Endling: The Last: Part Five

by Katherine Applegate
Byx believes she may be the last of the dairnes, a species of dog-like creatures, so she sets out on an epic journey to find others of her kind.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sparse
    not dense or plentiful
    Each day’s travel brought us farther north to a tumbled land, a world of sparse topsoil, exposed rocks, and deep gullies that blocked our view.
  2. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    It wasn’t long before I found myself riding atop Gambler’s back as he ran, then walked, then finally slunk through the night.
  3. erratic
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
    The breeze was erratic, frustrating our attempts to navigate by scent.
  4. lichen
    a plant occurring in crusty patches on tree trunks or rocks
    Sometimes we stopped and simply breathed, drawing in the aromas of the land: moss and lichen, grass, granite, dying flowers, the droppings of a dozen different species.
  5. compensate
    do or give something to somebody in return
    “You have rescued me twice,” Gambler said. “If I were to follow Wobbyk Code, I would have to save your life six times to compensate.”
  6. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    We crept over the next boulder and saw a sullen fire burning the last of what must have been a very small village. Three crude human dwellings were smoldering.
  7. subside
    wear off or die down
    The fire, which had flared instantly, subsided, content to slowly consume its fresh fuel.
  8. predicament
    an unpleasant or difficult situation
    Renzo grinned, in spite of his predicament.
  9. inured
    made tough by habitual exposure
    The charger, inured to fire and battle but not felivets, did what any sensible horse would do.
  10. abashed
    feeling or caused to feel uneasy and self-conscious
    For a boy who’d been well on his way to becoming a smoked ham, he did not seem the least abashed or grateful.
  11. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
    Renzo rode one of the packhorses, Khara and Tobble rode Vallino, and I had my own horse, Shadewing, with whom I had an uneasy truce: so long as I didn’t jerk on the reins or make sudden loud noises, he deigned to carry me.
  12. opaque
    not transmitting or reflecting light or radiant energy
    We were rapidly nearing the river. It was muddy and opaque. There was no way for us to guess its depth.
  13. ford
    a shallow area in a stream that can be crossed
    “We can look for a bridge or a ferry, or we can hope it’s shallow.”
    “There’s a ford half a league west,” Renzo said.
  14. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    “My sword has tasted blood before, and it likes the flavor!”
    “Nice,” Renzo conceded.
  15. grudgingly
    in a reluctant manner
    “West,” Khara said grudgingly. “Follow...what’s-his-name.”
  16. consolidate
    make firm or secure; strengthen
    “So,” Renzo went on breezily, “the Murdano has now consolidated power by eliminating Araktik. He’s already reduced the dairnes to—well, just you—and he’s been hemming in the felivets, reducing their hunting ranges, killing them off anytime he could come up with an excuse.”
  17. wherewithal
    the necessary means (especially financial means)
    They’ll probably let the Murdano launch a navy, assuming he has the wherewithal to bribe them.
  18. squalid
    foul and run-down and repulsive
    We pushed on, despite the weariness of the horses, until we reached a village. It was a gray, squalid, cheerless place: two dozen buildings, a blacksmith, a leather worker, a stable, a grocer, and an inn.
  19. mundane
    found in the ordinary course of events
    He dumped out its contents on a table in the inn’s pub, and I gasped to see objects of value: a silver cup, a scattering of gold adornments, and more mundane items like clothing, wooden bowls, and bits of pottery.
  20. chalice
    a bowl-shaped drinking vessel
    There, behind the panel, was a space. And in that space were elaborate drinking chalices, along with little bottles of rare spices and pepper. The hidden wealth of the inn’s owner.
  21. desolate
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    The coast was not quite as desolate as the road had been, since no one thought the Murdano, should he form an invasion force, would come that way.
  22. ravage
    make a pillaging or destructive raid on, as in wartime
    It was true, as the Murdano had said, that these northern lands were ravaged by pirates and bandits. But it was also true that on the rare occasions when soldiers passed this way, they preyed on the people almost as harshly as the raiders.
  23. golem
    an artificial human that is given life by supernatural means
    “We know—I should say we believe—that it contains other governing species. And there are many creations of evil theurgy: monsters, golems, creatures of ice that move like men.”
  24. measly
    contemptibly small in amount
    Once Dog raced off, snuffling the hard ground, and returned minutes later with a measly ice rat, mangled and drool-covered.
  25. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    “You could at least thank him,” Renzo admonished.
  26. conceivably
    within the realm of possibility
    They, at least, had no orders to kill us, though they did have orders to exterminate all but a handful of any dairnes we might conceivably encounter.
  27. ingenuity
    the property of showing inventiveness and skill
    I had by this time become much more knowledgeable about human dwellings. I had been to the isle of Ursina and to Saguria. I had passed through towns and villages. I had seen the evidence of human ingenuity.
  28. haphazardly
    in a random manner
    The whole port village seemed haphazardly designed, homes and shops all willy-nilly with nothing but mud between them.
  29. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    As usual I assumed my “dog” identity, a ruse that was harder to pull off with an actual dog in our company.
  30. cloying
    overly sweet
    With some of Renzo’s money, we bought some dried fish and ate it in the open, wolfing it down and following it with gallons of spring water to dilute the cloying salt flavor.
  31. ward off
    repel or turn away
    One-Eye drew himself back and made a hand sign meant to ward off evil.
  32. scornful
    expressing extreme contempt
    One-Eye laughed scornfully. “That’s nothing new. There are always threats.”
  33. recalcitrant
    stubbornly resistant to authority or control
    “Burglar’s tricks. I can dazzle with a bright light, I can fill a room with fog, I can coax a recalcitrant lock—but only if I use my picking tools properly. And I can make a noise at a distance, you know, to distract.”
  34. lance
    move quickly, as if by cutting one's way
    I tore my needy gaze away from the island and looked back to see a jet of flame lancing through the woods.
  35. pommel
    an ornament in the shape of a ball on the hilt of a sword
    He had drawn his own broadsword. Khara’s sword bit first, cutting into the plate armor on his left thigh. The knight, unable to stab her, instead slammed the pommel into her face.
  36. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    Some terrible beast of fear and hate was inside me, using me, screaming threats as I brandished my sword.
  37. derisive
    expressing contempt or ridicule
    “Scared?” Khara asked derisively. “No problem. You aren’t invited, anyway.”
  38. glib
    artfully persuasive in speech
    And then Renzo did the last thing I would have expected of the glib thief.
  39. dub
    raise to knighthood
    “I have no power to dub you ‘knight,’” she said. “But I accept your pledge and your service.” She touched the blade to his other shoulder, then tapped the flat of it on his head.
  40. steadfast
    firm and dependable especially in loyalty
    “Does anyone here dispute this wobbyk’s steadfastness, honesty, kindness, or courage?”
Created on Fri Dec 13 18:19:03 EST 2019 (updated Wed Jul 12 15:34:49 EDT 2023)

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