60 Lynxmouse Going Down (1/2)

”UWAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa…”

Unknown to Remian, one of his people was still on the East Side when it fell. Or rather, one of his Lynxmice.

Mikai was the fastest Lynxmouse in the Miik Clan. He knew it, and everyone knew it, even Tim. That was why, when Tim needed someone to send the magic crystal to the Fishing House kitchen, it was Mikai who was immediately dispatched.

Mikai was a good Lynxmouse. He was not just fast, he was smart too. He buried his droppings and cleaned himself in a catlike manner every day like a good little Lynxmouse should.

So, why? Why was this happening to him?

There was a reason for it. He knew there was, and he tried very hard to think of it as all hell broke loose and everyone near Mikai screamed in his ear as they dropped hundreds of feet straight down.

Okay, maybe there were good reasons. For instance, after leaving the crystal at the Fishing House kitchen, Mikai did not run straight back to the western settlement. See, there was this pool filled with shinies in the East Side, and there were so many nice tunnels that just happened to run through that very area on the way home.

The deal with the shinies was that for every coin they brought him, Tim would give them a bit of cheese. Cleverly, Mikai decided to conveniently drop by the money pool and pick up a shiny or two…

Or three, or four…

Somewhere between ten and twenty (Mikai wasn't too good at counting), the entire floor fell away.

”Mikiikk!!” [I'm sorry!] Mikai screamed to the sky. Falling to his knees, he shut his eyes tight, clasped his hands together and shook them in a begging motion to heaven. [It was just a few coins!]

But there was no response from heaven, no winged Lynxmouse with a halo over her head coming to rescue Mikai from certain doom.

Or wait, was that angel Lynxmouse supposed to come before he died, or after…?

[I'm too young to die!!!] The cliff sped past, wind howling in his cat-ears as Mikai begged to high heaven for his life. [Please, please, please, please, please…!]

Something big, wet, and slimy bowled him over. Mikai went tumbling end over end sideways before he knew what was happening, and then…

SPLASH! Atop a very bewildered oversized river jellyfish, Mikai crashed into a churning wave.

With his eyes closed, the little brave Lynxmouse never saw it, but the waters of the river were particularly turbulent at the time. The poor jellyfish in question had been practically thrown about in the turbulent waves as larger, fiercer Wilds made their moves. The collision with Mikai was in no way the intention or fault of the Jellyfish. I rest my case, your honor!

Likewise, the high wave that they both crashed into following their head-on collision was stirred up by much larger creatures than themselves.

As for why there was such a turbulence, one had to remember that before this big piece of cliff came down, there had been a much smaller piece dropping off, crammed full of fresh meat like a Christmas present dropping from the sky. How could the crocodile-type Wilds of the river resist? Cracked Tooth himself churned many such waves in competing with his sons for a juicy bite.

The wave in question was roughly twenty feet high and had resulted directly from Cracked Tooth's thrashing; once immersed into it, the waters quite naturally rejoined the river, depositing the jellyfish and Mikai together in the middle of a river full of giant crocodiles.

”Mikiiiik!” [It's all over…!] Mikai wailed.

BOOM! The grandfather of all giant crocodiles rose to the surface right next to Mikai, jaws already open, each tooth thrice as large as the Tier 2 Lynxmouse covering his floppy ears with his paws.

But another miracle happened. The crocodile lay still, unmoving.

Dead.

[D-dead…?!] Mikai dared look up.