Landfall
CHARMIAN'S HEAD PLUNGED beneath the water. She shut her eyes instinctively, then felt something grab onto her arms and pull her upward as she sank. She felt the Nebanaubae pull her close before plunging even deeper into the water, and she dug her fingers into its own arms, holding on tight. She managed to open her eyes just a crack in time to see and hear the plunging of the others diving into the water after her, the other Nebanaubae swimming around and grasping onto them before they could sink too deeply; a couple of them flailed against the Nebanaubae, apparently still afraid of them; then she shut her eyes when she felt herself begin to move, and before she knew it, the water was roaring past her so fast that her hair plastered to her head and she couldn't have moved her arms or legs even if she'd wanted to.
She could tell that they were descending even further; a quick glimpse now and then showed her the blue of the water growing darker and darker, and she darted a glance around to see the sides of the river vanishing into darkness. The water was already cold, yet a chill still came over her; she wasn't afraid of water, or of the dark, yet not quite knowing what exactly lay beneath it all the time managed to give her a feeling of unease. She clung to her Nebanaubae as if her life depended on it--which, she supposed, it did--and kept her mouth clamped shut as the last of the daylight faded away above them.
She blinked in surprise to see that it still wasn't completely dark; the Nebanaubae themselves glowed just slightly. Bioluminescence, she thought, and felt stupid for not having considered it before; she peered ahead at Mishupishu, who led their little pod, and saw how his spines glowed in the dark. In fact, that was all she could see of him; the rest of the Underwater Lynx was nothing more than a black sinuous void sliding through the water. She shivered, and realized that her lungs were hurting.
She bit on her lip with a bit of distress--then let her mouth fly open when the Nebanaubae put its lips to hers. She pulled one hand away, ready to hit it in the head, until she noticed that her lungs didn't hurt anymore as soon as it breathed in her mouth. A quick memory of her very first trip to the Island--when Mitchi Manitou had kissed her in order to help her breathe as she descended into Devil's Lake--came back to her, and she flushed in spite of herself. The Nebanaubae pulled its mouth away before she could begin to grow offended, and it didn't even look at her, so she figured that was all the kiss had been. Still, she held her breath tighter this time, just so she wouldn't have to feel that again quite so soon.
She could feel, rather than see, the river opening up around them, then growing narrower, at intervals; she glanced around them but couldn't see anything other than the glow. At one point she let out a muffled noise, bubbles flying from her nose, when her head just barely missed an outcropping; she caught a flicker of Mishupishu's tail, and his voice entered her head.
The tunnel should be just ahead down here! We're near the bottom of the river. It's a little slit right in the ground...most of the Mishupishus are too big for it...I've never gone to the very end, but from what I've heard, it leads a whole lot closer to where Shawondassee should live!
You've never gone all the way...? Charmian asked, sighing mentally when the Lynx swam on ahead. The Nebanaubae had to kiss her again and then they reached the riverbottom; she saw Mishupishu slip out of sight, and then grasped the Nebanaubae's arms again when she felt her elbow scrape against rock.
Hard to believe, she thought. A bunch of gigantic glaciers probably formed all this thousands of years ago. She shivered. Giant piles of rock and ice carving out rivers and lakes and everything else. I can't even imagine how deep we are...
Of course...did glaciers form all these weird shortcuts, too...?
She chewed her lip, shaking from cold; she sighed when she realized that her backpack must be soaked straight through by now. She cut off a yelp when her ankle knocked against the stone wall of the tunnel, then she felt the opening above them disappear and hugged herself to the Nebanaubae like there was no tomorrow, her eyes wide. She'd never been too afraid of water, or the dark, or even of small spaces...but a small space...deep in the dark...far under the water...was quite enough to make her more than a little nervous. She then felt herself being stared at, and peered up. The Nebanaubae was giving her an odd look; she immediately detached herself as much as she could.
I'm just nervous! she insisted.
The Nebanaubae flicked an ear but said nothing.
Something small drifted up beside her and she peered at it hard but couldn't tell what it was. Charmian! Marten's voice exclaimed, and she let out a mental breath, since she couldn't let out a real one. Do you see that?
Huh...? She tilted her head backwards and looked at the walls. They glowed slightly now too. Her brow furrowed. Weaver webs...? Down here...?
