Chakik – A Whale of a Squirrel Tale

Series: The Rock Squirrels

Chakik encounters underground dwelling squirrels.

  • Collapsing Beliefs

    Collapsing Beliefs

    This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series The Rock Squirrels

    Chakik stayed buried in the ground of the rock squirrel’s storage room for what seemed like an eternity. A few squirrels would come each day and force his mouth open to retrieve some of the morsels of food jammed into his magical cheeks. Surely his family must think him dead and gone now, he had no real idea of how long he had been buried here. In the beginning he had tried to keep track by counting each time a squirrel would appear to retrieve food, but eventually he had lost count.

    His only constant companion was the solitary firefly glowing in the doorway that would on occasion fly down and land on him. At first it seemed fearful and would quickly fly back up to the door frame. As time passed it began to stay on him longer, walking on his head and ears, its light touch tickling him. Chakik didn’t mind though, he had begun to think of the little lightning bug as a friend. His only friend left.

    Time passed.

    Squirrels came and went.

    The lightning bug began to spend more of it’s time perched on Chakik than in the doorway. This was the only comfort he had. He had begun to talk to the firefly and regarded it warmly. “What is it like to fly, my friend? Maybe when the Black Dragon asked me what I wanted I should have wished for that.” Chakik thought constantly about his fateful decision that day, and how things had turned out. “I just wanted to be more helpful. To be more than I was,” he sadly thought out loud to the bug, “I shouldn’t have asked for anything. Even the few acorns I did help gather was at least something… now I’m nothing. Just a storage container for someone else’s things.” A wave of sadness washed over him with these thoughts and he began to cry again. The little lightning bug flitted around his head blinking rapidly, disturbed by his tears. “I’m sorry my friend”, Chakik said, “I don’t want to disturb you. It’s just…”, he sobbed, “I don’t see anyway out from here.”

    Chakik wept in the dark.

    Time passed.

    Squirrels came and went.

    The gruesome leader finally reappeared into the storage room, flanked by a number of his guards. “We have need of you elsewhere.” the mottled squirrel leader said. “Dig him up.” Chakik froze not sure if this was a good thing or if an even worse fate was waiting for him. Several of the larger squirrels advanced on him and began to dig him out, their claws carelessly scratching him as they did. As the dirt around him began to loosen Chakik took his first deep breath in forever. It felt so good! More dirt was removed and he was able to flex his arms and legs a bit. His muscles hurt but the feeling of movement again was indescribable. The squirrels gripped him by his arms and tore him free from the ground, roughly depositing him at the feet of the leader squirrel. “Good.” it hissed down at him. Chakik lay on the ground breathing deeply and wiggling his toes, right now he didn’t care what this horrid squirrel had planned for him he was just thankful to be out of the hole he had dug.

    The leader stood over him glaring down with his dark eyes, saying nothing. Then his eyes quickly darted upward! Chakik had heard it too, a scraping, scratching sound coming from above them. The leader glanced at his soldiers and they moved around him to investigate the strange noise.

    The ceiling came crashing down on the far part of the room, sunlight streaming in through it, glittering in the dust and disrupting everything! A black paw tipped with nearly translucent claws reached through the hole, grasping at the air and quickly destroying more of the ceiling. The rock squirrels ran in all directions, scrambling for the door or looking for places to hide.

    The dark paw continued to reach down until an entire furry arm was inside the storage room.

    The mottled squirrel leader became enraged, his focus swiftly shifting from Chakik, to this new intruding appendage, and he charged upward. Amidst the chaos, Chakik saw his opportunity. Regardless of what was breaking into the rock squirrel’s den, it was only one animal, much easier to evade than the evil that was being orchestrated here. He bounded behind the enraged leader, not noticing the lightning bug had grasped hold of his tail as he lept past.

    Chakik scrambled through the dust and falling dirt into the bright sunlight, his atrophied limbs screaming in protest. He had thought he was much further underground and reeled at the intensity of the sun. A horrible screeching noise and movement immediately drew his attention. A sleek black cat had it’s paws wrapped around the mottled squirrel, and it was not playing. The cat was not huge, but large enough that the mottled squirrel was at it’s mercy. The cat bit down quickly onto the mottled squirrel’s neck and then picked it up and shook it violently. Chakik, even though afraid for his own life, had to look away as the squirrel was destroyed in the cat’s powerful grip.

