Part 100: Equal Exchange

Main story folder & table of contents: "Escape From Manitou Island" 
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PART ONE HUNDRED:
Equal Exchange

THERE WAS MUCH murmuring and puzzled chatter when the shapes appeared along the distant shore, coming closer. Everyone who'd been gathered around Thomas and the GeeBees--their hands still submerged in the water just off of the piece of ice bridge they'd already formed--drifted back toward land, shielding their eyes and squinting. Mishupishu's shape became obvious almost immediately; the giant Lynx was hard to miss. Then they could see X'aaru, and Moon Wolf and the little shape of Winter Born, and even the two loons accompanying them...but...

Singing Cedars frowned. "Where's Charmian?" he asked, at the exact same time as Niskigwun, and the two glanced at each other before blushing and looking ahead again.

Thomas lifted his own head, brow furrowing. "Huh...?"

The distant shapes drew close and at last they could see her, draped across X'aaru's back; she was grimacing and holding one hand to her head, her eyes shut tight. The others immediately crowded around the demon as he slowed to a stop, looking down at her and echoing her name. She winced and made awful faces.

She opened her eyes a sliver to see Moon Wolf nudging them back. "Give her some space!" he snapped. "It's her head." He took her arm and pulled her down; she felt the cold gravel against her legs and started to shiver, but Mani came close and huddled beside her, X'aaru crouching on her other side to warm her up. This did nothing for the pounding in her head, and Stick-In-The-Dirt bent down to look at her as well, his face concerned.

"What happened?" Thomas called from the shore.

"Nothing--not really!" Winter Born exclaimed. "She just about fell over right there!" She leaned closer, speaking softly. "Are you okay now, Charmian...?"

Stick-In-The-Dirt gently pressed his thumb to her temple and she grimaced. "Your head?" he murmured. "It pains you?"

She managed a slight nod. "Like...somebody's squeezing it," she managed to say weakly. Her jaws hurt from being clenched so tightly. "I didn't even...hit it...this time."

"How long has it been troubling you?"

"Since...around Gitchi-Gami." She let out a faint whimpering noise and sank over to land on her side on the ground; X'aaru got up and sniffed at her, whimpering himself. She heard a rattling sound and felt Stick-In-The-Dirt place one of the little bird bones to her head, and he started sucking on it; but her headache didn't abate. She squirmed and dug her fingers into her head; that was honestly what it felt like, a giant thumb and forefinger attempting to crush her skull. Stick-In-The-Dirt let out an unhappy sound, then pulled the bone away; crunching noises came, and then someone placed their hand where the bone had been. A moment later she felt an icy chill start to seep through her skull, and began shivering...but at least the throbbing didn't hurt so much anymore. She let out a shaky breath and felt her muscles at last start to relax, just a little.

"Charmian...?" Winter Born murmured.

"It...doesn't feel so bad...now," Charmian said faintly, shivering and rubbing at her head when Thomas pulled his hand away. She managed to open her eyes and then eventually sit up, blinking blearily at everyone around her. They all stared back, eyes concerned; she felt too groggy to bother feeling embarrassed. She rubbed her head and made a face.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked, confused. "It didn't hurt that bad before!"

"This makes no sense," Moon Wolf said, a perplexed look on his face. "I fail to see how he's even able to do this."

"He who?" Thomas asked. "You mean that somebody's doing this on purpose?"

"That Mishosha fellow!" Winter Born answered. "They say that he and the others are trying to follow us through the OTHER tunnel!"

"They're here already--?" Stick-In-The-Dirt cried, looking around wildly.

"No, they're not!" Moon Wolf snapped. "But if we don't get to work on that bridge--"

"On it," Thomas said, turning and heading back to the slab of ice. Pakwa and Augwak glanced at him as he joined them again, sticking his hand in the water and concentrating more than before. Charmian slowly pushed herself up, gingerly feeling at her temple; she nodded a bit at Winter Born when the girl gave her a troubled look.

"I'm feeling kind of better..." she mumbled, letting out a breath. She peered up at Moon Wolf, blinking the blur from her eyes. "You think Mishosha's doing this?" she asked, confused.

He looked remarkably frustrated. "If I knew how, perhaps I could do something about it! But none of this makes any sort of sense! Perhaps if..."

