CHAPTER 2 (2nd tentative)

Tim’s eyes were shut tight as he braced for impact; an impact that was taking a lifetime to happen. He slowly opened his eyes and all he could see was purple patterns of waves all around him. It was as if he was swimming around in a great pool of grape jello, minus the sliminess but ten times the cold. He looked around for Fawna and Kiana but could not see them; he could only see outlines of what he assumed to be them. But he could, however, feel their arms around him. He could also tell they both had their eyes shut, no doubt bracing for the same impact he was.

Did the three of them die? Is this what people see just after death, flashes of purple on their way to some unknown destination? Death is strange and quite unlike Tim thought it would be like. Tim wondered if the trip to death would be much longer, as his eyes began to close again. His eyes did not get to shut all the way, however, for a not a moment later the purple ended and all he could now see was the stars and tree tops falling away from him.

–– SPLOOSH ––

The next thing Tim knew, he was surrounded by water. He was a horrible swimmer so he knew he had to get out as fast as possible. He grabbed for anything that he could possibly pull himself out with. He found nothing but air. Actually he wasn’t in deep at all. All he had to do was sit upright and he’d be fine. They had fallen a few feet into a very shallow stream of water it seemed. Tim searched his face to check and see if his glasses were still in tact and attached to his face. They were but he quickly came to his senses and realized that was the last thing he should be thinking about at the moment. He quickly whipped around to see where the other two in his party was. It was dark save for some very bright moon light trying to peek through very thick and very tall trees. He made out a figure laying face down in the water not far from him.

“Kiana? KIANA!” screamed TIM as he frantically slipped and slid his way through the water to Kiana. Tim was about a foot away from her when she lifted her head from water and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

“Tim, did you try this water?”

“What the hell are you doing drinking this stuff? It’s dirt….” Tim started to say but as he opened his mouth some of the stream water made it’s way in from the top of his lip. This was no ordinary river water. He thought it tasted a little like lemon-lime drink with a splash of blueberry; not at all what disgusting river water should taste like. Just then, Tim heard giggling coming from behind Kiana a few feet away. Fawna was laying flat on her back in the stream madly laughing and splashing her hands in the water. Both Tim and Kiana got up and walked over to her; Kiana intrigued, Tim confused.

“You ok?” Tim asked Fawna, who had now sat straight up and was drinking the stream water from her cupped hands.

“Oh, I’m quite alright. In fact I couldn’t be better at the moment. We made it back.”

“Back to where?”

“To the Southern Woods of course.” she answered as if she expected Tim to know exactly where they were.

“Ok. Um, where are the Southern Woods?”

The look on Fawna’s face suggested the sense suddenly rushed back into her head as she stood up and took Tim’s chubby face in her hands, which caused more drops of sweet water to run into his mouth.

“Oh of course you don’t know this place. I’ve brought you back to my home. Tim, Kiana, welcome to Bravadia!”

“Brava….”

Before Tim could finish his word, Fawna had yanked him out of the stream of water by his arm, nearly swinging him into the trunk of a nearby tree as she ran to hug it. She then did the most peculiar thing; what Tim thought was a motion to kiss the tree was actually a bite. Kiana had run up behind Tim just in time to witness it.

“Tim, is she eating…”

“Yeah, I think she is.”

Fawna was indeed chewing away at the bark of the very tree she had been holding. She then tore off large chunks of it and brought them over to the pair, who were still staring in disbelief at her actions.

“Ow rube ob…” She gulped down the bit she had in her mouth. “I mean to say, how rude of me. Would you two like some?”

She offered the chunks of bark to Tim and Kiana. Tim was reluctant to take the offering but Kiana quickly and very excitedly took it from her hands. She stared at Tim a moment before bringing the bark to her lips and taking a small nibble. She stared back up at Tim, now with big, bulging eyes that seemed to indicate it being better than expected. She began gleefully taking large bites out of the brown shards of tree.