    He looked back quickly, poised ready to run to the nearest tree, which he had not yet found, and knowing that cats can climb almost as quickly as squirrels. These thoughts of escape shot through Chakik’s brain as he watched the black cat drop the unmoving body of the enemy leader. The sun gleamed from the cat’s fur, causing it at times to look blue or purple and briefly even orange, shining like a star. Chakik shook his head at this, attributing it to his eyes adjusting to natural light again, and assumed a very flat and humble position before the cat. He lay down slowly, and put his tail as flat against the ground as he possibly could. He looked the cat in the eyes, it was roughly twice his size. His brain was racing, this cat had dug into the rock squirrels den, it was smart. Chakik kept eye contact as he made himself as small as possible. The fact that the cat had not yet attacked him, as it had the rock squirrel leader, was of little comfort. Slowly the cat stalked toward him.

  • Prey

    Prey

    This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series The Rock Squirrels

    The cat moved slowly toward Chakik, carefully placing each paw as it closed the gap between them. The little squirrel was surprised to find himself marveling at the way the cat moved. It’s body was fluid graceful motions as it stalked him, it’s sleek tail a smoothly curving line behind it. Why he would think about this strange beauty when he should be running for his life puzzled the little squirrel, but he continued to lay flat against the ground, motionless, awaiting this new fate. The cat continued it’s purposeful approach until it was nearly on top of Chakik. It peered down with gleaming jade green eyes and sniffed at him.

    “You are not one of them, are you? Hrrrmmmm?” the cat purred. It took the little squirrel a moment to break his mind free to try and respond.

    “Um..wha…what?”

    “You are much too dirty to be one of them,” it said rather sweetly, as it continued to watch him intently. Chakik slowly turned his head too look at himself, he was completely caked in dirt and debris from being buried alive, he had not even had a chance to think about himself since he was released from that prison. He realized his cheeks still held a large quantity of the rock squirrel’s food in them, and began to spit it out as fast as he could. The cat jumped back a bit as acorns and other nuts and food piled up between them. “Merrrrow, no, you are definitely different.” The cat sauntered around the pile and again was right on top of Chakik, who sat up slowly, sensing no danger from this intriguing creature. He tried to shake some of the dirt from his tail but it was smashed in too deeply. The little squirrel looked up timidly at the cat marveling again at its shiny black fur; steaks of purples and dark blues glinted in the light where it’s body curved.

    “I’m Chakik,” he said, not knowing what else to do or say in such a strange situation. “Your fur is beautiful.” he found himself blurting out, as nerves and shock got the better of him. The cat eyed him curiously, sat down, and laughed, showing it’s mouthful of very white, very sharp teeth.

    “Hrrrmmmm. Why thank you… Chakik.” it said, running it’s tongue over those sharp teeth as it said his name. “You are a long way from home little one.” Chakik wondered how the cat could possibly know that, but said nothing. There was a long pause as the cat simply sat and stared at the squirrel, after a minute Chakik realized he had been holding his breath and let out a huge sigh. The cat grinned at this, again showing it’s teeth, Chakik shrunk back from it a bit. “Don’t worry I’m not going to eat you,” said the cat “You are much too filthy to eat.” And with that the tension was broken and both animals began to laugh.

    Chakik could not remember the last time he had laughed and found that he could not stop, he fell onto the ground laughing so hard that it brought tears to his eyes. He clutched his paws to his filthy belly trying to control himself but the laughter would not stop. It was releasing all the dark energies, thoughts, and experiences he had been through, and it felt good. Panting and breathless, he finally got himself under control and looked up at the black cat still sitting in front of him.

    “Thank you.” he said. Chakik tried to brush some of the dirt from his belly but it was futile, he needed a good bath. “Why are you here? Who are you?” The cat’s tail slowly curled back and forth as it considered the little squirrel’s question.

    “Why are any of us here? I enjoy playing with these squirrels, they have become rather bold recently and need reminders of where they stand. Especially that one…” she said and gestured toward where the mottled leader squirrel should have been laying, but his body was not there. He was gone! The cat let out a sigh. “Tough nut that one, you may want to get moving along.” The little squirrel blinked up at the cat, so much had happened so quickly since his release from his underground prison he was still having trouble thinking straight. Here he was talking to a strange cat with shining indigo fur, not an everyday occurrence for a squirrel. He had seen the leader squirrel tossed like a rag doll in the grip of the cat and thought him dead. If that squirrel was still alive he would surely come after Chakik, the cat was right, he needed to get out of here. As his brain was processing all these thoughts he realized the cat was slowly walking away from him.