X'aaru's head whirled around and he stared off in the direction that they'd just come from; a second later, he was bristling and growling. A second after that, the wolves were doing the same, then Mani and the two okis. Mishupishu's spines lowered and he meekly sank into the water and out of sight but for his horns and his eyes. Everyone stared at them pensively, then turned to look eastward. Charmian suddenly felt cold again, and not because of Thomas.

A large shape was lumbering along the shore, heading their way. Charmian's eyes slowly widened when she recognized the ungainly shape of the great black bear from the island, its eyes glittering as it approached. A fireball glowed over its head; she sensed Moon Wolf tensing, and peered at him from the corner of her eye. When his eyes met hers, she shifted her head the tiniest bit, feeling Winter Born do the same.

"That's him," she said in the smallest voice possible.

Moon Wolf stared at her for a moment, then his eyes darkened and he turned away. He took a step or two forward to stand ahead of her, fists clenched, watching the bear approach. Charmian threw out her mental net and could sense at least three others nearby; she recognized the mitchi manitou almost immediately, and what must be Little Wind, but wasn't as sure about the other one. She peered around but couldn't see them.

Francois, Baptiste, and Lieutenant Barrington slowly stepped forward a bit, guns drawn, but they avoided aiming them at the bear just yet. Winter Born crouched down next to Charmian to watch its approach. Moon Wolf stood in such a spot that the bear momentarily stepped out of their line of sight; Charmian could hear a soft hissing noise, and when it stepped into view again, it was no longer a bear but a human. She dug her fingers into her vest when she recognized Mishosha. He halted and his mouth twisted into an ugly smirk, the bone in his nose making him look even less pleasant.

"Well," he called out, his voice jeering. "So I finally meet the great teacher I've heard so much about."

Charmian blinked. I barely told him a THING about you! she insisted, hoping that Moon Wolf heard. When he said nothing, she glared at Mishosha. "I didn't tell you a thing, you damn liar!"

Mishosha's sneer grew. "Well, you obviously never taught her to mind her tongue." His lip curled back in a parody of a smile. "How is her head doing, by the way? Giving her any trouble at all?"

Charmian blinked again. "How...how do you know about that?" she said, before Moon Wolf could speak.

Mishosha looked at her for a moment, then back at Moon Wolf. "You never taught her that, either--?" he asked in mock surprise. He made a scoffing noise. "What sort of wabano are you, anyway?"

"Moon Wolf never taught wabano medicine!" Charmian snapped; she ignored the warning look that he gave her as she got to her feet, Winter Born holding her arm. "Tell me how you knew about my head!"

Mishosha pursed his lips, his eyes amused. "Well, it's easy, little girl. You helped me out."

Charmian's jaw fell. Then the blood rushed into her face; his second comment got to her so much that she promptly forgot that he'd just called her a little girl. "WHAT THE HELL? I never helped you in ANY way! I never did a SINGLE thing to help you!"

A nasty smirk. "Oh really? Then I see your teacher truly failed to teach you at all." He reached a hand into a pouch at his side. "Perhaps you should get a new teacher. Not that another would help you much, by now..." He pulled something out and held it up, tucked between his fingers; everyone looked, then most of them just furrowed their brows, confused. Charmian's and Moon Wolf's faces, however, went stark white on seeing the little lock of red hair clasped in the other wabano's fingers. Charmian stared at it in disbelief.

"That's..." Her own brow furrowed. "How did you get that--?"

Moon Wolf whirled around to face her. "You gave that to him?" he cried, his voice cracking.

Charmian glanced at him, beyond bewildered. "I--of course not!! It's from the bargain I made with the Nebanaubae! I gave it to IT! Not to HIM!"

Moon Wolf's eyes went wider than she'd ever seen them, and she was certain he was about to have a heart attack. Then he clenched his teeth and whirled away from her so abruptly that she gasped and jumped. A second later he was stomping his way along the shore in Mishosha's direction; he halted several yards from the other medicine man, fists clenched at his sides and teeth bared.

"She does not know the rules!" he barked.

Mishosha snorted. "As if ignorance is any excuse? The exchange was a legitimate one, and even if it wasn't, it hardly matters!"

Moon Wolf's fingers dug into his palms. "She isn't a wabano! She doesn't know the way things work! This exchange shouldn't have gone through!"

Mishosha made a sniffing noise. "She hurls fireballs--isn't that close enough?"

"You know FULL WELL that it isn't! If she doesn't know the rules, the bargain is hardly valid!"

