"We've been walking through this forest for hours..." Usagi whined. "And we still haven't found a village, or anyone that could help us fix our boat."
"Well, if there are any natives around here, they surely know how to hide..." Ami said. "You don't hear them, you don't see them.."
"All I know is that it's almost noon," Usagi mumbled. "I need some lunch..."
"Usagi, you can't tell me you're hungry again..." Luna sweat-dropped. "You ate two gobblegobbles this morning."
"I need much more gobblegobbles to forget the apple slices," the blonde growled.
Just then, from afar, they once again could hear the gobbling of the weird birds.
"I'll just catch one, for lunch," Usagi said with determination. "I'll even share with you, Ami..."
"All right... but hurry up, we can't waste the whole day hunting for gobblegobbles..."
"I'll be right back," Usagi shouted and disappeared behind the trees.
Luna sighed. "I better go after her..."
Ami nodded. "You do that. I'll be fine."
And Luna hurried after Usagi, while Ami sat down on a log to rest for a while.
----
Luna looked around. "Usagi? Usagi, where are you?"
"Ssshhhh," her human friend suddenly hissed from behind her. "Be quiet... there are some gobblegobbles in that tree..."
"In the TREE?"
"Of course," Usagi nodded. "They're birds, right? So that means they build nests... Wait a second, I'll show you one of my greatest hunting tricks... I'll imitate the call of my prey..."
"Be careful not to give them a shock when they hear you..." Luna grumbled.
Usagi put her hands in front of her face and shouted: "Gobblegobblegobble!"
And then, she got an answer... Coming right out of the tree in front of her, she could hear the response: "Gobblegobblegobble..."
Usagi grinned. "See? Easy as pie."
Luna shrugged, but didn't say anything.
Usagi walked in front of the tree. "Hey, come down here!"
She tried looking past the thick branches, but couldn't see anything. That annoyed her. "Ooooh, stupid bird! Come out already!" And she forcefully kicked the tree.
"WHAAAAAHHH!"
WHAM!
Blinking, Usagi and Luna looked down at the figure that was lying on the ground, in front of them.
It was a tall man with black hair, dressed in weird clothes, which included some sort of loincloth made of leather and some weird-looking shoes. He also wore a spotted bandana around his head. A single feather was attached to the bandana. Also, his face was marked with various strange symbols, which were painted on his skin with some white paint.
"That's no gobblegobble..." Usagi realized.
"No, really?"
----
Lost Boar had a really bad day.
He may be one of the strongest warriors, second only to the chief's son, and he also was a skilled hunter, true...
But he had clearly the worst sense of direction within his tribe.
He had only wanted to catch some turkeys, so he hid on top of a tree and imitated its call. But just as he had reached the tree's top... he realized he couldn't find his way back to the camp.
He had been trying to find a way back for hours now, but all the time, he only managed to get back to that same tree...
Well, since he was here, he could just as well go hunting...
He had climbed back on the tree and waited. And when he heard the cry of a turkey, he was certain that his bad luck had ended for today.
But, whoever had shouted the cry of the common wild turkey, it definitely was no turkey. It was some strange girl with very pale skin... and an even stranger hairstyle. She also had some small animal with her...
And she also was the reason why Lost Boar was lying on the ground, clutching his aching head.
----
Usagi giggled. "Look at that, Luna... A Roman, disguised as a gobblegobble."
"I don't think he's a Roman," Luna said. "His skin is somewhat dark in color... somehow reddish."
The man with the feathered bandana stood up and looked at them. He then made some gestures and said several words in a strange language.
Usagi looked at Luna. "What did he say?"
The cat shrugged. "Beats me. Perhaps he doesn't speak our language..."
----
Lost Boar quickly realized that this girl had to be an uncivilized savage... she couldn't even speak his language.
But he had to make it plain to her that he needed some help to get back to his camp. He formed a triangle with his hands, to form the picture of a tipi... but the girl just scratched her head and said something to her pet... as if animals could understand human language.
He tried it again, hoping that this time, she would get the message and lead him back.
----
"Sorry!" Usagi shook her head. "Still not comprende!"
"I think he's asking us for help," Luna speculated. "But what could he want?"
"Let's go back and ask Ami," Usagi suggested. "She's always so clever... maybe she understands him."
"Well, we should head back to her anyway..."
----
Lost Boar understood that she wanted to leave... perhaps she already knew the way? Having faith in this stranger, he decided to follow her...
----
Usagi carefully peered back over her shoulder. When the bandana-clad boy saw her, he grinned a fang-toothed grin. She shuddered and looked away.
"Somehow, he's giving me the creeps..." she murmured. "Look how he's following us anywhere... as if he had no idea where to go else."
"His clothing is kinda weird," Luna agreed. "Perhaps he's just some uncivilized savage..."
Then they came back to the clearing where they had left Ami behind.
But Ami was not there.
Usagi looked around. "Ami? Where are you?"
"Usagi, look at that!" Luna ran over to a small item that was lying on the ground, next to the log.
It was Ami's bottle with magic potion, the bottle Rei had given her back in Gaul.
----
Now it made sense... the yellow-haired girl had another friend. But now it looked like she had lost him...
Lost Boar quickly checked the forest ground and searched for possible traces. If the girl's friend had been here on the clearing, he must have created some kind of trail... and if they would follow that trail, they would also find the girl's friend.
----
"What does he want now?" Usagi asked.
"Looks like wants to show us something."
The strange man was gesturing at several footprints on the ground, still fresh in the soft soil of the forest.
"Well, those can't possibly be the footprints from Ami alone... someone else must have been here."
Usagi gasped. "You mean, someone kidnapped her?"
"I don't know... but I think our new friends is able to track them down."
"Okay, then let's hope he knows what he's doing."
She smiled at the red-skinned man. "Whoever you are... please help us find our friend, okay?"
And while he surely didn't understand her words, he must have understood what she meant, because he smiled back at her and nodded.
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(Posted Tue, 24 Oct 2006 23:07)
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