A squirrel is pretty good at hiding. They are born with the ability to put a tree between themselves and any unwanted observer, such as a human. Turtles, they are used to hiding too. A turtle understands blending in and has eons of evolutional camouflage built in. Sheep know how to run away, but they don’t have a hiding mechanism, nor a good way to disappear like a squirrel or a turtle.
As Chakik the squirrel and FastPile the turtle travelled with Sunny the sheep, the three animals came to realize this all too well.
Crossing a ‘road’ as the turtle put it, or ‘the black dragons back’ as the squirrel still thought of it, became much more of an adventure, now that Sunny the sheep had joined them, expanding the familiar duo into a trio. Crossings and any appearance near humans had to be much more calculated and planned. Chakik was not good at planning. He resented Sunny for this. FastPile enjoyed the friction between the squirrel and sheep, he had to be more aware and careful, but he knew it would be good for the both in the end.
Sunny the sheep was mostly oblivious. Being a young lamb, and only recently having a chance to explore anything besides her pen, she was smitten with every new thing the trio found. Cars, roads, buildings, and everything else human made fascinated her to no end. For FastPile these were well known and he helped to explain their names and purposes.
The squirrel wanted nothing to do with them. Not the things people made, nor the strange sounding names they made for them. Across their journey together, the turtle had introduced and explained may of the people things to Chakik. The squirrel understood most of them, as FastPile was a great teacher. Now with this sheep along, the turtle was retelling stories already known to the squirrel. Instead of helping or adding to them, the squirrel scoffed at the lambs ignorance, and usually scampered away up a tree when the turtle told a tale Chakik already knew.
Trees were a safe place for Chakik. Neither the turtle nor the sheep had figured out how to climb them, and given their lack of interest in climbing, Chakik knew trees were a safe place to escape. He tried to be patient, like FastPile, he really did, but it was impossible for the little squirrel to empathize with the lamb. She was quick witted as he, but the rest was far to foreign; short tail, crazy fluffly white fur. It had taken him a long time to accept the strangeness of the turtle, but FastPile had won the squirrel over with his wisdom. This sheep said only a few words, and Chakik felt they were mocking. “Tree. Chakik also tree.” Who was this strange animal to speak of the trees? And now they had to travel together.
Chakik prided himself on his ability to blend into the trees. Or even the grass and lower things when necessary. FastPile naturally blended in with everything, as if he didn’t even try. Now they had this lamb, this sheep. Loud and noisy and bright white! She could not climb a tree, much less hide in one.
“What is the point of being so obvious?” Chakik asked of the turtle.
“Hiding where you can be seen is sometimes the best spot.” replied FastPile, obtuse as always.
“It’s going to get us crushed on the dragon.”
“She. And the dragon is just a road.”
“She.” Chakik replied obstinately, “and the dragon is not just a road. You have not seen it. I did. Its nothing like the ‘roads’ here. I can see far here.”
“She can help us.” the turtle ignored his dragon comment as always.
“Maybe she can not be so spotted?” Chakik spoke of the recent times they now had to sprint and dive to cover to avoid humans and try to blend in with the three of themselves.
“I see no spots on Sunny.” FastPile enjoyed these conversations.
“SUNNY SPOT ALSO” Sunny happily offered.
“You could have taught her ‘shadow’ as easily as ‘sunny’.” Chakik gave the last point he’d been holding onto for a while.
“She is too easily seen to be a shadow.” Chakik swore he saw the greediest of smirks on FastPiles face as he said this.
“Crossings are much more dangerous now. I can’t go at your speed and hers.” this ploy to the turtle’s need for a safe crossing, Chakik felt was sure to work. If FastPile had to lumber out of the way of people, Chakik was sure he would finally see his point of view.
Cars speed across the widest ‘Dragon Back’ Chakik had yet seen. Some were going one way and some roared and zoomed in the exact opposite way. The close direct parallel deeply disturbed the squirrel. “Things on their ways to other places should not pass so close.” Given the turtles non-reaction to the noise of things, he surmised this thought was his own.
“You will watch over Sunny. I am capable of myself.”
“She’s so easy to spot!” lamented Chakik.
“You will watch over Sunny.”
Chakik was not happy.
Sunny bounded joyfully and licked his face.
Chakik was less not happy, but he tried to hide it.