Part 7: Gift Giving

Main story folder & table of contents: "Escape From Manitou Island" 
Previous chapter: "Part 6: Town Criers" 

PART SEVEN:
Gift Giving

SOMETHING GRASPED CHARMIAN'S shoulder, and her eyes goggled; she opened her mouth to let out a scream, only to feel a hand clamp over it, immediately silencing her. She managed to get out a startled noise before she felt something pulling her back from the bluff's edge, and Winter Born whirled around to look at her, her own mouth falling open and a gasp escaping her. Long bony arms shot out of the tree branches hanging low overhead and a split second later, Winter Born was gone.

Charmian's eyes nearly fell out of her head. GeeBees--!!

Hoping her aim was good enough, she jammed her elbow back as hard as she could, felt it connect with something, and the hand immediately let go of her. "OW!" suddenly echoed through the woods, followed by a terrific crashing of trees and leaves. Charmian whirled around and raced in the direction of the noise, popping out over a little hollow and clenching her fists.

"All right!" she yelled. "What'd you do with--!"

She cut herself off and blinked when she saw Winter Born, perched right on the rim of the hollow; the girl stared back with wide eyes, but didn't seem afraid. Perched right beside her was a GeeBee--Pakwa--and he was giving Charmian the exact same look. Her eyes wandered down into the hollow and she saw the third party there, and sucked in a breath, horror filling her.

"T--THOMAS!!"

She started scrabbling down the side of the hollow and nearly fell atop him. Thomas was making an awful face and rubbing at his chest; he gave her an incredulous look as she dropped down beside him to look him over.

"Are you trying to kill me--?" he exclaimed.

Charmian's eyes welled up. "I'm sorry! I thought you were a GeeBee! Then I saw something grab Winter Born--I thought it was another GeeBee!"

"Well--it was." He waved at Winter Born and Pakwa, the former of whom beamed and waved right back. She pointed in Pakwa's face.

"Look, Charmian! A real live GeeBee!"

Charmian glanced up at Pakwa again and blinked. He had always been a weird GeeBee, in that he seemed willing to eat anything and everything but human flesh; as such, she'd discovered that he was relatively harmless. He had been coal black the first time she'd seen him; yet her second time here, he'd faded to the color of ashes. Now he was practically white, and his formerly yellow eyes were pale blue. She stared at him for a moment and wondered how he had managed to turn himself into an albino.

Thomas let out a noise and started trying to push himself up; she gasped and hopped aside, grabbing onto his arm. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed again. "It's just--you really scared the crap out of me--and I thought we were going to end up dinner--"

"Breakfast," Thomas said. When she looked at him he waved at the sky. "It's morning, so you would've ended up breakfast."

Charmian was still too startled to scowl. Thomas looked up at Pakwa and waved at him; the GeeBee nodded and grasped hold of Winter Born's arms, lifting her into the air as he started hovering. The girl's face screwed up and Charmian expected her to start crying, which was why she could only stare in confusion when she let out a "WheeeEEEEE!" as Pakwa carried her out of sight. A moment later Thomas was grasping her arm and pulling her through the woods after them.

She struggled not to trip over any roots. "What's going on--?"

He made a gesture at her to keep quiet. "We've already made an awful lot of noise--I think we should head to safer ground before speaking up any! I'll explain it when we get there."

"Get where--?"

Her question was answered as soon as they made their way down a steep slope and out of the woods, and she gasped when she recognized Devil's Lake standing just off to the side. An eerie singsong noise arose, and she and Thomas promptly clapped their hands over their ears; Winter Born blinked, then Pakwa put his hands over her ears. After a moment the noise died down, and they all hesitantly lowered their hands, peering around the clearing a bit uneasily.

Charmian turned to Thomas. "What the hell is going on?"

Pakwa and Winter Born began ambling their way. Thomas gestured at the back of Devil's Kitchen, barely visible through the trees; the shrieking noises were plainly audible, yet not so bothersome while in the vicinity of the lake. "I heard what happened to Augwak," he said, and this silenced her. "I thought it was rather troubling, so I decided to come see what the GeeBees might be up to in his absence." He waved at Pakwa. "I thought it might be wise to take him with me."

Charmian's brow furrowed. "You're looking into this too--?"

He nodded. "As much as I hate the old fellow," he said with a frown, "I don't like the thought of some strange thing beating him up. Without him around, they're..." He made a face, and glanced toward the bluff. "Well...you've heard them!"