    “Wait, where are you going? I still don’t know your name.” Chakik called after the cat.

    “I am going for now, I have a feeling we will cross paws again,” the cat said as it padded off, “You can call me Nebula.” With that the cat leapt over a rock and a root and disappeared into the woods. Chakik sat for a moment, still having trouble processing everything.

    The sounds of claws scraping on rocks and dirt rose suddenly from the hole into the rock squirrel’s den that Nebula had created. The battered and bloody shape of the leader squirrel appeared, quickly followed by a swarm of other squirrels. They all charged at Chakik.

  • Buried Alive

    Buried Alive

    This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series The Rock Squirrels

    Chakik froze with panic as the 4 large squirrels began to scoop piles of dirt onto him and into the hole he had dug. They strongly kicked at the pile and showered him carelessly with the loose debris. The hole quickly filled up, trapping the little squirrel neck deep in the storage room. He could breathe, just barely, but his entire body was encased in the ground, a living tomb. The leader squirrel smiled for the first time since Chakik had met him, and it was a horrible sideways grin, his oversized teeth slightly yellowed with age.

    “Good. Good.” he said to the guards and then turning to Chakik, “Now your punishment can begin.”

    No sooner had the words escaped his horrible mouth than one of the guards grabbed Chakik’s head and roughly pried his mouth open. A stream of squirrels began to march into the storage room, each carrying an armful of the acorns that Chakik had taken from their tree.

    His eyes grew as the full realization of what his punishment would be: he was to serve as a living storage bin for the rock squirrels!

    The volume of nuts that Chakik had taken from their tree would not fit in the storage room he was now buried in, but they would fit in his cheeks. Each squirrel placed their cargo of food into the little squirrel’s cheeks. Chakik was helpless, buried neck deep, as his cheeks magically expanded. He had not realized how many acorns he had picked until now, as squirrel after squirrel entered the storage room, each with an armful. There was no fear left in him though as he knew that his cheeks would be able to hold all of the stolen food once more.

    The line of squirrels finally ceased, and Chakik’s cheeks were at capacity. The leader strode toward him ominously, the eerie grin still on his face. “Maybe I should thank you, you and your cheeks have expanded our storage capacity greatly. And you saved us the trouble of gathering this month.” The pleasure of seeing Chakik buried in the dirt was clearly evident in the leader’s dark eyes. “We may let you out in the spring.” and with that the leader swiftly turned and walked out of the storage room, leaving Chakik alone in the near dark, a single firefly pulsed slowly in the doorway.

    “What have I become?” Chakik thought to himself. His wish had only been to be more helpful to his family and now he may never see them again. His mind wandered back to the Black Dragon and his thoughtless desire. It seemed ages ago that he was standing on the Black Dragon, he recalled the grinding sound of it’s voice. He tried to distract himself from the horror of his situation with thoughts of his family, “Well at least they won’t be able to call me ‘little cheeks’ anymore.” The thought of being teased by his sisters made him realize he missed them terribly and he began to cry, his tears pooling quickly onto the ground next to his head. He could only sob lightly as the dirt packed around his buried body kept him from taking any deep breaths. The tears ran in a steady stream down his cheeks as his head filled with images and memories of his family, racing his brothers up tree trunks, sunning himself on a branch, and all the things he would never do again. He cried and cried, buried in the hole he had dug in the dark and empty storage room, the sound of his weak breathing was the only sound he could hear.

  • The Proclamation at Flat Rock

    This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series The Rock Squirrels

    The little squirrel was carried around and upward in this strange underground cavern. The swarm of lightning bugs coalesced into the center of the chamber, their lights pulsing in opposite timing from the bizarre living cape worn by the orange and black squirrel.

    Quietly and timidly the squirrels that had hidden in their stone homes began to emerge. Family by family they made their way to surround the great flat stone at the center of their rocky home. The alternating pulsing firefly light cast eerie and strange shadows across the entire scene. At the center proudly stood the leader of the underground dray resplendent in his blinking cape. The lightning bugs quickened their pulsing as Chakik was finally brought to the flat rock in the center and within the grasp of the mottled leader.

    All the rock squirrels had now gathered around and sat in silence as they watched. The lightning bugs on the ceiling stopped their bioluminescence and the entire chamber went dark. Slowly, and one by one, the lightning bugs that made up the cape lit up. They held their lights on, not blinking, as the rest of the cape lit up. Chakik was pushed roughly in front of the caped squirrel. There was no sound from any of the squirrels in the crowd, they simply stood still and watched in silence.

