The seven travelers continued walking throughout the morning. They all stopped and rested at noon, during such a time they ate a lunch consisting of rare maaka poppies that grew along the riverbank. In the meantime, the two Yoshies enjoyed a playful swim amidst the wide river that was flowing from the eastward mountains towards the ocean far to the west.
"Meekachu, catch!" the pink dinosaur squealed.
The yellow Yoshi looked around, alarmed. He turned to his right and just barely caught a glimpse of the large swell of water flying towards him. Meekachu blinked the water out of his eyes and laughed, "Hey, no fair!"
"Made ya look!"
"Oh yeah?" the yellow one shot back light-heartedly. He flung an arm forward, which sent another wave flying back at Miya. The two Yoshies exchanged wild splashes amidst a chuckling fit, until both finally got tired of the game and waded back to the shore for lunch.
Yoshies love to play, by the way.
Meekachu stepped out of the cold water first, and he shook himself dry much in the same way a canine would. Miya followed once the yellow dinosaur had walked off.
The two Yoshies joined the rest of the group in a brief lunch, and then each stretched out on a sun-soaked rock. Yoshies enjoy sunbathing, too, and Miya and Meekachu were no exceptions to their kind. Miya was just drifting into a light nap, daydreaming about the more pleasant times of her childhood... Hours later, something lightly tapped the pink Yoshi on the back. Miya turned over and squinted into the sunlight.
Two of the creatures were standing over her... one was Tieka. The other headed off to Meekachu's side at the salamander's order.
The pink Yoshi held up a hand to shield her eyes from the harsh brightness as she asked, "What do you want?" She suddenly remembered just then that the animals couldn't understand her speech.
Meekachu grumbled some weak words to the foreigner next to him, and a moment later the yellow Yoshi realized that he would have to sign out his message. He found out soon afterwards that the creature he was talking to didn't understand signs, either. The yellow one didn't feel like moving his head to see if the salamander was around to translate, which was probably why he asked, "Miya... where's Tieka?"
The pink Yoshi's eyes had finally adjusted well enough to the surrounding light. She began to wonder just how long she had really been asleep. "She's over here, Meek."
Instead of trying to talk to Meekachu, Tieka and the other creature (whom Miya found out to be the fox) motioned for the Yoshies to get up, and then walked away. Miya sat up and looked to the sky. The sun hadn't traveled too far from where she last remembered it, so her nap must not have been so long, after all. At least she was dry.
"Meek, let's go. They're leaving without us," the pink one groggily called to her father, who was trying to move from his comfortable spot on the smooth rock.
"Ohh..." the Yoshi groaned in response, "What's the rush?"
"I don't know, Meek, but I think we should get going pretty soon."
Meekachu sluggishly arose from his resting spot and jumped onto the trail to catch up with everyone. Miya started to chase after him, but she hesitated, as if she had forgotten something important. After a moment, the pink Yoshi shrugged off the thought, then ran off.
"Meekachu, ask them what's going on!" the pink dinosaur shouted a request as she hurried to reach the yellow Yoshi and the small group of animals that were steadily walking away from her. Meekachu finally approached the black salamander, and he wasted no time in asking that very question. Miya scurried over to the pair to see what was going on, and she was greeted by a smack in the face from one of Tieka's elaborate hand-signals. The pink Yoshi grimaced and stumbled backwards while rubbing her nose. She shouldn't have approached from behind like that.
The salamander caught her mistake a moment later, and she giggled in spite of herself. Tieka signed a quick apology to Miya, then turned back to Meekachu.
The yellow Yoshi smirked at what he was being told, and by the time Miya had finally recovered from the sharp blow to her nose and looked back at her father, she could see that he wasn't pleased.
"You woke me up for THAT?!?" he complained aloud, while still moving his hands in accordance to the message. "I thought it was an emergency, or a spriffin' dragon attack, or something important. You shouldn't scare us like that for no good reason, ya know."
Tieka responded with some hisses and pointing, and Miya chose that time to interrupt:
"What happened??"
"Oh, it's nothing, Miya. They just wanted us awake so we could get moving again," the yellow one grumbled.
"Why did they make things sound like we were in danger or something?"
