III-12 Feast (II)

The beautiful thing about all biology is mutation; the transformation is synthesization. Everything can be something else, all can be true,

The beautiful thing about all biology is mutation; the transformation is synthesization. Everything can be something else, all can be true, and all can change. When flesh tears, it is not absolute. It can be regenerated, and yet all things have the capacity for regeneration, though some bodies need to be taught such things.

Now watch. Watch as this brutally dismembered, mangled ruin of a being is restored, restored as I simply inflict a single dose of viral infections upon it. First, the infections will seep in. It will be little more than a cold, but it will greet his brain, it will modify the body's bioelectricity, and soon, soon the virus won't be so much of a virus anymore. Soon, the virus will become an educator, a teacher, an instructor of the flesh. Soon, what is instinctively and intrinsically known to the virus will be bestowed upon the body. Watch now, it regrows.

And so, once more, I have transformed. Not only this body, but a concept—an idea of a virus that is meant to harm, an infection certain to kill. But within that, within everything I have done, is palliative, is transformation, is mending.

You do not tear and break if you cannot put back together; that is what I believe. And you cannot break properly if you cannot put something back together. For this is the beauty of Biomancy. With a few adjustments to the blood codes, a few moved proteins, a simple tweak of the structure, that which might have made your flesh peel from your very bones could make you utterly immortal.

-Odes of Blood and Flesh, Sculptor Ekkihurst

III-12

Feast (II)

"I am the chef," Shiv said. He clenched his jaw and raised his kitchen knife. His reflection stared back from the fifty meters of severed quart leviathan tentacle that lay in a huge steel cauldron. It had been shaped from broken remains found in the ruins of Gate Theborn. It took the aid of Can Hu to properly shape what once was a gnarled mass of scrap metal into something that was a good conductor of heat. Now, the set-up work was done. 

The cauldron lay partially embedded in the ground. It was held in place by curved grills, and the surrounding ground was rendered level and flat by Can Hu—an island of stability and cleanliness amidst a sea of rubble and devastation.

As most of the first response force from Weave headed off to render aid at the Surface Gateway, a few stayed behind to help Shiv with his meal. Adam, Uva, Can Hu, Valor, Ikki, Uva’s team Pyromancer, and a few Weaveresses remained nearby.

With a gesture from Shiv, the Weaveress Hydromancers unleashed a deluge of water that quickly filled the cauldron. Next, the Umbral Pyromancer channeled a beam of searing heat into the water, raising its temperature to a grumbling boil in a near instant.

As he did, he observed those around him. Adam and Uva were looking uncertain—Uva more dubious than uncertain. Valor was studying Shiv more than he regarded the slowly simmering tentacle. Not far away, parked in the sky over the Abyssal Gateway, was Courtney, the Court Leviathan. It barely reacted when Shiv severed its tentacle, but now it was making loud groans as several of Uva's Psychomancy strands already burrowed in its many minds.

 Uva scoured its memories, over and over again, to make sure it wasn't hiding any ugly surprises. So far, she said nothing. That was a good sign. But an Umbral Psychomancer's paranoia was not so easily stated. 

But perhaps her hunger will be, as would be her incredulity when Shiv proved them wrong about this dish. And he would prove them all wrong.

"So," Ikki asked, "how long is this going to take?"

"Patience," Shiv said, holding up a hand.

His eyes were narrowed, his Biomancy focused, but he didn't do anything with it. For once, Shiv did something very unlike himself—well, unlike himself in combat, anyway. He reached into the meat, but instead of ripping or twisting or using his Woundeaters to transfer wounds, he simply studied the tentacle. The Court Leviathan wasn't nearly as durable as the Jealousy; it was, frankly, comparatively rather fragile. That meant he had to judge the heat of the water and be mindful of how roughly he prepared.

Also, severed from the rest of the body, the tentacle did not retain any regenerative properties.

Between the Court Leviathan and its severed tentacle, Shiv gleaned a few differences. First, there was no brain governing the tentacle, not anymore. Secondly, a surging wave of bioelectricity would pulse through the Court Leviathan. It would signal different aspects of its flesh, its blood, to respond in specific ways. That facilitated rapid regeneration. He left several more wounds on the Court Leviathan, but its regeneration response was too fast for him to keep up with. He would need to use his Chronomancy to get a proper, in-depth look. Despite this, he still gained a bit of insight into the functional process of regeneration.

