Pucca: The night I first Met You

The storm

It was a cold stormy night in Sooga Village. Three drenched, shadowy figures hustled through the lonely streets. They desperately looked for a warm dry place to sleep. It has always been a hard life, especially when it rains. Food was not easy to find either. The group was famished from a long day of finding no food at all.

Chief called out over the angry screaming of the storm. "Over here. There's an empty shed." The storm almost drowned out her voice entirely.

Shaman raised his weary head and looked over to his fallen friend.

Clown injured his leg earlier from trying to escape from Policeman Bruce when the group attempted to steal some food. The violent wind's force kept pushing the disadvantaged, little clown into the mud.

Shaman lent him his outstretched hand and gently picked him up. Chief rushed over and lifted Clown's other free arm. Together they bared the unforgiving weather, both supporting each side of Clown.

Chief tried to keep her balance, but the wind easily made her slip to the ground. Clown kept slipping too. Shaman was the only one able to fight the storm. He pushed forward with his large form keeping hold of the clinging Clown's hand. Gritting his teeth, he braced against the wind and stood his ground.

The wind slowly slid Chief and Clown behind him; shielding them from the powerful stinging rain. Chief closed her eyes and covered her face with a free arm.

Water and slippery mud came up to their ankles. Goosebumps formed along their arms.

Their clothes clung tightly to their sodden bodies.

Shaman squinted in the blinding storm towards the shed. And he marched…

After five minutes they eventually reached the entrance. Shaman made a mad dash inside, glad to finally be in a calmer environment. The shed had a lot of holes, leaking a lot of water out of the roof. The floor was wet all over and it was still extremely chilly inside.

Though, none of the party cared. Compared to the storm, this small shed was a way better place to stay.

Shaman let go of Clown, stumbled to a corner, and sunk against the wall to rest.

Clown breathed out a sigh. His legs wobbled when he tried to walk. He immediately fell over twitching. He sniffed and rubbed his good leg, not daring to move the other one.

Clown started shivering furiously along with the rest of the group.

The rain pounded on the roof. The shed muffled most of the angry storm sounds.

"Shaman?" Chief called softly. Shaman opened one eye and looked over at her.

"Thanks for getting us here. We wouldn't have gotten here without you." Shaman nodded, looking annoyed that she woke him up just to tell him that. Still, he appreciated when he got praise from her.

Chief looked worryingly at Clown. "Does your leg hurt a lot?"

"No, but it would if I moved it… I'm exhausted…eh..." "Me too," she moaned, sinking to the ground.

She looked out the window anxiously at the huge sheet of rain, blocking the outside from view. "Do you think there'll be a flood?"

"Nah," Shaman states. Clown whimpers "But, what if there is…?"

"We can swim to safety." "Eh! But, I can't swim," he began with twitching spasms.

"I'm freezing," Chief mutters. "Come on you two, if we huddle together, we'll be less cold." Chief crouched next to Clown so he wouldn't have to walk to her on his leg.

Shaman walked steadily over to them and wrapped his arms around all of them.

Their shivering finally stopped after long minutes of taking in the heat of each other.

Clown went to sleep easily with a smile splayed across his face, snuggling his face up to them. Chief and Shaman remained awake; both having trouble sleeping when storms arrive.

Chief hated the rain, including the loud bullet strikes the rain produced on the rooftops. Chief closed her eyes almost drifting to a sleep until she was abruptly awakened by roaring thunder.

Chief did the thing she always did when she couldn't sleep. She pulled out a tiny picture of Tobe and stared at it for hours. She squinted in the dim light, daydreaming of the loving future she hoped to have with Tobe.

She sighed, smiling dreamily, "What do you think he's doing right now?"

"Probably sleeping..." "I would love to see that. I bet he looks adorable." She blushed at the photo, pulling it close to her face, and kissed the picture.

"Isn't he adorable?" She beamed. "…yeah sure… I'm not a girl…" Shaman rubbed his head uncomfortably. "It's so warm in here now, thanks to our little group hug." "Yeah."

There was a long silence and both finally gave up trying to make conversation. She didn't find Shaman much fun to talk to. He didn't understand how wonderful Tobe was. Shaman was way more talkative with Clown who had almost the same interests as him. They were the best of friends and did things together all the time. While she was more like their boss, they were buddies.

Chief knew they loved her a great deal. They all felt a loving bond between them. They thought of her as the dominate big sister even though she was the youngest. She thought of Shaman and Clown as very close brothers though they were not related by blood. Chief knew she was very bossy all the time, but they didn't seem to mind. Clown never wanted to be a leader; he was much happier being a follower. Shaman was very mellow with her ordering him. He was very used to it and couldn't decide what he really wanted to do anyway.

Chief closed her eyes; trying to drift off to sleep and thinking of Tobe. She hoped she

would dream of him…