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Escape From Manitou Island: Part 169 |
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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.)
THE CLOUD-TALKER WINTER BORN CAST the others in the group a pensive look as the white cloud-things surrounded her tightly, flashing like miniature thunderclouds to match the giant ones now hovering overhead. Charmian ground her teeth and cast Kenu a malevolent glare; after all this time she figured that he would have learned to control his ego, but apparently not. "BEHOLD!" the Animiki boomed, making her teeth vibrate in her skull. "I SHALL QUASH THESE INSIGNIFICANT WISPS OF MIST!" Charmian was shoved aside so that she ran into Mani. Black Elk Horn halted before her and clenched his fists, yelling at the sky, "ARE YOU FORGETTING SOMETHING, YOU STUPID LITTLE MUSH-BRAINED BIRD?!" Stick-In-The-Dirt and Niskigwun both went as white as sheets. Moon Wolf just rolled his eyes heavenward as if he'd fully expected this. Charmian hopped forward to stand beside the ogimah and also yelled skyward. "KENU!! IF YOU DESTROY THEM YOU DESTROY WINTER BORN TOO!!" "OH." Kenu's lightning eyes flashed and then dimmed. "ER...WELL, WHAT DO I DO THEN?" "Charmian--?" Winter Born called out, then--"Eep!!"--she started trotting westward, hopping out of the way of the cloud-things when they began herding her in that direction, still keeping her in their midst. Charmian and Black Elk Horn both started forward but the others restrained them. "They're going to kidnap her!" Charmian exclaimed. "We don't know what we're dealing with!" Moon Wolf shot back. "You saw how they reacted when Kenu got ready to attack. You want to endanger her, too?" "And how do we know they even have any power?" Manabozho retorted. He waved at them as they continued drifting away. "Take a look! Have they done anything to REALLY fend us off? All they've done so far is threaten us. For all we know they don't have any medicine at all!" He clenched his fists. "I say we go after them!" Charmian glanced at the others and was surprised to see the wavering looks on their faces. "As much as it pains me to say it," Niskigwun said after a brief pause, "I believe he may be right. At the very least, they've shown a desire to keep us separated from Winter Born, and I doubt they will listen to reason now, as it is!" "So--we attack, then?" Charmian asked, trying not to bob up and down on her toes. Moon Wolf ground his teeth. "We do NOT attack! We just follow! And try getting Winter Born back safely. If they refuse to let us..." He scowled. "Then and only then, we attack!" Stick-In-The-Dirt started wringing his hands and grimacing but didn't protest, so Charmian shrugged. "Agreed then!" She turned and they all started making their way after the cloud-things as they meandered away over the little hillocks and valleys. It wasn't difficult keeping them in sight, at least, as they moved rather slowly; Charmian, now riding on Mani's back to get a better look, was relieved to see that at least they weren't being hostile toward Winter Born. They kept her shielded in the center and she had enough space to walk on her own, though every time she slowed down to look back at them beseechingly the cloud-things would nudge at her to keep her moving. Charmian looked up to see that Kenu was still trailing along in his Animiki form, but at least he was keeping his temper under control. She considered calling him down, thought that perhaps his powers might end up useful if the cloud-things changed their attitude, and changed her mind. She leaned over Mani's antlers. "Winter Born?" she called out. "You still all right?" "I'm okay!" Winter Born called back, her voice faint. "But I can't find any way out!" She jumped up and waved her arms. "It's like being in a cloud wigwam!!" She let out a squeak and started trotting when the cloud-things behind her nudged at her again, and Charmian sat back down, biting her lip. "What is it?" Thomas, keeping pace beside her, asked. She shook her head. "I...don't know. It's just that something about this seems kind of familiar but I don't know how." She looked down at him. "Do those cloud-thingies seem familiar to you?" Thomas frowned and shrugged. "Well...not really. Should they?" "They just seem to be acting familiar, that's all. But I can't put my finger on it." She stared after them for a moment in silence. "Like sheepdogs...but that isn't it, either. Cripes." She let out a gusty sigh. "Why can't I think of it?" "You think they're herding her someplace?" "Well...I don't know! But doesn't it look like that's what they're doing?" Charmian squinted, then her eyes slowly lit up. "Wait a minute..." She started twisting in her seat to look around. "Where..." She snapped her fingers at Manabozho. "Manabozho! Where the heck are your wolves?" "They're still around someplace!" Manabozho said, frowning at her. He whistled and several shapes started emerging from nearby stands of trees. "See? They know how to behave themselves!" "I need you to tell them something," Charmian