Perhaps long ago this was a canyon--? Niskigwun's voice now; he seemed to be some distance behind them. She sensed that the swimming unnerved him, but didn't say so.
Maybe, she thought. At least it would explain why it's a passageway.
Or maybe there's something else besides Weavers that can do the same thing, Thomas suggested, and she said nothing in response, as his comment made her feel a little uneasy.
You guys seem to know this passageway, she said to the Nebanaubae carrying her. Have any of you ever been to the end...?
The passageway goes in various directions, the Nebanaubae replied. We have visited each tunnel. You seek the southernmost one? It goes on for a bit, mainly straight; and it is lined with caves. It ducked its head down and kissed her again; she grimaced a little but tolerated it. There are air pockets there.
Air pockets--? Charmian frowned. Way down here?
We suspect there are tunnels leading up to the ground as well, the Nebanaubae said, yet we have never traveled them. There are several passageways. The one you seek is directly in the middle. It leads upward, and then into a lake. The passageway is similar to the medicine you use to reach the Island.
Charmian's frown grew. How do you know that...? It nodded at her backpack and she blushed a little. So what do you mean, similar? I kind of figured it would work the same way...
You will come out in a different place, the Nebanaubae replied. And the moon is different too.
She puzzled over that for a few moments until Thomas ventured, Maybe he--it--means the time is different...?
Charmian blinked. Time! She gripped the Nebanaubae's arms. You mean, we could be in a completely different time--?
She didn't receive an answer, as Mishupishu flicked his tail, and they ducked to avoid an overhang. His spines illuminated the walls at last as they pressed in closely and Charmian eyed the numerous small caves opening up around them. She wondered where their tunnels could lead to, then decided that it was best not to know. She twisted her head to stare at the main tunnel that opened up ahead of them, Mishupishu taking up the bulk of it, and she could tell why the other Lynxes would be reluctant to venture down here.
I think I see it heading upward! he exclaimed, and accordingly disappeared from sight. The Nebanaubae started rising slowly and the little caves disappeared, the tunnel getting slightly bigger. After another short while Charmian noticed the water taking on a faint bluish tint, and nearly let out her breath, before the Nebanaubae gave her another one. She felt the pinch of its fingers on her arms and realized that her own hands had long gone numb.
They broke through the lakebottom and started rising to the surface, but it felt like an interminable amount of time before the light grew even a tiny bit brighter. Charmian's eyes drifted shut and she decided to trust in the Nebanaubae to keep them alive until they reached the surface; the water roared past her ears, but she'd grown so used to the sound that she didn't even notice it. Something nipped at her ear and she let out a burst of bubbles before the Nebanaubae kissed her once more.
C'mon, Charmian! Marten called out, paddling along beside her. You gotta keep awake!
Do I have to...? Charmian mumbled in her mind, suppressing a yawn and trying to get her fingers to work.
The surface is just ahead, Mishupishu called. I can feel my tail brushing the bottom! The shore must be nearby.
Charmian let out another small burst of bubbles from her nose, but their heads broke the surface before she could start panicking; she sputtered anyway, hearing the others around her doing the same. The instant the air hit her skin she started chattering wildly, not having realized just how cold she was until now; her fingers reflexively dug into the Nebanaubae's arms and she wildly blinked the water from her eyes.
"This way over here!" Mishupishu called, and she turned her head to see the long arch of his neck bobbing over the water. They started moving again and the dark shapes of trees lining the shore came into view; her brow furrowed when she saw that it was nighttime. Why hadn't she even noticed that until now...?
Something round and smooth slowly rose up beside her and she screamed. Peepaukawiss shifted from foot to foot inside his bubble and rubbed at his arms, chattering. "I'm f-f-f-freezing in here!!" he chattered, his voice coming out hollow.
An otter head popped up out of the water just behind it. "Weakling!" Manabozho groused, and hit the bubble with his nose. It burst and Puka splashed into the water with a shriek, feathers flaring out every which way. He clambered onto X'aaru's back as the demon swam past, and X'aaru let out a yelp of surprise and started zooming for the shore like a jetski.
A whistle came from the other side and Charmian turned her head--her neck was stiff--to see Mani, his antlers and the very top of his head the only things visible. His eyes shifted toward hers. Red Land One safe...? he asked.
