(WARNING: You're gonna be a bit lost if you don't play the game Transformice!)

“All right! Who ate the last of the cottage cheese?” Dippohippo planted her feet apart, crossing her arms. She was not amused at all today; the young Shaman had been constantly reprimanding the young newbie mice, the Noobs, all morning. This was a small step on the way to becoming a Pro Shaman, and she was being granted new Skills every few days or so, but still it was exhausting work.

Defyex, a small beginner mouse in Magic to Help Mice Gather Cheese, spoke up. “I saw Cheewahwah around the cheese store this morning.”

Dippohippo slapped her forehead in realization. Cheewahwah was the most troublesome Noob mouse in the whole Academy. Of course he would do such a thing as steal cheese, whichever kind!

One of the instructor Pro Shamans, Tartarrus, stood watching in a corner. His bright blue feathers and markings stood out against his brown fur, and a set of pointed ivory pieces, characteristic of all Shamans, shone against his chest. A beaded and tasseled cord, customized with his own bright blue colour yet characteristic of all Pro Shamans, hung from the end of his tail. He had decided not to wear any of his accessories today, though he did have a nice tie.

Cheewahwah was nowhere to be seen, which was a very bad thing. Earthmate, who was another Pro Shaman but had not put on his feathers or markings or, in fact, anything at all, called out, “For all we know, Cheewahwah could be causing problems, for the millionth time. What should we do with him? Judge carefully, mice.”

“I’m all for banning him,” one of the young mice, Kissangle, said.

“And why is that?” asked Earthmate.

She shrugged. “Well, he is a spammer, and he is known to have stolen certain skills.”

Earthmate caught Tartarrus’s eye, and he strode over to his fellow Pro Shaman.

“Cheewahwah becomes more of a problem every day that passes,” Earthmate whispered.

“It is obvious, that. But who knows? I admit I wasn’t too great myself.”

Earthmate nodded. “I remember. I also remember you weren’t that bad at all. Sure, when it was your turn to be Shaman, most mice didn’t get to retrieve some cheese. But you never did such a thing as hack the system and steal Skills!”

Tartarrus nodded. “You’re right, Earthmate. It is time we did something about Cheewahwah’s less-than-perfect behaviour.” Tartarrus then strode to the stage, where Dippohippo was standing. “Dippohippo, you may return to your Tribe House. Thank you for taking care of these young Noobs.”

Dippohippo bowed and raced off.

Tartarrus summoned a Spirit, a little explosion that knocked a few Noobs off the stage. He stamped his foot. “QUIET, NOOBS!” He spoke: “Cheewahwah, a fellow Noob mouse, has currently been making trouble for us Shamans, inexperienced and pro alike. Now it is time for us to terminate his practice. He has cost us hours of practice for the Academy’s Shamans and mice, and something has to be done about this.” Tartarrus scanned the crowd. “The Meeting will be tomorrow morning! Ten o’clock sharp! Have a great evening, and please don’t cause any more problems!” Then, after finishing his announcements, Tartarrus stepped off the stage and went to converse with the other Pro Shamans.

The crowd of mice filtered slowly out the door of the classroom. Defyex was stopped by a female friend, Wolfwithred, a more experienced Shaman who had received much of her Skills in the Wind Master category. There were three groups of Skills to choose from: Cheese Master Skills, Wind Master Skills, and Mechanic Master Skills. Cheese Master Skills focused on mice accessing cheese, the Wind Master Skills focused on the Shaman accessing the cheese, and Mechanic Master Skills focused on building to help all mice.

“Hey, Deff,” Wolfwithred said as she walked out the door. “How’s it coming?”

Defyex shrugged. “Oh, you know, the usual. Actually Wolf, I have my eyes on this girl. Uh, she’s just wonderful, and I, uh, dunno what to say about her. She is sort of defiant, sorta like me.” He smiled shyly at Wolfwithred, who grinned.

“Congrats. My brother, Tenodera, and his friend, Nathwood, have more mean things to say than I do.” Wolf sighed, and Defyex wondered if she liked somebody.

“Teno and Nath don’t have crushes?”

“No… Nath was rumoured to have a crush on this other girl, Becky something, but it turned out to be a hoax.”

The two mice had reached a small field, dotted with pools of water. Mice were picking up fishing poles from a storage shack at the edge of the field and racing over to go fishing. It was an event in which the Administrative Shamans had put out cool new shop items inside little packages that then drifted around in the pools, waiting for mice to hook them. A couple of the mice were already running around with hats shaped like sharks engulfing their heads.

