The Day of Thunder

Dark eyes peer at the human boy from her hiding place behind the pile of sticks on an the archive shelf. He looks different than his father's dream, older, a little more awkward and gangly in a body that's in-between. What if he doesn't like her? What if he thinks she's fibbing? Her half-grown whiskers twitch as she considers the possibility her dream could just be a dream.

...she's not hiding as well as she thinks.

Soryu wasn't really ready to leave. Oh, he wanted to see his parents and his little brother and sister of course, but...

But I feel like...

He looked up suddenly, blinking his mismatched eyes- one of them discolored like his father's.

He felt a presence through the Void.

And it wasn't an unfamiliar one.

"Hello?"

The shaman squeaks, on instinct ducking down to hide fully... but slowly she creeps up again, cheeping out, "Hi-hi!"

She can't help herself -- her little tail wags as their eyes meet for the first time. Eyes like Sora's; eyes like her mother's; eyes that see beyond what's there. He's special, that's for sure. Chu pulls herself up on the shelf to precariously stick her head out from between the memory sticks. "Otter Stone! Little Nose! Ji-yo So-ryu!" She waves a little hand before clambering over the shelf and... almost knocks everything over in her excitement.

Soryu blinked.

He knew this Nezumi, even though they'd never met.

He'd dreamed of her.

"I am. And you're Little Dreamer."

He hunkered down a bit.

"Now, I know I know that... but how do you know me?"

She giggles, her excitement overflowing; it was a Dream, a real Dream! Chu rolls off the shelf and onto her feet with the triumph of a victor, chirping out her words quickly as she spreads her arms wide. "Chu meet your father! Helped save Tomorrow! Save it from the bad-bad nightmares!" Grinning, she starts to toddle around him, feeling as if she's about to start walking on air. "Gave part of Name to storm! Turned back on bad-bad nightmares!"

"Wait, you were there?! You saw my Dad?! How is he, how... you gave up part of your Name?"

It wasn't often that the young ishiken found himself at a total loss for words, but...

"Did any of the humans there appreciate how much of a sacrifice that is?"

"He good-good!" She cheeps back brightly in-between Soryu's words. Her gaze softens though -- he's the first human to understand. Chu smiles, her hands going up to rest against her heart as if to cradle it. "Shaman can change Name. Chu want Tomorrow for everyone, not just the People, so gave Name, because Chu can grow new Name." Her voice is warm and full of love; it seems, as much as she did it for others, she did it for herself, too. "If humans part of Name, Chu can protect Tomorrow and Dreaming and humans, and protect Chu dreams. Chu Dreamwalker! You dream walk?"

"I'm... well. I'm an Ishiken. It's... like I can see the Name of reality sometimes. Sometimes I can change it a little. So sometimes I have true dreams, but.... nothing like what your people can do."

He offered the little Nezumi a respectful bow.

"But knowing what you gave for us all, I thank you, Little Dreamer. I was.... only seven when the nightmares started. My younger brother and sister have never known a world without them. So for helping end that..."

Ah, so he hasn't dream walked; tonight will be fun, she thinks. She's much to teach him about Name and Reality...

His bow gets another giggle which is immediately swallowed as her ears flatten against her skull. Oh... poor humans...! Chu pounces Soryu with a hug. "Glad to helping help!" She cheeps. "Everyone sleep easy now. Tomorrow world of Dreams for all. Tomorrow good world for children."

As she pulls away from him her hand finds his sleeve to lightly tug it. "Ishi-ken busy?"

He was a bit surprised by the hug, but returned it.

"Not really busy... I've been copying Memory Sticks into our writing as best I can, but there's so much I have to change or leave out from some of them, and... I could spend the rest of my life doing this and not get it all."

He didn't sound unhappy at the prospect.

She giggles again, tugging him towards the door; hopefully she can get him to play, like the children in the village, like in his father's dream. "Nose will get too big for face if you stay here all night and day, Little Nose! Come with? Chu show you secret secrets! Learn fun things!"

"That.... sounds like fun, actually...."

And so Soryu is dragged off on the first of many adventures! Chu leads him a hidden room in the archives, one only reachable through crawling down a tunnel someone'd dug in the corner of a long-neglected storage closet. Some of the tarnished gold wall-to-ceiling murals are explained in detail -- others, she tells him, are taboo to speak of -- before pleading for Soryu to peek through a hole in the wall she can't reach.

Like he'd turn THAT down...

Soryu leaned forward, peering into the gap.

...and Chu promptly climbs up his back. She peeks over Soryu's shoulder into the nest of roots where the shining eyes of a cat peer back at them.

One spitting hiss and a squeal later, the shaman peeks out at him from behind a statue. "What you see?"

....................................................................................................................................................

Six Months Later

The Imperial Palace was still his home, but Soryu had to admit, it felt different.

He'd been on trips with his family, of course, but his time alone among the Nezumi...

He smiled at the thought.

Thanks, Dad.

Ordinarily, diplomacy was something the Yuzuru would handle. Or perhaps the Isawa.

But there was no one more qualified to meet the Nezumi delegation than Human With a Nose, so here he was.

It's her fur that gives her away. Among them that shock of multi-colored fur stands out -- the fur she shares with her mother and many of her siblings; but only Chu has a full-black face. Her eyes shine when she catches sight of Soryu. Oh! Yes, she'd hoped for this! Long black whiskers twitch in delight as she desperately suppresses the urge to barrel forward and tackle her human friend.

She's changed. She's lost some of her baby fat and grown a few inches. It's not enough to be as tall as an average nezumi, but from the brief time they've been apart, it's quite the difference.

As the other dignitaries introduce themselves and proffer him with gifts, Chu waits her turn patiently. (Though her tail does wiggle something fierce.) With a hop, skip, and a bow, the shaman offers the gift she's been carrying -- a golden disk charting the heavens. Its stars and Transcendent shine in the light as they look up to a great star. "Chu honor honored to be joining you," She half-giggles.

"The honor is mine. I'm just glad there's someone here I'm on an informal basis with!"

He half-smiled, as much as decorum would permit, then ended up beaming as he examined the gift.

"I mean, Dad wouldn't care, but... trying to do the job right is stressful, you know?"

In keeping with Nezumi custom, he didn't play the game of refusals with the gift, but accepted it with thanks.

Because as Mom told me when I was getting nervous about etiquette, I was getting the job for knowing the Nezumi, not for knowing human court decorum...

"How was your trip?"

One of the Transcendent on the disk looks familiar; like one of the murals on the walls in their secret room, one petitioned for good fortune and prophetic dreams.

She giggles, and, leaning in, whispers, "Do not worrily worry much -- you have Name." Chu pulls away to brightly chirp, "Trip good! Picked lots of flowers! Tried lots of treats! You happy to be home home? Can you show everything?"

At the gaze of the other delegates, she quickly adds, "Please." Before stepping back to join them.

Still... her delight's barely contained. She can't wait to kidnap him once all the formalities are out of the way. This place must have so many secret hidey holes and fun places to explore!

"I believe I might be able to show you around a place or two... and it's good to see my parents and my little brother and sister- oh, you have to meet them, between Dad's stories and mine..."

He caught himself, looked around.

"Right, right. Later."