{"id":10916,"date":"2018-05-15T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2018-05-15T11:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=10916"},"modified":"2018-05-15T06:00:57","modified_gmt":"2018-05-15T11:00:57","slug":"the-upset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=10916","title":{"rendered":"The Upset"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rex watched the dial spin as the Powers That Be selected his team\u2019s foe. Their rank was low, so their opponent would be powerful. But maybe not unbeatable, <\/em>Rex thought, watching the wheel slow. His heart sank as the flapper landed on Unicorns. Bloody Unicorns. Uptight, arrogant, can\u2019t-help-but-adore-them bluebloods of the human imagination.<\/p>\n

Pix, the saner of Rex\u2019s two teammates, groaned and buried his face in his claws. \u201cWell,\u201d Pix said, \u201cthat\u2019s it for Team Chupacabara this year.\u201d\u00a0 Mynx, his other teammate, only drooled and whined.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWait, wait!\u201d Rex said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have our Target human yet. It\u2019s not over.\u201d An aging conspiracy theorist or nerdy teenager might be more enchanted by a cryptozoology cast-off than a Unicorn. Maybe\u2026<\/p>\n

Three muzzles turned anxiously toward the second wheel floating in the starry void of netherspace. The invisible Powers That Be spun this one too and the back spikes of Team Chupacabara bristled in anticipation, with luminous, bulging eyes fixed on the flapper.<\/p>\n

As it slowed, a bright, oval window to the human world opened in the void and the three shielded their eyes from the sudden light. The blurry image in the window came into focus as the wheel stopped. There she was. Their human. She had brown, almond-shaped eyes and her sleek, black hair was tied up in pink hair bows.<\/p>\n

Rex heard Mynx giggle a mirthless gallows laugh. The Chupacabaras, weird monsters who drank livestock blood at night, had been pitted against Unicorns in a contest to capture the imagination of a little girl.<\/em> At stake was only what all magical creatures craved and required for existence: some attention from the Human Imagination, their only god.<\/p>\n

Rex realized with annoyance that in some other holding pocket in netherspace Team Unicorn was also watching this human girl through an oval window. They would know who they were playing against and they would be exulting.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may pick any toy, sweetheart,\u201d came the voice from the window. Feminine. The Target\u2019s mother or aunt or grandmother. Rex scanned the oval for clues. Shelves behind the girl has stuffed kittens and blocks. A toy store. <\/em><\/p>\n

The image panned around. The Powers That Be liked to give the teams a feel for the Target human\u2019s upcomming choice. Sometimes it was which movie or book. Sometimes the Target was picking wallpaper for their desktop computer.<\/p>\n

In the oval in front of him, Rex saw unicorn toys. Hundreds of them. Different varieties, different mane and tail colors. Some plush, some plastic. Some plush ones were fluffy, others velvety. Some plastic toys were hard plastic, others softer. Some squeaked.<\/p>\n

Then he saw where the Target\u2019s choice lay. There, amid the magical creature plushies (dragons, chimeras, mermaids, and of course unicorns), there was an oddly cute bug-eyed, plush monster with clawed arms and back spines. The only toy Chupacabara he\u2019d ever seen. Rex stared hard, trying to memorize the scene, hoping he\u2019d find a helpful clue. The contest wasn\u2019t supposed to be hopeless. <\/em>Then the oval went dark.<\/p>\n

Rex sagged. There was so much on his shoulders. It had been so long since the human imagination had turned toward Chupacabaras. His whole species was beginning to feel drained and forgotten.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay Rex.\u201d Pix was saying.\u00a0 \u201cNobody back home expects us to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why did they send me?\u201d Rex asked. Rex was his species\u2019 champion. Chupacabaras were born, as all magical creatures are born, when the Human Imagination explained a mystery by telling a really good story (Q: Why are my goats dead and full of holes? A: Magical Beast!).<\/p>\n

