Transfusion
AUGWAK STAMPEDED ACROSS the icy field, hands and feet flying, the earth booming with every step he took. His tongue lolled from his mouth and he grinned crazily as he bore down on Charmian and the others, and his large yellow eyes flared with homicidal glee.
Charmian held her place, staring straight at him as he advanced. Just as he came close enough for the icy chill of his breath to waft across their faces she jerked her arm at Moon Wolf, who lifted his bow.
"Now!"
Moon Wolf loosed his bowstring and let the crystal arrow fly. It launched up into the air, vaulting in a graceful arc before making its way back down at Augwak. The gigantic GeeBee let out a raucous booming laugh and lifted one hand, the breeze from the motion sending the missile offcourse. Moon Wolf's face went pale and Charmian's eyes widened.
"No--!"
Thomas gritted his teeth and lifted his hands. He sent a blast of frigid air out ahead of him, and jerked his hands upward to send the current up beneath the arrow. It caught the wind and sailed forward just as before, zooming straight up at Augwak's breast as he bounded noisily toward them.
The Wendigo lifted his hand again and its giant shadow loomed over the four of them, blotting out the sky. "Say hello to the Spirit Road for me!" he snarled with a mad grin, and brought his hand soaring down at them.
Charmian clenched her fists and stood her ground. "Already DONE!" she snapped back, when the crystal arrow struck him in the chest and let out a poof of glittering air before disappearing entirely. The GeeBee halted so abruptly that great mounds of snow piled up and threatened to avalanche over them; he glanced down at himself in astonishment just as he had before, and opened his mouth.
"What in the--!"
An odd humming sound filled the air, and the four standing in the field fidgeted, glancing around in confusion. The sound faded and Augwak was left standing as he had stopped, blinking in bewilderment. He tapped his chest with his hand, furrowed his brow, then narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth in that same evil leer as before.
"Nice try, fleshlings!" he sneered. "That almost tickled!" And he slammed his hand into the snowdrift he'd built up, sending it flying over them. Charmian gawked and turned to run before being pelted with hunks of snow; Niskigwun grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her forward, wings pumping, the others struggling to keep up.
"They're still too weak!" he shouted. "We would need more medicine, STRONGER medicine than any of that!"
Charmian gritted her teeth, hating to admit that it must be true. Perhaps a visit to the Sky Tree wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. "Know anybody you can refer me to--?" she managed to get out, before Augwak started cackling and stomping, swiping his hand out over them to freeze them with gusts of icy wind. Charmian was reminded of how she used to fry ants with a magnifying glass, and promised never to do that again.
"Oh, COME ON, fleshling!" the GeeBee crowed. "That isn't putting up much of a FIGHT! I thought you said to come and get you--? So why don't you just give up and make it easier on yourself?" He grinned, ice crystals forming around his mouth. "Either way you're going to be LUNCH!"
"Windbag!" Charmian yelled, swiping snow off of herself. "Why don't YOU just give up and I won't KICK YOUR ASS?"
Augwak laughed, the sound making their ears hurt. Moon Wolf fitted an arrow to his bow and aimed it upward, Niskigwun holding out his spear and Thomas crooking his hands; with a start Charmian noticed how they had all moved to stand in front of her. "HEY!" She dashed forward and nudged them aside, casting them the most evil look she could muster. "I know how to take care of myself, thank you very much!"
"Awwwww!" Augwak exclaimed. "Look at the little fleshling girl, big enough to fight for herself! What's the matter, fleshling, too many suitors and you can't pick just one?"
Charmian's eyes goggled, then the crimson rose in her face; the other three very slowly started to edge away from her. "That...does...it," she said through clenched teeth, her voice sounding like broken glass grinding together. "Nobody...says that...and gets AWAY with it...!!"
The GeeBee grinned and crooked a finger at the air, wagging it. "What're you going to do about it, fleshling--?"
Charmian clenched her teeth and flung her hands at the ground. "SNOW!" she screamed, and the hunks of snow which had fallen over them shot upwards, over Augwak's head. He rolled his eyes and feigned a yawn when they fell atop him, thumping off of his ears and shoulders; he batted one away and Niskigwun had to dodge it, it was so massive.
