The Origins of the Kwami

Chapter 11

Plagg woke up with a start, the bright midday sunlight glaring right in his eyes. The black-haired boy groaned and rolled over, seemingly forgetting that he was in a hammock. Plagg face-planted against the rocky ground and laid there for a moment, questioning why in the world it had to be him that suffered all these misfortunes.

"I don't know, that's probably something that you'll want to ask the gods yourself." Plagg bolted to his feet, wondering who the heck could read his thoughts, when it suddenly hit him: Wayzz.

Plagg didn't know how, but over the course of the first few days, the jade-eyed boy had managed to seemingly read all of Plagg's thoughts to-a-tee. He had hoped that it would fade away after a couple of days, but that unfortunately did not seem to be happening. "Where is everybody?" Plagg asked, yawning.

"Busy, we're all getting ready for the raid."

That caught Plagg's attention. "Raid?"

Wayzz nodded. "Yeah, I came here to wake you up and ask if you wanted to come. Nooroo's got a plan to raid some rich person's house while they're out, and we're going to steal of of the person's essentials."

"I was down as soon as you said 'stealing'." Plagg joked. "But then who's going to watch Tikki at camp?" Wayzz suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

"About that ..." he trailed off. "Tikki's coming with us."

"What!" Plagg shouted.

"Look, I know it sounds bad -" Wayzz winced.

"You think?!" Plagg snapped. "She could get hurt, or killed! She might even be taken back to her father!" Panic flared up inside him. "I have to - "

Wayzz blocked his way. "Breathe, Plagg," he instructed. Plagg narrowed his eyes and ignored him. "Listen, none of us wanted Tikki to come out with us either," he told him. "It's dangerous. But Tikki is a grown woman, and is responsible for making her own decisions. She had her own reasons for her motivation, I'm sure, but she has grown stronger since you've seen her last, so don't underestimate her. Pollen said that she has learned enough from her to take down a guard."

Plagg suddenly flashed back to when Tikki had stood frozen with fear, on the day when they had first met, and on the day that he had found out who she really was. "I'll believe it when I see it," Plagg told Wayzz doubtfully. "But I still want to talk to her."

Wayzz nodded and stepped aside. "Just stay calm," he pleaded.

Plagg smirked. "What are you talking about?" He laughed. "I'm always calm." To prove so, Plagg very calmly walked to the front of the cave and calmly searched for Tikki amongst the camp.

There she was.

Her hair was up in a bun, and some strands were highlighted blood red against the sun. She was decked out in black - actually, now that he noticed, the entire team was decked out in black - and was kneeling on the ground, petting something.

Plagg calmly took a deep breath and calmly walked towards Tikki. Before he could very calmly say something, Tikki turned around and her pretty sapphire eyes landed on him. They widened comically. Plagg couldn't put his finger on what looked so different about her, and than it hit him - she was clean.

"Plagg, you're awake!" She said happily.

He forced a smile. "Yeah. Tikki, why are you -"

"Look Plagg," Tikki interrupted. "Look who came to visit!" Plagg looked down, and his eyes widened with genuine surprise.

"Maō?" He said with disbelief. Sure enough, the said lynx was right there in front of him, looking skinnier than he remembered, but still there. Plagg knelt down and automatically began stroking his ears. Though he would never admit it, Plagg suddenly realized how much he missed his cat, however annoying he was.

Maō seemed to feel the same way, because he rubbed his body against Plagg's hand, purring so hard it had to hurt. "It's been a while," Plagg told him. "You're looking skinnier. I knew you would need me to fend for you." Plagg smirked and Maō nipped his fingers.

"He must have tracked us for days," Tikki laughed. She knelt down next to Plagg and began to rub his cat. "I missed you so much, Maō!"

Plagg laughed, but then sobered quickly, even with his lynx weaving between the two teenagers, enjoying the attention. "Tikki, why are you going on this mission?" He asked.

She looked up at him with wide eyes and he continued. "Don't you know the risks? What if you get hurt, or killed? You might even get captured and taken back to the palace! I don't - " he stopped. I don't want you to get hurt.

Tikki was gazing at him with understanding eyes. "Plagg, remember what we talked about at the bonfire? About me not being able to do anything for my country?" He nodded and she continued. "As a princess, I couldn't help my people despite having the power to do so. So many things that I took for granted people don't even have ... and now I meet this gang who lives in the forest like animals, but can live like kings ad queens. But they choose to give it up for the less fortunate. That's all I've wanted to do my entire life. Plagg, I need to do this."

Tikki gazed up at him with earnest eyes, and Plagg couldn't find it in him to say 'no.' "Fine," he drawled. "But you could have spared me from that cheesy speech."

Tikki rolled her eyes. "And you stink, when was the last time you took a bath?" She asked.

Plagg had to think about it. "... I dunno," he said.

The girl looked mortified. "Eww, that's disgusting!" She cried out, backing away. "There's a river nearby, and Pollen will give you new clothes - now go away! You smell like blood, sweat, and dirt."

"A river?" Plagg repeated. "But that's wet." He cringed.

Tikki's eyes narrowed and Plagg recognized that look. It was exactly the look they had when they were living together, whenever Tikki would kick him out of his bed and force him to do something productive. "Plagg, if you don't take a bath then I swear I will bathe with you to make sure you do," she threatened.

Plagg was already nodding, having already experienced her wrath before, before he stopped. Wait, did she say ... The boy turned bright pink when her words fully sank in. Nooroo and Trixx were sitting nearby, the blond boy choking on his rice cake while the hazel-eyed girl began choking on her giggles.

Tikki looked confused. "What are you guys - " the girl suddenly gasped when she realized just what she said. "Oh my gods - I-I didn't mean it like that! I was just - you weren't - Stop laughing Trixx! You're all terrible!" Tikki's head was going to explode with the amount of blood flowing to her there, and she turned and stormed away.

Trixx stumbled after her, giggling madly, and Nooroo finally managed to clear his windpipe. He laughed when he saw Plagg's expression - he looked like he'd been smacked over the head with a brick. "You should probably take a bath," he reminded his friend.

He smirked at Plagg's dumbfounded expression. "Not with Tikki?" He asked, dazed.

"Not with Tikki," he confirmed.