Could this really be any good? If the stream water could be drinkable, this could possibly be edible, Tim thought as he chewed off a small mouthful of wood. To his delight it was actually quite tasty. He had never tried it before so he didn't know for sure but it tasted like what he always thought Chocolate Bacon would be like. It kind of looked like it as well.

“It’s wonderful isn’t? Nearly everything in these woods is safe to eat, save for a few things here and there. But no creature living out here would ever want for food.” Fawna said, as she wiped the access bark crumbs off her hands on her wonderfully dingy pink dress.

"Look up you guys. Look at the stars and the moons. Aren’t they absolutely beautiful?” asked Fawna.

Tim looked up and realized there were two moons. He also realized something he hadn’t until just now. When they left Clifftop, or disappeared rather, it had been quite light out and now it was suspiciously dark. It was as if time had suddenly jumped ahead 5 hours. He had thought of asking Kiana what she thought of the change in time but she seemed too busy eating tree at moment to care about anything else.

In fact his mind had suddenly started to race with questions. How did they get here? And why were there suddenly two moons? Before he could think of anything further, Fawna had broken his train of thought.

“Well, we had better get a move on. We can get home by daybreak. Yes, I know exactly where we are.” Fawna was on the move. Tim thought it best to follow her. He didn’t want to even think about being lost in a place like this.

As he started after her he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was the bag of kimchee laying inches away from him. It somehow made it’s way there without Tim noticing. He thought he might as well bring it with them. He didn’t know what else they had to eat in this place and didn’t think he’d be able to survive on sweet stream water and chocolate bacon bark alone. He also didn’t think it wise to litter.

As he picked up the bag he noticed a change in weight in the bag from earlier. He checked the contents of the bag to discover one jar was missing. He figured it must’ve fell out on the journey over. It also hit him that he shouldn’t dwell on this too much as he may lose sight of Fawna. As it was, he was just able to see the back of her drifting thoughtlessly through the forest without them a ways ahead. He took the bag and darted after her with Kiana in tow, who was just finishing the last of her tree bark.

They walked through that forest for what seemed like hours. He wanted to ask Fawna everything he had on his mind but she was far ahead of them skipping most of the way. He thought about running up to her and bombarding her with questions but was much too tired and hungry to do anything as strenuous as that. He could have sworn on more than one occasion he saw her hovering which, he guessed was nothing to be surprised about considering who they were traveling with. He thought it best to save any questions for later, when he was in a far better situation to do so.

On their way they were greeted with many strange sounds. But these weren’t the normal hoots and howls associated with the forest Tim and Kiana were familiar with. In fact, Tim had thought he heard a whistle, but not of the bird kind. It was more of the tin variety, the kind of sound that made Tim think of recess when the teacher would blow a whistle out on the yard when it was time to go back to class. The thought of it sent a shiver down his spine.

But what was even stranger than the sounds were the some of the sights they encountered. They past a through a series of rather large bushes, each with what seemed like naturally formed archways designed especially for people to pass through. Just on the other side of these bushes they encountered a cluster of little blue lights floating in the night air. There seemed to be hundreds of them, if not thousands.

“Tim look! Are those fireflies?” asked an excited Kiana. “Mama always told me about them when I was little.”

“You’re still little.” Tim said as he moved in for a closer look.

“But I don’t think these are fireflies.” He was correct. These weren’t normal insects; in fact these weren’t insects at all. As he got nearer he noticed that they had tiny beaks and feathers. They were actually miniscule birds. Smaller then the average hummingbird but much larger than the biggest bumblebee. But the thing that made them most peculiar was their brilliantly glowing undersides. The lower halves of their bodies, from the chest down, were beaming a magnificent shade of blue-green sheen. The light of which was bathing Tim’s pudgy cheeks in luminescence.

“Oh, I’ve seen you’ve drawn them out. Friendly little buggers. Go on Tim, lean in closer.” Fawna said as she stood there watching the interaction.

“Why?” Tim asked suspiciously.

“Just try it. Go on then.”

