Wild Dog City (Darkeye Volume 1) by Lydia West

false starts, he
managed to make his way to the massive cavern where the sewage fell
from pipes. He couldn't help but take a whiff, wondering,
perversely, if the commingled waste from his own house fell in
there as well. It had been a long time since the police had put in
place the rule that toilets must be used, to keep the waste off the
streets. Oldtown citizens tended to be a bit lax about it, but he'd
heard that it was rigidly enforced in other districts.
    That made him wonder where, exactly, this
massive cavern was located aboveground. He had no way of knowing.
He might not even be in Oldtown anymore. It was a curious thought,
but Mhumhi shrugged it off, steeling himself instead for the
unpleasant task he had to perform.
    He made his way down the little side-tunnel
and finally to the door. It was a few inches ajar, and light was
spilling into the corridor.
    Give them the food, then leave, he promised
himself, and nudged it open with his nose.
    At once something came flying down with a whap and clipped the end of his nose. He yelped and jumped
back.
    "Go away!"
    Mhumhi growled, and seeing that someone was
shutting the door, threw his whole weight on it and shoved it open.
There was a shrill hulker scream, and something whapped him
hard on the head.
    "Stop that!" he shouted, whirling around, and
snapped at the thing. It turned out to be a wooden plank, which
splintered under his teeth as he yanked it out of Maha's hand. She
gave a startled cry of pain and fell back.
    "Dog!"
    That was Tareq, sitting up in his little nest
as Mhumhi growled and vented his frustration on the board by
tearing it into splinters.
    "Oh!" said Maha, who had caught herself with
one paw against the wall. "Oh, it's Mhumhi."
    Her voice was a little uncertain, as if she
was unsure if in fact this was an improvement. Mhumhi spat out bits
of wood.
    "Of course it's me! Who else would come down
this stinking place to feed stinking hulkers!"
    "Well, Kutta always scratches to let us know
it's her," Maha said defensively, drifting back over to Tareq.
    That was actually a decent point, so Mhumhi
decided to drop it. His nose was still smarting.
    "Come over here and get the food from me, so
I can leave."
    They both stared at him with their weird
hulker eyes. Mhumhi scratched the concrete floor impatiently with
one paw.
    "If you two are puppies, come and act like
it!"
    Maha gave Tareq a light pat on his bony
shoulder and then stood up on two legs. Mhumhi put his ears back
and rumbled.
    Maha bit her lip and crouched down and came
towards him in that horrible half-crawl. When she got close enough
she reached out her paw…
    "What are you doing with your paw?" Mhumhi
demanded.
    "It's not a paw, it's a hand ," said
Maha. "And these are my fingers." She wriggled her weird little
talons at him, as if Mhumhi hadn't been uncomfortable enough.
    "You haven't answered my question."
    "I'm coming to take the meat," she said,
tilting her head at him.
    Mhumhi stared at her. "Are you planning to
bat it out of me?"
    Tareq gave his bubbly little hulker laugh.
Maha reached for him again, and he jerked away, raising a lip. She
scooted closer along the floor and reached for him again. He
growled, shaking from the urge to move away from the horrible
talons, and forced himself to hold still.
    She took her fingers and stroked him along
the chin. It was a bizarre sensation, very different from something
like Kebero licking him- more pressure, less dampness- and he did
not think he liked it, but it had the desired effect. He turned his
head away and up came Kutta's meat.
    Maha snatched the goopy handful of it at once
and backed away, as Mhumhi licked his lips and gulped. He was
becoming a regurgitation machine lately.
    He saw Maha moving to hand it all to Tareq,
who was reaching his little paws- hands- out eagerly, and snapped,
"No! You both eat."
    "I ate this morning," said Maha.
    "Don't lie to me," said Mhumhi, stepping
forward threateningly, tail raised. "Your older sister gave up