The sky is light orange, and clouds seemed to be purple. As soon as they know it, dawn has arrived across the landrace. The sun peeks through the mountain tops. The Yetis woke up and stretched like they do every morning.
In the ice palace, Meechee is in her cozy bed, sleeping the night away with her mammoth, Blossom sleep next to her bed. She was exhausted from that epic snowball fight and sled race yesterday. That has to have been the most wonderful day she has ever had in a lifetime if she were honest with herself. The dawn shining lights came though her two oval-shaped windows.
Meechee soon woke up and stretched her arms.
"Morning Blossom" She greeted with a yawn. Blossom responded with a toot. Meechee chucked. She got up from her bed and went over to the mirror to brush her long lavender hair and braided in a signal braid although she has been thinking about changing it up into something different. Thanks to some Smallfoot hairstyles inspiration. But she left as it is until figured out how to do some hairstyles. Then she puts on the necklace to complete the look.
After that, Meechee went check on her brother, Throp in his room. She saw him talking to himself in the mirror, saying all kinds of self-advocates to himself. Ever since they had that 'Father Complexe' discussion, he's been making groundbreaking improvements forming his relationship with his dad.
"You got this Thorp. Totally got this."
"Hey Throp, watcha doing?" Meechee asked playfully.
"Saying nice things about myself," Thorp replies. "My Smallfoot said it's a great way to raise my self-esteem. She pretty cool."
"Huh, I'll have to meet her," Meechee notes in her head. But then quickly changed the subject.
"Hey Thorp, have you seen dad?"
Thorp looked back Meechee from the mirror. "Nope, I actually haven't seen him at all this morning. Why?"
"I have to talk to him. He hasn't been coming down the mountain with us in days, Thorp. There's something up." Meechee said with worry.
Thorp is silent for a sec, "I want to help dad, too, but what about your friends and smallfoots?"
"I'll tell them we're coming down a little later and they can tell the Smallfoots that," Meechee answered simply.
"Aww, my Smallfoot would probably think I'm struggling or something." Throp slumps his shoulders.
Meechee left the room and real quick open the ice doors and ran outside in the village. She's hoping she would run into one of her friends to tell. Luckily, she ran into Kolka around the foods stands. As she intended, she said Kolka her and Thorp are coming down a little later in the day. Kolka didn't ask why, but Meechee told her why anyways.
Kolka nodded in understanding. "I'll make sure to tell them."
"Thanks, Kolka. Your the best." Meechee had already started running back to the ice palace.
"Anytime, Meech!" Kolka yelled. "That's what friends are for!"
Meechee met Thorp at the hallway where the statues of Storekeepers of the past stood. The secret staircases that lead lower down the mountain. It hid a machine and the truth about the Smallfoot. The two siblings walk down the stairs, where red glowing snails lead the way.
"What if he doesn't want to be bothered and wants to be left alone?" Thorp said worriedly.
"He already had time to himself for days. Besides, it's unhealthy to be alone like that all the time."
"...Yeah, you may be right about that."
The staircase leads out into a sizeable room-the truth of the Smallfoot that is stone carved to tell a story. The glowing snails lit the room in many colors. But the Stonekeeper is nowhere to be seen.
"Dad?" Thorp called out. "Are down here?
"Daddy?" Meechee called out.
No one answer. Meechee grew more concerned for her father.
"He has to be down here somewhere. Where else would he be?" Meechee said. Thorp, on the other hand, kelp scanning room as he too became worried. Then he saw something unusual in the room, something that wasn't there before. It some sort of rippling blue light coming from underneath the back wall of the room. He approached it closer.
"Thorp? Wha-?" Meechee pauses herself, she blue light too. She started approached it along with Thorp. "What is that?" They had many questions going through heads right now, too many to count. Once they approached it, they realized it's a door. As soon they found out it's a door, Then their eyes immediately landed on a lever on its right side of the door. They looked at each other, looking shocked by what they just found. Meechee pulled down the leave with ease, and the stone door drops down slowly to the ground. The rippling blue light is so bright; they had shielded their eyes. The door revealed a hallway with more glowing snails that glowed on its walls.
"Whoa." They said breathlessly in unison. They walked down the intimidating hallway it poses, telling them that they shouldn't be in here at all. Thorp hesitated before walking in. The entrance leads to a vast room entirely made out of ice that the dawning sun glisten though. In the room, laid a large round table made from thick gray stone. Thorp was bewildered by all this while Meechee was at a moment of curiosity; they didn't notice that their father, the Stonekeeper, is sitting at the table startled to see his daughter and son here.
"Meechee? Thorp?" He said. They immediately recognized his voice.
"Dad!" The said in a union. They hugged the stoneless Stonekeeper. He embraces them back. "Your okay!"
"Dad, what is all this? How long have you been in here? How long have you..." Meechee trailed off, feeling confused and upset. "...hid this?"
"Yeah, dad. What's with the drop-down door? And the glowing blue snails down the hallway back there?" Thorp asked in confusion.
The Stonekeeper rubs his eyes with a heavy sigh. He got up from his chair with the help of his staff. The two siblings let's go their hug on their worried father.