He wondered how he could get much closer than he already was but he did what she said anyway. As he drew closer to the small creature, it too flew in nearer to Tim. It looked as though it was inspecting him, sniffing him out. Then all of a sudden, it swiftly jabbed its beak into Tim’s soft cheek.

“Ow! It pecked me.”

“It’s a kiss,” explained Fawna. “Isn’t it wonderful? It’s what they’re known for you know. We call them kissers because of it. Well, that’s what I call them at least.”

As Tim moved away from the kisser, it flew even closer and pecked him again.

“Ow, quit it!” said an annoyed Tim.

Then, the kisser quickly turned its head toward the other members of his flock as if to signal something to them. Before he knew it, the tiny creatures were swarming Tim, each trying to get in a kiss of their own.

“Hey! Stop… Ow! Fawna! Help!” pleaded Tim.

Tim tried as best he could to swat them away but to no avail. They dodged each and every swipe.

“Get these things….off….of me!”

“Oh Tim, just stand still. They’re only trying to greet you.”

Tim continued running around in circles, swinging his arms wildly in an attempt to stop their attack. The kissers followed his every step. He looked like an over grown blue lantern dancing a jig. The sight of which made Kiana giggle madly.

After a few more seconds of this the birds seemed to have their fill of greetings and suddenly stopped and resumed their normal hovering. Tim stood their looking pathetic; his hair a mess, his clothes even messier. Kiana could not stop giggling. In fact, this seemed to attract the glowing birds as they now were flocking toward her ready to give her a greeting of her own. As soon as she noticed this, Kiana stopped laughing immediately. At first, she seemed to have the inclination to run away but stood her ground as the animals swarmed around her, giving her their normal hello.

She winced, bracing for the pain that Tim had experienced but, to her surprise, it never came. In fact she found the pecking to be kind of ticklish.

“Tim, this doesn’t hurt you big baby,” claimed Kiana as she stuck out a cheek to kissed. Fawna tried to stifle laughs through cupped hands over her mouth but failed to do so as it was clearly audible to Tim who was now standing there with arms folded, frowning.

“How come they aren’t attacking you?” Tim asked Fawna.

“Oh, I am quite acquainted with most of the occupants of these woods,” she answered. “Although, I don’t specifically remember these fellows, I’m quite sure we’ve run into each other at some moment in the past.”

With a roll of the eyes, Tim straightened his clothes and hair as best he could and walked toward Fawna and Kiana, swatting at any kissers in his way.

“Aren’t we supposed to be going somewhere?” Tim said with a little snark as he strode past them.

“Um, yes. We should be going actually. Come Kiana,” said Fawna. And she stole a kiss from a kisser before ushering herself and Kiana after Tim.

It was nearly morning as could be told by the reddish tint of the sky and the rays of sunlight trying to push its way through the thick, abnormally large tress.

Kiana gave a great, big yawn, which prompted Tim to let go a yawn of his own. They had been walking, without rest, for most of the night and they were both dead tired. Also, as expected, that chocolate bark hadn’t been enough to sustain their hunger. They had missed their dinnertime and both of their stomachs were now growling, showing their displeasure at not being fed by their owners.

“When are we gonna get there Tim?” Kiana asked tugging on Tim’s sweatshirt.

“Good question. Hey, Fawna,” Tim yelled out to their guide, who was still gleefully striding along yards ahead of them, showing absolutely no signs of fatigue. “When are we gonna get there? We’re kinda tired and hungry,” Tim and Kiana stood there looking pitiful as can be, both fighting to keep there eyelids open and clutching their stomachs. Fawna stopped in her tracks. She turned around and nearly glided to their position.

“What’s wrong? You two look positively –––“

“What’s wrong? We’ve been walking for hours and it’s way past Kiana’s bedtime,”

“Yours too, Tim,” injected Kiana, who didn’t want it to seem like Tim was asking for her benefit only.

