Little Things By: ReynardFox They were everywhere. Fei stood at the top of the stairway and stared out over the landing's rail, incredulous at the sight that met him below. It couldn't be real, all things considered. They were everywhere. Of course, none of them were the same cotton-candy shade of pink she was, but these were most definitely her companions or relations in some form or another. Chu-Chus. The room was absolutely swarming with Chu-Chus. Every hue, personality, and profession seemed to circulate among the small creatures gathered here. The high-pitched squeaking of their communication filled the air, and the sight of multicolored little walking cotton-balls was all Fei could focus on... well, maybe "focus" was too strong a word. Judging by his experiences with Chu-Chu herself, this had to be some kind of living hell. "Excuse me, sir, but what are chu doing down here?" Fei looked down, to where a black Chu-Chu was standing nearby, its large eyes fixed up at him inquisitively. It blinked, waiting for an answer. "Oh? Uh... um. Just looking around, I guess." Fei reached up to scratch at the back of his head, but the Chu-Chu didn't seem satisfied with this partial answer. The creature stared at him with beady eyes, one ear flicking restlessly. "Are chu lost?" "No, I'm not lost. Just wandering around... dinner's not ready yet," the martial artist added plaintively. As long as they didn't affect a sudden profound love for him, he might be alright. Visions of lovesick Chu-Chus following him around were starting to make his stomach turn. Coupled with being hungry, it was almost enough to make him want to retch if he focused on it too much. "Want chu buy something, then?" The Chu-Chu continued to watch him, claws busily rifling through the satchel it wore at its side. Fei sighed. "No, thanks. I told you, I'm just looking around..." His furry watcher regarded him for a moment before wrinkling its tiny nose. "Chu don't have to get angry about it," sniffed the Chu-Chu, almost disdainfully, as it wandered off. Fei sighed, rubbing at his forehead. When was dinner going to be ready? He was starving and he was going to die if he didn't eat something soon. All he could think about was food. He'd just have to distract himself looking around Aphel Aura in the meantime. There was nothing else to do here. Elly was on the Yggdrasil, as far as he knew, and so were the others. He had no interest in spending time with Billy, and Citan had gone to spend a little time with Yui. Hey, Yui was in her quarters, which meant nobody was in the kitchen... maybe he could just sneak a little food-- He shook the fool notion out of his head. Visions of Yui beating him upside the head with a ladel put a quick halt to that possible scenario. Glancing up, he blinked when he noticed something moving nearby. Another Chu-Chu had arrived and was avidly watching him. This one seemed a little brighter, and it carried a small satchel over one of its tiny shoulders. It even wore a dimunitive pair of glasses balanced on the end of its button nose, watching Fei expectantly. Fei arched his eyebrows in silent askance. Now what? "Chu look upset," the creature offered sympathetically. "I'm hungry," came the sullen retort. "I haven't eaten since some time yesterday." As though on cue, his stomach growled. The Chu-Chu shook its head, small rodent-hands reaching into its satchel and producing what looked like two hard crackers. "Here, why don't chu eat these?" Fei accepted them with far more possessiveness than he'd intended, and less than a minute later brushed the crumbs from the front of his shirt. "Thanks." "It's no problem. I have lots if chu want more. Are chu from the surface...?" The Chu-Chu's black eyes were nearly lost in its dark grey fur, broken only by the white of its chin or what looked like short whiskers. "Yeah, I'm from Lahan Village..." Fei glanced down, immediately regretting the words. If things had gone well, he would still be there, and watching Alice's wedding. He shook the thoughts out of his head, instead turning his attention back to his small, furry benefactor. "Hey, got any more of those crackers?" "I sure do. Here," the Chu-Chu added, offering a few more crackers. These were similarly devoured in due time, but the creature didn't seem disturbed by Fei's ravenousness. "Thanks. Hey, those're pretty good." "The very best," the Chu-Chu answered, puffing itself up a bit. It was quick to deflate, shrugging out of the satchel and setting it nearby. "If chu want more of