Boredom. The evil motive for a mischievous spirit's actions, the grounding on which Iktomi's entire existence was based. And, because he was not at this moment doing anything, boredom laced through his entire body, making him anxious and on edge. He needed to move, to run, to roll around on the ground, anything! Anything but sit here in the trees—currently a ring-tailed lemur—and vegetate.
It hadn't even been very long since he'd jumped out at the female narrow-striped dasyure, sending her skittering back into her burrow with a high-pitched squeak of terror. Never mind that ring-tailed lemurs weren't technically predators to shrews; it would frighten anything to have a creature jump out of the bushes and grab it. The memory left him chittering with glee.
Tail curling up over his head like a fisherman's hook, Iktomi scratched at his chin, glancing through the branches of the canopy. There were no other animals around to pester, except for some birds, but they were too easy.
Then a noise from below caught his attention and he quickly scampered down to lower branches for a better look, heart beating with excitement. He blinked bright orange eyes. There, right below him, was a human! A girl.
Well, well!
Part of him wanted to investigate, the part of him that desired a human link; it was always there at the back of his mind, tugging endlessly at his senses. He was incomplete without a link, had gone so long without one that he was beginning to always feel edgy. But then there was the bored part of his mind, the one that demanded instant attention, and it was the one he listened to.
She looked a mess, clothes torn and dirt smudged here and there. She had paper lain out in front of her, all of it nonsensical gibberish to him. They almost looked like maps, except that they were not in the least professional looking. They could have easily been drawings done by a child and not by this girl herself.
In seconds he was a long-tailed langur, hugging tight to the trunk of the oak tree and climbing down with his feet. Before reaching the base, he simply jumped off, landing right on the girl's head. "I'm afraid those maps won't help you much," he said, peering over her hair at the papers again. They certainly were a mess, sore to the eyes. Then he put his face right in hers, head upside-down, and said, "Lost, are you?"