Zosix and Camelon - 5

Mixed Emotions

It must be noted that restraining a dinosaur, albeit a singing dinosaur, who is under the influence of a powerful hallucinogen is no easy task, especially if he thinks he is being restrained by a large green fly, with ugly, red eyes. In this respect Zosix could not be blamed for resorting to a variety of wrestling manoeuvres before finally settling for a modified full nelson to keep the highly perturbed dinosaur from hurting himself, while Leia went into the forest to collect some herbs that would work as an antidote.

“No. Stay away. Get off me. Oh help me!” Camelon yelled, as Zosix flipped him over onto his back, and forced his mouth open so that Leia could stuff her medicine down the dinosaur’s throat.

“There, that should be enough for his size” said Leia, getting up and dusting herself “It should take a few minutes before the effects of the bumble fruit wear off”

It was a few minutes before Zosix could relax his grip on his flailing friend. Camelon’s functions slowed down, until he finally fell asleep. Zosix looked up at Leia, “Is this normal?” he asked her.

“Yes, it is” she replied, “He’ll be asleep for a few hours now, probably will have some weird dreams too, but he’ll be fine when he comes around”

Zosix stood up, (at this point he should have wiped his brow) and surveyed the scene – an empty hermit’s hut overlooked a sleeping dinosaur who looked like he had just been in a scuffle. He remembered that the main event of the day had been Baba’s disappearance, of course this was rivaled by Camelon’s hysterics which qualified as a deserving candidate for the position of main-event-of-the-day.

“We should get lunch, don’t you think?” Asked Leia.

Zosix shrugged, “I’m not really hungry”

“It is well past lunch.”

“Yes, it is.”

“I’m getting some fruit, would you like some?”

“No, that’s okay”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes”

“How come you aren’t hungry? Are you feeling unwell?”

“Alright, I’ll have something.” Zosix figured he might as well put on a show of ingestion, before Leia started asking more questions about his lack of appetite.

Leia disappeared into the forest, and came back a short while later, a variety of fruits, nuts, and roots in her arms. Zosix had made himself comfortable in his usual place around Baba’s fireplace. Leia placed her collection of lunch items on a flat rock. “These are good” she noted, munching one of the roots.

“I wonder where Baba could have gone.” Remarked Zosix, absently.

“I’m sure he can take care of himself”

“Yes, I guess you’re right”

“Aren’t you gonna eat?”

“Oh! Yes, that.” Zosix picked up something from among Leia’s assorted find and started chewing on it.

“So how long have you been living here?” Leia asked, “It’s so strange that I never knew you were here, of course I don’t come up here ever, except once, but I still like this place. Have you come down before? Oh I doubt! I would have known you were there if you had. It’s so nice to have met you, it gets awfully boring alone in the forest some times. I mean it’s not like playing with the forest creatures isn’t fun, but it gets a bit stale after a few thousand years. So what do you’ll do up here?”

Zosix looked at Leia who was concentrating on the fruit she had just bitten into. He had never met anyone like her. Of course Zosix had only really interacted with two people ever – Baba and Camelon; Leia was completely different from the two of them.

“So we can be friends, right?” continued Leia.

“Yes, we can”

“Oh, that would be so great!” Leia hugged Zosix, who was quite taken aback.

Three hours later and Leia was still chattering unabated, while Zosix listened intently. She had hundreds of interesting stories to tell (just like Baba). Zosix had learnt that Leia’s mother Gaya, was the spirit of the earth, and Leia had many sisters and brothers, forest sprites, water nymphs, and various other earth spirits.

Leia had just finished telling Zosix another story when Camelon started to stir. Leia decided to use this break to give her voice a rest and get a drink of water. She cupped her hands and drank from the spring, where it emerged from the rocks near the forest. Camelon awoke with a start. He rubbed his eyes clumsily with his stubby paws, and looked up at Zosix.

“Oh, Zosix” he yelled “I had such a horrid dream. I dreamt you had become a giant fly and there was this crazy girl with you who was going to kill us all, and there was a shadow monster and a giant dragon and…” At this point Camelon paused, for he had just seen Leia. “That’s her…that’s the crazy girl” he yelled, frantically pointing at Leia, “she’s going to kill us!”

“Calm down, Camelon. She won’t harm you.”

It took a while before Camelon was convinced of Leia’s non-villainous motives. But he finally, grudgingly accepted the fact that Leia was not out to kill anyone.

Zosix and Leia sat together staring into the sunset as the sky threw various colours at them, and ended in a grand finale of purple streaked with crimson. Camelon sat a little away from them, munching some of the fruits leftover from Leia’s lunch basket, eyeing Leia with suspicion, waiting for any action of hers that could be deemed murderous.

As the last bits of crimson disappeared from the sky to go show themselves to another part of the world, Leia stood up and announced that she had best go back to her forest.

“Why don’t you stay here? I guess we’ll be waiting for Baba, and we can get a fire going.” Zosix said.

“No it’s best I go back to my forest. Thanks for having me.” replied Leia, as she walked to the opening that led to the underground passage from where they had come.

Zosix asked her as she climbed down “Perhaps you will come here more often?”

“Yes I’d love that” Leia replied “you’ll can come to my forest more often too.”

Camelon grunted in the background, as Leia made her way down the passage.