"Tell us about the steam car, Twofeather! Tell us about the steam car!", the children insist.
The wolf with the scarred muzzle chuckles. "Always interested in the steam car story..", Twofeather Hundredtales, storyteller extraordinaire, says. "Never want to hear about the fine mechanical workings of the thing, but you like to hear the rest of the story."
"Yay! Hundred-tails is gonna tell the steamcar story again!" More children gather around.
The wolf grins a bit uncomfortably. "That's 'Hundred-tales-", actually. Though one of these days I should change it to Thousand-tales, I suppose.."
"Story!"
Twofeather nods. "Very well."
"Before the time of the Great Colonization Westward, before you could ride the train from Nhyu Yawke to Shan Furnsisco, you had to walk, or ride, most places.", the old wolf begins.
"Bicycles?" The little raccoon gets elbowed. "Shh." "Sorry."
Twofeather smiles. "No, not bicycles. Horses. Or your own moccasined feet." He nods. "This story has to do with some old friends of mine: Sunrises Ringtail, Pathwalker Twopaws, Dreamer Windwalker, and Longtail."
"Twa's a fine summer's day, not a single cloud in the sky. Clear and blue, and perfect for childhood games."
Longtail huffs as he skids down the rocky slope. "Sunrises Ringtail, slow down, darnit! Okay, okay, you won! Fine!"
>"Sunrises Ringtail could always beat Longtail at foot racing, no
matter how much Longtail tried to cheat. It also made it hard for Pathwalker
Twopaws, Longtail's older brother, to keep up with both of them
whenever he got stuck with chaperone duty. Which was too often for him."
Pathwalker has long since given up trying to actually catch up with the pair, and has settled for watching them and attempting to cut across their path to catch them when they head back.
Sunrises looks back and smiles to herself but she decides to slow down a bit anyway.
Longtail sits down, panting, a cloud of dust rising around his sore feet. . o O {Next time I'll put pitch on her moccasins. }
Longtail waves Sunrises over. "Come back here, eh?" *pant* "You're carrying the water, after all.."
Pathwalker continues towards his charges with apparent calmness. The sort of calm you might expect before a storm.
Sunrises walks back to Longtail, still smiling, and hands him the waterskin.
Longtail smiles and takes the heavy waterskin. "Thanks." He takes a long pull off of it, and hands it back.
Sunrises takes the skin back. "Welcome."
Longtail smiles and swats playfully at Sunrises's ankles. "I don't know how you do it. You must have Deer blood in you or something."
Pathwalker walks up slowly from back behind the hill. "Are you two done testing each other for now?"
Sunrises looks confused.
Longtail smiles. 'Nope, I think we're going to go for best nine out of eleven, soon as I catch my second wind."
Longtail grins. "What's the matter, big brother, can't keep up?"
Pathwalker glares back at Longtail. "I prefer to conserve my strength in case I need it later. Like fighting off whatever trouble you run headlong into."
Sunrises takes a drink from the waterskin. She looks at Longtail. "Want race??
>"Speaking of running headlong into trouble..", Dreamer Windwalker
had been plagued by visions of clouds on the horizon; tiny clouds, chasing
each other around someone who needed help. A stranger in black.
Her feet had led her, admittedly carelessly, to near the very spot where
the trio were conversing."
Longtail looks up past Pathwalker. "Speaking of trouble...", he says, "..there's someone who needs rescuing from trouble more than I do."
Longtail points uphill, where the young golden panthress is picking her way through the scrub brush when there was a perfectly clear path not ten feet to her right.
Pathwalker turns around slowly to see what his brother is pointing at. A worried frown crosses his muzzle. "What's she doing out here?"
Longtail says, "Better go rescue your girlfriend.", he says teasingly, knowing it'll get Pathwalker's goat."
Sunrises looks to where Longtail is pointing and starts walking toward the panthress.
>"Oooo. Girlfriend.", one of the kits speaks up. "Actually, while
Pathwalker seemed to hang around Dreamer a lot, they weren't interested
in each other that way.. at least not at that time." A couple more
giggles, but they stay otherwise quiet.
Pathwalker swats Longtail's rump with the butt of his spear.
Longtail ouches. "Hey." He pauses. "Sunrises? Race?"
Sunrises ignores Longtail and goes to see what the panthress is doing.
Pathwalker ignores the two children for the moment, and walks over towards Dreamer.
Longtail grfs. "Shucks."
Longtail gets up, and starts following everyone else. He starts shadowing Pathwalker, who's left his rear end wide open. Payback's a rattler.
Sunrises looks up at the panthress. "Hey Dreamer...what doing??
Dreamer looks curiously at the sky. "Clouds." There's not a single one.
Pathwalker stops up beside Dreamer. "Where are the clouds?"
Dreamer turns (admittedly hard in the brambles) in a small circle. "Little clouds. Spinning."
Longtail mumbles softly under his breath, "..that's not what's spinning.."
Pathwalker pushes his way partly into the brambles, then reaches over to grasp Dreamer's sides, trying to lift her up and out.
Dreamer blinks at the touch, backing away and getting further ensconced in the brushwork. "No, no, no. Have to help cloud-panthers.."
