Tusktaker's Secret Part 18

A couple weeks later…

	Jor’ak ran through the underbrush, panting loudly as the trees around him shook. The ner’xz was moving from treetop to treetop and soon the damn thing would catch him.

The beast had been far cleverer than the hunting party had anticipated. It pretended to take their bait and go after the decoys and then doubled back and started hunting the hunters. Jor’ak had been separated from the main group in the confusion and forced to fight it by himself. The monster had shrugged off his iron spear and managed to break his machete. The only weapon he had now was a small knife used to slit the throats of wounded prey.

He heard shifting coming from the branches above and a shrill trilling noise before pouncing on top of him. The creature looked like it belonged in a nightmare. Six legs, all muscular and filled with claws, like some tainted parody of a tiger, a head with too many eyes and too many teeth. His instincts saved him from a fatal blow as he leaned back and caught the creature in the stomach with knees. It gave him enough time to protect his throat.

Jor’ak said a silent prayer to his God for strength as the thing started clawing at his face, the leather gauntlets on his arms protecting him from the brunt of the monster’s attack. He just needed to get to his knife before it claimed his neck…

All of a sudden, a war cry pierced there air. The ner’xz halted its onslaught, its head drawn instinctively up to scan for its challenger. Lorka let out another scream as she swung down from a tree, a massive iron studded club in hand. The ner’xz attempted to lift itself off Jor’ak, but he managed to grab the beast’s front legs. He couldn’t hold the beast for long. But he wouldn’t need to. Lorka’s club found its mark on the beast’s head, caving in the upper half of the monster’s head and sending teeth and eyeballs flying.  Lorka rolled with the fall, standing up right with her war club ready, just in case the monster was still alive. The Ner’xz jerked and spasmed, blood spouting out of its head before Jor’ak grabbed the beast and broke its neck, putting it out of its misery.

Both Lorka and Jor’ak sat on the ground, exhausted and full of adrenaline but happy to be alive.
“You okay?” Lorka asked her father.

He ran his fingers over his neck. “That was…that was the closest I’ve come to dying in a long time.”
“I’m glad I got here in time.”

Jor’ak smooshed Lorka into his chest in a massive bear hug. “Yeah. Me too, Bone-Splitter. You did well. I’m proud of you.”
Lorka smiled with pride at her father’s words, though she couldn’t help but feel a small pang of sadness. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? Her father’s approval. The two waited in silence until the rest of the hunting party found them.
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	Lorka sighed as she looked out of the window of her father’s pickup. Jor’ak had been surprisingly quiet. She’d expected him to be a bit . He was usually very eager to talk on the ride home after a successful hunt. But instead he kept shooting worried looks in her direction in between paying attention to the road.

Jor'ak finally decided to break the silence. “You know, I’m very proud of you, Bone-Splitter. You’ve been the daughter I’ve always wanted.”
“Aww thanks, Dad.” She said, blushing at his compliment.

“I’m amazed at the progress you’ve made in the past couple weeks. You’ve managed to become such a splendid hunter in such a short time.”
Lorka’s lips curved into a sad smile. It just cost her Thomas and her books, she thought.

“I wanted to let you know…I’ve been thinking about it. And I think you should go into that pharma whatever science program you were talking about. You don’t have to join the guild full time. Seeing you hunt, being with me…it’s enough for me. I don’t want to keep you from your dream. And…I was worried about all that humie junk making you weak, but I don’t think that’s a problem, especially after what you did to that poor ner’xz’s skull.”

Lorka shook her head. “Nah, I think you’re right. The guild is the place for me. Nerada is already forming a new hunting group with Torr and some other guys. We might go on a hunt for some Akki. The mage’s market needs them for divination potions.”

Jor’ak frowned. “You don’t want to go to college?”

She shrugged. “I could go and get some degree to help out if something happens to me after a hunt, but I think the Hunting Guild would be a better use of my time. It’s not like a need that humie crap. Besides, I heard from Torr the Clan Head is looking for a couple new young bloods in his own hunting party. Maybe if I got enough recognition, I could join him.”  She knew she promised Thomas she would go into Pharmacology…but she didn’t see any point in it. If she was going to become the best orc she could be, she needed to live up to her clan’s expectations. Her dad’s expectations. She couldn’t do that while spending all of her time reading textbooks.

