The Little Shaman

Chapter 5 - Cry Face

Tibby was twirling his leaf around, waving it like a flag, and generally having as much silent fun as was possible in a tiny stone room. The silent part was key. He had no desire to get caught. Nor did he want to get his new friend Boo in trouble. 

All that said, he was bored out of his mind. How could anyone stand being cramped in a space like Boo's room for longer than a few minutes? With only a tiny window near the ceiling to let in the outside light? The small lamp didn't feel the same as a roaring fireplace or starry, moonlit sky.

"Will you please try to relax?" Deemo asked, agitation in her voice. "We don't know how long Boo's going to take, or what kind of information he's going to bring back. We might have to make our move as soon as he returns, so you better save your strength."

"I'm barely doing anything, though," Tibby said, curling up the leaf and stowing it in his pack.

Eyeing him in frustration, Deemo lowered her head. "You spent the past ten minutes bouncing on your tail and doing flips in the air."

"So?"

Shaking her head, Deemo waved her hand and flew to sit on the edge of the tall basket. As Tibby watched her flit away, he realized something wasn't right. Her glow was a little brighter than normal, I sign that there was definitely something wrong with his friend. Sitting with her legs arched and hands wrapped around her knees, she stared off towards the wall.

Waddling over calmly, Tibby sat against the wall and smiled at her, hoping it would cheer her up.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked before turning away.

That was not the reaction he was hoping for. "What's wrong Deemo?"

"Nothing."

"I think you're lying," he said, still trying to keep smiling.

"I think you're annoying."

Eyes lighting up, Tibby clapped. "Wait is this a new game? Okay, um, I think you're not as angry as you always pretend to be. Boom!"

Laughing quietly to herself, Deemo turned around to face him again, her orange face finally displaying a hint of a smile. "Tibby, your innocent mind is too precious for this world."

Eyes scrunched, Tibby scratched his head. "I hope that's a good thing."

"It is," she responded softly.

After a few minutes of silence, Tibby leaned forward with his hands in his lap, head tilted to the side. "So...what's wrong?"

Looking down and rubbing her legs, Deemo sighed. "I really don't like being stuck in here."

"Oh, is that all?" Tibby asked. "I hate it too. It's cold and boring."

"It's not just that. It's these walls. The humans who think they can get away with treating people like this. It makes me sick. And...sad."

Sad was a feeling Tibby could understand. His urge to cry hadn't gone away. In fact, it kept getting worse. Moving around, playing with the leaf, and talking were the only things keeping him from dissolving into a pool of tears. But it seemed different for Deemo.

"I was trapped in a place like this once when I was very, very young," Deemo began, her eyes looking up at the ceiling as she spoke. "I was taken away from my family by a cruel old human. He put me in a jar in his stone house, a jar with little holes and pieces of fruit he would shove in to feed me. Whenever he needed light, he would...he would shake the jar and get me all angry. It was like that for months until I figured out how to use magic and escape."

Tiny tears slowly streamed from Deemo's eyes. Tibby was crying too, feeling sad for his friend and for his own situation.

"I'm sorry Deemo. I didn't know that."