"I'm home!" Indigo all but shouted as the front door closed behind her. She ran into the kitchen and gave her father a huge hug.
"Hey, Zappo!" Azure said. "Looks like you finally had a decent day, huh?"
Indigo grinned widely as she broke the hug. "Yup!" She said. She stretched her arms and legs, then yawned. "I almost missed my stop because I fell asleep on the bus!" She said cheerfully. Despite his best efforts, Azure snickered. "What?" Indigo said defensively, "De Verre woke me up just in time!"
Azure rolled his eyes, but smiled. "You know that's not the point, right?"
"Yeah." Indigo said. "I do. But hey, at least it worked out all right, right?"
"Still, that's not the point." Twinkle said as she entered the kitchen and gave her daughter a hug.
"Hey, Mom." Indigo said, returning the hug. "Yes, I know it's not the point." She said, breaking the hug. "I'm just glad I didn't miss my stop."
"Well so are we." Said Azure, "But even if you did miss the stop, you'd find your way back."
"Yeah, that's true." Indigo said, stretching again.
"Have you been getting enough sleep, Indigo?" Asked Twinkle.
"Yeah, mom, I've been sleeping just fine." Indigo said, giving her mom a thumbs-up. "I haven't had a tossing and turning night for a while."
"Good to hear, good to hear." Twinkle said, folding her arms and nodding in satisfaction. "So. What do we all want to do tonight?"
Indigo and Azure stopped and thought for a while. "Well." Indigo said. "We already saw a movie..."
"Ugh, don't remind me." Azure said. "I still can't get that scene with the fish out of my head." Indigo snickered. "Oh, come on!" He said, throwing his hands up. "How were the two of you not grossed out by it?"
Indigo and Twinkle shrugged. "It was just a movie, dad." Said Indigo.
"Hey, that fish looked real enough to me. Now can we please, please not talk about it anymore?" Azure said. Indigo instinctively yelped, then hid behind her mother. "Zappo, you don't have to worry. I'm not feeling sick."
Indigo slowly walked away from her mother. "I'm not sure I want to take that chance. I'll just stay where I am, thank you very much."
Azure sighed. "Okay, fine." He said. "But really, what about plans for tonight?"
Indigo shrugged. "I've got nothing. What about you, mom?"
Twinkle sighed. "Well, I don't see anything wrong with doing just nothing. What do you think, hon?"
Azure thought for a moment, the shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "Why don't we eat dinner first and go from there?"
Twinkle and Indigo glanced and shrugged. "Okay, sure." Indigo said.
'Whatever works." Said Twinkle.
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After dinner, Twinkle, Indigo and Azure cleaned up after themselves. "So" Said Twinkle, "Anyone got any ideas?"
Indigo and Azure looked at each other, then sighed and shrugged. "Yeah...I've got nothing." Indigo said.
Azure made a sputtering noise. "I've got nothing either. I guess we'll just play it by ear."
"Works for me." Indigo said, smiling. She walked into the living room, then sat down and reclined her legs. "Aah." She sighed contentedly.
"Hey, maybe there's a good movie on TV." Said Azure as he turned the television on. He flipped through the channels, looking for something to watch.
"Actually." Indigo said, "I'm going outside in the back. I feel like I've been inside far too often."
"Suit yourself." Said Azure.
Indigo got out of the chair and went outside. The sounds of cicadas, cars passing by and others filler her ears. She smiled. "Sometimes all I need is some good background noise!" She said, climbing into the hammock. "Aww, yeah. That's the good stuff." She laced her hands behind her head and stared up at the sky. She took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, moving left and right to get a good swinging motion going. Before too long, Indigo felt herself drift off to sleep...
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Indigo opened her eyes to find herself in the center of a circle of dancing dwarfs. "O-kay...obviously in a dream, but still kinda weirded out." She said, feeling nervous. She slowly, cautiously walked up to one of the dancing dwarfs and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, uh...could you tell me what's going on here?"
The dwarf spun rapidly and looked her straight in the eyes. Indigo blinked, waiting for an answer. The dwarf took a deep breath, sighed, then shouted "MEAT!". Indigo flinched and the dwarf resumed his dancing.
Indigo was at a loss for words, trying to comprehend what just happened until another dwarf approached her. She stepped back slowly, not knowing what to expect.
"Sorry about that." The dwarf said, "Dancin' Derek hates to be interrupted."
Indigo blinked. "Yeah...what's going on here, anyway?"
"You tell me. This is your dream, after all." Said the dwarf.
Indigo sighed. "Right." She made a sputtering noise. "Well you guys do seem like you're having fun." She said as she looked around herself, making a mental note of all of the dancing dwarfs.
"Indeed we are." Said the dwarf. "But if I were you, I'd want to wake up right about now."
"Huh?" Indigo asked, confused. "Why's that?"
"Here's a hint, kiddo. Why do you think Dancin' Derek said 'MEAT!' to you?" Asked the dwarf.
Realization dawned on Indigo as she suddenly felt very, very hot. "Oh, shit! You're cannibals!"
"Not all of us are. I'm a vegetarian, and the tribe hates me for it. I figured a little payback and a good deed would feel therapeutic. Time to find out if I'm right. Now get going, Indigo!"
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Indigo woke up, confused. "What the hell just happened?" She said, putting her hand to her forehead in disbelief. She shrugged, then went back inside the house. "Hey guys, did I miss anything besides about an hour?"
Twinkle folded her arms. "You fell asleep in the hammock again, didn't you?" She said flatly.
Indigo blushed. "Yep, guilty as charged. But I can't help it!" She said, raising her hands defensively. "It's so comfy!"
Azure chuckled. "It is, it is. I've fallen asleep on it tons of times."
"A movie's about to start. You want to watch it with us?" Asked Twinkle.
"Sure, why not?" Indigo said, shrugging then sitting down.
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Indigo wiped a tear from her eyes. "Oh, please tell me this has a sequel! It can't end like that!" She said, then began flailing her arms. "I regret watching this movie if it's a one-shot!" She nearly shouted.
"Calm down, Indigo!" Said Twinkle. "I know the ending was jarring, but I think you're overreacting a little bit."
"Besides." Azure said, "There is a sequel, and it's coming up next! I'll record it for you and I promise not to spoil it for you."
Indigo ran over to her father and hugged him. "Thanks dad, you're the best! Goodnight!" She walked over to Twinkle, then hugged her. "Night, mom!"
"Goodnight, Indigo." Twinkle said as Indigo left the room.
Indigo walked up the stairs slowly, trying hard not to think of the movie's ending. She sniffled, then took a calming breath as she changed into her pajamas. All right, Indigo! Think happy thoughts! She thought herself and repeated it until she fell asleep.