Among Friends
A cerulean blue hedgehog relaxed on a branch looking over the treetop village of Knothole. Gear and his twin-tailed companion had come across this quaint village on their mission to hunt down a fugitive known only as Raja. Rumors say she travels with a large pack of hyenas that will cut down anyone in their way. The bounty for her capture was bountiful and has caught the attention of bounty hunters everywhere.
As the sun rays beamed down through the trees, the sounds of the villagers running along the wooden bridges kept the hedgehog from drifting off. He thought about finding somewhere else to catch a snooze, but he knew his brother would be back soon, hopefully with a lead. As if he knew he was thinking of him, Gizmo appeared at the hedgehog's side. Gizmo's twin tails flicked happily behind him, and his sky-blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight. The smile on the kit's face told him that some good news was in store.
"So Gear, good news! I may have a lead on that Raja character we're looking for," Gizmo plopped beside his brother and pulled out a map hidden under his blue scarf.
He pointed to a spot on the map not far from the village, "Julie told me there was a stranger seen here a few days ago. The person who saw them couldn't give a perfect description, unfortunately. It may be nothing, but I think we should at least check it out where we haven't found any good leads." Gizmo gave a slight nod to reassure himself.
Gear stood up on the branch and gave Gizmo a thumbs up, "Well, let's go check this place out then. I can't stand to sit around here anymore."
As the two heroes make their way to the forest floor, they pass Clover and her mother Julie on the way down. They thank them for the lead on their bounty and head off on their next adventure.
While Gear and Gizmo fight through the overgrown forest, three other explorers unknowingly head in the same direction. They had gotten turned around looking for Knothole Village. In this group of three was an enthusiastic young fox with red hair that burned in the sunlight, an irritated orange skunk who looked ready for a warm bath, and a handsome canine with blue fur as bright as the sky. They had been on the road for some time and were weary from travel.
The fox who went by CeCe skipped through the overgrown path, admiring all the flowers along the way. She loved all the beautiful colors and how they looked like they were dancing in the summer breeze. Her sister Sparkle tiredly walked behind her, doing her best to keep up with the joyful vixen.
"CeCe," she called, "Slow down a bit, dear; we're gonna lose you." CeCe slowed and gave her two companions a soft smile. Their canine guard Chris was keeping an eye on their surroundings. The forest seemed calm, and the weather was favorable. He was however, worried about where they were as they should've come across the village by now.
A sudden noise could be heard in the distance, and it put the three explorers on guard. The sound of twigs snapping could be heard along with two voices. Chris waved a hand at the girls and ushered them to stay close. They waited to see who these two voices belonged to.
Gizmo glanced at the map in his hands, reassuring himself that they were going in the right direction. He was reading the map so intently that he hadn't noticed Gear had stopped in front of him. He hit Gear hard enough that it caused Gizmo to stumble back a bit.
"Hey, why did you stop?" Gizmo asked intently after regaining his balance. Gear stared off in a different direction than they were heading. Gizmo followed his gaze but didn't see anything.
Gizmo poked his brother's shoulder to get his attention, "uh, Gear you good?"
Gear was silent but soon answered, "I thought I heard something." He continued to stare and noticed movement in the bushes. The two waited a moment, readying on what may pop out. They were shocked to see a familiar face.
Chris poked his head out from the brush and waved at the two hunters, "Heyo! Nice to see you all again!". From behind him, CeCe and Sparkle emerged.
CeCe noticed Gizmo first and gave him an excited wave. She leaped out from behind her sister and went to join the two brothers.
Gizmo blushed and gave CeCe a soft smile, "hey CeCe, its good to see you again."
CeCe giggled in response and noticed the map he had in his hands. "Oh hey, do you know where we are? We got a little turned around in the forest. We're looking for Knothole Village."
Gear chimed in on the two kits, "yeah, we just came from there, actually. We're following a lead on a bounty."
Chris' ears perked up on the word bounty, "A bounty, you say? Who would you guys be looking for all the way out here?"
"That's for me and Gizmo to know," Gear replied. Sparkle gave Gear a scowl.
Gizmo jabbed his brother in his side "Gear, don't be rude." He looked back to Chris and answered, "We're looking for Raja. She's got quite the bounty on her head." Gizmo held up a small piece of paper with a poorly drawn sketch of the suspect. "There isn't a lot of info about her, and no one has gotten a good look at her, but she's responsible for many missing persons. We got a lead a while ago that she was heading in the direction of Acorn Acres, but when we made it to Knothole, no one had seen anything suspicious. Until today that is." Gizmo held up his map for the group to see. He pointed to a spot not far off from the village, "here there was a suspicious person seen by the river, so we're going to check it out."
Chris nodded and looked over the map Gizmo held up. He noticed Knothole on the map and saw where they had taken the wrong turn.
"I can see we weren't far off from where we needed to be," Chris piped. He looked over to a worn-out Sparkle and let out a low laugh. "I best get these two girls to the village. If you want, I can catch up with you two after I get CeCe and Sparkle settled in. You may need a hand with this Raja."
Gizmo pondered a moment, but Gear spoke first "No, that's okay, Gizmo and I can handle things from here. Thanks for the offer, tough. Common bud," Gear waved to his brother to follow.
Before following his brother, Gizmo turned back to CeCe to wave goodbye. Sad they had to depart so soon, CeCe waved back and wished them safe travels.
