Roo Collective Snippet 4

 Final snippet. :)

 

Lop Ear heard the thunder of the Thunker Tree. Itwas reverberating through the forest. Many Roo had gone to nearby Thunker Treesto tell the story of the Giant that had been slain. Their story was beingstepped on and drowned out by each other.

He shook his head. They were excited about thevengeance, the victory as some called it. He was just damn tired and sore. Helimped over to the side.

It had been only a few finger lengths of timesince the other Giants had come to take their dead away. He was wary of them.It bothered him.

“Did you hear?” Fast Thumper said breathlessly.

“Hear what?” Lop Ear asked tiredly. Black Specklehugged his side and looked up to his brother. His body felt like one bigbruise. His arm had a ring around it under the fur. The healers said it wasmost likely a crack in the bone. It was braced with a splint. He had anotheraround his ankles and had been told not to move.

Which meant his mate and litter were cuddling withhim to keep him from moving. They were practically smothering him, not that hecomplained. Black Speckle wanted to share his presence and warmth and he’dnever complain about that.

At least not when he was feeling like she’dskinned him and pounded his flesh out and then put his skin back on. She’dthreatened to do something similar when he recovered, which had amused him.Funny how family threaten your life for risking it to save them?

He gently stroked her back with his good hand andnuzzled her.

Fast Thumper’s ears went back a little but then hestraightened. “Hollow Garden and Green Painted Rocks are sending some Roo tosee what happened!” His eyes were wide. “And other communities want to sendsome Roo to see!”

Hollow Garden and Green Painted Rocks were twoallied communities nearest to them. They had both done well from trade betweenthe communities as well as the things that the makers thought up in theircommunity.

Lop Ear’s ears twitched in amused sarcasm. BlackSpeckle snorted softly in disdain. “Why now?” She asked. More than one Roo hadbeen put out over the lack of support. When the Giants had appeared and thenattacked their warren the Roo community had been slaughtered by their poisonfog. Those that had survived had managed to make their way to the Thunker Treeand forge a new warren there.

It was expanding greatly. But they’d had tosurvive the long cold season to do it. No other communities had lent theirsupport. It had been a bitter experience. When their neighbor’s warrens hadbeen struck by calamity their warren had sent additional support to help themthrough the tough times.

Fast Thumper looked at her like she’d asked thestrangest question.

“I mean it. They could care less about our plightbefore. Why risk their Roo now?” Roo were not known for taking risks. Well,common Roo. Defenders like her mate and his messenger brother were different.Defenders stood sentry duty to watch for dangers and when something came theyran to the fight to put themselves between the danger and the other Roo.

She was proud of her mate for that part of hischaracter. Proud but worried. She knew deep down it would eventually cost himhis life. But at the moment her swelling pride overrode the fear of his loss.Even with the current reminder of his … bravado.

“I think they want to know more about how we didit in case they need to do it themselves,” Fast Thumper said slowly. Themessenger looked thoughtful.

“And no doubt they want a part of the glory ofkilling one such thing. You were one of the first to kill a stomper, right?”she asked her mate. She looked at him.

“Not me, my sire,” Lop Ear replied as he strokedher ear and then the head of a kit came out from under the sash pouch on herside. He shifted his hand to the kit to use a fingertip to stroke the velvetbridge of the nose and over the tightly-closed eyes. The tiny eyes and ears hadyet to open. The kit mewed and then began to make yum yum faces.

Black Speckle had frozen when he touched the kitbut she seemed to relax almost explosively. She reached down to cuddle the kitto her and then helped to guide it to a nipple.

“Someone needs a change,” Fast Thumper said with awrinkled nose.

“When don’t they?” Black Speckle grumbled. “Whenthey aren’t sleeping, they are pooping and suckling. It is a never-endingcycle,” she said as she sat up to help the other kits find nipples.

“What goes in has to come out eventually,” hermate said. “Looking forward to diaper changing duty, brother?”

Fast Thumper’s eyes went comically wide. He backedaway frantically shaking his head. He stumbled against the nest door and thentook off, half falling in the hallway.

Black Speckle snickered. “That was mean.”

“I know. But serves him right for waking us upwith something like that.”

Black Speckle snorted.

He groaned softly.

“What? What’s wrong?” She pushed him down as hetried to get up.

“Now that I’m awake, I’ve got to pee,” he growledas he struggled slowly to his feet. She snickered as he lurched over to the potand then growled. It was full so he had to take it out.

“Here,” she said as she undid her sash and herfast hands quickly took the dirty diapers off the litter. He groaned as shehanded him the mess. At least they were disposable, having been made out ofleaves rather than cloth this time.

He wrinkled his nose and kept the chamber pot atarm’s length as he exited their nest chamber slowly.

~======~

Tinker, like most Roo, was most active at night.He had so many projects going but the other elders had asked him to focus onthe Giants. He had so much new material that he had agreed. He needed toconsolidate it with what they’d gotten in the previous encounters.

He had his folder open with his papers out on hisworktable to go over his findings and organize his notes. He was still puzzledby the creatures.

Among many things that didn’t make sense, he noteddifferences in the bodies of the Giants from previous times he’d sketched them.His eye was keen; he knew he was not wrong. They had seemed, gaunt, almoststarved. They seemed to eat meat more than other things. He went through hisnotes and checked. Sure enough there was no mention of the Giants gatheringplant matter. Odd. Very strange.

He made a note to ask the healers about it.

~======~

You can read the rest in The Roo Collective!