If I have to make it up to them for the rest of my life, I will.
Sev is dead set that this human is our mate, though I’ve thoroughly rejected the idea. Not because I didn’t believe it was true, but because I felt I didn’t deserve a mate.
But for the first time since my elons’ deaths, I’m thinking clearly.
So now what do I do? What does a mate do when he vekks up as royally as I have? Grovel? Beg?
I strum my clawed fingers against my leg, looking through the clear water to the riverbed below. Vibrant coloured fish swim about happily, while crytlers skitter around the bottom, stepping over the mounds of discarded seashells as they pass.
I gaze at the seashells, appreciating their beauty for the first time. Some are a vivid pink, others shades of blue, purple, and green. I even spot some that shimmer in the changing light, an iridescent coating on their shells.
The human would like those, I bet.
I freeze, my fingers halting on my leg.
The human would like those…
Grinning, I push off the grass and plunge back into the water. I upend myself and dive down, grabbing handfuls of shells before pushing off the bottom. Once I crest the water’s surface, I swim back to shore and lie out my haul.
It’s a start, but it’s not enough. After making two more trips to the bottom, I now have a pile of shells. But what do I do with them?
Think, Dev, think!
My mind blank with ideas, I move the shells around in the sand until I’ve created a pattern. The shells are now arranged in a circle with the larger ones in the center near the bottom, and the smaller ones towards the top.
I can’t make her art because where would she put it?
Vekk!
I think about what Sev has made for her, her nest and even clothes for her to wear.
Can I make her something to wear?
That’s it!
I can make her a necklace!
Looking around the forest, I spot vines hanging from a tall cornif tree. Leaping to my feet, I rush over and scale the cornif, yanking the plants to the ground. I pat my waist, realising I either never put on my weapons belt or it was washed away in the water.
Frowning, I tug the vines back to the sand and find a piece of rock. I proceed to smash the rock against a larger one until it chips in such a way that it gives me a cutting edge. Then I get to work, slicing at a thick vine until I find my desired length. Once that has been sectioned off, I skin the vine, looking for a thin, but strong segment.
It takes several minutes to peel it to the core, but once I do, I find the meat of the vine. It’s strong yet bendable, and the black-coloured center is perfect for the human’s necklace.
The human…
I could kick myself for not learning her name. Sev tried to tell me a few times, but I’d shut out his voice, not wanting to learn it. Now I would love to know it, to whisper it over and over in my head, to use it as fuel to get back to them, to her.
After laying the vine on the ground next to my collection, I search for something to puncture holes into the shells. I remember seeing the crytlers at the bottom of the river, and know they have sharp, pointed claws perfect for the job.
Just then my stomach rumbles.
It must have been a day since I’ve eaten. Knowing I can kill two jabekks with one rock, I make a quick fire from sherlyn husks and some dried cornif leaves, then dive back into the water. The crytlers rush away from me, but I’m much faster than them, easily snatching a pair from the bottom. A claw digs into my hand, but I welcome the pain, it reminds me that I’m still here, I’m alive.
Up on shore, I crush their soft heads between two rocks to kill them, then toss them onto my fire. It’s not long before the smell of cooked meat has my mouth watering. Grabbing a couple of sticks that washed up on the beach, I pull off the crytlers and rest them on a section of flat rock. Their orange shells crush easily, and I pull out steaming hot meat with an extended claw. The meat is sweet and succulent, reminding me how much I love the taste of sea creatures.