VIII. RUMOR-MILL
"Liar, liar, attention seeking for you is dire!" Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs as she stomped her feet repeatedly. Ruby is easy to persuade, but how could she take in such an atrocious claim? "Do you take us for a bunch of fools, Gossiping Graham?"
Graham felt no remorse or hesitance. He spoke his truth, and his sense of calm remained unwavering. "Ahem. What do I have to gain from lying to my two best friends?" He laid his head down on his pillow and closed his eyes. After excitingly expending all his energy about what had happened, exerting any more energy about who he just ran into would be exhausting. Graham knew to give his laid back brain a break unless he wanted it to melt into a pile of goo. Now, who would even benefit from that? Certainly no his group of friends. His information would be too hazy from all the heat in there. But most importantly, it would do him no good to be stressed out in any way shape or form. Like his motto goes: "My best when no stress." Rest is what he's earned.
Blake took a moment to reflect as he sat on the plain wooden chair Graham set for him. His feathers held up his beak as the chair became the foundation to keep his arm up in wondering about the Twin-Tails. While skepticism pervades his mind to the same degree as Ruby, his trust for Graham outweighed his questioning mind enough to give Graham the benefit of the doubt. "What makes you so sure Graham has enough of a reason to lie to us? I can't recall a single time he's lied to us besides from misremembering details, and even then, he's not the type of guy to make up fairy tales for attention, you know?"
Ruby tightened her fist. Not so much out of anger, but from frustration. "How could I believe you without a shred of evidence? Let me test your integrity on the spot. If you're telling the truth, what is Twin-Tail's name?"
Graham slowly opened his eyes. With a moment of pause, he scratched his noggin. His self-soothing scratches were gentle enough to bring him into a trance. What he's doing didn't matter to him in the moment. His soft hands caressing the tip of his head was enough to get him to barely fall asleep, until Ruby interrupted him entering paradise.
"Graham!!!"
He fell off of his bed with his pillow clutched tightly in his arms. His face crashed into the chair he set up for Ruby to sit. The pillow flew from his arm to even have a chance to soften the blow. "Ow! What was that for? Rude much, Ruby? Huh? Rudy?"
Ruby crossed her arms as she tapped her foot. "Hush up! Twin. Tail's. Name. Wait. Ing. Hmph."
Graham is too tired from all the events unfolding to pick himself back up. He embraced the less than ideal position of his arms wrapped around his body, and legs outstretched with his face in the dirty floor until it became comfortable by the way he didn't resist being uncomfortable. With this, he transcended the duality of comfort and discomfort, being left only with peace and acceptance. "I didn't think to ask."
Ruby clenched her fist and put them by her sides. On the verge of losing her patience, her fists were upright. "I can't count on you for anything! Of all the things you could've asked for, you asked for food instead of its name? Not even where we could meet up with it?"
"No."
"Aaagghhh!!! It's like you don't even think at all! This was our chance to become THE most popular three in the entire village! What could be more important than having everyone here know who we are and looking up to us?"
"Calm down. Twin-Tails said it would be back. Enjoy some patience. You could use it." Graham relaxed into his disfigured position like he was transforming into a new type of disfigured animal totally relaxed with itself and unperturbed by the judgements of others.
Ruby's face scrunched up together like a squeezed up stress ball. Her anger reminded Blake too much of the strife back home with his family. To avoid his feeling of waiting for someone to lose their cool and crumble the surroundings near him, he interjected himself to try and diffuse Ruby's raining temper. While her temper has yet to cause any physical damage, the recent fight between his mother and father got his fear on the edge of the cliff. Even a slightly raised voice at this time would bring him into a panic. Blake didn't want to risk it. "Ruby, it all happened so suddenly for him. Cut him some slack. And like he said, Twin-Tails will be back. We'll only waste energy if we argue. Just sit back and enjoy the mystery."
Ruby's leer went from Graham to Blake. Her eyes started seeing red. Although she is quick to provoke, she respects people’s physical boundaries. No matter how hot her head steamed, her fingers stayed to herself. Her two friends were used to her outbursts, but that didn't mean they enjoyed them when they popped up. Blake knew to watch his words when her eyes didn't blink, but Graham? Graham was often clueless. "I have nothing nice to say, so no words will be coming out of my mouth." Ruby's eyes began to twitch as she had reached her limit. This could've been her only chance to learn more about Twin-Tails without having to break the rules, and she is not having it today.
Graham raised a finger in excitement. He remembered a tiny detail. Surely, this would bring Ruby's rage down. "Oh, hey! I saw ole Twiny-Tails make her way up the forbidden zone towards the mountains!"
The ground began to shake as Ruby couldn't contain her disapproval any longer. "We already knew that! That's where we first caught a glimpse of her you cloud-headed buffoon!"
