Dallin, Percy and Dr. Laker made their way back to the S.E.S, through streets that now felt small. Percy had gone in and found the device on the nightstand, right where Dallin had left it the night of the switch.
Dr. Laker chattered like he always did, probably explaining the entire history of his project to Percy. But now he sounded like something from a cartoon. Dallin rubbed his head with a soft groan. This new perspective was just too surreal to think about too hard.
The S.E.S waited where they had left them, trying to communicate with Fleem in Dallin's body, who sat on a nearby rock. Dallin stopped to stare. He didn't think he could get used to seeing himself from the outside like this.
Surreal indeed.
Dr. Laker's prattle drew their attention. Fleem looked back, catching sight of Dallin. Immediately, he scowled and turned away.
Dallin shuffled his feet, feeling a flash of guilt. He imagined turning from a yeti to a human was a rough adjustment.
But did that mean they were both going to just avoid each other until this was over?
He was distracted by the arrival of another person. It was Brenda, Percy's assistant. Percy smiled and ran to greet her as she looked around at everyone. It also appeared that he was explaining what was going on, pointing at Fleem and Dallin.
Dallin gave her a little wave when she looked from Fleem to him.
He stood awkwardly off to the side as the S.E.S crowded forward to talk to Brenda. What else could he do?
Almost against his will, he found his eyes straying back to Fleem on the rock. His back was to Dallin.
Dallin sighed sadly and moved aside to put the cluster of yetis and humans between him and the yeti turned human. He didn't really blame Fleem for his coldness.
He looked around, just to keep his eyes anywhere but on Fleem. Other people waved to him as they passed, thinking he was a yeti. Dallin forced an uncomfortable smile and waved back. Hopefully Dr. Laker would be able to fix the device in record time, and things could go back to normal.
Dallin began to look around more frantically. Where did Dr. Laker go?
Dang it! Why does he have to keep disappearing?
"Does anyone see Dr. Laker?" He called out, getting everyone's attention. They glanced at him, then around, frowning.
Percy signed at him with a shrug and a confused expression. Dallin crouched onto one knee, and tried to think of the right signs to respond with.
It didn't help that his mind constantly reminded him that he was trying in this form, to communicate with a person the same way he communicated with the yetis. And vice versa.
Dallin pointed to Percy's red hair, and pointedly looked around, as if asking 'where'?
Percy's eyes widened in understanding, and looked around, looking perplexed. Then he shook his head and held up his phone.
Dallin relaxed. Percy had Dr. Laker's number. At least he would be in touch.
Dallin stood up and looked at the S.E.S. "So. What now?"
Meechee smiled. "Well, for a little while, you're a yeti. Maybe it'll be fun exploring your own world with a new perspective."
Dallin shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Well then. How about you show us around now?" Migo asked. "Now that you can tell us what things are without talking in gibberish."
Dallin nodded and let himself smile, forcing himself not to look at Fleem. "All right. Let's go this way."
A few hours later, Dallin sat down in the snow, his back to the Yak Shack. Whew!
The city seemed just a tad smaller now that he was a yeti, but there was still a lot to see.
The S.E.S were a very curious bunch, aside from Fleem, it eyes grew huge with wonder at everything there was to see, and they bombarded Dallin with question after question. That, and whenever he came closer to the edge of the city, Fleem and Dallin discreetly took pains to make sure they couldn't see each other, until the S.E.S led Dallin another way.
All of that was enough to make anyone tired, yeti or no.
Someone appeared in the corner of Dallin's eye. He turned to see who was approaching, and almost jumped out of his skin and fur. Kolka walked up, holding Fleem, who looked very distressed, and very grumpy. Dallin inwardly groaned and frowned at Kolka.
She didn't need to say out loud that she'd noticed them avoiding each other. With an encouraging smile, she put Fleem down and pushed him closer to Dallin.
"Just talk for a bit." She turned and walked away, to rejoin everyone else.
When Dallin looked back at Fleem, he was already turned away, refusing to have anything to do with him. He sat down against the wall, curled up with his blanket over his shoulders.
Dallin bumped his head back against the Yak Shack wall a couple of times. Both he and Fleem sighed, and didn't say anything.
I can't believe I'm getting the silent treatment from my own body.
For a solid five minutes, there was silence.
Finally getting restless, Dallin huffed and looked at Fleem again. "This isn't my fault. I didn't ask for it, any more than you did."
At the sound of his voice, Fleem seemed to tense up even more, if that was possible.
"You think this is how I expected I would spend the last couple of days?" Dallin held up an arm. "Look at me. I have fur!"
Fleem looked back over his shoulder, scowling as Dallin started ranting. "I almost fell off a cliff. I don't know if you've ever done that, but I personally don't like the way it made me feel.
After that, I spent the night sleeping on a big rock, and let me tell you, it was worse than the princess's pea. Better me than her though, because I actually have fur, an extra layer!"
He took a gasping breath and pointed at the mountain. "Then this morning, I jumped off of that!"