A peculiar laugh was then heard from the other four animals. Miya briefly glanced behind herself to see what might have been so amusing, but her attention was quickly brought back to Meekachu as he silently carried on his discussion with the salamander.
Meekachu stopped to translate Tieka's message to himself. His eyes glazed over as the Yoshi concentrated on the meaning of the words he was given. He finally gave up, looked over to the pink Yoshi, and said with a hint of puzzlement in his voice, "These creatures either have very strange customs, or I've just been played in a very sick joke."
Miya snickered. It wasn't that she understood a lick of what was going on, but the look on Meekachu's face was priceless. She wasn't even going to ask.
It wasn't as if the yellow dinosaur would let her, anyway. He steered clear of the subject and decided to forget that which he did not understand. In this attempt, he brought up a small fact that was completely off topic.
"The frog says two more days until we reach the caves."
"Oh really? That's what I would have guessed."
"Yeah, but he doesn't know where we are going exactly," Meekachu continued.
"And I suppose you do?" Miya tried not to sound so critical, but it came out that way anyway.
The yellow Yoshi took no offense from her remark. "I know more than he, I'll bet." Meekachu winked. Miya didn't catch the gesture, and even if she did, the dinosaur would never have made any sense of it. She would be lucky if he wasn't forming another one of his famous 'ideas.'
Once the day's travels had drawn to a close, and the seven weary walkers found a suitable spot for rest near a grove of thin-trunked trees, everyone helped to construct a campfire. As soon as the fire was blazing well and both Lylatians and Yoshies were seated near the flame, Sara carried out the long-time tradition of both races: she told stories.
Fox contentedly listened with his head rested in his paws. The dancing flames and the light notes of Sara's voice drove the exhausted fox into a reluctant slumber. He hadn't realized he was sleeping while sitting up until it was too late, and by then Sara was well into her tale.
"...It was late, of course, around the time we reached the dark side of Fortuna via one of the oldest transports I've ever hi-jacked..."
...A purple-pinkish cat, a tough-looking badger, a tall blue falcon, and a sleek black salamander silently stalked across a barren Fortuna spaceport. The transport they had just stepped off of looked as if it had passed through the wrong side of Meteo and wrecked into the hangar instead of landed.
The four Lylatians crept through some dimly-lit corridors in single file, and turned at the intersection ahead where a sign pointed to the exit.
The falcon stepped ahead of the salamander and badger and took a quick peek around the next corner, while taking his hand weapon and setting it to its lowest power level.
"Coast is clear. Let's go."
"Shoot, Falco, this place is dry as a bone. I don't see a guard anywhere," the badger whispered in a husky voice.
"I know. It's creeping me out."
"All the better to sneak up on them, I say," the salamander remarked as she jumped through an open door and into the next dark hallway.
"I don't see why all this stealth is necessary. I mean, what's a few lowly pirates compared to us? I could take them all on any day," the cat in the back of the line spoke as she held up her fists and assumed a mock fighter stance.
"Yeah, and that's the kind of thinking that'll get us all killed. Don't even think about trying to go on this one alone, Katt. Don't you dare," the badger shot back. He then followed the salamander's leap into the next hall.
"Hrmph. Is that any way to talk to a girl? Falco, back me up on this one," the cat demanded. She dropped her fists and placed them on her hips with a crude smirk.
"Dan's right. We can't split up just yet. These guards are tough to get around... I would know." With that said, the falcon joined his fleeing companions along the dark passageway and turned the next corner with the salamander. The cat stood aghast for a moment, before the badger shouted to her from the other end of the hall, "Monroe, let's go!!"
"Alright, I'm coming! Don't get your stripes all inside-out, Dan."
The cat tailed behind the others, and eventually the four arrived where they hadn't intended. A door stood in the way, but the sign that was inscribed on it had faded beyond recognition. Falco placed the side of his head against the door and listened carefully. The badger did the same.
"There's someone inside... This must be the control room," the badger confirmed.
"Great. Just perfect. The only other way out is through there," the falcon remarked.
"We can always go out the way we came," the salamander snickered. Falco scoffed at the idea.
"Only if one of us knows how to jump REALLY high. Personally, I'm no Air Jordan," the cat commented. As much as everyone hated it, Katt was right. The hangars on this spaceport only allowed entry from an opening in the ceiling, and that was for ships. The pedestrian exit was on the opposite end of the building.
