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The sound was rhythmic, metallic, sharp… as sharp as the teeth of the doors that were producing it, opening and closing at regular intervals, almost in synchronization with the pulsating walls of the hatchery.
Natla and Tihocan stood a respectful distance away from the deadly trap, watching it.
“At least we know the security system works,” Natla spoke up at length.
“We’ve known that already,” Tihocan opposed.
A moment of silence.
Natla looked the doors up and down. “But now we have personal experience?”
“Technically, we don’t. And I would rather we won’t,” Tihocan grimaced.
Natla looked at him sideways. A little smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Oh please, it’s not that fast, we can most probably get through.”
“No,” Tihocan said quickly and took Natla by her upper arm, in case she was about to try anyway.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “You worry too much. The doors are designed for the Skinless to not get through, not humans. We are smart enough to time it right and not leave a limb behind.”
Tihocan’s grip tightened.
“And even if we did,” Natla tried reassuring him, “I’m fairly sure I’d be able to put us back together unless we were actually dead.”
By the look on his face, this didn’t placate him in the least.
“Well, what do you want to do?” Natla gestured to the problem in front of them. “Wait until someone turns off the alarm from the outside?”
“Yes, Natla, that’s exactly what any reasonable person would do.”
Natla pouted at him. They had already called for help and so far nothing was happening. Then she smirked when another thought occurred to her: “What if it’s not a false alarm after all and there are some uncontrollable Skinless running around? Would you rather face them? Not only do they have sharp teeth,” she nodded to the door, “they also have claws, are fast and unpredictable… can shoot balls of fire and spikes… some can fly…”
“Yes, yes, I get your point,” Tihocan rolled his eyes. “If any are coming our way, we might have to brave the door and let the Skinless get crushed. But I’d rather not give it the opportunity to crush us, if possible.”
“It wouldn’t really, it’d chop us clean in half,” Natla grinned.
Tihocan glared at her.
“What?” She shrugged. “That’s the whole point of this system, cause that kind of damage that would make the Skinless explode.”
“Yes, which is a characteristic I would have hoped you would have corrected by now,” he raised a hand to indicate he would continue, as Natla was already opening her mouth. “I understand the security system was built this way exactly to make use of their… violent chemical reaction. But the damaged silo last year showed quite well the disadvantages of servants that will explode after suffering an injury.”
“Look, I’m aware of that, trust me,” Natla squirmed out of his hold and went to lean on a wall, “but I work with science, not magic. If we want them to be able to produce fire, they need something flammable in their bodies.”
“Maybe we could go back to the previous version then, we probably don’t need them with the fire ability anymore,” Tihocan threw in a suggestion.
Natla kept herself from rolling her eyes only because it was clear Tihocan didn’t believe his words either. But she humoured him with an answer anyway:
“Yes, if we don’t mind a repeat of the demon infestation four years ago, sure. I really miss swarms of demon-possessed Skinless terrorizing the city.”
“What about demon proofing that doesn’t include fire?”
“Tihocan, we’ve been through that many times before. Are you really that bored?”
Tihocan creased his eyebrows in surprise, then thought about it. “I suppose so, yes. There isn’t much to do here.”
“We can do a repeat inspection of the hatchery.”
“I don’t enjoy that as much as you do,” Tihocan shook his head.
“Then what about-” Natla stilled, turned her head towards the unobstructed direction of the hallway. She pushed herself from the wall. “Did you hear anything?”
Tihocan was looking the same way now, and he shook his head slowly. “I don’t think so...”
“Are you sure? I thought...” Natla was frowning. She glanced the other way, towards the still moving toothed doors.
“Do you think we should really risk it?” Tihocan asked, uneasy.
Natla was watching the sharp teeth. Open… close. Open… close. “I don’t think… I’ve probably imagined it anyway.”
They were both quiet for a moment. It didn’t seem any sounds were coming their way.
“Possibly, yes,” Tihocan agreed when nothing had happened for some moments. His face cleared slightly, a small smile appearing. “Not so keen on trying to pass through after all?”
“Changing your mind instead of insisting on something that might cause harm to you or others is an important quality of a competent ruler,” Natla flicked a non-existent speck of dust from her shoulder.
Then she grinned. “It was fun watching you worry that I would actually try it though.”
“Very funny,” Tihocan huffed. “So what was the other idea of yours to stave off our boredom?”
Natla sighed. “Not sure if stave off our boredom, but it would be something to do.” She picked up her Scion. “I have the financial reports for the last quarter with me.”
Tihocan grimaced a little but then nodded in reluctant appreciation. “We can look through them with no distractions. We have been putting that off for too long.”
No surprise as to why. “And if they are too dull, we can throw ourselves into the awaiting teeth,” Natla pointed behind her.
Tihocan laughed. “An advantage indeed.”