The Hooman Saga - XVI - Serial Fiction

So far: We found last week some of Sue's background on the Moon, where things were not as they seemed. Meanwhile, we found that her "sentience" extended to seeing other's dreams...

Feb 08, 2025

THE BUNDLE IN HER MOUTH reeks of hooman.

Tig-she had to stop often to set it down and let the taste and smell clear her senses.

It was a bundle of the tattered suit Soo-she had worn for days when she first arrived. How hoomans can make such stink was beyond Tig-she's understanding. All species had their own scent. Most all of them cleaned themselves by habit. Maybe if she didn't have to wear clothes...

Tig-she picked up the bundle again and continued. Her job was to bury these scraps.

She loped down an old path to some loose soil among some pungent flowers. The cubs shouldn't find this, she thought.

"Hold up there!" came a thought from behind her.

It was Snarl. “What did he want now?” but kept that question to her self.

Glad to put the smelly bundle out of her mouth, she waited.

Snarl rounded the last trail curve and came closer.

Tig-she sent, "What brings you here?"

Snarl replied, "I saw you cross the valley with the sun reflecting off those suit scraps. I came to offer my help ."

"Nothing of your concern. I can finish this." sent Tig-she.

Snarl sent, "I'm sure you can. But more paws make a deeper hole faster. The sooner we get that stench out of this valley, the better."

Tig-she had to agree with that. "Well, it's just up ahead."

She picked up the bundle again. Snarl followed as she loped away.

Finally they arrived. The flowers in bloom made her almost gag by themselves.

Setting the bundle down at their base, Tig-she started digging. Snarl came close to her shoulder and also dug.

Soon they had a hole twice as deep as the bundle was high. Tig-she nosed it in, then they both back-filled.

With the last of the loose dirt replaced, they both patted the ground to firm it. They then scattered dry leaves and twigs over it. Finally Tig-she pulled a dead branch over the top.

She sent to Snarl, "Now to go find wild mint to take the taste out of my mouth."

Snarl replied. "Glad to help. There's a patch by the pool up near the High Caves."

Tig-she sent, "Thanks. I know the spot." Then loped off back down the trail.

As she rounded the bend, she stopped. No foot-falls were coming after her. Snarl was up to something.

Focusing her senses back up the trail, she found that Snarl hadn't moved. He was looking at the mound they had created.

Tig-she remembered other times Snarl acted this way. He was planning something.

She turned, quietly taking a side path going back around. And arrived at a secluded spot where she could get a view of his actions. She had to stay under cover to watch.

Snarl waited until Tig-she must be far away down the trail. Then he carefully pulled the branch back, brushed off the leaves and twigs, then dug again.

Soon, he had the bundle back out of the hole. Going off a distance, he found a rock about that size. With some effort, he pushed it back and into the hole. Then replaced the dirt, the leaves, the twigs, and finally the branch.

Picking up the bundle, he started up the trail toward the valley side wall.

Tig-she left her place to follow at a distance.

Snarl took a tight, twisting route that forced him several times to climb almost straight up. He emerged at the top of the valley wall, able to put down the bundle and rest for awhile.

All he saw from that vantage point was an almost-empty valley. No one was near enough to see him.

Picking up the bundle, he continued his plan.

Tig-she came out of hiding from a boulder below him and finished the climb. Now the tracking began. If she was careful, she'd find out what he was planning without discovery.

We’re now well into a new serial.

Now we’ve seen more background to Snarl. Where and why he takes the scent of Sue as a hooman outside of the sentient wolf valley - but why? Meanwhile, Sue is still preparing to undergo a mysterious “probe” which no human before her has survived…

Of course there are some 17 more chapters (half-way next week!) after this. But you’ll have to stay tuned until next week to see how they get out of this…

For now, set your calendar to keep track of these new adventures. Every Saturday.