Yet another night passed. Dallin still didn't understand why Fleem would choose to sleep on a rock. With his fur, and the blanket of mammoth fur, it wasn't the worst thing ever. But it was uncomfortable enough to make him toss and turn. He'd take his own bed in his own body any day.
He'd also run into Fleem's mom a few more times, each night he'd been here. Each time, she'd looked exhausted and had been all too willing to send him off to bed without much of a conversation. Then she was gone in the mornings, and Dallin never saw her out in the village.
Dallin yawned hugely, smoothing down his messy morning fur as he stepped outside Fleem's house. The sun was just rising over the mountain, chasing away the lingering shadows.
Many yetis were already up, playing games, talking and carving things from ice. Dallin stretched as he scanned the village. It was odd to think that everyone else's lives were just being carried on as normal. It was crazy. Nothing felt normal anymore to Dallin.
Nearby, he caught sight of three yetis playing their version of bowling. One swung an ice ball underhand, knocking down all the rocks they had set up. "Nice strike!" He called out as he jogged over.
The yetis immediately looked at him in confusion and surprise. "What?"
Whoops. Forgot. Dallin quickly thought something up. "Well, that's what smallfeet call it anyway. When you hit all the pins. Rocks." He corrected himself, hoping he'd said the right thing.
The yetis stared at him, as if wondering why he was talking to them. Dallin got a little nervous. Had he done something wrong? He shrugged. "I've been learning about bowling. From the smallfeet, of course."
It was probably safe to assume that Dallin didn't make a good Fleem. He had no idea how these yetis expected him to act.
"So….you got room for one more?" Dallin blurted it out, at the same time he thought about just walking away and finding the S.E.S.
The yetis exchanged uncertain glances, leaving him in suspense for a moment. "Sure." One with white-brown fur finally said.
Dallin glanced at the sun. He had time. The sun wouldn't have risen enough at the city to leave yet.
Another yeti with dark brown fur set the rock pins back up, and grabbed the ice ball. "Reni is keeping score." He told Dallin, gesturing the last yeti sitting on a rock. She nodded to him. "I'll add you to the board." Using her finger, she drew a stick figure yeti into the snow, next to three others. "Are we starting over then?"
"No! We can't quit this game! Not now!" The white-brown yeti insisted with wide eyes. The brown yeti nudged him playfully. "You're just saying that because you're losing."
"No! I just….well, Fleem says he's been learning about this game. I want to see if he can beat us with an unfair disadvantage."
The brown yeti chuckled. "Will that make you feel better about your own playing?"
Dallin shuffled his feet. "Oh, I'm not good at it. I've only ever bowled a couple of times." His mutter fell on dead ears.
The brown yeti tossed him the ice ball. "Go for it, champ. Better play hard if you're gonna catch up."
Dallin barely caught it. As he stared down the rock pins, he noticed the two gutters dug into the ground itself. I should have just walked away.
Using the holes chiseled into the ice ball, he rolled it with all he had.
It took one pin before rolling into the gutter.
Dallin smiled sheepishly. "I'm not that good at this." He repeated. The white-brown yeti nudged his shoulder teasingly as Reni marked his points under his stick figure. "Game isn't over yet."
Reni sauntered up for her turn, and hit a perfect strike. She smirked at Dallin. "Good luck. Practice makes perfect."
As the game continued, Dallin relaxed and started having fun. All the teasing he got from the yetis was entirely good-humored.
They also seemed more comfortable now, as if realizing that Dallin was fun. They laughed and thumped him on the back the best they could with their height differences. They lost the suspicious glints in their eyes, and the uncomfortable body language.
Wonder what that says about Fleem.
But Dallin had stopped worrying about the fact that he wasn't in character. These yetis didn't mind, so he didn't either.
Finally, Reni called "game", with a score that put everyone else's to shame. The other two yetis groaned.
"That's my third win in a row. You want another go?" Reni smirked.
Dallin glanced over his shoulder, and saw Migo, Meechee, Gwangi and Kolka approaching. "I've got to go." He smiled sheepishly. "Good game."
The three yetis exchanged another glance, looking confused and baffled at 'Fleem's change of character. "Yeah. It was." The white-brown yeti nodded with a smile. "You're actually pretty cool, Fleem." He held up a fist for Dallin to bump.
Dallin gave a last, "thanks", and walked over to greet the S.E.S.
Meechee smiled at him. "Good morning. You seem to be getting along well in the village."
Dallin nodded. "Yep. But I can tell I'm not doing what Fleem would do."
Kolka shook her head with amusement. "No. Definitely not. It seems so obvious now. I don't see how we ever thought you were Fleem."
Dallin chuckled. "Well, any tips?"
Kolka lightly punched his arm. "Simple. Be a pain in the neck."
"Oh. Is he that bad?"