“Well, you’re in luck. It’s just beyond those trees,” Fawna pointed towards two very large trees, larger then any of the ones they encountered on the way there. Tim looked up and adjusted his eyes so he could see what she was referring to better. He saw the two trees whose trunks were independent of each other but were intertwined in the middle, as if the two trees were lovers, stuck in a loving embrace over a river that their feet couldn’t quite cross. But he did not particularly care about peculiar trees at this point. All he wanted to do was have a rest and to have something to eat and he was sure Kiana wanted the same as well, by the looks of her.

“Okay, let’s go,” said Tim. He gave a reassuring pat on Kiana’s back and the three of them walked on. As they past under the tree trunks, they were greeted by a wondrous sight. They had entered a fruit patch of some sort, filled with great, big, bulbous fruits of the deepest, brightest red Tim and Kiana had ever seen. Each one of them was gloriously glimmering in the morning sun. They were the size and shape of bowling balls and had the appearance of gigantic cherries, each growing on stems protruding from the soil so thin, Tim wondered how they were able to support the weight of the fruits he was sure weighed much more than they could handle. Tim looked out over the sea of red to see where the patch had concluded but could not see an end to it. Fawna flew into the middle of it all.

“Surprise! Breakfast!” She broke off two of the red wonders and tossed them at Tim and Kiana. They caught them but weren’t quite sure what to do with them. They looked at Fawna for an answer. She looked back and said...

“Go on, take a bite and let me know if you’ve ever tasted anything sweeter in your entire life,”

Tim and Kiana looked at each other before taking enormous bites out of the fruit they held in their hands. Kiana looked back at Tim with eyes much bigger then when she had that first bite of bark. It was indeed the sweetest thing Tim had ever tried in his short eleven years of life. It definitely had the sweetness of a cherry ten times over, but also harbored a bit of the sourness and taste of a lime. And he thought, though he wasn’t quite sure, he tasted a hint of blood orange, the kind his mother would sometimes stock up on in the summertime. Tim emptied the contents of his plastic bag and laid it down under Kiana and they both sat back against nearby bushes, much softer than they expected them to be, and continued to demolish their newfound favorite food, mouths covered in sweet, scarlet fruit juice. Tim half wished he had a napkin to wipe off the juice dripping down from his chin, but then he wouldn’t be able to get every last drop, so he just scooped the excess nectar from his chin back into his mouth. Kiana just let the liquid flow on down to her overalls. She was too into eating to care about the mess she was creating on herself. Tim looked at the jar of kimchee that lay next to him and almost thought of opening it to have as a side to the fruit but upon further thought came to the conclusion that that would not be the best of ideas. Fawna was fussing with fruits over near the middle of the patch, tossing fruits here and there; some too ripe and some not quite ripe enough for her liking. When she found just the right one to meet her standards, she leapt over a bushel of them to meet Tim and Kiana over by the bushes and joined them on the ground.

“This is so good. What are these called?” Tim asked as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

“They’re called (create name),” said Fawna as she was devouring her own. “My favorite part is the pit.”

“The pit? Why’s that?”

“Oh, it contains juice just as sweet, if not sweeter than the actual (kjhsdg). The tough part though is….is…opening….it. Darn this thing!” she said as she gnawed away. She had reached the middle and what remained was a seed the size of a lemon. Tim had also reached the pit and tried to bite it open himself.

“Owww!” Tim screamed out in pain as he bit down on the seed. He wondered how anyone was able to ever find out about the juice in the middle as he had nearly broken his tooth on its rock hard shell. Kiana, who had finally reached the middle herself looked at the hard time her two companions had trying to reach this juice and thought it best to not even try. She had her fill and was full enough.

Kiana tossed the pit over her shoulder into the bushes behind her, but not a second later it had fallen right back into her lap and rolled onto the ground. It was if it had hit a great, big invisible wall. The bushes then started to rustle madly. Fawna, who was still chewing away at her own pit, looked at Kiana’s seed as it rolled away from them. She then turned her head to the bushes realizing something. She stood up slowly and saw something frightful. Two angry, massive glowing red eyes were staring right back into her much smaller, beautiful green ones.

