Free Wild Dog City (Darkeye Volume 1) by Lydia West

up to his mouth.
    "What was that?" he asked suspiciously.
    "I'm laughing at you," she said.
    "Oh," said Mhumhi, rotating his ears forward
and back, and then added, "Don't."
    Maha stuck her fat tongue out at him, and he
shuddered. "Don't do that either."
    "Mhumhi, leave her alone," said Kutta. "Stop
being such a puppy."
    "Stop being such a puppy," said Maha, and she
made that odd laughing sound again, though this time Mhumhi could
pick up the derision in it. He laid his ears back.
    "You haven't greeted me- you haven't sniffed,
or anything."
    "I don't need to sniff," said Maha, and Kutta
said, "Mhumhi, the hulkers can't really smell anything."
    "They can't-? Well, I suppose they can't,
since they've got no noses."
    Maha made a more bubbly version of her laugh.
"My nose is right here!" She pointed to a protuberance on her flat
face Mhumhi hadn't taken notice of before, because it looked very
little like a normal nose. There were two holes in it, which he
supposed were nostrils, but there were no side-slits, and it was
the same color and texture as the rest of her dark skin.
    "Kutta," he whined. It was getting too
strange for him. She nudged him with her shoulder, then went over
to Maha.
    "Go and greet your brother properly."
    Maha glanced at her, then crouch-crawled over
to Mhumhi, who stiffened. The movement was so unnatural. Having her
close reminded his mind of the frailty of her bare skin, as well;
of the pulse he could hear beating in her neck. He licked his
lips.
    Maha put one of her front paws out to him and
he jerked away.
    "Let's not touch," he said. "That's
enough."
    "Fine," said Kutta. "Say hello to Tareq, and
then we'd better leave. Sacha will probably be looking for us when
we get back."
    Mhumhi spared a thought for poor Sacha-
though he was also rather jealous, with her being in the blissful
state of ignorance he'd been in not too long ago.
    He let Kutta lead him over to little Tareq,
whom he dutifully sniffed as the little hulker lay and coughed and
whimpered. Again he backed away when Tareq reached out to touch
him.
    Kutta seemed willing to accept this. "All
right, Mhumhi. Let's get back. And you two-" She turned to where
the two hulkers had come together, huddling in the nest of
blankets. "I'll be back tonight with some more meat. Maha, you must
eat some too."
    "I'm not hungry," muttered Maha. Mhumhi
focused his ears at her.
    "If someone gives you meat, you eat it," he
growled. "If you get too weak, I'll eat you myself."
    Maha made a sort of disgruntled noise, though
he was pleased to see her draw up closer against Tareq at his
words. Kutta shot him a look but did not say anything until they
had left the room to travel back down the narrow concrete
tunnel.
    "You really are beginning to sound more like
Sacha."
    "I am not ," said Mhumhi sulkily, then
switched his tail. Her words reminded him of something.
    "By the way, she's getting suspicious about
you disappearing so much."
    "Oh?"
    "She thinks you've got a sweetheart, or
something."
    Kutta laughed. "Oh, she does, does she?
That's funny."
    "It is funny, since it's you," said
Mhumhi, and jumped away when she turned back to nip at him.
    "If she thinks that, that's good," she said,
resuming her trot and wagging her tail. "It gives me an
excuse."
    Mhumhi, loping behind, lowered his tail. "She
is worried about you, though."
    "I'm sure."
    "I mean, she's worried that you'll
leave."
    "Well, why wouldn't she be," said Kutta, not
looking back this time. "She's worried there'll be less meat for
Keb, and that she might have to give some up once in a while."
    "Don't say that, Kutta," said Mhumhi,
furrowing his brow. "You know that's not true."
    Kutta was quiet for a moment, then she said,
"I know. I'm just very… I just get very tired of her sometimes.
Don't you?"
    Mhumhi couldn't say he did, so instead he
squeezed up beside her and nuzzled at her neck.
    "I'll help you now, Kutta. You won't have to
do this all alone anymore, right?"
    Kutta smiled at him. "I knew you'd