Blake took a deep breath to calm is own simmering temper. Just like Ruby, he too is frustrated, but not for the same reasons. The whole ordeal with Twin-Tails escaped him. The situation with Ruby allowing her feelings get control of her rational thought outweighed his curiosity. Yet, just like Ruby is subject to falling into her feelings, Blake let the current of his emotions get the best of him. His emotions told him it was time everyone gave each other the space to breathe. Unlike Ruby, he rationalized his feelings to the point of being guided by them, and not controlled by them. His brain knew an insincere voice is going to cause more harm than healing. "Let's get some air you guys. We all could use a break."
Ruby remained silent as Graham agreed. He flipped his body until he lay flat on his back. Although Ruby is mad at Graham, her frustration didn't get in the way of being a good friend. She outstretched her arms and Graham accepted it. Pulling him up on his feet, she gave him a soft hug.
"Thanks, Ruby!"
The three of them left Grahams den and made way to the center of the village. A crowd had caught their interest. "I wonder why everyone's here. Let's go check this out," Blake said.
Graham nodded his head. "Mmhm."
Crispin the crow stood in front of the crowd of cautious villagers. No one knew what to believe when so many conflicting rumors circulated around their ears. They only felt their bellies ache from fear so much so that very few of them were able to eat a full meal, let alone enjoy their favorite snack without overindulging in its lack of a taste and fulfillment. "My wings flew me through grapevines and planted my feet on a branch high above as my vision was struck by what those little rascals saw. A deity of fire showed itself to me. My fear kept me silent; my survival instincts kept me still enough to not be burned by its gaze. I know there are many eyes here glaring at me like a thirsty fibber begging for water from those who barely have any drink for themselves. I know it looks like I'm neglecting my own well to have a sip from yours, but let me reassure you that the heavens lit up my sight with a flame moving like it had life in itself! Its belly grew and shrunk as if to take breath. With all its grace, it was followed by two rustling flames like an insecure baby clinging against its mother's bum."
Crispin is seen as an encyclopedia for the others. No one knew where he got his knowledge, but he is a magnificent storyteller who pulls on everyone's heartstrings. Always the one to be feared for his ominous voice that drove everyone to seek shelter, he learned to gather the attention of people by putting on a performance that would leave them delusional enough in their mind's self-made neurosis, yet mysterious enough to keep them craving more, and more, until they were engulfed to their spine with shellshock.
The villagers shrunk into whispers from their fright. Everyone is at the edge of their sanity. Sensing their tipping point, Crispin saw his opportunity to plant the seed of paranoia to the entire village he has grown to despise for their neglect. He put 110% into trying to hide the grin forming on his face as he was feeling the adrenaline rush through his entire being. Being unable to contain all his energy, he knew he needed to let it out in a single burst if he wanted to mask his true intentions. He jumped up from on top of the grocer's street sign and opened his wings like a bomb had went off from inside of him. "It devoured a little one covered in red. It's blood being sucked by a vampire who hasn't been satiated in 1,000 lifetimes!"
Crispin flew off to his nest at the upper most edge of the village. Crispin began to bask in the worship the village showered him in. This is the scheme he had been waiting for all of his life. "Neglect me? What a chuckle these spineless fools have given me. I think not! For I am now the one those worms come to bow down to as their prophet! The village's hysteria? This is all because of me! I'm the reason why the village hasn't becomes stifled with idle hands! I brought everyone back to life by bringing them face to face with their own mortality!" For Crispin, drama is the only thing worth watching as he fled to stay isolated in his home. His ego ate enough bravado to last him a lifetime.
The entire village broke down from the inside. Their faces grew pale as their bodies stiffened. They began to let their imagination run wild. Everyone carried themselves like soulless robots going throughout their day completely by programming. "I heard the twin-tailed one has an endless stomach. Where was it summoned from? Why is it brought here now? Are we going to be its next feast?"
Ruby spoke after much silence. "This is it! If we don't get Twin-Tails soon, someone else will beat us to the punch! Come on you guys. Time's a wastin'!"
Graham is too lost in his stomach growling to take notice of Ruby's haste. Blake put his feathers to his forehead as he let out a sigh. "This isn't a competition, Ruby."
"Wrong my naïve little bird. Yes. Yes it is. We have to win if we want people to care about us!" Ruby began to sprint towards her home. "Let's go be winners!"
Word began to travel fast as it reached the upper end of the village and straight into Lana's drooling mouth. "That sniffling sky rat was telling the truth after all." Her drool hit the ground as her body trembled with excitement of the feast she began to anticipate. "Finally, blood worthy of a queen like myself. Soon, I shall no longer be a queen of this nauseating village, but their Goddess!"
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