Skeleton Mushrooms

Chapter 3, Sozo

Sozo was scared. Lamb was nice at first, then he was pushy. "So you want to stay?" Lamb smiled while he said it. Sozo nodded. He was too busy eating the mushrooms he was offered. Lamb smiled more. "Good." Sozo was offered a pile of moss to sleep in. Sozo doesn't want to sleep there though. But Lamb's smile is too threatening to ignore. Sozo reminds Sozo to sleep in the farm later. Night comes and Sozo sneaks into the garden. The air is thick and moist. The grapes have been harvested recently, Sozo notices. He curls into an empty patch of dirt and stares into the sky. The moon is full, and the stars provide peace. Sozo wishes he didn't let Lamb tell him to say he loved this place. He doesn't. He thinks this place is too loud. Yes... too loud for Sozo. The next day comes. The sun burns his eyes... He gets up and walks to the eating place. The smell of vegetables and meats almost drives him away. But he's too hungry to care. Everything here is too... Everything. Too loud too bright too scary, too many smiles. Hishead hurts from this place. But he walks up still. Sozo pushes a cat and a wolf out of the way. "Hey!" "Why did you do that!?!" The otter at the stove looks uncomfortable. Well sozo is to, so he doesn't care, he thinks. The otter coughs and says "Grand leader says you can have this." The otter hands Sozo a bowl of hot mushrooms. Sozo feels a little better. But not much. This place...is insufferable... Lamb... he promised better... Sozos head hurts. He curls into the dirt again. Air caresses him. He feels better. He crawls and starts to pick the mushrooms one by one. The sky is red. The grass is orange. The trees are mushrooms. The people are... mushrooms. The moon is back. The moon isn't free. It has no chains, but it isn't free. Sozo gets up. He walks to the moon. The moon is so... beautiful. Who could ever hurt the moon? "Lamb" he thought. Lamb would. Lamb only wants others to think he's as perfect as he thinks he is. Maybe he is perfect. Maybe the moon did something wrong. Maybe- the moon is looking at sozo again. Sozo freezes. The moon turns away. Sozo will be brave. Sozo will free the moon, and lamb will give him the mushroom people. He taps the moon on the shoulder. The moon turns and looks at him. "Do you think I can't see you if you don't move?" The moon is angry. Sozo doesn't know what to say. Sozo walks away. Maybe he will save the moon later. When it's not angry. "HEY! get back here, you weirdo!" Sozo falls on the dirt and crawls under a hops bush. The moon is too big to get him there. "Can you tell me what you're doing? I didn't- hmf. I didn't come out here to get stared at by a weirdo who doesn't even do any work!" Sozo looks at the moon before saying "You're so beautiful. You should be in the sky." The moon is silent before saying "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU-" the moon drops to the ground. Sozo worries that the moon has broken. "I don't want to be here. I don't think you do either. You're a little freak Lamb found in the woods." Sozo sits next to the moon. He's quiet. He doesn't know what the moon is even saying. "Do you want mushrooms?" Sozo asks. The moon looks at him. "I pity you. You'll probably be the next sacrifice." The moon gets up. Sozo is quiet. He gets up. He walks up the hill, to the Lamb's quarters. He walks in. Lamb is writing something, and mumbling "needs- mmm. Maybe otter with boar grease?" Sozo says "go to Anura. Find the mushroomos."  Sozo doesn't know what he's saying anymore. He knows the mushroomos will help... somehow. Lamb looks at him. "What? Sure. Whatever. *tick* go away or I'll have to punish you." Sozo walks away without saying anything. His legs that had been rejuvenated by the mushrooms now felt heavy and leaden. The world was melting again. He fell and started crawling to a dark and abandoned corner of the field. Every move he made felt like he was sinking. The ground was eating him... he wasn't going to make it. He noticed someone walking towards him. A... wolf fox? He couldn't tell. After all, their ears had become so big, they could be a rabbit. "Evh tiu vo/" The metallic scraping sound was quiet, but made their voices angelic. Sozo was...gone.