FicWad

More of these vocabulary thingies:

kapre - pronounced kah-preh, emphasis on the first syllable. kapre are...well, just read the story. ^_^

kalis - I did say this is some sort of sword or something, right?

The kapres' names mean something, too. Batong-Ulo means "Stone-Head", Tayog-Puno means "Sturdy-Tree", Dahong-Kalis means "Leaf-Sword" and Ugat means "Root."

Thanks for reading this far and I hope you enjoy!

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We walked for hours, and to my surprise I found myself enjoying the company of this odd /tikbalang/. He appeared to be my age and starved for company; it was the only reason I could think of to explain why he'd attached himself to me. He could be annoying, true. He complained incessantly about how hungry he was and would have raided my sack for the rest of my swiftly dwindling food supply if my reflexes had been less quick, but for all that he griped about my starving him, he seemed to genuinely like me. He chattered on about his tribe, every one of whom he called by name until my head spun with tales of Uncle This and Cousin That and Great Great Grandfather Lord of the Whatsit Domain--sweet Lady, who'd have thought that tikbalangs held such grand titles? Although he acted sincerely proud of his relations, he seemed embarrassed and bashful about himself, and answered my questions about him by mumbling that he was only the runt of the tribe. No amount of arguing on my part could convince him that his size did not diminish his ability to strike fear in the hearts of poor, weak mortals like me.

In turn, I told him about my own family, describing my brother and sister in glowing detail, only to find myself turning just as shy about my own depressingly short list of accomplishments. At one point, he and I stopped and stared at each other, both of us realizing just how much we had in common, and the two of us burst out laughing.

A sense of wonder filled me. It was the first time I had ever had a friend.

Well, I had friends. Or rather, Marikit had friends and she sometimes allowed me to tag along with them. But other than Skyblade, nobody had ever been truly interested in me. It felt so good to be able to talk freely with someone without being afraid of getting put down or mocked or sent away. Looking over at Bunsoy's animated green eyes and toothy grin, I was certain that he felt the same way about me.

The sun soon began to sink into the tree line. I bit my lip, torn between continuing the trek and stopping for the night. Time was running out. I was already more than half-way to the summit, but had yet to come upon a single clue as to where my brother and sister were. I had to make it to the Diwata's realm before the tenth day. But sweet Lady, I was exhausted. My first bout with magic had drained me more than I thought. As I stood wavering, Bunsoy's ears suddenly pricked forward, and he tensed.

"What is it?" I asked.

He didn't reply. We had come to a small plateau with a magnificent view of the valley below, and the delight I'd felt at the sight was dampened by Bunsoy's unease. When nothing came charging out of the trees, Bunsoy relaxed, dropping down on the ground and moaning, "I'm soooo hungry."

I rolled my eyes. "So you keep saying. Come on, Bunsoy, on your feet. I'm down to my last packed rice and salted eggs and you said you'd help forage for food."

He cast himself full-length upon the ground and flung an arm over his head dramatically. "Oooh, Amihan is making me work, but I'm only a small and puny /tikbalang/." Then with a speed that belied his words, he rolled to his knees and tried to tug my sack off my shoulder. "Did Amihan say she had salted eggs? I like salted eggs!"

"Oh no, you don't." I sidestepped his hands neatly. "You are not touching my sack. The food was supposed to last me three days, and now it's almost empty thanks to you."

"But there's still a package in that sack," he pointed out. "If that isn't food, what is it?"

I shook my finger at him. "That, Bunsoy, is off limits." When he pouted--and you haven't seen anything until you've seen a tikbalang pout--I rubbed his muzzle soothingly. "That package is a gift I'm going to give to the Diwata as an offering. It's very important to me."

I'd explained to him before about the purpose of my journey, and he nodded in understanding and eyed the sack with newfound respect. "What is it?"

I squirmed in sudden embarrassment. "It's, um, it's just something I made. I don't have anything else of value to offer to the /Diwata/. I'm not even sure she'd like it." Wanting to change the subject, I gave him a mock glare and shooed him in the direction of the forest. "Go on, go find fruit or something. I'll get the firewood."

Muttering underneath his breath, the /tikbalangM.