those, they're in there. What's your name?" "Fei," the martial artist answered, immediately sinking into a crouch and rifling through the satchel. "Fei Fong Wong. What about you?" "Chu don't have chu concern yourself with that," the creature replied, absently waving its claws in a dismissive gesture. "What matters is that chu found this place. Most surface people don't like coming here," it added, blinking solemnly up to Fei as though imparting some kind of profound wisdom. "Oh... um... sorry to hear that." At a loss, Fei shook his head, settling with gnawing on a handful of the crackers. "Do people not like you guys or something?" "I don't know. But chu know, we're glad to be here. If we go out of here inchu the city itself, people treat us fair. Like one of them," the grey Chu-Chu added. "I hear people are a lot meaner on the surface. Would chu say that's true?" "I don't really know. They're not all bad," Fei added with a shrug, absently ticking off on his fingers as he explained. "There's Doc, and Yui, and Midori, and Dan and Tim and everyone... I guess they're not so bad." The rememberance that Timothy was dead did bring a pang of regret, but it faded. The others were good friends. ...Well, granted, Doc was a little funny about things sometimes... but he definitely meant well. Yui could be scary when one decided to be unruly around her, but she was also kind-hearted. For example, she took everyone here to Shevat when she could've just taken only Midori and deserted them, right? "I see." The Chu-Chu wrinkled its little nose, reaching up to scratch at an ear. "Long time ago, chu know, we used to live down there too. We were able to go anywhere! Green fields, grey mountains, blue oceans, golden deserts... we could live anywhere we wanted chu, and we did as we pleased." "What happened? Why are you guys only up here, then?" Fei tilted his head, curious as well as eager for the distraction. The Chu-Chu reached into the satchel, pulling out a cracker and nibbling on it, almost rat-like in its motions. "Well, chu know, people came. Then we had chu leave. All gone. People didn't want chu live with us." "Why not? I think you guys are pretty okay." Fei shifted to sit cross-legged, listening to his small charge's story. "Who knows? We were driven inchu the forests, and finally when the people built Aphel Aura, we fled and came here. The people here were nice and took us in," the Chu-Chu added, puffing itself up as though pleased. "So now you can only find us here." Not entirely true, considering Margie was being kept company by the cotton-ball in ungodly shades of pink, but Fei declined comment on the matter. It was a can of worms he'd rather not open at the moment. "I guess so." "Chu guess so? Look around!" The Chu-Chu made a noise that could either be a chuckle or a noise of alarm. "Where else are chu going to find so many of us? Certainly not on the surface." It settled down quickly enough, shrugging and nibbling at the last of its cracker. "Just because chu people can't live in peace, we were driven almost chu extinction. Chu said some of chu weren't so bad, but we Chu-Chus can't always trust so easily." "I see," Fei said quietly, brown eyes wide as he rested his chin in his hand. "But we're really not all bad," he added. "I mean, look at me. I'm not going to hurt you." "I guess you're right." The Chu-Chu seemed thoughtful for a moment, absently scratching at the base of an ear again. "Maybe if people just learned chu trust each other a little more, these things wouldn't happen..." "Maybe," Fei added, shaking his head. "I know I'd be happier if people didn't fight all the time, y'know. Chu-Chus aren't the only things who've lost something." "Chu have a point, I guess." The creature hefted itself to its feet, claws momentarily scrabbling at the stone tile floor. "But I better get going. Nice chu meet chu, Fei." Sticking out its claws in a friendly gesture, the Chu-Chu bared its teeth in a grin as Fei reached out to shake the claw. "Nice to meet you too. I'll drop back by after dinner," Fei added, grinning lopsidedly. "Guess I better go, too. Dinner's gonna be ready soon." Fei rose to his feet, dusting off his pants as he wound his way through the mass of Chu-Chus towards the stairway, mechanically climbing each step and trying to orient himself towards the kitchen again. Still, he couldn't help but think -- maybe the grey Chu-Chu had a point. If people could just stop these stupid wars, could things like the tragedy at Lahan Village could be prevented...?