"So, what next? We're not exactly wanted visitors," Sara pointed out.
Falco shot the badger a wide grin. He held up his blaster and charged a shot.
"I say... we kick the tires..."
"...and light the fires!" the badger chimed in, as he pulled out his own hand weapon.
"Help me knock this thing in on three, Dan," the falcon requested. Katt and Sara stepped back, while Sara pulled out her blaster. "I'll back you guys up," the salamander offered.
"Alright, let's do this." Dan started up the countdown, "One..."
Falco took up the rest, "Two... Three!"
The badger and falcon slammed into the door, which was conveniently unlocked, so both flew out onto the floor. Sara and Katt jumped in behind them.
"Typical males... next time try the doorknob." The salamander shook her head and charged a blaster shot. She took aim across the room as Falco and Dan were struggling back to their feet.
Three pirate technicians stood behind computer terminals, and each one dove under their desks at the first sign of a fight. One of them, a brown hawk, threw himself behind a file cabinet and pulled out a drawer above him. He reached a wing inside and snooped around. In the meantime, a guard bolted from his chair where he was trying to sleep, and charged at the intruders. He slipped a paw into his back pocket and attempted to draw out his firearm as he ran, but Sara was quicker on the shot. She smoothly turned to the guard and gave him a good stun shot to the chest. The guard toppled forward, and was out-cold before his head hit the waxed floor.
"Nice shot, Sara," Katt complimented. "I think that's it. There's the door!"
The brown hawk fumbled with the contents of the drawer above him, before his wing finally ran over something useful. "Yes! Let's see here..." the pirate grumbled as quietly as he would allow. The hawk took out a small laser gun from the compartment. He nervously struggled to arm the weapon, and had just gotten it powered up when...
Click. The snap of a trigger, and the cruel sound of a charged hand weapon ready to fire stung the hawk's ears. The bad end of a blaster was forced to his head, and the hawk dropped the weapon in his hands out of fright. A blue wing reached around the edge of the file cabinet, clasped over the hawk's neck, and brought the avian to his feet. The falcon that belonged to the wing stepped out in front of the hawk and eyed him fiercely, while never taking his grip from the pirate's neck so that he could breathe. The badger with the blaster held to the hawk's head came into sight, also.
"For a dirty pirate, you're pretty stupid as far as weapons go," the falcon sneered. In a flash, he produced a pocketknife in his other wing and held it close to the hawk's throat. "Why don't you let me just... take this for myself..." At that, the blue bird swooped down and took up the spare blaster with the wing holding the knife. "Dan, take that for me," he ordered. The badger caught the tossed weapon, and looked it over. "Falco, this thing isn't even loaded right," he laughed.
The falcon joined in the laughing. "Boy, you really ARE stupid."
By this time, the hawk was about ready to pass out. He was visibly struggling for breath, and gurgling a plea of help at the same time.
"Graak! Lemmego! Akk!"
"Oh, what's this? You want me to let you go? Fine then."
The blue falcon shrugged nonchalantly, put his pocketknife away, and released the hawk. The brown bird collapsed in a heap on the floor, gasping for air. The falcon then turned to the badger and said, "Let's haul. I don't want to stay in this pirate-ridden dump for another minute."
"Here, here!" Dan agreed.
Sara stepped around a computer console over to where Dan and Falco were, and caught sight of the gasping hawk slumped against a file cabinet.
"Geez, guys, this is no time for games."
"Hey, give us some credit. At least we didn't kill the guy," the badger argued.
Sara rolled her eyes. "Look, Katt found where the exit is. Let's get outta here," the salamander suggested. She motioned for the group to follow, then headed out of the control room. Falco stopped and took another look around the room.
"They sure didn't put up much of a fight. What kind of spaceport is this?"
"Beats me. I don't really care. Let's just get out, and fast," the badger spoke up.
The four piled out of the control room and charged down the nearest hallway until finally a two-door exit was spotted. Katt swung the doors open and jumped out into the frigid Fortuna air. She winced as a blast of biting Arctic wind stung her fur.
"Geez, it's cold tonight!"