"Did you find out anything at all?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Mainly that without him keeping an eye on them, they're basically trashing their cave, and yelling and flying around like tykes without a nanny. I don't think it's occurred to them yet that they're free, but it's probably best that way!"

Pakwa came forward on all fours--he always walked that way, like an ape shuffling along on its knuckles--and pointed one bony hand west. "Tell about the lake," he said.

Thomas glanced at him, then looked skyward with a sigh. "Oh. He seems to think he saw something..."

Pakwa frowned, and Charmian's eyes grew on seeing such an expression on his face...Pakwa almost never got any sort of expression on his face. "DID see," he retorted, then turned to Charmian and addressed her directly. "Strange things in lake--far out. Came close to shore, but not close enough to get good look. Long things with spines and horns."

Charmian frowned this time. "Horns...?"

The GeeBee nodded, and pantomimed horns rising from his head. "Tall ones."

"He seems to think they were made of copper," Thomas said skeptically.

Pakwa gave him the same look as before. "Who tells this story, me or you?" This time both of them gaped at him, and he turned back to Charmian. "Copper horns--yes. Great long bodies and spines and copper horns. Bunch of them out under waves." He gestured again. "Seemed to be watching the cave."

"They were watching the GeeBees--?" Charmian's unease began to return, and she turned to Thomas. "That sounds kind of like what I saw right before I decided to come here," she said.

Thomas furrowed his brow. "You saw a snake thing with horns too--?"

She nodded, then shook her head, then chewed her lip. "I'm...I'm not sure what it was. I didn't get a good look at it." Her voice faded. "And that was on the mainland, too...not here..."

The wailing cackling noises grew slightly louder, and they glanced up as if to see the creatures behind them; after a moment Pakwa tugged on Charmian's vest, then started ambling toward the woods. He waved at them as he went.

"Safer away from the shore," he called. "Talk better there." He disappeared among the trees.

They stared in the direction that he'd gone in for a moment, then followed, Charmian holding Winter Born's hand. "Is it just me or...is he a little bit different from last time...?" Charmian murmured hesitantly.

Thomas shook his head. "Not just you. I noticed more because I was here the whole time."

"His skin's changed color again. And--" She made a face. "He talks in actual PARAGRAPHS now!"

"He didn't seem to talk that much," Winter Born said.

Charmian shook her head this time. "Trust me--compared to before--Pakwa's got verbal diarrhea now!" She looked to Thomas before the girl could ask what that meant. "Do you think it's serious at all...?"

He lifted a shoulder. "The way I see it, he's better company this way! And he doesn't just disappear or float away quite so often like he used to, either. He's actually become quite useful. I've learned a lot about the GeeBees that I've never even known before."

Charmian fell silent. She supposed that he had his reasons for wanting to learn about the GeeBees...considering that he was half GeeBee, himself. She thought over how this discovery had horrified and appalled her her last time here, and her stare drifted toward the ground. The trees closed in around them and they saw Pakwa waiting ahead atop a boulder; Thomas gestured and they went to settle around it. Winter Born climbed atop it and started poking at the GeeBee, looking him over curiously while the other two talked.

"Did Augwak tell you about what he saw...?" Charmian asked.

He gave her an odd look. "You mean you've talked with him--?" He shut his eyes and shook his head. "Never mind--I should've known something like this would draw you like a moth to a flame! No, I haven't spoken with him--they wouldn't allow anyone to go into the lodge when I was there. Probably for the best. Why? What did he have to say?"

"Basically he said it was a big manitou who beat him up," Charmian said.

His brow furrowed. "You mean, like Mani--?"

A shake. "No...more like Mudjikawiss. You remember him?" He nodded; the oldest brother of Manabozho was the only comparison she could think of, based on the vague description that Augwak had given her. "A big guy all dressed up fancy in beads and stuff. He said he was looking for the most powerful person on the Island."

"Most powerful person...?"

Charmian nodded. "I would assume that means Ocryx--but apparently he left after he beat Augwak up! Which means not Ocryx--so I have no clue what's going on."

"You do realize you're going on Augwak's word, don't you...?"

"Trust me, whenever he's had the crap scared out of him, he's always been honest. You should've seen him. He's petrified. Silver Eagle Feather says the GeeBees were trying to eat him before they saved him." She shivered. "So he has absolutely no reason to lie right now."

"What is this you were saying about a snake?" Thomas asked.

