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Escape From Manitou Island: Part 178 |
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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.)
UNCERTAINTIES ALL AROUND CHEENGWUN BLINKED THE daze from his eyes at last, now that he was through the...wall...or whatever had just impeded him. He didn't question it. Sometimes a wall was not a wall, no matter what somebody like Charmian might insist. He peered around himself and saw that now, instead of being within the narrow hallway in the roots of the Sky Tree, he seemed to be in a small cave or dug-out room with earthen walls poked through here and there with smaller, average-sized roots...but he wasn't the only one there. He jumped a little to see Geezhigo-Quae, firstly because she was so hard to see, secondly because it was such a strange thing to merely think of her being so far underground. The Pukwudjininees were right, and it was bizarre for a sky person to be in such a place, and Cheengwun had to fight not to fidget, he felt so uneasy to find her here. "Grandmother...?" he murmured, made uneasier still by the odd state she was in. He didn't get the chance to see her much, but every time he had, she had been tall, imposing, important, impossible to miss...she always inspired awe in the Michinimakinong, despite their close relation to her. She was always standing, always bright, always the focus that drew the eye's attention. Now, she was crouched upon the dirt floor, her arms wrapped around her legs and her knees drawn up to her breast. She still wore her white deerskin dress and her brilliant feathers but they were dirty and so smudged with earth that they looked common now. Her feet were bare, and even her snowy white hair and wings were soiled and mussed. Strangest of all was her face. It looked like she'd gone out of her way to dirty it, but again, Cheengwun knew immediately what it meant. Her glazed eyes staring across the room as if he weren't even there only confirmed what he suspected, but still, that didn't dampen his bewilderment any. He stood staring at her for a moment or so, debating what to do, until his own anxiety overcame him and he approached her on hands and knees. "Grandmother...?" he whispered as softly as he could. He wondered how long she'd been down here, apparently seeking a vision. Why did she have to resort to such a technique anyway? She had the Sky Tree itself to show her things, and she was such a powerful manitou, surely she had other, less demeaning ways to see. He never would have expected the human approach from her. He fought a grimace as he drew close, feeling embarrassed just to see her like this, and hoping that she would either forgive him or not remember once she came to. He waited for her to acknowledge him in some way, which she didn't, so after much more mental arguing he gingerly reached out to touch her sleeve. He withdrew several times, but when he finally made up his mind to do so, she spoke, and startled him. "I see you," she murmured, in a voice which told him she didn't really see him with her eyes, but knew that he was there anyway. He pulled his hand back abruptly, fidgeting and gnawing his lip, then opened his mouth. "I hear you as well," she said, and he knew that he didn't even need to speak as she was apparently reading his thoughts. Cheengwun blushed horribly and retreated to crouch several paces away along the curving wall. Grandmother, he said in his head, hoping that she understood. Please forgive me for intruding in your Tree--and disturbing you--but--something is happening outside! Please return to the surface! I know I shouldn't speak to you so, but you don't belong down here. I know you have power--I know you can find what you seek up there, just as surely--! "I cannot," Geezhigo-Quae said in the same soft, distant voice--it was the same tone of voice the Sky Tree would have had, had it had a voice, when it had responded to Cheengwun's request earlier. Only her mouth moved when she spoke; her eyes stayed focused/unfocused on the wall ahead of her. "I tried...sometimes...you must go to the source of things to see them." Cheengwun furrowed his brow, unable to understand this. Still... he tried again. The Sky Tree needs you--we all do--much more up there than down here. Is it really this important, for you to come where you shouldn't be--? Please forgive my rudeness, Grandmother... "You are forgiven," she murmured back. "You only worry...tell the others they needn't...the Tree will be fine, if I will be fine. But I must look for some things...that I cannot seem to find, up there." He took in a breath when her eyes at last began to glow, just a little bit. "You would not understand if I told you," she added, "but I believe there is something out there...missing...and it does not know what it is yet. But I think maybe I do. And I am surprised, that I never even noticed such a thing...but I should not be so surprised, to find that I do not know all, as this is only for Gitchi Manitou to do...perhaps this is a test, for me to find out where and what she is..." Her voice faded, even as Cheengwun's confusion grew, then she said, "She might not understand, or believe, the same as I did not...but if it somehow helps the Island..." "The Island--!" Cheengwun blurted out, before clapping a hand to his mouth; Geezhigo-Quae's wings stirred slightly, and he hoped that he hadn't jarred her out of her vision, but she seemed to fall still and it was another moment or so before he tried again, this time mentally. The Island, Grandmother!