Chapter 4

Village Tour Gone Wrong

(A/N: Okay, I know I'm limiting POV changes, but this chapter is going to need a few if I want to cover what I'm going to cover here... 0_o)

It was the next morning, and Lila wasn't feeling her best. Her joints had begun to hurt, but her broken bones were healing properly. When she woke up, Kai was preparing breakfast for her. Kai smiled, holding a fresh grapefruit, cut in half with a fork. She set it down on a table by the couch Lila slept on. The girl feigned sleep some more, not wanting to make Kai think she woke her up. The yoshi stood by Lila for a moment, as if she sensed that the girl was awake, or starting to stir. She passed off the thought and turned away to tend to a few fruits in her sink. She took the fruits out of the water, and sighed. Sometimes picking fruit and then washing them all before or moments after the sun rose could prove to be tiring. She liked having Lila over, though, and certainly didn't mind the extra work of acting as the girl's guardian. But as her bones healed, she started to feel kind of bad, achy. She opened her eyes and looked at Kai, suppressing a laugh.

Kai was throwing fruit after fruit into the air, snatching it out of the air with her tongue, and continuing the train. It was clear the yoshi was enjoying herself. She finished quickly, and looked at Lila. The girl was giggling, and she immediately understood why.

"I guess you saw that," said Kai, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Gregor's mother taught me how to do that before she passed. She was very talented."
Lila smiled again. "That was cool, but who is Gregor?" she asked. Kai's sheepish expression changed to a look of disgust, and then to sorrow.

"Gregor is our town weaver, I must have forgotten to tell you his name. He worked on your clothes. They should be done today. Your wheelchair is probably ready, too."

Lila frowned. She saw the look on Kai's face when Gregor was mentioned. "You don't like him?" she asked. Kai shook her head. "He's arrogant, rude, and really immature. I used to like him. He used to be really friendly until his mother passed away. His father left the village before he even hatched."
Lila took in Kai's words, and Kai felt guilty. All the things she said about Gregor weren't really true. He was only miserable because he had nobody. His own father simply vanished into thin air, and it seemed like he took all possible paperwork about him along. In a sense, he was an unperson; a person one knew existed, but had to pretend never did. Gregor's father? Who is that?

The silence broke, and Lila spoke up again. "You said that Yoshis turn things into eggs. Wouldn't that make one parent?" asked Lila as she started into her grapefruit.

Kai nodded. "Technically, yes there is only one parent, but yoshis are capable of love, too! If a male yoshi loves a female enough, he can add his own genes to the egg."
Lila was confused, but Kai continued.

"For reproduction, yoshis have two options:

Sex before the female creates the egg. Both yoshis genes mix, creating a unique offspring. The other option is for the male to let the female lay the egg, then he swallows it and lays it again, with his genes in it, too."

Lila slowly understood. "I think I get it. But, what can you turn into eggs?" she asked, working on her breakfast a little more. Kai sat down on part of the couch and smiled.

"Just about anything. There's only a handful of things that we cannot turn into eggs."
"Has a yoshi ever turned a human into an egg?" asked Lila, shuttering in the slightest at the thought of just being eaten. Kai chuckled. "No, so you have nothing to worry about," she said, rubbing Lila's head affectionately. Lila smiled. She finished her food, and Kai smiled back. "Do you feel stronger today?"

Truthfully, her bones felt weaker and stronger. It was difficult to tell.

"A little," responded Lila. Kai smiled.

"That's good. Our Chief is probably putting the finishing touches on your wheelchair. Sytik wanted me to get him when you woke up."
Lila nodded.

"I'll be back a little later," she said before running out the door.

Kai is a rather speedy Yoshi. She is great with speed, but her gift with speed was also her downfall; nobody (young Yoshis or anyone else) could ride her.

"Sytik," called Kai as she reached the door to his hut. He answered quickly, smiling kindly at his friend.

"Good morning," said Sytik, Kai wrapping him in a warm embrace.

"Good morning. Lila's up, so you know," responded Kai. Sytik returned her embrace, and they released each other.
"Thank you for letting me know. I want to take Lila to see the village. The poor thing has been stuck inside for almost seven days!"

Kai giggled. "She certainly has been a little restless. Last night she tried to stand and walk. I managed to stop her," she said. Sytik nodded. "I'll take her to see the village today if you get her clothes and wheelchair," he said.