Longtail shakes his head. "I think she's had too much sun, big brother. Why don't you take her back to the village and Sunrises and me'll catch up?"
Pathwalker smiles. "You can help them better if you're not caught in the brambles. We're not going far."
A strange bird cries somewhere in the distance.
Dreamer shakes her head slowly. "No. Here. Or close."
Sunrises's ears perk up at the sound of a familiar tongue. She looks in the direction of the call.
Pathwalker grumbles, and turns back to Longtail. "There's no point arguing with her when she's like this. She's listening to the spirits, not to what's around her."
Longtail nods. "Pity her mom died. Maybe we can convince Steel-Eyes to take her as an apprentice."
"Help!" The call comes again, this time in English.
Pathwalker shakes his head. "We tried. Even he has trouble getting through to her at times; she's far beyond him."
Longtail perks an ear. "Hm. Isn't that the word the Easterner's use for 'help?'
Sunrises looks at Longtail and nods. "Yes...someone need help.
Pathwalker looks up, peering off in the direction Sunrises is. "Odd. Few Easterners who come out this far."
Sunrises stars running in the direction of the call. "Sunrises go see who need help.
Longtail acks and takes off at a sprint after Sunrises. "Hey, slow down!"
Dreamer zeroes in on the call. "There! Cloud-panther!"
Pathwalker turns to Dreamer. "Here. Maybe..."
Pathwalker stops as Dreamer talks. "Let's go,then." He takes her arm, leading her out of the brambles and over towards the voice.
Dreamer allows herself to be led this time, and suddenly starts pulling Pathwalker along towards the call.
Sunrises ignores Longtail and runs a bit faster.
Over the next rise, a set of recently laid railroad tracks crosses the trail near the river. One of the Easterner's steam cars sits on the tracks at the trail crossing.
Pathwalker picks up the pace and runs along with Dreamer.
Dreamer spies the steam car, points triumphantly. "Little clouds." And abruptly sits down.
Sunrises reaches the car first; the calls are coming from down the riverbank.
Pathwalker almost falls over as Dreamer stops. "Why did you stop? We need to help this person."
Dreamer shakes her head. "Waiting. Waiting for chew."
Sunrises nearly stumbling to a stop as she sees the car, she hears the call again and heads in that direction
At the bank of the river below the trail, a well-dressed Easterner, a black panther, is stumbling around the riverbank. "Aides moi, sil vous plait?", he calls out, half yowling in his distress.
Longtail skids to a halt. "Oooh. A -steam car!-
Pathwalker drops Dreamer's arm. "Chew?"
Dreamer looks up brightly at Pathwalker. "Chew. Chew, too."
Dreamer makes little punchy motions; her eyes are glazed over again.
Sunrises runs up to the Easterner. "Aides moi??
The Easterner spins at the voice. "Oui. Je cherche pour mes lunettes."
Pathwalker shakes his head, and starts loping along towards the Easterner.
Longtail looks down from the trail. "What's he saying?"
Sunrises looks up at Longtail and smiles. "He say he lost glasses."
>'Apparently, the Easterner had lost his spectacles; he couldn't
see to drive without them.'
Pathwalker stands up the riverbank a bit, looking down at Sunrises. "Can you find them?"
Sunrises looks at Pathwalker and shrugs. "I try.
Sunrises looks at the Easterner. "Can you remember the last place you had them?
The Easterner explains. 'I was getting water for the steamcar and dropped my glasses when I stood up.'
Sunrises nods. "Where were you getting water?
Pathwalker nods, and stands looking at the steamcar, rubbing under his muzzle.
Longtail raises an eyebrow. "What're they saying? You understand a word of that?"
The Easterner spreads his hands, squinting. "Around here somewhere." He squints at Sunrises. 'You're dressed funny, aren't you..'
Sunrises starts looking around the river bank for the glasses and notices a light coming from a bunch of grass near the edge of the river. She walks over to it and picks up the glasses. "Here you are, Sir. I found them.
The Easterner tries them on; they're a set of lady's spectacles. "Uh, I don't think these are them.."
Pathwalker shakes his head. "I don't understand them either."
Longtail hmms. "I think they're looking for those eye things."
Sunrises shrugs and starts looking around again. She sees another twinkle of light, walks over to them and picks them up. "How about these??
Pathwalker says, "I would assume so, yes."
Longtail nods. "All right, we should probably go help."
Longtail starts sliding down the slope.
Sunrises looks over at Pathwalker and Longtail and smiles. "I try to find glasses.
Pathwalker looks up and down the steel rails, then turns to look at Dreamer, thinking.
The Easterner tries them on. "Uh, no, these aren't' them either.." He squints through the spectacles. "A train lost a shipment of eyeglasses for Shan Furnsico recently, I'm afraid.."
Sunrises smirks and looks flustered. She looks around again. "Hmmm."
Pathwalker suddenly realizes what Dreamer was talking about.. not 'Chew, too..'.. but 'Chew, two.. '.. there's a train coming.
Pathwalker runs down the slope towards the Easterner, stopping right up by him. He turns to Sunrises, and points down the tracks. "More cars coming."