Charmian lowered her eyes. "I'm...not too sure. It's part of the reason why I came here in the first place." She chewed on the inside of her mouth. "Right before I came...we got this big thunderstorm...and I thought I saw something out in Lake Michigan. It looked a lot like a big snake thing with horns--copper horns." She noticed Pakwa lift his head--Winter Born tugging on his ear--and show more interest in the conversation. "I thought maybe the manitous on the mainland were trying to show themselves to me! So I thought I'd come here and find out." Her look of confusion grew. "But that couldn't have had anything to do with here, could it...? I mean--that was the mainland! They're not connected..."

She heard a scraping noise and they both looked up. Pakwa was pacing back and forth over the little rock, Winter Born clinging onto his back. Charmian's face screwed up when she saw that he looked troubled.

"Pakwa...?" She stood up, Thomas following suit. "What is it...?"

The GeeBee absently shook his head. "Too similar," he said, and continued pacing. Winter Born lifted her head and shrugged at them.

Thomas looked equally confused. "Too similar what...?"

In response Pakwa hopped down to the ground, plucked Winter Born off of his back, and floated into the air. "Going to look into something," he said, then turned and zoomed up into the trees. The other three's mouths fell open in protest, but before they could speak he was already gone. Thomas rubbed his head and Charmian scowled.

"I thought you said he didn't do that anymore!" she snapped.

"I said not as much!" Thomas retorted.

Winter Born tugged on Charmian's hand. "I think I should be going home now," she murmured a bit meekly. "Father will start getting...well..."

They looked down at her as if having forgotten that she was there, then Charmian grasped her hand and waved at Thomas. "Did you have to speak to Black Elk Horn at all--?"

He shook his head. "No...I think he was preoccupied or away when I arrived. I spoke with the medicine man, your friend. Actually White Deer told me more than he did. She likes to talk."

Charmian's mouth twitched. "You can't blame her." They fell silent for a long while, Winter Born detaching herself and skipping ahead, and when Thomas next spoke he nearly startled her, she wasn't expecting it.

"So...not even a hello, then...?"

Charmian blinked and looked at him. Thomas raised an eyebrow and his mouth twitched. She felt her face grow hot and ducked her head, looking at the trail.

"I..." She paused. "I was...worried that you would've changed. A lot," she said, when he tilted his head, seeming puzzled. "I thought I'd come back and...you'd be like ten years older, or...you wouldn't be here at all or something."

Thomas blinked. "I did say I would wait, didn't I...?" When she looked up at him he offered a smile. "Well...didn't I?"

Charmian blushed. "Yeah! But--well--you can't wait on your age! I thought I'd come back and I'd be fifteen and you'd be twenty-five!!"

Thomas shrugged and held out his hands. "Hate to disappoint you--I know how you like the older type--"

Charmian's mouth fell open. She gave him such a shove that he nearly fell into the woods, and she picked up her pace. Thomas hurried to do the same, and they walked in silence for a moment.

"I was really worried, okay?" Charmian murmured. "I'm just so used to everything changing so much here...I thought you might not be the same. And..." She felt her face go even redder. "And I didn't know what I'd do if you weren't."

She felt his hand slip around hers, and grasped it almost without thinking. Immediately her anxiety began to die away, and she slowed her step a little, until they walked at a normal pace again. She still kept her eyes focused on the trail, but her embarrassment faded as well, and she took in a breath and let it out.

He's the same. He's the same as the person I left. It's almost like I never did leave. Her muscles relaxed and she grasped his hand tighter. I was so worried...

She heard Winter Born slow her own step, and lifted her eyes to see the girl staring back at them, chewing on her lip. She stared at Charmian for a second, then at Thomas, then again at Charmian. After a moment of scrutiny a smile started to creep up her face, and she turned back around and resumed skipping, albeit a bit more cheerily than before.

Charmian flushed again. "What? What are you smiling at?"

Winter Born's voice drifted back in singsong. "Nothiiiinnnnng..."

Charmian tried to clench her fists, only for Thomas to let out a gasping sound and let his fingers go loose; she took in a breath and abruptly let go of his hand. He pulled it back and rubbed at it as she blushed. "Sorry!" She turned and started storming after Winter Born. "What were you SMILING at...?"

"I said nothing...!"

They reached the camp near the East Bluff with little incident, though Pakwa was not to be found there; Charmian frowned to herself and wondered where he could have gone off to. This time their entrance into the clearing brought little reaction, but as soon as they were noticed the doorflap of Stick-In-The-Dirt's wigwam was pushed open and he stepped out, coming toward them. He actually smiled as he did so and Charmian and Thomas both frowned a little at the unexpected look. Before they could say anything he had taken them both by a hand and was leading them toward the wigwam.