--something is wrong with it? You feel something? "It is dreaming," Geezhigo-Quae said, "and I do not like these dreams...they feel like visions...I do not know. But if it helps the mainlander and her friends any, so these dreams do not come to pass, then I will do it, whatever it is." A pause. "She is out there, somewhere, looking for me, but she isn't even aware of it yet. I dread to think of what she can do, before she finds out...if I could only find her first..." "I know she'll come back, Grandmother," Cheengwun whispered. "We've all heard the stories! She saved the Island twice! She'll do it again. She knows what she's doing, surely she does. She'll do what she can, and come back, and if there's anything left to be done, you can do it, I know you will." "She does not even know who she is," Geezhigo-Quae murmured, and this comment perplexed him all the more, as Charmian had seemed to know perfectly well who she was when he'd met her; but he didn't ask her anything more, as the glow faded from her eyes and she simply continued staring at the wall, blankly, back in the midst of whatever vision she was having. He knew now that she was searching, far away from her body, using the Tree and whatever advantage she gained from being underground to help her find what she was looking for; but aside from that, he had no clue what to think. Her words had only confused him further; so that now, as he left her and made his way back up through the slumbering Tree, he knew not to worry just yet about their odd state, but he was still quite worried about the future. What exactly was she looking for? She could easily find the mainlander through the Tree. Had something happened to her? Was the mainlander who she was even looking for, after all...? Cheengwun dusted loose soil from his arms as he walked, breathing more deeply and with some relief when he finally made his way aboveground and then into the branches and back into the air, where he belonged. Even the copper mines didn't give him such a feeling as being far underneath the Tree. He hoped she would come back up soon; there was no good to come of her staying down there for long. Even if she was seeking something. Surely if she needed to find it badly enough, she could look for it aboveground. He went over her strange speech in his head as he flew, and bit his lip. She'd said the Island was dreaming, and it was true, he and not just a few of the other Michinimakinong had sensed it. The dreams hadn't felt like normal dreams. He'd decided not to question it, as it wasn't his place to do so, and of course Niskigwun and the mainlander and the others would manage things just fine as they always had... But there was a tiny bit of awareness--however cloudy and partial it might be--that he hadn't had before, and it bothered him; and he didn't even think that full awareness would put his mind at ease. For some reason, he would rather have remained ignorant of all these bigger things, and just stuck to digging copper out of the mines as he always had. Cheengwun beat his wings harder, the better to reach the mines more quickly. He told himself not to think about any of it, though of course it was impossible. The heavy clouds rumbled and flashed. Even though he'd been dozing, Ishkode-Aanakwad still hovered over the Island along with the other Animiki--they were able to do such things as sleep while on the wing, since it was sometimes necessary--but now he woke himself, and wasn't even certain why. He stared down at the Island. Since he and the others had killed the Lynx, things had been relatively calm, and his keen eyes could make out the forms of the tiny people making their way here and there, not so much right now as it was later in the day and most people were at home, plus, they didn't seem to like the cloudiness of the sky. He ignored them, for the most part, as they didn't concern him...but the Island did. He frowned to himself as he finally started to remember what had made him wake up. He'd been dreaming that he was looking down at the Island, just as he was right now, and then, there had been no more Island to look at. Nothing but water as far as the eye could see. He told himself it was just a silly fear based on what he'd been told so far, but Ishkode-Aanakwad had never been one to fall prey to silly fears. So why would he start dreaming about them...? He briefly considered asking the other Animiki if they'd dreamed the same thing, then discarded the thought as ridiculous; of course they hadn't. Instead he broke apart from them, drifting lower and causing a few of the humans within sight to pick up their pace and hurry back home. He looked at the peaks, the ravines, the rock pinnacles, the woods, not certain what he was looking for, but for some odd reason he wanted to imprint the Island on his mind lest he forget it somehow. Why would I forget it? And why remember it? It's always going to be here... Something about this thought struck him as too confident, and that really confused him, as he'd never known any other way to be, aside from confident. Why should he be unsure of things now? These feelings irritated him and he floated lower to the Island. He peered into the ravine and again saw that strange human woman there--the one with the green eyes, who had said she was half demon--and although she did nothing but sit with her eyes closed, apparently seeking a vision, he knew she knew he was there, watching her. It was strange, she was more like an Animiki than a human, it seemed to him. He wondered what she could be seeking, even though it would have been too discourteous, not to mention beneath him, to ask; though he did puzzle over why he wondered in the first place. Did it have anything to do with what he himself had just seen? How could it? Why was he asking himself all these ridiculous questions? He'd never cared about such things before. He'd cared