Last Update: 3/4/12
A pair of checkered converse sneakers stepped over a fallen tree branch, settling on a patch of mud. A denim pant leg followed behind it, propelling a blonde figure in plaid through a thick clump of elephant ears and leafy tree branches. Hearing running water, the figure crept through the bushes until it encountered a sandy shoreline scattered with sharp rocks. A light pattering of rain rattled the leaves and darkened spots on the blonde's plaid overshirt.
Hearing voices, it jumped back, diving behind a thick patch of weeds. It peeked through the ragweed and cattails, staring at a female bat in a doublet and genie pants fashioning a boat out of wood. A Tasmanian devil in a dress held down the plank, nailing something down. They worked on this craft on a beach at the edge of a forest. No habitations could be seen.
The humanoid watched the two animals working on the boat for a few minutes. Unsure if they could be trusted, it cautiously crept out of the cattails, its fuzzy brown ears laying back as it surveyed its surroundings. A river lay between its shore and the shore where the animals worked on their boat. The humanoid stepped out on the rocks, which made hollow crunching sounds under its shoes. It then stepped into the water, cold water pouring into its shoes and socks.
It stood in shallows only about a foot or so in depth. A few small fish and a scattering of minnows darted around between the rocks and sand, fleeing at the stranger's splashing.
It looked up to find the Tasmanian devil and bat staring back.
The bat waved. "Hello!" A definite female voice.
"H-hi," said the humanoid. The voice was feminine, but husky.
"I've never seen your type around here before. What are you, exactly?"
"Peapod! That's a rude thing to ask!"
"Sorry." She shrugged. "I'm Peapod, and this is Ms. Freak." She offered a brown-black paw.
"I'm Kiraki X."
"I just love your court jester shoes. They're adorable. Are they comfortable?"
Kiraki nodded. "They're okay." She suspected she had something swimming around her sock.
Peapod gestured to the boat. "We're almost done with it. Tomorrow we'll take it out and see if we can find a port city. Well, the captain is. She just told me to build the boat."
"Dear, you must be careful out here. I've heard rumors of an otter who's been attacking animals and doing unspeakable things to them."
"I'll be careful."
"If you like, you can stay at camp with us."
"Um..."
"Freaky! You can't just offer that! What will Wanda think?"
"Foo on Wanda. We have no ship. I only work on this boat because I want to find a port city and go shopping. It's a free forest. She can sit on a pin if she doesn't like it."
"Anyways, would you like to help us with the boat?"
"It's a little rough hewn. We've been doing a lot of chiseling, but we haven't got it smoothed up yet."
"Would be a nice excuse for letting her stay. She's earning her keep, after all."
"Yes, but she didn't agree to anything yet."
The toothy bear face grinned at her. "We can tell you stories while you carve."
"What kind of stories do you like? Serious ones?"
"Funny ones?"
"Stories that have no point, but involve a lot of small games?"
"Shopping? I know a lot about shopping."
~~~~
What does she say about shopping?
~~~
"Sure, I'd love to help."
"Here." The thing in the dress handed Kiraki a crude looking planing tool. "Find the rough patches and sand them down."
She stared at the device for a minute, then pressed the handle against the wood.
"No," said Ms. Freak. "You've got it upside down." She flipped it over, placing the grater portion against the wood. "Now, you just push it back and forth on the wood like this..." She demonstrated planing the wood down. "We used to have a crewman who had the power to adhere sand to paper, but he was too lazy to keep around."
"I think we can use the wind to `blast' the sand across the planks when you're done, though."
Kiraki scraped a few layers off the wood, trying her best to do a good job and make everything perfect. She kept finding uneven parts, going back, and planing back over the same spots.
"Honey, you're taking too long. Why don't you go find us some food?"
Kiraki shrugged.
Peapod held up a bucket. "And can you fill this up with water and take it to Lilac? She's up at the Roost. Shame about that fire."
"Fire?"
"Yes, there was a fire at the Roost. Nasty critters came in and torched the place. Oh that's right. You don't even know who Lilac is, do you, honey? Does it bother you that I call you honey, honey?"
~~~
(What does Kiraki say?)
Hint: If it bothers her, suggest something for Ms. Freak to say instead. Anything.
~~
"...Anyways, Lilac is, well, a Billonian Petriphonian."
Kiraki scratched her blonde scalp.
"Oh really!" Ms. Freak said with a flustered tone. In a hushed voice, she added, "He's a kanga. You know. Long ears and tail, bouncy bouncy. A `Roo."
"I could have made an illusion," said Peapod.
"You must save your magic for story time, Peapod."
"Right."
Kiraki thought the bat looked a bit pink in the face. She took the bucket, smiling happily. Kneeling by the stream of fresh water, she filled the bucket, picking out the algae. The minnows eluded her, so she left them in there.
Hearing rustling in the woods, Kiraki turned her head and saw a white lion cub with rainbow colored hair stumbling out of the bushes. His denim shorts were ripped, his white shirt ripped like something had sliced it open. He stumbled forward on the beach, tripped, and fell facedown on the rocks and sand.
She stared at the cub, startled at what she saw. "Jahie?"
She dropped the bucket and ran to the body, kneeling beside it. She recognized the red tipped ears immediately. It was Jahie, her friend from long ago.
"Jahie, Jahie! are you ok? what are you dong out here?!" she yelled. He rolled limply in her arms. Dazed at the fact he could be serriously hurt she put him on her back, carrying him back to the boat.
"Honey, who's that? A friend of yours? What happened?"
The bat offered her paws. "Here. Ms. Freak, you want to come over here and help?"
"He can't be too heavy if she can lift him herself." But she hoisted her skirts, waddling over to her.
"You know, you should never move a victim at the scene of an accident or you might injure their spine," said Peapod.
Ms. Freak rolled her yellow eyes. "*Thank you, Santocel.* I'd agree with you, but these are wounds. It doesn't look like it fell from anywhere, except maybe on its elbows."
Peapod took the body. Ms. Freak lifted the legs, but got shooed away. "It's fine, dear. He really is light. Might be because of blood loss or something." She hefted the body over to the boat.
"We just smoothed it down and now you're going to get blood all over it."
"This is the cleanest, smoothest spot, unfortunately." She set the boy down in the middle, brushing his colorful hair aside. "Cute little thing. Still not sure what these things call themselves." Showing a pink face again, she gave Kiraki a sheepish grin. "No offense."
The bat held her paws above the body, her palms and fingers glowing with a blue light. She waved them over him, creating a roving spotlight on the boy's body. As the light crossed his ripped shirt, she gasped. "These wounds look serious. We need to get Santocel over here." With that, she jumped up into the air and flew off.
"Santocel is a good healer, honey. She has the power to heal cuts and wounds. We got attacked by pirates a few years ago, and I dare say your friend's wounds aren't any worse than those." She spread the fur on the inside of her left arm, displaying a long inkvine scar. "They cut a major artery. Thought I was going to die." She let the fur drop. "All better."
"I'm goin' to look for some things out in the forest," said Kiraki.
"What should we do when he wakes up?"
"Just tell him its going to be ok, give him some water and ill bring some food and healing properties back."
"We're going to bring a healer over here, but suit yourself. We could probably use some Athelas, which I've heard grow in the east woods."
Out of view of the ladies and other spectators, Kiraki stripped naked, setting her clothing aside. She knelt down on all fours, concentrated a minute, then gray hairs started sprouting up all over her body. The bones in her body moved from their original positions as skin, muscle and bone restructured itself in the space of seconds. A long, spiny fin sprouted from her backside, spreading up her spine. The gray hairs gained thickness, growing along with a series of scaly plates, and her face extended into a long muzzle. Her ears flattened, her human nose dropped into the fur, and then a wolf with an odd dragon-like body stood in the human's place.
After giving its entire body a full length canine shake, the wolf creature's mouth clamped down on the water bucket, and it padded down the beach faster than a motorbike.
As it ran, it felt something cold land on its nose. Its crystalline structure remained there for a moment before melting. A snowflake. And it had been so warm moments before.