"Hum," Augwak said boredly. "That's the best you've got? What've you been teaching her, wabano? That dinky little arrow of yours packed more of a punch than that just did..."
Charmian started flailing her arms madly. "SNOW! WIND! ICE! FOG!!" she shrieked, flinging everything at him. The GeeBee batted everything aside, yawning again and again like the world's greatest overactor. Moon Wolf raised his bow again and shot an arrow; Thomas and Niskigwun followed suit, flinging wind and the spear at him, respectively.
Each weapon bounced harmlessly off of Augwak's arm when he lifted it and he made a face. "What a gigantic waste of time!" he snapped. "I came here fully expecting the best fight of my life! And I get this piddle!" He glowered down at Charmian. "Whatever happened to you, you little speck? The LAST time you were here you scared me off like a dog with my tail between my legs! And now you can barely even give me a sore throat! You've really let yourself go to wa--"
His words broke off in midsentence and he sucked in a breath, his eyes growing wide. Charmian hesitated in her attack to look up at him in confusion; his shoulders hunched and then started shaking, and it looked as if he wanted to throw up, with the way he lurched and choked for breath. The others halted as well and stared at him; Charmian took a few steps back, and they followed suit. She peered over her shoulder at them.
"Maybe..." she said, trailing off, then trying again. "Maybe it just takes a little longer to work on something that big...?"
Augwak narrowed his eyes and grimaced. "Wh--what are you talking about, fl-fleshling--?" he wheezed, and then a brilliant blast of light shot from his chest, and he nearly fell backwards, eyes goggling and mouth gaping. Charmian and the others ducked and shielded their eyes from the flare, though she couldn't help peering out at him again. Augwak hunched in on himself and clutched at his chest as if he were having a heart attack, and the look on his face became absolutely indescribable.
"What did you do to me, fleshling--?"
Charmian clenched her fists and stood upright. "Nothing worse than what you tried to do to me, dumbass!"
The GeeBee's eyes grew wide once more--then the bolt came again, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream which probably echoed all across the Island. It grew so high pitched that it didn't sound even remotely like anything the raspy-voiced Augwak could ever let out, and tears sprang to Charmian's eyes at the hideous pitch of it. The four of them continued staring at the Wendigo as he arched and writhed, the light in his chest spreading outward in a series of little tendrils, like the pattern left by a stone hitting glass--then an abnormally loud crunching POP filled the air.
Chakenapok snapped his fingers with a grin of glee.
"Switch!"
POP. Augwak froze in place, his arms and legs contorted at weird angles, and then let out a whooshing sound; his eyes rolled back in his head and he started to fall sideways, right toward Charmian. She stared up at him with her mouth hanging open.
Niskigwun's wings flared and he bolted toward her. "Charmian--!"
Charmian stupidly turned her head. She gasped when the Michinimakinong grabbed her around the waist and flung himself to the side, the two of them flying through the air and then hitting the snow. Augwak crashed to the ground right where she had been standing, his arms flopping down into the drifts and an icy breath puffing out of him; then a faint shimmer passed over him, and he began to change. The others remained where they were, staring on with wide eyes as the GeeBee began to shrink, his massive form slowly shifting to become smaller, smaller, and smaller still, until the shimmer faded and Augwak was left at his regular size, lying upon his back in the field, a gigantic indentation around him in the snow. He stared skyward with blank eyes and an open mouth, looking like he'd just been scared to death. Everything fell silent.
Niskigwun pushed himself up and grasped Charmian by the arm; he'd landed atop her, just as he had before. "Are you all right--?" he asked; she sat up and winced, rubbing at her ribs.
"Yeah...I think so. Just a strain or something." She lifted her head and her eyes grew when she saw Augwak lying in the snow, and she clambered to her feet, stepping over Niskigwun and heading toward him. The others looked at her as she came to a halt just beside the unconscious GeeBee and looked down at him. She stared at him for a long moment as if to see whether he would wake up again or not; after a while she let out her breath in relief, slumped her shoulders...then screwed up her face and lifted her leg. Before anyone could say anything she had landed a hard kick right into Augwak's side, and his body lurched before falling back into place. Everyone winced.