Practical Metabiology 36 > 37

It didn't seem like the Court Leviathan was forcing its cells to rapidly multiply. Instead, it was signaling different things deeper within its body using bioelectricity. It was like its blood was communicating with itself somehow, and the rest of the body knew exactly how to react in accordance to the signals. Also to Shiv’s astonishment was how cancer-free it remained when it healed this way. It was faster, cleaner, and less complicated than most feats of regeneration he experienced before.

The Jealousy just constantly regrew parts of itself. It healed much slower than this thing, too. You’re going to show me how to grow back my arms and legs without using a Woundeater, Courtney. But first, I gotta show some people what I can make with your meat.

Shiv turned his attention to cooking. The water was boiling hot, steam rose into the air, and slowly the limb began to cook. But Shiv used his Biomancy to peel slight openings into the tentacle. He needed to let the heat seep through, and to do that, he had to tear it apart and start moving the flesh around. The main reason why he wanted to make this as a broth and a soup was because some nutrition could be distilled in the water, and people needed water right now as much as they needed food.

Shiv considered adding some Mendules but frowned as he regarded the temperature. He felt at the tentacle in the cauldron and then mushrooms in his cloak. Yeah, they would probably dissolve into nothing almost immediately.

He made the “mixing ingredients too early” mistake more than a few times. It was a bad habit that took a while to break under Georges’s supervision. Different levels of temperature would affect different ingredients, and different substances had different levels of readiness and whatnot. 

Shiv needed to do this perfectly, and so he examined the state of the tentacle in exquisite detail—used his Biomancy to compare its integrity and condition to his other ingredients. It was the centerpiece, after all. The thing that would offer some regeneration for the people in the gate. The first part was making sure the meat was thoroughly cooked. It could survive a long time. That was when he would add the additional tasting ingredients and let it soak for a while.

Now, what truly came aglow was the tentacle, but the glow was not universal across the length of the limb; rather, it was concentrated at the parts that weren't so cooked yet. This, again, was why it was beneficial to have Biomancy. Shiv continued twisting the flesh around, turning the meat over around itself. What was inside went to the outside, allowing the already cooked bits to simmer for a moment while the relatively raw sections were properly heated.

"Why are you doing that?" Ikki asked with a frown. 

The Weaveress Biomancer answered for Shiv. "He's making sure every part is universally cooked, evenly. His control is..." The Weaveress regarded Shiv for a moment. "Do you often use Biomancy to aid your cooking?"

"All the time," Shiv replied. "In fact, I don't think I could do... I don't think I could cook this well if I didn't have good Biomancy. It tells me how well done something is. How much more heat it needs, if it's burnt or not. More importantly, it lets me feel the entire structure. To make sure this thing doesn’t have any unexpected cancers or other strange surprises.”

“Cancers?” Adam breathed. His arms were folded and he looked terrified. “There were cancers in the tentacle.”

"Not a single one," Shiv replied. “Which is actually stranger because things that heal fast should develop cancers pretty quickly. Damn vampires made something pretty stable. If you ignore all the plagues and viruses sleeping inside its blood.”

The Gate Lord looked like he wanted to leave immediately.

"Just trust me, okay?" Shiv said. "I am the chef. With enough heat, I think I can cook the viruses and other stuff too.” And true to his word, he saw the sicknesses and diseases ingrained in the tentacle glitter with a faint white. It wasn’t as bright as the rest of the meat, but it was there. He just needed to follow his instincts and see it prepared.”

"You can say that as many times as you want, but—"

"I am the chef," Shiv interrupted. "Trust the chef. Trust me.”

The Gate Lord gave Uva a defeated look, but she just offered an uneasy shrug. Her incredulity had faded. Now her attention was mostly focused on Angelo, who was still inside the Court Leviathan, and the massive beast itself. In the corner of Shiv's eye, he saw a thoughtful expression come over her. She was considering things about the Court Leviathan, opportunities perhaps. He was considering many opportunities as well. They might not be thinking about the same things, though.

Time passed. The meat heated and hissed with the temperature. Its texture went from a rough raw red to an even mold of glistening, bright tissue. It would be soft enough for even a Pathless to bit into now. And just then, the Chef Unwavering did something Shiv never saw it do before. Motes of light rose from it, motes that passed from it into his cloak. It highlighted a specific ingredient. Shiv blinked. There was a connection there, a connection he was instinctively feeling, and the skill was expressing it, commanding him to apply the weeds he found at the bottom of the river first, before anything else.