Further on down the shoreline, she saw an overweight jackal with soggy clothing trudging up the rocks, whining and complaining to himself as he slowly kicked the rocks.
The wolf dragon stared at the jackal for a minute, wondering if he needed help. She slowly walked over to him.
"Why are you wet and grumpy?"
"If you fell down in the river and got your clothes stuck in a tree branch, you'd be grumpy, too! I've been walking for *miles* and everybody just left me in the water to drown! I'm serious,I almost drowned back there! And then, before that, I was walking with the guys and I said, `Hey, guys, can't we stop somewhere for a bite to eat before we keep going?' And they said no, so I'm hungry. I'm also thirsty. All I had was that water back there and not juice..." and he kept on complaining. At first, Kiraki felt sorry for him, but then she got to wondering if he might be exaggerating things a bit to make her feel sorry for him.
"I'm sorry," she finally said. "My friend is dying and I need to get help."
"Don't worry," the jackal stammered. "I'll be fine. I'm just going to sit down on that log over there and rest awhile."
She shook her head, picking up the bucket with her mouth again.
As she ran down the beach, the snow changed from random flakes to a light dusting. She ducked into the forest, scanning between the trees for the athela things her new friends had asked her for. However, she couldn't tell the difference between an athela and elephant ears, so she gave it up in favor of finding Lilac.
After refilling the bucket, the wolf dragon wandered the woods until she came upon a forest of scorched and blackened trees with odd crumbling implements hanging from them. She saw the remains of a bridge dangling dangerously overhead, ready to fall, useless fragments of ladders and pulleys, and randomly scattered planks of wood. At the edge of one of the trees, Kiraki found a small campsite where she saw a female kangaroo in a doublet sewing something on a tent. She cautiously padded closer, then sat down on her haunches, dropping the bucket. "Excuse me are you Lilac?"
"Yes I am. Did Ms. Freak and Peapod send you?"
She nodded. "How did you know?"
"You brought me water." The marsupial poured the bucket into a pot with some leaves and chopped vegetables, setting it on a fire. "This should make an excellent stew."
"I need some athelas for my friend. He's been hurt."
"They're in the woods over there," she said, waving to her right. "They have wide leaves and they're covered in pink spots. She paused. "You might want to get a good number...Actually, let me help you." She marched out into the woods, leading Kiraki to a patch of dark green plants with neon pink mushroom spots all over. The wolf dragon clawed at the dirt, pulling out a pair of the plants while the kangaroo yanked a few more out of the ground. They dropped the leaves in the bucket, then marched back to the camp, which had now gathered a light blanket of snow.
Kiraki worried that Jhaie might not remember her, but she shook the thought out of her head, racing back down the shoreline with the bucket clutched in her mouth. She dully sensed the kangaroo bouncing behind her, gasping as she tried to keep up.
The wolf dragon quickly found the boat where the Tasmanian devil knelt over the unconscious boy, crooning something as she stroked his forehead.
She set down the bucket next to the boat. "I've got the athelas," she said.
"Oh! It's you! I didn't hardly recognize you with all the...hair and...scales." She didn't seem at all shocked or surprised. She picked up the bucket, staring at the plants. "Okay. This will work." She dug a rounded stick out of her dress, using it to grind up the plants. She then grabbed a handful of the green glop, laying it on the boy's wounds.
Noting that her task was done, Kiraki dashed up the beach to where her clothing lay. She changed back into a humanoid, dressed, and hurried back to her friend.
"Any word from Peapod?" she said.
"Not yet. She's probably still on her way to Santocel. But these athelas should help."
"I boiled some water," said the kangaroo. "But I just added carrots and spinach, so it's not so good for wounds now."
Ms. Freak shrugged. "I guess all we can do right now is wait." She stared at Kiraki. "So you're a shapeshifter."
She reddened. "Uh..."
"It's okay, honey. We used to have one onboard awhile back, but he kept getting sloshed and fell overboard. He drowned before we could figure out he wasn't a piece of driftwood."
Kiraki fought down a chuckle. "I'm sorry."
The Tasmanian devil shrugged. "It was a long time ago."
"It's snowing already," said Lilac.
"That is a bit funny. It's been so hot lately. I'm really not sure why it would suddenly get that cold. I know we're nearing fall, but..."
"You think it's Damien?"
"It's possible."
Kiraki heard flapping sounds. She looked up and saw a snow flecked black shape with outstretched leathery wings carrying a large fin headed reptile in a puffy blouse and harem pants. She flew low, obviously struggling to keep the enormous weight aloft. A few moments later, the creature received a rough landing on the rocks below.
The reptile stood up, brushing herself off. Her paws glowed with each brush, and speckles of light flew from her like dust. She then took out a small sponge, touching it to the scrapes on her cheeks. In no time, the damage vanished.
"Santocel! So good of you to come on such short notice!"
The stranger's duck bill opened. "All right. So who needs my help?"
"Over here," said Ms. Freak. "He's in the boat."
The dinosaur stomped over to the boat, glancing down. "Good. You've put athelas on it." She knelt down, placing her paw on the boy's chest. She closed her eyes, and a purple glow radiated outward from her paw in ripples. She pursed her bill, and the ripples changed color to green, then blue.
"Is he going to be all right?" Kiraki asked.
"These wounds are severe. I'm repairing an artery right now. Once that's done, he should be fine, though he might belch flame for a couple days."
"I'm going to belch flame?" said Jhaie "Cool!"
Everyone stared at him in surprise. He slowly sat up.
"Lay back down, you foolish boy. I'm not done yet."
The boy did what he was told. About five minutes later, Santocel said, "It's done."
"And not a moment too soon!" the kangaroo exclaimed. "I just forgot, I've got a soup to attend!" She hopped away.
"Mmmm! Soup!" said Ms. Freak. "Can't wait!"
As he sat up again, Kiraki gave him a great big hug.
"Wow whats this for chika?"
"I thought I had lost you! What happened?" she said with tears in her eyes.
"I was twelve when they kidnapped me. You remember that, don't you?"
She nodded, wiping away the tears.
"My kidnappers brought me here," said Jhaie. "But I got away. I've been wandering this place for five years. It's a big place. I found out my kidnappers were still here, trying to kill me, so I spent a few years hiding in caves. I heard I could get help from the brotherhood of Cordero, so I went up to the Roost to find this lady named Nateela, but when I got there, these monsters had set fire to the place. There were monsters everywhere. I found a cave in the woods and hid there, watching what happened. I saw the animals putting out the fire, then I saw the monsters dying everywhere. After that happened, I thought I was safe. I climbed out of the cave, and that's when the beast saw me. I went to run again but I tripped and the thing caught up with me and attacked me. It had unbelievable strength and, and, its eyes glowed with this cold red light. I've never seen anything like it. It nearly beat and clawed me to death. The next thing I know, I'm here with my old friend."
She chuckled, but worried about what was going on.
"The Huruts are gone, honey," said Ms. Freak. "You must have been attacked by one of the last ones."
"There's been a change in the water," said Peapod. "We only had to drink it and we recovered from the sickness."
"The sickness? Huruts? What are you talking about?"
"Where have you been? Everyone around here has been getting sick! You start with these flu-like symptoms, then you completely lose your mind..."
"I've seen the change happen," said Santocel. "They turn green, then they become deformed, horrible beasts. Huruts."
"But the water has been curing them."
"The simple fact of the matter is, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Unless someone hasn't drunk the water."
"Of course, I've never heard of them having glowing red eyes."
"It wasn't green," said Jhaie. "It was brown and covered in hair, like a mammoth, but it walked on two legs."
Ms. Freak frowned. "That's not good, honey. I don't know what you're talking about, but it scares me."
Kiraki suddenly felt scared. She worried about the lives of everyone around her, hoping the monster wouldn't find them.
"Okay! So now we really do have to leave, when is a good time for us to leave?" She shot Lilac and Santocel pleading glances.
