The breeze carried petals in this area, massive velvety things the colour of sunset's palest rays, and this made Olimar wary. It was only a matter of time, he was sure, before one landed on him, even though that seemed like such a silly thing to worry about. He put his strength toward moving the object, but it was far too heavy. Turning, he whistled to the brightly hued Pikmin that stood nearby, and with a squeak of recognition they ran to his side. But when they tried to heft the smooth mass, the stopping whistle sounded and they paused, baffled. Making sure the creatures were watching, Olimar raised his hands and motioned; he only wanted this treasure rotated a little, not carried to the ship. The Pikmin again turned their effort to the task, pulling at the object's edges until it twisted, rustling against the grass. And this time when Olimar whistled, he also gave them a nod. Even without a common language, he had never had a problem communicating with the plant creatures.
Scampering back behind their leader, the Pikmin awaited further instruction and watched what Olimar was doing- raising the lid portion of the unidentified tool. The lid stayed open at whichever angle it was placed and was lined with some shiny substance, and the Pikmin stared, fascinated, at their own reflections. One of them, the red one, flipped its leaf to the side in a quizzical gesture. Stepping down from the object's powdery surface, Olimar kicked the peach-coloured dust from his boots.
"What are you doing?"
Olimar looked up; Louie was standing there. A line of red Pikmin, all carrying violet berries, marched on without him.
"Investigating Pikmin behavior." At his assistant's raised eyebrow, the captain continued, "I'd like to see some more of their natural abilities. We've done plenty for today, let's relax a little."
Shrugging agreement, Louie headed back toward the ship.
The Pikmin were still waiting for Olimar's command, of course, and staring at him because that's all they ever did. He had selected this small group especially for what he had planned, one of each colour they had so far encountered. Calling them with a whistle, he directed the smaller creatures into a line on the large treasure's surface. Another whistle stopped them in place, and he stepped back to look at their arrangement. Yellow, purple, red, white....The blue Pikmin stood a little farther away from the yellow one than he would have liked, and he moved forward to redirect it with a tap on the shoulder. He wished that his space suit didn't have such thick gloves, he had often wondered what the skin of a Pikmin felt like. It looked like the sleek shoot of a young sapling, but Olimar knew that the Pikmin were much more resilient than a typical sprout....
Now he was ready. He took his place in front of the makeshift stage, five pairs of beady eyes following his every move. And after a measured pause, Olimar hummed a few notes. They continued to stare, but after a moment one responded with the same few notes, the white one. Again he hummed the start of the song, and this time all five high, reedy voices echoed it back to him. Olimar continued in this way, gradually teaching the creatures more of the song. It was a tune he had come up with during that first month on the planet, just a random melody to cheer himself in the bizarre, umfamiliar environment. And the more he hummed it, he had noticed, the more the Pikmin seemed to join in....
The colourful plants quickly learned the song, and soon began to harmonize with one another. Olimar added movements, simple steps and arm movements to match the song, and the Pikmin mimicked these, too, perfectly mirroring their leader. Together they danced and sang, the Pikmin's tiny feet stirring up clouds of powder that caught the sun's rays and Olimar forgot that they breathed different air on a different world, he was just having a good time with his....friends.
The song ended, their voices hushed and movement stopped, and again all they could hear was the breeze rustling nearby grass stalks. That....and one pair of hands clapping. Olimar turned and saw Louie, backed by a swarm of blue Pikmin and grinning as he applauded. And then, suddenly, his Pikmin raised their hands and applauded, too, startling the assistant. Grinning back, Olimar bowed to his audience, and his students chirped satisfaction behind him. The Pikmin were wonderfully talented with music and rhythm, but they couldn't have done it without him, after all.... Maybe he should become a dance instructor.
Scampering back behind their leader, the Pikmin awaited further instruction and watched what Olimar was doing- raising the lid portion of the unidentified tool. The lid stayed open at whichever angle it was placed and was lined with some shiny substance, and the Pikmin stared, fascinated, at their own reflections. One of them, the red one, flipped its leaf to the side in a quizzical gesture. Stepping down from the object's powdery surface, Olimar kicked the peach-coloured dust from his boots.
"What are you doing?"
Olimar looked up; Louie was standing there. A line of red Pikmin, all carrying violet berries, marched on without him.
"Investigating Pikmin behavior." At his assistant's raised eyebrow, the captain continued, "I'd like to see some more of their natural abilities. We've done plenty for today, let's relax a little."
Shrugging agreement, Louie headed back toward the ship.
The Pikmin were still waiting for Olimar's command, of course, and staring at him because that's all they ever did. He had selected this small group especially for what he had planned, one of each colour they had so far encountered. Calling them with a whistle, he directed the smaller creatures into a line on the large treasure's surface. Another whistle stopped them in place, and he stepped back to look at their arrangement. Yellow, purple, red, white....The blue Pikmin stood a little farther away from the yellow one than he would have liked, and he moved forward to redirect it with a tap on the shoulder. He wished that his space suit didn't have such thick gloves, he had often wondered what the skin of a Pikmin felt like. It looked like the sleek shoot of a young sapling, but Olimar knew that the Pikmin were much more resilient than a typical sprout....
Now he was ready. He took his place in front of the makeshift stage, five pairs of beady eyes following his every move. And after a measured pause, Olimar hummed a few notes. They continued to stare, but after a moment one responded with the same few notes, the white one. Again he hummed the start of the song, and this time all five high, reedy voices echoed it back to him. Olimar continued in this way, gradually teaching the creatures more of the song. It was a tune he had come up with during that first month on the planet, just a random melody to cheer himself in the bizarre, umfamiliar environment. And the more he hummed it, he had noticed, the more the Pikmin seemed to join in....
The colourful plants quickly learned the song, and soon began to harmonize with one another. Olimar added movements, simple steps and arm movements to match the song, and the Pikmin mimicked these, too, perfectly mirroring their leader. Together they danced and sang, the Pikmin's tiny feet stirring up clouds of powder that caught the sun's rays and Olimar forgot that they breathed different air on a different world, he was just having a good time with his....friends.
The song ended, their voices hushed and movement stopped, and again all they could hear was the breeze rustling nearby grass stalks. That....and one pair of hands clapping. Olimar turned and saw Louie, backed by a swarm of blue Pikmin and grinning as he applauded. And then, suddenly, his Pikmin raised their hands and applauded, too, startling the assistant. Grinning back, Olimar bowed to his audience, and his students chirped satisfaction behind him. The Pikmin were wonderfully talented with music and rhythm, but they couldn't have done it without him, after all.... Maybe he should become a dance instructor.