Door the littlest stowaway

      Door, being a baby Draik, didn’t know much yet, but he knew he liked it here. Everything glittered and the sand was warm. Far down the beach he could see boats and all manner of strange pets on them. The air smelled salty and of fish. As he headed toward the boats he found the trees beyond the beach were laden with fruit, and so for the first year or two of his life the little Draik made the island his home.

     ***

      Door loved to sit on the dock and look at the boats. His Tasu sat beside him, Jolly Roger. The petpet who had been abandoned by his first owner had light gray fur and sticky paws. He wore a red and white striped bandana that made him easy to pick out in the crowd. Together they had a pretty good system.

      The toddler, or sometimes the Tasu would distract the shop keeper or tourist while the other lifted their Dubloons or a nice piece of fruit or whatever the pair might need. They were rarely caught, but when they were, the Draik used his surprisingly strong wings to get them out of it. They never targeted anyone with wings for that very reason.

      As they watched the boats, they saw one pull into dock with a mutant Aisha at the bow, standing above the incredibly detailed Pteri figure head. It was a gorgeous ship Door thought and he pointed it out to the petpet. Roger, not sure what was so impressive about the boat, yawned and curled up to take a nap. Door shook his head, they’d been on many boats together, and he’d loved them, but Roger didn’t get the thrill.

      He watched the mutant as she left her boat with what looked to be a hefty bag of Dubloons. She appeared to be headed for the golden Dubloons. With any luck she’d be there for a while, because Door had decided her ship was the perfect mark.

     ***

      He hadn’t planned to take much! Door only ever took enough to make sure he and Roger stayed fed. That didn’t matter to the Cofferling it appeared. The Draik had gotten greedy so now he was paying the price. Now he and his sleeping companion, Roger could sleep through anything, were trapped in a closet.

      He knew about Cofferling of course, they could be found all over the island waiting to nip the fingers of anyone who fell for their trap. Of course there would be one on a ship! All the good pirate ships were loaded with treasure. Still, Door had never encountered one so aggressive.

      Door had tried to lift a pearl necklace. He’d get a good price for it down at the Warf Warf. With the profits he made from it would keep him and his companion for a week! Apparently, the sleeping Cofferling didn’t appreciate him taking the necklace, and chased the pair. Door grabbed the handle of the first door he saw and dove into the closet. He had tried to fly away carrying his pet but the Cofferling could jump! Every time he tried to open the door the Cofferling threw his whole body forward, keeping him trapped.

      “Matey, get away from there,” he heard a male voice say. Door knew who it belonged to, not by name but he’d seen the Maraquan eyrie. He should have left then. He wasn’t sure if he could fly, but he did have wings like the old eyrie at the swashbuckler’s academy.

     The pirate was one of the few pets to catch him. Surprisingly though he had been nice to Door. He was given a right good telling off, but he’d also fed the Draik. Yes Captain Threelegs always had food to spare for him when he showed up on his doorstep. On cold or rainy nights he knew he could find a dry place to sleep there.

     “Wake up!” The toddler pushed on the Tasu, but got no reaction. The petpet was useless unless they were trying to lift a handful of coins or a nice piece of fruit. Door sighed and settled in. There was sure to be trouble so he might as well get some rest. His stomach growled, as he fell asleep, they were trapped in the gallery. Whatever the eyrie was making smelled amazing.

     ***

      “Well, well, well, you're not a piece of treasure are you?” Door woke up startled to a female voice. He knew of course who it belonged to, in the doorway stood the mutant Aisha and behind her stood the dripping wet eyrie.

      “No, ma’am,” He replied, pulling Roger, still asleep, closer to him. He would have tried to fly away, but the floor beneath him tilted. They were out at sea, who knows how many miles from land.

      “It seems we have our very first stowaway,” the Aisha continued. Her voice was surprisingly soft and almost musical. It was almost comforting. “What shall we do with him, Dred?” Ah so Dred was the eyrie, that wasn’t exactly comforting.

      “I don’t know,” Dred responded, crossing his arms. “What should we do with him, captain?” Door’s stomach took this to be the perfect time to remind him that he was still hungry, very hungry.

     “Well, it sounds like it's time for dinner,” the Aisha responded. “Can’t discuss punishments on an empty stomach.” She gave the Draik a stern look as she said this but her voice hinted that maybe the punishment might not be so bad.

