Fleem:

Fleem's body felt like a sack of rock fruit. And his mind felt like a fluffy cloud.

As Meechee bounded across the snowy ground, she'd had to pin him to her chest to keep him from flopping around. And what was more, his coat seemed to have gotten a little wet.

He'd never imagined such coldness was possible. It was an experience he could easily have gone his entire life without.

The storm still seemed to be getting worse, making it nearly impossible to see, and Meechee's growls and grunts were faint, but he felt her movements just fine. Each time her feet touched the ground, Fleem felt a jarring in his skull.

In his drowsy state, it became almost a rhythm. Four steps. Jump. Land. Five steps. Jump. Land. Three steps….

Then she stopped. Fleem looked up and squinted, trying to see the reason why. Through the swirling snow, something dark was visible. On further inspection, he made out rocks and an open tunnel of darkness.

"Is that a cave?" He mumbled to himself. He didn't have the strength to yell, but he imagined it wouldn't have made a difference. No one could hear him in this. He closed his eyes. He was so tired.

Meechee and the other yetis pressed forward towards the cave, fighting the storm. Was a cave really safer than Percy's home? Why hadn't Meechee taken them back there instead?

Suddenly, the wind stopped blowing on him, and the noise died down a little bit. "Fleem?" Brenda's voice broke the calm as the yetis stumbled further into the cave. Fleem gave only an "mmf" in response.

Kolka and Gwangi collapsed to the floor, leaning against the wall across from Meechee with deep sounding sighs of relief. As Meechee sat down, Brenda waved to get her attention and began signing something, glancing at Fleem.

Fleem narrowed his eyes suspiciously. What was she trying to do?

A second later, Meechee turned him onto his back on her arm. Fleem looked up at her face, annoyed. "What's the big idea?"

Brenda slowly made her way across Meechee's arm to him. "Just hold still."

Then she began to unzip Fleem's coat!

Fleem regained a little bit of alertness in dismay. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Do you want me to freeze to death? This cave is still cold!"

Brenda pushed his hand away from the zipper. "Your coat's all wet! It won't keep you warm like this."

She stared intently into his face. "Listen to me, Fleem. I know you're probably not used to this, being a yeti, but you're showing signs of hypothermia."

Fleem felt a twinge of anxiety. Whatever that was, it didn't sound good. Was he sick?

Flashbacks of Percy on top of the mountain hit him. The smallfoot had gotten worse and worse so fast….he'd looked a lot like Fleem felt now.

But he'd also been struggling for breath. Fleem could breathe just fine, so he couldn't be feeling exactly what Percy had, right?

Brenda wrestled the zipper away from him and finished the job, removing some protection from Fleem's front. Instinctively, he reached to pull both sides back over his chest, but Brenda was already trying to pull off a sleeve.

"I still don't understand why you have to take off my coat." He complained, trying to pull back. "Just dry it off instead."

Meechee too had finally noticed what Brenda was doing, and started growling in protest and confusion.

Brenda sighed in frustration. "With what? We're in a cave. You have to take all your wet clothes off. That, unfortunately, includes your coat." She looked at his feet. "And your boots too. Your shirt should be fine though, so we'll just take off your coat and shoes."

Brenda looked up at Meechee and tried to sign the same thing to her, but Meechee didn't look reassured.

Brenda glanced at Fleem. "Alright, even if you don't understand, can you just trust me? We really don't have time to argue. Fleem may be out of the storm, but he's not out of danger yet."

She pulled on Fleem's sleeve again. "I know this seems like the wrong thing to do, but wet clothes will only make it worse."

Meechee still looked hesitant, but finally nodded and called to the other yetis across from her. Both looked just as confused as Meechee.

But Kolka nodded back and stood to cross over to them. Fleem groaned and shakily sat up to pull his arm out of the sleeve. "Why is this happening to me?" He brought his now bare arm to his chest, trying to breathe on it.

Kolka grabbed his hood with two fingers and moved his coat away from his back. She grunted as the other sleeve stuck to his other arm, and gently pulled it in Brenda's direction, apparently trying to slide it off that way. Fleem huffed. "I knew you all hated me. You're ganging up on me."

Brenda ignored him and smiled at Kolka. "Well, that'll turn the sleeve inside out, but it'll work. Pull your arm out Fleem." Fleem sighed but obeyed. The wet material stuck to his arm, but finally rolled off, leaving icy air in its place. Kolka pulled the coat off of him, leaving him exposed and shivering in a t-shirt. He brought his knees to his chest and leaned into Meechee, seeking warmth.

