Chapter 40 of 78 · Book 5, The Butcher's Masquerade
Chapter 40 — Kapitan Whiskers
Book: The Butcher's Masquerade · Part: The Unhinged Child · Previous: Chapter 39 — Prepotente Town Number Four · Next: Chapter 41 — The Society for the Eradication of Cocker Spaniels · Floor: Floor 6 — The Hunting Grounds · Series: the series
Opening
“Hello, guys,” I said to the large, two-headed ogre creature sitting before me.
Summary
The Popov brothers in the flesh, in a green room that is practically a jail cell — a level-one training room, a greasy chicken on the counter, three days of panels — the first crawler other than Donut or Katia Carl has ever stood beside in a studio. Seven feet of mottled grey nodling: Dmitri, the Visionary, on the right with a round face; Maxim, the Bogatyr, chiselled, in a knitted beanie; the body's right arm, on Dmitri's side, sheathed in golden rings; a meteor hammer their weapon; fraternal twins in one body. Dmitri wanted to meet the cat: he had just got a kitten, Kapitan Whiskers, orange, the day before the collapse. 'You were trying to save the cat in the cold when it happened.' Maxim complains to their associate Skindle, Zev's subordinate, that they were left with one chicken. Zev: the first winning bidder for the Valtay's vacated slot could not pay, so a new sponsor has been chosen and will present a box at the signing — three hundred lottery fans, thirty premiums, then the press. 'Does your associate get mad when you tell her to go fuck herself?' 'We shall try it later, and I will report back.'
Characters
- The Popov brothers — Two men in one nodling; Kapitan Whiskers; a meteor hammer.
- Carl — Meets a crawler in person for the first time.
- Zev — Promoted; a sponsor she will not name yet.
- Skindle — The Popovs' associate; Maxim's complaint: one chicken.
Locations
- The Valtay landing vessel — A green room like a cell.
Motifs
- Race and class — A nodling's extra life: two brothers in one body.
- Sponsorship — The first winner could not pay.
- The show — Three hundred fans by lottery, thirty who paid.