Longtail pads back up the slope. "That's no steam car.. that's a TRAIN."
Longtail spins. "We have to move the car!"
The Easterner cants his ears. "That sounds like an angry Indian."
Pathwalker says to Sunrises, "Tell him." Then runs back up the slope.
Sunrises nods to Pathwalker then turns to the Easterner. "Pathwalker says there are more cars coming down the tracks.
Pathwalker runs to what seems to be the back of the steam car, and waves Longtail to come in beside him as he leans in to push it.
The Easterner listens. "More cars? Tracks?" A shrill whistle is his answer. "A train.."
Longtail runs up and shoves on the back of the car. "It's stuck.."
Sunrises says to the Easterner. "We need to move that one.
Pathwalker yells, "Ask how to make it not stop!"
Sunrises grabs the Easterner and pulls him toward the train. "We need to move it now.
The Easterner shakes his head. "It needs water. All I had was a bucket."
Dreamer sits still and watches the group for several moments, her ears twisting and tracking unheard sounds.
Sunrises yells up to Pathwalker. "He say it need water.
Pathwalker keeps pushing, hoping to make some headway while waiting for the Easterner to help.
Longtail gets an idea. "Mebbe we can drive it!" He stops pushing, and runs around and jumps in the driver's seat.
Sunrises starts looking for some way to get water into the train fast.
Pathwalker says, "Then get some!"
Pathwalker says, "Just need to move it a little," as he leans all his weight into it.
Longtail kicks and pushes at the various levers. "One of these has to do it.."
Sunrises looks at her water skin bag, then hold it up to the Easterner. "Will this be enough??
The Easterner takes the bag. "It might.. it might.. I put a number of buckets in before I lost my glasses.. "
Sunrises grabs the Easterner's arm and leads him to the engine
The Easterner fumbles with the caps and starts pouring the water in.
Dreamer slowly stands, her gaze briefly going far-away. Then, with a brief straightening of her clothes, she turns and walks to the train tracks, turning to face in the direction of the train whistle.
A blast of steam narrowly misses Pathwalker's head.
Sunrises looks at Dreamer then back to the Easterner. "Hurry. Its getting closer.
Pathwalker ducks away from the steam.
Longtail says, "Sorry about that.."
Dreamer takes a few steps down the tracks, towards the sound of the approaching train. After two steps, she quickens her pace and breaks into a run.
The Easterner looks over the driver's seat. "What're you doing up there? You've let out all the stored steam!"
Pathwalker says, "You shouldn't play with things you don't understand."
Sunrises starts to panic. She pulls on the Easterner's sleeve. "Hurry. Hurry!
Longtail grins fangily. "I know what I'm doing!"
The panther shakes his head. "Nothing we can do. We've got to get away from the car, now!"
Pathwalker notices what Dreamer is doing, and spins, letting go of the car. "No!"
>"Too late, the conductor saw the car on the tracks. Those things
take a long time to stop..."
Dreamer hurries down the tracks towards the rapidly approaching train, her paws pattering along the ground.
Sunrises says, "Longtail, he say we need to leave car. He say you let out steam"
Pathwalker picks Longtail up by the scruff of the neck and throws him away from the car, then turns and sprints down the tracks towards Dreamer.
Sunrises grabs the Easterner's arms and pulls him away from the train to a safe distance.
Longtail looks down the tracks at the approaching train, wide-eyed. "Uh, yeah...eep!!", He hits the ground rolling, and heads down to the water at a rapid slide.
>The kids hold their breath, except for the ones who have heard this
before.
Pathwalker leaps at Dreamer from an angle, tackling her at the last minute and rolling with her away from the tracks...
The Easterner huddles with Longtail and Sunrises by the bank, muttering about his precious car.
Dreamer yelps as she's tackled! As she finally rolls to a stop, pinned beneath Pathwalker, her eyes blaze with an uncommon awareness of her situation. She urgently points back towards the long grass-covered tracks. She hisses, "Go! Turn it! No time!"
Pathwalker stands up, looking for what she was pointing at.
Pathwalker moves towards the tracks, looking for something that could turn...
Dreamer points again. "Go!" She makes to get up, but pauses midway up, looking at Pathwalker urgently.
Hidden, broken off in the bushes, is a switcher lever for the tracks.
>"With a creak, the track shifter moved the train off its destructive
track, and it avoided the car, and narrowly avoided ending up in the
river. Our Indian friends take off before the rail crew could thank
them, and left the Easterner wondering who it was who had saved him, because
he couldn't see any of their faces."
Pathwalker, near exhausted, helps lead Dreamer and the others back home.
Longtail grumbles, taking one last look back at the car. "I wish I coulda drove it.. he would have let me, wouldn't he?", he says as they crest the hill, going out of sight.
Pathwalker says, "Not likely after you let out all the hot air."
Dreamer quickly drops back into her usual half-aware state, crisis averted. She lets Pathwalker lead her away from the tracks, a faint limp marring her stride.
Sunrises looks back toward the train longingly, then smiles to herself and continues on her way home..
>General applause. A couple of snores. A few sighs of relief.
And the old wolf bows. "Thank you."