"We still have to take off your boots." Brenda reminded him. Kolka quickly caught on, and grabbed his leg. Fleem yelped as he was slightly pulled forward onto his back, but didn't resist as she effortlessly pulled off one boot, then the other.

"Ugh, this is torture!" Fleem pushed himself back up.

"Are your socks wet?" Brenda asked.

Fleem put his hands protectively over his feet. "Only a couple of spots. I'm keeping them."

Thankfully, Brenda didn't argue.

Kolka exchanged some growls with Meechee before gently lifting him from her arm. Fleem drowsily went limp again. "I'm tired."

"Don't go to sleep!" Brenda called up to him as Meechee hugged her to her chest. "Just in case. Kolka, is it? Don't let him go to sleep!"

Kolka growled a response and turned away. "What are you doing?" Fleem slurred.

Gwangi stood up and met Kolka halfway across the cave, his deeper growls echoing. He took Fleem from Kolka's hands and gently prodded his face with a giant finger. Fleem grunted and shook him off. "Yeah, yeah, I'm awake."

Gwangi growled softly and wrapped his hands around Fleem's body, tightly enough to keep out the cold air but gently enough to let him move. Fleem sighed in relief. He realized then that he'd forgotten what it was like to have fur. When had that happened?

As Gwangi plopped back down by the wall, Fleem shifted into a more comfortable position and watched Brenda try to explain Fleem's predicament to Meechee. Both of them were more patient than him. They could go on like this for hours, while he was ready to give up after one attempt. He shook his head in bewilderment. How did they keep from pulling out their own hair?

Gradually, Fleem stopped shivering and began to feel more like himself. He turned his head to look at the storm still raging outside. It looked every bit as chaotic as his life had been from the moment he woke up in this body.

So much had happened that in only a few days it was getting harder and harder to think of himself as a yeti. He lightly rubbed his bare arms and curled up tighter in Gwangi's hands. That was a shocking realization.

"I hope Migo and Percy are alright." said Brenda, watching the entrance.

Fleem met her eyes from across the cave. "Percy's probably inside your 'hospital'. If Migo knows what that is, maybe he'll look there."

"Assuming he made it at all." Brenda's brow creased in worry. "It's impossible to see anything out there, even with headlights on."

Fleem hummed in agreement. But before he could respond, he was distracted by Kolka. She'd laid out his wet coat on a rock and was now walking towards the cave entrance.

"Kolka? What are you doing?" Fleem said at the same moment Meechee and Gwangi spoke up.

Kolka looked back and growled something to the other yetis, her expression determined. Fleem groaned. "Oh no, not you too."

What could possibly go wrong if Kolka went out looking for Migo who was looking for Percy?

The three yetis argued, but it was obvious there would be no deterring her. She turned to leave before anyone could get up to stop her. "Be careful!" Brenda called after her.

"If you find my body, drag him back here too!" added Fleem. "I want to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't give me any crippling injuries to return to!"

Gwangi and Meechee both sighed in frustration and fear, and Fleem felt Gwangi's grip tighten ever so slightly.

After Kolka was gone from earshot, there was silence in the cave.

Minutes passed, and Meechee got up to pace, holding on to Brenda as a comfort. Fleem stared after her as she walked deeper into the cave, out of sight. A moment later she reappeared, then turned back around and disappeared again.

An hour passed. Fleem fidgeted restlessly. All this waiting was starting to get to him. Gwangi let out a deep moan and finally stood up. Fleem turned to smirk up at him. "Is my boredom contagious?" The look on Gwangi's face told him to shut up. He shrugged. "What?"

A faint sound came from outside, over the storm.

Fleem and Gwangi froze. "What was that?" Fleem asked, his tiny smallfoot heart beginning to quicken.

There it was again! A yeti's roar!

Fleem and Gwangi exchanged a look. As the roar came again, slightly closer, Gwangi quickly sat Fleem down on a rock and took off towards the cave entrance.

"Hey!" Fleem shouted after him. "Why are you leaving me here? I'm in socks!" The cold was sudden and terrible.

Fleem turned his head as Meechee paced back into sight. She looked at Fleem in surprise, as did Brenda, and rushed to grab and cover him with her arm, shouting after Gwangi as he disappeared into the storm.

"Oh great!" Fleem lamented. "We're getting picked off one by one!"

More roars came from outside, making Meechee perk up. "Don't do it!" Fleem twisted his neck to glare up at her. "Don't go out there!"

Brenda nudged him. "Wait, look!"

