Dallin was still nervous as he followed the group of yetis towards their secret headquarters. How could he convince them he was a human in their yeti friend's body? He had gotten them to say their names, but even he knew just how crazy his claim sounded.
Cliff walls rose up on either side, guiding them along. Dallin looked around, reminded of the time he visited the Grand Canyon.
He'd been a human then. Not a freaking yeti.
Oh gosh, he couldn't stop thinking about it, or wrap his head around it. This just didn't happen to people!
The group ahead came to a stop in front of a dead end. Dallin frowned and looked around again. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"
Once again, they all immediately looked at him like he'd said something really weird.
Kolka wordlessly pulled a rock, revealing a drawbridge like door in the cliff itself.
"Oh boy." Dallin muttered under his breath.
One by one, they filed into the secret cave, Meechee leading the way. Taking a breath, Dallin followed Migo in the rear, through a tunnel, until it opened into a larger room.
Gwangi clapped twice, and the weird glowing snails responded with many colored glows.
Dallin was distracted from the situation for a moment. The place could not have been more perfect for secret meetings. One of the walls had writings and drawings all over it, the biggest of the mountain. Another supported what looked like a fluffy hammock. A rock table sat in the middle.
"All right, Fleem. Tell us what's going on." Meechee looked at him expectantly, as did the others. Dallin ran his fingers restlessly through his fur, uncomfortable under the attention.
"Like I said, I'm not Fleem. I'm Dallin. I'm actually a human. But I woke up, and I was like this and…."
"Did you have a bad dream?" Kolka cut in.
Dallin shook his head. "No! No, I didn't have any dreams! I was in my bed at home last night, then I woke up here. That is, here in your village."
The yetis exchanged glances. They weren't buying it.
"So, that means the real Fleem must be in mine!" Dallin continued quickly. "If I'm in his body, we probably switched, right?"
He flinched as Kolka reached out to feel his forehead, and ducked away. "No no no no, I'm not sick either! I feel fine, all things considered."
Gwangi leaned closer to him, looking thoughtful. "Did you hit your head at any point?"
Dallin fought the urge to back away. Gwangi still loomed over him, even though he was a yeti now. "No. I'm not hurt. I'm not sick. I'm not crazy. And I'm not Fleem! My name is Dallin, and I'm a human from the bottom of the mountain. You have to believe me!"
This got a reaction from the group. All of their eyes widened a bit as they exchanged more glances.
"You're saying….you're a smallfoot?" Migo asked.
Smallfoot?
Dallin stared at him pleadingly. "Yes! If you're talking about the people from the city at the bottom of the mountain, then yes, that's what I'm saying."
Migo blinked, still looking confused. Was he starting to believe him?
"Ask me something! I can tell you about your friend from the hu-smallfoot village. His name is Percy, and he was the first of us to become friends with a yeti by visiting your village. He…"
He was cut off as his stomach growled loudly. The yetis relaxed, smiled at nodded at each other as if that explained everything. "Did you eat anything yesterday evening, Fleem?" Meechee sounded amused.
Taken aback, Dallin stuttered as he struggled to respond, feeling his cheeks get hot. "Uh...eh...well…."
Kolka shook her head with another smile. "Come on then." And with that, the group headed for the entrance.
"Wait." Dallin's call was weak. He forced down his desperation. He was hungry. Maybe he should just go along for now, and think of another way to convince them.
He followed them back out into the snow, between the cliffs, towards the village.
The walk felt a lot longer now that he wasn't being chased. He trudged through the snow in silence, watching his feet. They acted a lot like snowshoes in the spots with thicker snow.
Handy.
Finally, they passed under the archway, back into the busy village.
Dallin, calmer this time, took in the details with wonder. He could see mammoths, just like Percy Patterson had said, more glowing snails, and yetis playing games suspiciously similar to human games, such as soccer, basketball and bowling.
Distracted, Dallin walked right into Kolka, who had stopped. "There. Breakfast is served."
In front of them was a market style stand and canopy, with some of the rock fruits he had seen earlier. To the side, he saw a yeti crack one open by banging it against his head.
I can't do that.
Luckily he didn't have too. "Here you go." Kolka handed him a half of a fruit, green on the inside.
Dallin inspected it curiously. It looked like no fruit he had ever seen. He looked back up at Kolka. "Do you have a spoon?" He asked softly. It seemed almost everything he said was the wrong thing.
And this was too. "Fleem." She rolled her eyes at him with a sigh.
Dallin looked back at the other yeti eating fruit. He had shoved his face into one of his halves, eating without utensils. Migo, Meechee and Gwangi were too.
Kolka watched him, obviously expecting him to do the same.
Sighing, he shoved his face into the fruit, feeling the juice seep into the fur on his face. It tasted sweet, much like a watermelon.
