spaces where teeth no longer hung firmly in place if they
hung at all, “of the outlying lands to get us to a town. Yes,
I’m sure I do.”
Wank sat silently as she finished bandaging his
wounds, brooding over his time in the Pit, and the
inexplicable nature of his release. Well, his release from a
place so dark that it could eventually obscure all evidence
of one’s existence. And while grateful, he remained in
chains.
“Sunshine. Have you ever seen sunshine?” she
continued as if they’d never left the subject, hadn’t been
silent for long minutes as she tended to him. “It is
glorious, so warm, so bright, so true.” Wank winced at the
thought of the sun, a natural enemy to orcs, the prejudice
built into him since he was an orcling. It was true that he
was less susceptible than any orc, but he had not overcome
the ingrained bias he was practically bred on.
When she was done, he helped lean her back onto
her shabby bedding and held her hand. Eventually, she
slept. Wank left her to her dreams, her only real joy, her
only possession.
It had been a long time since he’d been welcome in
his sire’s cavern, or even tolerated. These last years had
been spent scrounging around the lowest habitable caverns
beneath the mountains, though few lived that deep. It
provided a solitary peace, which he didn’t hate, and along
with the occasional raid on the more populated areas,
allowed for his survival.
55