The yetis had found the cave, and one by one they filed in, with Gwangi in the lead. He pushed Dallin in front of him, and Kolka followed with a smallfoot in her arms.

"Percy!" Brenda cried out. But it was the last yeti who got Fleem's attention. He stared in silence as his mother made her way in, holding an unconscious Dr. Laker.

"Hey, Brenda." Percy sounded a little sheepish. "I think I got a little turned around in the storm."

Brenda gave a dry laugh. "No, really?"

Fleem tuned them out, unable to take his eyes off his mom as she knelt to lay Dr. Laker down on a nearby rock. Why was she here? She always beat him home when the village came down. What had made her come back this time?

A deep pang of frustration stirred in his stomach as Dallin approached her, and began talking to her in hushed growls. She thought the smallfoot-yeti was him. But I'm over here! Can't you see?

He jumped when Brenda touched his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

His cheeks grew a little hot as he realized he'd mumbled it aloud. "Nothing."

Brenda looked at the two yetis, so close yet so far. "Are you close to her?"

Fleem watched his mom in silence for a moment, hesitating. She was wrapping something around Dr. Laker's head.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting. He barely interacted with her when he really was himself. Was he hoping she would look at him, into his eyes, and realize what he was? He sighed, unable to hide his frustration. "She's my mom."

"Oh." muttered Brenda. "I'm sorry. It must be hard to see her like this."

Fleem shrugged. "I don't really talk to her much anymore." He admitted. "She got pretty mad when she found out I was in the S.E.S. Then we both...said some things. And that was that."

When he finally looked at Brenda, he was surprised to see sympathy in her eyes. He gave another dismissive shrug. "What? It's not that big of a deal. We live in the same house. She runs off every morning and disappears, but she's always there when I get home at night."

He looked back at Dallin and his mom, and thankfully Brenda took the hint.

Dr. Laker stirred on the rock and groaned. "Where…." His head turned but it was too dark to see his expression. "Dallin!?"

Everyone stopped talking and looked at him. With a glance at Meechee, Kolka set Percy down so he could run over and check on him. He crossed the cave and crouched next to his head. "Dr. Laker! How do you feel?"

Dr. Laker ignored the question. "Percy! The devices! I dropped them out there!"

Fleem bit his tongue to keep from voicing his dismay. Why couldn't things just be simple for once?

Dr. Laker continued rambling and tried to sit up. "I tried to tell you before we drove off! I fell and hit my head, and both prototypes fell out of my hands and got lost in the snow! And…."

Percy held up a hand to stop him. "We'll worry about that later. You're in no shape to try and find anything."

Fleem's mom growled and gestured for him to lay back down. Dr. Laker looked up at her desperately. "We've been working on those devices for so long! We can't lose them now!"

He cupped his hands, trying to communicate it to her.

She tilted her head, and sighed softly before bending down and holding out a hand. Fleem squinted, and barely made out two shapes in the dim light.

Dr. Laker stuttered in surprise. "O-Oh my, you found them? How? How in the world did you know where to look? I couldn't find them the moment I dropped them!"

Meechee growled something to Fleem's mom and knelt down close by, setting Brenda and Fleem in her lap.

Fleem saw Brenda's smile from the corner of his eye. "Looks like your mom saved the day."

He gave a single nod of acknowledgement, but something else stole his attention.

"Wait, you said we. 'We can't lose the devices'." Fleem looked up just as his mom finally turned and met his eyes. She looked tired like she always did, but there was something else.

She knew. She knew he was Fleem and Dallin wasn't.

"How?" He whispered, pieces already coming together in his mind. Dr. Laker shifted positions to look at him. "I'm not sure how much she's told you. She didn't want me to tell anyone, but she helped me design these prototypes."

Fleem waited, trying to process this new information. His mom, an expert in smallfoot technology?

"I told her what happened to you two as soon as I found out, and together we've been trying to fix the dang things." Dr. Laker smiled admiringly at Fleem's mom. "She's amazing. I could never have come as far as I have without her."

Fleem's mom tiredly returned the smile.

Dr. Laker looked down at the two devices in his hands and his smile faltered. "We hoped to come up with a way to communicate better so working together would be easier. I guess this isn't it."

Fleem found his voice again. "How long has she been working with you?"

Dr. Laker finally laid back down on his 'partner's' insistence.

"Almost as long as our species have been friends. She comes down the mountain early every single morning, and since you and Dallin...swapped, she's hardly taken a break."

Fleem took in his mom's droopy eyelids and slight swaying. She did seem a tad more tired than usual. "Why hasn't she ever said anything about this?"