"You're earlier than I expected!" he exclaimed, Winter Born trotting off to her parents' place.

"Well...we kind of ran into something," Charmian attempted to explain, but they were already being seated, bowls of something being pressed into their hands. Charmian looked down to see something that looked like...she wasn't certain what it looked like, only that it was some sort of clumpy mix of something. Stick-In-The-Dirt beamed at them and sat down opposite where the fire would normally be, and they all stared at each other in an odd awkward silence.

"Um..." Charmian said at last, and peered down into her bowl.

Stick-In-The-Dirt's face lit up and he waved at it. "Rice! You get fed properly here so little, I told myself I would always have something ready for when you'd come back."

"Rice?" Charmian picked up a little clump of it, seeing as she had no fork to speak of, and put it in her mouth. She couldn't keep herself from making a face at the strange taste, and had to blink a few times before swallowing. "It's sweet," she blurted out.

He nodded. "Maple sugar!"

Charmian forced her face not to screw up. "You flavor your rice with maple sugar?"

Another nod, then a confused look. "Of course." A pause. "Your people don't?"

She opened her mouth to say of course not, what sane person would flavor rice with maple sugar, then took the chance to put more of the substance in her mouth, making herself chew. Thomas followed suit, giving her a strange look out of the corner of his eye. "Mmm," she said, and the medicine man started to relax. "Um...mapley." She wiped her mouth. "Are you alone here...?"

"Oh." He glanced at the back of the wigwam. "I'm afraid you've missed Morning Star...she's to come back later on tonight, but is busy right now...but White Deer should be around shortly. She said she would not miss meeting you again for the world!" He turned back to them and smiled from ear to ear. "And so--?" When they looked at him blankly he gestured between the two of them. "How long have you two been together--?"

Charmian choked on her rice and started hacking. Thomas swallowed his own mouthful and patted at her back. Stick-In-The-Dirt's smile vanished and he leaned forward in concern.

"I said something wrong--?"

Thomas shook his head as Charmian fought to catch her breath. "She's...just not used to...um...wild...maple rice," he said, and she silently thanked him, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Oh." Stick-In-The-Dirt sat back with a slight frown, then lit up again. "So! This means then that there will be children--?"

Charmian's entire bowl clanked to the floor now and she doubled over, gagging and choking. The other two paused and waited for the fit to subside, Charmian's face bright red and her eyes streaming; the doorflap opened and another head peeked in, and White Deer smiled widely when she saw them.

"Charmian!" she cried, and pushed her way in, clapping her hands together. "I KNEW you'd come back soon! I had a dream about a woodpecker the other day, and its head was brilliant red! And I just knew this meant you would be..." She cut herself off and took in a breath when she saw Charmian's state. "Oh no! Did you swallow something bad--?" She glared at her father. "I told you she wouldn't like the rice!"

Stick-In-The-Dirt looked crestfallen. "The...rice...'s okay," Charmian managed to choke out, and sat slowly upright, struggling to breathe normally although her throat felt like it was on fire. She took in a few shaky breaths and let them out, trying to pull off her pack. "Just...need to get...used to it."

"Oh." White Deer paused, then her face lit up again. "But as I was saying I just KNEW you'd be coming back soon! Father said you would be a while longer--" she cast him a look, and he nearly scowled back "--but I knew I was right. I'm sorry it took me so long to get here!" She clasped her hands together. "So, what do you plan on doing this time? Anything important at all--?"

"Hopefully--I won't have to do anything important," Charmian said, and White Deer's enthusiasm seemed to die a little, but it returned as soon as Charmian opened up her pack and pulled out three small packages. "While you guys were all here I wanted to give you something. But Morning Star's not due here yet, so maybe you can give her this for me."

"Give...?" Stick-In-The-Dirt and White Deer both leaned forward, curious.

Charmian nodded. "I thought I'd bring some gifts this time around, since that's what your people do, right...?" She unwrapped one and set it down in front of Stick-In-The-Dirt; it looked much like a can. "This is for Morning Star...it's called a portable stove. You light it, and it can make enough heat to cook a meal, without even having to build a big old fire." She set a few little packets down beside it. "And these are matches, which you use to light it." Her ears grew warm. "I'm not supposed to have this stuff...but we went camping last year...and I remembered this stuff was left over. Maybe Morning Star can make use of it."

