Tanuki
Friend of All Chu
- Location
- Rhyme City
- Pronouns
- He/him/his
The unseen sun shone bright on the glistening, snowy mountain top. No cloud obscured the sky, and only the faintest of wind brushed the fur, skin, and scales of the recent arrivals. Whether or not they remembered agreeing to some winter vacation, they all remembered packing for it anxiously—in both senses of the word. Nobody remembered putting their luggage in the wailords now dropping off their belongings in front of them, but everybody remembered that they did.
The air had no motion, yet swirled around them nonetheless. The surrounding snow looked close to frozen, but the temperature felt like the inside of a cozy cabin. In fact, it felt exactly like the picturesque cabin that stood mere meters away, the only building directly between them and the mountainside. Far off to the East (at least, it felt like East, though perhaps that was only because it was to the party’s right) stood a wood building much larger. A cable lift left through the roof of it, and several shops of quaint names decorated its outside.
Looking at the many different shops’ labels, they changed every time anyone looked at them twice. They never stayed the same, but seemed attuned to whatever luxury the person looking at them desired. The sight itself shot the eyes with its constant flux and inexcusable gaudiness. The mountain made for a much nicer view.
On the silent, still mountain, a streak of red tore down the highest hill. Snow sprayed all around it as it carved a path down the mountain. The eagle-eyed could barely make out a squirtle with a red handkerchief, hat, and wicked snow board. He caught sight of the party just as they saw him and beamed a smile brighter than the absent sun that illuminated the scene.
With as much regard for his own safety as anyone would expect of a squirtle, he quickly pivoted parallel to the slope to gain as much momentum as possible. He didn’t seem to see the mass of trees directly in his path! Right before an untimely collision, he sprayed water below him that instantly froze into a large ramp with well-practiced ease.
After he took to the air, he went from the top of the mountain to in front of the cabin. He flipped several times, too many to count, striking a pose on each rotation. So enamored with his last pose, he failed to land. The board caught in the snow, coating the party in its spray. The squirtle didn’t notice at all, up on his feet in a flash.
“Hi!” He ran in front of the party and stuck out his hand for a shake. This little guy must have learned some advanced form of double-team, because every party member felt him grab their hand (or paw, or closest approximation of a front-side appendage) into an eager handshake. “I’m Squirt!” Squirt declared. “You must be The Party!”
The youth’s eyes beamed into everyone else’s before shooting to the identical, black-wrapped presents in front of everyone. Or was there only the one? Everyone remembered packing and wrapping one, or at least that they did, but not all could remember why or how they obtained the item hidden within. Within the warmth of the cabin, a chill ran down the spines of a select few.
Squirt ran between every present, examining each thoroughly before leaping to the next. “You all remembered! Great! Merry—“ his smile faltered, and he stopped dead in his tracks, if only for a moment. He took a step back, cleared his throat, and looked at the group with a melancholy grin. “Thanks for coming! I can’t wait to share presents tomorrow! I hope whoever gets mine likes it!”
His jubilance returned with a vengeance, and he turned to the cabin, beckoning everyone inside with a wave of his hand and a, “Come on! Let’s get inside. It’s freezing out here.” Without taking a step, everyone was in the cabin. Despite having only one floor and at most a single window, the cabin had several stories and plenty room for everyone. Each room was even personalized so much that it was easy to believe everyone had lived in them for months, maybe even years.
A fireplace warmed the space, a sparkling tree hiding all the black presents beneath. Above the mantle hung a massive flat-screen television connected to a PlayStation 3 beside the fire. Very close to the fire. Almost in it. A wonder it could run at all, but its lights stayed on, and it seemed the only source to explain the grown man in an elf costume running around a city of humans on the big screen. Plugged into the same outlet extender (which was itself not plugged into any power outlet) as the television and PlayStation was a bright white ipod photo. It had an audio cable plugged into it, but the cable lay impotent around it with no device to transmit its… signal. Only its backlit display even suggested it was on.
“Oh, I can’t wait to see who gets my present!” Squirt said, eyeing each one beneath the tree. “Gotta wait until tomorrow, though!” He forced himself away from the presents, picked up a PlayStation controller, and switched over to Metal Gear Solid. On the screen, it looked like some nerd had just wet himself while the hardened spy paid no heed to the incessant rants of “Japanese anime,” whatever those were.
The image cut out, but Squirt kept playing. An audio recording began to play, but only the party could hear it. “Hello! Thank you for agreeing to bring this child Christmas Cheer, whether you consented or not. As you know, some unknown entity has murdered this world’s Santa. We at the Interdimensional Holiday Committee chose you all as prime candidates to bring about the most holiday cheer for this little boy in these trying times.
“As you’ve likely noticed by now, travel is a bit different here. To ensure accessibility of all life-forms, our world’s Palkia has confined the entire mountain into one space in a manner easy to traverse. You need only think of where you’d like to go, begin to walk there, and you will arrive at your destination. Of course, you can only travel within the confines of the mountain. Any attempts to leave will consolidate all duplicate forms of your bodies at once, causing a minor singularity before you vanish off the face of the multiverse, so please exercise caution on the borders of the enclosure.
