Episode
Eight: Bird! Bird! Bird?
The silken room of plant-like lamps. Flamesoul approaches the alter. He smiles. “Krylancelo…no, Orphen.” Dark curtains sway, revealing a small valley of the plant-like lamps.
Flamesoul holds a box, while peering down at a bat in a clear box. “This time, I really want you dead.” He lets a small object drop in with the bat, it attaches to it. Quickly it mutates into a monster, while surrounded in a whirl of red and green light.
“Please help me to accomplish my desire for revenge.” He laughs as it mutates.
*~Episode Eight:
Bird! Bird! Bird?~*
A town – it looks
similar to the last one, unsure if it’s the same town. Cleao, and Licorice are
walking through town, accompanied by Pamu and Leki.
“Is this really a
good idea, Miss Cleao,” Asks Licorice, “letting you treat me to ice-cream?”
“No problem, no
problem,” happily assures Cleao. “Because we’ve been shopping two days in a
row. Such a small matter is nothing to worry about.”
Cleao glumly stops
to check her back pocket. She gets it out, a yellow hanky and blushes, tapping
her own cheek, and hands it to Licorice.
“Because I’m still
an only child, since I was young I’ve always wanted to have an older sister. So
Miss Cleao is like…” She blushes.
Cleao blushes again,
“Actually it’s not that great.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, yes, right.”
They turn to look at
all the things they’ve bought, quite a large bundle of odd things in a big,
wooden cart.
“Since we’ve bought
so many things…”
“Hats; clothes;
miscellaneous items,” affirms Licorice.
“This city really
has a lot of interesting things to buy,” says Cleao.
Licorice wonders.
“But I’m still thinking why are we buying these things?”
“Since buying things
should be done on impulse,” Cleao gleefully replies. “And you only pay when the
stuff is delivered. The problem is the money.” She opens her small black purse,
which is empty. “Orphen’s wallet is getting thinner. What about you Licorice?”
Licorice half smiles
and blushes, “Actually…” She shows her empty purse. “We have to apply for a
loan quickly.”
“You’ve spent all
the money?”
“I’ll apply for it
later, so it should be ok.”
Outside the bank.
“How’s the
situation?” Cleao asks Licorice.
“No problem, I’ve
already contacted headquarters,” replies Licorice. “The money will arrive in a
week.”
“Huh?”
Licorice widely
smiles, “Yes, in a week!”
“In a week?”
“Yes!”
Cleao scratches her
head in concern, “What are we going to do about the week till then?”
Licorice loses her
smile, “Huh?” Her face goes red. “What are we going to do until then?”
“We have no choice
but to borrow some from Majic.” Cleao folds her arms. “But he did say he didn’t
have much money.”
Licorice folds her
fingers, “I’ll think of something.”
“Huh?”
“My mood this time
mad me overspend, so I have to bear responsibility too. I will figure something
out regarding the money!”
“You said
you’ll think of something…?”
“My duty is to
request Mr. Orphen to return with me to the Royal Public Service and Protection
Knights, so during this time, I definitely cannot worry about money matters!”
Almost speechless,
Cleao stares at her, “Licorice…”
“I’ll leave Pamu to
you!” She raises Pamu to Cleao’s face. “And please do not mention ay of this to
Mr. Orphen!”
“Huh, why not?”
Licorice bows her
head, “I beg you, Cleao!”
“Errrm…”
“Thanks-you, Cleao!”
“Oh, Licorice! Hey!”
She watches her run away down the street. “Licorice…”
A vendor’s shooting
game. Orphen smirks; raising the gun at the prizes, he knocks a few off.
Majic laughs,
clapping. “Master is only capable when facing this kind of thing.”
Orphen looks back,
eyes narrowed, with a stress mark on his head. Majic holds up his hands
defensively. Screen goes black.
Orphen frowns while
walking.
“This city has too
many things to play,” comments Majic, as he walks behind Orphen with the bags
of prizes. His left eye is swollen. “You must be happy, Master.”
“Right?”
“Ah…”
Orphen stops, and
faces him, “Because it’s so lively, I’m unable to settle down. When Cleao is
back we’ll be leaving.”
“Ah, yes.”
Licorice is at a
building’s construction site. She bows to the foreman. “Please.”
“Are you really able
to do it, Miss?”