He didn't chuck it in immediately, however. He learned that lesson earlier. Instead, he dipped a piece of weed into the cauldron and used his Biomancy to see how it reacted to the heat. 

As part of the river weed absolutely disintegrated into little more than blackened particulates, Shiv shook his head. "We're starting a second pot," Shiv declared. "We'll add it to the main cauldron when the temperatures equalize. Can Hu! I need more metal! Small pot. Second grill. And a third and fourth. Third for Mendules and other shrooms. A fourth just in case.”

"You will have it, Pathbearer." And immediately, the Penitent started molding nearby clumps of metal. They came together, fluid at first, but slowly they twisted into shape. A smaller cauldron formed and planted in the ground beside Shiv. The Hydromancers filled with water, and the Pyro channeled a small gush of heat to bring the water to a slow simmer. She didn’t unleash a dense beam of fire like she was doing with the tentacle cauldron. Instead, with a simple wave of her finger, it started boiling immediately. Shiv could feel her Pyromancy, feel the potency and her control. And through his focus, he felt a surge of excitement. 

Magic was wonderful. More than destruction, magic gave you options in creation.

He applied the river weeds, and slowly the water took on that glowing, pristine, bioluminescent flavor. And Shiv realized the minerals that refreshed him in the river, came from these weeds. The same benefits infused these waters as well, and that brought a smile to his face.

"System’s being a sneaky shit again," Shiv said to himself. Things had a tendency to come back together in his life. Things experienced, and things recreated. He asked Can Hu to mold him a ladle, and the penitent did. Shiv took a scoop of his newly brewing mixture, and as he swallowed it, a rush of refreshed energy filled him. His body felt lighter, ecstatic and electric with motion.

"Yeah, this is gonna go well," he muttered under his breath as he started chuckling. He didn't know why The Chef Unwavering wanted him to connect this with the tentacle specifically, but he looked forward to finding out.

The cooking continued. Shiv had two more cauldrons ready. The third one was filled with Mendules and some other shrooms. A few of the shrooms did not glitter, and Shiv decided to examine them using his Biomancy to see why. The answer came when they found strange, parasitic growths trapped inside their mycelia. He wasn't exactly sure what the growths were, but he suspected they might cause more mass casualties than mass-satisfied stomachs if applied to the overall dish. 

The Mendules were, as usual, relaxing for the mind and focusing for one's thoughts. But a few of the other mushrooms provided a rich, earthy aroma that was bitter and then fresh thereafter.

Soon, the flavors mingled in the air, and Ikki let out a sigh. “Smells great.”

Adam, meanwhile, was trying to hide how much he was sniffling. The Gate Lord’s senses were the sharpest here, but he still eyed the tentacle with a special look of suspicion.

Finally, the tentacle itself approached the point of being well done. Every part of the meat sang with a sizzling, clattering noise that pleased Shiv's ears. And now, even Adam was leaning in, slowly drifting forward as his vector wings glowed bright. Overhead, however, the mana core pulsed once, then radiated twice. A notification appeared in everyone's eyes.

Mana Decay Concluded

Significant history loss accrued.

Gate [Name Pending]

Category 2

Skills

The Dawn Unites 1 (Unique)

Biomes

[Undetermined]

Districts

Surface Way

Gateways

Vulketh: [Under Lockdown due to Mana Insufficiency]

Earth (Abyss): [Under Lockdown due to Mana Insufficiency]

Earth (Surface): Under Lockdown

Suddenly, the horizon began closing in. Things more than five kilometers away dissolved into smears of mana, and then nothing at all. In an instant, what used to be Gate Theborn shrank on itself. Entire sections of the gate faded into thin air, and the temperature began to grow increasingly cold.

More than that, the distances between the gateways tightened dramatically. It made it easier to get around, but also it only left approximately nine kilometers of distance between the surface district and Courtney, the currently non-infectious Court Leviathan. The Vulketh Gateway, meanwhile, became a perfect midpoint in between. The change was so normal and subtle that Shiv did a double-take—and then cursed as he began rapidly churning the tentacle flesh in on itself again, making sure the heat settled to its very bone.

