A Healthy Portion Of Disbelief
''That... That... That's impossible!'' Seedos exclaimed. ''Stardos, you can't be a God, you can't know Suelos - he's died centuries ago!''
''He's disappeared centuries ago'' Dastardos mocked. ''And so have the Kelele bats...''
''No!''
''No? The proof's pretty concrete to me.''
''But STILL!''
''Ehm, I am sorry Seedos, Dastardos, I know that the truth is pretty concerning and unbelievable...'' The brothers had totally forgotten about Chamkele. Their reunion was of course way more important than an oversized Sherbat, no matter how much the piñata mattered to the Island's history and wellbeing. ''I truly am sorry... Reunifications with lost family members are priceless... But we are running out of time.''
''You're right.'' Dastardos, who had been bending over his little brother only moments ago, regained his posture and turned to Chamkele. ''You tell him. Please.''
''I will. Seedos.''
''Yes?'' Seedos asked in dubiety. He didn't like the seriousness in the bat's voice at all. It was that dark kind of seriousness, the tone in which people would talk if they were about to anounce bad news.
''Please, do not look at me like that... It won't be THAT bad...'' The smile on the Chamkele's lips was totally fake. ''I just want to... you know, explain your part in all this!''
''Alright.'' Seedos took a silk handkerchief out of one of the pockets of his shorts and wiped off his forehead. When he put it back a certain sense of grief hit him, something he hadn't felt in a long time...
The handkerchief he had just used had once belonged to his mother, and eventhough he usually managed to supplant his feelings to the very border of his psyche... Her dissappearance was something that would still get him sad from time to time, more than sad, probably.
''Seedos'' Chamkele whispered, affected by the emotional look on Seedos' mask, which was normally so neutral ''from the very moment you were born, Terah hated you.''
''What?''
''Terah - Old Goddess of Soil, predecessor of Suelos - hated you.''
''But why?''
''Because... Eventhough Terah is a cruel, heartless lady, seeds are naturally drawn to her, she is the one who has created them, after all...'' The idea of a monster having created his number one favorite thing in the world made Seedos shiver.
''Yeah, I know, that is a toughie to get over'' Chamkele grinned. ''However... Right from the day you first held a spade - you was two years old, Jardineiro teached his children the arts of gardening from a very young age - seeds decided you were more... Friendly, or even more interesting than Terah. I don't know everything about it, but you sure aroused Terah's anger!''
''I never knew Terah liked seeds as much as I did!''
''Oh, she does! But for completely different reasons than you do, young friend...''
Seedos maskpalmed himself. Not Ameena, but HE had caused all this misery. ''I'm so stupid... I should've...''
''You are not stupid. Terah is just a vengeful old hag... And really, Terah is fáár from our biggest concern! Listen to me, though... I will only tell you this once, because we will most probably never meet again. Whenever you get an uncomfortable feeling, or whenever you feel like someone is watching you... Get to the Village as fast as you can. You can not take down demons or even a Goddess on your own.''
''What do you mean?''
''Also'' Chamkele ignored Seedos' question ''do not ever leave your house before sunrise or after sundown... The New Gods might have expelled them from civilazation, but the laws of evil deities and demons still apply in the wilderness.''
''I live in a bog...''
''I know that. It may be better for you to leave that tree and stay with your dad and sister for a while...''
''N-n-no!'' Dastardos looked up from the Kelele bat he was feeding. He had his chores in the temple, and providing the most important Sherbats with the most delicate sweets was one of those. Did he hear a cry in his brother's voice?
''Seedmour. Don't be a fag.''
Chamkele scowled at Dastardos. He didn't like the insensitive behaviour the half God would show from time to time.
''Why don't you want to live with your family, Seedos?''
''I-I-I can't leave my Shellys alone!'' The boy was sniveling now, and he reached for his handkerchief again, which made him only more upset.
''Oh, Seedos, please, they can look after theirselves, especially since it's just for a short while! This situation won't last that long at all...''
Dastardos coughed his most accusitory cough. He didn't like people - or... beings - who made important things sound breezier than they actually were.
Fortunately, Seedos didn't notice this. All he could think about was the new, awful reality.
''I know it sounds harsh... Maybe you can take them with you? Ask Ameena if they can stay in her garden for a short while, I am sure a sweet girl like her would not mind! Do not spill Dastardos' little secret though, and nor should you tell her that evil Gods are lurking... Argh, young friend, this can not be easy for you!''
Then, Chamkele did something astonishing. He stroke down on Seedos' shoulder and gave him a big hug. Seedos, who didn't get hugs often - not even when he needed them - couldn't help but find... comfort in the odd embrace.
''Thank you'' he murmured when the bat finally let go of him.
''You are welcome. But it is time for you to go now. The sun is rising and we don't want Leafos and Ameena to get even more worried about you than they already must be.''
''True...''
''Sigh... I truly would love to see a different ending to this story, but, you know... Faith does not always settle for happy ends.''
''This is no story.'' The bat and Seedos turned their heads to Dastardos, who was sitting on the High Priest's sarcophagus as if it was a bench in the park. ''This is only a chapter... This conflict hasn't quite ended yet!''
Chamkele rolled his jade eyes. Dastardos was so blind when it came to situations like these. The worst thing he could do now was making the young boy even more worried, and what did mister Piñata Reaper do?
''Say goodbye to your brother, Seedos. You won't see each other again in a while, I am afraid...''
Dastardos got up from the sarcophagus and floated towards a very, VE-RY confused Seedos.
