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Escape From Manitou Island: Part 133 |
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(DISCLAIMER: This part, and all parts hereafter, are works in progress (WIPs) and have not been proofread or checked for plot inconsistencies. I've decided to present them "as is" for now, as there is a significant amount of unfinished material; yet this story has been on hiatus for a long while, I've forgotten certain details, and I have no plans to resume work on it any time soon. Please keep in mind while reading that details may change in the future. Should you spot an inconsistency, however, please feel free to point it out to me for possible correction.)
HOT WATER X'AARU'S AND KENU'S eyes went wide when they focused on those of the Underwater Lynx plunging upward out of the river, and in a panic Kenu threw up his arms before him. "Th-that's not Mishupishu!!" he cried, and shot a lightning bolt at it, X'aaru flapping up into the air and diving at its head. The lightning bolt struck it straight on the muzzle and X'aaru began pummeling it with gusts of wind, knocking it from left to right, the water splashing and raging around it; Kenu turned and ran away several steps, then halted and spread his arms, shutting his eyes tight and concentrating. He clenched his fists. "I know I used most of my medicine," he said aloud, "but I beg you, Grandfather Thunders, please give me more, so that I can defeat this beast, and assist my tiny friends--!!" He started to glow, and electricity began crackling around his body. Little more than that happened, however, and he began to despair, when X'aaru yelped and dodged, flying back toward him. His eyes goggled when he saw the giant Lynx toppling through the air, as tall as a tree, its massive head and neck coming straight for him. "R-RUN!!" X'aaru yelled, feathers flying every which way. Kenu gasped and squeaked, pivoting on one heel and dashing for safety. Only at the last minute did he think to turn and run to the side, which was for the best, as an instant later the Lynx crashed to earth right where he would have been a second before. The impact was so violent that it knocked him from his feet and he went tumbling, landing in a little pile some distance from the water; X'aaru flapped to land clumsily beside him, rolling him over a little roughly, but the situation was such that Kenu could forgive such a negligent gesture. "A-are you all right--?" X'aaru gasped, his eyes as large as moons. Kenu nodded hastily. "I--I think so! My feather--?" He patted at his head* and X'aaru nodded when he felt Nigankwam's feather, and then sighed. "What happened?" he asked, glancing toward the Lynx. "Did we kill it--?" "I think maybe--maybe we did!" The two of them looked at the Lynx, and saw that it was lying extended half across the ground, half still in the river. Its neck was stretched out at its full length and its head canted to the side, its tongue dangling over its teeth and its eyes glinting dully. A thin line of blood trickled from its mouth, and it was only after spotting this that they dared to creep closer to it, peering it over. After a moment or two they grew bolder and Kenu even hopped atop its head, jumping up and down a few times just to make sure that it was really dead. X'aaru reached out to tentatively poke it with his claw, then jumped back with a gasp when the little Animiki let out a whoop and waved his arms. "HOORAY! I'VE KILLED THEM BOTH!"* He danced in a circle and started whooping again. "I, KENU, HAVE TAKEN THE FIRST STEP IN AVENGING MY GRANDFATHER, THE MIGHTY NIGANKWAM! THE VILE LYNXES HAVE BEEN FELLED BY MY LIGHTNING! I, THE WAR-BIRD KENU, HAVE DEEMED IT THUS!" X'aaru craned his neck to peek at the Mishupishu's head. A scorch mark* marred its forehead, between the eyes. X'aaru frowned and furrowed his brow a bit, then examined the rest of it. "I know...I know I don't know too much about medicine or anything..." he murmured uncertainly, "but would a blow to the forehead make it bleed from the mouth like this...?" "Woo-woo-woo--huh?" Kenu halted in his dance and stared at the demon, aghast. "What do you mean by that?" "Well..." X'aaru bit his lip. "It's just...would it do that?" "I don't know! Maybe he bit his tongue when I hit him! I bet that's it!" Kenu crossed his arms. "There! He bit his tongue. Stupid vile Lynx." He grasped its horn and started tugging on it. "I'll take a TROPHY! I'll stick it before the door* of my lodge and EVERYONE will know the might that is KENU!" "His tongue isn't bitten," X'aaru said, peeking into the Lynx's mouth. "HUH?" Kenu let go of the horn and nearly fell over. X'aaru cringed back when he leapt to his feet and clenched his fists. "ARE YOU QUESTIONING MY CLAIM, DEMON--?!" "N-not really!" X'aaru cried, cowering. "It's--it's just that--" Kenu leapt down* from the Lynx's head and stomped toward him. His face screwed up and went red. "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I KILLED THIS LYNX MYSELF! NO ONE ELSE DID IT! JUST ME! WITH MY OWN LIGHTNING! THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE PRESENT WHO COULD--" He cut himself off and whirled around. The river was roiling again,* and gouts of water started splashing up onto the