Sara, Falco, and Dan followed Katt onto the scene, and they also felt the affects of the constant cold temperatures of the planet.
"L-let's get out of here. I think there's a r-rest stop up ahead. A restaurant or something," Dan explained while shivering.
"On Fortuna?!?" Sara exclaimed.
"Hey, there are pirate bases all over Fortuna. We just stepped out of one. Why wouldn't there be some kind of place for pirates to eat, too? Do you think I'd lie? I'm freezing my fur off here, too."
Everyone agreed to this, so they all headed off to a distant location to warm up. Sara marched alongside Katt for the entire trip, but only after a few minutes did she remember something.
"Hey Katt, who's Air Jordan?"
"Huh? Oh, I dunno. I just made it up," the cat replied.
Sara went on with the story, but Fox couldn't handle listening to any more. He finally drifted off to sleep, and left only the sounds of a crackling fire fresh on his mind.
A harsh eastern wind swept across the valley, disturbing every blade of grass in its path. Nearby, beneath the broad, sheltering leaves of a young tree, seven creatures rested at a small campsite. The night was wearing into its later hours, and every star in the sky could be seen if one would just sit back and look up. Sara was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to do so. Being the only one awake, the salamander had a great chance to just relax and take some time to think. The gentle golden hues and bright specks of white amidst a royal blue was a purely spectacular sight, and Sara enjoyed every minute she had to simply stare into the heaven's wondrous depths. The salamander sighed as her thoughts were brought to happier times, before her imprisonment in the Yoshi village, back in Lylat...
Her musings were interrupted, however, by some soft noises just a few feet away. Sara propped herself up on one elbow and searched the area. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
The salamander stood, then stepped over the smoldering cinders of the dying campfire towards the other end of the campsite. As expected, everyone was asleep. Falco and Peppy were snoring... Fox was twitching in his sleep... must be a dream of some sorts... Slippy was out-cold, and so was Meekachu, who was just behind the frog.
Sara wondered what in the world she could have heard. Then she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Beyond the snoozing Meekachu, Miya was sleeping... or trying to. The Yoshi turned and twisted violently, in an obviously not-so-peaceful slumber.
Sara looked on with a heightened curiosity. She had heard from the yellow Yoshi that Miya always did have some troublesome nightmares, but he never said that they were THAT bad. The salamander approached the pink creature cautiously and with very slow steps. She nervously reached out with one hand, and nudged the Yoshi's shoulder.
"Miya... Miya, wake up!" Sara hoarsely whispered.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the Yoshi abruptly jumped up while shouting, "Yoshi yi ya!" Panting and shaking, the reptile looked around herself, then relaxed a little when she noticed that everything was fine.
"Miya, you okay?" the salamander asked, even though she knew the Yoshi couldn't understand. Miya sharply turned to Sara, as if she had just discovered who had awakened her. She instantly fell into the salamander's arms and broke into tears. Sara was taken aback, but she didn't try to resist even as the Yoshi squeezed her tightly and began to babble on in her native tongue.
"Yoshi yish yo yoshi yo yi yishi. Y'shi y'yoyo yoshi," she sobbed.
"Miya, it's okay. You're okay now. It's alright..." The salamander patted Miya on the back as she spoke, in an attempt to calm the Yoshi down.
A few feet away, Fox sat up from his dreaming, and he was also quite startled. To his surprise, there were several meters between campfire and himself. The fox didn't exactly remember having moved... in fact, the last thing he actually could recall was Sara rambling on about something while Falco tried to stop her. He shook his head in disbelief, then looked over to Sara and the pink Yoshi. The fox raised an eyebrow at the awkward scene.
"Uh... need any help over there?"
Sara turned to Fox once she recognized his voice. "Oh, so you're awake, too. Sleep well?"
Fox could have told Sara that he slept horribly, but he resisted the urge. "Okay, I guess. What's wrong with her?" The fox pointed with his paw to the pink Yoshi, who had tucked herself into a shivering ball.
"Oh, just a nightmare. She has them every now and then. Meekachu told me that she used to have one every night when she was little. It's a mental condition of some sorts, I suppose."
"That sounds terrible."
"It must be, if she wakes up like this every time she has a bad dream."
