Chapter 11 (Jake)

It would be a while until I got a chance to talk to Vuhl alone. In the mean time, I realized that none of us had even thought about eating in at least twenty-four hours. And now we were feeling the effects.

"Ugh," Marco complained. "I'm starving."

"Here," Zu offered helpfully, leading us off to the side of the bridge. He picked up what looked like an oxygen mask, and held it out to Marco.

"Uh," Marco stuttered. "I'm sorry, but we don't eat air."

"Not air. Piroth. What do humans eat?" Zu asked, apparently surprised that humans couldn't eat anything from a gas mask.

"Nothing that can be inhaled. At least, not unless you count crack cocaine as a food," Marco said.

((What's piroth?)) Tobias asked. Then he remembered that Zu couldn't hear him. I repeated the question out loud for him.

"Piroth is . . . a powder. Made by plants, to grow more plants. It floats in the air, and Kelbrid absorb it." He pointed at the four diamond-shaped holes in his face, apparently at a loss to explain exactly how Kelbrid could absorb a powder.

((Plant spores,)) Tobias translated. ((Yuck.))

"This from the guy who eats rats," Marco muttered.

"What is 'crack cocaine'?" Zu asked. Apparently that was something that didn't have a Kelbrid equivalent.

"It's a powder, too. But it's bad for you. It's a drug," I said.

"Ah," Zu said. "So do humans not normally eat powders from the air? How do you eat, then?"

"We just put stuff into our mouths and chew," I said with a shrug. "See?" I worked my jaw to demonstrate. Zu looked mesmerized by the utter strangeness of my mouth. As if he'd missed seeing it before I'd pointed it out.

"I apologize, but I can only offer you piroth to eat," Zu said after I'd finished demonstrating. "We have three varieties. Runei, darvon, or thywer?"

"What do they taste like?" Jeanne asked.

Zu looked perplexed as he tried to find words to explain. "They taste like runei, darvon, and thywer. I'm afraid I know of nothing else to compare them to."

So we all just sort of picked flavors at random. I think mine was darvon. After Marco made an attempt to use the oxygen-mask apparatus and was overtaken by a massive coughing fit, we decided to eat the piroth in powdered, non-inhalant form.

I stared at my lunch. A pile of grey-green powder. Cautiously, I pinched a fingerful of it and put it on my tongue.

It wasn't bad, actually. I can't quite describe the taste, but the closest analog would be spiciness. But sort of nutty-tasting, too, with a bit of a sweet aftertaste. Not bad, for plant spores.

((Ugh, you've got to be kidding me,)) Tobias complained. ((I can't eat plants. My digestive system can only handle meat. What am I supposed to do?))

"Morph to human?" Marco suggested.

((No, that wouldn't work. What I eat as a human doesn't feed my hawk self.))

There was a long pause, as we all thought about the options.

Ax, cautiously looked up from the hoof he was grinding into a pile of ochre-colored runei powder. He fidgeted a little, avoiding looking directly at Tobias. ((I . . . may have an idea,)) he said slowly, obviously not quite wanting to say what he was about to say. ((I do not know if you will find it acceptable, but, if there is no other option . . . perhaps . . . ))

((Come on, Ax, spit it out. I'm sure it beats going hungry. What's your idea?)) Tobias said.

((Well, the morphing technology regenerates missing tissue, so . . . one of us could . . . )) Ax stuttered.

"What? Oh my god. Are you really suggesting what I think you are suggesting? That is disgusting," Jeanne exclaimed, having immediately figured out what Ax was hinting.

((Whoa. That's . . . well, I mean . . . um. That's certainly an idea, alright,)) Tobias managed to stutter. He's probably the least squeamish of all of us, and even he was weirded out by what Ax was suggesting.

I was beyond weirded out. I felt downright sick.

"Ugh," I managed to groan.

Marco, on the other hand, glanced around the room and asked, "Any volunteers?"

Nobody volunteered.

There was a reason why Ax's idea was making me feel uneasy. Because I knew it had to be me. I felt like I owed Tobias something. I could tell that he still hadn't quite forgiven me, even after all these years. It was up to me to make the first steps towards peace between us. Which meant I couldn't pass up an opportunity to do him this big a favor.

I hesitantly raised my hand, volunteering myself. "How do you feel about rhinoceros meat?" I asked.

((To be honest, I've never tried it,)) Tobias responded.

I made an excuse to Zu, and we all headed off to an area of the ship where he couldn't see us. Out of sight of any Kelbrid, I focused on my rhinoceros morph.

My arms and legs bulked up into pillars, my face erupted into the rhinoceros's horn, and my skin hardened into armor. I was a living tank.

Whoa. It had been forever since I'd done this morph. I'd forgotten how bad the rhinoceros's eyesight was. I could barely even see Marco. But I could still hear him.

"Come on, you have to say it. Say it, Jake. You can't pass this one up. Seriously, how many chances will you have to make this joke ever again? You've gotta say it," Marco begged.

I had a feeling I knew what joke he was talking about. I sighed, but consented. Just to make Marco happy.

((Oh, alright, alright! Tobias, you wanna piece of me?)) I said, in my best 'tough guy' voice. Which was probably pretty pathetic.

((Bring it on, big Jake,)) Tobias replied, joking back. I was relieved that he was able to joke around with me like that. It meant we were making at least a little progress.

"Ax? You ready to slice up Jake like a christmas ham?" Marco said.

((Better question. Am I ready to be sliced up like a christmas ham?)) I said.

((Yes, I am ready. I must sincerely apologize, Prince Jake. Please forgive me,)) Ax said. Then he slashed his tail into my flank. I felt one, two, three sharp stings, then heard a wet-sounding thump. It didn't hurt as much as I was worried it might. Rhinoceroses are pretty tough.

I demorphed. Once my eyes were back, I saw Tobias tearing into a rat-sized piece of rhino meat. Meat that had been attached to me just moments ago.

I tried my best to shake off the willies. Of course, they came rushing right back the moment Marco asked, "So, Tobias, what does 'fearless leader' taste like?"

((Not bad)) he answered. ((A lot better than mice and rats, actually.))

Despite how utterly creeped out I was still feeling, I had to laugh. "Oh, gee, that's good to know."

Thank you, viennacantabile, for the wonderfully detailed review. -holds it up for everyone to see, disregarding the embarrassment that such an action would likely cause viennacantabile- See, this is the kind of review that makes me glow with happiness like Tobias after he turned into his cat. I love it when people tell me what it is I'm doing right, and give me suggestions.

But, of course, I appreciate every one of you who have reviewed my stories so far. Keep reading, and keep reviewing! Three more reviews will bring me up to twenty, and another extra chapter!