“Tim…” Fawna began. “You see that opening in the hedge way over there, beyond the (gkjgkjhs) patch?” She pointed her finger over to the location she was speaking of not once taking her eyes off of the bushes. Tim’s eyes followed her hand over to a perfectly cut out exit in the middle of the hedge walls surrounding the patch.

“Yeah,” answered Tim as he placed the kimchee back in its bag getting ready to depart.

“I want you to grab Kiana and run towards it and very well through it, not stopping for any reason,” she said in a near whisper.

“But wh ––“

“NOW, RUN!”

Just then, an enormous beast sprang out from beyond the bushes and landed in front of them, blocking any path of escape, and knocking Fawna to the ground. The ferocious animal then turned to face Tim and Kiana and gave a blood-curdling roar so loud, it shook the leaves of the bushes and trees around them and even caused a few of the (dfghj) to fall off their stems. Tim and Kiana let out a terrified scream of their own. It backed Tim and Kiana into a nearby tree, growling and baring it’s sharp, terrifying teeth at them. Tim quickly pushed Kiana behind him and tried his best to shield her from danger. They knew not what else to do but stand there quiet, terror etched upon their faces. Kiana wanted to cry but kept it in, but a tear did manage to escape, running slowly down her cheek.

Fawna hoisted herself up from the ground and rushed toward a nearby (hdkjhd). She plucked it and turned around just in time to see the monster get into a pouncing position, no doubt getting ready to attack her defenseless friends.

“NO!” Fawna screamed as she threw the large, red fruit at the beast’s head with all of her might. The monster turned toward her just in time to catch the fruit in eye, which had burst all across its face, showering it in red, sticky juice.

“Come at me!” she yelled at it as she flew back the other way, towards the forest in the hopes that it would follow. And it did. Fawna noticed that Tim and Kiana were still standing there watching the chase.

“RUN YOU TWO, RUN NOW!” she yelled back at them.

Tim came to his senses. Bag in hand, he quickly grabbed Kiana and they ran as fast as their little legs could carry them, toward the exit. The massive animal suddenly stopped in its tracks as though he just seemed to realize that the boy and the girl would make for better sport. He turned and darted back in their direction. It quickly latched on and climbed one of the intertwined lovers trees all the way to a humongous branch that spanned as far as the length of the patch and well past the exit. Tim looked above his head to see the creature swinging along the under side of the branch like a large, mad monkey, almost directly above them and he was catching up fast.

Tim’s heart was racing; sweat pouring from his every pore. He knew he wouldn’t be able to out run the beast but he tried his best anyway, picking up his pace as best he could. The animal had reached their position and jumped down to land just in front of them, right before the exit to the hedge. Tim shielded Kiana once again. The creature raised its paw full of sharp claws, ready to swipe at them. Tim held Kiana tightly against his chubby body and braced for the attack. Being bigger than she was, in more ways than one, he figured his body would act as a barrier strong enough to prevent Kiana’s death, even if it meant not preventing his own. But the attack never came.

In a flash, Fawna streaked past them, smashing her own body into the beasts; the force knocking them both through the bushes and out into the open grassy field beyond the (gkjhpiu) patch. The monster landed flat on his back with Fawna stretched upon his belly. As soon as she realized what position she was in, Fawna quickly rolled off of the creature. The critter jumped to its feet and let out a couple of warning barks toward Fawna.

Tim saw this and ran to help, but not before grabbing a two (dfhkjh). Kiana got the idea and grabbed one of her own and followed suit. They reached the beasts position just as he was about to pounce onto Fawna. Tim tossed the large, bulbous fruit at the monster and Kiana did not hesitate to follow. Tim’s attacks caught the ferocious beast square in the face and chest but Kiana’s did not quite reach their intended target, landing in tact, instead, at its feet.

