[crow]

"You hire one then," said Aster. He was smiling though, just the barest hint of one. "Come on, we're going home. Next time we come back, we'll bring Grunty in and let him have at this thing." He patted the porch rail, which immediately fell off. It was as if the house knew that its days were numbered and was getting in its last little petty revenge.

It would be reduced to scrap and rubble soon enough. Aster wasn't going to begrudge it its ineffectual last hurrah or anything.

[crow]

Aster was as good as his word, returning a few days later, this time with a different creature in tow. This one was on a whole different scale from Avander in terms of size. It wasn't very much taller--- merely a couple of feet--- but it was significantly bulkier than the thin, whippish dragon.

It also didn't talk. It plodded behind Aster obediently, almost like a cow, only pausing occasionally to nibble at some grass. A reprimand from Aster was enough to keep its attention on him and resume walking again.

[crow]

This was the beast that Aster had brought to do the demolition work. It might have been going overboard a bit, but Grunty was big and sturdy and thick-skinned, and he could do both the bulldozing and the hauling away. If Aster was careful about directing him, he could save Aster a lot of work.

The key part was making sure Grunty didn't go overboard. Precision wasn't exactly his forte, and Aster was the only one who could mitigate that, and then only if he gave his instructions very carefully.

[crow]

There were, after all, still portions of the house he wanted to preserve. Not very many portions, but some. It wasn't a total lost cause if Grunty destroyed those--- Grunty couldn't very well destroy the land itself, of course--- but it would be a bit more of a loss than Aster had been hoping for.

As they came up to the house, Aster thought that maybe Grunty would react to it in some way, but Grunty didn't bat an eye at the sad, sagging figure of the house as it became visible through the overgrowth.

[crow]

Maybe in his mind it didn't even register as a building? That was possible too. Aster didn't know what to think. He didn't have a telepathic bond with Grunty the way he did with Avander, and he somehow suspected that even if he had managed one, Grunty still wouldn't have very much to say. He just gave off that impression, that there wasn't much that troubled his attention.

Aster patted his flank. It was probably just as well. The work would go a lot less smoothly if Grunty spooked or something, which did occasionally happen.

[Wild Pet Found]