"Honey, we don't have anywhere to go," said Ms. Freak. "Ever since the ship crashed, we've basically just been camping out by the shore. Many of us want to go out to the ocean again, but we'll have to find a new charter. The ship is nothing but a scattering of wood on the bottom of this river. We were going to take this boat up to a big sea city and find a new charter."
Kiraki stared at her in silence for awhile, then finally said, "How long will it take us to get there?"
"More than likely, it should take us about a week, possibly four days if the waters are swift enough." Her tone was confident, but she looked worried.
"Then I'll will get food and enough water to last us three trips over!" Kiraki jumped up and shouted in triumph
Jhaie jumped up too. "I'll help her, i mean two of us will get things done faster right?"
Ms. Freak put her paws to her hips, scrunching up her face with a look of frustration. "I take it you two have never ridden in a canoe before. If we capsize, that food's going to be everywhere. The plan is to get to a town swiftly as we can, and that means reducing weight."
Peapod snorted.
"Is there something funny, Miss I-Look-Like-An-Exploded-Pea-Pod-Body?"
"Oh no." Peapod held her paw over her mouth. "I think I've come down with a cold."
"That's what I thought!" She shifted her left paw higher. "What I'm saying, honey, is that we'll save time living off the land. Until someone invents some kind of white container made of a floaty cork-like substance that causes damage to the ozone layer, we're better off not loading the thing with mushrooms and fish and meat, and onions and, and..." She wiped drool off her mouth. "Is supper done yet?"
"I'm not sure, Ms. Freakishly Large."
The Tasmanian devil held out her paw, which began to glow and sparkle. "Would you like to get a `freak' jolt of lightning, Miss Can-I-Have-Some-More-Potatoes?"
"Only if you want the camp to see a showing of your extra large bloomers!"
Kiraki saw a flash, then heard the crackle of static. The next moment, the bat had an Afro of electrically charged hair.
"Oh ouch." Peapod rolled her eyes. With a wave of her paw, she created a bubble at the base of Ms. Freak's dress, and a yard long hologram-like illusion appeared in the air, displaying an enlargement of the dull purple fabric.
Ms. Freak self consciously pulled her dress taut to prevent any further invasion. "Don't you dare! I'll do you more than give static cling!"
"Must you two behave like children?" the finned dinosaur harrumphed.
"She gets like this when she misses a meal."
"Look who's talking, fish monger!"
"If you two don't settle down, I'll tell the captain and she'll come up with something worse than dangling you from the mast again!"
The Tasmanian devil crossed her arms indignantly. So did the bat.
"So who is coming on this trip?" Kiraki asked.
"It's just going to be these two rotten apples, I'm afraid," said Santocel. "It's their boat."
"But first, supper," said Ms. Freak. And so she hobbled her way up the beach with her paws on her hips. Peapod and Santocel followed her.
Kiraki suddenly heard a belch. She turned just in time to see her sleeve catch fire. She let out a shout of surprise, waving it around, which only made the fire grow larger.
"Sorry!" said Jhaie, pounding on her sleeve. The fire eventually went out. "They weren't kidding about the belching!"
She stared at her sleeve. It now had a huge hole in it where her bare arm poked through. "Wonderful."
After a long, slow march up the beach, Kiraki and her new acquaintances arrived at the camp, where the kangaroo stirred the stew pot. "Soup's on!"
Ms. Freak dug wooden bowls out of a lean-to, and the supper was distributed.
"So," the kangaroo said, looking Kiraki in the eyes. "Are you also a sailor?"
They didn't appear to have any spoons, for everybody just seemed to slurp out of the bowls.
Kiraki took the bowl she was handed, staring at Ms. Freak in confusion. "Me! A sailor! No, well, I mean I have done a bit of sailing, but that's another story, and let's say it didn't turn out very well because my first mate was a really obnoxious cat, and I lost my temper and threw the boat off direction and it capsized." She was really sad to admit it, but it just came out. Her cheeks turned bright red.
Everybody laughed. She could even hear a noisy gurgling from Ms. Freak, who had her face in a bowl at the time.
"Land lubber!" the bat whispered to the kangaroo with a giggle.
Jhaie looked at her and laughed.
Kiraki threw him an icy glare at him.
"Whoa! Hold on! When did this happen?"
"Three years before you got captured. At that time you where at home sick, and I was in a camp in the middle of nowhere." She just realized she'd had let her guard down, and everyone seemed to be staring at her. She felt ashamed to have shown her two worst emotions, anger and sorrow. She had a horrible childhood when Jhaie got taken, becoming really protective of herself, putting up a whole lot of walls to block people out. She got really aggressive on the inside while she felt like she were dying inside.
It seemed Ms. Freak had noticed her dismal expression, for then her face displayed a bit of worriment. "I'm sorry, baby. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings. There's nothing wrong with being a land lubber. It's just amusing, that's all." And then she chortled a little. "That was a cute little story."
Peapod sipped her stew. "I once knew a cat named Minnie Mazola. She kept stealing from the ship's treasury."
"Hmph," said Ms. Freak. The others looked equally uninterested. It seemed this story had been told before. The kangaroo took a noisy slurp.
The sun turned red, lowering in the sky. Kiraki slurped up a few mouthfuls of the soup and found it to be sort of an acquired taste. The broth turned out to be something tasting like a cough drop, and the chunks of fish seemed to be at odds with the carrots, celery and potatoes. Still, her hunger won out and she swallowed a few more gulps.
"It's good, huh?" the kangaroo said.
Kiraki shrugged politely.
As more snow dusted its way down, the group gathered more closely around the fire to stay warm.
"Goodness," Peapod shivered. "I hope this doesn't keep up. There's a reason why I took up sailing."
"I wonder if this is Damien's doing. It's all together the wrong season for this."
The kangaroo shook her head.
Kiraki stared at the hole in her sleeve, thinking *this is the same as my life. A rag with a big hole in it that I can't fill.*
"Would you like me to sew that for you?" Lilac asked.
"I...don't know." She shrugged. "I don't have anything else to wear."
Lilac muttered something to the dinosaur, and both shook their heads.
"Poor dear."
"We seem to have a knack for picking them up, don't we?"
Kiraki cleared her throat. "I think I can solve you problem with the food storage."
Lilac laughed. "I wasn't aware that we had a food storage problem."
"Are you a potter, honey?"
"Maybe she's a basket weaver. We have some pretty good baskets already."
Kiraki shook her head. She glanced at Jhaie.
"Oh right!" said the boy. "Back when we were kids there was something called `Styrofoam'. It's water proof and light as anything and it floats." He faltered, staring at the ground.
"Sorry. We don't know how to make it."
Everyone stared at her.
Ms. Freak laughed. "She is *so* silly! Why, I only made the observation that *if* we had something like that, we could carry food with us when we went up the river! It was just an idle comment." She patted Kiraki on the back. "It's okay, honey. Don't you worry about a thing. Ms. Freak is gonna take care of everything."
Peapod scooped another ladle full of stew into her bowl, then pointed it at Kiraki. "So..."
She held up her bowl. "I'm fine. I've still got some."
The bat put the ladle down. "Um, Kiraki. Is this boy here your brother?"
She glanced at Jhaie and blushed. "Uh, no. More old friends then anything...but sometimes we are so close that it does feel like we're related..." She glanced at him under her fringe and saw him blushing a deeper red than her own. She looked back into her bowl, giggling to herself. She took her last sip of soup and set the bowl down beside her in the now thickening snow. When she glanced out into the woods, she noticed a fog had settled on the forest, and the snowflakes seemed to have stopped for the moment, save for a slight dusting from the trees when the winds blew through them. It was still cold, though.
"Think it might be magic?" said Ms. Freak.
Peapod shrugged. "A mist going along with a snow isn't unheard of."
"I've heard a saying around here," said the dinosaur. "They say if you don't like the weather, just wait around some and it'll change."
The kangaroo rubbed her arms and shivered. "Still, it's a little cold."
Ms. Freak spread her nasty sharp yellow teeth. "Shoot, I don't mind! It was too darned hot anyway! I'm just glad not to sweat!"
