Wildoak: Chapters 6–12

by C.C. Harrington
Facing challenges due to a stutter, eleven-year-old Margaret Stephens must find a way to use her voice to save herself and an injured snow leopard.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 5, Chapters 6–12, Chapters 13–22, Chapters 23–37, Chapter 38–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. plush
    characterized by extravagance and softness
    He crept out onto the plush carpet, the very tip of his tail flickering.
  2. haunch
    the upper part of the leg of an animal, often used for food
    Then he sat back on his haunches and batted with both paws interchangeably, like a boxer wearing furry, padded gloves.
  3. remnant
    a small part remaining after the main part no longer exists
    Then he edged forward, flaring his nostrils, cautiously pawing at the spread of scraps, wrappers, and all sorts of food containers lined with the remnants of everything from salmon mousse to a half-eaten Scotch egg.
  4. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    He sniffed tentatively, exploring this strange array of smells and tastes until he came across a crust of toast with Marmite on it.
  5. repulsion
    intense aversion
    He stopped and screwed up his face into an exaggerated ball of repulsion.
  6. racket
    a loud and disturbing noise
    The spoons made a racket when he knocked them to the floor and fell about like mysterious long-legged creatures trying to run away.
  7. dollop
    a soft lump or portion of something, especially food
    A dollop of sticky gold stuck to his paw. He sniffed it suspiciously and then licked it with the very tip of his tongue.
  8. furrow
    make or become wrinkled or creased
    Lips curled, brow furrowed, and nose retracted, Rumpus began sneezing violently in an effort to get rid of the disgusting, tangy odor inside his nose and throat.
  9. in vain
    without a successful result or effect
    Rumpus was trying in vain to clean himself when he smelled something sickly sweet.
  10. sodden
    wet through and through; thoroughly wet
    It smelled of damp, musty blankets, sodden earth, and...mushrooms.
  11. larder
    a small storeroom for storing foods or wines
    There is an apple orchard and a family of robins nesting in the game larder. But don't go in there just yet. I hung a dead pheasant this morning, found him on the side of the road.
  12. dogged
    stubbornly unyielding
    They seemed to go on and on, dark and dogged like the walls of an old fortress.
  13. thatch
    cover with roofing material made of plant stalks
    They pulled into a clearing at the end, headlights swerving, and Maggie caught a brief glimpse of a small stone house with whitewashed walls and a thatched roof.
  14. lull
    make calm or still
    Rumpus lay down and eventually fell asleep, his body lulled by the endless bumps and seams of the motorway.
  15. disoriented
    having lost your bearings
    He felt increasingly disoriented and had no sense of where he was going or why.
  16. insistent
    demanding attention
    He called out for her, his cries loud and insistent.
  17. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    Something ghostly slipping through the shadows of the bare boughs, a movement so subtle she wondered if she was imagining it.
  18. lope
    run easily
    It loped silently across the lawn, moving like running water.
  19. pang
    a mental pain or distress
    Maggie touched the face of her mother and felt a pang of homesickness.
  20. delicate
    easily broken or damaged or destroyed
    She stopped at the top of the stairway and picked up a fallen bird's nest. The delicate branches felt firm and rough in her hands, woven together into a smooth, tight hollowing.
  21. bustle
    move or cause to move energetically or busily
    He bustled around her, bringing over a cup of apple juice and some extra toast.
  22. flurry
    a sudden and overwhelming outpouring or amount
    A flurry of sparrows, chaffinches, and blackbirds competed with one another for the seeds.
  23. imperceptible
    impossible or difficult to sense
    His nostrils flared and his ears pricked up. The smell of the earth, hard-packed and frozen, the dampness of snow-covered bark, the fresh scent of an unfamiliar marking, and the almost- imperceptible sound of wings beating overhead.
  24. laden
    filled with a great quantity
    In the center of the clearing stood an enormous tree, laden with snow.
  25. secluded
    hidden from general view or use
    The remains of a squirrel dray lay scattered inside the hollow, but otherwise it was empty and secluded.
  26. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    A squirrel stood, poised on the tip of a narrow branch, clasping an acorn between his paws.
  27. nimble
    moving quickly and lightly
    He scrambled from branch to branch, but the squirrel was nimble and quick.
  28. spontaneous
    said or done without having been planned in advance
    But the more she rolled and bounced about, the more he played with her, until he opened his jaws spontaneously and tried to pick her up.
  29. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    She clambered upward, grasping fistfuls of damp, tangled ivy.
  30. cranny
    a small opening or crevice
    She looked up at the branches and thought about Flute and how much he would love this tree, this place. Wellington too, all the little nooks and crannies he would be able to curl up in.
  31. nape
    the back side of the neck
    The hair along the nape of her neck quivered.
  32. grungy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    Inside, the shed was dark and cluttered, the shelves overloaded with tools, grungy oilcans, and bits of half-dismantled things, like lawn mower engines and bike chains.
  33. fluster
    cause to be nervous or upset
    Direct questions often flustered her, and she knew before she even tried to answer that the words wouldn't come.
  34. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    She looked at the back of his head and shoulders, at his disheveled white hair, and felt a pang of gratitude.
  35. contraption
    a small mechanical device or tool
    He pointed to a large silver contraption. There was a bicycle seat, a steering wheel, possibly from a car, and three sets of “feet.”
  36. steep
    set at a high angle (of a slope)
    The slope down to the bottom of the garden looked enormous from up here, enormous and steep.
  37. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    She screamed, but the screams bubbled into whoops of laughter and she didn't know if she was loving it or hating it until she had careened to the bottom, swerving wildly at the last second to avoid crashing into the stream.
  38. dung
    fecal matter of animals
    Then he wriggled from side to side, pressing his fur into the dung, rubbing himself into it. When he got up, some of the pellets had stuck to his back. That was better. Nobody would be able to pick up his scent now.
  39. stump
    the base part that remains after a tree has been felled
    The old stump was covered in moss and patches of snow.
  40. buck
    move in a jerky or violent manner
    The jaws of the trap engulfed his paw. The pain was electric. He hissed and growled, bucked and pulled, but couldn't make it stop.
Created on Mon Jun 05 12:14:52 EDT 2023 (updated Fri Jun 16 16:23:34 EDT 2023)

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