Sirocco by T Hearts

Author:T Hearts [Hearts, T]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798604942031
Published: 2020-04-19T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

IO watched the critters from beneath half closed eyes and through the gap between her cocoon of wings.

At night, most of the critters and the men had settled down to sleep, whilst off in the distance some of the ranch hands had a late-night campfire going where they were singing a rousing chorus of Big Iron.

As per the bossman’s orders, no one was to interact with her or give her food or water, and yet whenever she woke up there was an apple sat by the door for her. She had her suspicions as to who was bringing it, but she had yet to catch them.

The deep sounds of slumber echoed and vibrated in the space around her. So many large bodies in such a confined area.

A Xiezhi Lin rolled over in its stall. Its armour plated scales scraping noisily on the concrete ground as it shuffled to find a more comfortable position in its cramped box. She had seen the long flare of its mane and tail flick and press against the sides of the bars whenever it moved and had it been tormenting her with its silkiness. Every time it sat near to the side of her box, she had wanted nothing more than to smoosh her face into the soft underbelly fur and run her fingers through its long tail plume, but had been far too scared to even attempt it.

The two sand-dappled Gattan purred and snuffled in the box across from hers, their long prehensile tails flicking through into the walkway, hoping to snag and trip anyone who walked too near. A Thryn, ugly and thin looking snored shakily close by – she felt so sorry for it. Every bit of meat they gave it, it hacked back up again, unable to eat any of it.

The Quetzal however…

It was sedated. Several stalls away, but still loud enough that she could hear it breathing and the regular shuffling of its feathers brushing the walls. The ranch hands regularly walked by on the overhead walkway to look in on the critters and IO and regularly kept dosing the big serpent-like creature up so that it didn’t wake. Every now and then its huge tooth-spiked beak would make a clacking sound and it could see it a sharp tongue waggle as it scented the air in its sleep.

Did it know she was there? She couldn’t tell but the thought of what could happen if it did wake up and escape made IO uncomfortable. Although not as uncomfortable as she was physically feeling.

A chill breeze snuck in through the slats in the barn roof, and shivering in her pyjamas, she tucked her arms and legs up under her poncho, wishing her body to grow more feathers to keep her warm. Her back ached, her wings ached, her tailbone ached. There was no room to move at all in the little box. The other critters were let out into the field behind them for some sunlight, but they had not extended this courtesy to her in any way.

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