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

come
around. You're my favorite little brother, you know."
    "Because I've got the biggest stomach."
    Kutta laughed. "Yes, exactly!"
    Mhumhi fell back behind her, noting the new
spring in her step. He wished he could share it, but the thought of
the two hideous hulker puppies that were now awaiting them weighed
heavily on his mind.

8
    The Horde of
Hunger
    Despite his concerns, Mhumhi did not have to
see the two hulkers for a few days after that. The fuss Sacha
kicked up about the way both of them smelled after they returned
seemed to convince Kutta that it would be good to lie low for a
while. She merely took Bii's portion of meat from Mhumhi every day
before traveling to the sewer herself.
    She also seemed to be encouraging the notion
that she was visiting someone, something that Mhumhi himself was
uncomfortable with. Every time Kutta dropped a casual hint, Sacha
seemed to become more withdrawn. When he confronted her about it,
though, Kutta seemed unrepentant.
    "I'm not really going anywhere," she told
him. "Sacha will come back around once she realizes."
    Mhumhi didn't argue, though later he wished
he had. He didn't like keeping secrets from his oldest sister,
especially when he could see that it was hurting her. What exactly
would Sacha do if they told her, anyway? He tried to think about
it, but he really could not fathom what her response would be.
    Sacha certainly knew something was going on
with the two of them, but she did not know what, so she spent a
great deal of time venting her frustration on the newest member of
their household. If she spotted Bii she would go over to him and
try to posture and get him to roll over and fawn over her, like
Mhumhi and Kutta would. But it was not really in the fox's nature
to do so, which tended to result in a great deal of bad-natured
growling between the two of them. Bii ended up retreating mostly to
the upstairs with Kebero while Sacha kept to the downstairs, and
the two of them would not sleep touching one another.
    It was frustrating for Mhumhi to see them at
odds, especially Sacha, so he took to trying to spend a lot of time
with her himself, wiggling and wagging like a puppy at every
opportunity. He wasn't sure if this didn't just annoy her, though.
It could be hard to tell.
    One afternoon he tried to cheer himself up by
playing with Kebero. The puppy, at least, seemed happier with the
new family arrangement, since Bii spent nearly all of his time
doting on him. He was bounding around the bedroom with frenetic
energy, leaping clumsily on the bed and down again, coming to
thrash and mock-bite at Mhumhi and away again. Mhumhi was hardly
having to do a thing; he just sat back and watched Kebero tire
himself out.
    Bii was sitting on the bed, stretched out on
his side. Whenever Kebero jumped on he would rise and lazily snap
at him, which was enough to send the puppy out on another delighted
romp around the room.
    "Be careful, Keb," admonished Mhumhi,
stopping the squirming puppy briefly with a leg over his back.
"Watch for his leg."
    "Oh it's all right, Mhumhi," said Bii, and he
got up and stretched, yawning, showing them his tiny little teeth.
"It's feeling much better these days."
    "Is it? That's good." Mhumhi let Kebero
thrash his way onto his back between his front legs, kicking and
snapping, and opened his mouth and teased him for a moment.
    "Yes," said Bii. "I think I'll be able to go
back to the sewers soon and do some proper hunting."
    Mhumhi's head came up. "Back to the
sewers?"
    Kebero squirmed around as well. "Bii, are you
going awa- going away?"
    "Of course not," the fox said, hopping off
the bed so he could come and lick the top of Kebero's head. "I'll
be here as long as your siblings let me stay."
    Kebero wagged his tail. Mhumhi thought,
wryly, that they wouldn't be making him leave anytime soon, not
with the extra meat he was giving them. They needed every last bit
they could get.
    "What do you hunt down in the sewers,
Bii?"
    Bii gave him a surprised look. "The