Spear of Destiny by James Baldwin (little bear else holmelund minarik .TXT) 📕

Chapter 36

4 Days Later.

A guttural scream of terror ripped Karalti and I out of slumber.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH! FUCKFUCK OH! OHNO  NO NO NOOOOOO!"

There were series of splintering crashes, like someone overturning something large out in the hall, followed by roars. The scream lost its terror and flared into open, full bore rage:

"FUCK, FUCK! YOUR WHORE OF A FUCKING HOOKWING IS DIGGING UP MY BED! GET THE FUCK- NO YOU BITCH OF A BEAST, LET THAT GO!'

Gar’s rant was drowned out by a deep-bellied bestial snarl, then a pistol shot that echoed through the airship like a whip crack. Karalti and I scrambled up in our sheets, and Karalti tumbled off the narrow ship’s bunk with a frightened ‘eep!’ as we hastily equipped weapons and clothing.

“What in the ever-loving fuck is going on out there?” I rolled up, fully dressed, and helped Karalti to her feet on the way out.

“I dunno!” She followed me at a run.

Cutthroat’s roars were intermittently drowning out the sound of humans shouting, yelling, and cursing. We burst out the end of the corridor into an atmosphere of raw, unadulterated chaos. Gar and Suri were arguing outside his room. Our captain had his pistol in one hand and a pillow in the other, which he was clutching against the front of his naked crotch. The door to his quarters—and every other door on the way there from the lower deck—was either flat on the ground or hanging off its hinges. Beyond was a larger ship’s berth with a single bed, currently groaning under the weight of Cutthroat. The hookwing was bleeding from a slug to the shoulder, but her jaws were set, her eyes fixed forward. The rest of the room was trashed. Everything that could be considered remotely soft had been pulled in and under her stamping feet, clothing packed down under blankets and curtains, the stuffing of the mattress now torn and shaped into a cup-like depression. She was now settling into this, arms spread, feathers fluffed, head down towards the door. Her throat was now blushed bright red, puffed up to a degree I'd never seen it before, and she was making the weirdest honking, booming noises by vibrating it like some manner of drum.

It was a nest.

She had nested in the Captain's quarters.

Karalti gawped at the scene ahead, open-mouthed. “Matir have mercy.”

“No. Oh no. No-no-no-no, you have got to be fucking kidding me.” I felt my temples start to throb, and reached up to grip the top of my head. “When we were testing that parachute… did her and Payu, like…”

“Yeahhh…” Karalti winced. “I think they miiiight haaaave.”

“-And just what part of hiring you meant you could fucking shoot my fucking hookwing!?” Suri was right up in Gar’s face, nearly nose to nose with him.

He snarled back at her, brandishing the revolver. “How about the part where she busted out of her stall, wrecked everything in her path, and kicked me out of my own goddamned bed!?”

“It’s not her fuckin’ fault you don’t have a proper fucking hookwing stall!”

“We have room for a normal, average-sized hookwing, not this giant crazy puta!”

Suri’s eyes flashed. “Then why’d you even let her on-board? Why’d you charge us for the berth? I could have left her at the castle, mate. You saw her on the docks. You knew what you were fucking signing up for!”

He shoved her. She shoved back. He brought his fist up, and Suri headbutted him so hard he dropped his pillow and reeled away, blinking stars.

“You wanna fuckin’ go me, cunt?” Suri spread her arms and backed him into the wall. “Put your fuckin’ toy down, and we’ll fuckin’ go right here!”

“Guys! C’mon, Suri, Gar! Cool it!” I held up my hands and stepped in.

Suri snorted like a bull as she pushed past Gar and stormed into the bedroom. Gar rubbed his face, still cross-eyed. He was bleeding from the mouth.

“Jesus Christ, that bitch is strong,” he muttered. “Hey! You get back here! That’s my goddamn room!”

“Get stuffed, mate.” Suri snapped back over her shoulder, kneeling down to inspect Cutthroat’s injury. Cutthroat puffed her feathers up and hissed, glowering stoically at us through the doorway. Gar made to storm in there, and I caught his arm and spun him back.

“Dude, you need to fucking chill.” I snapped at him, feeling my own temper start to rise. “We’re in a videogame with resources everywhere, we’ve insured your ship, and we’ll pay for repairs. Cutthroat’s just an animal. This isn’t her fault.”

“JUST an animal? That giant cock of a dinosaur busted in my door, came storming into my room, bit the shit out of me and took over my goddamned bed!” Gar groaned, reaching up to check his teeth. “You didn’t tell me she was about to lay a clutch of eggs!”

“WE didn’t know she was about to lay a clutch of motherfucking eggs!” I took my braids in my hands and pulled them in frustration. “Fucking hell, Suri. What are we going to do with hookwing chicks? What do you even FEED hookwing chicks?”

“I don’t know!” She couldn’t mask the panic in her voice.

“Well, if it's anything like dragons, you chew up a bunch of meat, store it in your crop, and throw it back up for her!” Karalti trilled. “That’s what I’d do!”

“Cheers. That’s real helpful.” Suri puffed a lock of scarlet hair from her face.

“Yeah! And she’ll beg for you to throw up the food like this.” Karalti opened her mouth and began bobbing her head in a vigorous, unfortunately sensual manner, fluttering her hands like winglets beside her ribs.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Karalti? Can you not?”

“But she has to know how to do it! Cutthroat won’t leave her nest until the babies hatch!” Karalti struck a pose, pointing