Charmian forced herself to nod, chattering. "Y...yeah...I'll be fine." She blinked more water away, noticing Kwemoo and Maang perched in his antlers; the manitou swam on ahead without taking any note of his stowaways. Something crawled up her arm and Marten changed back into himself, wrapping his tail around her neck.
"You're freezing!" he exclaimed. "You've gotta warm up or you'll catch pee-yoo-ammonia!" He breathed on his hands and pressed them to her face.
Charmian chattered even louder. "Are w-we th-there y-y-yet...?" she stammered, hating to say it yet needing to say it nonetheless.
"There's a little bay here," Mishupishu called back softly. "We can come in here...just in case."
Just in case...? Charmian's brain foggily echoed, but she didn't get to think much more before the Nebanaubae swam up into the little bay, and several of the others who hadn't been quite as badly affected by the cold jumped up and started pulling her and the rest ashore. She chattered terribly and stumbled to stay upright; she rubbed one wrist across her eyes as someone took her arm and started squeezing the water out of her clothes. She blinked a few times to see that it was Francois, and she glanced at the others to make sure they were all right. They seemed rather waterlogged, but fine.
She turned to look at the Nebanaubae retreating into the water. "Th-th-thanks," she stammered; they cast her brief looks before disappearing from sight. She vaguely missed her Megis shell, but decided that there was nothing better she could have done with it, and turned around once more to look at their surroundings. The bay was roughly semicircular, surrounded by tall grass and small trees; the hissing racket of crickets assaulted her ears.
"So which way to Shawondassee...?" Manabozho asked, back in his normal form; Charmian envied his relative dryness as he brushed a few drops of water from his feathers.
"If he's still south..." Moon Wolf peered around them, then pointed into the trees. "Then that way."
Charmian sighed. "It would be through the trees."
Mishupishu waved the tip of his tail disconsolately. "There's no waterway through there," he murmured. "I won't be able to follow you along, at least, not this way."
"Oh." Charmian's face fell a little and she rubbed at her aching neck. "Is there any other way...?"
The Lynx lifted his head and looked around. "I think I sniff water over that way," he said, bobbing his head westward. "And I think I felt a current in that direction too...maybe another river. I don't know where it goes but I can try to keep up! Or should I stay here...?" His spines sank and he looked quite out of sorts.
"Perhaps it would be best for him to stay," Niskigwun said with a grimace, shaking his wings and squeezing his feathers. "Just in case."
Charmian bristled. "There's that just in case again! What are you guys so tense about--?"
Winter Born took a few steps ahead, squinting into the trees. After a moment she pointed and glanced up at Charmian.
"Charmian," she said. "What's that in there...?"
"Huh...?" Charmian squinted as well, then started walking. Without another word the others followed, leaving Mishupishu behind in the bay. The moonlight was such that she could make out something looming among the trees, though she couldn't be sure what it was; a wigwam, perhaps? Did people live here...? As they drew abreast of it she realized that wasn't what it was, and their steps slowed. She frowned a little to see that she was only looking at a small hill, yet...something about it didn't seem right. She racked her brain but couldn't quite place it.
Francois took a few more steps toward it, stared, then turned back. "A mound," he said, simply.
Charmian's curiosity grew. "A mound...?" She crept closer to it and touched the side of the hill, but it felt just like a regular hill. Still, now that she looked at it more closely, she could tell that it wasn't naturally shaped. The top was flattened, and the sides were too perfect. She grasped onto the grass growing along its side and readied herself to climb up to see what might be on top, but Francois's hand on her arm stopped her and he shook his head.
"Best to leave it alone, ma chère."
Stick-In-The-Dirt rubbed his hands together. "I've only ever heard of such things from the elders," he murmured. "I did not know that anyone actually built them."
Charmian took a step back and looked it over. "An Indian mound," she murmured.
Winter Born frowned and tilted her head. "What's it for?"
"Supposedly, the old ones would bury their dead in these," Stick-In-The-Dirt explained. His brow furrowed. "But that was so long ago...even none on the Island do this. It was an old tradition even before anyone I know was born. Even Yellow Turtle had never seen such a thing for himself."
Charmian's eyes widened. "Time! The Nebanaubae did say that the time might be different..." She looked into the woods, and saw various other mounds just within sight, dim under the shaded moonlight. "This must be prehistoric times," she murmured, and shivered, rubbing at her arms. "The Hopewell, or something."