    “This squirrel,” began the orange and black squirrel, “has taken from us.” The crowd remained silent and Chakik had the feeling this was a regular sight for them. He lay motionless and silent as well, having resigned himself to whatever fate awaited him. Glowing in the backlight of his firefly cape, the mottled squirrel continued.

    “He has stripped our main tree nearly bare.” This statement caused a stirring amongst the gathering, dimly lit faces glanced at each other. Chakik remained still. He had not intended to gather all the nuts from their tree but had become overwhelmed by the new storage in his cheeks. The squirrels had taken all of their food back, so Chakik was silently hopeful that they would let him go. The caped squirrel stretched his arm out and made a sweeping circular gesture across the gathering.

    “Your food was taken by this little squirrel for his own purpose. Fortunately I have stopped him from taking meals from your children’s mouths.”

    Chakik felt guilty for what he had done. He had been overcome with the capacity of his new magical cheeks and had given little thought to the consequences of his actions. The idea that the food he had gathered belonged to other squirrels and their families had never crossed his mind. He continued to sit motionless in front of the crowd as the caped squirrel paced back and forth behind him.

    “For his crimes against us, he must be punished.”

    The crowd murmured.

    The leader squirrel stopped. The crowd timidly repeated, “For his crimes against us, he must be punished.” Their voices mingling and not together in the recital of the words. There was a general feeling of unrest emanating from the huddled squirrels below. Chakik could feel it, even over the duress of his own predicament. These squirrels were living under the unwanted rule of this single animal. Unfortunately for the little squirrel, this one animal ruled over all these squirrels, he had guards at his command and the rest were afraid of him and his power over the light of their underground home.

    Chakik lay still upon the cold rock, his back turned to the crazed leader dressed in a living cape of lightning bugs that pulsed as he moved. Chakik tried to block his view of this seemingly evil squirrel with his large tail. He could feel the squirrel pacing behind him, contemplating what punishment would fit the crime.

    “Our tree has been harvested prematurely by this … creature.” the words hissed from the the leaders mouth. “We will need more storage to ensure that we do not go hungry. So let the punishment fit the crime, this … squirrel will store what he tried to steal.” Chakik didn’t move as the words crashed over him like a wave. What were the leader’s intentions? How would he store their food? In answer to his thoughts the leader finished his sentencing. “Take him to the storage room!” No sooner were the words said than Chakik was scooped up from the stone and gruffly dragged off in the opposite direction that he had been dragged in. His head was spinning with the different potential punishments he was about to receive.

    He was dragged away from the core of the rock squirrel’s home and down one of the larger passageways. The lightning bugs returned to their normal glowing state as they took him further into the ground. They turned a corner and deposited the little squirrel roughly onto the floor of a large room. Piles of acorns were stacked neatly along the walls and other seeds and grasses were stashed in various cubby holes.

    The large squirrels that dragged him here stepped to the sides as the leader entered the room, followed by 4 more large squirrels. The leader squirrel no longer wore his living cape of lightning bugs but somehow looked even more intimidating to Chakik, his eyes burning with rage. He strode toward Chakik with visible menace, stopping just before his claws touched the little squirrel. The leader pointed to an empty corner of the room and snarled one word: “Dig”. Chakik sat still, momentarily uncertain of himself. “DIG!” the leader shouted and Chakik scrambled to the corner and began to dig into the hard dirt floor. He tore at the ground with his front claws, not sure of the purpose of his digging, but not wanting to draw anymore anger toward himself.

    Chakik’s claws made fast work of the soil as he kept digging, awaiting a command to know he would be ok if he stopped. The hole quickly grew and soon Chakik was standing in a nearly squirrel sized hole, when he stood up in it, only his head was above ground. His paws hurt and he was winded. Finally the leader gave a short and sharp command, “Stop.” Chakik was panting heavily as he collapsed against the side of the hole. He was filthy, and the room now contained a large, scattered pile of dirt. He tried to catch his breath as he watched and waited for the next stage of his punishment. The leader stood still, looking darkly down at Chakik in the hole, and then made a slight gesture with his paw toward the pile of dirt that had been scrabbled onto the floor. With this, the large guard squirrels scampered over to the dirt pile and began to bury Chakik where he stood!

