Part 30: The Jig Is Up

Main story folder & table of contents: "Escape From Manitou Island" 
Previous chapter: "Part 29: Water Battle" 

PART THIRTY:
The Jig Is Up

"S-STOP!! I GIVE UP! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!!"

The panicked yell came from the haze of steam rising off of the river, where the Mishupishu had vanished after Charmian had struck it with a fireball. She still stood with her fingers crooked, just in case; Manabozho stood on the bank with his own hand in a similar position, yet they were both frozen in place, eyes wide. The voice that had come from the mist didn't sound at all like the voice of the monster they'd lately been fighting. It was still raspy, but after that the similarity ended. That first voice had been deep and booming and threatening like the sound of an avalanche. This voice...was whiny and mewling, like that of an oversized cat that had learned how to speak. Charmian blinked and stared into the haze as the indistinct shape of the Underwater Lynx began to appear, and as soon as she saw its face, her own eyes grew even wider.

The Lynx was baring its teeth, but not out of anger. Its eyes were wide and wet with tears, and Charmian's brow furrowed in confusion when it lowered its head to the riverbank and let out an odd rasping sound. She stumbled back when it dragged itself partly onto the shore using its neck and a pair of tiny forelegs, like those of some sort of dinosaur; its whiskers quivered every which way and it let out a bawling sound.

"Please don't hurt me!!" it cried, tears spilling from its eyes. "I didn't mean anything wrong by it! I was just doing what I was told! I didn't want to hurt anybody, honestly! Please stop throwing things at me!!"

Charmian's mouth opened and closed repeatedly; the creature's keening started growing even louder, and she grimaced and waved her hands at the air, utterly bewildered, Manabozho also wincing and stepping back as it tossed its head about on the bank and wailed.

"I--it's--" She winced when it let out a particularly loud bellow, the trees shaking from the sound, and she waved her hands wildly. "All right! All right! I won't--I won't hurt you!! I just--I thought--you were trying to KILL everybody--!"

"NO I WASN'T!!" The Mishupishu's eyes welled up again and it bawled like a wounded calf. "I WAS JUST TRYING TO SCARE THEM!! I NEVER MEANT TO HURT ANYBODY, HONEST!"

"But--you kept coming back to their camp and threatening them! What are we supposed to think--?"

"I didn't mean any harm by it! I never would've hurt a single one of them! I swear it! I just--I thought they might attack me, but I got some help, and they left me alone, if I would just show up once in a while and blow some steam..."

"Huh...?" Charmian stared at the sniffling creature, then understanding very slowly began to dawn in the back of her mind, as soon as she remembered seeing Manabozho and the Lynx apparently speaking to each other further up the river. Her head turned so she stared at him, and her eyes narrowed to slits; Manabozho paled and took a few steps back to be out of harm's way.

"What sort of help?" Charmian demanded.

The Mishupishu sniffled, sounding like it was sucking up the contents of a swamp. "Just--just that whenever Manabozho should show up, I would show up too, and make it look convincing, and then he would keep the people off of my back, and I could live here without them coming after me..."

Charmian's eyes began to grow wide. "You mean...you faked it all...?" When the Mishupishu meekly nodded she turned to look at Manabozho again, her eyes incredulous; he winced and started inching toward a nearby tree. "It was all fake? Every BIT of it--?"

The Mishupishu nodded, then bit its lip. "Well--the hitting and punching were real, but everything else..."

Charmian whirled away from it and stomped toward Manabozho. He quailed and tried turning away but she grabbed onto one of his necklaces so abruptly that he nearly fell over when she yanked his head forward, her voice venomous.

"YOU MEAN YOU KEPT BEATING THAT THING UP JUST TO FAKE IT?! THIS WAS ALL FAKE? AND YOU BEAT IT UP ANYWAY?!"

Manabozho grimaced, wriggling in her iron grasp. "It--look at it this way! Everybody benefited! Right--?"

He let out a scream when she stomped as hard as she could on his foot. He started hopping up and down, the Underwater Lynx watching on in awe; it blinked and sniffled when Charmian approached it again, but all that she did was put her hand on its broad muzzle. It stared at her with large teary eyes.

"I'm sorry I hit you," she said, meaning it. "I just thought that you were trying to kill Manabozho and the camp!"