Kolka smiled softly. "He is a pain in the neck, and he doesn't really seem to like anyone that much. But for all it's worth, he's our pain in the neck. Beyond that, he gives much more to the S.E.S than he thinks."
As one, the group began walking towards the rock fruit stands. "He seems pretty mad that I stole his body." Dallin joked.
Meechee gave him a sly smile. "Right off his soul. Malicious intent included." Everyone laughed at that.
Then as they chose some red fruit, the S.E.S grew somber.
"I still find it kind of hard to believe." said Migo. "I look at you, and I see Fleem. But you're not Fleem."
"And all we can do to get Fleem back is wait." Meechee chimed in sadly. She shoved her face into her rock fruit.
"What are you talking about?" A new voice came out of nowhere and made all of them flinch violently.
"Thorp!" Meechee blurted out. "Were you eavesdropping?"
Her brother ignored the question. "Why would you need to get Fleem back? He's right there." He pointed at Dallin.
Dallin stared at him like a deer in headlights. "Uhhhhh…."
Both Kolka and Meechee tried to think quickly of an explanation. Migo and Gwangi glanced at each other in stumped panic while Thorp waited expectantly with a slight scowl.
Dallin finally let his shoulders slump. Oh, what's the use? There's no lie that can explain this.
"I'm not Fleem. I'm a smallfoot." He told Thorp.
"Huh?" Thorp raised an eyebrow at him. Dallin ran a hand through his arm fur uncomfortably. "Fleem and I switched bodies." I still sound crazy.
Thorp glanced around at the S.E.S with an unimpressed look. "What kind of joke are you playing?"
Meechee shrugged sheepishly. "It's not a joke."
"Yeah!" Kolka chimed in. "There's a smallfoot who built a device that switched Fleem and Dallin."
"Mmhmm." Gwangi nodded. Migo simply grinned awkwardly.
Thorp looked back at Dallin, wide eyed. "What? Really?" Dallin nodded and shifted from foot to foot. "My name is Dallin. Fleem is in my body, staying with Percy. Migo's friend."
"Whoa." Thorp blinked.
Meechee sighed. "We're going down in a bit to see him, before the rest of the village. I guess now you can come with us. We're the only other ones who know. Even Dad doesn't know, and we don't know how to tell him."
Everyone glanced towards the palace, where the Stonekeeper was talking with some yetis. "Shhh." Meechee held a finger to her lips. "Get some rock fruit."
Thorp shook his head, as if clearing his mind, and his face took on a childlike determination. "Got it." He snatched up a whole fruit.
Dallin looked down at his, lost in thought. These fruits were almost like edible geodes. That would be a better name for them than 'rock fruit'.
Maybe he would be the one to officially name them. When he got back. If he got back.
His mood fell a little as he thought of Dr. Laker. What if the technical difficulties were too much?
He dug in, no longer caring about the sticky juice. Dr. Laker was a mystery to the world. He accidentally invented the impossible, but he could only do it once each time. He had never been able to create the exact same invention twice.
So if the old model didn't work with the new one, Dallin and Fleem would truly be beyond help.
Dallin would never get to visit his family again. He would never again understand the people he met in the city. He would spend the rest of his life climbing and jumping off the mountain, sleeping on a rock, and trying to communicate with people on the other side of the language barrier.
He glanced at the sun again as he, Thorp and the S.E.S finished breakfast.
"You ready? Let's go." Meechee and Kolka grinned.
"Mmhmm." said Gwangi.
Thorp kept glancing around suspiciously at any yeti that passed, trying too hard to keep their secret.
Dallin tossed his empty rind into the pile, for other villagers to use for their own purposes, and scooped up some snow to wash his face.
Kolka seemed to notice Dallin's change of mood. "We'll get you home." She told him gently. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, hugging him from the side.
Dallin forced a smile for her benefit, and nodded in acknowledgment.
But doubts were still there, in the back of his mind.
Fleem:
The next morning, when Fleem got up early, Percy made him help cook breakfast.
He scowled down at the sizzling pancakes in the pan. Percy had told him to flip them over once one side had cooked, but how was he supposed to know when they were ready when he could only see the liquidy side?
He held up the utensil he'd been given, called a 'spatula'. Which smallfoot had come up with the name for this odd thing?
"Just lift them up a little bit and check to see if they're golden brown on the other side." Percy instructed.
Fleem threw him a glance, and struggled to get the spatula under one of the pancakes. Percy made it look so easy.
Finally, he flipped it to it's other side, prompting more sizzling noises from the pan. And the smell, combined with that of the eggs Percy was cooking on the stove next to him...
Fleem would never admit it out loud, but he had come to greatly appreciate the variety of smallfoot food. Percy had several books filled with all sorts of recipes, with ingredients he hadn't heard of. Smallfeet seemed to get bored of the same foods rather quickly, while yetis were content with the same fruits for almost every meal.