Charmian clenched her fists. "Stupid DUMBASS!!" she screamed, and kicked Augwak again. "Can't you EVER FRIGGING LEARN?! EVERY SINGLE DAMN TIME I COME HERE YOU DO THE SAME DAMN THING AND YOU NEVER FRIGGING LEARN! CAN'T YOU USE YOUR STUPID FRIGGING BRAIN FOR ANYTHING--?!"
The others continued wincing, then Thomas hurried forward to grab hold of her before she could turn the GeeBee into mincemeat with her barrage of kicks. He had to lift her bodily, as she continued flailing her legs and ranting aloud, her own voice matching Augwak's in intensity. Moon Wolf and Niskigwun approached Augwak and looked down at him as Thomas carried Charmian a few paces away.
"Charmian--" he had to struggle to say, "I rather think--he's gotten the--point by now!"
"Stupid JERK!" Charmian screeched, nearly kicking Thomas in the shins. She grabbed hold of his arm to lean over it and yelled back at the GeeBee. "IF I EVER HAVE TO DO THAT AGAIN I'LL RIP YOUR DAMN HEAD OFF! YOU WON'T MISS IT!!"
Niskigwun knelt down beside Augwak and took out his heart stone, holding it out over the GeeBee's chest while Moon Wolf watched. Thomas carried Charmian a few more paces away for good measure when Niskigwun frowned, lowering the stone uncertainly.
"Something..." He stared at Augwak's breast and his frown grew. "Something is not right." When Moon Wolf gave him a questioning look he bit his lip. "The Wendigo spirit stone...it's not here."
"Huh--?" Charmian halted her flailing, staring toward him in surprise. "What do you mean, it's not there--?"
Niskigwun shrugged and shook his head, frustrated. "Just as I say! There is no Wendigo spirit stone here!" He chewed his lip and held the crystal over Augwak's chest again, moving it back and forth, but with the same result. "The heart stone should be able to detect it and tell if it is damaged or not...yet it picks up nothing but his own spirit stone. There's nothing else there."
Charmian's brow furrowed. "But--there has to be!" She wriggled until Thomas let her down, and jogged over to join them. She looked at the heart stone. "Maybe it's not working--?"
"This is the same stone I used on you. There is no reason why it should not work." His confused look only grew and he rubbed at his head. "I do not understand...that spirit stone should be right here! He would never have these powers if it's not here!"
Moon Wolf lifted his head. "When he lost his powers--did you not hear it? This noise, filling the air--an incredibly loud noise. I thought perhaps it had been just me."
Thomas shook his head. "No...I heard it too. A terrific pop, like something blowing."
"Or a champagne cork shooting," Charmian said, and frowned. "Shooting. Hey, it stands to reason that Augwak shoved that thing in his chest to get its power, right? Well then how does one of those things get out--? It was so bright and loud and everything, it could've flown right out and we never would've noticed..."
The others all looked at her, then at each other, an uneasiness settling over them. They peered around themselves, yet all they could see was an endless expanse of snow.
Niskigwun's face grew absolutely miserable. "It...it is gone then! We lost it so easily...?"
"Losing it isn't really what's on my list of worries right now," Thomas said grimly. "What I'd like to know is--where did it go to."
"Or who," Charmian added, and her own look changed to fit Niskigwun's. Her head bobbed up and her voice came quick and sharp. "That's it--! Augwak was just a pawn to Chakenapok--he even admitted Chakenapok gave him that stone in return for trying to kill me. Chakenapok's playing by his own rules. He might dispose of Augwak if he gets too cumbersome, but I really don't think he'd get rid of that spirit stone so easily! Which means it probably hasn't disappeared--"
"It's just switched places?" Thomas filled in uncertainly.
Charmian ground her teeth and put her hand to her eyes. "The LAST time I was here--the exact same thing happened! Augwak's spirit stone--I got it switched around with a mainlander's! They're like little rockets and they just zoom in and out again!" She looked down at the GeeBee with barely concealed disgust. "That noise--that was it splitting! I just KNOW it! Right now I bet it's popped into someone else's chest!"
"Is there any way to find out whose...?" Moon Wolf asked.
