[ooc: Frack is just a word I use in place of the other one that has four letters and a click at the end...
And I don't think Skar will be beating anyone while he's struggling to hang onto three unruly Screamers...]
Skar narrowed his eyes, suspiciously, vaguely baffled at the question, but his Dirgescreamers had started lunging excitedly at their leads and dragged him along a short way, feet squealing like nails down a blackboard across the cold floor. He cursed at them, hauled back, not making the connection that their sudden excited state could mean their prey was nearby…
“I-… what was th’question?” He gave his head a shake, tried to kick his brain out of neutral and back into gear. “Do sligs eat each other?” A faint honk of dry laughter. “Frack, no! We may eat jus’ about everythin’ else, but naw, even we don’ go much in fer cannibalism. Only Spidey does that…” The biggest Screamer interrupted with a howling bark and lurched again, drawing a curse and a jerk on the lead. “Which is why I been sent out wi’ these li’l buggers. Try ter catch ‘im, Vykkers wanna be able ter control ‘im better…”
The mud gave him a puzzled look, so he jerked his head at the Screamers. “See the lump on th’back o’ th’neck? Neural stunner. They want ter give that twisted-pain-in-the-arse-of-a-cross-breed one of ‘em, stop ‘im eatin’ half the workforce. Hotwires the pain nerves; 'calms' somethin’ down no end if it starts getting’ unruly…” he sighed, faintly. “An’ they work too bloody well…” Though the mud gave him another of those curious looks, he refused to be drawn any further.
“Yer say yer saw which way he went?” Skar briefly scratched his muzzle with his free hand, a frown crimping his narrow muzzle. “Well, I don’ know as I oughtter get anyone else involved... there’ll be hell ter pay if these three get 'emselves eaten, I don’ want the bosses bangin’ on at me fer lettin’ Spidey eat any more workers…”
And while Skar’s guard was down that little thoughtful fraction, the biggest Dirgescreamer chose that moment to lunge at the lead… and it snapped, the end whipping back with the recoil and nearly taking Skar’s eye out. He staggered backward with the sudden lack of force on his arms, gave an inarticulate yell of fury and watched as the Screamer vanished down the corridor, screaming its triumph at being suddenly free.
“
They tol’ me these Odd-damned leads would hold ‘em!” he howled to no-one in particular, furious and frustrated at the same time, briefly toying with the idea of stunning the runaway and stopping it, but upon realising he had no way of re-leashing it he left it.
“That’s one of the li’l sods dead, then,” he raged, wanting to go break something but unable to because it would mean letting these two go as well… “Odd, I hate this! Hate it! HATE IT! Might as well go sign up fer the neural bloody implant right now, ‘cause I sure as Frack ain’t goin’ ter stop the big bastard wi’ jus’ two screamers…!”
The two remaining screamers had set up a howling cacophony of sound, screaming at their missing pack-mate and straining to get free, all the tendons sticking out of the waxy skin, lunging and making Skar totter precariously on his artificial limbs.
“Shaddap!” Skar howled, and gave the larger one a boot. “Dammit, I had enough o’ yer stupid howlin’ an’ whinin’ all bloody day, so shut the frack up!” He slammed a savage palm onto the pad on his glove, shocked the two Screamers quiet again, lost in something of a dream world, until the fitful whines of the two creatures brought him back to the present and he jerked his palm off the pad as though it was hot, annoyed with
himself now. For a while he just stood, trying to unclench his muscles and ungrit his teeth, breathing hard, trying to calm his boiling temper and only succeeding in getting it back to a vague simmer… The mud was looking startled, had shied away again at this violent explosion of pent-up fury.
Damn it all to Hell, he thought, chest heaving, hoping against hope that his prey wouldn’t have heard all the ruckus…
[ May 04, 2001: Message edited by: Teal ]
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