Reunification
''Hmm... What is this?''
Ameena kneeled down to pick up the shimmery ornament laying on her doorstep. It seemed to be made of bullion.
''A bracelet... It's positively stunning! Would it be gold? Real gold?'' the girl squealed as she examined the thing inquisitively. ''This sure is too valuable to leave lying around on people's doormats... Someone must've brought it here on purpose... Another birthday gift?''
The girl made a face. The snout of her Tigermisu mask wrinkled funnily. ''Such fancy jewelry... I must have a secret admirer! Would it be Patch? No, he already gave me a medical encyclopedia earlier yesterday...'' She shook her head. ''Useful, but not exactly what you'd call romantic... It's endearing in a way, though.''
Suddenly, right when she was attempting to put on her new armband, the skyblue Canda wolf stormed towards her. He recognized that bracelet. It had once belonged to a stuck-up, but sort of nice Priestess who always used to give him Squazzil candy.
''Hey... Wolfie... I still need to give you a proper name,'' Ameena murmured as the big dog started to jump up and down in front of her.
When the piñata wolf finally came to a standstill he barked loudly, his glance fixated on the cuff bracelet.
''Yes, I know, it's pretty! Shh! Quiet down, before you wake up everyone in the entire region!'' The Mallowolf obeyed directly. ''What is it you want to tell me, boy?''
''Wraf!'' the actually genderless Canda wolf said.
Ameena frowned. ''It's almost like... Oh! I get it! You gave me this, didn't you!''
A warm smile appeared on her pink mask. ''Come here!'' Before the paper wolf knew it, he was tied up in an extremely tight embrace. ''I love you!''
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''Hey, Leafos!''
Ameena came just back from the Village and was carrying empty baskets, in which she had transported her self-harvested and self-grown fruits and vegetables. She was about 1000 choco coins richer now and she would pick up some bones at Costolot's later today if she turned out to have enough money to spend on those. This afternoon, she had planned to draft her balance sheet for the rest of the month... Argh, she hated that! Organizing her own finances was something about adulthood she just couldn't seem to get used to.
''I was wondering, Ameena, do you have any plans for today?'' Leafos asked, while patting the cotton candy-pink Canda wolf on its papery head.
''Except for spending a few hours inside the house administrating my household expenses? No, not really,'' Ameena said, half-sighing, ''unfortunately not.''
''Come on, girl! You can't be that boring! I know something way more exciting for you to do...''
''Tell me about it!'' Ameena growled as she plumped down under an apple tree. ''Dear God, it's hot today!''
''Agree,'' Leafos snickered. ''And that's why you shouldn't be doing your administration today... No, I've got better plans for you!''
''Like what?'' Ameena asked with a watery smile. ''Going on a trip to the Piñarctic with you?''
''You're not even that far wrong! Didn't you tell me the other day that you've wanted a Cinnamonkey ever since hearing of their existance, but never managed to tame one for some reason?''
Ameena tilted her head a little. ''Yes, why?''
''Well, if they don't come to you, why don't we come to them?'' Leafos suggested. ''There are plenty of Cinnamonkeys in the rainforest, and it's considerably cooler there, in the shade of the bushes and trees...''
The dull expression on Ameena's mask lightened up a little bit. ''You mean, like... We're going to hunt for them like Gretchen Fetchem does?''
''That's exactly what I mean, my friend!'' Leafos said while helping Ameena up. ''I don't see why we wouldn't... Your garden is perfect for Cinnamonkeys! No snow, no sand, no scary or hostile piñata neighbours and a bunch of beautifully blossoming monkeynut trees! You have anything a Cinnamonkey could wish for...''
''Hmm. If you put it that way... I'm getting dressed!''
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Fifteen minutes later, the two friends were making their way through the jungle with machetes. Cinnamonkeys prefered the denser parts of the rainforest over the areas with trackways, Leafos had just told Ameena.
''Why then?''