"Well, this is a wonderful time for the decay to conclude," Adam muttered to himself. His surprised expression turned to a glare as he regarded the single skill the mana core had left. “The Dawn Unites?” He stared at the core, and it glowed in the same hues as the faint blue sun hovering just over his head. Slowly, it began to pulse. Thin sheets of solar-bright resonance twisted around the mana core, and Adam took a step back. “Uh, Valor. The core seems to be doing something…”

“Yes,” Valor said, briefly turning his attention away from Shiv’s cooking. “Let us see how this skill manifests. Activate it. Reach out with your mana and learn what the core might offer us.”

Adam looked uneasy but did as Valor asked. Uva soon found herself torn between the trembling mana core and massive cooking operation Shiv had going.

"Stop heating the cauldron for the tentacle," Shiv called out. “It’s enough. Let the water boil and cool. We’re going to pour the cauldrons over when they’re all the same temperature in a bit.” 

The Pyromancer killed her beam and let out a quivering breath. “This better taste heavenly, Shiv. I can’t believe I let Ikki talk me into this.”

“It might taste more than just heavenly,” Shiv replied. “It might just let you grow back an arm or a leg.”

He administered additional adjustments for the Mendules and the river weeds. More ingredients were added. Temperatures were adjusted. As he worked, focus consumed him. So much focus he didn’t notice the mana core growing brighter and brighter behind him. Finally, as the three cauldrons achieve a uniform temperature, he poured the Mendules and river weeds in with the leviathan tentacle.

From there, the mixture was complete and Shiv began to stir. And he stirred using the very bone of the massive tentacle. He peeled away the flesh, now well-cooked, and then he split them apart, cutting them with laceration spells until they were minced into drifting pieces. Afterward, he shaped the bone to have its head be longer, flatter, and he used it to churn the waters fast. 

A whirlpool began to develop, a bubbling, gleaming whirlpool, colors of bioluminescence and glittering blue mingled with chunks of pale red flesh. As it turned longer and longer, the soup got brighter, and there came crackles of bioelectricity between each of the pieces.

Shiv felt it, then. The same pulses of signalled regeneration rushed between each piece of meat. Somehow, he was replicating the effect in the tentacle without having kept it attached to the leviathan’s body.

She blinked. Adam blinked. Ikki leaned forward, almost tipping her head over into the cauldron. She drew in a lungful of air, using her nostrils, sniffling wildly, and then her eyes began to roll.

"Whoa," Ikki breathed, "that's got a lot of kick to it. Sister Uva, come over here, take a whiff."

Uva stared at the younger Umbral. She looked reluctant, but then Shiv muttered something to her that completely changed her expression. "That's okay, Uva, Ikki. Some of us are brave. Some of us, however, are... Well, they would call themselves cautious. But I would call them chicken—”

But Uva stomped right past him, glaring at him from the corner of her eyes. A telepathic message hit him then. “You will regret ever teasing me this way.” Her mind was alight with a vicious implication, and Shiv did his best not to cough in front of everyone.

“Sure I will,” Shiv replied.

“I will drive an apology from your lips.”

“You might get me to do more than just apologize if you try.”

She narrowed her eyes, but before anything else could be exchanged, a light flashed over them, basking the world in azure brightness.

The mana core pulsed, and it pulsed with a flaring coronal radiance of azure blue. The power the mana core unleashed was similar, in a way, to Adam's Righteous Dawn Prevails. The color was the same as well. But rather than empowering everyone, increasing their soul's integrity, and temporarily raising their skill levels while they were in his presence, it wrapped them in a layer of cerulean brightness. Now, everyone present was shrouded in their own azure corona. 

But rather than burn, Shiv felt it as blended his very being. The Deathless stared on in astonishment as a two of his skills were bridged together.

Temporary Skill Fusion The Chef Unwavering (Master) - Woundeater (Master) > The Flesh Delectable (Heroic)

Shiv blinked, and everyone else around him let out brief gasps as well.

"What in the hells did I just do?" Adam breathed.

"I think... I think your unique core is showing its hand."

Shiv regarded his newly-fused Biomancy and cooking with astonishment. They didn’t feel fused, but with the azure glow binding them, using one pulled on the other. All of a sudden, his body came alight with the pristine glow of The Chef Unwavering. But the glow also pulsated with Biomancy, as did everyone else that could potentially be cooked and eaten. 