Wolfwithred picked up a pole and sat down at a random pool. She cast her line as Defyex sat down beside her. He looked at his friend worriedly.

“Wolf… are you okay?”

“I’m just fine,” Wolf sighed as she despondently cast again. “I’ll get over it.”

Now Defyex was curious. “Get over what?”

“Love takes you when you least expect it,” Wolfwithred grumbled, not answering Defyex.

“Wait, you like somebody? That’s not such a bad thing, is it?”

She sighed, putting her pole down. She stroked her tail sadly. “I’m not even at the Pro level. I should be practicing to be Shaman… not worrying about love interests.”

Defyex slumped his shoulders. “I really like Tillyfeet. She’s my crush.” His gaze wandered over to a white-furred mouse with mascara, eyeliner, and light pink eyeshadow.

Wolfwithred shook her head. “If you like Tilly, that’s all fine, but why do you like her? Is it just because she’s pretty? Sure, she bleached her fur and painted her face, but if she turned up looking like a Noob, would you still like her?” She sighed. “When you look at her, what do you feel? Do you feel a deep stirring inside, or warm all over? When he’s three yards from me, I feel so warm and my heart beats frantically, like I’m about to get thrown over a cliff or something. Any closer, and I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack. I miss him terribly everyday. I’m so afraid to look at him, for fear of staring. I love him for what he is, for who he is, even though I hardly know him.”

Defyex looked down at his paws, dismayed. He didn’t know what to think. Could Wolf mean that he was not in love with Tillyfeet after all, as he had supposed?

The next morning, Earthmate watched as the mice collected outside. He was wearing his Pro Shaman adornments. He also sported a black tie and white collar, along with a Shark hat. An additional group was standing to the side: the Administrative Shamans.

Defyex sat down on the moist earth, adjusting his tie carefully. Wolfwithred, who was wearing a snorkel mask magically blowing bubbles and a tie, came to sit beside him. She winked at him from behind her goggles and turned to watch the speaking platform.

Earthmate waited until everyone had assembled, then barked, “Bring him forth!”

A group of Shamans dragged a male mouse, who most of the audience recognized as Cheewahwah, forward. Cheewahwah had had his fur bleached in some places to make him look skeletal, and he wore pointed vampire teeth. Gold rings hung from his ears, and a skeletal paw dangled from the tip of his tail. A black head band encircled his head, seemingly preventing his vision, but a glint behind the dark cloth suggested otherwise.

Earthmate unrolled a large scroll and began to read from it: “‘The Pro Shaman Council would like to speak with the Administrative Shamans on the subject of dealing with Cheewahwah, a criminal Noob. The Council has decided on this sentiment: This Noob, Cheewahwah, has gone to unnecessary measures to make himself a trouble mouse. He has spammed and hacked the system, stolen our precious cheese, as well as stolen Shaman Skills that should not be his. The Council has suggested banning Cheewahwah from all Academies and Shaman Tutoring Sessions.’” Then the Pro Shaman looked up. He turned to the group of Administers, clustered in a corner of the stage. “Do the Administrative Shamans approve?”

One female Administer, with a light blue flower behind her ear and dark purple markings, feathers, and tail tassel, stepped forward. “I, Sydoline, speak for the Administrative Council. I approve of the Pro Shaman Council’s judgement.”

After the conversation has started again and every mouse had gathered for brunch, Defyex and Wolfwithred sat in the shade of a tree with a plate of cookies. They hadn’t even started when a white mouse with a bright pink bow came over.

She smiled at Defyex. “Oh, Deff, you look soooo cute in that nice tie!”

Defyex’s cheek’s flushed pink. “Uh, thanks Tillyfeet. You look fabulous.”

“Please call me Tilly,” Tillyfeet said, blushing at Defyex’s comment. Then, to Wolf’s dismay, she sat down with the pair and happily chatted away with Defyex.

“Here, have a cookie,” Defyex offered.

Tillyfeet grinned. “Deff, you are so awesome! Yes, are these the chocolate chip? And the oatmeal, and the cinnamon? Oh, peanut butter too! Deff, you have gone to lengths, you hear? Oh, I have learned of your insistent want to help all Noob mice eventually become Pro Shamans, and I totally agree with you! I love you for all your efforts!”

Defyex looked at Wolfwithred apologetically, but Wolf was not looking. Her magical snorkel mask lay beside her, and she unhappily picked at the cookies.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Tillyfeet apologized to the increasingly blushing Defyex that she could not stay longer.

Defyex sadly watched her run off. He looked at Wolfwithred. “It’ll turn out fine.”

“Maybe,” she sighed, “and maybe not.”