only then , watching maneck prowl toward him , seeing the wet gleam in the corner of its orange eyes as it looked from side to side , seeing the way its nose crinkled and twitched , the way its head swiveled and swayed restlessly on the stubby neck , the shrugging of its shoulders at each step , hearing the iron rasp of its breath , smelling its thick musky odor - only then did some last part of ramon 's mind fully accept the fact that maneck was an alien , accept it all the way down at the most basic of gut levels .