From them extended attributes and traits, icons indicating bonuses Shiv might get from consuming them after proper preparation. In fact, he felt as if he could consume and make anything into an ingredient if he just channeled his Biomancy into them. Including his own flesh. The sheer strangeness of his new Skill Fusion broke Shiv out of his trance. 

Most of his allies had their own skills, and right now, The Flesh Delectable told him that he could temporarily gain some of their abilities if he just ate them using his biology magic. Like how he could get a much improved version of Psychomancy from Uva, for instance.

Shiv could put up with so many things. He was willing to eat a lot. Potential Biomantic cannibalism was a step too far for him. He didn’t want to use his Biomancy to eat his friends. And that earned him a sigh of approval from Uva. “Good. It’s frankly surprising that you didn’t even consider eating any of us for more power.”

Shiv stared at her. "Uva, I'm not actually a monster."

Baylor and Adam both looked at him but said nothing.

"Yes, I know that," Uva said, though she sounded like she didn't fully believe it.

Shiv frowned. "Why would you say it that way?"

"Nothing. Just continue on using your new skill to deal with the food," she mumbled. She shot a brief look at Valor, and that made Shiv do the same.

The old Pathbearer let out a breath. "I will explain things to you later. That's what I told you earlier. The matter related to your mind.”

“Oh,” Shiv said, frowning. He didn’t much like the sound of that.

Shiv focused on his Leviathan Tentacle Soup. He felt it was rapidly approaching completion. More importantly, he read the benefits it could grant him if he absorbed it with his Biomancy right now. Perfect regeneration. Hyper-enhanced immunology. Shiv blinked. Biological rejuvenation restores organs to a pristine state. Absolute focus, as well… Godsdamn…

Woundeater 85 > 86

The Chef Unwavering 55 > 57

He started as both his Biomancy and his cooking skills leveled. However the mana core’s unique skill worked, it fused skills together, but it didn't truly separate them within a Pathbearer, so it seemed like a sort of external soul bridge that connected the most recently used skills.

"Can Hu," Shiv declared, "I need a bowl. Time for a sampling.”

Immediately a small, round metal object hovered next to him. Shiv picked it up, offered Can Hu his thanks, and dipped it into the great mixture. As he brought the bowl before his face, staring at chunks of minced tentacle hovering, partially glossed by glistening weeds and lit by half-melted Mendules, Shiv prepared himself and sampled his newest dish.

Immediately, electricity flowed through him. Electricity pulsed under his skin, traveled through his marrow, and ignited his blood with a rush of freshness and relief, the likes of which he had never felt before. Shiv let out a shuddering gasp, and Uva stumbled back. She looked at the Weaveress Biomancer, calling out to her, and as the weavers came rushing, Shiv simply shook his head and choked out, "I'm fine!"

"Shiv! Shiv, are you all right? Do you have a sickness? Are you diseased?" Uva cried.

"No!" Shiv cried. "It's just good. I can feel a rush of… regeneration crackling through me.”

His heart felt like it was stronger, immensely stronger. His lungs filled with more air. Shiv’s stomach felt expansive, iron-cast, like it could eat raw garbage for a month and remain unaffected by the toxins and waste. His muscles also trembled with power, and more importantly, there was the rushing relaxation that consumed him. Everything was perfect. Everything was relief.

And then Shiv felt his externally-fused skills detach from each other with a pop. Woundeater became Woundeater again. The Chef Unwavering was The Chef Unwavering, but the levels they gained were retained. And the food he made with them still remained pristine and magnificent, even if he couldn't see the exact details they offered anymore.

Shiv's hands were shaking. Soup, he realized, began to splash down his arms. He stared at the others, and he waved to them. "Get... take a sip. Have... have… Have a bite." He let out a breath and tried to wrestle himself under control. "Just try it. It's great. Trust me, it's great."

Adam's gaze met Uva's, and they both hesitated.

Ikki did not. She called out to Can Hu, and soon she was scooping up a bowl full of tentacle broth in her own bowl.

"Ikki!" Uva said, looking slightly worried.

Before she could do anything, however, Ikki threw down the broth and her eyes immediately shot wide, her pupils dilated, her muscles trembled. Ikki shuddered violently. Uva reached out, trying to stabilize the young umbral. But that wasn't necessary, for Ikki started stamping on the ground, her body language overflowing with excitement. She immediately ducked down and had another scoop. 

