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"You can take the bulletproofing out, but we generally wear it. Can be a lifesaver."
Valentine felt a bit like a porcupine. His old Cat claws would fit right in on this outfit. He could wear them openly and they'd just look like another set of spikes.
"How do you two kiss without harpooning each other?" Valentine asked.
A smile split Tikka's tan face and her eyes caught the firelight. "That's just part of the fun."
"Don't make fun of the leathers," Zak said. "A lot of effort goes into each one."
"Fine stitching," Valentine said. He wondered about the hides, though; they were thicker and pebblier than cowhide.
"I don't mean that. That's legworm egg-casing, stretched and dried. Getting it is trickier than threading a full-grown legworm for reins. You have to go into a breeding pile and get the egg right after it hatches, because it rots fast if you don't get it scraped out and dried. You have to help the little bugger inside out of it, or he'll eat almost the whole thing, and if you hurt a legworm grub doing that the adults stomp everything in sight."
"It's kind of a rite of passage for our youths," Tikka said. "They have to go into the winter dogpiles and check on the eggs. When they come out with a hide, they're considered full-grown members of the tribe."
"Thank you for skipping that step with me," Valentine said. "I'll wear it with pride."
"But be careful, Dave. There are lots in town that look down on riders. You'll get called a hillbilly and a Grogfucker and worse. Some think riding herd on a legworm's the same as cleaning up after a gaunt."
"He looks too fine for that kind of talk, Zak," Tikka said.
"How do you do the foxtails in your hair?" Valentine asked.
"Easy," Tikka said. "There's a cut-down pinecone attached to the tie. Some braid their hair around it. I can show you. Now that you've got a few worms, you should look the part."
"Zak, I want to talk to you about that. I'm passing through. Hoffman Price brought us up here in the hope that we'd get a guide to the Ohio River, up around Ironton or Portsmouth. I'll swap you my share of the recovered beasts for a ride."
Zak shook his head. "I've got a bigger string a little to the west. I'm leaving early tomorrow to get back to them."
"Then I'll drive you," Tikka said. "That way I'll get my string back."
"He's already got a girl, Tikka," Zak said. "You'll have to excuse my sister, Dave, she's man-crazy."
"Any girl who doesn't want a husband by twenty and babies after is man-crazy, in my brother's opinion," Tikka said. "Zak, you know you're the only one for me."
"'Only one' when I'm around, that is. And that's just 'cause I keep saying no to a train."
She tried to stomp him with her heavy riding boot but Zak danced out of the way. "You're a fresh piece of wormtrail, Zachary Stark."
"What in the hell are you wearing, David Black?" Alessa Duvalier asked from the darkness. She wore her long coat, black side turned out, and carried her walking stick.
"And that's the girl, Tikka," Zak said, grabbing for her long hair. She dodged out of the way and got behind Valentine.
"Apparently I'm Bulletproof now," Valentine said, striking a Napoleonic pose. "What do you think?" Tikka played with his hair.
"I'm tempted to get your pistol and test you. Starving, is there any food left?"
Valentine smelled blood on her. "Sure. I'll show you. Excuse us."
"Let's hurry. Starved."
Valentine led her up to the food tables, and she cut open a loaf and filled it with barbecue. They went back to their camp in the empty field. Ahn-Kha and Bee were wrapped up in a fireside game that involved piling buttons on a rounded rock.
"Price is walking his mule," Ahn-Kha said. "Did they offer us transport, my David?"
"Oh, he's got a ride. Count on him," Duvalier said.
"What have you been up to?" Valentine asked.
