"Get ready, Pearlpet, the spinners are almost here." Ripred's commanding voice echoed in the small cavern. I really loathed the older rat; he was mean and had no regard for personal feelings, but there was no better gnawer to fight along side.
I took a deep sniff. Yes, spinners, though I couldn't tell how many.
"How many are there?" I inquired. "I can't tell."
"Does it matter, you great white buffoon? They're going to be here, and you are going to be fighting them. And remember to watch out for poison fangs. We don't need your insides to become goo, do we?"
It took all of my self-control to not try to tear his throat out on the spot. I had a good three feet on him, but he was a thousand times a better fighter, being a rager and all.
"Here they are, Pearliegirlie, get ready," the rat warned. He crouched into fighting position, claws extended, mouth open. I knew he was about to begin spinning. He always spun, unless his intent was not to kill.
The first spinner dropped down, fangs ready to bite, but Ripred tore it to shreds before it could strike. At that time, dozens of spinners flooded the cave. I began to claw at them, whip at them with my tail. From his spin, Ripred called out to me, "You're not going to do much flailing at them like that, Pearlpet, get control!"
The rat's taunting put me in a state of fury. Roaring, I ripped a spinner in half with one claw.
"There we go, get mad, Pearlpet, get mad." Did Ripred just say something not hurtful? I paused a second in surprise, mouth open. A spinner shot some of its webbing at me, catching me in one eye.
I roared in pain. Oh, how it burned! I was down an eye now, which was not too bad since I could echo locate somewhat. I heard the echoes of a spinner headed right towards me, preparing to bite me in the face. I shut my eye in anticipation, ready for the pain.
But it never came. The spinner lay crumpled on the ground in front of me, nearly in half by the work of a rat's tail.
"Come on, Pearlie, you're going to have to do better than that!"
"I'm trying," I whined. "We all aren't ragers, you know!"
"But most of us are competent fighters," he countered.
With a growl, I leaped for the rat, only to be thrown off by his tail.
"Why don't you fight the ones who are trying to kill you, instead of the one trying to keep you alive?"
Angrily, I whipped out at one of the few remaining spinners with my tail, cutting it cleanly in half. The other spinners soon joined the pile of carcasses surrounding Ripred, who was taking out the last two spinners with his claws.
"Hmph," Ripred grunted, before counting the spinner corpses. "One, two,thr--no, I killed that one, too. Two. You killed two. Out of thirty-six. You killed one twenty-third of the spinners."
I contemplated ripping his head off, but there was no use. I'd fail at that, too.
"Let's go, Pearliegirlie, you've had enough today."
