"Janet Kagan - Mirabile" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kagan Janet)

guaranteed to help. With a few more hugs, I stumbled off to bed.
Morning came the way it usually did for me this time of yearтАФmuch too early.
Leo, bless him, was up but quiet. The first thing I wanted was a good look at the
ottersтАЩ playground. That was near enough to where IтАЩd seen the creature that maybe
we could find some tracks. This side of Loch Moose got its sunlight early if at all.
Luckily, the day was a good one and the scenery was enough to make you glad you
had eyes and ears and a nose.
I stood for a moment trying to orient myself, then pointed. тАЬSomewhere around
here. IтАЩm pretty sure thatтАЩs where I heard it.тАЭ We separated.
Something that big should have left visible evidence of its passing. The popcorn
tree was my first break. Something had eaten all the lower leaves from it and done
some desultory gnawing at its bark into the bargain. That was several days earlier,
from the look of the wood, so I didnтАЩt find any tracks to go with it.
Now, the popcorn treeтАЩs native to Mirabile, so we were dealing with a creature
that either didnтАЩt have long to live or was a DragonтАЩs Tooth suited to the EC. Still, it
was an herbivore, unless it was one of those exceptions that nibbled trees for some
reason other than nourishment.
But it was big! I might have discounted the height it could reach as something that
stood on its hind feet and stretched, but this matched the glimpse IтАЩd gotten by nova
light.
Leo called and I went to see what heтАЩd found. When I caught up with him, he was
staring at the ground. тАЬAnnie, this thing weighs a ton!тАЭ He pointed.
Hoofprints sunk deep into the damp ground. He meant тАЬtonтАЭ in the literal sense. I
stooped for a closer look, then unshipped my backpack, and got out my gear. тАЬGet
me a little water, will you, Leo?тАЭ I handed him a folded container. тАЬI want to make a
plaster cast. Hey!тАЭ I added as an afterthought. тАЬKeep your eyes open!тАЭ
He grinned. тАЬHard to miss something that size.тАЭ
тАЬYou have up to now,тАЭ I pointed out. I wasnтАЩt being snide, just realistic. IтАЩm
happy to say he understood me.
I went back to examining the print. It was definitely not deer, though it looked
related. The red deer survived by sticking to a strict diet of Earth-authentic, which
meant I couldnтАЩt draw any real conclusions from the similarities. I was still betting
herbivore, though maybe it was just because I was hoping.
I was purely tired of things that bit or mangled or otherwise made my life
miserable. Seemed to me it was about time the DragonтАЩs Teeth started to balance out
and produce something useful.
By the time we mixed the plaster and slopped it into the print, IтАЩd decided that I
should be grateful for SusanтАЩs clogweed-eaters and LeoтАЩs pansies and not expect
too much of our huge surprise package.
тАЬLeo, I think itтАЩs an herbivore. That doesnтАЩt mean it isnтАЩt dangerousтАФyou know
what a stag can doтАФbut it means I donтАЩt want it shot on sight.тАЭ
тАЬYou wouldnтАЩt want it shot on sight if it were a carnivore,тАЭ he said. тАЬIf I didnтАЩt
shoot the first beastly on sight, IтАЩm not likely to shoot this without good reason.тАЭ
I fixed him with a look of pure disgust. The disgust was aimed at me, though. I
knew the name Leonov Denness should have rung bells, but IтАЩd gotten distracted by
the nickname.
Back when he was Leonov Opener Denness, heтАЩd been the scout that opened
and mapped all the new territory from Ranomafana to Goddamn! He brought back
cell samples of everything he found, that being part of the job; but heтАЩd also brought
back a live specimen of the beastly, which was at least as nasty as the average