Story Telling - Unexpectedly Talking Animals

"I"m starving!" whined Samuel, after a long period of silence. "We all are," groaned Devon, in a rather disgusted tone. "The last time we made an effort to get food, Buster broke an arm. Now Veronica is having to waste extra time, energy and supplies taking care of him. I"ve never been much for climbing trees, personally, but if any of you think you can get some fruit from up there, go right ahead. Just don"t hurt yourself" We still have several days of travelling left ahead of us and we have limited medical supplies as it is." Madi nodded and started up a tree. "While you"re up there, maybe take a look around and see if you can figure where exactly we are on this trail. I know we"re going the right way, but with it being so cloudy, I can"t gauge our position properly," shouted Devon. Madi was surprisingly quick to get up the tree. Once at the top, she started to grab some fruit, but then hollered down, "It looks like the frost from the past few nights has really destroyed the fruit up here. I can throw some down, but I don"t know how edible it will be!" She tossed some down and Samuel quickly took a bite. He grimaced and began to shout, "Don"t bother grabbing anymore from"" "Quiet!" whispered Madi, in the loudest, most commanding whisper that she could muster. "I see smoke about three kilometers to the west. It looks like there is a village there." "Get down here now!" ordered Devon, in a commanding whisper of his own. Once Madi was down from the tree, the group stepped off of the main trail to get out of sight and huddled around Devon for a plan. "Madi, were you able to determine anything specific about our location?" questioned Devon. "Well, we have definitely crossed into Darkpass," stated Madi. "I don"t know this area well, but I have heard stories and seen sketches of Mount Echo and I saw it in the distance, about ten kilometers to the west." "M-m-mount Echo?" stuttered Buster. He didn"t stutter all the time, only when he was really cold or really afraid" At this moment, he could very well be either or both. "I remember hearing stories about th-that mountain when I was a little kid. Every s-s-story I heard ended with the lesson, "Never go to Mount Echo" so I think we should just keep on moving." "I"ve heard the stories," countered Devon. "I have heard about the native tribes in the region, stuck in an ongoing battle for control of the main water sources. Not all tribes are bad though; some strive for peace and are well known to be kind to travellers. Madi, how far do you think until we reach Newmeadow?" "About four more days, if we continue on at our current pace. But I expect that we will begin to slow down if we must continue to ration our food and combat this bitterly cold weather. Maybe five days would be more realistic," responded Madi. Devon turned to Veronica, "And how are our supplies?" Veronica looked up to sky, as if counting numbers floating above her head. She said, "Enough food to last us three more days, so long as we are conservative with our portions. We should have enough medical supplies to last the rest of the trip, unless someone goes and does something really stupid." They all turned to look at Buster, and he diverted his gaze to the ground. Veronica smiled and said "that was only a joke Buster. You were only trying to help." Buster blushed slightly and managed a little smile, but Devon didn"t allow for the moment to last. "All joking aside, we need to be careful here; and we have some serious decisions to make. First of all, we don"t have enough food to make it to Newmeadow. We could severely cut our rations, travel on the bear minimum and hope we can make the journey, however if the cold temperatures persist, we might not survive. Instead, we could head to the village and hope that they are a friendly group. It could delay our travels by a half day or so, but if they are willing to help us, we could get food, supplies and some warmer clothes." The group discussed their options for a short while and finally decided that their best chance of survival was to check out the village. As they made their way through the Darkpass Forest, towards the village near the base of Mount Echo, the group began to talk for the first time since the journey began. Maybe it was the fear of dying that sparked a need to converse and hear each other"s stories. They always knew the possibility existed when they started the journey, but this was the first time that it really felt real. Samuel sparked the quiet conversation by asking, "Devon, why did they give us so few supplies?" Devon stated, "The weather has been very unpredictable lately. Crops have produced the lowest yields we have seen in decades and the animals have been acting strange. Migration patterns are different than usual and some of the usual creatures around our town have not been seen for weeks. The town council did not want to worry everyone by creating a panic, so they sent word to Newmeadow to ask for aid. Word came back from Newmeadow that not only could they not provide aid, but that they were experiencing similar issues." "I had no idea," replied Samuel, looking rather shocked. "I mean, I knew the weather has been odd and supplies haven't been as abundant, but I didn't know it had gotten so bad. "Very few know the extent," said Devon. "We agreed that it should be on a need to know basis." "So why were they so secretive with us?" questioned Madi, sounding rather irritated. "Sending us on a 'Diplomatic Mission' to Newmeadow is all we were told. They said we would be debriefed when we arrived in Newmeadow. Why would we be going to Newmeadow if they are no better off than us anyway?" "It's not just them," said Devon in a disheartened tone. "All of the nearby areas are experiencing the same problems. Because Newmeadow is rather central, and acts as the capitol, of sorts, they called for a gathering of leaders from each town." Veronica chimed in, "Well then we know why you are going. What about the rest of us?" Devon replied, "When travelling these dangerous roads, it is important to have capable navigators; and I used the plural because if something happens to your navigator, you always want a backup. So Madi and Samuel, we need you both. It is also important to have medics on hand, so Madi again, and Veronica are both important to have along. You also never know what sort of vermin, human or other, you might come across, so we require physically fit, skilled fighters. All three of you are more than capable of handling yourselves if the need arises." "Ok, so that covers myself and the two lovely ladies,' said Samuel, genuflecting slightly towards the twins, "but what about the dimwit. He's short, awkward and more than a little slow." "Please show him a little respect," replied Veronica. "but seriously, why is he here?" Devon shrugged, "I honestly don't know. They told me that he could prove to be useful at some time, but were extremely vague about what role he might play. Buster, what skills do you have that could make you useful to us here?" "I don't know," responded Buster, raising his good hand above his shoulder, palm up, in the universal I-don't-know gesture. "I like to play puppets." "Great," said Samuel with about as much sarcasm as he could muster, "If the natives turn out to be hostile, maybe you can charm them with a puppet show." "May-be," said Buster, in an overly positive tone. The others all rolled their eyes then turned their attentions ahead, as they were approaching the village and could hear noises up ahead. Buster stopped and looked at a rabbit hopping by, about three meters away and began to wave at it. The rabbit stopped, turned to Buster and began to wave back with the exact same motions as Buster. "May-be," said Buster and the rabbit, completely in sync.