Peapod nodded. "I grew up in a cave. This is comfortable."
"I think our new friends have other ideas, though."
The black bear thing shot Kiraki an apologetic glance. "You don't have a place to go to, do you, honey?"
She shook her head.
"We got a nice tent set up if you'd like to stay with us. But it's gonna be a bit cold, since we're comfortable right now. If you want, we've got some friends up in those trees over there. They've got houses and it's probably going to be a lot warmer."
"Freaky's afraid of heights," said Peapod. "They have some nice little cabins with fireplaces and such, and that nice Nateela lady cooks up fairly good grub, though not as good as Lilac's, of course. I did try to hang upside down and sleep up there one time, but it's a little too noisy for my taste."
The Tasmanian devil sighed and stretched. "Well! It *is* about that time, isn't it?"
Peapod shrugged.
"Of course Miss Night Owl wouldn't agree with me," she muttered. Standing up, she put a paw to her hip, waddling up to Kiraki's spot on the ground. "What's it going to be, honey? Want to spend the night up with the owls, or you want to go sleep in the cold tent?"
"She might not be tired," Peapod offered helpfully.
"Some animals *do* like to sleep under the stars," said Lilac.
"Seems like a bit too little skin covering for that, I think."
"Are you tired, baby?"
"Yeah, I am getting a little sleepy, but with the snow fall, I think the fire sounds pretty good right now, no offense. It's just snow and me don't exactly get well when I'm trying to sleep. Most other nights yeah I'll sleep under the stars." She smiled and nodded at Jhaie "What about you huh?"
"Ooh, uh, I'm fine anyway. Uh...I wouldn't mind the food though." He giggled cheekily.
"What's wrong with my stew? You can have a second helping if you want!"
Jhaie shook his head.
"You can check and see if they're having dinner. They might be done, though. But maybe if you ask nice, they could find you something, I suppose."
Kiraki stood up, staring at the trees. "How do we get up to the Roost?"
"Well," Ms. Freak rubbed her chin. "The pulley is broken, so I think you're going to have to climb up there."
"I suppose I could carry you up there," said Peapod. "But not both at once, I should think."
"You just carried Santocel," said Ms. Freak. "And two of them could fit in her fanny!"
"Hey!" the dinosaur shouted.
"I'm just pointing out an obvious fact."
"I should have let Peapod expose your bloomers to the world."
"Do you want me to do your hair, too?"
"I don't have any hair."
" *I heard that*! " Ms. Freak laughed.
"Still," said Peapod. "My back has had quite enough. I'll take you one at a time."
With a shrug, Jhaie stood up, stretching out his arms in awkward attempts to convenience her. The bat grabbed him under the armpits, taking off.
Kiraki heard an eerie moaning sound echo through the trees. It sounded vaguely animal-like, like the roar of a lion or a grizzly bear, but something seemed off. She shuddered.
"You think that's the animal that tore into your friend?"
She shrugged. "I don't know." She paused, listening for more of the sounds, but none came.
"Whatever it is," said Ms. Freak. "If it tangles with me, it's dead!"
"All the more reason to leave and find a charter." Lilac covered the stew with a metal lid, placing it in the dying coals below.
Kiraki heard flapping, then the black shape touched down in front of her. "Ready to go?"
She nodded.
The bat grabbed her, and she rose high in the cold night air, far above the branches, to a shabby fire damaged village built in the treetops. The dwellings consisted of blackened wooden huts with hastily cobbled patches of loose wood nailed to them for protection, standing on platforms that had huge gaps and chunks missing from their connecting pieces.
"They're lucky it looks this good," Peapod said as she glided over the ragged platform in the center. "The fire wrecked just about everything. This used to be such a pretty place."
A moment later, Kiraki saw a large patch of wood rushing up at her, and she touched down next to Jhaie with a stumble.
The bat landed, gesturing to the crude buildings. "Here we are!"
She heard hammering sounds everywhere. The bat covered her ears. "See? It's noisy. They keep working on their houses and I can't get any sleep!"
"Don't they get to bed sometime?" Jhaie asked.
"Sure. But I don't sleep at night."
"You can never make everyone happy!" a voice shouted.
Kiraki saw a small yeti step out from behind a nearby hut, hammer in hand. "Hello, Peapod!" it said. Kiraki and the creature stared at each other for a moment. "I see you've brought guests!" It kept staring. "What are they?"
"I don't know. Some kind of troll? They're friendly, though. The poor darlings have nowhere to go."
"It's a common theme these days, I'm afraid. Let me check and see if we have any place for them." And so the yeti wandered off.
Peapod shrugged. "After the shipwreck and the fire, it's been a bit crowded."
Silence. Kiraki saw drops of moisture darken spots on the boards below her. It seemed to be about to rain. She sighed, scratching at an itch. Noticing a tick crawling up her exposed arm, she pulled it off before it could bury its head into her skin.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up from the boards to see a turtle in a tunic waddling out. "I thought I heard a noise!" It said in a male sounding voice. It paused. "You must be guests!"
Kiraki introduced herself and Jhaie.
"How is the work coming?" Peapod asked.
"We've got most of the houses repaired. It's not perfect, but they keep out the rain and weather, at least." The turtle set down his hammaer, rubbing his paws. "Did you go up river yet?"
"Not yet," said Peapod. "We've just got the boat finished."
Kiraki heard flapping sounds, and a tall snowy owl fluttered down from the air. The girl and the owl stared at each other for a moment before either spoke. "I heard you needed a place to stay for the night."
Kiraki nodded.
"Well," she said. "It's a bit crowded here, so the best I can do is set you up with a tent. Don't worry, though. It will still be warm. Funny weather we're having, isn't it?" She shrugged, stepping across the platform. "Follow me. I'll show you to your tent."
Kiraki walked after her, crossing a shaky looking rope bridge with a series of mismatched wooden planks on the bottom.
The owl stopped, facing her. "What's your name, elf?"
"Uh...Kiraki."
"I'm Nateela. Nice to meet you." And Kiraki shook her feathery paw.
"You got any food?" Jhaie asked.
"We already served the evening meal, but I'll check the kitchen for you." The bridge swayed as she marched ahead. "Really, I shouldn't bother calling it a kitchen. After the fire, this big silver thing destroyed the entire dining area and part of our former kitchen. The wood stove survived, but..." She shrugged. "It's just not the same."
"Big silver thing?" Kiraki stared at the back of the owl's head as she stepped onto a wooden platform filled with crudely constructed canvas tents.
"It was a a big funny silver egg that spoke to a group of guests we had with us at the time. It had us all scared, but the guests quieted it and climbed inside it, and then they disappeared. It hasn't bothered us since." She sighed. "But now my younger sister has gone after them. She's in love with a rodent, I'm afraid. I hope nothing happens to her."
Kiraki followed her to the center of a circle of tents, where a red panda, an Abyssinian cat, a compsognathus and a feminine looking cockatiel sat around a fire, talking to one another. Once Kiraki got near, they hushed up, staring at her.
"This is Kiraki," said Nateela. "She needs a place to stay for the night."
The red panda gestured to a tent. "You can sleep here. At least one of you. It really belongs to Eclaire, but she's going to be out for a few days."
"Come to think of it," said Nateela. "I don't know when my sister is going to be back. If you'd like, you could stay there for the night. She sleeps during the day anyway."
Since Kiraki didn't move, the snowy owl just shrugged. "Well, it seems you've made your decision!" She waved to the tents. "Make yourself at home." The red panda gestured to a tent next to him. "Here. You can use this one."
"I'll go check on the food," said Nateela.
"Food?" the Abyssinian asked.
"Yes, Gawk. The dear things must have missed dinner. I'll go check the kitchen for them." And she flapped off into the air.
Jhaie climbed inside the tent, staring at the fire. Kiraki sat down next to the flame, warming her hands as she waited for more food.
Kiraki silently listened as the creatures around the fire chattered amongst themselves.
"I miss Cordero," said the red panda. "He was a good soul, always so kind and friendly."
