The meat animals had shut the door of the box. They had used fire. It would have to be forced open, but
not too soon. The meat animals
were cunning. They had stings that
traveled over distances. Faster
than its kin could move. Faster,
almost, that its kin could see.
Better to wait until the meat animals were either subdued or
fleeing. Having fed, waiting was
not difficult for it. The youngkin
however, wounded and hungry was making motions at the bound meat animal it had
secured and brought from the well.
“NO,” it cast.
The youngkin stopped.
“HUNGRY,” it cast back and made a tentative motion towards
the meat, squirming to get free.
“NO,” it cast again.
“PUZZLEMENT.”
It was puzzled itself.
It did not want this one harmed.
This one had made fire in its mind. It wanted time to explore the fire again. There was a cast for ‘mine’ but it was
never used by harvesters. Harvesters
couldn’t own anything. Harvesters
were owned, even the juice in their gullets belonged to the colony. “OFFERING,” it cast. This one is going back alive.
“SHARE.” The
younkin was asking for a part, to drain off some blood but it had already
drained off some blood before the battle and it didn’t know much more the meat
animal could afford to lose.
“NO.”
“SHARE!” The
youngkin’s Need must be terrible.
The youngkin was growing desperate, hopping an anger dance and would not
obey just because the order came from an elder harvester. In the youngkin’s state, feeding would be
frenzied and would not stop until the Need was satiated. The meat animal would be drained. This was unacceptable to it. It made a decision.
“RELENT.” The
youngkin hopped a gladness dance and dove for the meat animal, it’s tooth
extending, all else forgotten. It
slid off the wall above the door where it had been perched and quickly stove in
the youngkin’s head while it was turned.
Nothing wasted, it began to drink the youngkin too. Even in the dark, the eyes of the meat
animal were obviously huge upon it.
Another spark. A feeling
this time. Something ancient. Something forgotten. Something purged long ago by pain and
the Need. It picked up the carcass
of the youngkin and moved to the other end of the box, even turning it’s back
to the meat animal. There it
finished drinking the youngkin. As
it worked, its mind turned over the feeling and turned it over again and at
last a word for it arose…
Shame. The
feeling was called, ‘shame.’