We hunted.


    it.


    again.”


    behind it.  I could land in front of the human, trap it between the crabs and me.


    spoke. “No.” Its voice sounded garbled. “Get you.” In its mouth, The hisses and growls of our language felt forced and alien.


    exploded!


    saying???—??my point is that the ape is crafty, okay?  We might have to work together to catch it.”  I looked to the writhing mass of crabs.  They’d ripped the ape’s wet rag to shreds, and were climbing over each other to chance at the cryst.


    spoke to me earlier???—??it sounded like a horrible monster, but it speaks and understands.  We can use that.”


    <hr style="margin-top: 2ex; margin-bottom: 2ex">


    My frills were dancing beside my head.  My plan is going to be awesome???—??Hinte will taste it.  After waving my own tongue in the air, I leapt up again, and raced after the apes’ scent.  As I flew after it, I heard whistles resounding across the lake.  The notes sounded complex, cacophonous, unmusical.  Then came another complex whistling, from far behind me.  That couldn’t be good.


    leave?  Let the Frinan guard handle all of this.  We aren’t cut out for any of this.  We’ll get hurt.  We’ll get killed!  It’s not worth it, Hinte,” I pushed word and sentence from my mouth, and it felt like breaths against a bonfire.  Her face was passive, though — she only watched me. “Please, Hinte. Let’s just leave.”


    You left the apes alive.”


    really don’t want to help you fight them.”


    worth something for once.  That I was helpful.”  I dropped the cryst.


    dead!.”  I finally looked down, because I knew my fangs smelled sour, but at least it didn’t have to look it.  “What was that you were saying earlier?”


    * * *