As the sun began to slowly warm Jake’s room, I grunted and shimmied over the lip of my clear enclosure.
As I pulled my whole body onto the ledge, I realized for the first time that this was a stupid, stupid plan.
Sitting in a clear cage stunk. However, I now found myself perched much higher than I previously realized, and from where I sat I couldn’t see a safe place to land.
That being said, the view and the drop behind me weren’t any better. I crouched as low as I could and dropped off the ledge before I could overthink things any further.
Air rushed past my face as I pulled myself into a tight ball, falling toward a surface that looked like unforgiving oak.
However, as luck or providence would have it, I began to drift slightly to the left. I landed in a pile of crumpled paper, which proceeded to roll off the wooden surface and carried me gently with it to the floor of Jake’s room.
With a small groan, I extricated myself from the paper and slowly began to stand up.
Then I froze in place.
Standing directly in front of me was the largest tikmo1 I’d ever seen. He was covered in fur so dark it was almost black. This was strange enough, but it was nothing compared to what I noticed next.
This great grecking tikmo was standing upright2 like a hanuk! Not only that, he wore a baldric3 made of some sort of leathery material.
He pointed a short sword directly at my face. It was a nasty-looking long wooden blade that looked both razor-sharp and fire-hardened.
The tikmo was surprised by my sudden appearance on the floor. His large eyes bulged even wider, looking me up and down as he sniffed at me with his enormous pink nose.
The big tik took a big step toward me, making angry-sounding squeaks and chittering noises and keeping the blade trained on me.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, pink nose,” I said with my hands extended palms up and far away from my skeen in its sheath. “Let’s just calm down, okay? I’m not here to hurt you, and I don’t want you to hurt me.”
The tik kept the blade pointed toward me, but he didn’t try to come any closer. His deep brown eyes continued to bore into me, his nostrils flaring as his tail whipped back and forth frantically.
Without taking my eyes off of him, I slowly reached into my pack. The tikmo tensed and took an aggressive step toward me, gesturing at my hand and growling low in his throat.
“Easy, pinky, easy,” I said in a tone far calmer than the way I felt. Slowly and methodically, I pulled a hunk of thick cheddar cheese out and slowly extended it in the tik’s direction.
He (yes, it was a he. Don’t ask me how I know.) stepped back quickly, sniffing at the cheese and darting his eyes at me, the cheese, and quickly all around him as if expecting an ambush.
“Hungry, buddy?” I said, keeping my tone calm and even. “Go on, take it. I was going to eat it later, but I want you to have it. I won’t hurt you or trick you, I promise.”
He moved slowly toward me again, never lowering the blade or relaxing in the slightest. When he was close enough, his other paw snatched the cheese from my hand so fast I almost couldn’t see the motion.
The tik devoured the cheese in one gulp. He wiped his whiskers to make sure he didn’t miss any crumbs, and then he looked up at me. I stood just as I had before, making sure he knew I posed no threat.
Then a muffled THUD came from the door of Jake’s room. That grecking fela was trying to get back in the room. I glanced up, and horror gripped me when I saw daylight coming in from the half-opened door. That silly hanuk didn’t close it all the way when he left!
The enormous fela headbutted the door open and came charging into the room, making a beeline right for me and the great tik.
The tik showed his sword back in his baldric, He pointed a paw at me, then back at him, and then he took off like a shot, running for all he was worth.
I ran after him without a second thought. An angry yowl filled the room and the floor began to shake as the massive fela ran after us.
I just managed to keep up with the tikmo as he ran around one corner and then slashed in the other direction. If I lost sight of him, I was done for, and that was NOT going to happen.
He rounded one final corner and then dove headfirst into a misshapen hole in the wall that looked just big enough to fit me as well.
Despite the imminent danger, I hesitated for a fraction of a second. I was about to follow a giant tikmo into a dark hole. Was this wise? Was I about to give my fellow kefi another cautionary tale of what not to do?
Then the fela growled low and loud inches away from me and I dove blindly after the tik, landing in a heap inside the damp, dark opening and scooting backward until I hit a wall.
The fela’s fat face filled my vision, and I pressed myself against the wall with all my might to avoid her claws. I heard a tiny click and the wall spun around.
All of a sudden, I found myself in total darkness. Before I could get my bearings, I heard a scratching sound. A small flame burst forth in the darkness, revealing the giant tikmo’s face, so close to mine I could smell his breath.
“Ch’k! Tah Set!” he squeaked.
“What? I’m sorry pinky, I don’t understand-”
Without warning, he turned and ran.
I jumped to my feet and ran after him.
Kefita word for mouse. The plural form is tikmi.
Just to clarify, I have seen a tikmo before. I’m not a total novice, okay? However, let’s make one thing clear; the tikmo that a Kefi typically sees (and occasionally hunts) is half the size of this bruiser, and they NEVER stand on two legs or wield wooden short swords.
A shoulder belt for a short sword.