Heron Lake Plateau Something smells fishy

The kid fought a bird and lived? His first thought beyond that was of Towhee's stupid pet, and that made the fur on the back of his neck stand up. How stupid could she be to have something like that around little kids? But he reminded himself these were Blackthorns — so that calmed him down somewhat.

Yeah kid, he murmured, but then took on a very serious expression and got down low so that the soot-blob could look at his healed wound. I went huntin' one day, but the megalo-teryx started huntin' me. His eyes went wide, which made the sunken hole-and-eyelid combo flex grossly. It's big, kid. Really tall, with a long stabby beak and big feet! It could'a crushed me but I was too fast.