#culu

Like now. There was a group of them standing on a platform, raised above the others, making wonderful noise that surely alerted everything in the area. Then again, maybe no one would attack them because of how exciting the noise could be. He wasn’t sure why, but the sound of it filled his body with joy.

In the pit in front of the loud ones, there was a massive group of them, moving and swaying in time with the noise. He wasn’t sure how they did it, they seemed to be able to tell just what was coming next, and move to some new gesture in time.

Whatever it was, it looked fun, he picked one being in particular to copy.

“Step, step, twirl culu. Step, step twirl culu.” He felt his ears grow in happiness. Man, whoever these guys were, they sure came up with a lot of weird and cool stuff. “Step, step, twirl culu.” … He felt it. He didn’t even know how he felt it, but he felt it, something was going to happen.

“Step, step, twirl, annnnnnd jump! Cuuuuuluuuuu!” He was right. At the same time as the jump, the noisy ones made a big burst of sound, and then nothing. He hovered in place as silence filled the air, then slowly started to float back down as the larger group began to fill the void.

If he listened closely, he could hear them chanting. He couldn’t tell what, but he wanted to join. “Culu! Culu! Culu!”

The moon was still low, so if he was lucky, these guys wouldn’t be done any time soon. Why would they leave when they were having so much fun with so many people?

He was right once again, the noisy ones began to make their special noise once more, much to the excitement of everyone around, including him. “Step, step, twirl culu” he cheered, trying to fit into his old pattern. For some reason it didn’t work this time, but he was nothing if not a quick learner. “Step, jump, hover, twirl culu.” That pattern was much better.

He didn’t know why the patterns changed so much, but since they did, that just meant he wouldn’t get bored as quickly. He wondered how many noise patterns they’d go through before they decided the moon was too high.

Every so often the yelly-stage one would point at the pit, and everyone would scream at him instead. From his hiding position, Culumon couldn’t tell what was said but much with the rest of the noise being made he wasn’t sure if the particular words had any point.

It was easy to pretend he was one of the many in the pit, moving and swaying in perfect unity. Or he could be one of the ones on the stage. Maybe the pointing one, or the one with the weird sword. There was also the one hiding behind a bunch of barrels, slapping and hitting them, sometimes a whole bunch at once!

He was so caught up in his imagination, he didn’t even notice that the pattern of noise had shifted again until he started to feel strange. The noise was slower, more drawn out, less energetic than before. No longer was it a burst of energy that made him want to shout and jump and twirl. If anything, he wanted to cry.

The ones in the pit must have felt the same. They all stopped their excited movements and instead just swayed back and forth. Some of them were even lighting up their fingers and moving them back and forth. He had to admit it looked pretty, but still, this noise made him feel sad. Why would anyone want to feel sad? Why not go back to the fun noise.

If he waited here long enough, would they? Until then, he could at least enjoy himself looking at the pretty lights.

It took a few noise changes, but they did get away from the sad stuff, and back to the energetic. As if by magic (heck maybe it was magic) the ones in the pit were restored and were moving and twirling and jumping again. Maybe they needed a rest, and that’s why the happy noise stopped? But who wants to be sad when resting?

The moon was starting to get high, and some of the ones in the pit were getting scared and starting to leave. Just one or two at first, the four or five. Then at one point even the ones on stage got ready to leave. Culumon wasn’t sure why, everyone looked like they were cheering for them.

The ones in the pit kept cheering even after the ones on stage disappeared. Even though the main noise makers left, the pit didn’t try to imitate them, no one else went up to take their place, they just kept cheering and chanting, until their noise brought the original noise makers back for one last time.

After that pattern ended, the noise makers left the stage again. This time the chanting of the pit didn’t bring them back. The pit ones seemed to know this as well, as some of them began instantly leaving when the stage ones did. That seemed to signal it was done. Maybe the moon was too high.