about hunting, fighting, and protecting and leading his people, and that was it; nothing else mattered. It must be the mere state of hanging about humans so much that was driving him to distraction; he hoped this would all be over soon so he could return home where Animiki did their own things and the fears and worries of humans didn't matter. But it's not just their fears...it's apparently mine now, too...or is it? I'm fully confident we will protect this Island...so whose fear is this...? His eye shifted to look at the ravine. Silver Eagle Feather lifted her head and looked up at him. He sensed that she hadn't intended to, a moment before, but something had changed her mind, and they stared at each other in silence for a moment or two. They shared no thoughts, didn't communicate aside from this, but something in her stare told him that the fear wasn't just his, wasn't just hers, wasn't just the Islanders'. There was something else at work here. Ishkode-Aanakwad forced himself not to shiver--which would have merely manifested itself as a ripple of the clouds and a rumble of thunder--and rose toward the rest of his men, the edges of his cloud merging with theirs. He wanted to go home even more than ever now, and instead of disgusting him with its apparent cowardice, the feeling just confused him all the more, since he wasn't used to empathizing with others. He just wished he knew who he was empathizing with. Charmian found herself longing for the gloomy, rainy land she'd wandered through to find Manabozho's brothers so long ago. Anything was better than this endless expanse of white. Even the plains themselves would have been welcome, as they would at least signal the end of things, but the land kept rolling in its little hills with scattered stands of trees, and she wondered how something could look the same for so very long. She wondered also if they were going in circles. Maybe Kabebonikka was tricking them. She tried checking to see if this was so, but didn't know how to tell. The others gave her odd looks when she turned in circles herself as she walked, examining the trees they passed, looking at their prints on the ground. Finally Winter Born seemed to realize what she must be doing, as she hurried to Charmian and plucked at her sleeve, shaking her head when Charmian looked down at her. "He's not tricking us," she insisted. "I don't know how I know but I do. I mean, he might be tricking us, yes, but I don't think he's doing anything like that..." "He wants us to reach the west," Charmian reluctantly agreed. "If we win, he can rub Megissogwun's face in it...well...I just wish we'd end up somewhere, at least!" "It can't be too much further!" Marten, now seated on Peepaukawiss's shoulder, said. He was using his tail as a little table as he played his shell game to distract himself. "Otherwise we'll walk right off the edge of the earth!" "Silly!" Winter Born called back at him just as Charmian opened her mouth. "Everyone knows the world is like a ball!" When Charmian's eyes went wide, impressed, she added, "Because the Turtle's shell is rounded and he tucks his legs under himself, of course! Right?" Charmian promptly grimaced. Thomas laughed to himself at the look on her face, and at the confused look that Winter Born got in return. "Um...yeah," she forced herself to say. "Right." "Don't look too sour," Thomas advised under his breath. "Everything else outlandish that they've been saying has turned out to be true so far. By now, if there's an earthquake or some such, I'll just think it's this Turtle fellow hiccupping or something." Charmian ran a hand down her face. "Never thought I'd miss all the logic of science class..." She peered between her fingers when a tramping sound louder than the others caught her attention, and the three of them peered back. Lieutenant Barrington was coming their way, a scowl on his face, though of course that was normal. "Now what...?" Charmian muttered in as low a voice as Thomas's. She expected the soldier to shoo the other two off in irritation when he reached them, but he didn't even seem to notice their presence. Instead he stopped and leaned toward Charmian, his eyes on hers. "That fellow you dragged along with us, the whiny one, right? Well, I think you'd better check on him." "Huh...?" Charmian said, not understanding who he meant. "Black Elk Horn?" she offered, just because she couldn't think of who else his issue might be with. Winter Born's mouth dropped open and she hit Charmian's arm the way that Charmian would normally hit Thomas. "Charmian! How can you say that? Father's not whiny!" Barrington gave her quite possibly the strangest look he'd ever given her. "What? That bloke isn't whiny! He's thickheaded, and ignorant, and full of himself, but he's hardly whiny! I'm talking about that other one--you know--the really wimpy one! With the piddling little fireball and such." "Little Wind--?" Charmian said now, and had to rub her head, this was confusing her so much. "I thought your issue was with Black Elk Horn..." As if reading her mind, Black Elk Horn appeared now, shoving Barrington aside a little bit, which just made Charmian's jaw drop now as Barrington didn't pull out his gun to blow his head off. The ogimah pointed toward the back of the group, scowling just like Barrington had. "That ignorant little want-to-be is up to something, so you'd probably better do something about it! You've seen what he's like!" "Seems every time he tries something, it spells disaster for the rest of us," Barrington added, and Thomas needed to grasp Charmian's arm to steady her, as the two of them were actually agreeing for once. "What exactly is he doing...?" Thomas thought to ask, as they started making their way