"I just assumed she doesn't like being the center of attention. But you know her better than I do. Once we fix these, you can ask her yourself."

Fleem shivered and pushed himself further into Meechee's fur. As he reflected on that argument so long ago, the irony of his mom taking an interest in smallfoot stuff didn't escape him.

Dallin:

Dallin blinked at Fleem's mom's revelation. "So you've known this whole time?"

She slowly nodded. "I can tell my smallfoot friend just told Fleem. I suppose you should know too."

Dallin ran a hand through his arm fur. That just made it more awkward. He'd been calling this yeti 'Mom' every night, thinking she was none the wiser.

She rubbed her tired eyes. "I admit, it's been a rough adjustment. I don't know who you really are, speaking with Fleem's voice." She offered a soft smile. "But you seem like a nice smallfoot."

Dallin awkwardly smiled back. "I try. If you really want to know, my real name is Dallin."

She seemed reluctant for a second, but then held out a wary hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you Dallin."

Dallin took it and tried to relax, but couldn't quite manage. He glanced nervously at the cave walls.

"I don't like caves." He mumbled as Fleem's mom raised an eyebrow. He'd had a less than pleasant 'encounter' with a cave as a kid in scout camp, involving one of the camp leaders.

He recalled with embarrassment his hesitation outside of the cave. Gwangi had had to push him in.

He cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject. "So, you're a healer?"

Fleem's mom glanced at Dr. Laker. "I was going to be. Before I met this smallfoot. Tell me his name?"

"Dr. Laker. Seth Laker."

She nodded. "I met him the day yetis and smallfeet first made contact. He showed me his projects, and I was fascinated, so I asked him to teach me what he knew. It's a lot of work, and at first it felt wrong to completely discard the Stones, but I've loved working with him more than I ever enjoyed learning to be a healer."

"I think it suits you." Meechee piped in with a smile.

"The Stones. I've heard of those." said Dallin. Fleem's mom looked at the ground. "Yes. Yetis followed the Stones for many generations. I never expected that would change." She chuckled. "But I am glad that I get to see so many things that have never been done. It's hard, but it's better." Meechee voiced wholehearted agreement.

It sounded like she had happily found her purpose in life. Dallin thought back to his days cleaning in the Yak Shack. It had only been a few days, but it felt like forever ago. What was he going to do now that he was almost certainly fired?

He didn't know.

Fleem's mom shot a quick look at Fleem in Meechee's lap. He'd started to drift off to sleep, even as Percy chattered with Brenda.

Meechee saddened and looked towards the cave entrance again. "Migo is still out there. Thorp too. Do you think they're okay?"

Fleem's mom straightened, as if only remembering that there were others. Not just Migo and Thorp, but many from the yeti village. "I doubt they'll be able to find their way here. They're probably still in the smallfoot village."

She stood up. "Someone needs to find them and help them get to a closer shelter. I've passed through the area with snowstorms before, so I know it pretty well. I'll go, if someone is willing to come with me. Just one yeti." She added quickly as nearly everyone opened their mouths to volunteer. "Not you, Dallin. I'm leaving Fleem and Seth Laker with you."

Dallin shut his own mouth.

The S.E.S began to argue yet again. The storm had taken its toll on everyone. Fleem's mom sighed. "Gwangi. Will you come with me?"

He nodded determinedly. "Mmhmm."

"Good. Let's go. We'll come back after the storm has passed." The two began to cross the cave.

Something occurred to Dallin. "Wait! What do I call you now? I don't think I can keep calling you 'Mom'."

He saw then where Fleem got his smirk. "Tania."

Then she disappeared, Gwangi right behind her.

Meechee gave Dr. Laker a reassuring look as he nervously watched Tania leave. "Wow. Tania is usually really quiet. Always made me wonder if she and Fleem were actually related."

She gently brushed some hair out of Fleem's face with one finger. He stirred but didn't wake up.

Dr. Laker stiffly sat up and examined one of the devices, looking confused. He held it up towards Dallin and began to speak in gibberish. Dallin squinted at it. "What about the device? Is there something different about it?"

Dr. Laker shrugged and held up the other device next to it, as if comparing them.

"Maybe Tania messed with them?" Dallin suggested. Dr. Laker turned them over and bit his lip before shrugging again.

Dallin yawned and scooted backwards to lean against a rocky wall. The events of the day were starting to catch up with him. He was even too tired to worry about being in a cave. He'd just rest his eyes for a bit.

Hopefully when he woke up, the storm would have passed.