But one human\u2019s story isn\u2019t enough. The Powers That Be give new proto-creatures one chance to spread their story and solidify themselves as real<\/em> imaginary creatures. And Rex was the reason the Chupacabaras passed the test.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re our best shot.\u201d Pix said. Then the invisible floor dropped out from under them and the netherspace stars streaked through Rex\u2019s vision. He felt like he was going to vomit. Rex closed his eyes and focused on not losing the very tasty sheep juices he\u2019d consumed before the contest. Then the falling feeling stopped.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Rex opened his eyes and gawked at the figures that faced his team from behind three maple wood podiums across the bare, white-walled room. He knew what a unicorn looked like, of course, but being<\/em> in the presence of three unicorns was overwhelming. Majesty. Legend. Innocence. Wisdom. Power. The Ideas that comprised Unicorns washed over Rex and his team. They were so perfect. Rex longed to surrender to them here and now. This was the power that being beloved by Human Imagination granted. Beside him, Pix wet himself in fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wonder what unicorn blood tastes like.\u201d Rex turned in surprise. It was Mynx who had spoken. She rarely spoke, but whatever she said was usually related to her carnivorousness. \u201cProbably spicier than goats.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Unicorns\u2019 faces never changed, but an air of mild distain permeated their auras.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll never know, Mynx,\u201d said Pix. \u201cBecause the tourney is a clash of wit and charm.\u201d Mynx didn\u2019t look like she understood.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the rules have no prohibitions against biting,\u201d Mynx pointed out. Rex hadn\u2019t realized Mynx could read.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a debate!\u201d Said Pix. \u201cRules about biting shouldn\u2019t need writing down.\u201d The tournament offered two teams of creatures an open shot at a mortal\u2019s imagination for five minutes. Point and counterpoint in turns. Which creature was more awesome.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the Powers\u2019 mistake,\u201d said Mynx and took a snarling, salivating step toward the beautiful immortals.<\/p>\n

\u201cCool it Mynx,\u201d said Rex.<\/p>\n

But even as he spoke, the middle Unicorn stepped from behind her podium in a graceful move and lowered her horn at the approaching half-mad Chupacabara.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough!\u201d said the middle Unicorn. The Team Captain, likely. \u201cWe can have a dignified contest of the mind here today. I know we can. But if you insist on \u2026 earthier \u2026 competition, be assured we\u2019ll make short work of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mynx stopped in her tracks. Her short tail curled under her and her back spines drooped. She scurried to her podium, reeking of fear pheromone.<\/p>\n

Right. <\/em>Rex thought. Never forget that for all their prettiness and sparkles, a Unicorn is still a thousand year old magic caster with a stabby thing on its forehead. <\/em><\/p>\n

Whatever Mynx may have been thinking, Team Chupacabara couldn\u2019t win this with muscle. The Dragons could pull that off\u2014in fact they had once. They\u2019d eaten the Bigfoots at the opening of one debate. Upon review, the move had been deemed legitimate because swallowing other legendary creatures whole was considered an argument in favor of the Dragons\u2019 coolness\u2014but the Chupacabaras could never get away with something like that. The Unicorns wouldn\u2019t stoop to violence, though. They didn\u2019t have to. They were Unicorns, after all.<\/p>\n

The only way was to reach the little girl\u2019s imagination in a way the Unicorns could not. Rex had been studying the Holy Texts of Imagination for months. He kept a copy in his fanny pack and would read it while sipping alpaca blood. The only thing he\u2019d learned from it for certain was that humans were both predictable and unpredictable.<\/p>\n

\u201cBEGIN!\u201d came a reverberating, disembodied voice and the white wall of the debate room split to reveal the oval window to the little girl. What was going to reach her imagination? <\/em>\u00a0Rex wondered. He didn\u2019t have much time to figure it out.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cUnicorns are beautiful,\u201d said the Unicorn on the left. She said it matter-of-factly. As though beauty should carry weight in an argument. <\/em>Rex thought. But when you were as beautiful as a Unicorn\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPOINT\u201d said the voice. Rex gulped. Points were assigned when a human agreed with the statement. Each team could send three arguments into the human\u2019s mind before halftime and three after. Rex hadn\u2019t thought of a single thing to say to the girl. He needed time to plan!<\/p>\n

\u201cEr\u2026Um…\u201d He was drawing a blank. \u201cChupacabaras, uh, look nice too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO POINT.\u201d Said the voice. The girl did not agree.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look nice too?<\/em>\u201d Pix hissed at him under his breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d Rex hissed back. \u201cPoints only means she agrees. Just a way to gage our Target\u2019s openness to certain ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnicorns are good and gentle creatures,\u201d said the Team Captain of the Unicorns<\/p>\n

\u201cPOINT.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChupacabaras can drink the blood of so many things!\u201d Mynx said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMynx! Keep quiet!\u201d Pix said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPOINT.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSee?\u201d she said. \u201cI got us a point!\u201d Poor thing looked so proud of herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoints don\u2019t mean winning,\u201d Rex hissed. \u201cThey mean the Target agrees. We won\u2019t know who wins until the final decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll your friends love Unicorns.\u201d Said the Unicorn on the right.<\/p>\n

\u201cPOINT.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was it. Their last chance before halftime.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfair!\u201d Pix barked at the Unicorn on the right. \u201cNone of her friends have even heard of a Chupacabara,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPOINT.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait! No!\u201d Pix cried. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t my rebuttal! No!\u201d<\/p>\n