  • The Rock Squirrels

    This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series The Rock Squirrels

    Chakik was dragged across the forest floor by four squirrels. Lead by the mottled orange and black squirrel, he was carried for what felt like hours, passing by new and unfamiliar sections of the forest. At one point they even crossed the Black Dragon’s back, thankfully it was silent and far away when they did. Finally they came upon a great pile of dark gray rocks, surrounded by low pointed bushes. A massive, but nearly dead, oak tree rose from the center of the rock pile, it’s aged and knurled roots grasping and twisting around and through the rocks.

    Chakik readied his claws for the expected climb, but instead of going up the tree, the squirrels took him down a hidden passage in the rocks and under the great tree. He blinked his eyes blindly in the dark as he was moved quickly through the passage. As his eyes adjusted he noticed a strange and flickering glow that slowly illuminated the dark tunnel. At first Chakik thought it was his eyes and aching head playing tricks on him, it had been quite a strange day after all, but as they moved deeper the pulsing light grew brighter and steadier.

    Turning his head upwards as far as he could manage while being restrained by four large and strong squirrels, Chakik discovered the source of the light: lightning bugs! A single row of them clung to the rock ceiling above the squirrels, alternating their flashes so that if one was dim, the two on either side of it were glowing, this created an almost steady light in the tunnel. As they approached a large chamber in front of them, the lightning bugs increased from a single row into two, then three and four, spreading out and blinking on the rocks in an incredible pattern.

    Chakik was so amazed by the bugs and their pulsing glows that he almost failed to realize a second amazing thing; these squirrels were living in a rock cave, underground!

    The chamber they had emerged into was at least 10 times the size of any tree dwelling the little squirrel had ever seen. It seemed to be organized in a circular pattern, centered around a large flat stone, perched upon a pile of stones that created a strange looking staircase. Surrounding this in ever expanding circles were smaller piles of stones with round openings in them. Chakik assumed these lead to dwellings as a few curious heads poked out from some as they passed by. At the far edges of the cave were more openings to tunnels like the one Chakik had just been carried through.

    As Chakik was dragged through the chamber more and more heads popped up from the small stone hills. Some had as many as 6 or 7 peeking out, most of them young squirrels. The little squirrel felt only curiosity in their gazes, not the malice the mottled squirrel had shown. From some he even sensed pity, as if they had seen this before.

    The overall sense of calm that pervaded the place freaked Chakik out.

    For the first time since his capture he struggled against the four squirrels holding him. As he expected, it was to no avail, the squirrels holding his legs barely flexed to keep him tightly in their strong grasp.

    He had lost sight of the mottled squirrel but could feel his presence in the chamber as the curious heads disappeared from view in a sequence leading to the center. The squirrels popped up again as he and his forced entourage approached. “sorry…don’t fight…it is quick” they peeped at him as he was dragged away. The four squirrels transporting him paid no mind to the words of the curious, they continued to drag him around the circle of homes to the stairs and flat stone at it’s core.

    Strangely Chakik now felt very much at peace, he knew he could not escape the grasp of his forced companions. He said nothing to those that dared to watch as they passed. He thought back to his foolish wish that the Black Dragon had granted him, an infinite mouth to carry infinite food. He knew this was why the rock squirrels had brought him here. Before today he had known that other tribes of squirrels existed, but was taught and had seen that they rarely interacted. Squirrels had learned to live in harmony with their trees and each other. Stories were told of squirrels crossing into other’s territories, but they usually involved princesses and happy endings. As Chakik was carried over the well worn stones, illuminated by hundreds of lightning bugs, he knew this was no such story.

    The group progressed to the center of the chamber and the lightning bugs that illuminated the cavern slowly changed their pattern. Fireflies near the outer walls made their way to the center. The entire ceiling of glowing light made brilliant concentric patterns above him. The consistent light they had made by alternating their patterns began to strobe, as all the lightning bugs fluoresced at the same time. The cavern took on an even stranger feel when the mottled squirrel emerged upon the top of the flat rock. He was wearing a pulsing cape of lightning bugs on his back, each bug had it’s feet clasped to the one next to it, wings spread to fill in the cape entirely. The light made the mottled squirrel appear even more ominous than before, his features exaggerated by the yellow glow of his living cape. The way the lightning bugs readjusted every time he moved made it even creepier.

    Chakik had given in to the thought that this was probably his end, and simply let himself be carried toward whatever was in store for him. He regretted asking the Black Dragon for his cheeks. Around and upward he was carried. Families continued to poke their heads out at him as they passed but he no longer met their gazes.

    Chakik was scared, but he also felt very quiet. This was it.

  • Easier to Spot

    This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series The Rock Squirrels

    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.