‘Come here. That’s right. I’m not going to hurt you.’ Reflecting, she added, ‘If you can talk, I’d appreciate if you’d tell me now, before I make myself look foolish.’

The thing didn’t seem inclined to talk. It did venture forward, however, a few feet at a time, veering slightly from side to side as though to study her from new angles. Eventually it came within arm’s reach, and Alice extended a hand in case it wanted to sniff. She managed to keep herself from starting when it darted forward, all in a rush, and hopped into the hollow of her palm. Its claws were painful pinpricks, but they didn’t break the skin. It quirked again.

‘You are friendly, aren’t you?’ Alice said. She lifted the little creature to look it in the eyes. It was surprisingly heavy, like a little lead weight, not bird-like at all. It settled back on its haunches, claws flexing. ‘What are you called, I wonder. You don’t belong to any genus I can think of, that’s for certain.’

The little thing shifted its weight. Then, when it was close enough that it could nearly touch her nose with its beak, it lunged.

Alice had a split second of warning from the pressure of its claws on her palm. Some instinct made her jerk her head backwards, so the little creature’s needle-sharp beak missed spearing her eye and instead scored a line across the cheek just beneath it. Alice gave a screech and tried to back away, up against the tunnel wall, but the thing’s jump had landed it on her nightshirt and it clung to the fabric for all it was worth.

It lunged again, this time at her shoulder, and the pointed beak went through shirt and skin like they were gauze and nipped at her flesh. When it pulled back, blood welled, and the beak parted to reveal a long, black tongue, skinny as a snake’s, that darted out to lap delicately at the wound.

Shaking her arm only made it grip tighter, but Alice finally got a hold of the thing with her other hand and pulled. It came free with a rip of fabric, and she could feel it squirming under her fingers. She hurled it at the wall, as hard she could, and it tucked in its legs and bounced like a softball. For a moment it lay still, and she thought she’d killed it, but its legs shot out again and scrabbled at the floor until it righted itself. It stared at her again, with another quirk, and this time it didn’t sound nearly so friendly. Alice, one hand on the wall for support, felt a bloody tear dribbling down her cheek and wondered if she should run.