Page 4 of Feast

The bigger creature of the two was not actually very big at all. Far, far smaller than an ukkur like Rolf.

Yet it had an ukkur shape to it. Two arms, two legs, a head atop its shoulders and all the rest. But the facial features were different, fine and delicate. No tusks protruding from the lower jaw. As for the body, the muscles were small and weak beneath the soft flesh.

There were other differences too. Most notably, the large mounds of flesh on the creature’s chest. And down between its legs, something appeared to be very, very wrong with its piss stick.

The creature’s lips moved. A sound came out that could have been a word, though it was not any language Rolf had heard before. In fact, it had never even occurred to Rolf before that there might be languages other than the one that he spoke.

The lightning stopped, and the cave was cast back into shadow.

Rolf’s vision glittered as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

Something was shrieking. Howling in rage. That sound was coming from the other tinier creature between the bigger one’s legs. Rolf could scarcely believe that such a tiny thing could make such a racket. It was even noisier than the roar of thunder that followed the lightning flashes.

Rolf advanced, wincing in pain as the sharp, shrill cries stung his ears.

“Shut up,” he growled.

The little creature did not understand. If anything, its screams redoubled at the sound of Rolf’s growl. Had he frightened it? Whatever the case, the tiny thing was clearly determined to continue expressing its utter dissatisfaction with the state of affairs.

Fine. Rolf would deal with the little one later.

First, however, he wished to inspect the larger creature more closely.

It seemed to be dead already. When Rolf touched the body at the places where there should have been a heartbeat, he felt nothing. Not even the merest flicker of a pulse. Cautiously, he held a finger in front of the creature’s nose. No breath either.

Perhaps it had given all of its breath to the little one. That one’s lungs were still working well enough.

Rolf studied the big creature a little more.

His attention went to those mounds on its chest which were tipped with pink nubs. Pale fluid had spilled there. Rolf gathered some on his fingertip and tasted it. Warm and sweet.

Was it food?

Could this creature produce its own food?

Stranger and stranger.

Rolf examined lower. When another strobe of lightning lit the cave, he noticed a marking on the animal’s hip. A series of perfectly straight black lines etched into the flesh. Clearly not natural. That had to be a nith marking. A sign of ownership.

Had this thing been a nith pet then?

More lightning, and something glinted on the dead creature’s hand. It was a metal ring around one of the fingers. Rolf worked it free. Metal was hard to come by out here in the wilderness. He slipped the ring into the pouch at his hip for safe keeping.

At last Rolf turned his attention to the other creature. The tiny one with the loud voice.

He crouched over the little shrieking thing, waiting until another flare of lightning let him get a good look at it. What he saw was an ugly little wriggling animal. Utterly weak and defenseless. Eyes sealed shut, red face twisted in rage, skin slathered in white mucus and blood.

Red blood, like an ukkur.

There was a tube attached to its small belly, and that connected between the bigger dead creature’s legs. In the darkness, it took Rolf a long moment to figure out what he was even looking at.

At first he had assumed the tube was the dead creature’s piss stick. What else could it be? But that didn’t make sense. For one thing, it was much too long. And for another, why would a piss stick have a tiny screaming monster attached to the end?

It made no sense. None at all.

Rolf gave that cord a tug. Something soft and wet and smelling of blood fell from between the dead creature’s legs.

So, the creature didn’t have a piss stick at all.