"I'm guessing it'll be the hard way," Charmian sighed. "Whoever flips out and gets all big and blustery next!" She made a face. "I sure hope it isn't Pakwa...he'd probably EAT the whole Island...!"
She trailed off when she noticed Niskigwun standing beside Augwak with his wings drooping; when she turned her head to look at him he turned and walked away toward the woods. She paused when she noticed how dejected he looked, and cast a glance at Thomas. He gave a little wave as if to shoo her off. Moon Wolf stooped over Augwak and Charmian turned and jogged after Niskigwun.
"Niskigwun...?" she called out as the Michinimakinong entered the woods. "Hey, wait up!" He slowed his step and came to a halt but didn't look back; she frowned at how every part of him seemed to be sinking to the ground. Even his feathers drooped. She walked around to stand in front of him and peered up at his face. He didn't meet her eyes.
"What is it?" she asked; then bit her lip. "Right...I didn't mean to say your stone wasn't working, I just couldn't think of anything else..."
"I have been negligent," Niskigwun said gloomily.
Charmian cut herself off and frowned in puzzlement. "Huh...?"
"I have been negligent," he said again. "I have promised to guard the Fairy Arch, and have neglected this duty. I have vowed to help seek out this Chakenapok and protect the Island from him, and have yet to do any good." A bitter look flitted across his face. "I did not even notice the spirit stone fly away. I was too busy seeing to you."
Charmian lowered her head a little, suddenly feeling guilty. "Well...I mean, it's only natural," she said in a small voice. "I did hit the ground pretty hard...you were just looking out for me like you always do."
"This is the point!" Niskigwun's wings flared, and Charmian took a step back. "I have been far too busy being distracted by Islander issues to tend to my own people! You would have been fine--it was that stone I should have been keeping my eyes upon!"
Charmian's brow furrowed. "But this is everyone's problem. When you help the Island you help the Michinimakinong--even Geezhigo would say so. She's the one who sent you here, isn't she?"
Niskigwun lowered his head and his wings again. "This is not what she meant," he murmured. "I was to seek out this Chakenapok, and protect the Island, and help you in any way I can, but...I have allowed my feelings to get in the way of my duties." He lifted his head once more with a resolute look which made Charmian pause again uncertainly. "I have dishonored the Michinimakinong," he said, as if reciting something from a book. "I have disgraced the Turtle Spirits, and disappointed Grandmother Geezhigo-Quae. I shall be punished for forgetting the ways of my people." He folded his wings and reached his arm behind his back to grasp hold of them. "For forgetting my people, they shall forget me." And he yanked on his wings with a horrible shredding, ripping sound, tearing them from his back.
Charmian's eyes goggled. "NO--!" She dashed forward, running straight into him and reaching her arm behind his back, but Niskigwun already held his own wings in his hand, their bases torn and mangled. She stared at them in disbelief and tears welled up in her eyes.
A moment passed, then Niskigwun spoke, his voice strained. "Charmian...they grow back."
Charmian blinked, then looked up at him. She realized that she was pressed right against him, her hand gripping his arm and her head practically resting against his chest; her face growing warm, she quickly pulled away, taking a step back to give him space. She looked at his wings and remembered how Augwak had torn off Chepi's wings the last time she was here...yet Chepi still had her wings. She blinked again and suddenly felt very stupid.
"Oh," she said, dumbly. After taking a moment to gather herself she stepped forward again and took the wings from his hand, holding them gingerly as if afraid of damaging them further. What did she expect to do, tape them back on--? "But...why did you do that? How could you do that to yourself--?"
Niskigwun sighed and slumped again. "My first priority is to my own people...and I have not lived up to this expectation. Grandmother Geezhigo-Quae expected much more of me when she named me leader of her men. I have failed her and the Michinimakinong."
"All because you looked out for me?" Charmian retorted. "I'm sure she'll understand! What person wouldn't react the way you did--?"
