Endling: The First: Chapters 1–6

by Katherine Applegate
In this second book of the trilogy, the dairne Byx, with the help of humans Khara and Renzo, the wobbyk Tobble, and the felivet Gambler, journeys through warring lands to search for a hidden colony that would prove that she is not the last of her species.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–11, Chapters 12–25, Chapters 26–42, Chapters 43–56

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acquainted
    having fair knowledge of
    I am deeply acquainted with the many symptoms of terror: the rippling fur, the icy blood, the frantic heart, the unsheathed claws.
  2. bravado
    a swaggering show of courage
    But my little moments of bravado aren’t evidence of real courage.
  3. despotic
    having the characteristics of a tyrannical ruler
    Just months ago, my entire pack was wiped out by soldiers—soldiers commanded by the Murdano, the despotic ruler of Nedarra, my homeland.
  4. dwindle
    become smaller or lose substance
    All over Nedarra, our numbers have slowly dwindled.
  5. flimsy
    not convincing
    All morning, we’d been heading toward icy peaks towering in the distance beyond the Nedarran border—toward our uncertain future, toward my flimsy hopes.
  6. kindred
    similar in quality or character
    “Keep an eye on them. They have beaks like knives. And they’ll steal anything they can get their claws on.”
    “Kindred spirits, then?” Khara teased. Renzo was an accomplished thief.
  7. avian
    pertaining to or characteristic of birds
    “I wouldn’t mind a little avian snack,” said Gambler, following the razorgulls with his pale blue felivet eyes.
  8. confection
    a food rich in sugar
    Right then and there, he’d whipped up a batch of kitlattis—a biscuit-like confection that his great-great-great-grandmother had taught him to make. It was like eating little clouds, if clouds tasted like honey.
  9. illustrious
    widely known and esteemed
    That bent sword was the Light of Nedarra, a weapon with an illustrious history.
  10. venture
    proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
    Khara was our leader, but for this part of the journey, Renzo was guiding us, since he was the only one who’d ventured into this mountainous part of Dreyland, one of two countries bordering Nedarra.
  11. treacherous
    dangerously unstable and unpredictable
    He glanced behind him at the looming cliffs. “Hard to say. Terrain will just get more treacherous. And it looks like it may snow.”
  12. humble
    low or inferior in station or quality
    We’d considered trying to search by boat, but we didn’t have the resources to pay for even the humblest craft.
  13. floe
    a flat mass of ice drifting at sea
    The tides were perilous, the ice floes unpredictable.
  14. sentient
    endowed with feeling and unstructured consciousness
    Why a sentient island like Tarok would head north, we didn’t know.
  15. fray
    a noisy fight
    Renzo and I joined the fray, scattering enough of the crazed birds for Khara to shake herself free.
  16. gullet
    the passage between the pharynx and the stomach
    He caught one unfortunate bird, which promptly disappeared down Gambler’s gullet. Lunch.
  17. besiege
    surround so as to force to give up
    In a flash, as quickly as we’d been besieged, we were free of the birds.
  18. gutter
    burn unsteadily, feebly, or low; flicker
    We followed, trailing blood on the stone floor, our only light the guttering flame of Renzo’s dying torch.
  19. projection
    any solid convex shape that juts out from something
    The floor of the cavern had its own version: a forest of rock daggers pointing upward. The projections on the floor formed a ring at the edges of the most startling feature of the cavern, a lake with dark water so perfectly undisturbed it looked like polished black glass.
  20. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    We clambered down the steep descent, then set off on a strange and difficult march.
  21. bedraggled
    limp, untidy, and soiled
    Here we were, in the middle of nowhere, bleeding and bedraggled, just because I thought I’d seen another dairne.
  22. incessantly
    without interruption
    I sighed—louder than I’d meant to—and Dog padded over, tongue dangling, tail wagging incessantly.
  23. appeal
    earnest or urgent request
    We don’t roll on our backs in humiliating appeals for a stomach scratch.
  24. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    He was pacing back and forth, staring intently at the water.
  25. preposterous
    inviting ridicule
    The thought seemed preposterous, and I meant my question as a joke.
  26. epitome
    a standard or typical example
    To me, Gambler was the epitome of bravery. This was a felivet who had single-handedly attacked a fearsome Knight of the Fire and lived to tell the tale.
  27. sheer
    complete and without restriction
    Gambler sent me a glare that once upon a time might have caused me to drop dead from sheer terror.
  28. assail
    attack someone physically or emotionally
    We were perhaps a quarter league from the village when a shrill alarm assailed our ears.
  29. translucent
    allowing light to pass through diffusely
    Their skin was slick and translucent, their arteries and veins visible just under the surface. I even caught a glimpse or two of internal organs.
  30. jut
    extend out or project in space
    Mounted on stubby but moveable stalks that jutted from the back of their jawbones was a second set of eyes.
  31. imperiously
    in a manner showing arrogant superiority
    One sat imperiously atop a huge, undulating slug.
  32. undulate
    move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
    One sat imperiously atop a huge, undulating slug.
  33. demean
    reduce in worth or character, usually verbally
    “Is my realm so poor, so worthless, that you come here to demean us?”
  34. trill
    sing or play alternating with the half note above or below
    I could call what she made “speech,” but it was closer to singing, and closer still to lutes and harps playing in unison.
    “Your Majesty, we are no threat, nor do we—”
    “Threat?” Lar Camissa trilled.
  35. discordant
    lacking in harmony
    “You presume that you have power to threaten me?” The music took on a discordant tone.
  36. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    “We are intrigued. Come. Join us for a royal meal.”
  37. lichen
    a plant occurring in crusty patches on tree trunks or rocks
    And it seemed to my inexperienced eye that the stone walls were adorned with objects of art, small tapestries of woven lichen and moss.
  38. capacious
    large in the amount that can be contained
    Still, the dry space around it was capacious enough for all of us to find a place to sit.
  39. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    The rest of us passed the second one around, each taking a tentative sip.
  40. relish
    vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
    Renzo devoured his food with relish, as if he’d been served his favorite dishes.
Created on Sun Oct 09 11:58:57 EDT 2022 (updated Wed Jul 12 15:35:49 EDT 2023)

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