“Don’t worry,”
smiles Licorice, “Don’t judge me by appearance, when it comes to hard work I
have the utmost confidence.”
“Then help me move these
stone pieces away.”
“Alright.”
She gets to work on
the pile of bricks, as hard as she tugs, she can’t lift any. She bows to the
foreman. “I lied.”
“I knew it.”
Cleao observes from
behind a wall. “Licorice is too much, she’s really gone to work as a labourer.
This is the fastest way to earn money.
The foreman points
to a big metal stone pick in the ground, “Can you move this?”
“Yes.”
“Try and carry it.”
“Alright.”
Licorice grabs the
handle. She pulls with all her might, till it slips out of the ground. Losing
balance, she swings it around the air, freaking out the foreman. It bashes him
in the face, then his behind. It land in a brick wall, just about the foreman’s
head.
Cleao sighs.
Licorice sadly walks
away, as the angered foreman is held back by two workers. “Don’t, she’s only a
young girl!”
Cleao watchers her
walk away. “You don’t have to think your responsibility is that great. What do
I do? But even if I go now, she won’t listen to my advice.”
Pamu curiously
floats outside of a window. Cleao joins it. “What are you looking at, Pamu?”
It’s a poster with a posing male-like figure. Cleao evilly smirks, raising a
fist. “That’s it.”
At the motel, Orphen
yawns, while sitting on a sofa chair. Majic stands near him, holding a platter
with a jug and teacup. “Cleao is really slow.”
“Really, I don’t
understand women,” scoffs Orphen. “They suddenly became good friends. What…this
is our secret.”
The door flies open,
curtesy of Cleao. “Is Orphen in?!”
“Cleao!” Gasps
Majic.
“Too slow, where did
you all run to?” Demands Orphen.
“Where’s Licorice?”
Cleao comes up
behind Orphen. “Orphen, come with me.”
Orphen looks away,
“What for? Oh right, have you seen my wallet?”
Cleao pulls a face,
gasping.
Orphen evilly grins,
“What is this, don’t tell me you…!”
Cleao bunches up her
fists, “Anyway just come with me for a moment!”
“Don’t change the
subject, Cleao! What have you done with my wallet?!”
“Stop nagging me and
come with me!” She grabs his arm and begins to pull him toward the door.
“Hey, Cleao!”
protests Orphen.
“Majic, you come
too!”
“I have to go too?”
Glumly says Majic, “I have a bad feeling.”
A stoneworker’s
shop.
“What is the matter
with this person?” Asks Orphen, as an old man places his hands all over his
face. “I have to let this old man touch me for free…”
Cleao cutely
watches.
The old man bobs
down and pats Orphen’s bottom. Orphen shrieks. “Old man, what you want…ah?!”
“Not bad,” says the
old man, handing Cleao a bag of money.
“We have a deal,”
affirms Cleao.
“Cleao, you…!”
Growls Orphen, as a bunch of buff men surround him. He blinks.
Cleao cutely waves,
“Orphen, I still have some places I need to go. See you later!”
“Cleao, stop right
there!”
Cleao runs away as
she waves, “This is for Licorice, so work hard!”
“For her? What is
going on?” Orphen wonders.
The old man appears
in front of Orphen. “We have a deal. So your body is mine.”
Orphen blinks.
“What?”
“Quickly strip.”
Orphen goes white in
shock.
Majic also pulls a
face. “I don’t believe this.”
The screen returns
to the face of the stoneworker’s building.
“Stop!” Yells
Orphen.
“Don’t use so much
strength,” demands the men.
“Don’t touch me!”
Yells Orphen.
“Why is it I too?”
Yells Majic.
Cleao listens to his
hollers. “Alright, Licorice doesn’t need to work like this. Leki!”
Leki barks, they
both run away.
“Master!”
Pamu floats,
watching Licorice from behind a stone wall.
Licorice walks out
of a shop. “This place isn’t right either. This is the 20th. The
world is a cruel place. But I won’t give up! Do your best, do your best, do
your best!”
“Miss.” Comes a
woman’s voice.
Licorice turns her
head, “Yes?” She sees a green snake’s head.
“I think you should
know the one who called you isn’t this kid.”
Licorice peers up,
to see a smiling woman. The snake is wrapped around her shoulders. “Greetings.”
Pamu watches. A
butterfly flies by. It opens its mouth wide, swallowing it. Making a face, it
lets it go. Cleao appears. “Pamu, where is Licorice?”
