The sight of my prey now dead and ready to eat reminded me of my hunger, and I dropped down beside the head just as the Ghost lad pulled himself out from under it, shaking his own head a few times. I pecked out the… well, anyway, I pecked at the head, and then said, //You OK?//
//I’m fine,// he said. //Just kind of bruised and confused.//
//Why were you on the head?// I asked him, because I really wanted to know. //I thought you all went straight for the neck.//
//We do, and if I had been alone I would have. But we lads and lasses aren’t strong enough to be sure to get the killing blow at first, and we lose a lot to getting struck off against trees and things. So when we hunt together we smaller ones go straight for the head, which really distracts the Dragon, and we can blind him too. And then the older ones strike the head off.//
//It can be a bit of a ride for you, eh?// I said, working on getting the head all the way open.
//Yes,// He said, gnawing at the end of the neck which lay next to him. //Great hunt, though. Nice not having to go into a lair to get a Dragon. Good eating too, eh?//
//Absolutely. The best thing I have ever eaten! The Beasts are good, but these are better.//
//I’ve never had Beast,// he said. //Except dried and smoked up from the plains, and it doesn’t taste so hot that way. For that matter, Dragon isnt’ anything special when you dry it or salt it or whatever.//
I shuddered. Dried or smoked or salted anything sounded horrible.
//Do you have to eat that much?// I asked.
//All the time. The Spearwives will dry and smoke this stuff, the part we don’t eat… if there is any that we don’t eat, that is. We are a big party.//
That was true enough. Already there were dozens of Ghosts and Spearmen around the kill, and the Spearmen were preparing a fire. One of the Ghosts came over to me. //When you have eaten, tell us, and we will spead out again.//
Again? //You wish to hunt again?//
//Of course. We have assembled three hundred Ghosts and two hundred Spearmen, and not all for one Dragon, as good as that is.//
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Von