--

Lila

--

I wondered what it was that Sytik wanted. Maybe he wanted to check on me? I don't know, but I haven't seen him since he dropped some fruits off yesterday. Kai told me everything she went through for my clothes before bed, and now I know that when I get better, I'll sure help her as much as I can.

All I wanted was to go to Hawaii.... sometimes I don't understand life... but then, what's there to understand about it? I guess... at first when I arrived on this island, I was hurt, and freezing on a piece of plane debris. Now that I think about it, I'll never fully understand how I managed to make it to this island after the crash.

And I'm certain that I'll never be able to repeat how I got here, not that I'd want to. I don't really remember what happened when I was directing myself to the island, but I do remember only this for sure:

It. Hurt.

Still, when I first landed here, I was scared, and I admit, very unhappy. But, a village found me, fixed my wounds, and now I'm healing nicely in a cozy little hut.

I have to admit that I like it here.

The sound of the door creaking open shook me free of my thoughts, and a familiar blue yoshi walked into the room. He smiled at me, and approached.

"Good morning, kiddo," he said in a kind tone. I smiled back.

"Good morning, Sytik," I said. He came a little closer.

"You want to see something funny?" he asked. I didn't know what he meant, but I didn't want to be rude, either.

"Okay," I said, and Sytik stepped back. He opened his mouth and let his tongue out. It touched his nose, and... he struck a pose, too.

Oh my gosh, that's so cute!

I giggled, because it was the second funniest thing I've seen today, and I've only been up for about an hour now. Are all Yoshis this funny?

He chuckled a little, too, and approached again. "Kai has to get your wheelchair and clothes, and I came to ask if you wanted to see the village."
I nodded. "I'd love to, but I can't move like this. Trust me, I've tried," I said.

"So I've heard. I don't want you to try to do that without Kai or myself around, alright?" he said.

"I won't, I'm sorry. I just wanted to see if I was well enough to do something."
Sytik laughed. "You've only been here for a week! You may feel a little better, but you're far from healed. Now, back to my original question: Do you want to see the village?"

I nodded. "I would, but I can't move," I said, hiding my irritation. I don't like being asked the same thing more than once. I'm kind of like that guy from Austin Powers in that way.

I can't stand to be asked the same question three times! It just irritates me!

I shouldn't feel like that, especially since this Yoshi is one of those that saved my life. I feel guilty now.

"I know you can't move. What I'm asking is do you want me to take you?" he said, smiling. I froze.

Was I being offered the chance to ride a yoshi? That's so cool!
But, my broken bones... I don't know if I should say yes to him...

He seemed to sense what I was thinking, because he went on. "Not to brag, but I'm one of the most gentle yoshis on this island. Trust me, you won't feel any pain," he said. "So, what do you say?"

I smiled, and nodded at him. "Okay, let's do it," I said. He stepped forward and helped me get onto his back. He started walking, and wow! He was right! I didn't feel a thing! His strides were perfect, and it felt like I was floating across the ground, which would be convenient. I was still a little nervous though.

"It's okay, I've got you," he said. Sytik walked out the door, and I saw the village for the first time since I arrived on this island.

It was beautiful. It was the most beautiful civilization I'd ever laid eyes on. There were yoshis of all kinds walking around, some shooting glances at each other, smiling, waving, and I even saw two yoshis napping next to each other. I started to feel a little out of place.

Yoshi, yoshi, yoshi, yoshi, yoshi, yoshi, yoshi, yoshi, yoshi, yoshi, yoshi, yoshi, and a human.

I'm not exactly blending in here, especially considering a few yoshis even shot glances at me. I could read the expressions on some of their faces. Some of the yoshis were looking at me as if to say "Hi, human! Welcome to our island!", while others looked at me as if to say "Do one thing out of line, girl, and see what happens."

"So," said Sytik, jolting me from my thoughts once more. "Let me show you around."

"Okay," I said, still not fully over the fact that this village was so pretty. Sytik took me to a big hut, and I could see Kai inside it talking to another yoshi, green. The green yoshi laughed at something Kai said.

"That's our Chief's hut. He's the one putting your wheelchair together. Lila, no matter what you do, don't do anything to get him angry or upset. I don't think you'll have a problem with that, though. It's hard to get him angry."

I smiled.