The creature was no doubt tiring of the endless juice baths he kept receiving. Tim He quickly shook what he could off of his mane and began after the pair, but Fawna would have none of it. She jumped onto its back, pulling handfuls of fur where she could find it and tugging violently at it’s over sized ears.

“What are you waiting for? GO!” she screamed at Tim and Kiana as the beast clawed fervently at its back trying to find the source of his discomfort. Tim hesitated for a moment as if he was trying to find a better way to help. When he couldn’t think of one, he waved at Kiana to follow him, but she just stood there with frustration on her face, watching the fight, wanting to help.

“Let’s go!” pleaded Tim but Kiana would not move; her eyes were fixated on the two where ever they move. Tim had no other choice but to stay near and watch the debacle himself. The creature swiped and swiped as if trying to scratch an itch on its shoulder blade but Fawna evaded its paws and tugged even harder. It danced and bucked towards the middle of the field trying so hard to throw the nuisance off, to no avail. Finally, it stood up on its hind legs and fell backwards, hoping to squash the bug on its back with its weight. Fawna knew what his plan was and jumped off just before impact. The mammal quickly squirmed its way back up to all fours to find Fawna also on all fours growling at him. The positioning of the two reminded Tim of two cats in mortal combat, but he thought it crazy of Fawna to take that stance against it. She would surely lose, he thought.

The monster again, stood on its hind legs and raised its arms high in the air showing its full height in an attempt to scare the small creature before him. But Fawna stood her ground, trying to grow like an animal ten times her size, the sound of which Tim found incredibly cute and not terrifying at all. The massive hulk of fur then lunged at Fawna, but she quickly dodged his attack and took to the air around it, circling the creature and creating a whirlwind of grass and dirt and weak stemmed flowers. The beast squinted as he was being showered with annoying dirt and endless amounts of green from every angle as it stood in the middle of it all. Fawna cried out to Tim at every pass she made in front of them.

“Why…..wait…..go……now…” were the only words Tim could make out as she spun madly round and round the beast. Tim didn’t quite know which direction to run but he figured he should go in any direction away from the ruckus. He picked up Kiana like he would a skateboard and ran about three feet before tripping on a combination of long shoelaces and grass wet with morning due. The two fell with a thud. Tim tried to get back up and running again but a horrible sight made his heart leap into his throat. He looked back just in time to see Fawna violently swatted down in mid-flight by an enormous brown paw. Fawna slammed into the ground, stomach first.

“Fawna!” squeaked Kiana, who lay next to Tim. Tim got up and darted toward his fallen comrade. Fawna slowly moved her head up and looked at him running toward her. She outstretched her arm toward Tim and tried to will herself to stand. She would have surely made it to her feet had the same large brown paw that swatted her down not stepped on her back, keeping her down. The massive creature roared at Tim, warning him to stay away. Not knowing what else to do, Tim took the bag of kimchee and swung it at the monster in frustration. The hard glass jar caught the beast on the side of the head then fell to the ground with a thud. It did not seem to phase it.

“LEAVE HER ALONE! COME ON! COME GET ME!” Tim yelled. The animal ignored him and looked down to admire his trophy. It then lowered its head, opened its mouth and chomped down on Fawnas unconscious body. Thick, red fluid was now dripping from its mouth to the ground.

“FAWNA!!!” Tim and Kiana screamed in tandem. Kiana began to cry uncontrollably. Tim looked at the beast in horror.

It can’t be! Was she really dead? Why wasn’t there something else I could’ve done to help? Why couldn’t I be braver? Throwing kimchee? What was I thinking? These were all thoughts that were now tormenting Tim as his eyes were fixated on the small figure that lay in the beast’s mouth. He wished he could’ve wrestled the creature with his bare hands.

