brambles and rocks. There is one not far from here, and I race over to it and pull the entire plant free, glancing back at the creatures on the beach. They continue to dig and make loud sounds, but they do not seem to be paying attention to me at all, which is good. They are leaf eaters, then.