But Rex noticed a curious look creep over the girl\u2019s face. Chupacabaras were<\/em> a novelty. Rex knew novelty counted for a lot in the world of Human Imagination. On occasion, it even rivaled Legend\u2026Though it didn\u2019t last as long,<\/em> he thought ruefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cHALFTIME.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final statement echoed in the air and a starry curtain of void descended from the ceiling, separating the two teams for their halftime conference. Halftime would take place outside of time. The teams would strategize what to say to win the Target over. \u00a0Pix buried his face in his claws and his back spines drooped.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t going well,\u201d he said. Pix and Mynx were slumped in their \u2018locker room\u2019 half of the tournament room. Rex was pacing back and forth, toe claws clicking on the gleaming, white floor. So much was riding on his shoulders. Again.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo no!\u201d said Rex. \u201cThis isn\u2019t hopeless. I\u2019m more of a halftime coach anyway. We can figure this out. Did you guys pick up any clues from the images of the girl that could help? Think!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s there to think about?\u201d said Pix. \u201cIt\u2019s a little girl surrounded by toy unicorns and one dumb plush Chupacabara. This was over before it began.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, the tournament isn\u2019t supposed to be outright hopeless.<\/em> There has <\/em>to be something,\u201d said Rex.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo how did you do it?\u201d Asked Pix. \u201cBack in 1995 when we were just a proto-thing. A story told by one woman with dead sheep who watched too much sci-fi.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019re so young<\/em>, Rex thought. Most creatures date back at least a century. The Unicorns were at least King Arthur old. And Dragons! Sheesh. Old as humans themselves. 1995 was so inglorious. Everything<\/em> about Chupacabaras was inglorious.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was luck,\u201d Said Rex. \u201cThe Powers That Be selected Silverio Perez, a Puerto Rican comedian\/musician\/writer as our Target for our first test. I couldn\u2019t have hoped for more creative potential in a Target! I remembered a quote from the Holy Texts. \u2018He who laughs, lasts.\u2019 Mary Pettibone Poole. We needed to last. I whispered to Perez the name of our people. Chupacabaras, \u2018goat-suckers.\u2019 Not glorious, but funny. And memorable. Word of us spread and we became a legendary creature. An urban<\/em> legendary creature, but a legend all the same.\u00a0 And we stuck around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stuck around and sucked!\u201d said Mynx. Rex frowned. Was that a trace of sarcasm? He couldn\u2019t be sure with Mynx.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just need to figure out what will stick in our Target\u2019s imagination,\u201d said Rex. \u201cWhat is going to make us a better option than the Unicorns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell the unicorn toys looked stupid,\u201d said Mynx. \u201cThe Chupacabara looked much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, to you maybe,\u201d said Pix.<\/p>\n

Mynx could be onto something<\/em>, Rex thought. He closed his eyes and visualized his memory of the girl in the toy store. The unicorn plushies in his mind\u2019s eye were indeed poorly-manufactured. The plastic figures had legs that wouldn\u2019t stand properly and the plastic was not quality. But the Chupacabara was kind of \u2026 cute.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s right,\u201d Rex said. \u201cArtists have been getting sloppy of late with their unicorn toys. Too much success bred laziness. But the Chupacabara toy is something new, so its creators did an excellent job. Look.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his mind, Pix pulled up a window in their \u2018locker room\u2019 with a diagram of the human brain. Rex was in his element now. He was a nerd and this involved looking things up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our chance. The toy Chupacabara has the elements that make something cute to a human. Big head to body ratio, round face, a large forehead, and big eyes. These features enter the visual cortex and two things happen. First, the nucleus accumbens<\/em> releases dopamine, a pleasure hormone. And second, the orbitofrontal cortex<\/em> is activated. This part is responsible for decision-making. This makes humans decide something is cute, feel happy about it, and want to care for the cute thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other two looked clueless.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, our toy looks snugglier than the Unicorns. She\u2019ll be more motivated to take care of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh!\u201d The other two said in chorus.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Rex,\u201d said Pix. \u201cHow will that help her pick our toy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Good question.<\/em> She\u2019ll want to care for it more. But part of the Unicorns\u2019 attractiveness to a little girl was that they represented power, grace, and gateways to new worlds. Rex looked at the toys in his memory image. It had been a mistake for the artists to craft such over-glittered, over-fluffed unicorns. He could picture a slick toymaker executive approving of these toys. Rex heard his smarmy voice say \u2018Look at these purdy uni-corns, girls. All rainbows and sparkles, just like you little darlins like \u2018em.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