The Mishupishu sniffled and shook its head. "N--no--I never would've killed any of them! All I wanted to do was live in my lake! When those people moved in I had to hide under the water all the time. Then he showed up, and said that if I pretended to fight him, he could convince them to leave me alone, just as long as I made it look convincing! And every time he showed up, I was to fight him again, just so they'd remember not to bother me, and I wouldn't bother them, and everything would be just fine--all I wanted was to be left alone in my lake..."

Charmian's face slowly began to go red, and her hands shook. She glared at Manabozho over her shoulder, her lips curling back from her teeth. "Ma-na-bo-ZHO--?!" she hissed, her voice sounding like steaming rocks.

Manabozho threw up his hands helplessly. "WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?! I needed a camp to stay in for the night--they needed somebody to fight off the Lynx--we worked out a deal! I fought him and got a place to sleep and he got left alone! It was win-win all around--!"

Charmian whirled away from the Mishupishu again, stomped toward him, and thwacked her hand down over his head, making him yelp. "STUPID ASS! You didn't have to HURT him!!" She stomped back to the Lynx and rubbed his nose; he blinked a few times, then his spines lowered and his eyes watered again. "Take a look at him! You were yanking on his whiskers! I SAW it! Then I hit him with that firebolt..." She winced at the memory. "...And you hit him on the head...and I hit him AGAIN...WHAT SORT OF ASININE PLOT WAS THIS?!"

Manabozho flailed his arms. "HE'S A MISHUPISHU!! You heard what they did! Why do you pity them NOW?!"

Charmian clenched her fists, her voice so strident that even the Lynx winced. "BECAUSE HE'S NOT THE ONE WHO DID THAT, ASS!! HE HASN'T DONE ANYTHING BUT LET YOU BEAT HIM UP!!"

"I never would've hurt anybody, honest," the Mishupishu sniffled. "I don't even attack people. All I eat is fish!"

Charmian began growling at Manabozho now. His feathers sank and he started scootching toward the tree again with a sullen look. "So I was supposed to just let them keep bothering him and make myself look like a coward...?" he grumbled as he did so.

Charmian ground her teeth. "You didn't have to hurt him," she retorted, still rubbing the creature's muzzle. She turned back to it and bit her lip. "So you've been living in that lake all along, huh? I thought you guys lived in bigger lakes--you know--like Gitchi-Gami, and Michi-Gami, and Huron...whatever you call it."

The Mishupishu sniffled again, nearly sucking her hand into his nose. "Usually we do...I mean, that's where all the rest live...but not me, anymore...I moved inland a long time ago. I thought it would be safer in here."

"Safer from humans?"

He shook his head. "From Mishupishus."

Charmian frowned. "You mean, the other Mishupishus chased you off...?" He nodded. "Why? I mean--I figured you guys just...stuck together, or something."

The Mishupishu's whiskers wriggled. "I was smaller than the rest of them...and whenever they attacked people, I never really wanted to go along...so they laughed and called me a fingerling, and bit at my tail whenever I swam by, so I figured it would be safer inland where they don't like to go." A sniffle. "I ran into these people, instead."

"I can't believe your own people would chase you off," Charmian said.

"Ohhhhh," Manabozho groaned. "You're SYMPATHIZING with him, now?!"

"Shut up!" Charmian snarled at him, and he disappeared behind the tree. She turned back to the Lynx. "How long have you been living inland now?"

The Lynx shook his head a little. "It's been such a long time...I can't really remember. We don't have a very good idea of time, you see..."

"Well..." Charmian took a step back from him and crossed her arms. "We'll just have to straighten this whole thing out. Seeing as you never even wanted to bother those people, we'll just tell them that. And then they'll leave you alone, too."

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Manabozho leapt out again and flailed his arms. "You can't do that! They'll find out that--"

"That you're a liar?" Charmian shot back, and his jaw fell. "Get over it! What do you care? All you wanted was a place to crash! I can't help it that you ended up with a fiancée!" She waved at the Mishupishu. "You'll just have to deal with THAT problem yourself. Um--you..." She trailed off and furrowed her brow at the Lynx. "I don't even know your name. What do I call you?"

"Huh?" The Mishupishu blinked a few times, then his spines lowered again and he made an odd face which must have indicated that he was thinking. "I don't have a name. None of us do. Nobody ever has to call us by anything but 'Mishupishu.' As in, 'OH NO! A MISHUPISHU!!'"