"Well, how can I help? I'm already awake, anyway."
"I can ask her if she wants anything. We'll see if your assistance will be needed."
Sara took the Yoshi's attention with a low whisper, and Miya slowly lifted her head to see what the salamander was asking. Sara knew Miya wasn't as experienced in signing as her father, but she was still trying to learn, so the Yoshi did know some basic signals. The salamander tried to compensate for Miya's poor skills by signing her message very clearly and slowly.
"Do... you... want... anything?"
Miya rose into a sitting position and carefully looked around the campsite before shakily signing her reply.
Sara laughed at her simple, yet incomplete answer. The Yoshi indeed had a lot to learn about hand-signing.
"What does she want?" Fox broke into the laughter.
The salamander grinned. "She is cold. She wants a blanket."
"Why is that funny?"
"It is the way that she asked for it. Never mind. It's just a translation typo. So, can you help us out with that?"
Fox searched the campsite quickly. He couldn't think of anything that would serve as a good blanket. The fox was suddenly reminded of the previous night, and that same Yoshi...
'So that's what she was trying to do,' Fox realized. 'She could have just told me she was cold last night... It wouldn't have been a problem. These Yoshies are too shy for their own good sometimes...'
"Fox, let me see your jacket for a second."
The fox hesitated, but then caught on to Sara's idea. He shrugged out of his flight jacket and tossed it over to Sara. The salamander draped it over the shivering Yoshi, who pulled it tightly around herself.
"That work okay?" Fox asked as he stepped over to the salamander. Sara didn't answer. She instead patted the Yoshi on the head reassuringly, then sprang to her feet and dusted herself off.
"You treat them like animals, ya know," the fox pointed out with a scornful tone of voice.
Sara flashed a sly grin. "They like it."
Fox shrugged. 'Whatever makes 'em happy,' he thought to himself. The fox then sighed, turned away, and headed off in the opposite direction. Sara followed close behind, and just as the two had stepped beyond the miniature campsite, the salamander asked, "So, what are you doing up at this hour?"
"I was about to ask the same question."
"Me? I'm a nightcrawler. I'm always up late. Besides, who would pass up such a beautiful night as this?"
At that remark, Fox looked to the sky. Swirls of hazy blue and dots of white filled the heavens. It was definitely worth staying up to watch, so Fox willingly took that answer.
"It is nice," the fox mused.
"Did you know that the Mulhollen tribe's entire religion is based on astrology?" Sara jumped onto a different topic.
"Who?"
"The Mulhollens. The Yoshi tribe that captured you. Remember?"
"Oh. Yes, I remember. How could I forget?"
"You wouldn't. I was just wondering why you forgot the name so quickly."
"Catch me at a better part of the day and I'll answer that one for you."
Sara gave a strange, gurgling chuckle. "Hehe... well, I was just trying to point something out. Meekachu is unofficially the village scribe. He is very knowledgeable in many areas, including star navigation."
"Who?"
"Meekachu. The yellow one over there. You forgot him, too?"
"Again, I'm not really awake."
"That's okay. I had an aunt who was that way. You could never get her to do anything in the late hours, no matter what you did to her. Not even black coffee got her going."
Fox snickered at that remark. Sara went on, "Well, Meekachu's real assignment is to be the queen's personal servant. He does well in that job, too."
"Hmm..." Fox thought upon those words for a moment. "What is the other one's job, again? The pink one?"
"Miya??" Sara's eyes widened. She scratched her head as she thought up an answer. "I... don't... Well, it's very funny, actually. She doesn't have one. Not yet. You see, she was just about ready for her acceptance."
"Her what?"
"It's like a special ritual for those Yoshies that finally reach an age of maturity. A grand ceremony is held, and then the queen herself and a council of tribe members give the Yoshi an assignment. This assignment would be a life-long task that would serve to benefit the tribe. It's been a very long tradition in Mulhollen society."
"What kind of assignment?"
"Well, for example, Meekachu was given the task of being the queen's servant. My slave master, Jara, was assigned to be a tribe warrior, or dragon-hunter. Most Yoshies who cannot live up to their assigned life tasks will be expelled from the tribe."
"And what if that Yoshi doesn't like what job he or she gets?"