back past the others, who looked at them before moving on. "Not sure," Barrington said. "I'm afraid I don't understand most of the things your--these--people do." "He's probably trying to get on that wretch's good side again," Black Elk Horn muttered. "Why he doesn't just take the hint, I fail to understand!" "Thomas! That's twice they've agreed," Charmian cried. "Pinch my arm or something! This can't be real!" Thomas rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Well, whatever the case is, I doubt Mishosha will take him back now," he said. "After all that just happened. You're sure he isn't just tired or something...?" They slowed their step as Little Wind came into view, trailing far behind the rest of them. "See? I think he needs a rest is all. He never struck me as being terribly good at travel..." "Hold on a minute, Thomas." Charmian grasped his arm now, and they all stopped, staring at the young wabano. He was still walking, albeit in a meandering, side-to-side sort of way, and his eyes were so glazed that it looked like Thomas was right and he was ready to collapse right where he stood. But the longer that they stared at him the more it looked like there was some purpose to his movements, at least to Charmian. They were silent for a moment or two, then she flicked her hand in the air and let out a hsst; the others looked as Moon Wolf and Stick-In-The-Dirt detached themselves from the group and came to join them, puzzled looks on their faces. Charmian pointed Little Wind out to them. "What's he doing? Is he just going to pass out or something--?" They frowned as they looked at each other, then they looked at Little Wind. There was a brief pause before either of them seemed to notice anything. Stick-In-The-Dirt's puzzlement faded into uncertainty, and Moon Wolf's frown only grew. He narrowed his eyes. "Why? You see something off about him?" "Well..." Charmian bit her lip. "I wanted to make sure..." "Tell me what you see. It's obvious you've already noticed something, yourself." Thomas and the others aside from the medicine men all shared perplexed looks with each other. "Well..." Charmian said again, her voice uncertain. She fell silent, then said, "His power is flaring up, all around him. I can see it. He's not just about ready to fall over weak from hunger and stuff. If anything, he seems a lot stronger than before. I don't get it." The others tensed on hearing this, and both Barrington and Black Elk Horn drew their guns forward slowly. Charmian didn't have it in her to be shocked by them anymore, at the moment. Stick-In-The-Dirt bit his own lip and stepped back to the safety of the group, while Moon Wolf shielded his eyes to stare at Little Wind. "I didn't wish to say it," the nanandawi murmured, "but it looks like he's having a vision." "A waking vision," Moon Wolf agreed. "Only those who are skilled or else lucky with their medicine can do this...you know this yourself," he said to Charmian, who nodded. "That's why I'm so confused! Not only how is he doing it..." she stepped forward to stand beside him, and they stared at the younger wabano together "...but why?" Silence. The rest of the group had by now gone on without them, Francois gesturing the stragglers to let them be until they decided to come on their own. Little Wind drew close and passed right by them, weaving left, weaving right, weaving left, and Charmian at last followed behind him several paces. The others stayed, though Moon Wolf did take a few steps after them as if just to be cautious. Charmian considered calling out at the younger wabano, then decided against it; if he was really having a vision, that could disrupt it. But she didn't know what else to do. What if whatever he was doing was to aid Mishosha or Megissogwun in doing something against them--? She chewed on her lip, casting a glance back at Moon Wolf, but he offered nothing, and she knew that he wouldn't. She wished that their argument had come a little bit later, so she could at least get his opinion on things now, then jogged so that she was abreast of Little Wind, peering at his face as he trudged through the snow. He looked like a sleepwalker. "Little Wind," she said at last, deciding against communicating telepathically; that could jar him out of it too. "What are you seeing?" she asked, just because nothing else came to mind. "West," Little Wind said, and seeing as that's the way he was looking, that didn't tell her much. She bit the inside of her mouth. "What are you doing?" she rephrased herself. "Are you looking for something for Mishosha--?" She hastened to walk backwards in front of him, clenching her fists. "You'd better not be! You know your manitou wouldn't ever go for..." And now she noticed that the fireball was missing, and that startled her so much that she had to jump out of the way to avoid him running into her. "Hey! Where is it--? Did you do something--?" "It's searching for me," Little Wind said. "It can do that. When I can't go to look at something, it can go look. It can travel faster and further than I can." "If you're looking for something for Mishosha--" "There are Animiki," Little Wind said, and pointed. "That way." "Huh--?" Charmian glanced over her shoulder, westward. She saw only their own group still walking. "Thunderbirds?" Her eyes slowly lit up. "Really? It isn't Ishkode's people, is it? They're supposed to be back at the Island." "Not his people," Little Wind replied, his voice a murmur. "His." And he pointed at the group. "What--?" Charmian said stupidly, a bit frustrated that he was being so vague, when it struck her--there was only one Animiki in their group. "His people," Little Wind said, as if in confirmation, when Charmian found herself staring at Kenu. |