said. She pointed ahead. "Sic them on those cloud-things." More than a few jaws nearly hit the ground. Manabozho's eyes grew. "Are...you sure about that...?" he asked in disbelief. "Charmian!" Moon Wolf hissed, grasping at Mani's antler so abruptly that the manitou whistled. "Have you lost your mind?" "I need to see how those things react!" Charmian protested, swatting at his hand. "It might help me figure out what they are and what to do with them!" She waved at Manabozho. "Come on, do it!" Manabozho cast a look at Moon Wolf, then back at her. He gnawed on his lip, but ignored Moon Wolf's livid glare and whistled again, waving the wolves forward. They barked and went dashing off ahead. Niskigwun and the others readied their weapons. "I hope you know what you're doing," Manabozho said. "You've never balked at a chance to show off before!" Charmian said, shielding her eyes and watching the wolves' progress. "Just hold on and see what those clouds do. I think I might know what they are, but I have to be sure." The cloud-things apparently hadn't taken notice of the wolves yet, though Winter Born soon enough did, glancing over her shoulder as she trotted along. Her eyes went wide--and then the cloud-things were urging her on with even more speed as they tried to out-float the wolves, which were rapidly gaining on them. They didn't speed up significantly though, as Winter Born seemed to be running now as quickly as she could, and Charmian could tell that they didn't want to bowl her over. They moved slightly left and slightly right, always keeping her safely in their midst. "Protecting her," Charmian murmured, ignoring the looks that Thomas and Moon Wolf gave her. "Sounds about right." The wolves at last reached the cloud-things and started barking and snarling and trying to nip at them. They weren't very successful, as their targets were nothing more than vapor--if that--but the cloud-things apparently took this as a clear enough sign of aggression. Instead of moving along, they at last halted in place, and everyone watched as they tightened their ring around Winter Born, the smaller cloud-things forming a second ring within the first. Everybody was silent, most of them furrowing their brows in puzzlement. "Why aren't they attacking?" Moon Wolf asked, perplexed. "Maybe they really don't have any medicine," Peepaukawiss suggested. Charmian shook her head as she climbed down from Mani and turned to watch again. "No...I don't think that's it. They just aren't attacking in the way we expected them to attack. Hold on." They didn't have long to wait. One of the wolves at last grew bold enough to try to bite into one of the lead cloud-things, and immediately regretted it. The cloud-thing flashed and seemed instantaneously to take on some kind of form, and the wolf was sent flying through the air. It landed in a heap several yards away, quickly scampering to its feet and backing off with a startled yelp. Charmian frowned. The cloud-thing had gone back to its original state, but she was sure that she'd seen it change for just a split second. "I need them to try that again," she said. Manabozho gawked. "Are you kidding? Those are my wolves, you know! How about YOU try biting into a cloud and get yourself whomped--? AAGGH!!" He grimaced when she stomped on his foot, and hopped several steps away. She turned to face everyone else. "Who here's got the quickest sight?" she called out. Everyone just stared at her dumbly. After a moment of no response, Peepaukawiss peered from left to right, then gingerly raised one hand. "Um...well...I have to have quick sight, just to make sure I'm not being cheated at any games I play..." "More like to make sure he can cheat," Manabozho grumbled, still holding his foot, but Charmian waved Puka forward just the same. She pointed at the cloud-things. "'Bozho's going to have his wolves attack another one of those, and I need you to focus on it really carefully and tell me what happens as soon as it fights back. Got it?" Puka pursed his lips and fiddled his fingers. "Well...I guess so..." Charmian snapped her fingers at Manabozho. "Get them to do that again." He ground his teeth and made an ugly face at her but whistled at the wolves just the same. They gave him hesitant looks, obviously not willing to try such a move again, but then reluctantly moved back around the cloud-things and started growling. It took a few false starts for one of them to at last try attacking another cloud-thing, but the results were pretty much the same, and as soon as the wolf ran off yelping Puka gasped and started hopping up and down, his bangles jangling. "Oh oh OH! What WAS that?" "What did you see?" Charmian pressed. He stopped jumping and shook an arm at the cloud-things, giving her a wide-eyed look. "It turned INTO something! Something BIG and hairy looking! It had little horns on it. Oh! It was so utterly MASSIVE!" He put his hands to his face and squealed. "What ARE those things?!" "Huh--?" Manabozho furrowed his brow, then scowled. "You mean you really saw something--? All I saw was a flash