Winter Born's face screwed up. "Hope-well?"
"They're way before your time," Charmian said, walking slowly around the mound. "And a little south of your land, too...we must be on the right track then." She glanced back toward the bay, seeing Mishupishu still waiting. "Just keep heading south?"
The Lynx bobbed his head. "That's where he's supposed to live!" He swirled his tail. "I'll just stay here until you all get back. You won't be too long...will you?"
Charmian shrugged. "I'm really not sure about that. I guess it depends on where he lives!"
The Lynx's muzzle quivered. "You will come back...right?"
Charmian paused when she noticed the plaintive note in his voice. "Of course," she said, and Mishupishu, apparently taking her at her word, lowered his head and vanished into the water. She peered at Thomas with a furrowed brow. "Is it just me or is he lonely...?" she murmured. Thomas shrugged.
They started walking past the mound, carefully avoiding the cluster of other mounds that stood ahead. The trees here were small and sparse, though the woods looked choked up with undergrowth further in; fortunately, the way they were going was relatively free of this, and all they had to do was work their way around trees. Moon Wolf kept his hand aloft, lighting a dim blue path which she found made the going a bit eerier than it already was; she rather wished his fire was orange rather than blue. The leaves flickered over their heads and she kept thinking that she was seeing things further in the woods, but couldn't be sure.
"Manitous," Niskigwun murmured in her ear, and she took a closer look, noticing at last that what she'd thought was Moon Wolf's fire flickering off of objects deep in the woods was in fact small blue eyes peering back at them. She bit her lip.
"Hope they're friendly," she murmured in response.
The Michinimakinong tilted his head with a small frown. "I have never met manitous who were malicious," he said. "None but those who live in the demon's lake."
"So why is it that Mitchi Manitou and his lake manitous are such an exception?" Charmian asked. She glanced back at Mani. "He was with them once. But he's like all the rest of them now."
"The lake manitous were in fact once the same as the rest upon the Island," Niskigwun replied. "Until the demon put them under his sway. They changed only then. Were they not under his control, I assume they would return to their regular ways, like your companion did."
Mani whistled. Mitchi manitous the exception. Not many of them. Not of my kind, at least. Usually more powerful.
"Like Megissogwun," Charmian said, and they looked thoughtful before nodding. "If he's a manitou." She pursed her lips. "Do they just...start out bad, or turn that way later on--?"
Niskigwun seemed to be at a loss, and rubbed at his neck. "I...I admit I do not know," he said after a moment.
Charmian stared at him, then turned back to the path--or the lack thereof. "I like to think they aren't born that way," she murmured. "But then that makes me wonder what made them change." Her voice faltered. "He's a really powerful manitou..."
"The Winds are MUCH more powerful," Peepaukawiss exclaimed, taking big steps behind her and still shaking out his wet feathers. "Don't you worry! I'm certain they can clear this whole mess up."
"If they want to," Manabozho muttered. He walked somewhat by himself, off to the side; the others glanced at him before leaving him alone again.
"I have to wonder what his exact deal is," Charmian went on. "To want to destroy the Island over again...why does he hate Geezhigo-Quae and Kabeyun that much? She never did say what his real beef was in the first place...but whatever it is, he seems to be taking something awfully personally."
"Ma chère," Francois called out, and she looked up at him when he pointed. "There's a small clearing of a sort just off to the right, ahead. Seeing as it's become so dark perhaps we should stop for the night. It's been quite a while since any of you rested."
Charmian rubbed at her sore neck. "Yeah...I guess so." She peered at the trees. "I just hope we don't run into anybody way out here...I don't know much about these people, and that makes me nervous."
They moved into the clearing, settling in a rough circle, and Charmian made a face as she dug through her sopping backpack; Marten plucked out all of the wet articles and set them to dry on a few boulders edging the clearing. He dangled her dreamcatcher from a tree limb; she frowned uneasily, but when the Mikumwesu settled down to sleep right above it, she decided that it couldn't be in safer hands. Francois gestured at Remy, and Thomas followed them as well, walking off into the woods; Charmian watched the blue eyes still glittering in the shadows, but Francois whistled, and they turned toward him before fading from sight. Mani chose that moment to settle down right beside her, and she gratefully curled up against his side, shivering in the evening chill. X'aaru came over and settled down on her other side so she sat between them, and it wasn't long before she felt considerably warmer. Francois and the others returned a short while later with firewood, and started on a fire. Charmian kept glancing toward the trees to see if the manitous would return, but they never did, that she could tell. She felt a bit regretful that she wouldn't get the chance to talk to them; the things they knew about this place were bound to be interesting. She wondered just how far in the past they were, and this thought made her feel homesick.