''You'll be good, bro'' he whispered as he patted the boy on his shoulder.
''Dastardos! I love you!'' He really badly wanted to hug his brother again, but the idea of touching that cold, emaciated skin refrained him from doing that.
''I love you too.'' Dastardos smirked. Maybe expressing his feelings wasn't all that bad... Especially not when only his brother and a huge Sherbat were around!
''I will get some of my men to get you out of here'' Chamkele said wearily. ''Some... sleep would do all of us good...''
Next thing Seedos knew was the colorful tornado of a few hours ago, waiting to bring him downwards again.
''I'll keep an eye on you, bro!'' Dastardos screamed to get his voice over the noise the bat piñatas were making. ''Take care of yourself!''
''I will, St... Daz!'' Damn it! Tears were streaking down his mask again...
''Au revoir, Seedos!'' Chamkele shouted, and Seedos was so caught up in the moment that he didn't even wonder how the bat knew French.
''Au revoir!'' he shouted back.
Then, suddenly... Dozens of little, paper claws grabbed him again, which meant that his short journey to the outside world had begun.
''Seedos! Oh, Seedos, finally!'' Leafos flew up to her little brother as if she had been missing for days, instead of for a few hours. ''I'm so glad you are alright! Ohh... You are alright, aren't you?''
Leafos let go of him and gave him an inquiring glance.
''I... I am, Leafos, don't you worry!''
''Ameena and I have been waiting here for hours! Look, the sun's coming up already! We were afraid to go back into the temple, 'cause... You know.'' Leafos shivered discernibly. ''The crazy Sherbats... The dark, open space... The crystal pillars... We became too spooked!''
''It's alright, Leafos'' Seedos said so calmly that he could hardly even believe that the voice he was hearing was his. ''I understand. And I'm okay, totally.'' A short, awkward silence followed.
''Where's Ameena?'' Seedos finally broke it.
''She's at the Village. I've told her to look for help there... She'll be back shortly. It's been an hour... I think...'' Seedos put a hand on his sister's shoulder. She obviously was about to cry. ''I... I stayed here in case you'd... return!''
''I have returned, Leafos'' Seedos soothed her. ''In one piece! Would you wish for anything more?''
''N-n-no... I just... It could've ended differently.'' Leafos shuddered.
''But it hasn't. Hey, I think that's Ameena!''
A thin, dark figure with a pink Tigermisu mask was running along the path that leaded to the temple.
''Guys!'' she panted as soon as she was within hearing distance ''Seedos! Glad you're back... Couldn't find... Help. Bart wasn't in his trailer, and... Everyone else was... still asleep... Except for... Lottie... Petula... and Fannie.''
''Then you should've woken someone up!'' Leafos scolded. ''What if... ARGH!''
Ameena's mask turned a paler shade of pink. She had never seen her friend like that... No. She'd seen Leafos calm, cheerful and even sad, but never agitated, let alone downright furious...
''Don't be a female Barkbark, sis! I'm alright!'' Seedos smiled his widest, most convincing smile. ''Let's all go home, have an early breakfast and catch up on some sleep!''
''Okay then...'' Leafos yawned, and Seedos realized her eyes were all red. ''First though, tell me... What happened at the Kelele's?''
If he only knew how to answer thát... He couldn't just tell her the truth! Then he'd have to tell her about how Stardos was still alive, how he had become the piñata reaper, how they all descended from Suelos - and worse! How they all were in danger!
''I... You know, it makes perfect sense that you want to know all about my... encounters in the temple and stuff, well...''
Now there were plenty of things he could tell her, but it had to be something she'd actually buy... If he could only just shake this off, tell her it was none of her business and march back to the swamp to finally feed his Shellybeans...
But his big, bossy sis obviously wouldn't buy that.
''Those Sherbats... They wanted something from you, otherwise they'd never have lifted you up... They left me and Ameena be, after all... Please, Seedos...''
Leafos looked like she was pretty darn near an emotional breakdown. Seedos hated that miserable look on her mask, the last time he'd seen her like that was, well... When mom and dad had left to find a Dragonache or something, while Pester and his minions were destroying the garden.
''Leafos, don't you worry...'' Did she have a hunch that something was wrong, or was it just the fatigue? Either way, he had to assure her that ''everything's alright... Really. I'm feeling kinda like a celebrity now, though, I hope I won't turn out to be as bad as dad, when it comes to such things... Look. This might seem utterly ridiculous, but those Sherbats see me... as their prophet.''
''Their prophet?'' Ameena asked in surprise.
Seedos had almost forgotten she was there, he'd been so busy with his sister that Ameena just... totally hadn't mattered to him.
''Yes'' he confirmed ''they... Me and the Kelele have something in common, okay? The Kelele love seeds.''
The desperate look on Leafos' face made place for a stunned one. ''Seeds? That's all they're after?''
''Yes'' Seedos lied ''they want me to... you know. Collect seeds for them, since they can't go outside.''
''But why can't they?'' Leafos rose a brow. She KNEW the Kelele were hiding something from the very moment she saw those mysterious pillars... What was so threatening about the outside world to them?
''They're afraid of Professor Pester! He's alllllways hunting for rare piñatas! The horrible man!''
Leafos heaved a sigh and decided to stop asking, as she was tired and that answer sounded tolerably logical to her. ''Let's call it a night, then! Come on Ameena, you look like you could use some rest as well... You seem wide awake though, Seedos... However...'' the girl yawned as she stretched out ''I'm going to catch up on some sleep...''