and then my wolf was flying!" "I'm telling you, it was GIGANTIC and BEASTLY!" Puka insisted as Charmian peered at the cloud-things, which were now flashing right and left, making even Winter Born look nervous. "I think I might know what they are now," she said. "They're manitous--sort of," Stick-In-The-Dirt said, perplexed, "aren't they?" Charmian shook her head. "No...I think maybe they're ghosts." "Spirits which aren't manitous," Moon Wolf said, and let out a sigh. "I feel like a fool for not considering it." "But ghosts of what?" Singing Cedars asked, squinting at them. "They aren't humans...are they moose? Or elk?" "Oh, goodness, no!" Puka exclaimed, shaking his head adamantly. "They were MUCH larger and more beastly than that!" The Onondaga gave him a confused look. "But what has horns and is bigger than a moose...?" "A buffalo," Charmian said. That earned her mostly blank looks. "Bu-fah-loh...?" Stick-In-The-Dirt echoed, brow furrowing. Manabozho seemed equally puzzled. "What's a bu-fah-loh? Is it like a big moose?" "MUCH bigger than a moose," Charmian said, spreading her arms. "Like big shaggy cows...um..." She trailed off when she saw that that resulted in equal confusion, and turned to Francois and Baptiste. "Surely you guys know what I'm talking about?" "I've only ever seen them from a distance," Francois said, tilting his head to give the cloud-things a curious look. "And in drawings. Interesting. I never even considered running into ghost buffalo." "Does this mean we're almost there, then?" Baptiste asked, eyes growing hopeful. "I mean--buffalo are all over the west, aren't they?" "Would someone explain what these buffalo things are?" Manabozho asked, growing irritated. He turned to the cloud-things and started cracking his knuckles. "Or do I have to go knock some sense into them myself?" "Charmian...?" Winter Born called, craning her neck. "Um...can I get out of here?" "Even if they're buffalo ghosts, that doesn't explain their interest in Winter Born," Francois said, casting Charmian a look, and she bit her lip. "I know...I thought it was a start, though...at least now that we know what they are, maybe we can deal with them better. They aren't manitous, so they have little or no elemental power. Obviously the manitous here are protecting them, though. I doubt they're hostile but they're impeding us and they think we're endangering Winter Born, so either we keep fighting them, or we convince them that they're wrong." "Well, there's always option three," Manabozho said, and when she looked at him he rolled his eyes. "Trick them. Are you truly so naive?" He gave the cloud-things--ghost buffalo?--an appraising look. "So...are they very smart at all, or as dumb as rocks?" Charmian blushed. "Cripes! I don't know! All I know is what I've read about them in libraries! They're really big and they're really strong. And when they want to protect something, they surround it in a circle, facing outward, just like that." She pointed at them. "What do you suppose could convince them to break that circle?" Niskigwun asked. "I don't know." She shrugged. "They're really persistent and don't back down easily." "With the way they're penning her in like that, I think Winter Born's the only one they'd break that circle for," Remy said, and an instant later all eyes were on him. His own eyes grew. "What--?" He started shifting from foot to foot and his lip stuck out. "It's not like I called her a name!" "I think he's on to something," Charmian said, and rubbed at her head. "But Winter Born already tried convincing them that we're harmless...so what now?" Everyone stood in awkward silence for a moment or two. Charmian looked at them all anxiously, then noticed that Stick-In-The-Dirt's eyes were slowly growing; after a pause he took in a breath and shook one hand wildly as if hoping to be called on in class. When she cocked her head he rushed at her and started whispering excitedly. "Charmian! Animiki!" He pointed upward at the hovering Kenu. "They come from the west, the stories go--this is true?" "Well--yeah!" Charmian nodded. "At least, that's what everybody says..." "Animiki, do they believe in them elsewhere? I mean, do they have Thunderbirds in other lands--?" "OH!" Marten started jumping now. "We have them in the EAST! Glooskap's talking about them ALL THE TIME!" "We have stories of them," Singing Cedars added. Charmian furrowed her brow. "Well...I think so. I mean, I've seen drawings of them from the Southwest and stuff...why? You think this helps?" In response he waved a hand at Kenu again, who was peering down at them with one flashing eye. "Surely they've heard of Animiki this far to the west then? Thunderbirds are full of power and highly respected." "But Kenu tried attacking them and they got defensive," Thomas interjected. "And if he tries again, he'll likely kill her as well," Moon Wolf added. "Of course," Stick-In-The-Dirt said. He pointed at Winter Born. "But you said you needed a trick..." Now it was Charmian's eyes that grew big. "I think I get it!" She whirled around and stared at Winter