Cachi performed the same task repeatedly: Unbuckle the strap, loosen, cinch it tight, buckle again.  The noise from the establishment behind him was both annoying and unnerving; the clicks and growls of the basajuan speech coming from so many muzzles grated on his ears, setting his teeth to vibrating.  A group began an ululation that ratcheted up and up in pitch before falling again like rain.  If he’d walked inside to witness a hundred of them giving birth, it wouldn’t have surprised him.  Basajuan passed him without a second glance as they walked to and from the building in twos and threes.  The sounds inside so completely filled his ears, it was several seconds before he realized two of the creatures had addressed him.

He didn’t dare turn to acknowledge them, nor was...

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