"Get him angry? After all the hard work he's done on a wheelchair for me? Why would I do anything to try and get him angry?" I asked. Sytik chuckled. "Believe me, working on that wheelchair is a cakewalk compared to some of the other stuff he's built."
"What else has he built?" I asked. Sytik fell silent for a moment.

"You know what, Lila? I just can't tell you how much he's built. You can go ahead and ask him yourself when you get that wheelchair. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to talk with you," he said, moving on. He walked up to another hut, this one with a sign that said "WEAVER".

"This hut.... well, I'm not quite sure what this one... oh! It's the Weaver's house! Phew, thank goodness for that sign, huh?" he said, and I giggled.

"Now, Gregor is our weaver, and he might be a real pain, but try not to get on his bad side, or he won't make any clothing for you."

Wow, he certainly seems mean, but then I remembered what Kai said about his being miserable. I saw him working on a primitive looking sewing machine. He glanced out the window and his eyes met mine. He scowled, and continued working as if to say "Welcome to our island. Any chance of you leaving, like, now??"

"Don't worry, it's nothing personal. None of our villagers have seen you much yet, so he's probably perplexed by your presence," said Sytik as he turned around to start walking again. He honestly must be a mind reader.

I doubt that, but if you say so!

He stopped in front of another hut, this one with a sign that said "MARKET".

"This is our store, it has a lot of food for us all. In fact, Kai supplies a lot of her extra fruit to this place. The owner's name is Syd, and she is very nice. You two will get along very well. Moving on!" he said. He started walking to another hut, this one said "MEDIC" in front of it. "This is the medical hut, we took you here when you arrived."
"And you fixed my injuries?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yes."
Our tour continued for another several minutes. Then...

"Everybody hide! Hashashins!" yelled one yoshi.

All of the other Yoshis were hiding, and we were stuck in the open. But, I didn't know what a Hash-in was. Based on the fact that all of the yoshis were hiding, I had a feeling it wasn't anything positive. Sytik had started to panic, too, but tried not to make any sudden movements. Two... beings clad in brown armor all over found their ways to us. This armor they wore was all over, and they were heavily armed: Sword in a sheath on the hip, blades crossed on their torsos like a letter "X", a pouch on their belts, and some kind of spikes erupting from their backs, though for what I do not know. They approached us both, and I heard a low growl escape Sytik's mouth. The two beings, whatever they were, stared at me.

"Human... what are you doing on this island?" asked the being on the left. I shuttered hearing the voice. It was cold and lifeless, to say the least.

"I..."

"She doesn't have to tell you," said Sytik, shooting a worried glance at me before glaring at the two strange things. There were only two of them, but still I was scared. The one who asked me that question nodded.

"This is true. Her presence here does not concern our master. We must speak to your Chief."

"He's not here, try again never," responded Sytik, taking a few steps back and gently sliding me onto the ground before resuming his position. The second "Hashasha" or whatever drew his sword.

"Fool. We are not here to hurt him, we are here to deliver a message," said the second being.

"I call your bluff, Hashashins," said a new voice. The two Hashashins turned their heads to see a gray Yoshi with a sword of his own strapped to his back.

"Fajor?" asked Sytik. The gray yoshi stared only at the two brown clad creatures before him.

"You are not here in peace, else you would've left your weaponry behind," said "Fajor". The second Hashashin tried to excuse the weapons. "We needed them, or we would've been defenseless in the jungle. I just so happen to know that no-man's land is most dangerous between our boundaries-"

"-and I just so happen to know that no tribe in their right mind would make an attempt on you Hashashins, defenseless or not. You're the fool."

--

Narrator

--

The second Hashashin had enough. He ran forward and tried to stab Fajor, and Lila would've screamed if her mouth didn't have a hand over it, courtesy of Sytik. Fajor leapt to the side and knocked the weapon out of the Hashashin's hand with his own sword. He quickly stabbed the Hashashin with his sword, but it did nothing. That armor these things wore was tough! Nevertheless, the Hashashin stumbled, and Fajor dove into him, knocking him onto his spiky back.

The Hashashin remained on his back, stuck, and Fajor leapt forward, narrowly avoiding the other Hashashin's weapon. He rolled, and grabbed the downed Hashashin's weapon, regaining his feet and blocking another attack.

"You cannot win!" yelled the Hashashin as his partner tried to stand. Sytik saw he was starting to succeed, and ran to him to keep him occupied. Meanwhile, Fajor blocked another attack and slashed at the Hashashin with his own sword.
Nothing.