If Fleem was going to miss any part of being a smallfoot, it would be that.
Flipping the last pancake, he sighed. Would the other sides take just as long? The smell was making his mouth water, and just standing there watching them made him want to pull out what little fur he had on his head.
The village would probably be down before they were done!
Letting himself zone out, he found his thoughts drifting to Dallin. Was this how the smallfoot-yeti lived his life every day?
Percy had noted that Dallin was barely more than a kid, if this body was any indication. That would likely place him around Fleem's own age, if smallfoot lifespans were the same as yetis'.
But the similarities ended there.
Fleem hadn't missed the way Dallin looked at him whenever they were forced to interact. His eyes constantly shifted, but he glanced at Fleem over and over again, as if he were worried about what he would do. He jumped practically whenever Fleem moved.
He almost seemed…...afraid of Fleem.
Fleem slightly shook his head at the thought. It was beyond his comprehension. None of the smallfeet had been intimidated by him as a yeti. What could there possibly be about Fleem to be scared of now?
Percy looked over at him, and stiffened. "Whoa, whoa, careful. Don't burn those." He took the spatula from Fleem and flipped the pancakes onto a plate, on top of the stack.
"Are we done yet?" Fleem did his best to mask the eagerness in his voice.
Percy's smile was wary. "All right. Fine. Take this to the table." He shoved the plate into Fleem's hands.
Fleem sat down, putting the plate in front of him on the table. But Percy called him back to help bring everything else. Fleem itched with impatience, but forced himself not to complain for once.
On his way back with a couple of plates and forks, his eyes went to the magic picture box in Percy's living room. Percy had decided to listen to 'the news' while cooking, but Fleem didn't see the appeal. If he wanted to know about the weather, he'd just look up at the sky.
Percy brought a platter of eggs, watching the smallfoot in the moving picture with a frown. "I'd better see about getting the heating fixed today." He said. "Looks like we're going to get some more snow later tonight. A lot more."
Fleem shuddered, remembering the last snow storm. Percy had gotten the window replaced, but he still imagined he could feel the biting wind blowing over him. "Oh great. Perfect."
Percy picked up the magic stick with raised dots and shut off the picture box. "Yup. But I'd rather not worry about it right now. Let's eat before this gets cold."
Fleem wasn't about to complain there. The moment everything was ready, he had the first five bites already down his throat.
Percy sighed and shook his head before starting to eat his own food. "What are you gonna do if Dr. Laker's device doesn't work?"
Fleem scoffed. "What are you blabbering about? Of course it's going to work."
"But what if it doesn't? Do you have a backup plan? Where are you going to live, and how are you going to settle here?"
Fleem glared at him, offended. "Are you that eager to get rid of me?"
Percy rolled his eyes. "You're the one whining about how you don't want to be here."
Fleem huffed and turned his frustration towards his food, stabbing the pancake with his fork.
"Dr. Laker is doing all he can." Percy continued. "But we have to face the possibility that it isn't enough. I can't keep going like this forever. I have a job, and I don't think I should have to drag you along wherever I go."
Fleem shut him out. Of course the device would work! If it could magically teleport him to Dr. Laker's roof, it could put him back into his body. Percy was just being paranoid. Hopefully.
Who was Fleem trying to convince of this?
Fleem pulled the now dry blanket over his head like a hood.
Boy was he glad to have it back. It didn't do much to help his coat keep him warm, but it strangely brought him a level of comfort to be able to hide his face whenever he wanted.
He greeted Kolka with a nod and a small wave. "Long time no see." He said flatly. Kolka smiled, and picked him up, prompting a sigh.
Fleem let himself go limp and greeted the other members of the S.E.S, reluctantly including Dallin.
And….Thorp?
Fleem perked up and glanced at Kolka. "What's he doing here?" He pointed at Thorp so she understood.
Meechee, next to them, started signing, and growling. Fleem scrunched up his face. "I don't understand a word of that."
Dallin growled softly, and waved for his attention. He gestured between himself and Fleem, then at Thorp.
Fleem thought he understood. "What, he knows now?"
Dallin nodded and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
Thorp looked completely mind blown. After glancing from Dallin and Fleem, he put his hands to his head, as if trying to push his mind into comprehending it.
"Welcome to the club, Thorp." Fleem muttered. "I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around it, and it's been days."
He smirked at Dallin, who still glanced anxiously at and away from Fleem. "I can't imagine what's going through your head." He called to him from Kolka's hands. "You seem pretty backwards to me. Do you even realize what you are?"
Dallin smoothed down his fur, still uncertain. How many nervous habits did that smallfoot have?
Fleem looked back up at Kolka's face. "Heh. Can you believe this kid? He seems to think I'm going to eat him. Maybe I will, as soon as I'm the bigger one again."
Kolka would normally have snapped at him for such a remark. But she didn't understand, so she gave a smile that didn't fit his comment at all.