The cockatiel nodded. "It's a shame he had to die the way he did. But if it hadn't happened, we all would still be sick. I heard the blue water is his doing."
"Do you believe anything of what Cephas has been talking about?"
"Did he see a ghost?" The red panda shrugged. "I don't know."
They all fell quiet, glumly staring at the fire. The silence seemed to go on for ages.
"So how long have you guys been here," Kiraki said shyly.
No one seemed to move or talk, so it went quiet again.
Jhaie's stomach rumbling interupted her thinking of home. She looked back into the tent. "You sound like you're even more hungry than I am."
He nodded, staring at the fire.
Hearing fluttering noises, Kiraki looked up and saw the snowy owl flapping down from the air with a cloth package in her paws. She landed in front of the tent, and Kiraki received a folded bundle of burlap. She unwrapped it to discover a big lumpy shape wrapped in plant leaves like a tamale. Beneath the leaves she found large chops of fish, mushrooms, and chunks of potato, along with a knife and a pair of crude two pronged forks made of iron.
"I can't even look at fish," the red panda said with a shudder. "I keep thinking of the incident."
"The blue stuff cured the fish," said the cockatiel. "We're not getting sick anymore."
"Still, I can't bring myself to eat it."
"We can't all live on nuts and berries."
"This is coming from a cockatiel."
The bird shrugged. "I can't help it. Nateela really is the best cook in the region."
With a chuckle, Kiraki carved the fish, giving Jhaie half of it. The meat had the flavor of catfish, with a fatty chicken-like texture roughly the same as the type from Lilac's stew.
"Good?" said Nateela.
Kiraki nodded, too busy munching to speak.
"If you need anything else, just yell." And she took off in the air again.
Kiraki finished her piece of fish, starting on the potato.
"You didn't like the stew, did you?"
She looked up and saw the bat standing next to the tent.
"It tasted medicinal," said Jhaie.
"Medicine is good for you. The soup was made from the leaves of the Wiffle tree."
Kiraki stared at her.
"Please. No wiffle bat jokes."
Jhaie laughed. "Sorry."
Peapod shook her head. "Oh well. It's to be expected. Everyone around here says Nateela's the best cook." She paused. "Other than that, how are you getting along up here? Everything fine?"
Kiraki nodded, swallowing a bite of potato. "Thank you."
"It's no problem at all. Goodbye." She flew away.
Once finished eating, Kiraki pulled up a palette next to Jhaie's inside the tent, laying down, staring through the opening at the trees above. She could just barely see stars beyond the thick tangles of branches and leaves. Certain fire ravaged areas even afforded a clear view of the moon or a bird shaped constellation.
"Are you okay, Kiraki?" she heard a voice whisper from beside her.
"No, not really. I'm actually kind of homesick, Jhaie."
"It's okay. You're safe with me." And then she felt something like a big warm furry blanket wrap tightly around her. It made her safe and comfortable until she thought about it a minute. Turning her head, she noticed he had taken the form of a large animal of some sort. With a shrug, she snuggled down in his fur and fell asleep with his strong arms wrapped around her.
A thunderous crash awoke Kiraki from her slumber. She sat up, looking out the opening of the tent. Beyond, she saw a wall of white, and a small frosted orange figure tending a feeble flame. The wooden huts had been transformed into white igloos by the piles of white flaked showering down. Twirling snow devils blew across the snow covered platforms, dancing across the planks, flying up to the cone mounds topping the posts framing the side railing.
"Wow! Look at that blizzard!" said Jhaie. "Weird weather, huh?"
"Yeah," she stared at it in puzzlement. "I thought I heard someone saying this was magic."
"It sure is cold!"
Noticing how heavily the sides of the tent pressed in, Kiraki reached up to push them back, but a voice stopped her. "I wouldn't do that. Water will come pouring in."
She put her hand down.
"Breakfast is in a few hours. You can stay in there until then if you want, or you can help me tend the fire."
Suddenly Kiraki saw a change in the blizzard's direction. The flakes flew up and outwards, as if a giant had puffed them back. She leaned out over a mound of snow to get a closer look.
The snowflakes now seemed to be floating in midair, not falling, just hanging there.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" said a familiar voice.
"Yeah, it's beautiful."
The bat stepped out from behind the tent, stooping down to her level. She pointed to a gold amulet around her neck. "It's an old weather ward. You can only use it for a few notches on a sundial without it going out."
"Nateela says she's going to bring you a basket of food."
"Tell her to keep it. When Ms. Freak goes sailing, nothing stays dry for very long." She yawned. "Oh. It's so early! I can't wait until we're in the boat and I can sleep."
"...until she dumps you in the water!" the red panda joked.
She shook her head. "I have some pep beans. I'll eat them if I have to."
"What are pep beans?"
"They grow on a plant in a tropical area. The natives like to boil them and make drinks out of them, but they taste disgusting, even with cream and sugar."
"Oh yes. I missed that voyage. Pity. If only I could get even one of those little sugar canes again..." He shook his head. "Never mind."
"Ready to go?" Peapod asked.
Kiraki frowned. "What about breakfast?"
"We'll find some along the river. C'mon."
Kiraki grudgingly climbed out of the tent, allowing the bat to pick her up. Moments later, she had dropped several stories, standing ankle deep in snow. Jhaie joined her shortly, and they all marched up to the beach.
The river had become frozen on the surface, but she could still see fish wiggling around in the super blue water beneath. In fact, everywhere the blue water touched, the ice seemed to melt away like butter.
After a long march down a rocky shore dusted with snow, they came to the crude boat, where the fat Tasmanian devil sat fanning herself.
"I had hot flashes so bad I had to pour a bucket of ice water on myself," she remarked.
"That's a little too much information, Ms. Freak."
With a shrug, the Taz just got behind the boat and pushed. It only scooted a foot, so Peapod got on the other side.
Kiraki saw this and tried to help, too.
The boat slogged into a blue patch, and a sheet of ice broke away, allowing the boat to float free.
"All right, everybody, get in!"
"Wait! Where are the oars?"
"Bother the oars!"
"No bother! We'll be in a headspin!" The bat hopped across the rocks, picking up a couple of thin, crudely chiseled logs.
"We've got magic, you know."
"I don't trust your steering spells. Last time we got stuck in a rock pocket for half a day!"
The Taz laughed. "Well, off we go!"
And so the crude boat crunched its way through an ultra thin sheet of ice, splashing down into an ice free rapid.
The blackened forest drifted past them, and Kiraki found herself staring at new surroundings, unfamiliar hills, strange looking forests, clearings, sandy, welcoming beaches, and muddy spots with bramble patches.
As she looked around at her new surroundings, she felt strangely uneasy, like she wanted to jump ship grab a snack and sleep more. but she watched the scenery drift by quietly. She felt Jhaie again wrapping his arms around her but it was just him this time, and not the hairy thing.
"Jhaie, I feel sea sick," she said quietly as she turned around into his chest
"Its ok, Kiraki," he said, lowering his head to hers. "I got you."
Ms. Freak glanced back at them, then let out a hearty laugh. "Keep sticking with us, honey, and we'll get you some sea legs to stand on!"
The boat rushed through a flat, rocky section of river, dipping into even shallower rapids. A few seconds later, after physically pushing off the riverbed a couple times, they dropped over the edge of a two foot tall waterfall, and the boat entered deeper water. The ice and snow had all but passed, the disturbance seeming to be a fluke centrally located around the Roost. They canoed past a couple felled trees and a weed choked beach, arriving at a sandbar they had to paddle around. Once on its opposite end, Ms. Freak exclaimed, "It's breakfast time!" she pointed to a beach in the distance. "Let's go there and hunt for food!"
Ms. Freak and Peapod rowed the boat to the shore and got out, pulling it high on the sand to keep it from floating off.
"All right," the Taz said. "Time to scrounge up some grub."
"I've got a tinder box in my pocket," said Peapod. "I'll search for some firewood."
"Right." Ms. Freak put her paws on her hips, staring at Kiraki. "So, what should we have today? Grubs and mushrooms? Or would you like to take your hand at grabbling?"