''I think they don't want humans to know that they are actually quite intelligent... They might act silly when around people, but they only do that because they realize it makes them money. Here, away from the civilized world, they sort of have their own communities and villages...''
''So they're just like the Canda and the Kelele in a way?''
''You could say that, but there far not as developed and they don't share the same ambitions... As far as I'm concerned.'' Leafos slashed a low-hanging liana and wiped off her moist forehead. ''Phwew... I haven't spent much time studying wild Cinnamonkeys, though. I would love to do that some day, I just never get around it... An entry about a Cinnamonkey village would be a true gain to the Journal...''
''The Journal? I thought that you had finished the Journal a long time ago,'' Ameena mumbled while whisking the musqitos that had gathered around her away.
''There's a second Journal. I've been working on for two years now. It's different from its predecessor, the information it contains is much more in-depth. I could even say it's slightly scientific from time to time...''
''Look! Is that a riverbed?'' Ameena knew it was impolite, but she was so surprised that she just couldn't help but interrupt Leafos' rambling.
''Must be... It's very shallow though.''
Ameena curiously set course to the partly dried-up creek ahead of her. Leafos followed her from a small distance.
''Be careful! There could be wild Cocoadiles hiding underneath the water surface, you never know with those jungle streamlets!''
''Oh, come on! The water level's way to low for such undesired surprises! You're scared, aren't you?'' Ameena giggled.
''I don't see the problem with that,'' Leafos objected as she progressed slowly. ''When I was seven years old, my older brother Stardos took me on a trip to an oasis in the middle of the Dessert Desert... It was a lovely place; paradise, if you asked me, there even was a small pond surrounded by incredibly thick palm trees...''
''Let me guess,'' Ameena reckoned as she started to walk downstream the river, ''you went for a bath?''
''Exactly.'' Leafos shuddered audibly. ''I better hadn't.''
''No? What was in there then, if I may ask you?''
After a short silence, Leafos answered in a small voice: ''A wild Chippopotamus.''
Ameena turned around, a shocked look on her Tigermisu mask. ''Most people don't survive an attack of their non-paper counterparts...''
''The ones made of confetti are notorious as well,'' Leafos grimaced. ''I don't remember much of what the Chippo did - I must've suppressed it very deeply - but I can recall Stardos saving me right before I lost my conciousness... He must've fought the beast in some way, because the blood on his face is something I do remember pretty vividly. He managed to falter me to the doctor before it was too late. It was awful, we both have scars to remind us of the bloody event... Well, Stardos would have scars if he were alive still...''
The girl shuddered again. The disappearance of her brother was without question more traumatizing than that mad Chippo he had once saved her from.
Suddenly, Ameena noticed something that looked like an abandoned building. It was partly covered in moss and bushes, but since it made of a strange type of white rock, it stood out in the jungle scenery like Petula's costume would stand out in any other place than Piñata Island.
It wasn't completely foreign-looking, but it certainly was noteworthy and slightly out of place.
''I know you've never been to this part of the jungle before, but ehm, do you have any thoughts on it?'' Ameena asked wonderingly.
''It must be some kind of temple,'' Leafos answered, ''but other than that... No. Absolutely not.''
''Shall we take a look inside? I mean, that Kelele temple wasn't exactly dangerous either, was it?''
''Except for the fact that those bats temporarily abducted my little brother...''
''They just wanted to honor him because they liked seeds as well! Seedos confirmed that!'' Ameena exclaimed in a voice that was overflowing of enthusiasm. ''And in case there are any ferocious monsters in there, we're armed!''
She winked at her best friend, who started to warm up to the idea now that her curiosity was taking the upper hand as well.
''Okay then,'' she grinned as she clenched her fists around her rusty machete more tightly. ''This doesn't look like a temple the Dark Gods would've built to me. They would've never used that kind of material, it's nice in a way, but it looks pretty poriferous... The Dark Gods liked powerful and concrete, buildings to pass the test of time with.''