They both gaze
behind the wall, to see Licorice isn’t outside the shop anymore. “Don’t tell me
you lost her! What if something happens to Licorice?”
Pamu pulls a
sorrowful face. A butterfly goes by, it quickly gulps it, but lets it go. Cleao
scrunches up her face.
“I…may not like it.”
At a zoo, a hippo
yawns, and a lion growls. Licorice is led by the woman, who is a worker.
“There’s sure a lot of animals, Miss Sherate.”
“It’s been tough
because of a lack of help,” Explains Sherate. “You’re so lucky.”
“Yes.”
They stop at a big
metal cage. “Then I’ll leave this child in your care.”
Licorice walks up to
the cage, “Angel Bird?”
“It is a bird that
brings good luck. It’s called Shochi.”
The cage inside is
dark.
“Where is it?” Asks
Licorice.
“Right over there.”
She sees a small
black bird with red eyes. “So it’s a bird, how adorable!” She waves to it,
“Shochi, come over here!”
Shochi walks toward
her, revealing himself to be as giant as the cage.
“It’s…it’s big!”
“It isn’t a little
kid. What I want you to do is give it a bath. It hates water, so it’ll be
difficult. Best of luck.”
“Alright, don’t
worry!”
She forces herself
to smile at the big bird.
The stonework chips
away at a block of rock. Orphen and Majic stand naked in a pose, their arms
linked. The buff men all stand around them.
“Why is it even I
have to…” cries Majic.
“Because you’re my
student,” explains Orphen, “It’s a matter of fact that you accompany me.”
“I don’t want to be
a student anymore!”
“No way!”
“Hey, no talking!”
Screams the stoneworker.
“You’re too free,
old man!” Yells Orphen.
The men inclose,
panicking them.
Cleao hurries down
the street with Pamu and Leki. Leki stops to sniff the air, and smiles.
“Stop that!” Says
Cleao as she runs by. Leki follows.
“Licorice is too
much, where has she run off to? I hope she hasn’t met up with anything
dangerous.
Overhead, the
monster bat flies by.
@~EYE-CATCHER~@
Breathing heavily,
Licorice holds of a big saucer of water. She sets it down. “Shochi, it’s bath
time! You’re a good bird, so you have to be clean!”
Shochi scoffs, and
turns away.
“Shochi, time for
your bath!”
He scoffs again.
“Shochi!”
He scoffs some more.
“Shochi…” She runs
with the saucer toward him, he looks at her. “You…time for your bath!”
He walks away, as
she chases him. “Stop right there! Wait! Shochi…!” Licorice trips over. Shochi
walks up to her. “My heart is beating so fast it’s going to jump out…But I have
to keep trying, for Mr. Orphen and Miss Cleao. For my duty.” She peers up, to
see the big bird. “Shochi?”
Shochi lands a
clawed foot on the edge of the saucer.
“Are you willing to
take your bath now?” She asks with delight.
He sticks his tongue
at her, and lets the saucer go up. The water pours onto the floor. Licorice
takes the saucer, and shrieks. She weeps, “This is so infuriating.” Shochi
happily sings to himself, moving his head from side to side.
“What, haven’t
bathed yet?” Asks Sherate.
“Miss Sherate?”
“Everyone else has
finished their work.”
Licorice bows. “I’m
sorry, I will be fully responsible, and help it to bathe.”
“Then I’ll leave you
to it. You have to finish bathing it quickly, and then feed it.”
“Feed…What does this
bird eat?”
“Meat.”
Licorice gasps.
“Raw meat, its
appetite is big. A whole cow is a simple matter to it.”
Worried, Licorice
slowly turns around. “It’s…it’s a carnivore?”
“Yes, didn’t I tell
you? Please forgive me.”
Licorice walks away,
“I’m not doing it.”
“Don’t you want to
earn the money?”
Licorice returns,
“I’ll do it.”
“Then keep trying,”
Sherate wanders away.
“Carnivore…”
Licorice stares up in anxiety at the big black bird. “With a bog appetite…A
whole cow is a simple matter to it…eat…”
Shochi looks down,
and licks his beak. Licorice freaks. She shrieks, and runs back into the wall
of the cage. “How scary!” She pulls on the door.