How could the toymakers not understand? Constantly the wide world shouted a silent admonition to little girls: Be docile! Be pretty! Be spunky! Thinner! Smarter! Better at sports! Change yourself to fit expectations! <\/em>Little girls were never good enough as they were. When a girl felt content with herself for a moment, the silent pressure demanded: Who do you think you are? You think you\u2019re better than the others?<\/em><\/p>\n

What little girl wouldn\u2019t want to toss her head, whinny, and gallop to a new world as fast as she could go? Mane and tail flying behind her and the raw magic of a billion wishes pumping through her veins as she ran. The toymakers had no idea how far short they had fallen of what Unicorns truly meant to little girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait,\u201d Rex said suddenly. \u201cIf our best hope lies in the artistic difference between the toys, we ought to consult the Holy Texts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Holy Texts were passages from human writings. Things said by storytellers, artists, scientists and philosophers that offered insights, however obliquely, into how the human imagination worked. The cobbled-together volume was about the size and thickness of a solid cinder block. And Rex had read it all.<\/p>\n

He opened his fanny pack and pulled out his copy. He started flipping through his favorite passages and quoted to his team.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.\u2019 Albert Einstein.\u201d Rex paused and looked up at the other two.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s nice. But it\u2019s not immediately obvious to me how that\u2019s going to help us with the little girl,\u201d said Pix.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, I\u2019ll try another one,\u201d said Rex. Since artists were involved with the toys, maybe a passage by an artist. \u201cHere,\u201d he said. \u2018Every block of stone has a stature inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.\u2019 Michelangelo.\u201d He looked up again, hoping.<\/p>\n

\u201cMmmmm,\u201d said Mynx. \u201cI am not too smart, but that doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. You\u2019re right. We need something applicable to our Target\u2019s situation. She\u2019s in a toy store,\u201d said Rex.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook in the index?\u201d Pix suggested.<\/p>\n

Rex could have kicked himself. Of course. He\u2019d been relying only on his own memory of the texts. Feeling stupid, Rex looked under \u2018toy\u2019 in the index. There were quite a few entries, but one passage made one of his neurons spark and wiggle, trying to direct his attention. He flipped the pages of his giant holy book. It was unwieldy in his claws, but Rex was a practiced page-turner.<\/p>\n

The Velveteen Rabbit<\/em>. Rex cleared his throat and read: \u201c\u2018Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. \u2018It\u2019s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Skin Horse sounds delicious,\u201d said Mynx, drooling a little.\u00a0 \u201cI should like to drink from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt says Skin Horse. Not Blood Horse,\u201d said Pix.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys,\u201d said Rex, \u201cThis is it. I have studied humans. Toys are the tools human children to build imaginary realities.\u00a0 They\u2019re usually not taken seriously enough, but they are the first tools of the imagination. As they grow, humans move on to use paints, words, physics, buildings, and governments to give shape to their imaginations. But only after they\u2019ve mastered these toys <\/em>first. And toys become real to them, just like we creatures of legend become real. It seems so simple, but a kid in a toy store is really the primordial soup of imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other two looked at Rex with incomprehension.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust let me do all the talking after halftime. I think I can reach our Target. We\u2019ve got to become real to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suddenly the curtain of void seemed to puff into smoke in front of them and they once again faced three glorious Unicorns standing behind podiums. The center Unicorn looked thoughtful, though the right and left Unicorns looked smug.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey probably spent the break deciding what kind of celebratory cupcake to have once they win,\u201d growled Pix.<\/p>\n

\u201cShhh. I do the talking,\u201d said Rex. \u201cAll of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBEGIN!\u201d said the disembodied voice of the Powers That Be.<\/p>\n

The window to the little girl opened once more and the light appeared over the Unicorn\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

\u201cChupacabaras are pathetic,\u201d said the Unicorn on the right. \u201cJust look at that weird toy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPOINT!\u201d said the Powers. Pix and Mynx groaned.<\/p>\n

The light turned on over Rex\u2019s team. He swallowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cChupacabaras are kind of pathetic,\u201d Rex agreed. His teammates stared at him, disbelieving. \u201cI mean, just look at the big, sad eyes on that toy. Poor puppy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPOINT!\u201d said the Powers. The Unicorn on the right whinnied a laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Hissed Pix.<\/p>\n

\u201cShhh,\u201d said Rex.<\/p>\n

He noticed the Unicorn in the center give him a hard, determined look.\u00a0 Rex looked into her deep, wise eyes. The Unicorn Team Captain seemed to understand that Rex\u2019s team was not out yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many unicorn toys for you to choose from,\u201d she started.\u00a0 \u201cFlying ones, black ones, shining ones, and soft ones. You can be yourself with any of these. They protect and defend. They run free. You can choose whatever unicorn you wish to help you tell all the stories in your head. There is so much you can be <\/em>with a Unicorn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPOINT!\u201d<\/p>\n