Finally arriving at their destination, Gear and Gizmo looked over their surroundings and began looking for any signs that could help them figure out who the mysterious figure was. After a long hour of searching, the two came up empty-handed.
"Well, this was a dud," Gear pouted and kicked a rock nearby. He was hoping for something exciting or that they would miraculously find Raja chilling here by the river.
"I wasn't expecting much, to be honest, Gear, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to check." Even though his words were valid, Gizmo still had disappointment in his voice. The two pondered on whether they should call it quits and head back to the village until a scream caught their attention. Without hesitation, the two jetted in the direction of the noise.
The noise led them to a small clearing in the forest, where they found a chipmunk with auburn hair trying to fight off two hawks. There didn't seem to be a reason for the assault, as she was empty-handed. Though she was smaller than the two, she appeared to be holding her own.
The two hawks hadn't noticed the brothers' arrival, so Gear chimed in, "Hey bird brains, stop picking on that young lady and fight someone more your size."
The birds swung their heads around, which proved to be a mistake cause the chipmunk took advantage of this distraction and clocked one of them on the side of the head. His friend retaliated, but Gear got to him first and pinned him to the ground.
The chipmunk composed herself and visibly relaxed. She looked to Gear and then to his fox companion. They didn't seem threatening, and they did help her. She knelt beside the hawk she slugged and tied his wings with a rope that hung from her hip. She did the same to his friend that Gear currently held captive.
Satisfied that the two couldn't get away, she faced her two heroes, "thank you for your assistance, but I was handling things just fine."
Gear stood to reply but stopped. He was finally able to get a good look at her. She had on a blue vest which was left unzipped, a white crop top, and umber colored shorts. She wore gloves with grips on the palms, which he assumed would help her with climbing. He stood there for some time admiring her and it began to make the chipmunk uncomfortable.
Gizmo decided to break the silence between the two, "We heard someone scream and rushed to help, but were glad to see you're okay."
The chipmunk nodded and looked in the direction of Knothole Village, "Well thanks again, but I need to get these two crooks back to town. We'll let the village leader deal with them" She began to walk off when Gear spoke up, "Hey, that's it?"
The young lass turned back, looking slightly annoyed "I said thank you, what more would you like from me?"
The captured hawks said nothing but began to look back and forth between the now bickering captors.
Gear opened his mouth to say something else, but Gizmo stopped him and spoke instead, "Sorry about him. We're looking for someone; have you seen anyone suspicious, or that looks like this?" he held up to poorly drawn poster.
The chipmunk shook her head no, "Sorry, just these two creeps that thought it would be a good idea to jump me." She tugged on the rope to move them forward.
Gizmo sighed and admitted defeat. He looked back to his brother, "Guess we should be heading back too. I wouldn't mind getting a good night's sleep and a warm meal."
"Wait, are you guys staying at Julie's Inn?" The chipmunk turned back to the two brothers.
"Yes, we are, we stopped here to check out a bounty lead, but it looks like it will be another dead end," Gizmo rubbed his eyes as he spoke. The days-long journey was finally taking its toll on him.
"Bounty hunters, eh? We don't get much of your type around here. Well sounds like we're going the same way, so you guys are free to follow me back." She waited for their response, and with a shoulder shrug from Gear, the two boys followed.
They arrived back at the village as the sun began to set. The chipmunk handed off her two captives to a Guard watching over the stairway to the town. The chipmunk had a short discussion with the guard before he headed off with the culprits.
Before she could follow the guard, Gear spoke, "Hey, we never got your name."
She turned back and looked Gear over before saying, "Sally." She gave him a quick smile and headed up the stairs.
Gizmo and Gear made their way back to Julie's Inn to check into their room. When they arrived, they were shocked to see it wasn't just a room but a whole tree house. It was small but had two beds and a place to store clothes and food. There was even a small stove for cooking. Gizmo was admiring their cozy home for the night when he noticed they had neighbors. A familiar face poked out the window from the tree house beside them.
CeCe gazed up at the stars, unaware of her surroundings. The cool night air felt good on her face. The smell of something yummy was coming from their tiny kitchen. Her night sky daze was interrupted by a light knock on their door. Sparkle opened it to find Gizmo. She looked for Gear but didn't notice him. CeCe joined her sister at the door and chirped with excitement when she saw their visitor.
"Gizmo! How was your hunt?" CeCe asked excitedly.
"Not as good as we hoped, but I'm not worried about it. Just glad to be back. To be honest, I'm starving." Gizmo sniffed the air and could smell something delicious.
CeCe notices this and invites Gizmo in. Before coming in, he asks if he can invite Gear. With a nod of approval from Sparkle, Gizmo goes to collect him.
When the two arrive back at CeCe's place, they're shocked to see Sally sitting at their small dining table. She had come to welcome the new travelers to Knothole and was invited to stay for dinner. Chris was working hard on the stovetop, making sure nothing was out of place.
The crew chowed down on their dinner, ensuring no scraps were left behind. Afterward, Sparkle, Chris, Gear, and Sally went outside to enjoy the night air. Gizmo had noticed and branch not far off from their treehouse that would be an excellent spot to view the stars.
Carefully, Gizmo walked CeCe along the tree branches. They sat and admired the clear skies together.
Behind them, they could hear an irritated Sparkle barking at Gear, but they paid no mind to it. They were just happy to enjoy this moment and share it with friends.
