Rising Shards

Chumbler sized up Amara as she charged her lasers, with beams getting ready to form at each of her claws. Could she take Amara in a fight? Probably not.

OK, Chumbler, think. The one thing Rain said was to not let her girlfriends know that she was at Rising Shards. But what if…I just tell them anyways?

“Chumbler.” Z.O.K. said. “I know that look. That’s the betrayal look. Whatever you’re planning, do something else.”

“You’re no fun,” Chumbler said. “What else should we do then?”

“Try to get them to calm down?”

“Your odd mutterings won’t save you if you’re keeping my Rain from me,” Amara said.

“Our Rain.” KJ said. The goth raccoon Kanibari had her camera up and was filming everything.

“First off, you are not permitted to film anything here,” Chumbler said. “This is private property.”

“It’s school property,” Amara said. “KJ can film whatever she wants.”

“Well.” Z.O.K. said.

“Well, what?” Amara asked.

“You can’t just film anywhere.” Z.O.K. said.

“Yeah, she’s right for once!” Chumbler said. “Imagine if you got that camera out in the bathroom or the locker rooms! If you tried to get some scandalous or gross footage your ass is getting expulsion’d.”

“Expulsion…” Amara said. She sniffed, tears in her eyes. “Rain got expelled.” She started wailing instantly, and KJ turned the camera to her.

“The bleak, unending pain of the absence of Rain,” KJ said.

“Don’t film me…” Amara said. “And I told you, if you put rhyming narration in your documentary, it’s going to get really bad reviews…” She was fully sobbing now, rubbing her cheeks in vain at the tears streaking down. “People don’t want poetic narrations in a documentary…it’s gonna really throw things off…and your poetry is really bad…”

KJ continued to film and freestyle poetic narrations over the scene.

“Should we do something?” Z.O.K. asked.

“Yeah, I’m thinking we leave,” Chumbler said. “Get a snack or something. Amara’s right, KJ’s poetry is terrible.”

“I’m thinking more like help Amara stop crying.” Z.O.K. said.

“Why?” Chumbler asked. “Crying’s good for you. She’s clearly got a lot of emotions to work through. You got something against emotions there, Zorta?”

“I don’t like when you call me by my first name,” Z.O.K. said. “Something about the way you do it is really unsettling. You like half whisper it.”

“We could go on all day about this, can you just come up with something to help Amara?” Chumbler asked. “I’m so tired. Can we just take a nap? We haven’t even gotten to nap after our big adventure.”

“Well, Amara smelled Rain here,” Z.O.K. whispered. “And she’s right, but we can’t tell her that. Because Rain asked us not to. And she charmed Zeta that one time so she probably did that to us too so we probably literally can’t.”

“You just described the problem again, yawn,” Chumbler said. “Amara’s still over there crying, KJ’s still reading her crappy poetry, we’re just looping around in total inaction again…gragh!” Chumbler went to the whiteboard in the casino and smacked her fist on it and yelled “DING DING DING DING” until all eyes in the room were on her. “Alright, everyone shut up and pay attention to me, Chumbler! So you smelled Rain down here, huh Amara?”

“Yes,” Amara said. “I have a really good nose, a hunting nose.”

“And you didn’t smell Rain, did you, KJ?” Chumbler asked.

“I didn’t,” KJ said. “But I admittedly don’t have a hunter’s nose like Amara.”

“Soooo,” Chumbler said. “Rain was maybe here. Do I know? No. Maybe she came in here after hours. After we were already closed. In which case I’m gonna have to bill her. But she’s clearly not here now. So maybe use that sniffer to find out where she went to next if she’s really here? We won’t stop you. In fact, we’ll go into my office! What do you think?”

Amara considered the offer. She got up, wiped her eyes one more time, then marched over to Chumbler, who started sweating immediately. Amara sniffed Chumbler and Z.O.K. over.

“Hmm,” Amara said. “I can smell Rain faintly on you...”

“Weird!” Chumbler said.

“But that could be just from being somewhere she was recently.” Amara sniffed again. “You mostly just smell like…Biggest Bro Body Spray?”

Chumbler shrugged for a really long time.

Amara squinted at her. “Go to your office, I don’t want your festering odor interfering.”

“Right away, ma’am,” Chumbler said. She and Z.O.K. fled to the office and immediately locked the door behind them.

“That was pretty good thinking,” Z.O.K. said.

“And now me dousing us in that Bro Body Spray isn’t such a ‘horrifically gross and wasteful’ idea now, is it?” Chumbler asked.

“It may have helped out slightly, but it’s a coincidence it ended up being even slightly useful.” Z.O.K. said. “You made that teacher cry from how bad it smelled.”

“Well, whatever.” Chumbler said. “Did they leave yet?”

Z.O.K. peeked through the curtains in front of the office’s window. “No.”

Chumbler yawned, then pretty much just fell back first on the ground. “I’m gonna take a nap then. You wanna take a nap?”

“Not really.” Z.O.K. said.

“What if I use my sexy form right before I sleep?” Chumbler asked. “I can’t guarantee it’ll stay, but…your fuzz may prove useful for my sleeping.”

Z.O.K. was by her side immediately. Chumbler poofed into her sexy woman form and hugged Z.O.K., who gleefully hugged her back. “Yes, good, very fuzzy.” She patted Z.O.K.’s head. “There, there, it’s all OK.”

“What? I’m not crying…” Z.O.K. said.

“Poor baby, shhh,” Chumbler said.

“Shut up, let me enjoy this,” Z.O.K. said. “Don’t talk anymore.”

“So picky,” Chumbler said before drifting off to sleep.