Saav Burrowfar was clever and strong, and unlike many of his hatching mates, had burrowed away from his egg before digging his way to the surface when he hatched. If there had been any adults waiting to step on him, he would have escaped, having surfaced beneath a berry bush, but no adults had been around, and Saav was the leader of all of the People who lived in the grass and bushes. Jeema was the singer of songs for all of them, her skin a shining silver that caught the light and seemed to glow on days when the sky fire hung in the clear blue of the above.

The small piece of wood in his hands was long, straight, and hard, and his little teeth worried at the end, chewing it into a point. The big one who had come through the People's hunting grounds had escaped with many of the valuable stickers, and Jeema had been busy mixing together secret things in a hollowed out acorn shell to dip the points of the stickers in.

When the Death that Thundered had come, Saav had been afraid that it would trample more of the grass and kill any of the People unlucky enough to be caught by the great black monster, who was obviously a creature of the Son of the Black Moon's wrath to remind all the People of his love. Instead, it and the big one, who smelled faintly of something that made Saav want to sing and dance, had begun to fight, and eventually had moved beyond where Saav could see.

A warbling cry broke into Saav's thoughts of the big one and the Death that Thundered, and he stood up on his hind legs, the half finished sticker in his claws, and ran into the grass.

It was Keeva Longneck, a warrior of the People who could see further than anyone else, and that Saav had told to stay at the edge of the grass and watch for the Death that Thundered to return to torment the People. He was trilling, at first in alarm, and then urging everyone to "come see" and Saav could hear the tapping of the People's feet ahead of him, meaning they were curious, anxious, or happy. Combined with the trill that more and more were picking up, Saav was worried that whatever was attracting attention might be dangerous to the People.

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"What is it?" Saav asked when he was close enough to see Jeema hopping up and down, her long neck extended so she could see over the grass.

"Both the yum yum that escaped and the Death that Thunders come." Jeema said, her ears fanned out and pressed tight against her head.

"I will call the stickers!" Saav said, inhaling to let loose the trill that would gather all of the warriors of the People. "Too long has the Death that Thunders slain us. It must die!"

"No." Jeema snapped, swinging the stick with the dried head of a hunter-bug on the end, and Saav let out the breath he had inhaled in a whoosh, not trilling for assistance. "The big one carries the Death that Thunders."

Saav straightened up, raising his head above the grass, his black beady eyes alert as his apricot sized head swiveled until he saw what Jeema spoke of.

The big one was at the edge of the dead place, the dirt where nothing grew any longer, and the Death that Thundered was held above its head by spindly arms. As Saav watched it threw Death that Thundered onto the ground, right at the edge of the grass. The smell of blood, rich and sweet, washed over Saav, and he heard several of the People's stomachs growl at the scent.

Amazingly, the big one opened its mouth and actually spoke, like one of the People.

"Elba Eggmother gives this to the People, so that you may grow strong. A big one of the People will come, to sing songs and teach you, but for now, eat."

Aveliene watched the scores of apricot pit sized heads, each of them with a pair of glittering black eyes, swivel from her face to the body of the Black Unicorn, mouths gaping open in Peeper smiles, and her sharp hearing could hear feet slapping in approval. Their ears were flared as they began to move forward.

"Take this gift, eat of the yum yum that it has become, and grow big." The big person said, striding into the grass.

"Let it pass, it speaks the name of the Queen of Dreams." Jeema trilled, and those of the People who were moving forward backed away, their ear fans spreading out to show that they meant no harm, that they were just playing.

Aveliene chuckled to herself as she moved the weak point between that world and the High Roads, the two horns clinking in her pocket.

Behind her the Peepers, baby kobolds who had turned feral with no songs to teach them, swarmed over the dead body of the black unicorn, to feast and grow fat.