Charmian winced a bit as his voice came out in a screechy shriek. "Okay! I guess...I guess I'll just have to call you Mishupishu," she said, feeling a little dumb, but telling herself to get over it; it had taken her a while to realize that Mitchi Manitou wasn't actually the name of the evil lake manitou on the Island, but rather what he was. "We have to go back to the camp and explain all this," she said, a bit reluctantly, seeing how the creature sank a little bit into the water and his spines drooped. "It'll be all right, I promise," she said. "All we have to do is make sure they know the deal with you before--"

"Charmian?" a voice called.

Another voice called out, "Manabozho?"

Charmian winced and waved at the Mishupishu. "Quick, into the river! If they see you first they might freak out!" The Lynx obeyed and vanished under the water; Charmian dashed toward Manabozho and waved at him frantically. "C'mon! You'll have to help me with the whole thing."

"Help?" She grimaced at the tone of his voice; he stuck his head out and glared at her. "Oh--so NOW you want me to HELP you?" he snapped.

He yelped when she stomped on his foot again. "You're the one who started this whole mess! So you're the one who'll clear it up! I don't CARE if you make yourself look like an idiot and lose Wazhashkooquae! You should've thought of that BEFORE you decided to con everybody with this stunt!"

"I--!" Manabozho started to retort, then his mouth clicked shut and his eyes narrowed. "Lose Wazhashkooquae?" he echoed, and Charmian finally realized what she'd said. She suppressed a growl and jerked her hand at him as the grass and weeds along the river started rustling.

"Just help me get this thing over with! Since it's your fault in the first place!"

Manabozho tentatively stepped out from behind the tree. The grass and weeds parted and Winter Born and the old man stepped out, looking around; they spotted the other two and their eyes grew, then they hurried toward them. "Charmian!" Winter Born cried, running up and throwing her arms around her. "I thought maybe the Lynx got you! I've never even SEEN one before!"

"Elder Brother!" the old man exclaimed, waving a stick at the air. Several of the others followed them out of the woods and looked around themselves but found nothing. "You're safe! We were so worried that this battle was your last!"

"MANABOZHO!!" Both Manabozho and Charmian winced; Wazhashkooquae hurtled into the clearing and threw herself at him, nearly knocking him over. "I WAS SO WORRIED! YOU ARE SO BRAVE!! MY SWEET 'BOZHO!!"

Peepaukawiss followed after her, wailing and shaking his feathers. "AAAIIIIEEEEEEE BABY BROTHER!! I WAS SO SURE THAT THING SWALLOWED YOU RIGHT UP!!" As soon as Manabozho regained his balance and shoved Wazhashkooquae away, Puka grabbed onto him instead, then both of them, and then Charmian couldn't even see him anymore; it looked as if the other two were simply hugging each other. Charmian blinked when Manabozho popped out from between them and scuttled toward the river; a second later their own eyes opened, they blinked at each other, then shot apart and started shaking their arms frantically as if they'd just caught the plague.

Stick-In-The-Dirt came up beside Charmian, panting for breath; Thomas and Niskigwun were close behind. "Ch...Charmian...? You...weren't hurt...were you?"

Charmian shook her head. "No! I'm fine. It's he who's going to be hurt if he doesn't start talking soon." She glared at Manabozho, and everyone else followed suit; his face went brilliant red but all that he could do was scowl.

"What does she mean...?" Wazhashkooquae asked.

Charmian opened her mouth. "What I mean is--"

"What she MEANS is," Manabozho interrupted, giving her a venomous stare, "I finally defeated the Mishupishu, and he shouldn't be bothering the camp anymore!"

Charmian's mouth fell open, then her own face went red. "Oh really?" she snarled, fists clenched. "Then I guess it looks like that WEDDING is going to be going through, AFTER ALL!"

Wazhashkooquae's face slowly lit up and she clasped her hands. "It--it is?" she cried, and within seconds was again embracing a grimacing Manabozho. "Ohhhhh! I KNEW it! I KNEW this was the right time--because I had a dream about it, you see...!"

"Oh! Baby Brother!" Puka clasped his own hands together excitedly. "I had a dream TOO! I dreamed that a gigantic squash fell down on top of a tiny acorn and SMASHED it! I tell you it's a sign!"

Manabozho started tugging on Wazhashkooquae's arms without luck. "There's--not going to--BE--a wedding tonight!!" he hissed between clenched teeth.