A shrug. "I already told you it hardly matters! If I did everything on the up and up I would never get ANYTHING done!" He sneered. "Besides--seeing as she doesn't even know her way around--wouldn't you rather consider that your fault for not teaching her...?"

Moon Wolf fell silent, eyes growing and mouth slowly going shut. He turned his head to look at Charmian over his shoulder, and she couldn't quite read the look in his eyes. Then they darkened--she shivered, feeling like he was going to hurl a fireball right at her head--and turned back to Mishosha. He grabbed the knife at his waist and yanked it loose; Charmian stiffened, mouth opening.

She shut it again, blinking in confusion, when Moon Wolf grasped a lock of his own hair--of which there wasn't very much, seeing as it was shaved off on both sides--and sliced it off with the knife. He looped a little bit of cord around it and took another step toward Mishosha, holding it aloft.

"Equal exchange!" he snapped.

Mishosha blinked. Charmian couldn't believe it--he looked surprised. The other wabano's brow furrowed, then a scowl started to come to his face. "You call this equal--? You'd have me believe you really mean something so stupid--?" he growled.

Moon Wolf scowled back at him and waved the lock. "Would I stand here and waste my time otherwise? Equal exchange! You know the rules! Would you rather have that, or this?"

Mishosha's eyes widened. "You're serious." He blinked again, then his mouth started twisting into an ugly sneer. "What sort of girl is this, teacher? I certainly hope she's worth all this trouble you're going to! Is there some sort of teaching going on on the side--?"

Charmian's face went scarlet, but thankfully her voice vanished. "I've already made my offer," Moon Wolf said. "If you are as smart as they say you are, then you'll jump at it. You'd really rather keep that one?"

Mishosha frowned a little, and looked at Charmian's lock of hair. He rolled it in his fingers a moment before letting out a light snort. "While I have to say I'm tempted...especially considering how valuable you find it..." He fell silent for a moment, then let out another snort and tossed the lock of hair into the air. Everyone watched as it fluttered to the ground. Mishosha briefly looked skeptical, but Moon Wolf tossed his own lock of hair as well, and they both snatched them up at the same time, like bridesmaids snatching at a bouquet. They took several steps back from each other then; Charmian's own brow furrowed now.

"All this over some stupid hair...?" she whispered to anyone who might be listening.

"Very well," Mishosha said, his smirk returning. "I have to say you drive a hard bargain." He opened the pouch at his side and placed the second lock of hair inside it. "Don't worry, I'll just be keeping this safe until a more opportune time...but in the meantime..." He turned to look at Charmian, and she and Winter Born both shivered under that icy gaze. Mishosha smiled and blew a kiss at her; even though it was just a gesture, she felt like shaking herself off like a wet dog. "Perhaps you'd better get teaching her some more, seeing as she still seems pretty ignorant. Giving that away like that...why do you go to such trouble for such a lousy student?" He turned and started walking away, a glow beginning to surround him. "I look forward to our next meeting. I do hope you're in better form then!"...and a moment later, a large black bear was making its way back along the shore and toward the pine forest. Charmian tried sensing the mitchi manitou and whoever else had been nearby, but couldn't; she couldn't shake the feeling that they were nearby, though. She rubbed at her chilly arms and stood silent while Mishosha wandered away, then turned to look at Moon Wolf again. He was still holding the little lock of red hair in his hand, looking down at it. His shoulders sank slightly and she heard him let out his breath.

"Moon Wolf?" she called out, taking a step toward him, Winter Born clinging to her arm. "What the hell was all that?"

He lifted his head and turned it to look at her. Again she couldn't read the look in his eyes. He turned and started walking toward her and she drew to a halt, frowning. "What is it?" she asked as he approached. "What was all of that you guys just did--?"

Moon Wolf halted in front of her and lifted his hand. She looked up at it stupidly, when--CRACK--her head spun to the side, pain lancing through her cheek. She heard Winter Born gasp, and saw the others gawking at her--even Black Elk Horn's eyes went wide--before she stumbled and fell over, nearly taking the little girl with her. She blinked a few times, not even certain what had just happened, before seeing Moon Wolf's shadow looming over her; she looked up at him as her hand crept up to her stinging cheek.