Then, it looked up. Its angry red eyes were now pointing in the direction of the chubby boy and his small friend. It started to move toward them, Fawna’s lifeless body in its mouth. Tim met its eyes and thought of how much he would like to see a branch protrude from one of them. That’s what I’ll do, he thought. He’d stick him in the eye the first moment he had. A thought that came much too late but had come none the less. He looked around him and grabbed a stick that lay near him and gripped it tightly, ready for the approaching monster as it neared closer and closer to him. With every step the creature took toward him, the higher Tim raised his stick, ready to attack. The monster quickened its pace. Before he knew it Tim was nearly face to face with it. Now was the time to strike, he thought. Fawna and her killer were mere feet away from Tim. He wasn’t able to save her but he could surely avenge her. The creature wasn’t approaching as aggressively as it had been but Tim did not care at this point. He ignored the terror that was now surging through his body. He closed his eyes and drew back his arm ready to stab the murderer in the eye. Just at the point of release, though, he heard a familiar giggle.

It couldn’t be.

He opened his eyes to find Fawna now howling with laughter while sat in the mouth of the beast. She then opened her eyes and looked up at Tim.

“Wasn’t that fun?” she said to a bewildered Tim.

The big creature, now quite docile, opened his mouth and Fawna dropped to her feet right out in front of Tim which caused him fall back in amazement.

How could she have survived that? What was all this?

Just then, Kiana sprinted toward Fawna, arms wide open and tears of joy pouring from her eyes staining her small, precious cheeks. Fawna picked her up in her arms and they shared a loving embrace.

“F-Fawna! I…I thought you were dead,”

“Dead? Don’t be silly. It’ll take more then this big fool to take me down,”

She lowered Kiana and turned to the furry animal that stand next to her and patted it hard on it’s neck.

“Tim, Kiana, I’d like you to meet a friend of mine.”

It took a step toward the two. Kiana recoiled a bit and gave out a small but sharp squeak, still not able to fully trust it. Tim quickly jumped up from his position on he ground, ready to grab Kiana and run if he had to. The creature then sat on his behind with a giant thud, slightly shaking the ground around them. A gesture to show it meant no harm. Fawna gave him a strong scratch behind the ear before introducing him.

“This is Ersineous.”

It shook its head in such a way that Tim was sure was nothing other than a greeting. It then raised its paw, which made Tim grab Kiana closer to him. The last time it raised its paw at them was to deliver a killing blow and Tim still had that image engraved in his head. Fawna noticed them draw back.

“Oh no, he just wants to shake hands. Go on then, grab it and give it a great big rub,” she assured them. Tim and Kiana looked at each other in confusion before slowly extending their arms out. They each gave the furry paw a quick pat before pulling their arms away. Fawna now moved to stand directly before Ersineous.

“Now that was one of our better tussles, wasn’t it then,” she said to Ersineous whom then made a sound similar to a laugh. He seemed very proud of himself until Fawna smacked him on the nose.

“And just what are you smirking about? You were much too aggressive towards my guests,” she scolded him, now pointing a finger in his face.

“They aren’t used to how rough you play and you go and raise a hand at them! Unacceptable. Now go on then, apologize!” she demanded with folded arms and a stern look on her face. Ersineous then got up and took a couple of steps closer to Tim and Kiana and bowed his head low down to the ground and rubbed his head on the grass below. And he kept rubbing as if he was scratching an itch on the top of his head. In fact he continued rubbing his head for an abnormally long amount of time. So long, Tim didn’t know what to do. He looked to Fawna fro advice.

“You have to pat him on the head, to show that you forgive him,” Tim did as she said yet he still did not move from his position.

“Both of you,” said Fawna and Kiana did the same. The great beast then raised his head and sat back down on his backside and looked to Fawna for approval.

“Very good Ersineous. Be more careful next time. Not every one is as sturdy as I am,” She hugged him around the neck. Now that introductions were over Tim thought now was the time to ask some questions.

“Um Fawna, what is this?”

“Excuse me Tim?” she asked as she stepped up to him, taking off her glove and running her hand though his mussed hair, fixing it. He almost lost his train of thought.

“Your… this thing, almost killed us. A-and you, running,” he pointed back and forth between Ersineous and Fawna, not knowing exactly what to say or ask.