Despite her brave words, Leafos couldn't completely convince herself of the safety of the place. She was slightly on guard when she set foot on the temple terrace, fervently hoping that her assumptions of the building were right.
Ameena on the other hand, was totally relaxed and stared wide-eyedly at the walls. They were chalky, limestone-like and completely covered in discriptions she wished she could decode.
''Those must be carved in the walls with... what are they called... bifaces and stuff!''
Leafos couldn't help but wish Ameena wouldn't cry out every single thing that occurred to her. A few metres later, the two reached the temple entrance. A tall Cinnamonkey statue guarded the doorway.
''It's beautiful!'' Ameena gasped.
''It is,'' Leafos agreed, in a quiet voice, afraid that something inside the temple could overhear them and would come out if she'd talk too loudly.
''Do you think this means there are Cinnamonkeys around here? I haven't seen any since we entered the forest...''
''Ameena...'' Leafos hadn't wanted to interrupt her friend's childlike marvel, but she just couldn't help herself. She was soaked in sweat already, and that was not due to the high temperatures. ''... I have a very bad feeling about this...''
Was it just her, Leafos wondered, or had the sky become a little darker and heavier, as if a thunderstorm was about to burst out?
''What's going on then?'' Ameena asked as she stepped away from the passage which she had been wanting to enter. The bright look on her mask had made place for a very troubled one. ''Do you... feel something?''
''I guess you could say that.''
Leafos glanced at the entrance, shivered, and turned around.
''Don't you think we'd better leave?'
Ameena would be loyal to her friend, no matter how much she was longing to explore the temple. ''Sure, I don't think that there are really Cinnamonkeys in there anyway...''
''Cinnamonkeys, no,'' a familiar voice unexpectedly sounded. ''Should you enter, though? Yes.''
A pink, bare, middle aged face appeared in the doorway. The green eyes were squinting against the weak jungle light, the nose was small and hardly noticable and the mouth was just incredibly wide.
Leafos - who wasn't used to seeing people maskless - squealed and covered her eyes, while Ameena exclaimed: ''Bart the Tinkerer!''
''That's me,'' Bart grinned. ''You can look, Leafos, my beauty isn't exactly blinding...''
Leafos smirked. She removed her hands, but she couldn't muster to look at anything but the ground.
''Come in, come in! I'm afraid I can't offer you tea or cookies, but hey, it isn't all that bad! You'll be getting to see one of the rare places on the Island where one of the Gods still lives on!''
''Still lives on?'' Leafos asked skeptically as Ameena and she entered a dark, muggy space. ''Who? You would expect a God or Goddess to choose more of a fancy residence, right, all I can see is... Wow...''
In the back of the room, which was basically empty, unpaved, and had holes in the ceiling through which water was dripping down, the effigy of a beautiful woman was posted on an altar.
''Impressed now, Leafos?'' Bart bantered playfully.
She sure was! The marble statue, which was bathing in the warm, pinkish light of the small candles surrounding it, depicted the most divine lady. She was tall, slightly muscular, had a wide nose and full lips and wore the most dazzling mask the Piñata Island had ever known...
''Hello Ladies, My Name Is Jeimiña. I Have Been Expecting You...''
Leafos was dumbstruck, a Goddess, a Goddess that hadn't showed up to civilazation for centuries was speaking to her, the trifling daughter of an old gardener?
Bart snickered as he found the shocked girl's maskial expression amusing, but averted his glance to look at Ameena. Interestingly, she was reacting completely different to the talking statue, he couldn't say she wasn't stunned, but still... He thought he saw a hint of recognition in her frown. Was she aware of the secret that was hidden far back in her pedigree?
''Ameena. Here You Are. Finally.''
''Ehm, I don't mean to be rude miss,'' Ameena stuttered. ''But... have you been turned into a statue or something?''
''No.'' A small giggle sounded through in the clear and just wonderful voice. ''I Still Consist Of Flesh And Blood, My Dear. I Just Cannot Show Up Anymore Now That Both My Mask And My Beauty Have Been Taken... That Is A Long Story Though, And I Am Afraid We Have Little Time. Gretchen... Gretchen, Where Are You? Hurry Up.''