Dallin gave Fleem a pointed look. "Maybe you're used to jumping off a mountain every other day, but I'm not! I'm not a thrill seeker. I just clean up messes and do dishes for a good portion of my day."
He looked back at the wall behind him. "In this place, actually." He grimaced. "My boss probably thinks I've been skipping work. And with a few more days to go before I'm me again? I'm so fired."
Fleem had lost his scowl, but he still looked wary of Dallin. Dallin gave him a small smile. "Somehow though, I'm not that sad about it."
The Yak Shack door slammed open, making both of them jump. It was Ron, one of Dallin's self-appointed 'bosses'. Fleem leaped to his feet, looking alarmed, and dashed to hide behind Dallin. But Ron was just taking out the trash, something he usually made Dallin do.
Dallin smiled awkwardly and waved when he noticed him. Ron nodded a greeting and went back inside the Yak Shack.
Dallin looked back at Fleem and gave a thumbs up. "He's gone."
Fleem sighed in relief and walked out to stand in front of Dallin.
"So." Dallin smiled uncomfortably. "I see you've met my bosses."
Fleem huffed in exasperation, glancing at the Yak Shack door.
"Did they splash water on you while you were doing the dishes?" Dallin did his best to sign.
Fleem's eyes widened and he burst into more chatter than Dallin had heard from him yet. He paced back and forth, gesturing and talking agitatedly.
Well, I've got him ranting now. I guess we're making progress.
Dallin let him talk, nodding in agreement at his unintelligible babbling.
Eventually, Fleem began to settle down, out of breath. He stopped in front of Dallin again, then seemed to remember who he was talking to. He looked away, and his eyes took on the same wary frustration as before.
Dallin sighed. He guessed he wouldn't get anything else out of Fleem right now.
He stood up, gesturing with his head towards the others. "C'mon. Let's go see what everyone else is doing."
Dallin watched the sunset with a little nervousness.
The day had passed rather quickly. He had tried a few more times to talk to Fleem again, but he wasn't having it, even when he seemed a little more relaxed.
So Dallin had hung out with the S.E.S, Brenda and Percy until the sun started going down.
Finally, Meechee glanced at it too. "I think we should go back up now." she said, looking at Dallin.
Dallin frowned. "But…"
"All we can do is wait, Dallin. Your Dr. Laker is working on the device, but until then, you should stay in the village with us. But don't worry, we'll come back first thing tomorrow."
Dallin sighed and nodded. She was right.
That didn't make it easy to turn and walk away from his home. It felt wrong, like he was leaving behind something important.
Dallin kept glancing back as Kolka gently pushed him on with a hand on his shoulder. She smiled in understanding.
They trudged up a snowy hill, and Dallin looked back one more time before the city passed out of sight. There, in the light cast by the signs and street lamps, he could see Fleem, watching them leave. It was too far to see his face, but Dallin knew his expression was one of longing.
Then he and everything else passed behind the hill's slope.
Dallin turned away and didn't look back again.
He spent the rest of the walk wishing and moping, and then the mountain was there, looming over the group.
Migo immediately launched himself up, grabbing a rock shelf and leaping up and up.
Dallin sighed. Of course, he would have to climb. Had he expected any less?
But he already knew he wouldn't be able to leap and bound like Migo.
He reached up to grab a rocky handhold, grunting as he began to pull himself upwards. Loose pebbles streamed down the rock, making him freeze before reaching again.
Gwangi and Kolka appeared on either side of him. Kolka continued to vault herself upwards, making Dallin look like a snail.
Meechee chuckled. "Fleem actually isn't much of a climber." Her voice came from below.
Dallin peeked down at her as much as he could without moving his body too much. "What? He can leap ravines and jump off mountains, but he can't climb?"
He yelped as his hand slipped and he slid back down onto the snow at the bottom, sprawled onto his back. Meechee helped him up, chuckling some more.
Dallin looked up at Migo, far above them. "How does Fleem get up there, then?"
As his answer, Gwangi, who stood nearby, grabbed him around the waist, and hoisted him up, throwing him over his shoulder.
"Oh. That's how." Dallin moaned and let himself go limp.
Meechee shrugged and began the climb. Dallin watched the ground fall away as Gwangi followed, jumping.
As they got higher, Dallin had to close his eyes to keep from getting vertigo. I can't believe I fell this far. And he would again tomorrow. The thought made him shudder.
The entire way up, Dallin spent alternating between being thrown over Gwangi's shoulder, and tucked under his arm. He was grateful the others were ahead, as it was a little undignified. Dallin resolved even further to make sure he got back to his body, one way or another. He was done with mountains.
Finally, Gwangi crested the top cliff, and set Dallin back down, well away from the edge.
Dallin nodded his thanks and followed the group back towards the village.
Migo and Kolka smiled back at him. "Don't worry! The time will pass fast." said Migo. "We'll let you ask some questions this time." Dallin nodded again.
They smiled again, and began to chat with each other about the events of the day.