"There. Better?" Kolka said with satisfaction.
Dallin just sighed again, and nodded. "Mmhmm."
Kolka finally helped herself to her own fruit.
This was going to be hard. What could Dallin possibly say that could convince them? He was at a loss.
Fleem:
Fleem was hopelessly lost.
As he ran through the streets, looking for any sign of the red coated smallfoot, his stress and desperation only grew and grew.
His smallfoot body couldn't run nearly as fast as his yeti body, and it couldn't handle the cold at all.
He glanced around in anxiety at all the brightly colored lights and signs on the buildings. They all looked the same to him. He was trapped in a never ending labyrinth of light, unfamiliar structures and stone streets!
How was he going to find one smallfoot in all of this?
He got weird looks from many of the smallfeet he passed. Not too long ago, the yetis in his own village had looked at him like that too. But that had been for questioning the stones. He didn't recognize anyone here, so why were they staring at him? He looked just like one of them, didn't he? He thought with frustration.
Thinking he'd caught a glimpse of red, Fleem stopped to look around again, frantic. The cold was killing him! "SMALLFOOT!" He shouted, unsure what else to do. It wasn't like he could just ask where Migo's smallfoot was. He didn't even know his real name. But his shout only got him more unwanted attention.
With a loud groan, Fleem took off again. Was it possible he could get back to the house he had woken up in? It was warm in there. He could try to figure out a better plan.
He glanced around at the buildings again. Not a chance. He was way too lost.
As he made yet another turn, he had to slow down. He was getting out of breath, and the extra wind created by his running only made him more cold.
Stopping, he put his hands on his knees and gasped, feeling his heart race.
The ground was still way too cold for him to stand in one spot, so he let himself sink to the ground, pulling his knees to his chest and trembled rather than shivered. How did smallfeet live like this!?
It. Was. SO. COLD. Fleem whimpered. There was no way to escape it.
"Dallin?" He whipped his head up as a smallfoot approached him. Hope replaced some of his desperation. He stood up, shifting from foot to foot.
"What in the world are you doing?" The smallfoot looked him up and down. "Why are you wearing a t-shirt? Where's your coat?" He frowned at Fleem's reddened feet. "And your shoes? Are you crazy?"
Fleem didn't know what to respond with. It felt weird to be having an actual conversation with a smallfoot. That made it hard enough. But in general, he wasn't good at talking to people. This time, he had to think carefully about his words.
"It's….been a weird day." He mumbled.
The smallfoot tilted his head. "Why are you over here anyway? Shouldn't you be at work?"
Work. Work! A lead! Maybe Smallfoot works there too!
"Yes, I should! Where do I work?" Fleem continued to dance on his feet, knowing full well it had to be hard to take him seriously.
The smallfoot raised an eyebrow. "Dallin? You're acting weird. Are you feeling alright?"
"Never better!" Fleem answered quickly. "I'm just lost. Very, very lost. Don't ask me how. Like I said, it's been a weird day." He grinned, showing his perfect smallfoot teeth, but it felt exaggerated and unnatural.
The smallfoot stared at him for a moment, then just shook his head with a sigh. "I'm not sure I even want to know. C'mon then. You're not far from the Yak Shack. You'd better get inside before you freeze to death."
Fleem almost laughed in pure relief. Finally, he was going to be warm! He followed the smallfoot closely, not wanting any chance of losing him.
But as he'd said, they were close to Fleem's supposed 'work'. He didn't need to worry about that.
They came out of the cluster of buildings, and Fleem recognized the place his village always came to to meet with the smallfeet. He took a deep breath. Sweet freedom!
"Over here, Dallin." The smallfoot said, bringing him back to the present. "The Yak Shack. You clean stuff, and sometimes run the counter. Got it?"
Fleem was about to ask what 'running the counter' meant, but another smallfoot opened the door to the 'Yak Shack', looking right at him.
"Dallin! Where have you been? You're late! We've got a bunch of spills, and we're a little understaffed." He gestured quickly for Fleem to get inside.
He did so, sighing in relief as warm air flooded over his whole body. He flexed his numb limbs, fingers and toes, trying to coax feeling back into them while he looked around for Migo's smallfoot. Was he here?
"Dallin! Over here, now!" Fleem shook his head, bringing his attention back. Right. As of now, he was Dallin, not Fleem. He could keep an eye out for Smallfoot while he worked. Probably best not to get on these smallfeets' bad sides. He needed allies, not enemies.
One of them pushed a strange sort of cart towards him, with a pole sticking out. He lifted it out curiously, noting the cleaning brush on the tip.
Fleem sighed heavily. He was experiencing the worst crisis of his entire life, and he was stuck doing chores?
He scowled as he plopped it onto the floor, beginning his work. This is going to be a very long day.