“Oh that? That was just a game we play. He got me good this time. I usually win but not today. He got the better of me,”

“Game?”

“And I thought since you were two were here I’d include you in some way. I didn’t want to hog the fun. I do apologize for his behavior though,”

“Fun?”

“I hope he didn’t scare you too much.”

“I wasn’t scared. Maybe Tim was, but I wasn’t,” Kiana chimed in as she wiped away the tears and gathered the courage to walk up to Ersineous. She rubbed his neck and he nudged his head into Kiana, almost knocking her over as she giggled, the fur no doubt tickling her face.

“But, but, you’re bleeding,” Tim said, pointing to Fawna’s dingy pink dress, now stained red.

Fawna laughed before saying, “Oh this? This is just (akjasdhas) juice,” she almost stopped there but continued when she noticed the confused look on Tim’s face.

“Remember you tossed those (asdkjhsad) at Ersineous and Kiana’s missed? Well, amongst all the chaos I picked it up and hid it under my shirt and Ersineous crushed it when he held me in his mouth thus covering me brilliantly in juice,” Fawna looked down to admire her work. “Quite clever of me. This were last minute too,” she said while jabbing an elbow into Tim’s stomach.

Tim started to say something but he thought it best to calm down and let his heart get back to a normal rhythm instead of attempting to make her explain her strange actions.

“You aren’t too cross with me, are you Tim?” asked Fawna. Now that he thought about he did feel some contempt toward her. He actually thought he and Kiana were going to die for a moment but it was all a game to her. He turned away from her without answering.

“Aww, Tim, you are mad at me,” she said as she threw her arms around him and buried her face in the valley between his neck and shoulder. Was this her way of dealing with everything, he thought? Hugging problems away? Luckily Tim was weak for female affection.

“It’s…it’s alright,” he said as he awkwardly patted her on the back.

“Tim, come feel him. He feels like a big-o pillow,” Kiana called out to Tim.

Fawna let go of him. Although he neglected to go and feel Ersineous, now that all the commotion died down he did take a moment to stand back and look at the creature. All the fear he experienced previously caused him to only see a giant blur of fur and claws and sharp teeth. But, only now that he had a chance to fully calm down and see him did he notice how cute he actually was.

“He looks like a big Koala,” exclaimed Kiana.

And indeed it did. It had the head of one but with a much larger mouth and ears. Not that Tim had ever come across an actual koala to make a fair comparison of its features but they were definitely bigger than any picture or video he had ever seen of the animal. Its big brown body was as large as a small car and it’s hind legs and feet were the shape of an elephants with four large claws in place of the smooth, rounded nails they usually had. They were also as shaggy as what he imagined wooly mammoths feet to have been like. His eyes landed upon Ersineous’s left eye which was surrounded by a patch of black fur, not unlike one you’d find on your common Dalmatian. . It was a magnificent creature. The two stared at each other for moment before Fawna broke the silence.

“Come Tim, give him a scratch,”

“Yeah, unless you’re scaaaarrreeeed!” taunted Kiana. Not wanting to back down to a challenge put forth by a seven-year old girl, he stepped gingerly toward Ersineous who in turn took a half step toward Tim. He slowly reached out his hand toward Ersineous and scratched him on the left side of the head near his ear, which caused him to purr much lower and heartier than your average cat would. He enjoyed it so much that he leaned in close, almost losing Tim in a mound of fur.

“Alright then, let’s get going. Our destination is just over there,” Fawna said as she pointed over to the other side of the field towards a large mound of foliage and trees.

“And don’t forget this,” she bent down and grabbed the plastic bag Tim threw at Ersineous and handed it to him.

“Oh, yeah. Thanks,”

“Now go on and get your breakfast, you old fool,” she said as she gave a whack to Ersineous’s behind. With that he trotted off in the other direction, grabbed a mouthful of (kjhsdhh) from the garden and when he returned, the four of them were on their way.