Perception

Part 80

The bear dances with the panther, standing tall on its hind legs, both are wearing polka dot tutus, and kicking their legs at intervals that seem both natural and surreal. The much bigger bear dips the panther and pulls it up, before they both spin and pose at the end of the number. Once the song's last chords fade away a bright macaw hops forward clapping his wings twice before squawking at the dancers.

"And you wanted to do the Polka," the bird says in a surprisingly masculine tone as it ruffles its feathers.

I want to stand up and applaud, and begin to, but I'm dragged back into my seat by the large talon of an eagle. I feel like I should be afraid--he is gnawing on something that looked suspiciously like a rat. I can see a thin tail snaking out from between the talons that aren't currently clutching my shirt. I gulp, noting as I the raise my eyes back up to those of the raptor that stands nearly as tall as I am while seated. Looking into his fire eyes calm me enough that I only feel slightly nauseous when he dips his head down to slurp up the rest of his prey like spaghetti.

I can feel my mind fighting to insert logic into this phenomena. I'm pretty sure bears and panthers don't dance, macaws don't teach dance, and birds don't have lips to slurp up spaghetti, after all. Right when it feels like my brain is going to force reality back into play, I'm distracted by a large owl tottering over. His huge green eyes seem to read my every thought.

Only when that disturbing thought passes through and I shift my eyes do I notice the tiny black hat with white trim gracing his feathered head. It perfectly matches the tiny apron wrapped around his middle, and looking closer, what I thought were displaced feathers on his shoulder turns out to be a feather duster. I can feel myself start to panic, this can't be real, but then I begin to see the humor of it. He begins to flap his enormous wings, and I notice a tidy cloud of dust swirl up toward the treetops in a controlled tornado. What I wouldn't do for that kind of control.

"Sang," Luke's voice says next to me. Instead of the eagle that was just there, an otter reclines in a pool of water. The whiskery face seems to be smiling at me and I can't help but smile back at the fuzzy face. I look around for Luke. I know I heard him, but seeing nothing but the otter and the pool, I look back and confused. Surely the otter didn't just speak to me in a voice that belongs to Luke. When the feel of cold wetness registers, I shiver then flail as I look around me. I seem to be in the water too.

"Hold my hand so you don't float away. I'll keep us safe. I'll help you stay here," he says as his furry paw finds my hand. Sun glints off his fur, giving it a golden sheen.

I'm nudged in the side by a wet snout, and turn to see what other surprises I'll find.

"Just you hold on, Pookie," the dolphin tells me joyfully. His intelligent eyes wander over me while I float there, as though he is looking for something specific. He must have seen whatever he was searching for, because a moment later he rears up and dances around on his tail. How odd. Where did he find that white coat? I giggle, and the dolphin chatters along, splashing me occasionally with his tail. Just as I start to calm enough to ask about the coat, the dolphin leaps into the air, then disappears under the water.

I feel the furry paw that I've been holding through all of this tighten. I look toward the otter as a hot wave crashes down upon us from out of nowhere. Darkness sends us tumbling, spinning, and suffocating through the watery depths--only it isn't water. Somehow the ocean turned into molten cheese. Every part of me seems to be bruised, aching through the weight that is holding me down. I try kicking and paddling with my limbs, but they're sluggish and feel restrained.

The paw holding me seems to tug me away from the surface, and I try to fight it, but all of my struggles are in vain. Just when I feel like I can't hold my breath any longer, a large clawed paw dips in and pulls both the otter and myself out from our soon-to-be watery grave.