Jor’ak didn’t say anything else for the rest of the drive home. He just kept rubbing his fingers over his neck and casting guilt ridden looks in Lorka’s direction.
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	Lorka sighed as she picked at the food on her plate. She was eating dinner with her family. Radha had prepared Gromak as a post hunt celebration, but honestly, Lorka would rather have been alone after the hunt. Part of being a strong orc was companionship with your family. She didn’t really have much to say, but her father kept trying to get her into a conversation.

“So Lorka, I saw you talking to Torr after the hunt? What were you two going on about?”

“He asked me out on a date.” She said nonchalantly.
“Really now?” Jor’ak mused. Radha shifted uncomfortably beside him.

“Yeah.” Lorka muttered.

“Did you turn him down?”

She shrugged. “I told him I’d think about it.”

Lorka was expecting her father to be ecstatic. But what happened next surprised her.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Bone-Splitter. Not right now anyway.”

Lorka raised an eyebrow. “I thought you wanted me to date an orc like Torr?”

“Now might not be the best time. It hasn’t been that long since…you know. I just think you might want to wait a little while before you jump into something else.”

Lorka snorted. “I can make my own decisions, Dad!”

“I know you can, Lorka. I just want to make sure yer happy.”

“It’s a little late for that now, don’t you think?” She said with just a hint of anger.

“What did you just say!?” Jor’ak exclaimed.

“Nothing…that came out wrong. I’m sorry.” Sometimes her anger just boiled over. It had been happening a lot recently.

“I uh…I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier with the ner’xz. I’m worried about you, Lorka. You’ve really progressed as a hunter, but joining one of the higher ranked guild teams…you could get hurt. I don’t want to see my only daughter get maimed or killed.”

“What are you saying? I thought this was what you wanted for me?”

“I wanted you to be proud of your heritage and to become a strong hunter. I don’t want you to get killed or hurt. And honestly, I get the feeling you aren’t doing this because you want to.”

Lorka’s anger flared and she stood up, almost knocking her chair over. “What do you want from me? Date an orc, don’t date an orc. Become a hunter, don’t become a hunter. I don’t understand!”

“Lorka, I’m worried about you. When you’re not on a hunt, you are busy working with weapons or reading up on monsters. I haven’t seen you go out with your friends in a while. And you look seem really depressed. “Jor’ak said.

“You don’t have anything to be worried about Dad. I’m doing just fine. Mother, may I be excused?”

Radha nodded her head and Lorka left without another word.

"What happened to her, Radha? She’s so angry all the time. I’m not used to this.” Jor’ak said, clearly frustrated by his daughter.
“She’s hurting, husband. As much as you won’t acknowledge it, she lost her Aru’ka.”

“This isn’t what I wanted. Not like this. Why did she have to bring home a humie?” He groaned.

“Husband, I don’t understand why you won’t budge on this. Lorka has proven herself more than capable.”

“Because he’s a weak little…” Radha cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

“He fought off an oni that threatened Lorka. He was learning our language to try and impress you. He has hunter’s blood in his veins, and his father was from the Homelands. When a full grown orc threatened him, instead of backing down he told him what he felt was right and stood up for his Aru’ka. Is that not good enough?”

“You just don’t understand.” He said, shaking his head wearily.

“Don’t understand what, husband? That you are being unreasonably obstinate and hurting your child in the process.”

“It’s more complicated than that, Radha!” he shouted, slamming his fist on the table

“Then explain.” She said softly.
“I’m…scared, Radha. Really really scared. Everything’s different. Only a fraction of our tribe managed to come to this world before the bridge to the Homelands closed. There aren’t that many of us left. I’m scared that we’re just gonna be a foot note in some humie’s history books. ‘These were the Tusktakers, buncha green skins with outdated ideas that died out after a couple decades.’ I love being a Tusktaker, Radha. My job as a father was to train Lorka and make her a strong adult, and to make her proud of her heritage. I’m scared that’s she’s going to marry a humie, have a couple half humie kids, and in a couple generations, nobody will even remember who we are.”

“Husband…” Radha put her arms around him in a hug. “The Tusktakers aren’t going to ‘die’ out. We’re stronger than you think. And as for Lorka, she is a Tusktaker through and through. She loves her culture, but she’s been born and raised in this world alongside humans. Of course she’s going to like them two. She grew up between both worlds, why can’t she be a part of both?”

Jor’ak got quiet for a moment before kissing his wife on the arm. “Maybe yer right Radha. Maybe yer right.”

Radha gave him a smile. It wasn’t much, but it was progress.