"Grubs," she said excitedly. "Apparently they taste like chicken."
"Ooh! Chicken that sounds good!" Jhaie said right behind her. "Or I could go hunt for hunt for both of us."
Kiraki didn't notice the animals gasping in shock whenever she mentioned eating chicken.
"Ok fine. I'll stay here and help get firewood."
So then Jhaie walked off into the woods. A little while after she heard a growling and then ripping. She figured it was Jhaie turning beasty again so he could hunt faster.
"I'll pretend you didn't say you ate chickens," said Ms. Freak. "Some of my best friends are Cornish hens."
"Sorry."
Ms. Freak shrugged. "Not a big fan of fish, eh? Well, let's go grub hunting, then." Kiraki followed the Taz into the woods at the end of the beach, watching as she overturned logs, electrified the termites with powerful burst of static, then gathered them into a fold she made in the front of her dress. Eventually the two worked out an assembly line sort of process where Ms. Freak woulds tun the grubs while holding up her dress while Kiraki picked them. The termites in that place grew fat and large, so it seemed they'd have a fair breakfast on them.
After the Taz had peeled the bark off a nearby tree to look for grubs, Kiraki stepped on a soft spot of ground on her way over, and she found herself falling through a sinkhole. With a scream, she tumbled downward for about five feet before landing on a hard rock floor covered in wet leaves.
Fortunately, she was unharmed, as the fall had not been that great.
As she stood up, brushing herself off, she noticed a carved stone archway standing right in front of her, with something gold and glowing in the darkness beyond.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" Ms. Freak yelled.
"Uhh yeah, I think so!" Kiraki called. "But i may have twisted my ankle, and I may be hallucinating!"
"None of that down there! You stay put and I'll come down and get you!" Ms. Freak stared at the hole in the ground. "Rope," she muttered. "Blast these grubs. Should have thought of a good place to store them. Now they're sure to get away." The Taz turned away from the opening. "Peapod! Help!"
Kiraki heard flapping sounds, then a black shape stood next to her. "What is it, Ms. Freak?"
"Can you fly back to the Roost and get some rope?"
"What do you need rope for...Oh! Kiraki! What are you doing down there?"
"I fell into a sinkhole!" she shouted. "I can't get back up!"
"Not to worry! I can fly you out!"
"Thank you!"
"She's twisted her ankle," said the Taz.
"We'll just have to deal with that once we get her out." And then she flapped her wings.
"Wait. Are you sure there's enough room for you to take off again once you go down there?"
She stopped. "Not entirely sure. It looks somewhat narrow."
"I don't see any holds on the sides there. It seems to be mostly dirt. Except for that one side with the rocks."
Kiraki stared at the ivy encrusted stone wall, wondering why there were reliefs of monsters carved on the surface, and what that gold gleaming was. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she noticed that the yellow gleaming had an actual shape to it. Goblets. Necklaces. Shields. Piles of coinage.
"I'll get a rope for you, honey! Just hold on for a few! (Go off to the Roost, Peas! We can't just leave her down there!)"
"Right away!" And Peapod flapped off.
"Uhh, guys? You would now belive what i just found!" She called up, but got no answer. "Ms. Freak! There's treasure down here! Can you believe it!"
"Really!" the Taz shouted. "That's wonderful!"
Kiraki staggered beneath the archway, grabbing a few handfuls of gold and coins, which she slipped into her pockets.
"Not so fast!" said a voice in the dark. Kiraki saw a silver flash, then a raggedy looking Lhasa Apso with an eyepatch appeared at her side, pressing a blade to her neck. "I'd put down all the pretty shiny things if I were you."
"Uuhhh...uuhh...oohhkkay," she stammered, emptying her pockets. "Who are you?"
The blade didnt move from her neck,
"I'm nothing worth mentioning."
"Kiraki are you ok down there?" she heard Jhaie's voice calling.
"Kiraki!" The boy stepped into the chamber, staring at the stranger with the blade at her side "Who are you! Explain yourself now!"
"I need not explain myself to a couple wimpy hairless things with no manners. Now you go back out the way you came, and don't tell anyone about this, or you'll be sorry."
In a shock, Jhaie backed out the entrance, staying close enough to make sure he could still see Kiraki. The cur withdrew his knife, giving her a shove toward the exit.
She fell hard on the ground but at least felt she got away with her life. "Come on, Jhaie lets get out of here." She quickly shuffled towards the rope, then a sharp pain in my foot stopped her. She had twisted her ankle earlier, and the pain now reminded her. Jhaie caught her in time, putting her on his back. "Kiraki, hold on. Its not going to be easy getting up this rope."
As she clung to his back, they slowly inched up towards the light, to where Ms. Freak and Peapod stood waiting with their paws on their hips and worried expressions on their faces.
"Are you all right?"
She shrugged. "Other than a twisted ankle..." She glanced back at the hole with apprehension, remembering the dog's threats.
As she stared into the hole, she heard Peapod say "Are you okay?"
She looked up with a start. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was nothing."
She shrugged it off, then whispered in Jhaie's ear. "You won't tell them, will you?" He shook his head.
"Well all right then," said the taz. "Let's get breakfast taken care of." She picked up a wooden bowl from the ground, frowning at the girl. "Is it twisted really bad?"
Kiraki shrugged. "I think I can manage. Did you get any food?"
Ms. Freak showed her the bugs, termites and grubs inside the bowl. "Not very good to have termites inside a wooden bowl, but if we eat them soon enough, no worries, right?" She gestured back toward the beach. "C'mon. We made a fire with your friend's firewood."
Kiraki nodded, limping after her. She sat down on a rock, staring silently as Ms. Freak fried up the tiny critters on a metal plate, contemplating what just happened. *I can turn into a dragon with scales,* she thought. *Why did I let that dog bully me?*
The Tasmanian devil looked up from the food. "You look worried. What's the matter?"
"Oh its nothing, don't worry." She looked down with sorrow and worry in her eyes.
"Hmmm...you sure?" she frowned.
"Well.. down that hole...there was something down there," she said, almost regretting it.
"Hmmm? Down the hole? What was it?"
"Uh, I can't say any more."
"Hmm...fine." She continued cooking the bugs, shaking them back and forth on the pan to get them crispy.
"Jhaie what happens if it comes after me?" She whispered to him.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you if anything bad does happen."
In a low hiss, Ms. Freak said, "What's wrong with that hole? You scared of the dark, honey?"
Kiraki shook her head, then nodded.
"I've seen you turn into a dragon. The dark can't be that scary. What's really bothering you?"
"Uh..." she looked back and forth with worry.
"Is someone after you?"
She glanced back at the hole, then gave her a slight nod.
Ms. Freak turned the bugs over on her cooking plate. "Dragons tend to have tough scales. Are you being followed by some kind of warlock with a magic sword?"
Kiraki shook her head.
"Was it an army?"
She shook her head again.
"Well, then you're just being silly. What's this puny creep look like?"
Kiraki described the dog, and the Taz burst out laughing. "You're frightened by Weezy?"
"What's Weezy?"
"It's his name, if we're talking about the same dog."
Kiraki's mouth fell open in shock. "You know him?"
"Know him! I found him stowing away in a pickle barrel as a pup! Oh, but he got that scar when he joined a rival pirate ship and attacked us. Poor dear, I never wanted to ruin his pretty face."
"She taught him how to sword fight," said Peapod.
Ms. Freak shook her head. "Don't be afraid of that scurvy dog, honey. He's just a big poodle puppy."
"He threatened me! How can I not be scared?! He held a sword to my neck!" She said loudly.
"You have scales, honey! What's one little knife gonna do?" Ms. Freak laughed and shook her head.
"It's not funny!" said Kiraki. "I'm scared!"
She saw the Taz suppressing laughter, mirth clear on her face. "I'm sorry, honey. You just remind me so much of Bibi from Po. You could *bounce cannonballs off his back*, but he'd leap behind a table the moment you flashed a knife at him!" She burst out laughing.
"What we need to do is toughen you up," said Peapod.
