Percentage: 76.6 (109% of target)
Not much wordage done today. Still, Science Fair time! I'm pretty tired tonight, so I think bed is not far off.
My goal is to have the novel completed by the end of my weekend - that is to say, saturday night. I am currently approximately 3 chapters from the end. I shall then go back and flesh out some of the duller chapters, trying to establish Raweke and Totoa better as characters and further delving into the rivalry between Pakari and Tiriki. Also, write a lengthy amount of info on the Kea and briefer blurbs on the Kaka, the House Sparrow and some stuff about parrots as pets and bird smuggling. This is essentially the skeleton of my story, now to add some more flesh to its bones. Also, I need to make sure it flows properly, given the vast amounts of cut and pasting of text that I have done. There is also a short story - "Entering and Breaking" and maybe the tale of Ka, Ki and Po.
If I still haven't achieved the 50k by then, I'll be most surprised!
And maybe write some more on my lemur story to finish my NaNo goals.
In today's extract, Tiriki meets a cat at the Science Fair:
There will be more from this murderous b**ch later!
He was not the
only non-human in the hall either – lying in a basket, a collar and
lead attached to its throat, was the biggest cat that Tiriki had ever
seen.
She perked up her
ears as he was carried past.
“Biiiiir-die,”
she purred.
“Hey Jessica,
you brought your cat along,” Josh stopped, and spoke with the
human, a young female, standing near the cat.
“Sure did,”
she said, running one hand over the cat's shaggy head. “This is
Dragon. She's a Maine Coon.”
“She's
massive!” His eyes flicked over the board. “You've trained her,
like a dog?”
Jessica nodded.
“Sure have – she can fetch, and do other tricks too. Even count!”
“Well, my bird
knows some tricks too.”
The girl tried to
peer into the cage. “Is that a kea?” She asked.
“Smartest bird
in the world,” declared Josh.
“And don't you
forget it!” Tiriki added. “Smarter than any cat!”
“His name's
Kaha,” continued the boy. “My dad's been looking after him. He
was hurt pretty bad.”
“Hello Kaha,”
crooned Dragon. “You think you're so clever, don't you?”
“I don't think
it at all,” declared Tiriki, “I know it. And my name's really
Tiriki.”
“Mine is
Princess Diamantia Rosella the third,” replied Dragon, “but
humans just don't understand it. They give us silly little names to
match their silly little minds.” She began grooming her foot. “I've
always wondered what a parrot would taste like.”
“Now that you
mention that,” replied Tiriki, “I've always fancied a taste of
cat.”
“Oh look at
them,” Jessica commented, “it's almost as though they're talking
to one another. I wonder what they're saying?”
“Maybe they're
becoming friends?” Josh asked, looking hopefully at Jessica. Tiriki
could sense that he admired the girl, fancied her even.
Princess
Diamantia Rosella aka Dragon licked her lips. “I do love to kill
birds,” she purred, eyes half closed. “Feeling their little
bodies give beneath my powerful jaws, hearing the
crunch-crunch-crunch of their broken bones. Oh, and it is so fun to
play with them first. Watching the panic as their little heart
race-races along, fit to bursting.” She grinned at Tiriki, showing
her pearly white fangs. “Sometimes their hear does give up, and
they die too quickly,” she continued, “that makes me sad. Their
pain is just so delicious, so divine. Do you know how many birds I've
killed?” She opened her eyes fully, yellow and evil. “Many,”
she continued. “Oh, so many.”
Tiriki shuddered.
He knew cats, like most mammals, were murderous beasts, but he had
never realised how truly sadistic they were.
“Well, I'd
better get him set up,” said Josh, hoisting the cage up again. “Say
goodbye to your new friend, Kaha.”
“Good
riddance,” Tiriki growled. “Murderer.”
“Bye-bye
birdie,” crooned the cat, “I'll slay you later.”
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