The look in his eyes was livid. He clenched the lock of hair in his hand, shaking it at her as if it were a weapon. "NEVER give a part of yourself away!" he yelled, making her flinch. "NEVER!" And he tossed the lock at her so that it pattered against her chest. She grabbed onto it, purely a reflex motion, and blinked at it a few times. For just a second or two, she had absolutely no idea what to think--then her senses started coming back, and the throb in her cheek returned, and her eyes began to sting as they welled up. She ground her teeth hard enough to hurt and started pushing herself to her feet, seeing the wide-eyed stares of everyone else--Moon Wolf was walking away from her now--and clenching her fists. She dug her feet into the gravel.

"Why the HELL NOT?" she screamed, raising her voice so much that it made her throat hurt. "WHAT'S YOUR DAMN PROBLEM?! Like I give a rat's ass about some STUPID HAIR? Why not KEEP IT if you're going to be like that!!" With this, she turned and hurled the lock as far as she could, out into the bay; she saw Stick-In-The-Dirt gasp and go running after it, splashing into the water and nearly tripping over himself when Mishupishu's head popped up, the hair resting on his muzzle; he paused before reaching out and gingerly picking it up. Charmian took several steps after Moon Wolf, her fingers digging into her palms and her lip curling back from her teeth. "IF YOU HIT ME AGAIN I'LL BLOW YOUR FRIGGING HEAD OFF!!"

Moon Wolf ignored her, halting at a large glacial boulder and sitting down upon it, staring at the water as if looks could kill. Charmian whirled away and stormed back toward the waiting group--she hated how they all stared at her, but at least they didn't say anything. Someone stepped aside as she stomped past; it was only when they grasped Winter Born's arm as she tried to follow that she realized it was Black Elk Horn, and some dim part of her mind thought, Go figure, he actually stepped out of my way for once.

She sat down hard on the end of the ice bridge, Pakwa and Augwak staring at her for a moment before quickly turning away and plunging their hands back into the water. She stared at the water just as Moon Wolf did, hating that she was doing the same thing, yet not feeling like doing anything else. There was a very long, awkward pause before anyone started moving around again, and now she hated that they were apparently pretending that nothing had happened, even though she knew there was nothing else they could do.

Thomas stood up from where he'd been crouching on the other end of the slab of ice, coming her way and sitting down beside her. She scowled but flinched only slightly when he placed his hand to her cheek. The iciness of his fingers lessened the stinging in her face a little, though it made her shiver a bit more, and she had to blink the tears from her eyes before they could crystallize.

"I really think you should follow through on your word," Thomas muttered under his breath, "and smack the senses out of him."

Charmian had to sniff as her nose was growing clogged. "He's not worth the trouble." She gave in a little and raised a hand to wipe her eyes. Winter Born came scuttling over and squatted down at her other side, peering up at her in concern.

"Are you okay, Charmian...?" she asked hesitantly.

Stick-In-The-Dirt came sloshing back through the shallow water, shivering and wet. "Yeah," Charmian said, her voice coming out flat yet irked. "I'm fine."

Stick-In-The-Dirt carefully clambered atop the ice bridge and shook himself off a little; he cast a look at Winter Born, who sighed but stood and went jogging back onto land. Thomas frowned, but didn't move; the medicine man knelt down and held the lock of hair out toward Charmian, who ignored it.

"He only looks out for you," Stick-In-The-Dirt said.

"Like you'd go smacking your daughters?" Charmian snapped, before realizing what she'd just said--Holy cripes, am I calling myself Moon Wolf's DAUGHTER?!--and grimacing. Stick-In-The-Dirt furrowed his brow a little, then seemed to understand, and shook his head.

"No," he said, "but then again, none of them are throwing fireballs and fighting wabanos!" When Charmian nudged the lock away he frowned a bit. "I do not agree with his methods...but I think he only does that because he knows you can take it. But that's not the issue." He reached out and opened up one of the pockets of Charmian's vest; she started protesting as he slipped the lock in and zipped it shut. "As he says," he said, "it's best for you to never give any part of yourself away."

Charmian's face screwed up. "It's just some stupid hair! It grows right back! I didn't even give it to Mishosha in the first place. I don't need the stupid thing."

Stick-In-The-Dirt tilted his head. "He truly never did teach you, then...?" When she just gave him a confused look he sighed a little, but swept a spot clear on the bridge and started scratching at it with his finger. "There is a sort of medicine," he started out, "they teach of it, a little bit, in the Mide Lodge, but only as concerns healing...wabanos perfected another use for it...one by which to harm people..." He drew the rough outline of a human figure, Charmian and Thomas leaning over to peer down at it in puzzlement. "It consists of a little wooden figure, like this...and some part of a person, such as their hair, or fingernails, or some such that they leave behind...and when the doll is acted upon, the victim feels this as if they are the doll itself."

