The Brothers closed in, their bodies three walls of meat, their arms, six bars of a fleshy cage. They challenged each other to be the first to sample Tal’s flesh by striking each other’s fists. There was a crack as the Brother’s knuckles rapped together, hard enough to hurt, once, twice, and Pits withdrew his hands, three times, four, and Crunch raised his. ‘Eyesore it is! Then me, then Pits, then we split what’s left.’

Eyesore clapped, delighted. He took one of Tal’s arms and began to slowly twist.

Safe on his branch, Sa-at began to shake.

‘That’s it!’ said Crunch. ‘Pop a bit out and give me a taste, I’ll soften the bones and meat to paste.’

Pits clapped.

Tal screamed.

Eyesore continued to twist.

‘W-Wait!’ shouted Sa-at.

The twisting and the clapping and the screaming stopped. Three eyes, one nostril, and six ears all attended to him.

‘What’s this? What’s this?’

Sa-at jumped down and took a step towards them. He didn’t dare take a second, any closer and he’d be in reach of their long arms. ‘You can’t have him.’

Crunch laughed. ‘We do have him. We have him first. Find your own morsel, Birdspawn.’

‘No. Look again. I marked him.’

Pits began to sniff, Eyesore began to glare. First one eye narrowed, then the other, then the third. He guided his brother’s hands to the edges of Tal’s ears.

‘See?’ asked Sa-at.

‘He’s been nibbled!’

‘Yes. I did that. He’s mine.’

Crunch shrugged, making his ropey head-skin sway. ‘Was yours. Ours now. Nibblings is over.’

The Brothers turned away, dismissing him.

‘Wait!’ They turned back and he had to swallow a few times to get his throat working. ‘You …’ his voice trailed off to a whisper.

‘What? We what?’

‘Owe me. You owe me.’

The three brothers shook their heads. ‘No.’

‘Yes.’ He held up his hand so that Eyesore could see his missing finger. ‘You took a bite from me and you have to pay for it. I want …’

This was the moment. He already knew what he was going to do, the decision made in his heart some time ago, he just needed his courage to catch up. ‘I want you to release my friend.’

Pits sniffed at him, suspicious, then the brothers reached out to each other, fingers dancing in one another’s palms, conferring. ‘We remember you now,’ said Crunch when they had finished. ‘You used to be much better. Much more tender.’ He sighed. ‘Shame. Anyway, I only had a taste and Pits only had a scrap. It was nothing.’ The Brothers hands moved together again, and Crunch made an unhappy grumble. ‘But fair is fair. We’ll give you a toe, if you want.’

‘I don’t want his toe!’

‘You can have his toe or you can have nothing.’