bank, running over the dead Lynx's black* scales and dampening the ground. Forgetting his tantrum, Kenu dashed back to X'aaru and they clung to each other to watch whatever might happen this time. After a moment the river seemed almost to explode, and another great black* head plunged out, horns glinting. It shook itself and then lowered toward* the bank; the mist around it began to clear and X'aaru and Kenu let out their breath, sinking to the ground in relief. Mishupishu placed his head upon the ground and peered at them as if surprised to see them there. You both made it! he exclaimed in their heads. I was so worried that Lynx would GET you! "Of COURSE it didn't!" Kenu exclaimed, crossing his arms and awkwardly planting his foot against the dead Lynx's side. "Because I KILLED it!" Mishupishu blinked, then furrowed his brow. You...you did...? he said, then his spines quivered and his eyes widened a little. He opened his mouth as wide as he could and X'aaru's and Kenu's own mouths opened. Charmian sat right behind and between Mishupishu's fangs, clasping them in her hands and peering out at the other two* with her head ducked. She glanced from left to right, blinking. "We're on land now--?" she said, then let out a huge breath. "THANK GOD!" She let go of Mishupishu's fangs and he stuck his tongue out so that it formed a walkway to the ground. Charmian jumped out first and commenced grimacing and shaking herself off; everyone else began filing out after her, various looks of disgust, queasiness, and wariness on their faces. Winter Born grabbed onto a fang and vaulted herself out. "It was fun for a little while," she groused, "but I wouldn't want to travel like that forever!" Manabozho jumped out and stuck out his tongue. "The next time--I'll just be an otter again*! I can't believe I forgot* how gross it is to travel inside a lake monster..." Stick-In-The-Dirt had to be helped out by Francois. As soon as he got on land his knees gave out and he sank to the ground, quaking like an aspen leaf, his face sickly gray. "We're...we're out of the water now...?" he asked in a quavery voice. "No more water...?" "We're on dry land now, Stick," Charmian replied. She looked at her damp clothes. "So to speak." "Ooohh!" The medicine man fell forward so that his head hit the ground and he stayed that way for a moment, then got to his feet and started digging in one of his pouches as he paced toward Mishupishu, who was still looking everyone over as if to make sure they were intact. "I didn't swallow anybody, did I?" he asked, as if they were reading his thoughts. Charmian did a quick head count. "I don't...oh. Hold on." Mishupishu opened his mouth and the two loons** flapped out and landed, looking quite ruffled. "Okay. Now I don't think so." "Whew," Mishupishu sighed. "Because I offered to carry a wounded Nebanaubae once, you see, and there was this rather unpleasant accident..." Stick-In-The-Dirt halted before the Lynx and tossed a handful of tobacco at him. "Megwetch!" he exclaimed; there was a loud blast, and a second later he was coated in Lynx mucus. Everyone stared at him with their mouths hanging open and their eyes goggling, not least of all his own; Mishupishu blushed and sheepishly sank back down into the river and out of sight. "Note to self," Charmian said after an awkward pause. "Mishupishu doesn't like tobacco." She turned to see X'aaru and Kenu, and her own eyes grew as she hurried toward them. "Are you guys okay? We wanted to warn you about the other Lynxes, but couldn't get in touch with you*..." "It was no trouble whatsoever, tiny human," Kenu said proudly, and gestured at the dead Lynx.* "First I slew the one floating over in the river,* and then I killed THIS one! With merely ONE blow!" He pantomimed tossing a lightning bolt. "It was EASY, too! In fact, I feel rather ashamed taking a trophy, this kill was so inconsequential..." Charmian's brow furrowed and she looked at the dead Lynx, then she turned back to Kenu and smiled. "Wow! Remind me never to get on your bad side!" Kenu beamed, then hastened to climb back atop the Lynx's head and tug on its horn again.* X'aaru meekly made his way toward them while Charmian looked around to make sure that everyone was relatively intact. "Charmian...? Um..." He trailed off, biting his lip uncertainly when she gave him a questioning look. "Forgive me for doubting...but...well..." He peered at the Mishupishu corpse.* "Oh. That?" Charmian waved her hand and then leaned down to whisper to him. "Just let him think he killed it. I know it wasn't really him...but I think he could use a victory right now." "Oh. Whew! I was beginning to think I was seeing things!"* X'aaru sighed with relief, then frowned again. "So...if he didn't kill it...then who...?" A dull thud came from behind Charmian and she turned to look. X'aaru craned his neck and saw Little Wind sitting on the ground with his head practically between his knees. The demon cocked his own head curiously but Charmian turned away from him and went walking over to the young wabano, kneeling down beside him. "You okay?" she asked, tilting forward to try to see his face. "Grandfather Mishosha's going to kill me," Little Wind murmured. "I can't believe I've done such things. I can't believe I let my manitou kill one of his Lynxes.