"I don't think I've ever been quite so far away from home," she murmured.
"Neither have I," Winter Born, curling up under X'aaru's other wing, said. She didn't sound nearly as gloomy as Charmian felt, but Charmian suppressed her own reaction. She glanced to her left to see Stick-In-The-Dirt sitting down with his back to one of the boulders, and the miserable look on his face made her bite her lip.
"Stick...?" she called softly. He blinked and looked at her as if he hadn't even known she was there; when she furrowed her brow he forced a very unconvincing smile, fingers fiddling with his necklaces. "Are you okay?"
He bobbed his head quickly. "Oh--yes--of course." He faltered a little, then sighed and his head sank. "I was just thinking...the same thing. I have never been so far away from the Island before...this land feels strange. Even the manitous are different." His miserable look returned and he lifted one of his necklaces, made of small thin bones, and looked it over ruefully.
"It'll be okay, Stick," Charmian said, and he looked at her once more, seeming surprised, before he relaxed just slightly and bobbed his head again. Charmian sighed and snuggled down between Mani and X'aaru, glancing at Winter Born and seeing that she was already fast asleep. Her mouth twitched.
Asleep and dreaming already, she thought, then bit her lip harder. Tal Natha, she thought, and sank a little bit. He doesn't bring dreams here...so who does? Are they friendly?
I never thought the Island could feel so far away...or that we would be going so far, just to help save it again...it seems kind of strange that we're trying to help it, yet here we are, way out in the middle of nowhere...and where else are we going to have to go if this falls through...?
"Best not to think of it too much," a voice said, and she peered up to see Walks-On-The-Shore seated atop the boulder that Stick-In-The-Dirt had just dozed off against. He gave her such an oddly knowing look that she frowned to herself and squirmed even further down between the other two, and shut her eyes, hoping that any dreams she might have here wouldn't be any stranger than those she'd had on the Island.
Lieutenant Barrington struck the ground with his elbows and winced when bolts of pain shot up through his arms. He pushed himself up immediately, spitting grass out of his mouth and shaking his head. He glanced around himself, half expecting some sort of bizarre landscape, yet the rolling meadows which greeted him, studded with trees, looked as normal as anything else he'd seen. He frowned as he pushed himself up to his feet and dusted himself off, examining the grass stains on his jacket.
They went this way then...? How long ago? As if I'm to have any clue where to find them by now...
He snorted and decided to merely start walking. It wasn't too long before the sound of the river that he'd seen met his ears, and he started walking along it, only to hear the noises of people talking in the distance. When he saw their wigwams and the way that they scurried about, he turned and headed further away from them and into the trees, what he assumed was more inland, until after a good deal of time had passed he again heard water, and was surprised to see the trees thinning out over the shore of a lake. It was much bigger than the lake he'd just seen near the faraway camp, and he started following its shore, glancing out across the choppy water as a cool breeze wafted over him and made him rub the dampness from his sleeves.
Is this even still the same place...? It's obviously not the Island...nor the mainland where I come from...so where am I, even?
Best not to think of it too much...
Biting his lip and scowling a bit, he shifted his gun and picked up his pace. He'd already seen one camp of savages; there could well be scores more of them crawling about. He kept one eye fixed on the woods and one on the lake; he thought he saw little blue lights following him at one point, but as soon as he looked directly at them they vanished and didn't bother him again. He focused then on the lake, but his thoughts were distracted.
Even if I catch up with them...what do I intend to do? This entire mess is their problem, not mine...
So why did I follow them...?
The fact that he couldn't answer this truly bothered him. He shifted the gun again and picked up his pace once more, scowling into the growing wind, and decided that he didn't have to have a purpose. His feet scuffed against the rocks and he headed further into the trees, his step growing muffled.
By the time two large black heads rose just slightly from the waves, copper horns gleaming and yellow-green eyes glinting, he was too far away to even notice their stare, or the way that they slipped away again with barely a ripple.
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