Soon she was drinking greedily, hungrily, ravenously—practically a starved wolf lapping at fresh meat. "It's so good! It's electric! What'd you put in this thing?"

"Mendules. Some kind of bioluminescent weed that really fills your body with relaxation. I think it lines the river beds."

The Weaveress Biomancer stared at him. "Wait, you applied gliskeg to the mixture?"

"That was what it was? Gliskeg?"

"Yes. It's usually used as a muscle relaxant and a skin-rejuvenating substance for saunas,” the Weaveress added. “The effects are not usually this extreme…”

"Well, it seems it triggered something when mixed in with the tentacle. Bioelectricity keeps jumping between them,” Shiv muttered. And there was another angle he could study. Bioelectricity. It seemed capable of signalling things to bodies, but it was also still electricity as well…

The Weaveress hesitated for a moment before she too asked for a bowl and tested the mixture. Her reaction was more extreme than even Ikki. She stamped backward, scuttling on her spider-like limbs. Her wasp stinger trailed against the ground, digging a deep gouge in the earth. Soon, she spread her limbs out wide. Her human-like fingers on the ends of her spider-like legs spasmed and she let out a loud huff. "My lungs! My lungs, my lungs, they feel better than they ever had before! Ah, my skin! I think... I think my palp eczema is gone!"

Soon, there was an onrush of Sisters and Weaveress making a beeline for the tentacle broth. As they savored and slurped up what Shiv had to offer, he felt a feeling of pride wash through him, and that manifested as the large, shit-eating grin he directed at Adam and Uva.

"So, are you guys going to try it?"

Adam stared, his expression quivering. "I'm going to give it a few more seconds," Adam said, "just in case one of them drops dead."

"If it would be from anything," Shiv said.

“Well, it's most likely from being near you. Struck down by the system as part of some kind miserable quest.”

Shiv wanted to rebut that, but then he paused and gave an awkward grunt. "Yeah, that's probably likely."

After another five seconds passed, and no one died, Adam sighed, asked for a bowl, and made to enjoy his own meal. Finally, it was Uva. 

She stared at the tentacle, stared at the Court Leviathan, and pouted at Shiv. "You're really going to do this to me?"

"Do what? Make you a meal? I do that all the time."

"No, not that. You're really going to make me eat a piece of a First Blood Court Leviathan. It almost feels like sacrilege. It almost feels unnatural. These things spew plagues and unleash monsters.”

“And now it’s just filling our stomachs.”

"You can think of it as an insult to the vampires. I know I do. Besides, Courtney's not a Court Leviathan anymore. She's my pet now."

"Yes, your pet that you chopped a limb off. That you then cooked and ate."

"It's an ethical and renewable source of meat," Shiv smiled, "just like the Jealousy."

She frowned at him. "You have a disturbing knack for kidnapping large, regenerating creatures. If I had to count, that's twice now. That's two more large monsters than most people would have kidnapped in their life."

"I don't like thinking of it as a kidnapping."

"What would you like to think of it as?"

"It's more like a virtuous repossession. I'm a Pathbearer. It's just part of adventuring."

Uva rolled her eyes, but he knew he had her when an exasperated smile took over her face. "Fine. But if I get sick— 

“I will nurse you back to health. Whatever it takes," Shiv said.

She stared at him. She stared at the tentacle soup again. Off by the side, Adam let out a loud moan. "Why? Why do I constantly doubt him? Why does he constantly do this? How, you bastard, how? He can’t keep doing this! He’s going to be cooking me literal shit, I’ll be thanking him for it some day.”

She smirked. Uva shook her head. "He might just be right.”

“It’ll be the best piece of shit either of you will ever eat. I’ll eat it too.”

As Uva swallowed her first piece of tentacle meat, her eyes briefly rolled, but she tried to hide it. Uva tried to keep her reactions restrained, but her mind was still connected to his, and he felt more than a little of what she felt.

"That good, huh?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Do not start."

"Oh, we haven't started yet. But I will bring this up from time to time, about how you doubted me. That really hurt my feelings, you know."

"Yes, yes, I suppose we'll have to make it up to each other later."

"Each other?" Uva replied. "You did insinuate I was... what was it? A chicken shit?"

Ah, Shiv thought. Right.

"Well," he said, "I guess we will have to make it up to each other later. But for now..." He stared at the cauldron and smirked. “For now, let’s slap a handle and lid on this thing and bring it up. We got survivors to feed."