The Marvelous Adventures of Tippit - Chapter 3

The group of panther people edged in closer. "We were waiting for you. Welcome to Phetaria. My name is Serpia and I am the leader of this clan." He spoke in a slow commanding voice, and all the other panther people who were near kept their heads down. The leader of the group was dress like Lorma, but his tunic was purple and his trousers were red. He had an identical belt and a hat that looked like it belonged to a pirate captain. All the other panther people wore dresses that went to their mid-calves. The dresses were different shades of blue, green and teal.
"Uh... eh... hello. M-m-my name is Tippit. And th-th-this is Pinnip, my c-c-cat. Would you kindly tell me what is happening?"
"My dear girl, you are in Phetaria, one of the many countries in Jomblia. You were sent here by the magic orb we call the snow sphere. Welcome." Then, to my utter surprise, they all knelt down on one knee. "We are here to serve you."
"But I'm not princess or anything special like that! Really! You need to stand up! Please, you make me feel uncomfortable."
They all stood up. "Please, come inside and meet the rest of the village."
Everything seemed strange; blue houses, spotted people, checkered grass, purple trees, I could not begin to comprehend what type of world this was. We passed by several houses, a well, and a crowd of panther people. A huge building, a type of meeting hall I supposed, was in the approximate center of the village. It was about fifty feet long and thirty wide. It was covered in tiny green colored mosaic pieces and, like all the other buildings, had a blue thatched roof. A loud clamor could be heard from inside, and it only got louder when we entered. I clutched Pinnip tightly.
The place was filled with panther people, all dressed similarly to Lorma and the ones who greeted me at the entrance. In the center of the room was a raised platform. On it were three people, but instead of panther spots, they had stripes like a tiger. They were wearing black trousers that came up to their chests and hugged their legs closely. Their shirts were cream colored and had brownish stains on them. Their feet covered with brown, knee-length boots. Around the boots were heavy looking chains which were attached to a post in the center of the platform. Two of them were sitting and one of them was standing.
When Serpia climbed up onto the platform, the crowd was suddenly hushed. Serpia spoke in a loud voice, not shouting, but commanding. "I have here the first human to enter these realms in the past century and a half. She came to us using of the snow sphere. What do you say?"
A general murmur arose from the crowd. "We want her to speak," shouted one panther man. "Yes! Speak! Speak! Speak!" A loud chant had started.
Serpia turned and said, "Well? Tippit, why don't you speak? We all want to hear what you have to say."
I stepped forward. "Um... Hello? First of all, my name is Tippit and this is Pinnip my cat. I am extremely confused! Please, who are you?"
"We are the Greper clan! We are the Euperthas!" A chorus of answers were shouted back.
"Okay, the Euperthas. Well, I have no idea what I'm doing here, and I just want to go back home. I'm here by a complete accident. I have no idea about Grepers or Jomblia, or any of this. Please, just send me home. Please..." Then I lost it. I started bawling on the platform. Several of the girls who were around Serpia came and put their arms around me.
I was escorted out of the building and into a small hut right next door. "Calm down, dear. Let's get you out of those strange clothes and into some fresh ones, nya." The girls helped me take off my yellow sun dress and fitted my with a blue and green dress like the ones they wore. On my feet, they put black boots which came up to my knees. "There. Now do you feel better, nya?"
"Yes," I sniffed. "Thank you very much. Where is Serpia? I need to talk to him."
"Here I am." In stepped Serpia. He looked very menacing silhouetted by the light coming through the door. "What do you need?"
"I want to go home. This place is really funny. Please. How do I go home?"
"You were sent here for a purpose. You need to fulfill that purpose. Only then can you go home."
"What purpose is that?"
"To save this world."