Shochi speeds toward
her. She yells, ducking down. Wind sweeps her hair. She looks up to see the
cage door open, and the menacing bird missing. “I’m saved…Ah, oh no!”
“Do you want it?
Meat bun, red bean bun, do you want it?” Calls out Dortin. “It’s a delicious meat
bun, do you want it? It’s delicious!”
Dortin stands at a
table with a basket and fresh, steamy buns.
“Errm, it doesn’t
smell too bad,” says Volcan, sitting behind the table, munching on a couple.
“Hey Big Brother,
what are you eating?!”
“Eating? Of course
the meat bun. Or did you think I was eating biscuits?”
Dortin bunches up
his fists. “How can you eat what we are trying to sell? We’ll get scolded by
Boss!”
“I understand,
Dortin, then you go ahead and get scolded. You poor thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Keep quiet Dortin!
I can’t eat properly like this…eh.”
A big beak goes into
the basket.
“Big Brother!” Gasps
Dortin, looking at the beak. “You can’t eat that!
“Stop,” commands
Volcan of the bird, “I said stop! How dare you eat my meat buns, unforgivable!
Let me kill you by telling you old folktales!”
The red eye of the
bird stares at Volcan. Volcan humbly presents a handful of buns, “Please, enjoy
yourself. Otherwise, there’s his new product, this shark fin bun.”
“Big Brother…”
The bird turns his
head.
“Shochi, stop
running!” Calls out Licorice, racing up the path.
Shochi lifts his
head, pulling down the bun stand. He exits. Licorice runs by, “Wait!”
Dortin turns to
Volcan, “Big Brother, what do we do?”
Volcan is gathering
buns into a sack. “What do we do? We run of course! Let’s quickly put the rest
of the buns in the bag.”
A man walks up
behind him. “What are you doing?”
Volcan goes blue.
“Boss!” Says Dortin.
“No, I’m just
putting the buns in the bag. This way I can make three times as many buns,”
explains Volcan. “This myth…have you heard it before?”
“Big Brother…the sky
is really blue,” amazes Dortin, peering at the sky.
“How is that
possible!” Scolds the boss. The sound of him beating Volcan up can be heard.
The two brothers then soar through the sky as two twinkling lights.
Licorice is still
running through the streets. “Where in the world has Shochi run to?” She spots
the black butt of a big bird. “Ah, found you.”
She edges behind the
wall, “Good, Shochi, I’ve caught…” Shochi raises his food, she runs into it,
and bangs her head, then falls down. “Shochi…”
Licorice chases
after him with a net “Stop right there! Wait!” The bird evades her.
She throws a lassoed
rope.
She throws a
boomerang.
Shochi gruffly
laughs.
Licorice pulls on
her plats. The boomerang clobbers her upside the head.
Two meat men finish
packing some big ribs into a cart. “It’s finally ended.”
“I’m exhausted.”
A shadow descends on
them. They peer up in fear, screaming.
A big lump on her
forehead, and eyes dazed, Licorice lies on the ground. Gathering herself, she
gasps. “Shochi!”
“Shochi? Shochi,
where are you?!” Her vision is blurred, her glasses has fallen off when the
boomerang his her head. “Shochi!”
A red headed woman
appears in front of her, holding out her glasses. “Is this yours?”
Licorice looks down
at them, taking them, “Yes.”
“Really, that’s
great.”
Licorice stands up,
“Thank-you so much.”
The woman turns
around.
“I’m sorry, have you
seen a bird? It’s nearby. It’s a big black bird.”
The red headed woman
turns her head.
“Over there?
Thank-you!”
Licorice leaves her.
The woman watches her.
The meat men’s cart
is in tatters. Licorice stands in front of it with the two butchers.
“It was a bird,”
explains the younger butcher.
“Huh?”
“It’s a bird that
I’ve never seen before. It ate up all the meat over here!”
“It must be
Shochi…Can you tell me where that bird went?”
A dark train tunnel.
Two glowing red eyes peer from a crevice.
The old stoneworker
folds his arm, with a now dressed Orphen and Majic standing on either side.
“Well, I’ve done it well, right.”
The stone statue is
just of their linked arms!
“The goal was just
those two hands?” Asks Majic.
“Old man, if it was
only the hands there was no need to take off everything,” says Orphen.
“You totally do not
have an understanding of art!” Barks the stoneworker.
Orphen makes a fist,
“How dare you fool with us, damn it!”
