Endling: The Last: Part Two

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. loll
    hang loosely or laxly
    My head lolled and snapped with each jerky step.
  2. dappled
    having spots or patches of color
    I saw dappled gold and black horsehair rippling over ribs.
  3. brackish
    distasteful and unpleasant
    I smelled brackish blood, steel and iron, sword and armor.
  4. astride
    with one leg on each side
    He lifted me again, still tied, and with a heave that was at the limits of his strength set me astride the horse. I was sitting upright, no longer baggage.
  5. outcropping
    part of a rock formation that juts above surrounding land
    Yet he pushed on, urging the horse around outcroppings of glittering rock jutting so near that both the guide and I had to shift to avoid being scraped.
  6. feign
    give a false appearance of
    Still, I kept my eyes shut and my breathing slow and even. No one feigns sleep better than I.
  7. guttural
    relating to or articulated in the throat
    Yesterday, again, I heard voices like theirs: guttural, deep in the chest, booming.
  8. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    Tobble nodded solemnly. Even a solemn wobbyk looks a bit silly.
  9. sardonic
    disdainfully or ironically humorous
    “Are you sure you want help?”
    I knew that voice, that soft, sardonic tone.
  10. fitful
    intermittently stopping and starting
    I felt hot sprays of serpent blood like fitful rain.
  11. sinuous
    curved or curving in and out
    The snakes left in slow, sinuous retreat.
  12. chasten
    correct by punishment or discipline
    We headed back to the cave, bedraggled and chastened. No one spoke.
    Khara didn’t bother to tie us up. She seemed to know we wouldn’t be attempting another escape anytime soon.
  13. mired
    entangled or hindered
    It was a good thing Khara had made the decision to leave the horse behind and track us on foot. He would have been mired in mud in no time.
  14. incantation
    a ritual reciting of words believed to have a magical effect
    “Theurgy” was the study of spells and incantations.
  15. terse
    brief and to the point
    Khara gave a small, terse nod.
  16. penance
    remorse for your past conduct
    Khara reached toward Tobble and touched his shoulder, a gesture of penance, it seemed to me.
  17. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
    Khara looked incredulous, clearly surprised by my ignorance.
  18. befall
    become of; happen to
    I fell asleep, my mind whirring with plans, none of which seemed any better than the fate about to befall me.
  19. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    “I suppose. Although my parents tend to lose track of us.” Tobble smiled wistfully. “It’s perfectly understandable. Last time we counted, I had one hundred and twenty-seven brothers and sisters.”
  20. wan
    lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble
    It was torn and singed at the edges, but even in the wan light of the moonsnails, I knew what it was.
  21. acquiesce
    agree or express agreement
    Was I just going to acquiesce to Khara’s plans for me?
  22. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    We left Vallino and our meager belongings in the cave.
  23. flourish
    a showy gesture
    In one flourish, she speared the pear with the tip of her knife and held it to his throat.
  24. blackguard
    someone who is morally reprehensible
    All kinds of scoundrels and blackguards in these parts. One can’t be too careful.
  25. doff
    remove
    He slung the bag over his shoulder, doffed his cap, then looked at Khara, his brow furrowed, as a slow smile dawned on his face.
  26. laden
    filled with a great quantity
    The gentle wind shifted, laden with familiar scents of honey and lavender: smells from my past, from my life before pain.
  27. perfunctory
    as a formality only
    “Arf,” I said without conviction.
    “Who knew,” Khara said, giving my head a perfunctory pat, “that it was possible to bark with such bitterness?”
  28. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    Some walked purposefully. Others meandered, chatting amiably.
  29. estuary
    the wide part of a river where it nears the sea
    The natites, water breathers, would rule all the waters that opened onto the sea. Rivers, but only for the first league of their estuary, along with the mouths of bays and inlets.
  30. maxim
    a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
    How I missed his calm and good-humored wisdom! So many times I’d rolled my eyes at his old-fashioned sayings, his proverbs and maxims.
  31. ramshackle
    in poor or broken-down condition
    After two more days, we arrived at last, weary and hungry, at Velt, the easternmost port, a bustling place crowded with ramshackle wooden buildings, some as many as three stories high, that towered above us like rickety trees.
  32. livery
    a uniform, especially worn by servants and chauffeurs
    Finally it was Khara’s turn to speak to one of the two liveried men acting as guards.
  33. belligerent
    characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight
    “We’re going to the isle,” she said.
    “Oh, are you just?” the guard said, half belligerent, half amused. “A boy, a horse, a dog, and a wobbyk. And what is your purpose in visiting the isle?”
  34. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    This was a Khara I had not yet seen. She was commanding, even haughty.
  35. filigree
    delicate and intricate ornamentation
    Its mouth was a triangle, flattened a little at the top, its ears mere filigree placed high on the sides of its head.
  36. fluke
    either of the two lobes of the tail of a cetacean
    The tail ended in horizontal flukes, but with a nasty surprise: rising between the flukes was a sort of spike perhaps a foot long, an ivory horn that was serrated along the bottom and glittering sharp at the point.
  37. serrated
    notched like a saw with teeth pointing toward the apex
    The tail ended in horizontal flukes, but with a nasty surprise: rising between the flukes was a sort of spike perhaps a foot long, an ivory horn that was serrated along the bottom and glittering sharp at the point.
  38. winch
    pull or lift up with or as if with a lifting device
    Its human servants began winching it back down into the water.
  39. ziggurat
    a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound
    Above all that rose a ziggurat, a rectangular tower atop a circular base level, ringed by a walkway that rose in stairlike levels, higher and higher. The huge temple glowed red in the lowering sun.
  40. cistern
    an artificial reservoir for storing liquids
    We ate what little we had and drank from the cistern amidships.
Created on Fri Dec 13 18:17:31 EST 2019 (updated Wed Jul 12 15:34:18 EDT 2023)

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