Charmian blinked, her brow furrowing as she stared at the drawing. "Voodoo dolls--?" she blurted out in disbelief; Stick-In-The-Dirt looked up at her, puzzled, but said nothing. Charmian's mouth fell open. "You mean you guys have voodoo dolls here--? And they actually WORK--?" She blinked again, and put her hands to her head, eyes growing wider. "You mean that pain in my head was because of a VOODOO DOLL--?"

"Well..." Stick-In-The-Dirt frowned. "We don't call them voo-doo dolls, but..."

Charmian got to her feet and glanced over toward where Moon Wolf was sitting. "He got mine back and he--gave his away!" she exclaimed, understanding suddenly dawning, and she turned and hopped off of the ice bridge, jogging away along the beach. Stick-In-The-Dirt and Thomas shared a look before the medicine man shrugged.

Moon Wolf hadn't budged an inch from his spot, and still glared at the bay as if trying to hex it. Charmian slowed her step as she got closer, panting for breath; she even put her hand back to her head, but the ache was completely gone. She bit her lip a little as she drew close to the rock. The very idea of voodoo dolls had always struck her as ludicrous...but if what he'd just said was true...

"Perhaps you understand now what you're dealing with," Moon Wolf said, before she could even open her mouth completely. She shut it, blinked at him, then furrowed her brow. She stepped forward and put her hand on the rock.

"You said 'equal exchange,'" she said. "And Mishosha thought you were joking. You exchanged your hair for mine!" Her fingers dug into the rock. "That means that he has YOU under his power, now!"

Moon Wolf turned his head to look at her and she saw that the anger in his eyes was gone. "Now you understand?" he said, simply.

She shook her head. "No, I don't! Mishosha was telling the truth! He said it WASN'T an equal exchange--you were giving him something of GREATER value!" She held up her hands. "How could you do that? Everybody knows you're way stronger than I am! If he can control you, then--"

"Think of it this way," Moon Wolf interrupted her. "I am not the one who saved the Island. Twice."

Charmian cut herself off, blinking. Her brow furrowed again. "Huh...?"

He pushed himself around to face her. "Who is it that the Sky Mother entrusted Winter Born to for teaching--?" When Charmian tentatively put a hand to her chest he gave a short nod. "You may not believe it or understand it, but the day I died was the day when I stopped teaching you, and you moved on. Normally, a student only succeeds on their own when they lose their teacher. I haven't been teaching you in ages. You're the teacher now. You are the one who needs to be looked out for. The thing is, he doesn't know that, yet."

Charmian could only stare at him in confusion. "You mean...I'm taking your place--?" Her mouth fell open. "NO WAY am I doing that!! I thought I was just supposed to--teach her to talk to manitous and--simple stuff! How the hell can you expect me to--"

"You already are," Moon Wolf cut her off. "You said you saw her power."

Charmian's voice died in her throat. She bit the inside of her mouth, then turned to peer at Winter Born over her shoulder. The girl sat not too far from Black Elk Horn now, but was peering toward her in return. The auroralike glow still surrounding her belied the meek look on her face; now that she was looking for it, Charmian could make it out even more, and it was still flaring in all shades of orange and blue and green and lavender. "Think about it," Moon Wolf said. "You are the one teaching her. She is the most powerful one among us. Mishosha could command either me, or you...who is more expendable?"

Charmian sucked in a breath and whirled back to him. "You're not expendable!" she hissed, as if afraid of the others hearing. Moon Wolf looked ready to answer her, when shouting noises came from the ice bridge, and they both paused, then turned to look west again. Augwak and Pakwa were scurrying away from the end of it and back toward land; Thomas was crawling back from the edge as well, staring at the water. They glanced in Charmian's direction, and, seeing her watching, started waving at her to come over. She frowned a little, peering at Moon Wolf.

"What the heck is that all about...?" she murmured from the corner of her mouth.

"I don't know." Moon Wolf clambered down from the rock and frowned at the shouting group himself; Charmian followed as soon as he started jogging toward them. "But I believe we're about to find out."

Continue:

Part 101: Cold Welcome  (13+) The Cree greeting isn't nearly as warm as Charmian hoped... #1759058 by Tehuti, Lord Of The Eight

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