Tales From The Woods #15

The Sun had risen well into the sky by the time my friend, the Real Kung-Fu Panda, and I made it back to Site 3. Or maybe it had never set here. I was prepared to accept the idea that only a few hours had passed outside Site 9 during our time there. I supposed I'd sort it out later. In the meantime, Cassanee had agreed to accompany us, and I was taking my turn at asking questions.

"So the bootprints on either side of the creek. . ."

"I jumped it because my boots aren't waterproof."

"Oh. Mine aren't either." The squishing noise emanating from my feet supported this statement nicely. "If you weren't looking for allies, why come visit me?"

"I heard you talking, and I wanted some company." Reasonable enough. "Who were you talking to? The Ghost?"

I shrugged. "Eh, I talk out loud whether anyone's around or not. Carrying on a conversation with yourself isn't hard." Cassanee looked at me a little strangely, but seemed to accept it. Eventually we returned to the place where we'd last encountered the Ghost. I turned to CAP. "Sense the Ghost?"

Fur shimmers with the shake of the head. "Try calling to it."

I'm not a fan of raising my voice, not alone anyway. "You just want me to look silly, standing here in the woods, yelling for a spirit!"

"Do not!"

I suppressed a grin. "Do too!!"

"DO NOT!!! Oh, there it is."

Sure enough, I could feel that slight change in the air I'd come to associate with my hiking companion. The howling wind might have been a tip off as well. I turned to Cass. "Still no idea what its beef is?" I had my theories, but no idea how to go about testing them.

Before she could respond she was forced to leap away as a branch fell. CAP had to do the same. I was tired and few up. "Enough of the childish garbage already! These are friends of mine, a group I thought included you. You don't all have to be best friends, but enough lumberjack-style assassinations! I have to leave soon, maybe for a long time," the wind stopped abruptly, "it'd be nice to spend time with friends without worrying they'll kill each other."

The Ghost of the Forest gradually calmed itself, but I could almost feel it swirling about, things it wanted to say or ask that it couldn't. What do I say to a sad spirit? I couldn't think of anything, so I knelt down, slipping the pack off my shoulder. I reached in and withdrew a Frisbee. "Where'd you get that?" came the voice of my inquisitive friend.

"I found it on Site 9," I remarked nonchalantly as possible.

The gasp meant I'd been seen through. "You stole it from Guyamo's castle!" If the panda and I are going to keep hanging out, I've got to work harder at lying. I'm not dealing with a gullible baby any longer.

"Please," I said as I stood, flipping the disc in between my flattened palms, "I prefer 'looted'. Or 'sacked'. Yes, that's an appropriate term with dealing with a castle. I sacked Guyamo's Frisbee supplies." I said this with as much exaggeration as I could manage for friendly mockery, which wasn't much by this time. I turned away, back to the seemingly empty space in front of me. "Thought you might enjoy this, considering the presents you've given me this year."

With that, I tossed it into the air and the wind picked up, just enough to keeping it aloft and spinning, then it sent it back in my direction. That it wasn't hurled like a missile I took as a good sign and threw it again. Again the wind caught it nimbly, and this time, after a moment's hesitation, the Frisbee went spinning towards Cass. But again, not too hard. The next time, CAP leapt and snagged it between its teeth, twirling in mid-air to add force when it released.

I stepped out of the way, settling down on a log to watch. I was beat. Besides, given the agility of two of the people involved, and the incorporeality of the other, I'd have just embarrassed myself trying to keep up. Occasionally, the Ghost sent one humming along that seemed a little too aggressive, but neither the Lady in Orange, or the Friend in Fur objected.

As the Sun sank low, the Ghost floated the Frisbee up to the crook of a tree. The wind then sank, and whirled around all three of us in dizzying circles. It stirred the leaves up into a blizzard of colors around us, then stopped and withdrew. The panda and I bid the other two farewell as we began the last leg of the trek back to the truck, and Cass started towards her home on Site 9.

We whirled about at the sound of a crash, and a branch that had landed a few feet from Cass, close enough she had tensed but not needed to dodge. I cast a glare into the trees, where the leaves were rustling, but whether that signified the Ghost was laughing mischievously, acting innocent, or actually feeling a bit sheepish, I couldn't tell. I sighed, looked to Cassanee, and said, "Thought we had it sorted. Sorry." Cass merely shrugged indifferently. I think she'd been less convinced of the bridge building powers of Frisbee. Maybe next time I'll get a hackey sack.

The rest of the way back, I stayed as close to CAP as I could, trying to dissuade the Ghost from any more practical jokes involving falling objects. At the truck, we said our goodbyes to it again, and I implored to please try to behave if Cassanee came to visit. I'm not convinced this plea will have any effect, but I had to try one last time before we left. Having done so, I climbed in the truck and we drove off.