"Let's eat first," said Ms. Freak. "Then we can train."
Kiraki glanced at the bushes. "What if that guy comes back?"
"Let him. We've got lots of sand to rub his little puppy dog nose into." She handed Kiraki a plate of grubs.
The girl stared at the fried things for a moment, then shrugged, munching them. It tasted a bit like bland shrimp.
"At least she's not squeamish," Ms. Freak remarked. "Bibi was very finnichy."
Once each of them had eaten their fill of the bugs, the Taz got off her log, standing up. Locking eyes with the girl, she said, "All right, honey. On your feet."
Kiraki obediently stood up.
Ms. Freak lifted up the hem of her dress, pulling a dagger out from a sheath strapped to her leg. She marched up to Kiraki, waving the blade back and forth.
"Show me what you got."
"Hey! Watch out!" The girl jumped back a little then pulled up some scales as armor. "Okay, I'll just have to use what I got on me. Don't blame me if you get hurt - this *was* your idea!" She bared her teeth and claws, then stood ready with fire in her eyes.
"Didn't even rip her clothes," said Peapod.
"Bravo!" Ms. Freak clapped. "Next time do that when someone puts a knife to your throat! Now, keep going!" She swung her dagger back and forth, then lunged forward.
Kiraki jumped to the side, swinging her claws, but the Taz jumped aside. "Not bad, not bad." She took another swing, but Kiraki dodged it effortlessly, swiping with her claws whenever the opportunity presented itself. She managed to rip the hem of her sparring partner's dress.
"It seems you've been holding out...but why?"
"...Didn't she have a sprained ankle?"
"Looks like she has fast healing powers," the Taz remarked. "So what do you think? Feel like teaching puppy boy a lesson?"
"I... I'm not sure...I'm not really a fighter as such," she stammered.
"Hard times in her childhood," said Jhaie.
Kiraki looked down with sorrow in my eyes. "Yeah. Really hard. You know, right Jhaie?"
"Well you're still not going to let him intimidate you, are you?"
"Well, he isn't doing any harm down there." She glanced back at the hole.
The Taz shook her head. "You're being silly. C'mon, honey. Let's have a little chat with Mr. Poochie."
And so, against her better wishes, Ms. Freak marched back into the woods, staring down the hole with her paws on her hips. After making double sure the rope was secure, she climbed down, and Kiraki saw her gesturing for her to follow. With a sigh, she shimmied on after her, reluctantly trailing her as she stomped through the strangely curved doorway.
Beyond, in the room full of treasure, she saw the dog sleeping soundly. But then her foot moved a gold coin, and the dog's eyes flashed open. A split second later, he had his sword drawn, pointing it at Ms. Freak's throat.
"I see your technique has improved," the Taz said, brushing it aside with her dagger.
The dog's mouth dropped open. "You! How come you always smell me gold wherever it's hid?"
"It's not your gold I'm smelling, honey. When's the last time you bathed?"
"He doesn't smell *that bad*, said Peapod.
"That's because you're not standing next to him!"
The bat waved at the gold. "Nice booty!"
"Thanks, I've been working out!"
"I think she's referring to the treasure," Ms. Freak said, waving a paw in front of her face.
The bat just shrugged and made a cheerful "I don't know" noise.
"Now," said Ms. Freak. "The question burning in everyone's minds right now, who did you swipe this treasure from?"
"Twas from a flying Dutchman that crashed into the side of a rock face at the end of this here cave. Pretty silver thing with strange skeletons inside. Seeing as nobody claimed it, I loaded the gold in me cart and brought it here for safe keeping."
Kiraki inspected the treasure a bit more carefully. She noticed that the gold statues looked a bit weird, taking on abstract shapes not found in the natural world, and the coinage seemed unlike anything she'd ever seen before.
She saw tiny gold Rubik's cube things everywhere, and most of the jewelry didn't look like anything anybody could wear on their body without experiencing a lot of pain.
Ms. Freak put a paw to her hip. "Normally, I'd leave you with your treasure and be on my way, but you tried to cut my friend's neck. Tell you what. I'll let bygones be bygones, and keep this little cave a secret if you let me pocket a few things out of your pile. It'll only be whatever I can fit in my pockets, of course..."
The dog let out a low growl. "Fair's fair, I suppose."
And so Ms. Freak marched over to the treasure, nabbing several trinkets, rings designed for someone with deformed fingers, bracelets that would fit no normal wrist, and a handful of gold cubes. Peapod grabbed a few things, too.
She hesitated, nervously glancing at the gold. She figured she didn't have much to fear from the pirate dog, but was still afraid, irrationally so, so she balked at picking up anything from the pile. However, she didn't move, either, trying to get up the nerve to grab something.
Ms. Freak tugged on her arm. "C'mon, honey." And so Kiraki stumbled after her.
"I hope we don't ever have to do that again," Kiraki said quietly. She grabbed a gold Rubik's cube, following Ms. Freak out of the chamber.
"See? I told you it was nothing to fuss about!"
Kiraki just shook her head in frustration, following her up the rope.
Up top, the Taz stood next to the dying fire with her paws on her hips. "Well, have you had enough to eat, or should we get going?"
"I'm fine," said Kiraki.
"Maybe a little more," said Jhaie.
And so Peapod handed him the bowl of bugs.
"Did you...grab some extra stuff when I was gone?"
Peapod nodded. "When I went to get the rope, I realized we needed some things we neglected."
With a shrug, Jhaie marched over to the boat, munching the grubs like popcorn. Once Kiraki and he got in, the Taz and the bat got on the end of the boat, pushing it off shore.
When they had it floating free, they also climbed aboard, and their craft sailed downstream, floating past a felled tree and a small cave.
The sun had risen directly overhead now, making things a bit hot and uncomfortable. From time to time, Kiraki would splash herself on the back and face when it started burning. She reflected that her human form had a few disadvantages to it, but figured it would be just as hot, or hotter in her other form.
After a deep area and a shore, they crossed some shallows, ocassionally pushing off with sticks or at times climbing out to get the crude ship going again.
Thunk! Feeling the boat shake, Kiraki looked over the side and saw an arrow sticking in the wood. She pulled it out, showing it to Ms. Freak. "What's this?"
"It's an arrow. What's it look like?"
"I think the Mudepa are using us as target practice."
"What's the Mudepa?"
"They're a tribe of natives that live around here. I don't think they have much interest in this crummy raft, so it's got to be target practice."
It seemed she had been correct, because after that, nothing happened. They sailed past another beach, more felled trees, and a hilly forested area, floating beneath a big wooden bridge.
As the sun angled toward the horizon, the hills got larger, to the point of resembling mountains.
The hills dropped down again, and the river curled around a forest, cutting through another low hillside. As the sun turned red in the sky, Ms. Freak pulled the boat ashore for dinner.
"So," she said as she stepped out of the boat. "What do you want this time? You want to try for fish, you want to hunt something, or do you want to go for more bugs and mushrooms?"
Kiraki marched onto the shore, staring into the woods. "Uhhh, I think I'd go hunting."
"I'll go with her," Jhaie said, stepping out of the boat behind her.
Kiraki turned and stared at him.
"For protection, you know."
She smiled "Right."
"Not a big fan of fish, eh?"
Kiraki shrugged.
"Very well, let's go hunting."
And so she followed Ms. Freak into the woods.
"Ok, so what is there to catch?" Jhaie said.
Hearing rustling sounds, Kiraki ducked down. "What was that?" she muttered to Jhaie.
"I dunno but it's about to become dinner." He dove into the bushes, pinning down a one eyed lapine thing that hopped around on cricket legs. He killed it.
"Bravo!" Ms. Freak clapped.
Before anyone could say anything, the Taz held up a paw. "Shhh!"
Kiraki watched as she crept up to a clearing, where a second cyclops bunny nibbled on tree bark. Ms. Freak muttered something, and a glowing jaw opened up from the ground, killing it.
Once they'd cleaned and cooked their kills, they ate and got back in the boat, sailing further along the river.