He gasped and toppled to the ground when the woman let go of him. "What?" she demanded, and even her father's eyes went round when the fury arose in her face. "What do you mean, NO WEDDING?" she yelled, her voice growing strident. "I thought we had this thing PLANNED! I thought we had this thing planned out for YEARS!" She clenched her fists and bared her teeth. "YOU SAID AS SOON AS YOU CAME BACK AND DEFEATED THAT THING FOR GOOD! FOR GOOD! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN SO SOON--?!"

A look of pure panic flitted over Manabozho's face, and Charmian sighed to herself, feeling a bit of pity for him. His mouth worked but no sounds came out; she took a step forward and held up her hand, his head spinning around so he stared at her in disbelief.

"What he meant was," she said, before he could stop her, "he banished the Mishupishu from the lake...but it's still in the river...and he still has to fight it, at least, until he chases it back out into the great lake, because that's the only way it'll ever truly leave the camp alone. He can't kill it, because if he does the rest of the Mishupishus will come after all of you; so he has to chase it back. Only then will the camp be safe."

Everyone fell silent, looking thoughtful. Manabozho stared at her with wide eyes and she could tell that he hadn't expected her to say that; nevertheless, when Wazhashkooquae and her father glanced at him, he clamped his mouth shut and nodded vehemently.

"The only way to save the camp," he echoed.

"Oh!" The old man's face lit up just as his daughter's had. "Even now--even now you still ensure our safety! ELDER BROTHER!" He crowed this, and the tribemates who had accompanied them into the woods took up the cry. "ELDER BROTHER!"

Manabozho made a face. "So--so there won't be a wedding...after all?" Wazhashkooquae asked in a softer voice, her eyes going wet and her lip quivering. "You did say when it was defeated...and if it's just hiding in the river..."

Charmian took another quick step forward. "He--um--he's going to have to go away for a while, again," she said hurriedly. "To chase the Lynx up the river and back to the lake. The lake is REALLY far away...and he has to make sure it doesn't come back with--um--reinforcements--and it could take quite a while. Before the camp is TRULY safe again. You wouldn't want him unleashing this thing on some other camp, would you?"

Wazhashkooquae sadly shook her head. "I guess not..."

"But he'll come back as soon as he's done," Charmian promised, "and THEN there'll be a wedding."

Manabozho's eyes looked ready to fall out of his head, then he got the most betrayed look imaginable. "There will?" Wazhashkooquae exclaimed, and her eyes glimmered. "Ohh! I KNEW you meant it! I KNEW you meant it when you promised me!" she cried to Manabozho, and went running toward him. "Sweet husband-to-be 'Bozho! Risking your life--and putting our happiness on hold--just to make sure we'll be safe! You are indeed the bravest man I have ever met!"

Manabozho started to sidestep her, but a glare from Charmian made him keep his place, and he just barely tolerated Wazhashkooquae's iron embrace. "I know," he muttered over her head. "That's me. Bravest man ever met."

Charmian took a few steps back toward the water and peered in to see two large green eyes peering back out. She gestured at Mishupishu and made a waving motion with her hand; he nodded and started splashing his tail in the water. Everyone gasped and jumped back; Manabozho broke free of Wazhashkooquae and glared at the roiling river, stomping toward it.

"All of you'd best be on your way back to the camp!" he shouted. "I'll take care of this creature--just like I promised!"

"And then you'll come back to wed me, right?!" Wazhashkooquae cried as her father led her away.

Charmian saw Manabozho's grimace; he must have seen her resulting glare. "Ys," he growled between clenched teeth.

The stout woman clapped her hands to her breast and let out a yell. "MY DEAR 'BOZHO! I'LL LOVE AND WAIT FOR YOU ALWAYS! NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES!!"

Manabozho's eyes rolled back in his head and he let out a long sigh. The members of the camp filtered back into the woods, casting many tense glances over their shoulders as they did so; Charmian gestured at her companions to follow and waved further up the river. "That way," she said. "Until we're out of sight." She made a face. "I know this'll look really weird...but trust me! And nobody yell or make a fuss about it until we're far enough away that they won't hear us."

They looked puzzled but obeyed. As soon as Charmian waved and Mishupishu's head broke the surface, a few of them forgot this promise, Winter Born letting out a squeal and leaping onto X'aaru's back, Augwak tumbling head over heels in the grass, and Marten puffing up and hissing before disappearing down Puka's shirt and making Puka scream and start laughing and jumping around hysterically. Charmian ran a hand down her face and waved once more.

"Just try to keep it down, and keep going!!" she begged.