"'Portable stove,'" Stick-In-The-Dirt echoed, picking up the can and looking it over with great interest.

"White Deer, this is for you." Charmian lifted the bigger of the two packages and the young woman's eyes lit up, and she reached out to take it from her. She tore the paper off of it and held it up with a puzzled look. "It's a wild plant encyclopedia," Charmian explained. "All the plants that grow naturally in this area. I know you can't read the language it's in..." She reached up a hand to point out an illustration as White Deer flipped through the glossy pages. "But there's lots of pictures to look at, and maybe Thomas or Francois can help you read it. It tells all their medicinal properties and everything."

White Deer's eyes slowly grew wide. "There are so many pictures!" she exclaimed, browsing the numerous paintings of flowers and weeds. "I never even knew there were so many plants as this!" A huge smile spread across her face. "I'll HAVE to learn to read it! What a wonderful gift! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Charmian couldn't help but smile a little as the young woman whirled around, grabbing the flap and shooting outside as fast as her legs would take her, probably to go show off her prize. Stick-In-The-Dirt and Thomas both seemed amused by her reaction, but the medicine man's look faded into uncertainty when Charmian handed him the other package. He peered at it and accepted it only with some reluctance, looking it over.

"Go on, open it," Charmian said; he paused again before following suit, and pulled out the contents. His look grew even more confused than White Deer's had been; he was holding a hardcover book in his hands, just as she had, but when he opened it his confusion grew yet again.

"There is nothing inside it," he said with a frown.

Charmian nodded. "It's a blank book--a journal," she said, and he lifted his head to look at her. "It's supposed to be like that," she explained, "because you fill it in yourself. I know you guys don't really...write stuff...but still, you can draw pictures in it, and it's probably a lot more convenient to carry than a bunch of old bark scrolls." She gestured at the journal. "And see, it has a bookmark so you can mark where you left off. You can put all your...notes...or whatever...in here, whenever you want." She paused, then said, "Just like Francois does with his journals."

Stick-In-The-Dirt blinked, then glanced down at it again. A moment passed, then his mouth started trembling, and his eyes slowly grew wet. Charmian's smile faded and she peered at Thomas, then back at the medicine man; his chest started hitching and his hand shook.

"Stick...?" Charmian murmured, then her brow furrowed. "Did I do something wrong?" She winced. "I did something wrong, didn't I..."

Stick-In-The-Dirt's eyes welled up. "No...no one...has...ever...given me...such a...gift before," he barely managed to get out, his voice cracking. His face screwed up and he got to his feet; Charmian and Thomas followed suit, and she was sure that he was going to throw her out of the wigwam, which was why her eyes goggled when he threw his arms around her instead, almost squeezing the life out of her. Thomas stood at her side, staring at them in bewilderment. Stick-In-The-Dirt, for his part, started sobbing aloud as if she'd just set fire to his wigwam. She stood and tolerated this for a moment or two, before lifting her hand and gently prying his arms loose, looking at Thomas as if the medicine man were crazy. Thomas gave a slight shrug in return.

She managed to detach herself and Stick-In-The-Dirt stood rubbing at his eyes and sniffling, still clasping the journal in his hand. "Um...you're welcome," Charmian said, belatedly. "Hope you like it."

"I will put everything in it," Stick-In-The-Dirt said in a cracking voice, still rubbing his eyes.

"Um...okay." Charmian peered to the side when White Deer appeared again, smiling widely and holding her book aloft. Then, in a whisper to Thomas, "I'm glad I didn't get him the desk set..."

"Silver Eagle Feather already knows many of the plants in here!" White Deer exclaimed, waving the book. "She pointed them out to me...one growing right outside the camp, too...I nearly stepped on it the other day...STEPPED on it!" She flipped open the book and ran her finger along the text as if reading. "She says it's used to cure snakebite..."

"SNAKE!" Charmian yelled, startling them, and whirled back to Stick-In-The-Dirt, who glanced at the floor as if expecting to see a reptile there. "That reminds me! Why I came here!" She gestured at the wall. "Augwak--I was trying to find out how he ended up like that..."

"You spoke with him?" Stick-In-The-Dirt and White Deer both cried at once.

Charmian winced and waved them off. "Yeah, but that's not the point! I wanted to ask you if you knew of a manitou who takes the form of a man." When they just stared at her she racked her brain. "A big man, all painted and dressed up in feathers and beads. A powerful manitou."