All of a sudden, the river exploded like a hundred geisers had just erupted.
A huge wall of water rushed at them, throwing the boat back. Only Peapod's wings and a spell kept them from getting swept away.
When the torrential spray and thick mist faded away, the source of the disturbance came into view. A towering muscular beast the size of a skyscraper had burst from the depths of the river, water pouring into its yawning, cavernous mouth. Its eyeless face showed no expression as tentacles thicker than sewer tunnels flailed in the water, pulling everything it could reach into its gaping maw.
Kiraki sucked in her breath in shock.
She stared at the creature, hoping and praying that it would disappear beneath the water again, but it didn't go away. Instead, its mouth opened wider, and it inhaled, sucking them into its cavernous mouth.
Darkness descended upon them as they sailed inside, and despite all their magic and frantic paddling, they saw a set of immense teeth clamp down, extinguishing all the remaining light.
Peapod and Freak, having exhausted their magical resources, could only produce a feeble light to illuminate their surroundings, and the visual information turned out to be unhelpful, just a dark wall of red flesh that changed appearance as they sailed deeper into the interior.
The magic lights went out, and they drifted on in darkness so black that Kiraki couldn't see her hand in front of her face. She felt the boat ram into a large squishy object, then a wall of slime oozed over her body, to the point where she couldn't breathe.
She blacked out.
Inexplicably, she saw light again. A blinding light that hurt her eyes. She felt the sensation of being airborne, her stomach shifting with a change in G forces, and then she saw weird smelling yellow liquid explode around the sides of the boat.
The air filled with a metallic ringing sound, like a school bell, a blaring noise that made her ears ring.
Clamping her hands around her head, she stared at her surroundings in confusion.
They had landed in an aluminum gutter filled with amber liquid, one leading into a giant metal box with flashing lights, a red one being the most prominent at this point. Below this trough, when she leaned over the side of the boat, she could see a row of conveyor belts loaded with blue glass bottles and glistening robotic arms busied themselves putting caps on them all, dropping them into cardboard boxes.
"Ale!" Ms. Freak cried in excitement. She scooped a handful into her mouth, then spat it out. "Pathetic! I wouldn't use this grog to mop a poop deck!"
"Are we dead?" Kiraki asked.
"I don't know," said Peapod.
"If we are, it's the bad place. Try a handful. It's disgusting!"
"Some foul sorcery, is what I call it."
Kiraki stared at the giant stainless steel drums, the bold blue logos displaying the letters Z-H, and the giant sign telling how many days the plant had gone without an accident. Not a soul to be seen.
The boat rammed into the metal box and stopped.
"What happened? Hey, is this a still inside the water creature?"
"Yeah we are still in here, it's a factory under water?" Jhaie brushed the slime off his shoulders.
Kiraki put one foot outside the boat, looking down at the conveyors.
Ms.Freak put a hand on her shoulder "Wait. Better make sure it's safe." She leaned over the side. "It's safe." She stepped out on the edge of the trough, hanging off the side for a minute before safely dropping on the conveyor. "Whoa!" She fell backwards on her butt, then rolled off onto the concrete floor.
Peapod simply spread her wings and jumped, gliding to the floor like Batman.
With a shrug, Kiraki and Jhaie followed their lead, dropping down to the conveyor, and then they wandered between the machines, staring at them in bewilderment.
"Why would there be a still inside a monster? It didn't strike me as mechanical!"
"It's an odd sort of magic," said Peapod.
Kiraki suddenly saw a feline figure in a labcoat creeping around one of the giant steel drums, glancing around the room suspiciously. This individual took a small bottle out of its pocket, pouring it into a valve on the side of the tank, then slipped back out the entrance.
"Hey!" she shouted.
But the cat was already gone.
Kiraki saw the lights flicker, and the hands on the clock on the wall had jumped ahead a few hours.
Thoom! She suddenly saw the tank explode, black smoke billowing out as purple fluid oozed out across the floor.
A rabbit in overalls ran out of an office, slamming his paw on a red button, and a huge spray of water showered down from the ceiling.
"Sorcery!" Peapod cried.
"Woooooo!" Something was howling from inside the tank.
Kiraki stared at it for a moment before noticing a black lumpy shape sitting in the puddle.
The rabbit, who had been examining the tank for fire damage, apparently noticed it too. At first, he recoiled in disgust, but then it whimpered and he knelt down, muttering to it, and then he pet it.
The clock changed again, and the rabbit had the deformed tentacle monster hopping around behind him like a pet puppy dog.
A clock change later, and the creature was sitting on the floor in front of the labcoated cat, and the cat was pouring something into its food dish. It ate it.
The clock changed once more, and the thing had grown to an immense size, and it attacked and ate the rabbit.
Kiraki saw a flash, and then they were standing in an underground laboratory, watching the cat stick the creature into a large machine. He pushed some buttons, and it vanished, then they were standing inside a cave, staring at the creature as it stared back at them.
Then the scene changed, and they stood inside the creature's interior, watching as a tumor hanging from the creature's roof swelled to an immense size, throbbing and pulsating.
Kiraki saw a vision of the small creature with the small tumor, and then the giant beast with the giant tumor. Then she found herself back in the boat, sitting in the middle of some dark cavernous internal organ with glowing red walls, with chamber valves situated at every cardinal direction.
"Now this is some fine sorcery!" Ms. Freak grumbled. "I'm about to drink that putrid ale!"
Kiraki stared at her surroundings. "Was that magic?"
"Yeah, that was," said Jhaie, "But I dont know what it was."
"Indeed," said Peapod. "But what was the purpose of it? What was it trying to tell us?"
"To say we're lunch," Jhaie said.
Kiraki laughed. "So how's about we get out of here?" She glanced around.
"I don't think there is a way out," said Peapod. "But I think that vision meant something."
"It was a tumor, wasn't it?" said Ms. Freak.
"Yes. I think it's trying to tell us that a tumor is causing it to be like this, and maybe it used to be a lot smaller."
Kiraki stared at the giant fleshy valves. One stood at the north, the south, the east and the west.
"We could row through one of these," Peapod said, gesturing to a valve. "But what will we do then?"
"Um, I don't know," said Kiraki. "I'm not sure what that vision means."
They stared at their surroundings for a long time, trying to figure out what to do.
"I think I have an idea," said Peapod. "I think if we can find that tumor and cut it off, this thing will go back to normal and let us go." She pointed to a fleshy orifice. "And I think we have to go through one of these to get to it, as disgusting as it seems. There's one to the north, east and west, possibly the south if that doesn't take us to a brewery. Which one do you think we should try first? Or should I just flip a coin a few times?"
Kiraki thought for a bit. "Wouldn't cutting it off make it angry? And it wouldn't it be hurt too?"
"It's angry already," said Peapod. "Probably because of that tumor. It's probably been hurting it for a long time, and it can only get better if we remove it."
Jahie stared at an orifice. "Maybe we should look around?"
"Which one should we look in?"
"The one on the left?"
Kiraki shrugged.
"All right. Let's see what's in there."
And so Ms. Freak rowed the boat that way, pushing it through a swollen wall of slimy flesh.
Kiraki shuddered as ooze poured all over her head, neck and shoulders. Unable to fully shield herself from it, she could only cringe as the walls closed around her, threatening to smother the air out of her lungs. Her breath became shallow as she stared into the dark ahead, wondering if it would end up narrowing into a tiny crawl space where no air could escape. Still, the Taz pushed ahead, seemingly unafraid of the danger.
Before she could start hyperventilating, she saw the passage open up, and she found herself looking at a swampy place filled with skeletons and ship debris.
"Uh-oh," said Ms. Freak. "I know what this is!" She squinted into the fog. "I think there's a way out across from us, and maybe to my right. Either that, or we go back. But if we stay here, we're going to end up like those skeletons."
"What's to the left?" Peapod asked.
"You ever cut open a fish? That's where the remains of the food comes out."
"It comes out there?"
"Presumably!"
"If that's the case, why don't we just go out that way, and forget this whole business?"
Back to Gardenia Furry RPG
