“Mammals.” Serrath hissed and it was only half performance as
we were assaulted by the closeness of so many of our instinctual enemies. I
felt it too, the ancient hatred of the reptile for mammals stirred within my
breast among the throngs of every variety and stripe of warm-blooded beings
imaginable and as my new instincts screamed at me of danger. There were a lot
of mammals present here but this was probably just an enclave. The Kievor could
sometimes have their quirks that way, especially when every ship suddenly
without an owner became the property of the Kievor. I had to admit I was
looking at the Kievor in a whole new way as the revelations unfolded. They had
shown me the very depths to which treachery could stoop. The Kievor were the
ultimate politicians, in my opinion, playing everybeing against themselves.
“Furred mammals.” Leethea said. You didn’t need to be a
reptile to be glad you hadn’t been born a furred mammal. “Disgusting.” The
stench was nearly overwhelming.
In fact the smell was almost an assault, a definite drawback
to enhanced olfactory abilities, I noted as we slowly moved out into the
corridor. Ostensibly to be window-shopping for whatever vice we were seeking. Few
entered the trade warrens looking for anything else and which brought to mind
the vice I was seeking. I scowled at the girls for withholding that- no matter
how great a point they had earned. The way several sheepish looking mammals
passing us shied back as I scowled I supposed I must have overdone it a bit. No
facial muscles meant move my lips and rows of sharp teeth were showing.
“You are a handsome reptile.” Serrath told me as I spotted an
intriguing sign. I couldn’t read the alien script but the tankard flashing in
brilliant lights was Universal. Without saying a word I just turned in that
direction and went in without waiting to see if they had followed me. They were
big girls and weren’t we supposed to be making a reputation for ourselves?
There wasn’t a single lizard in the bar at all and everything
simply came to a silent halt when I walked in. It went from roaring party to
instant silence before I had gotten two steps into the place. Everybeing in the
place was looking in my direction and hands, tentacles and other such
appendages were surreptitiously moving closer to weapons- but most not so
surreptiously. In no position to fight fifty at once I quickly turned around
and ran right into Serrath and Leethea as they followed me in. “Looks cozy.”
Serrath said as she coldly looked over the sea of hostile faces.
“Let’s go in.” Leethea said. Together they were blocking my
exit. The silence behind me seemed to be growing deeper though how absolute
silence could get quieter was a question I couldn’t rightly answer at that
moment. Maybe Bren could explain it, if I survived to see him again.
“Just checking to make sure you were behind me.” I said as I
turned back around and began making my way to the bar. Serrath and Leethea were
right there behind me and suddenly I could smell the fear and confusion of the
mammals. They had expected me to leave and now that I hadn’t I had struck the
cord of uncertainty within them. Now within their midst I felt much more
confident- that old conundrum of how I was the most confident while under the
most extreme of stresses. If they attacked us now, in their midst, at the very
least we’d take a pile of them with us and leave a bloodbath behind us- if we
survived- and a good start to making our reputation. Reputations weren’t made
by cowering in the shadows.
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