"I should have told you all this sooner." He said with bitter regret. Meechee is puzzled by this. Undoubtedly, Thorp was the most puzzled. Only because they didn't know who their father was talking to. Was he talking to them or himself?
"What are talking about, dad? Tell us all what?" Meechee asked, starting to worry for their dad.
Then there is a beat of silence. "What's going on, dad?" Thorp asked even more confused and worried than before. The secret is out, and the Stonekeeper knew it.
"The Smallfoots are in imminent danger."
Meechee's heart and mind felt like had stopped altogether as her eyes widen in a state of shock. Thorp is trying to process on what he just heard as his eyes widen too. It felt like the earth stopped turning as it felt like time just stop with no reason. Meechee struggled to get her words out.
"...What?" Meechee said horrified.
"No way..." Thorp said in complete shock.
Stonekeeper had a guilty look on his face. He wasn't surprised by their reaction. Meechee felt anger, and agonize start to build up in her body.
"What kind of danger are Smallfoots in?" Meechee asked anger. She wanted answers and wanted them now.
"It's a lot to explain," The Stonekeeper said sheepishly. "Take a look at the map on the table."
Both Meechee and Thorp approach the table, where the map itself is carved onto the table. Meechee had noticed the map on the table when they entered the room but never had the time to look at it. The map not only showed the mountain they lived on, but it also indicated where all the Smallfoot villages are located, which is symboled with a hand-drawn stickfiuge. Even the one they go to every day that's just a few miles from their here.
"What are we spouse to be looking at?" Thorp asked.
"Look closer," Stonekeeper advised.
That he did, Meechee continued to look at the map. She notices there are few hands drawn yeti faces on the map, spread out in few areas. With one being along with the mountain ranges. And that when Meechee puts the pieces together to form one significant shocking conclusion together.
"There are other Yetis villages out there!" Meechee almost shouted out of excitement. The Stonekeeper nodded. "There's more yetis!"
"This changes everything..." Thorp trailed off. He had none left nothing left to say about. This whole thing has been shocking from the very start.
"You see, the Stonekeepers from five of these villages, including ours, would meet in this very meeting room to discuss many things." The Stonekeeper explained. "One specifically about the Smallfoot threat we all faced."
Meechee and Thorp listened carefully.
"One night, the came together to talked about how to handle the Smallfoot threat and how to protect their villages. We all came to the same conclusion to remain hidden from human eyes except one. The Stonekeeper of the north proposes a different plan to terminate all Smallfoot from the land to bring peace for yetis."
Meechee covers her mouth; she was utterly disgusted by this. Thorp just closed his eyes and shook his head.
"The Stonekeepers and I were baffled by his proposal and rapidly declined the idea because it would only make the threat worse. The Stonekeeper of the North angrily got up from his seat and left the meeting that night. Until the very next day, he went to this Smallfoot village-"
The Stonekeeper pointed the other Smallfoots village that is miles away to the one they go to.
"-and took many of them from there homes and taken them back to their village where the village folks don't see them."
"What happened to them?" Meechee questioned fearfully. She felt like she knew the answer already.
The Stonekeeper sighs. "I don't know, Meechee. All I know they were never seen again." He said sadly.
Meechee gasp in complete horror. Thorp felt uncomfortable by this.
"He told us what he has done in the next meeting, and we couldn't believe it. We told him that he has put all in jeopardy and that he's no better than the Smallfoot. That was the last we saw him before he cried out 'All of you be thankful that I'm doing this!' He stormed out. Since then, we never had a meeting, and he never pulled stunt augin...until now."
Thorp did not like where this is going as the Stonekeeper gestures at the map.
"I fear the North Stonekeeper has already found out that we have been coming down to the Smallfoot village at some point. And will not hesitate to strike, if not already."
"But it's not what it used to be, that's all in the past. We made peace with the Smallfoot; most of us even became friends with them." Meechee argued. She couldn't help but think about her and Brenda hanging together and learn from one another all kinds of stuff. Of course, she couldn't forget Migo and Percy, the iconic duo. Thair the bestest friends.
"Can't we just talk to him that we made peace? Maybe he'll change his ways." Thorp spoke up.
"None of you understand. The Stonekeeper of the North doesn't just fear the Smallfoots as we all have but has this deep hatred for Smallfoots to point it affects his thinking. I have no clue why he hates them so much."
Meechee took many deep breaths to calm herself down.
"A yeti like him, are not willing to change." The Stonekeeper finished.
"W-We need to warn them! We have to warn all the Smallfoots! The village deserves to know the truth as well! We have to go now!" Meechee announced out loud as she already dashes out the room in a rush to the Smallfoot village. Thorp was about to go with Meechee out until he saw his father wasn't moving at all but staring at the map.
"Dad, are you coming?" Thorp asked. Dispute being bombarded with so much information and news.
"I'll come down later, Thorp. There are more things I have thunk about." His father reposed.
"This is pretty serious, dad," Thorp said. "But I guess I understand." He ran out the meeting to catch up with Meechee, hoping she didn't get too far, leaving the stoneless Stonekeeper to look at a land that might change for the good or the bad within a few days.
To Be Continued...