His look darkened. "Islanders are expected to act this way. Not Michinimakinong! We are more in control of ourselves than that!" He flushed, then took his wings back from her. "For now...since I am disgraced...I will continue doing as I have done, helping you," he said sullenly. "Until Grandmother Geezhigo-Quae should forgive me, and restore my honor, if she chooses to do so." He turned and walked off into the woods at a brisk pace, the wings crumpling in his hand. After several yards he let them drop and kept on walking without them. Charmian stared at the pathetic remains, then slowly walked over and picked them up. She tried her best to smooth them out in her hands, though by now they looked like an old coat that had been left in the rain and then tossed on the floor for a few days. She stared at their dull glimmer as Thomas approached her from behind.
"A memento...?" he inquired, looking at them.
Charmian continued staring at the wings, then sighed. "Not really." She let them fall to the ground, not knowing what else to do with them. "I can't believe he's that upset just about helping us."
Thomas tilted his head to the side. "Not about helping us," he said. "About helping you."
Charmian looked at him with furrowed brow. "Huh?"
Thomas raised his eyebrows. "You mean you really can't see it--?"
Charmian frowned. "See what?"
He let out a snorting noise as if he wanted to laugh, and spread his arms. "He has a crush on you!" he exclaimed, as if it should have been obvious.
Charmian's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "What?" she barked, then her face screwed up. "You idiot, he does not!"
"He does so," Thomas insisted. He waved in the direction Niskigwun had gone in. "Can't you see it--? Ever since you put that fur over his shoulders it's been pretty obvious! Why else do you think that made him so uncomfortable? And have you noticed how he always conveniently seems to be there right when you need him--? AND why would such a thing as looking out for you get to him so much--? The answer's pretty obvious since he let his feelings for you get in the way! Can it get any more obvious than that...?"
The entire time he spoke, Charmian's face grew redder and redder. By the time he had finished making his point she was gnawing on her lip and grimacing; when he fell silent and crossed his arms, cocking his eyebrow at her in a "Well?" gesture, she felt like sinking through the snow and vanishing from sight completely.
"He really feels like that...about me?" she just barely managed to say in the tiniest voice imaginable.
Thomas lifted a shoulder. "The only way to know for sure is to just ask. But if you want my opinion, then yes, he really does. I got that exact same look on my face when I gave that valentine to Silver Eagle Feather, and YOU got that exact same look on your face when I mentioned Justin--as well as half the time you've been hanging about with me!"
Charmian wished she could die. "But...Michinimakinong don't feel that way about humans," she protested weakly.
Thomas rolled his eyes and sighed. "Maybe they're not supposed to feel that way--but do you really think some custom's going to be enough to stop somebody's feelings?"
Even as he said it, she knew it was true; Manabozho's daughter was proof enough of that. She fiddled her fingers, then lowered her head into her coat as if to make herself invisible. "I really didn't notice," she murmured. "I'm not really good at noticing things like that...you know!"
Thomas's mouth twitched. "Well, I know you're right on that much. Still, knowing it doesn't exactly bring him back." He lifted his head to look into the woods. "Any idea when he'll be done sulking, and when we should start looking for that stone...?"
"Leave him alone," Charmian mumbled. "And the stone, I really have no idea where to look. For all we know it flew all the way across the Island!"
Thomas frowned thoughtfully. "I really have to wonder, then, where it will end up. Do you think Chickenpox would really be willing to use it again after the first failure--? I rather got the feeling that Augwak was about as tough as a GeeBee can get, and it didn't take too much to defeat him, in the end."
Charmian shook her head, staring off into space. "Something tells me," she mused aloud, "that he won't necessarily choose a GeeBee this time."
Thomas's frown grew. "Well, if not a GeeBee, then what--? I thought it was a Wendigo spirit stone--doesn't it rather defeat the purpose if the one who gets it isn't a Wendigo?"
"There's more kinds of windlings than just Wendigoes," Charmian said. "It could've gone into any one of them! The Ocryxes, another GeeBee, a wind manitou, the Windwalkers...it could've gone into any of them!"
Thomas gave her a close look. "So...any ideas about the first place we should look?"
Charmian's brow furrowed and she stared at the ground as if to find the answers there. Then she looked skyward.
"Not really," she said softly, "though I'm betting we'll find out soon enough..."