Here we go again. Dallin sighed in resignation.
Fleem:
Fleem almost followed the S.E.S when they left.
Percy's hand on his shoulder had stopped him, reminding him that he was stuck down here.
Fleem had watched his friends disappear into the darkness with Dallin, the smallfoot-yeti, while Percy had muttered something about the clouds.
Back at Percy's home, he was feeling more homesick than ever.
And also very VERY cold.
He sat on the floor, covered by a decent sized pile of blankets in the living room, only his eyes peeking out, glaring at Percy when he tried to take one for his own slightly smaller pile. Outside the giant window nearby, wind howled and snow swirled around the building.
"Fine time for the heating to stop working." Percy complained, voice muffled by blankets.
"The what?" Fleem raised an unseen eyebrow.
Percy ignored the inquiry. "Though I have to remind myself, the top of the mountain was worse."
"You need to grow some fur." said Fleem. "You'd solve all your problems that way."
"Don't you ever get cold up there, even with your fur?" Percy pulled his blankets closer.
Fleem shrugged. "Not really. It takes a lot to make a yeti cold." He shivered. "Turning them into a smallfoot works quite well. Do you have any more blankets? Here, give me one of yours."
"At least you don't have to worry about altitude sickness." Percy pointed out, pulling his blankets away from Fleem's hand.
Fleem smirked inside his pile. "Jealous?"
Percy sighed. "Yeah. I almost died up there, on the mountain. The experience of being cold feels a hundred times worse when you can't breathe well."
Fleem grunted in response, and the two fell silent, listening to the snow storm.
He would be very happy to let Dallin have the cold back. He was surprised the smallfoot hadn't decided being a yeti was better than being a smallfoot.
Who would be crazy enough to want this?
Regardless, he wasn't going to complain.
Percy and Fleem jumped as something made a banging sound outside.
"This house isn't about to collapse on us, is it?" Fleem asked.
"No. Storms like this one are fairly common. It's built to withstand them." said Percy.
CRASH!
Fleem and Percy gasped and scrambled backwards as something large smashed into the window, sending pieces of glass scattering.
Fleem squeezed his eyes shut and burrowed deeper into his pile of blankets. "You were saying?"
Percy gasped out a shaky breath. "It's fine. It's fine. There's just a hole in the window. It's fine."
Fleem peeped back out. Most of the window was still intact, as Percy said. But that hole….
The wind blew into the room, sending snow in with it.
"Quick!" shouted Percy over the sound. "Find something to cover that hole!"
Percy fought his way free from his blanket pile, and ran off into a hallway.
Somewhat more reluctantly, Fleem crawled free and chased after him, cold nipping him from behind, even through his smallfoot coat.
He yelped and rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door closed behind him.
In the darkness, he grappled for the light switch on the wall, and turned on the light.
What could cover a hole like that? Most of the things in here were fixed to the floor or the wall!
He lightly pulled at the edges to the mirror, but there would be no luck there.
A strip of fabric hung on a rod. Fleem snatched it, holding it up with a frown. Too small.
He looked around, shuddering as he felt the storm's cold filtering through the bottom of the door. Then his eyes went to the curtain over the tub.
He launched himself at it, yanking hard. It. Had. To. Come. Off! Fleem growled and pulled harder, putting his back into it. Whatever it took to stop the cold!
Suddenly, with a jolt, the rod holding the curtain came free, and Fleem fell onto his bottom on the hard bathroom floor.
Wincing, Fleem ignored the pain and grabbed the curtain. "Percy!" He called, opening the door. "Use this!"
He rushed straight into the cold, gasping at it's sharp bite. Another jolt, and Fleem was jerked backwards, almost falling again.
The curtain rod was too wide for the door frame! Fleem pulled desperately, trying to get it free.
Percy appeared, eyes going to the curtain. "Perfect! There's a curtain rod above the window I haven't ever used!"
Percy knelt and slid the rod out of the loops attached to the curtain. "C'mon! Quick!"
The two held the curtain between them and hurried back to the living room. Fleem pulled his arms into his coat sleeves as he shivered, waiting impatiently for Percy to get the loops onto the rod above the window.
"Hurry!" He yelled. "I'm freezing to death!"
"There!" The curtain was on the rod, but it still flapped in the wind, exposing the hole.
"Help me move the side tables!" Percy shouted. "They'll hold the bottom in place!" Fleem nodded and they dragged one then the other. The curtain stayed, though it bulged towards them with a windy air pocket.
Fleem collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily. "Why am I still cold? We covered the hole!" He pulled his knees to his chest.
Percy looked at him. "A shower curtain isn't going to do much against that. But it's all we've got until I can get the window fixed."
Fleem let out a loud groan and crawled across the floor, towards his blanket pile. "I hate being a smallfoot."
Surrounded by blankets once again, Fleem began to feel warmer. He sighed in relief.
Percy got back into his pile too, and the two settled down for what both of them knew was going to be a long night.