They followed the meandering course of the river deeper into the woods, then out into the meadow again, though fortunately an arm of the forest cut them off from the camp's view, and as soon as they noticed this, both Charmian and Manabozho let out a deep breath, Manabozho even sinking into the grass and running a hand across his forehead.

"From now on I'm going to REMEMBER every promise I make!" he grumbled.

"Likely," Charmian muttered in response. She turned and waved at the river; Mishupishu's head came back out, and everyone stared at him with wide eyes. "This...well...this is Mishupishu," Charmian introduced, rubbing at her neck. "He's...uh...friendly."

Winter Born immediately hurried forward now, looking the creature up and down. "A friendly Lynx?" she asked, and reached up to touch his whiskers. Mishupishu blinked down at her and wriggled them and she giggled.

Augwak pushed his way past Walks-On-The-Shore, who glared at him and then pretended to eat his own arm. "Fleshling! You mean to tell me that while we sit and wait in that damned camp, you're out conversing with snakes? I thought we were trying to get my medicine back!"

Charmian glared at him in return. "That's HARDLY our mission, dumbass, so I'd suggest you settle down!"

"Mission...?" Mishupishu peered at several of them in turn. "You mean you were doing something when you came to the lake?"

Charmian sighed and rubbed at her neck again. "Sort of...we were trying to find our way to Shawondassee, but apparently nobody's ever seen him! We know he lives in the south--we just don't know how FAR south." She glanced around at the meadow. "I don't even know where we are, geographically..."

"Shawondassee?" Mishupishu's eyes lit up. "I've heard of him! The South Wind--yes?" When Charmian nodded, mystified, the Lynx started splashing his tail. "I've never met him--I have to admit--very few people ever meet him, since he doesn't leave his home much at all--from what I hear he doesn't get along well with Kabebonikka, and when the two of them meet, they always fight. But Shawondassee doesn't like to fight, and so he stays at his home."

Charmian had to nod at him somewhat vigorously, as he seemed to be getting caught up in his story. "Do you know where he lives?" she asked, and the Underwater Lynx blinked, then bobbed his head.

"Well--no--not really," he said, and her brow furrowed in confusion. "But I've heard of it. It's...difficult to reach. No Mishupishu has ever made it there, despite the way..."

"Despite the way...?" Charmian echoed, her confusion growing.

Mishupishu nodded again. "Oh--yes. Because of the tunnels, you see. I didn't mention it?" She shook her head and he blushed a little. "Well--the Winds live very far away--no little humans like you could ever hope to reach them on your own feet."

"Hey!" Manabozho pushed his way forward and glared at him. "I'll have you know I'm part MANITOU and I'm RELATED to the Winds!"

Mishupishu blinked. "Oh! You're part manitou...? Are you part human, then...?" When Manabozho nodded he flicked his tail. "Well--maybe then it would take you only half of forever to reach him. Everyone else, though," he said as Manabozho steamed, "has to take a sort of shortcut."

"OOOOHHH!" Marten hopped up and down on Puka's shoulder. "A SHORTCUT! I LOVE shortcuts!"

Charmian winced a little. "You mean we have to find a gateway...?"

"Well..." Mishupishu pursed his lips. "It's not the finding it that's hard..."

"Great!" Augwak stomped along the side of the river. "Let's just find the stupid thing and get it all over with! As if this Shawonwhatever will even know anything..."

"All right," Mishupishu said. He turned and slipped down into the water. The others stood on the shore for a long while and waited for him to return; when perhaps seven or eight minutes had elapsed and he didn't pop up again, they began to frown and tap their feet, and Charmian chewed the inside of her mouth somewhat uneasily. After about ten minutes the Lynx lifted his head from the water again and stared at them.

"Well?" he said.

Silence. Charmian's brow furrowed a bit. "Well what?" she asked.

One of Mishupishu's spines cocked in an odd manner. "Well...aren't you coming?"

"Coming where?" Charmian asked, growing frustrated.

"To the shortcut," Mishupishu replied, sounding confused. When nobody spoke up he frowned. "I thought you wanted to use the shortcut."

"Well..." Charmian spread her arms. "We do...if you'd show it to us."

"I just did." Another silence drew out, and finally the Underwater Lynx sighed. "It's right down there!" He pointed with his horn toward the water, and Charmian felt her stomach sink. "Right there in the river!"

Continue:

Part 31: Unfair Fare  (13+) Barrington overhears something odd, and Charmian learns the steep price for assistance... #1257082 by Tehuti, Lord Of The Eight

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