Born as hard as she could. "WINTER BORN! Listen up!" she shouted, and the two of them then fell silent, staring at each other across the swath of open land. A moment or so passed. The others waited, then peered at each other. Manabozho fidgeted a little and Puka pursed his lips again. "Is this supposed to be the trick? Because if it is, it really--" He fell into the snow when Niskigwun hit him. After another brief silence Charmian untensed and Winter Born looked uncertain. "You're sure...?" she called, and Charmian nodded. "I think it's the only way we can get heading west again. Think you're up to it?" "I guess so," Winter Born said without much conviction. Then one of her thoughts reached them all: But when we get back home I'm going to have to do a LOT of apologizing for lying all the time! Charmian grimaced when the others gave her curious looks. Winter Born took in a breath and started turning in circles in the snow. "I demand to be set free!" she yelled at the cloud-things as she turned. "These beings are my friends and I demand they accompany me to the west!" The lead cloud-thing--the one which had butted the first wolf--flashed a few times. "It says she doesn't know what's for her own good, and they need to keep protecting her," Charmian interpreted. "Will you set me free?" Winter Born continued yelling, and halted in her turning. She looked from one cloud-thing to the next, and when they didn't budge she said, "Very well then! You face my wrath at being disobeyed so!" She flung her arms up. "I call upon the might of the great THUNDERBIRDS above to assist me, for I have this power and more! MIGHTY THUNDERBIRDS! Assist me!!" Kenu blinked and peered down at Charmian. "UM...DO I ASSIST HER NOW?" Charmian gritted her teeth and flailed her arms at him. "Yes assist her! CRIPES can't you guys follow a simple plan?!" Kenu reared his head and let out an ominous boom, along with a flash which filled the sky. The cloud-things started flashing in response and quivering in agitation. "See?" Winter Born called out. "The only reason he refused to attack you before was because I told him not to! But now that you disobey my request, I call upon him! And--um--and MORE!" She flung her arms up a second time. "I--I call upon the WINDS as well!" "Wow she's good," Charmian said in awe, then smacked Augwak upside the head. "You heard her! She calls upon the winds and all that jazz!" Augwak rubbed at his ear and scowled. "When we get back home I am so ripping out your innards and eating them for dinner," he growled, but disappeared in a puff of wind and went whipping out toward the cloud-things, Pakwa following suit. They started swirling around Winter Born, making her braids fly out around her head. "I call upon WATER too!" she shouted, and Mani didn't even have to be prompted. A moment later a whip of water was flailing through the air, and the cloud-things began bumping into each other and bobbling up and down. Kenu let out another boom and hovered directly overhead, eyes flashing, and Charmian had to admit that Winter Born made quite a spectacle standing in the midst of it all. "I can command fire and earth too!" she added. "If you don't obey my demands! Must I request that my Anim--um--Thunderbird attack all of you when all you wished to do was protect me? If you want to--um--serve me, then obey my request, and I call off my powers!" "You're sure she doesn't take after Ocryx?" Thomas asked. "God I hope not," Charmian said. She squinted and thought that she saw the cloud-things wavering a little. They began flashing at each other as if in Morse code, but she wasn't allowed in on their thoughts this time. When they began huddling even closer around Winter Born she felt her muscles tighten, and even Winter Born gasped and lost her composure for a brief moment. Her eyes went huge, then she started hopping up and down and waving her arms. "CHARMIAN! They just showed me something WEIRD!" "Well--what was it?" Charmian exclaimed, trying to bite down her frustration. Why weren't they communicating with her? "I don't know what it was!" Winter Born called back. "But it was really strange! I think--I think maybe they think I have something to do with it, but--I don't even know what it was!!" "Go along with it!" Charmian shouted, feeling rather silly that they were yelling about something that was supposed to be clandestine. "Okay!" Winter Born said, and then her face set and she scowled at the lead cloud-thing. "Yes, I understand completely! And that's why you should let me out of here this instant!" The cloud-thing flashed. Immediately Charmian saw Manabozho, Puka, and the two okis tense, and the swirl of water whipped away from Winter Born and turned back into Mani, though he remained within the circle of cloud-things. He lowered his antlers and bristled, snorting and pawing the ground. Charmian blinked. "What--what's going on? What just happened--?" "Those manitou equals you were talking about?" Manabozho said, turning to her, and she nodded. His own face formed into a near-scowl. "Well...I think they're coming." |