Stick-In-The-Dirt's brow furrowed slightly. "A big man in beads...?" He rubbed at his neck. "This could be one of any number of manitous..."

"Oh." Charmian's spirits fell. "Well...then, how about a manitou that looks like a snake--? A big watersnake, with horns?" She fell silent when she saw the way that they both stared at her with wide eyes. "Did I do something wrong again--?"

Stick-In-The-Dirt slowly seemed to come out of a daze, then shook his head a little. "No...nothing wrong..." His brow furrowed. "Why do you ask of this kind of manitou...?"

"Oh. Well..." Charmian paused, chewed her lip, then said, "I just saw something about it in a book and was curious. That's all."

The other two seemed to relax, though Thomas frowned at her. "Oh...well...in that case, I'm afraid I do not know much about it," Stick-In-The-Dirt admitted. "There are old stories told, but not often anymore...and I don't know them very well at all."

"Stories--? Do you know somebody who does know them?"

"You would have more luck with an elder of the tribe. Yellow Turtle knew them." He sighed and Charmian felt bad for making him think of the old ogimah of the tribe, who had died shortly after she'd arrived the last time. "Laughing Lynx may know them also," he suggested. "Seeing as you know him already, perhaps he would tell you something."

"Laughing Lynx." Charmian sighed to herself. The old medicine man hadn't seemed to care for her much, her last time here. "You're sure he knows...?"

He shrugged. "Your best bet would be with him. He is the one who remembers the old stories best. But this snake creature, this is a very old story, so even he may not know it." He tilted his head. "You're this curious about it...?"

Charmian nodded. "Just wondering," she said, when she thought she sensed some suspicion from White Deer. "I hope you don't mind if I see if I can pay him a visit! I do intend to hang out with you guys more..."

Stick-In-The-Dirt started waving his hands, eyes wide. "Wait! Before you see him--do you--"

Charmian was already digging in her pocket. She pulled out a little pouch and opened it up, showing it to him. He peered into it, then let out his breath. She tied it shut and put it away.

"Tobacco," she said. "I remembered." She grimaced. "You don't even want to know what I had to go through to get that..."

"Well...good luck, then," Stick-In-The-Dirt said, and held open the doorflap as they made their way out. "I hope you learn what you wish to know!"

"Goodbye! Try to come back for supper!" White Deer exclaimed. "We won't be eating RICE!" Charmian and Thomas started walking as squabbling noises commenced, the doorflap falling back into place and relative peace settling over the camp.

"All right," Thomas murmured to her as they walked. "I saw how you lied. I know how highly you think of him...so what's with the deception? You don't trust him anymore...?"

"It's not so much that I don't trust him," Charmian murmured in response. "As much as it is that I don't want to worry him. You've seen how he gets...if he hears about those whatever-they-were's out in the lake, he'll probably start climbing the walls!"

"Well, if you and Pakwa are right, I can't say I would blame him," Thomas admitted. "A giant snake-thing with horns doesn't exactly make me feel at peace."

"For all we know it was just Nebanaubae or something. So until Laughing Lynx sets us straight, that's what it was."

Thomas frowned again. "I thought Nebanaubae were human sized," he said. "With fish tails."

Charmian sighed. "Look, I used up all my lying points when I got hold of that tobacco. I can't think of another good one right now! So until we get this figured out, it was just a big fish." She peered up at him. "Okay?"

He sighed, but nodded. "Fine then...a really big fish." A pause. "A grotesquely gargantuan fish." Another pause. "A horrifically, insanely, humongously gigantic--"

He cut off in a wheeze when she elbowed him in the gut. "I get it," she grumbled, as they approached the wigwam with the lynx emblazoned on the doorflap. She stopped beside it and balled her fist as if to knock, then paused, then drew her hand back and made a face. "How the hell do you KNOCK around this place--?"

Thomas stooped forward and knocked for her. The doorflap was pulled back and an old woman peered out at them, noticed Charmian, then gestured for them to enter. They ducked to climb inside, but a tiny motion from off to the side made Charmian peek out from under her arm. She saw the back of the medicine lodge standing at the other side of the clearing, and paused when she noticed two yellow eyes peering back out at her. She frowned on seeing the look in them, but ducked her head and entered the wigwam anyway.

Continue:

Part 8: All Talk, Little Action  (13+) Laughing Lynx tells a strange tale, and Charmian is called to the Sky Tree... #1199438 by Tehuti, Lord Of The Eight

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