* He'll never take me back once he finds out." Charmian frowned. "You want him to take you back...?" When he lifted his head to look at her she spread her arms. "I kind of figured you were staying with us by now--seeing as your manitou--" "Grandfather Mishosha RAISED me!"* Little Wind exclaimed, glaring at her; his eyes were red. "Would you turn your back so easily on anybody here--?" he demanded, and waved at Stick-In-The-Dirt, who still stood nearby, trying to wipe Mishupishu's snot off of his arms. Charmian winced a little on seeing the look that he gave her, and she had to turn away. "See?" Little Wind went on. "It isn't so easy when it's you who's doing the leaving, is it--?" "That's different," Charmian insisted. "At least none of my friends are doing anything EVIL!" "And how can you even know? How do you know that destroying this Island isn't the best thing that can happen--?" Charmian's mouth fell open. "How--HOW CAN YOU EVEN ASK THAT?" she yelled so stridently that everyone around them winced. She shot to her feet, fists clenched. "How the hell is destroying someplace even halfway to being GOOD? Give me ONE reason how you could even think such a thing!" "Imagine it this way then!" Little Wind said, getting to his own feet; his fireball drew close and hovered over his shoulder, as if to try to distract him, but he ignored it. "Imagine the first Island wasn't destroyed. There would be no Michinimakinong, no demons, no Islanders. And you wouldn't even be here. You probably would have never even FOUND Manitou Island. You would be right back where YOU belong. Is that a good thing?" Charmian opened her mouth, then shut it, a flush creeping up into her face. She could practically feel everyone standing around them, waiting for an answer, and for once, she didn't have one. She started gnawing on her lip as her mind raced. Her first instinct was to yell that of COURSE it would have been a good thing, if the first Island hadn't been destroyed, but if it hadn't... Stick...Tal Natha...Moon Wolf, Francois, Manabozho...Thomas...and Winter Born... I would never have met a single one of them... Would that have been a good thing after all...? She lifted her eyes and found Little Wind still glaring at her. "Well?" he pressed. "Is it?" **Charmian bit her tongue hard enough to hurt. "I don't know," she admitted at last. "I can't say what would've been the best thing to happen in the past. But that's just it. It's the past. Either way, I can't do a thing about it." She let her hands go loose and let out a breath. "But I can sure as hell say that if I had been back there to try to stop it--I WOULD have! There's no way you can justify destroying someone's home and killing everyone on it, and there's no way you can think that's the 'best thing' that can happen right now!" "That isn't for you to say, anyway!" Little Wind retorted. "From what I know, it's YOU and all YOUR friends who are doing the wrong thing! You even want to free the Red Swan! You have no idea just how foolish you're being. And you expect me to just turn on my grandfather as if it's nothing. The best thing, so to speak. It seems we have a different idea of what the 'best thing' actually is!" "Really seems that way!" Charmian snapped. "Do we honestly have time for this right now?" Thomas interrupted, ignoring the glare that Charmian gave him. He pointed westward over his shoulder with his thumb. "I thought we were on a tight schedule." Charmian ground her teeth. "You could've interrupted when HE was talking!" she hissed under her breath. "Don't worry about it!" Little Wind sat down again and crossed his arms. "I'm not following!" Thomas and Moon Wolf both turned to Charmian as if to argue with her not to argue with Little Wind, but she clenched her fists and waved her arms before they could. "FINE!" she yelled, surprising them both. "I don't GIVE a rat's ass if you stay!" She whirled away from him and jerked her hand at the air. "West! It's about time we got out of here!" There was a brief silence before everyone began moving and murmuring again. "I'll keep going with Mishupishu," X'aaru said in a small voice, and tiptoed into the river, disappearing from sight. Charmian waved at Kenu, who was still struggling to break off the dead Lynx's horn. "Come on! We're going." She made a point of ignoring Little Wind, which was just as well, as he was ignoring her. "The air smells bad around here anyway." "It does...?" Winter Born asked with a puzzled frown. "Yeah," Charmian muttered. "It's a bad Wind!" "Aww!" Kenu cried. "I really wanted to bring home a trophy!" He gasped and leapt down when Charmian hurled a fireball at the Lynx's head, then jumped to the side when the tip of the horn hit the ground beside him. He blinked a few times, then happily picked up the trophy and started trotting along with them. "So," Thomas said. "Yet more walking. You know, I had no idea an adventure could be so dull at times." "I find myself appreciating the dull parts," Stick-In-The-Dirt murmured, fiddling with his necklaces. He glanced at the river. "Do you think they'll be all right down there...?" "I think that Lynx only collapsed the tunnel we were in," Charmian replied. "I figure X and Mishu will be able to locate another