''Here I am, your sublimity,'' the hoarse voice of the Huntress sounded from a shadowy corner of the rectangular chamber.
The old Tinkerer subconciously licked his lips. The stone depiction of the Goddess was gorgeous, but even Jeimiña had nothing on Gretchen, who's beauty was positively flooring.
''Gretchen?'' Ameena asked as her mouth fell open. ''What are you doing here, what's going on?''
''Sweetie...'' The Huntress smiled in the sugary way she only ever seemed to smile at Ameena. ''All these foggy occurences will be cleared up in a nick of time.''
Ameena wasn't sure wether to be reassured, but was okay with the explanation of the older and more intimidating woman.
''You Have Always Known You Were Special, Not?''
The deity Jeimiña spoke again. Leafos teeth began to chatter. This was all too much, wasn't it? She had ended up in a shady temple in the jungle where her new BFF was being talked to by a True Goddess - unbelievable that she had been having breakfast with her father just this morning!
''Not exactly, your highness...'' Ameena really couldn't think of a moment where she'd felt 'different' or 'better' from the rest. In school, she had been an okay student with okay grades, she had a lot of friends but she'd never been considered a queen bee or anything like that, neither was she outstandingly talented on the aritistic front... Sure, she could make pretty drawings and she had some knitting skills, but that was about it.
''Think Harder Then.''
The girl bit her lower lip. She was pretty, that was a fact, but that couldn't be what the Goddess meant...
''Ameena, how in the world can you forget about you being a botanic genius?''
That was Gretchen's voice. She sounded as if losing her patience. Was there really that little time left? What was going on?
''I'm sorry,'' Ameena blushed as her heart started to beat faster. ''I'm good at gardening, Miss Jeimiña...''
''That Is Not Exactly What I Meant,'' the voice echoed through the small temple, which made Ameena wonder where the Goddess actually hid herself. ''But I Do Agree. However, Have You Never Felt That Spark, Haven't You Ever Had The Idea You Were Capable Of Doing Incredible Things, Great Things Others Only Can Dream Of?''
Ameena shrugged. ''I-''
''Hush. Like I Said, We Do Not Have Much Time. Haven't You Felt The Tension In The Air, Lately? It's Everywhere, The Heavy Atmosphere, The Prophecy Of Something World Changing Being About To Go Down...''
Leafos gasped anxiously. The three humans ignored her, but the Goddess said: ''You Have The Full Right To Be Afraid, Sister Of...'' Right when she said 'Dastardos', the cry of an undefined jungle bird overruled the Goddess' voice.
Leafos was too upset to wonder what the Goddess had wanted to say, and by the time Jeimiña said: ''The Fact That Bart And Gretchen Are Not Even Worried Continues To Baffle Me...'' she had completely forgotten about the deity's incompleted sentence.
''We know she'll do the right thing,'' Bart huffed. ''We have nothing to fear!''
''Beings That Live In The Underworld Can Be Surprisingly Sharp And Manipulative, Tinkerer.''
''She's stronger than that! We're stronger than that! You are just making up doomsdays, Jeimiña!''
The statue seemed to give him a rather stern look, even though Ameena was sure that the stone's maskial expression couldn't have changed. That was creepy...
Bart hastily appologized. ''Not that I can blame you for being cautious that after the assault, I mean, of course, the creatures of the Neragua are capable of horrible things...''
''Please. Never Underestimate A Demon, Tinkerer. Before You Know It, They Are After You As Well. I Think That They Actually Are Already...''
''Setting my trailer on fire was all they managed to do, and that didn't hurt me,'' Bart scoffed. ''Now...''
''Now Let Us Not Bring The Girls In Further Perplexity,'' Jeimiña interrupted him decidedly. ''Ameena. Bart, Gretchen And I Have Discovered Something.
Something You Should Know.''