Rex swallowed hard. The Team Captain, at least truly understood what her kind meant to children. Stories, legend. The power to be the protagonist in whatever tale unfolded. This was strongly and beautifully persuasive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, but look at the unicorn toys,\u201d said Rex. \u201cSure there are a lot of them. But they look kind of\u2026bad. The Chupacabara is somehow cute. It looks like it needs love.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Unicorns on the right and left whinnied laughs. But Rex smiled. He knew he\u2019d won this one.<\/p>\n

\u201cPOINT!\u201d said the Powers.<\/p>\n

The Unicorn on the left looked frustrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook,\u201d she said, \u201cany little girl should be pleased with a unicorn. We are unicorns and you are a little girl. We just go together. You\u2019re so lucky you get to choose one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Team Captain of the Unicorns snorted in annoyance at her teammate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d said the Unicorn on the left. \u201cIt\u2019s true. We\u2019re Unicorns<\/em>. This should be over already.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO POINT!\u201d said the Powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?!\u201d cried the Unicorn on the left.<\/p>\n

Rex smiled. Never pander to children. They see right through you. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true,\u201d Rex said. \u201cThe Unicorns are amazing and they don\u2019t need you. They have every other child on the planet. We <\/em>need you.<\/em> We will always need you. We will never take for granted the games you play with us or the time you spend imagining. We will not distain any storyline you imagine. All of them, from monster wars to tea parties we will happily pretend with you again and again. Because you are our girl<\/em>, and we are your creatures, and we delight in your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The room was silent for a moment. Rex hoped he\u2019d done it. Made the girl feel recognized as the secretly amazing, magical creature she was. It was what the Unicorns of old did for young maidens. This recognition was a powerfully intoxicating invitation for imaginations. Why couldn\u2019t it work for Chupacabaras too?<\/p>\n

\u201cPOINT!\u201d said the Powers.<\/p>\n

But points didn\u2019t matter; only the Decision mattered. Six pairs of eyes wheeled toward the window to the human world to watch the girl. Without hesitation, two little hands reached toward the plump ugly\/cute stuffed Chupacabara and pulled it from its shelf into her arms.<\/p>\n

The Unicorns lowered their heads ever so slightly. Graceful, even in defeat. Rex\u2019s own teammates whooped, howled, and carried on like they\u2019d never seen victory before. Well they hadn\u2019t\u2026<\/em> Rex thought.<\/p>\n

Then it hit. The love. The warm sunshine of human attention rushed through Rex\u2019s heart. The Chupacabaras everywhere would be feeling it now, and knowing their team had won. Rex felt tears spring to his eyes. He looked at his teammates and saw real happy smiles on their muzzles for the first time. No pessimistic sarcasm, and no inappropriate bloodlust. Only joy.<\/p>\n

The center Unicorn stepped up to him. He hadn\u2019t even seen her leave her podium.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a well met bout today, young Chupacabara.\u201d She dipped her horn to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cErr\u2026Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost her today because we forgot that little girls make us who we are. We are nothing without them and we do well to remember that. You understand, my friend. It is they<\/em> and not we<\/em> who are truly magical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rex watched the Unicorn walk back to her podium and vanish with her teammates in a shimmer like a desert mirage.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow what?\u201d Said Pix.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll become real!\u201d shouted Mynx. \u201cReally real! Then we feast on real goat blood!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not quite how it works, Mynx,\u201d Rex said. He was certain that many other Chupacabaras would be thinking along the same lines as Mynx. He grimaced. Oh well. It\u2019s fine to let them dream.<\/em><\/p>\n

As the little girl cuddled her new toy Chupacabara that night in bed, Chupacabaras the whole world over fell asleep dreaming of goat blood and feeling the loving strokes and warm firmness of the girl\u2019s arms. They would all be in her dreams that night. Probably not eating livestock like they wanted. Dressed in pink and getting their long claws painted, perhaps. But bathed in the dazzling and joyous light of the girl\u2019s imagination all the same.<\/p>\n

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Rex watched the dial spin as the Powers That Be selected his team\u2019s foe. Their rank was low, so their opponent would be powerful. But maybe not unbeatable, Rex thought, watching the wheel slow. His heart sank as the flapper landed on Unicorns. Bloody Unicorns. Uptight, arrogant, can\u2019t-help-but-adore-them bluebloods of the human imagination. Pix, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10916\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}