The Portal Of Odd

Chapter 7 Calm Before the Storm

My eyelids were closed, but my brain was refusing to rest. It was in overdrive from this adventure thus far. What human being would sleep at a time like this? I was tossing and turning on the bed, only to open my eyes in frustration, looking up at the ceiling. Then, suddenly, I arose from the bed, hearing commotion from outside. It sounded like an animal, a lot like a sheep, and there was an awful lot of them as I hear the baaing from the other end of my door. I pivoted my legs to the floor as my socks touched the large soft rug. I got up and made my way to the door, only to crack it open to glance at what was going on outside. Meeps were hopping about as the meep herder Mudokon was herding them to another pen to feed on the tall grass.

I smile and open the door all the way. I was eager to pet these critters. I have always loved animals since I was ten years old. I would give anything to pet all the animals of the world if I could—reasons why I became a dog groomer back at home. I strolled behind the Mudokon shepherd with his long wooded shepherd's hook. This Mudokon had white tribal paint, kind of like the shamans but less of them. White bands on their wrists and legs. He must have been a native Mudokon while others around the village seemed not to have these markings at all, making them Mudokon's Abe have rescued in the past.

The shepherd knew he was being followed and glanced behind him, seeing me with my arms behind my back and a smile on my face. "May I...help you?" The Mudokon paused his movements making the meeps stop as well.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to stop you from your job. I'm just fascinated by the animals you have around here."

The Mudokon clears his throat, trying to figure out what to say next. Every Mudokon in the village knew now about my presence, and the shamans must have told everyone to be respectful to me as I hear his following response. "Oh, well....These are meeps. We use them for just about everything but also treat them with respect."

He moved his hook around to have one of the meeps come close to me. I bend down, squatting to have a closer look while the one-eyed, one-legged creature bleats at me. I was about to pet it until I stopped, asking for permission from the Mudokon as I look up at him. "May I pet?"

The Mudokon nods politely. I didn't hesitate to place my hand on the meeps head, petting it and feeling the wool. "Woah. The meeps feel like sheep back on Earth." The meep shepherd tilted his head at me funnily. My only response to that was, "Never mind. May I check out the rest of your animals?"

"Go ahead. The pens are all around the village. Sadly, I cannot help guide you. I have ta move these meeps to the field." He explained, pointing his cook to the field.

"No worries." I get up from bending. "Thanks for allowing me to pet one of your meeps." I bow lightly with respect as if I was respecting a sensei master.

Even though this type of thank you might not have been their tradition, bowing was the appropriate way to say thank you. Which now that I thought of this, I never bowed to the Healer. I was mainly in awe when the shaman healed my wounds and didn't think of it at that given moment. However, I gave myself a mental note to bow to him once this is all over.

The Mudokon smiles and waves at me goodbye, replying out, "You're welcome."

I go the opposite direction, leaving the shepherd to herd his meeps while I trek around the village, casting my eyes all over. I glance over to the cave that stored The Almighty Raisin. I pause for a moment. I grew curious but shook my head soon after as my thoughts distracted me. I proceeded around, sighting more large pens of Oddworld critters. The first one that caught my eye was the elum pen. As I speed walk over to the fence, I grew more excited about what the elums would feel like; "Maybe it feels leathery, or perhaps more rubbery like a dolphin?" I thought to myself as I stop and rest my arms on the fence, seeing one sniffing the ground. Unfortunately, I didn't have any honey, which was their favorite food, to entice the elum to come close. Maybe if I presented my hand like I had something, the elum would make its way over to me? I place out my hand, forming a fist, making clicking sounds from my mouth to get the elum's attention. And sure enough, the two-legged, small-armed creature slowly made its way over to my hand. Finally, the elum was close enough for me to pet. And I was shocked to find out that it was thick skin, like petting an elephant. The horns above the eyes that look like a hammerhead's head brushed against my arm softly. The elum enjoyed the strokes on the neck that I gave it. It made a bellowing sound soon after I lifted my hand away. The elum seemed like it was upset that I had stopped.