"...These birds had been snow white," Peepaukawiss was rattling on and on, his chatter interspersed every so often with giggles. "And as soon as he came back...lo and behold they were PITCH BLACK!" He clapped his hands to his mouth, his eyes streaming as he tried to keep himself from cackling. "Every...last...one! 'Bozho was SO terribly confused...I told him...since he was still pretty young and naive about certain things...that he'd put them too close to the fire! So of COURSE they would turn black!" And he cocked his head back and howled at the trees, feathers flaring in every direction.
Chepi sat on the edge of the spring near him with the boredest look imaginable on her face, looking ready to wilt into the ground. As soon as Puka slowly began to regather himself she sat up straighter and waved her hand dismissively at the air.
"Enough about you," she said. "Let's talk about me!"
"Oh--right." Puka wiped his eyes, still hiccupping. He gave her an eager look. "Have YOU ever pulled a really great joke on anyone--?"
Chepi made a face. "How boorish! I HARDLY have the time or inclination to go about making a BUFFOON of myself!" She sniffed disdainfully. "There are plenty of others out there who may do that INSTEAD of me. This Island is FULL of them."
Puka started hopping up and down, even as he still sat; she scowled at the movement but he didn't notice. He clapped his hands together.
"Oh, oh, oh! Like 'Bozho! I know EXACTLY what you mean! People are so AMUSING sometimes!"
Chepi sniffed again. "More like foolish. If I were not so thoroughly convinced of my greatness, I would begin to think that it is their ineptitude that makes me look good!"
Puka let out a hyena's bark of a laugh, making her flinch. "I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND!! It's so EASY to come up with a good joke--I have to wonder why no one else tries it nearly so often nor so well as I!" He started hiccupping again. "Sometimes I wish for decent competition--the rest of the time I just point and LAUGH!"
"Pointing is horribly rude!" Chepi retorted, then ruffled her wings. "It is much more seemly to simply sit and laugh!"
Puka started cackling. It was a full two or three minutes before he could recover, and he again wiped at his eyes.
"You are so utterly right! Why point when you can just SIT!" Another hiccuppy laugh. "You will simply HAVE to join me for a good prank sometime--I just KNOW you would enjoy it! I could even let you have a hand in it--although the punchline would definitely have to be left up to ME!"
Chepi made a face. "No thank you! Pranking gives me heartburn!" She stood up and pressed a hand to her breast as if to emphasize her point. "Besides, based on all you've told me in this...utterly interminable period of time in which we've been together...I rather think that joining you would be upsetting to my health and well being!"
"Ohhhh." Puka waved at the air. "This is just silly talk! Come along now, who would you most like to prank? Wouldn't you enjoy getting to someone like that--?"
Chepi grimaced. "Ick! I'm getting heartburn just thinking about it!" She turned away. "I have to head back to my Windwalkers anyway--I've been dreadfully negligent with the poor things! It's been...well I can't say it's been entirely pleasant, talking with you, but at least it's been..." She paused. "Well, no, it hasn't been anything else, either, except dreadfully tedious. Good day."
Puka made a scoffing noise and jumped to his feet. "Oh, you only say this because you've never pulled off the PERFECT PRANK before! I understand! It can seem terribly daunting at first, but with me teaching you, there's no WAY you can go wrong! I'll tell you what, we can pull a joke on that Turtle Fairy person you dislike so much, for starters! I can just imagine him getting the pranking of his life!" His shoulders started shaking and he had to cover his mouth as Chepi started stepping away. "It would be PRICELESS!! The PERFECT joke! What do you say--"
Chepi halted abruptly, wings flaring. She lifted her hand to her chest again and placed it there, staring into the woods. Puka wove his way around her, giggling and shaking and waving his hands. "I already have JUST the idea!" he exclaimed. "It involves some of this snow, and a sapling, and a full bag of crabapples! I can SEE it already! Ha ha ha ha ha!!" He stopped in front of her and forced himself to stop laughing just for a moment, seeing the look on her face. "Oh, don't tell me you really do have heartburn--?" he cried, and stuck out his lip. Then he smiled widely. "Oh, come on now! There's NOTHING a good funny joke can't cure! What do you say the two of us go out there and paint the ENTIRE Island red?!"
Chepi stood in silence for a moment or two. Then she lifted her head, and her eyes flared bright yellow.
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