"That doesn't matter. Only the welfare of the tribe matters. Yoshi tribes concentrate not on the needs of the individual, but of that of the whole tribe. It is necessary for survival. All Yoshies take their assignments, like them or not, and do them to the best of their ability. It's just the way it always has been."
It took a few seconds for the fox to digest this. He finally added with in solemn note, "That doesn't sound like any fun at all."
"Well, everyone seems happy with it. I mean, these Yoshies are mostly a cheerful and happy race as it is. I suppose that their acceptance rituals really have a double meaning underneath..."
"Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know. I'm not a Yoshi, and I never will be, thank goodness. I just want to go home, and get out of these creatures' ways. The Yoshies will surely be grateful for that, especially Miya. She probably wants to hurry us out of here so she can get back to her village and get to her acceptance... We must have so rudely interrupted it."
"Somehow, I doubt that."
"What would lead you to say that?"
"I don't know... I just feel that way. Besides, the Yoshies seem to like you, and that pink one over there doesn't exactly seem like she's extremely eager to get back to her village."
"I'm sure she'll change her mind, though. All Yoshies are a little nervous just before their acceptance. That's what Meekachu says, anyway."
The pair continued their walk in silence, before Fox finally stopped at the peak of a large hill overlooking the heart of the valley. It was a great viewing point. The fox scanned the rolling plains just ahead, and the path that he would be traveling in just a few hours.
Sara jumped subjects again. "So, what about you?"
"Huh?"
The salamander cooked up a mischevious grin. "Why are you awake so late?"
Fox shook his head. "It's nothing. Just a dream."
"Well, as my father used to say, dreams are the window to the soul. What was it?" Sara questioned. She then dropped to the ground, curled her long slimy tail around her ankles, and rested her head in her hands, as if she were pondering something. She looked up at Fox with a curious-looking smile. "Come on. Sit down and tell Doctor Jackson all about it," the salamander ordered with mock authority.
Fox cocked an eyebrow. That name didn't ring a bell. "Doctor who?"
"Sorry. Jackson is my last name. I guess I never mentioned it." Sara grinned sheepishly. "Com'on. Tell me about your dream."
The fox laughed, "Oh, so now you want to know something from me? Isn't this hypocritical of you?"
"Hey, this time I'm not asking; I'm ordering. Besides, if it's boring enough, we can both get to sleep easier."
"Oh geez, that reminds me..." The fox rubbed the fur on the back of his head with his paw as he conducted a good apology. It was just a nervous habit, really. "Hey, I'm sorry I fell asleep a while ago. I really was listening to your story, and then I..."
"Ah. I get it. Well, that's okay. It wasn't much of a story to tell, anyway," Sara interrupted.
"Yo-shi."
Both Lylatians whirled around to find the source of the new voice, only to find Miya wandering towards them with a bewildered look on her Yoshi face.
"Hehe, Miya, you scared us. Come on over here," the salamander invited. She motioned for the Yoshi to come forward, and the creature did. Miya plopped onto the ground nearby and wrapped Fox's jacket around herself for warmth.
"So much for getting some sleep tonight, eh?" Fox laughed. He finally swept away some loose grass, then sat down to relax.
"I would guess so." Sara grinned.
"Yishi yi yo," Miya blurted out.
The three sat in peaceful silence as the minutes rolled by. Fox finally spoke after the long pause. "You know what? My father and I used to watch the stars all the time. He would say..."
Fox stopped in mid-sentence as the words got caught in his throat. He remembered what it was like... when he was just a pup, and he and James would sit on the roof of their home on nights just like this one. They would both watch the stars together for what seemed to be hours, as they wondered what was out there. There was such a night like that only a few days before James was called out on an assignment to Venom... and then...
"You miss him, don't you?"
The fox blinked with surprise. He turned to Sara, who was literally staring into space at the moment. She continued in the same monotone voice, "I mean, the way you talk about him. You must miss him a lot."
Fox paused and thought over his answer carefully before speaking again. "Yeah, I guess I do."
The night remained peaceful, and only the howling breeze from the east broke into the stillness of the valley. Fox, Sara, and Miya didn't try to tamper with the silence, either. They instead spent the following hours just staring into the sky, and wondering...