“Thank you once again for agreeing to come along, consent notwithstanding, and please make this as close to an enjoyable Christmas as possible for poor little Squirt. We trust that you will all give him the love that the monster that murdered Santa stole from him. That is all. Have a wonderful time!”
The air had no motion, yet swirled around them nonetheless. The surrounding snow looked close to frozen, but the temperature felt like the inside of a cozy cabin. In fact, it felt exactly like the picturesque cabin that stood mere meters away, the only building directly between them and the mountainside. Far off to the East (at least, it felt like East, though perhaps that was only because it was to the party’s right) stood a wood building much larger. A cable lift left through the roof of it, and several shops of quaint names decorated its outside.
Looking at the many different shops’ labels, they changed every time anyone looked at them twice. They never stayed the same, but seemed attuned to whatever luxury the person looking at them desired. The sight itself shot the eyes with its constant flux and inexcusable gaudiness. The mountain made for a much nicer view.
On the silent, still mountain, a streak of red tore down the highest hill. Snow sprayed all around it as it carved a path down the mountain. The eagle-eyed could barely make out a squirtle with a red handkerchief, hat, and wicked snow board. He caught sight of the party just as they saw him and beamed a smile brighter than the absent sun that illuminated the scene.
With as much regard for his own safety as anyone would expect of a squirtle, he quickly pivoted parallel to the slope to gain as much momentum as possible. He didn’t seem to see the mass of trees directly in his path! Right before an untimely collision, he sprayed water below him that instantly froze into a large ramp with well-practiced ease.
After he took to the air, he went from the top of the mountain to in front of the cabin. He flipped several times, too many to count, striking a pose on each rotation. So enamored with his last pose, he failed to land. The board caught in the snow, coating the party in its spray. The squirtle didn’t notice at all, up on his feet in a flash.
“Hi!” He ran in front of the party and stuck out his hand for a shake. This little guy must have learned some advanced form of double-team, because every party member felt him grab their hand (or paw, or closest approximation of a front-side appendage) into an eager handshake. “I’m Squirt!” Squirt declared. “You must be The Party!”
The youth’s eyes beamed into everyone else’s before shooting to the identical, black-wrapped presents in front of everyone. Or was there only the one? Everyone remembered packing and wrapping one, or at least that they did, but not all could remember why or how they obtained the item hidden within. Within the warmth of the cabin, a chill ran down the spines of a select few.
Squirt ran between every present, examining each thoroughly before leaping to the next. “You all remembered! Great! Merry—“ his smile faltered, and he stopped dead in his tracks, if only for a moment. He took a step back, cleared his throat, and looked at the group with a melancholy grin. “Thanks for coming! I can’t wait to share presents tomorrow! I hope whoever gets mine likes it!”
His jubilance returned with a vengeance, and he turned to the cabin, beckoning everyone inside with a wave of his hand and a, “Come on! Let’s get inside. It’s freezing out here.” Without taking a step, everyone was in the cabin. Despite having only one floor and at most a single window, the cabin had several stories and plenty room for everyone. Each room was even personalized so much that it was easy to believe everyone had lived in them for months, maybe even years.
A fireplace warmed the space, a sparkling tree hiding all the black presents beneath. Above the mantle hung a massive flat-screen television connected to a PlayStation 3 beside the fire. Very close to the fire. Almost in it. A wonder it could run at all, but its lights stayed on, and it seemed the only source to explain the grown man in an elf costume running around a city of humans on the big screen. Plugged into the same outlet extender (which was itself not plugged into any power outlet) as the television and PlayStation was a bright white ipod photo. It had an audio cable plugged into it, but the cable lay impotent around it with no device to transmit its… signal. Only its backlit display even suggested it was on.
“Oh, I can’t wait to see who gets my present!” Squirt said, eyeing each one beneath the tree. “Gotta wait until tomorrow, though!” He forced himself away from the presents, picked up a PlayStation controller, and switched over to Metal Gear Solid. On the screen, it looked like some nerd had just wet himself while the hardened spy paid no heed to the incessant rants of “Japanese anime,” whatever those were.
The image cut out, but Squirt kept playing. An audio recording began to play, but only the party could hear it. “Hello! Thank you for agreeing to bring this child Christmas Cheer, whether you consented or not. As you know, some unknown entity has murdered this world’s Santa. We at the Interdimensional Holiday Committee chose you all as prime candidates to bring about the most holiday cheer for this little boy in these trying times.
“As you’ve likely noticed by now, travel is a bit different here. To ensure accessibility of all life-forms, our world’s Palkia has confined the entire mountain into one space in a manner easy to traverse. You need only think of where you’d like to go, begin to walk there, and you will arrive at your destination. Of course, you can only travel within the confines of the mountain. Any attempts to leave will consolidate all duplicate forms of your bodies at once, causing a minor singularity before you vanish off the face of the multiverse, so please exercise caution on the borders of the enclosure.
“Thank you once again for agreeing to come along, consent notwithstanding, and please make this as close to an enjoyable Christmas as possible for poor little Squirt. We trust that you will all give him the love that the monster that murdered Santa stole from him. That is all. Have a wonderful time!”