A/N: I realize that the words aren't exactly like in the book, but I'm trying.

Beka looked up.

It was getting late, and it was getting dark. Nilo was still tied to her wrist so he wouldn't run after any pretty horses. Not that there were any pretty horses in the Cesspool.

"I'm cold." he mumbled, but he was sucking his thumb, so it sounded more like, "Um cowd."
She picked him up and yelled. "Diona! Lorine! Will!" She waited for her brother and sisters to stop the game they were playing with some other children. She nodded to a couple of the ones she knew.

"Diona! Lorine! Will!" She shouted, getting impatient. Will slithered out of the crowd first, smiling. "Did you not hear me?" She asked him, not really angry.

He nodded. "Heard you." She scowled at him. He grabbed her hand. "Lorine! Diona! I mean it!" Lorine stumbled out of the mass of bodies.

"Sorry Beka." She mumbled. "Tripped." "You're alright?" Beka asked her.
She nodded miserably, and sniffled. "Are you cold?" Beka asked. Another nod and she wiped her nose on her arm. "You can have the spot by the fire tonight. DIONA!" She roared, wanting to leave.

Finally, Diona slipped out of the crowd. "Alright." she said, a bit breathless, "I'm ready."

"Glad to hear it." Beka said, trying not to sound sarcastic. It hadn't been a good day, but she shouldn't take it out on Diona.

She sighed. Lorine looked a little strange. She hoped she wasn't going to get a fever.

They began the short walk home, and shared the bread that Tansy had stolen from Mistress Noll. Beka remembered the smacks Tansy had recieved for it. She almost smiled, but didn't. Two Dogs were walking on the other side of the road. She gave them a wide berth, not that she had anything against Dogs, or anything to hide from them. It was just on a general sort of principle. Nilo squirmed to be put down.

When she did, he was quiet, and walked beside her calmly. She didn't notice, she was watching Lorine and hoping the gixie wouldn't be ill in the street. Actually, she corrected herself. If she was sick, she would rather she did it in the street. One of the Dogs shouted. She jerked her head up. He was running towards a cart being pulled by a horse.

And there, about to be trampled under the horse's hooves, was Nilo. Belatedly she realized he had been walking so quietly so he could undo the knots around his wrist.

She screamed and ran at him.

She didn't think she had ever moved so fast. He put his hands up before the horse and laughed innocently, thinking it would stop.

The horse didn't notice him, it just kept plodding on.

The owner of the cart didn't see anything, or realize why a Dog was running at his cart. The man thought someone else behind him had stolen something valuable. He did notice, however, when a cracknob gixie ran in front of his horse. He yanked back on the frayed reins, too late. His horse hadn't seen anything, it was tired.

It just wanted to be back in its shed. It fought the reins, showing bad behavior the man thought he'd trained him out of.

He swore at it, tried to make it stop, and heard a crunch. Finally the beast stopped, snorting in surprise. He jumped off his cart and ran to see what his cracked horse had done.
The Dogs were already there.

He realized, too late, that they had seen what was going to happen. He was suddenly in a swarm of shrieking children. He saw a toddling little boy looking dazed. The other children were fussing over him and the gixie who had run in front of his horse.

He slowly put a picture together. He stood there helplessly, not knowing what to do. He watched as a Dog felt the gixie for broken bones, and the other asked the younger gixies where they lived.
He grabbed his horse's nose lead, and wondered how he was going to explain this to his wife.

Beka woke up hurting on her mat. She floated in that strange state of not quite awake and not quite asleep. She sat up and clenched her teeth. She felt like she had been squashed like she squashed flies. She told herself she would never step on another ant.

Nilo!

She hauled herself up and ran into the other room. She made a beeline for her smallest brother, not caring about anyone else in the room, including her mother or the Dogs. As far as she was concerned, they weren't hurt and Nilo might be, so why waste time on them?

She looked for injuries, felt for broken bones, but only saw a cut on his arm he'd had since last week.
"What were you thinking, running out in front of that horse?" She asked him forbiddingly once she had stopped being worried and had become angry again.
He looked up at her smiling, holding his arms out to be picked up.
"Pretty horsie."