He tried again, with the Hashashin's blade he held in his other hand.

The result was no damage to the enemy's body, but a good tear through the armor. Lila was suprised; that must've been one strong sword! Fajor smirked.

"Ah, I get it," said Fajor. "You make powerful weapons, Hashashin," he said, blocking one final attack with his original sword before dropping it to the ground.
Sytik, meanwhile, was stripping the other Hashashin of his weapons, and pointing one of the double swords at his neck.

Fajor grunted as the Hashashin's sword grazed the skin on his arm, and he slashed again at the Hashashin's torso, freeing the double blades and creating another tear in the armor. As he leapt backward, Fajor eyed the straps that held the armor on his enemy's body.

A loud clang made Lila cover her ears as Fajor blocked another attack. He slashed at the two straps holding the armor, and they broke, causing the armor to open and reveal the Hashashin's clothing, which was, suprise suprise, brown.

Fajor leapt as the Hashashin tried slashing at his legs. He landed on top of the Hashashin's sword, and took the opprotunity to his advantage. He slashed again, this time at the straps holding the armor on his enemy's legs, sending the protective piece to the ground, too. All the Hashashin had left was the armor on his head, hands, and feet. Even the spikes were long gone, probably only attached to his torso armor. Fajor smirked again, and Lila didn't understand why.

"Your armor is all but gone, Hashashin. You don't stand a chance!" he yelled.

"I will make you eat your words!" yelled the Hashashin, and Fajor grinned.

"I will make you one of our own!" shot back Fajor. Sytik's head shot up. Was Fajor insinuating he wanted to turn the Hashashin into an egg?
"Fajor, someone's already tried that, it's a bad idea!" he called.

"Maybe... with the armor on! Without it..."
Fajor's tongue shot out of his mouth faster than the Hashashin could react. He dropped his weapon and grabbed the Yoshi's tongue with both hands, trying to pry it from his chest, but to no avail. Instead, Fajor swallowed a Hashashin, and an egg came out his rear.

(I couldn't really think of an appropriate way to word that... 0_o)

The other Hashashin's eyes widened, and he grew angry, rolling to his side and leaping up with speed that Sytik could not match. He whirled around and smacked the blue yoshi, sending him stumbling to the ground. With that, he ran.

"You will die for what you've done!" he yelled as he vanished into the jungle. Fajor groaned, and fell to his knees.

"Mr. Fajor, are you okay?" called Lila. He nodded, clutching his stomach.

"I can't believe you just did that!" said Sytik, standing, holding his cheek, and staring at the egg now bobbing around on the floor. "Was that..."
"...a complete guess? Yep. And I guess it's the armor that keeps us from being able to turn them into eggs. But, still.... it tasted absolutely horrible!"
Sytik laughed, and approached the gray yoshi.

"Fajor, you fight well, and I.... I want to learn."
Fajor's eyes shot up from the ground to the blue yoshi. He couldn't remember the last student he had.

"Of course... come to my hut whenever and we'll begin your training."

Sytik grinned, and it vanished just as fast. "Do you want me to dress your wound?" Fajor looked at the cut on his arm. "No, it's nothing. You go help your human friend. See me when you're ready to practice."

He started to walk away, the egg slowly following it's parent. Sytik was worried about Fajor, not so much for his wound, which was truthfully no more than a catscratch, but he was worried about what the Hashashins might do to his hut when they found out that he'd beaten two of their kind... no, what would they do to him?

Sytik shook off his thoughts as Kai came running full speed out of the Chief's hut, wrapping Sytik up in a big hug.
"Are you okay?" she asked, scared. Sytik chuckled. "I'm fine, Kai. I'd be more worried about Fajor." Kai released Sytik and approached Lila, looking her over. "Are you okay, sweetie?" asked Kai, looking at Lila and waiting for a response. "I'm okay," was all Lila said. She was uncomfortable after seeing the fight.

"I wonder why Fajor was here... he certainly had perfect timing."
"He came to warn the Chief. The Hashashins are readying to start a war with us," said Kai.

End of Chapter 4

A/N:

I don't like this chapter all that much... 0_o But, I needed something! I needed the POV changes here.

Fajor found a way to beat the Hashashins, but what if they learn from that?

I sure hope this chapter was worth the wait!