Cleao walks through
the door, “Orphen, Majic! Licorice is missing!”
They gasp.
A bird’s eye-view of
the town.
“You said Licorice,
for Master’s sake,” says Majic, “ran off to earn money?”
“Cleao, why didn’t
you tell me?” Scolds Orphen.
“Why should I tell
you!”
“This is not the
time to argue!” Shouts Majic.
Licorice wanders
into the tunnel. “Shochi! Shochi, where are you?! Shochi!”
“A man eating bird?”
Says Majic.
“She’s really gone
after that man-eating bird?” Demands Orphen.
“Yes,” replies the
older butcher.
Cleao takes him by
his scarf, “Where? Where did she head?!”
The bat monster
opens its wings to Licorice as she cowers on the ground. It screeches as it
descends on her. Out of nowhere, Shochi crashes into it.
Licorice gasps.
“Sho…Shochi!”
The bat pushes him
out of way, he skids along the floor.
“Shochi!”
The bat then goes
for Licorice again.
“Grant me strength,
Spinning Wind!” The bat is thrust away from her.
Orphen, Cleao and
Majic race toward her.
“Mr. Orphen!”
“Licorice, are you
hurt?” Frantically asks Cleao.
“Oh, Cleao,” smiles
Licorice.
Orphen stops in
front of the bat. “It’s another monster I’ve never seen before!”
The bat picks up
wind, flying towards him.
Orphen begins to
chants a spell. “Grant me strength, Light’s Unsheathed Blade!”
A plant-like lamp
explodes.
Flamesoul holds a
glass of red wine. “Damn it, I’ve lost again.” He snaps the glass.
The zoo.
“What, Shochi isn’t
a carnivore?” Gasps Licorice.
“I was joking with
you,” kindly says Sherate. “You’re just so gullible.”
“So I see.”
Licorice is hosing
Shochi with water in his cage.
“Because Licorice
has played with Shochi for one day, it likes Licorice very much,” Sherate
explains to the gang. “This is the first time someone has cared for Shochi so
much. All this hard work has finally paid off.”
Licorice is giggling
to herself. She stops as she notices Shochi’s feathers turning pink. “So you’re
actually pink in colour.”
Shochi and Sherate
stand outside the zoo with Licorice, and company. She hands her a bag of money.
“Good work.”
“Thank-you very
much.”
“Plus with Orphen’s
modelling job we should be able to survive for the next few days,” says Cleao.
Orphen glares at
her, “I won’t just let this be.”
Cleao closes her
eyes, “Don’t mention what’s in the past.”
Licorice looks up at
Shochi, “Then Shochi…”
Shochi’s eyes are
watering.
Licorice weeps, hugging
his thick leg. “Take care, and you have to remember to bathe sometimes!”
Cleao nudges Orphen,
“Say it once.”
“Huh?”
“Royal Service and
Protection Knights. You can reject them when you reach there. Look at how
hardworking Licorice is.”
Orphen frowns. “She
did it voluntarily. Why must I go to that place anyway?”
Cleao folds her
arms, looking away. “Licorice is such a poor thing. She’s worked so hard, and
almost died. All this was for Orphen’s sake. You’re so hardhearted, it really
is…” Cleao makes a face.
“Cold blooded.”
An arrow pelts at
Orphen’s heart.
“Ungrateful.”
The arrow pelts
twice.
“No conscious.”
It pelts again.
“I understand,”
growls Orphen.
“Really?!” Exclaims
Cleao.
“Master, then we
will?”
“Yeah.”
Cleao beams,
“Licorice!”
“Yes?”
“Can you take us to
the Royal Public Service and Protection Knights headquarters?”
Licorice raises her
eyebrows. “Huh?”
“Royal Public
Service and Protection Knights headquarters.”
Licorice clasps her
hands together, “Mr. Orphen!”
He now has his back
turned away from them. “Yes, but I’m only promising to go there. I am going
there merely to reject their offer.”
“Alright!”
Among the grasses of
a windy field, the red headed woman (Esperanza) plays a piano, singing a
haunting melody.
Transcript written
by Samantha Hill, July 2003. Sorry for the delay folks, been a busy bee. I’ll
have more done soon. With this one done, it means I have the first disk done,
two more to go now! Remember to send me comments; I may go speedier if I know I
have a public! ^^