tunnel on this side. Hopefully one that isn't so muddy. We made it out of there alive, I think that rather says something." She cast a look over her shoulder, then turned west again, scowling. Her scowl grew when she saw the way that Thomas and Stick-In-The-Dirt shared a look. "Knock it off, okay? I don't feel sorry for him anymore. I'm just pissed off that we wasted so much time and trouble on such an ingrate!" "Well..." Thomas shrugged. "Can you really blame the poor bloke? I mean, sure, he's hanging out with a rough crowd, but they did raise him..." "He shouldn't be so blind and stupid! Destroying the Island is the best thing? Next thing you know, he'll be saying we should've just let Ocryana go or something. What sort of ass--" A thudding noise came from behind them, and Marten started yelling. "Charmian! Charmian! Look!" Charmian's fists tightened. "I'm not bothering with him anymore!" she snapped, shutting her eyes. "If he decides to act like a baby now, then let him!" "But--but--!" Thomas and Stick-In-The-Dirt looked back. "Oh come on, he's grown up already," Charmian groused. "I thought you guys wanted me to--" She cut herself off when they turned and ran away from her. "HEY!" She whirled around, irritated. "How come--" She blinked and cut herself off again. Little Wind still sat where they'd left him, close to the river, but even he had turned his head to look back at them. Stick-In-The-Dirt and Thomas--as well as the others--were gathering around something on the ground. It took Charmian a moment to realize that it was Moon Wolf. Her eyes grew and she went running toward them, having to nudge her way past a few to reach him. He was kneeling hunched over, his head nearly touching the ground, and she dropped down beside him and touched his arm. "Moon Wolf--?" Her brow furrowed when she saw the look on his face; his eyes were scrunched shut and his teeth bared, and he clutched at his chest with one hand, the fingers of the other digging into the dirt. Charmian gasped. "Are you having a heart attack--?" "He was walking along all fine and then BAM!--he just fell over!" Marten exclaimed, hopping up and down. "Like somebody hit him with an arrow or something!" "Is he wounded--?" Charmian asked, and started looking him over. She gasped when he suddenly gripped her wrist, as if to stop her from touching him, and shakily lifted his head. He opened his eyes and they were shaded, like he'd gone for days without sleep. Sweat ran down his face and he was gasping for breath. "I'm...not...wounded," he managed to get out, his voice sounding like the grating of rocks. He let go of her wrist and started trying to push himself to his feet; everyone backed away a step, even though Charmian wanted to help him up. She gnawed on her lip as she watched him struggle to his feet, one hand still pressed to his breast as if Chakenapok had just made a grab at his spirit stone. He started scanning the swath of land before them, some scrubby grassland leading into a long stand of mixed trees in the distance. Charmian cast the others a confused look, but they didn't seem to know what was going on either. "What is it?" she asked at last, stepping up beside him. "What are you looking for--?" "It has to be somewhere nearby," Moon Wolf muttered. He turned to look north, then south, then east. Everyone else followed his motions in growing confusion, and Lieutenant Barrington made a sign at his head that he thought he must be crazy. "Moon Wolf," Charmian said again, stepping around in front of him; he didn't even look at her. "What are you looking for? Maybe we can--" Little Wind let out a gasp and hurriedly scrambled to his feet. Charmian jumped at this unexpected reaction, but the look on Little Wind's face was something else entirely. He started gleefully laughing and pointing at the river. "I knew it!" he cried. "I knew they would come for me!" "They--?" Charmian echoed, then gasped herself and whirled back toward Moon Wolf. "Moon Wolf! Your--" Little Wind's laughter grew louder and he clapped his hands, jumping up and down. Charmian saw Moon Wolf's spine stiffen and the blood drained from his face; she turned to look at the river along with him. The water was starting to steam and bubble not far from the bank, and it was this that Little Wind was laughing at, as if it were the best thing in the world. Charmian tensed, feeling her own skin grow cold. "What's wrong with the water...?" Winter Born asked. "You should all go now," Moon Wolf said under his breath. Charmian gave him a perplexed look. "But--" Little Wind let out a whooping sound to rival any of Kenu's, and waved his arms as the water bubbled and roiled. Something rose into the air with a great rush of steam which flickered as if fireflies were zooming around in it, then something else arose, the river frothing and splashing. Charmian's eyes widened to see the two fireballs which emerged from the hissing steam, burning as brightly as if they'd been floating through the air itself. They hovered in midair for a moment, then started slowly making their way toward land. Little Wind turned around, pointing at them as they approached, and laughed almost hysterically. "See? What did I tell you?" he cried. "I told you Grandfather Mishosha would come for me!" |