     ***

      Door woke with a full belly in his new bed, his own bed! Well it was his for now. Forest, for that was who the Aisha was, still hadn’t decided what to do with him. He’d told them he didn’t have any family, or real home to speak of course.

     They were already halfway to Mystery Island when they discovered him. It was too late to turn back, the wind was not in their favour, so they were taking him home. Their home on Mystery Island, where their family lived.

      Dred had told him all about their siblings. As it turned out, Forest was his younger sister and they were two out of eight. They all sounded quite interesting. Apparently the youngest was an inventor who made wonderful sounding contraptions. One of them, a Bori he was told, was a gardener who grew the most delicious food which their eldest brother prepared for them, daily! It sounded absolutely wonderful.

      Could it possibly be better than the boat? The boat was the best place he’d ever been. It took him a little to get his sea legs as Forest put it but he’d gotten them. He walked across the deck with confidence. He navigated the ship as well as anyone now.

      His favorite place was the crow’s nest, which he visited rarely. He wasn’t really allowed up there, but Dred took him up whenever he went. Roger seemed to like it too, it got the most sun, perfect for his cat naps. Yes, they both liked the ship very much, even if they had chores.

     Chores of course were his “punishment”.

      “You’ve got to earn your keep if you’re gonna stay on my ship,” Forest had told him sternly, all softness gone from her voice. He was scared only for a moment but Dred gave him a wink. That made him realize she would never really throw him overboard.

      He was excited to learn, though, from a real live pirate. He’d met enough of them, well sort of. The only pirate he really knew was Captain Threelegs. Whenever the Draik had gone to academy, the old eyrie would tell him stories of his glory days, like fighting the kraken. He wasn’t sure if all his stories were true, but he’d loved listening to them.

      Forest and Dred had plenty of exciting stories too. They’d fought a sea monster themselves, well sort of. The sea monster turned out to be just a friendly Maraquan Draik. He liked Yelsie, but he would have preferred she were a sea monster, at least she had a cute Hippalop. At least he had claws and four eyes.

      Helping with the chores had made him feel like a pirate too. He swabbed the deck, or at least he tried. The first time he tried to use Dred’s pet, a cheerful Swabby, who really did all the work. Door was too small to be much use there. He polished the treasure, there was an awful lot of it. Then he helped Dred with the sails, prep their food before meals, and anything else the older eyrie let him, even if Door was not a great help.

     ***

      Door was starting to feel nervous now. He hid behind Dred and Forest, as they entered the house. It was quite a big house, and colorful. Every room, that he could see from the outside anyway, was a different color. They looked like they might have been made of different things too. It was more intimidating in person than he expected.

      “We’re home!” Dred called as he led the trio through the front door. Door hid behind Forest’s legs holding on to her tail.

      “Dred!” an excited voice called out. “Forest!” They were descended upon by the six siblings that Dred had spoken about. He’d not been sure that they’d all be home, but Door’s count they were and they were quite the collection of pets and just as Dred described.

      There was a Poogle, the chef, Dred, had described. The blind Kougra who seemed to notice him before anyone else. A mutant Hissi with two heads joined them, the artist, and the magma Xweetok explorer. Lastly there was a Meerca, the inventor, who was scarcely bigger than Door himself, and a Bori whose paws were covered in dirt from his garden.

      The person who surprised him the most was the young girl with brown hair. She wore an apron and was covered in flour. Their mom, he realized as she bent down to greet him.

      “Well who's this then?” she asked. She had the same kind voice Forest did.

      “This is Door,” Forest lifted her tail and moved the toddler into her arms. Door would have protested but he was feeling rather shy all of the sudden. “He’s a stowaway.” If he wasn’t mistaken she almost sounded proud of him.

      “Well, well, well,” said the blind Kougra. She must have been Kookie. “A stowaway on your ship. Where are you from, young pirate?” Young pirate, he decided he liked the dark-furred Kougra.

      “Krawk Island, I think,” Door said shyly.

      “He doesn’t have any family, not that he’s mentioned,” Forest continued. “Not except that old duffer-”

      “Forest,” Her mother scolded.

      “Sorry, mum, but well he hasn’t got anyone so I didn’t think you’d mind if I brought him here,” Forest went on. “He’s too little to be out there on his own.”

      “Of course not!” the girl replied. “We have more than enough room. He is welcome to stay as long as he likes. Our family is always growing Door and you are more than welcome to be a part of it, if you’d like.”

     ***

      Trapped in a closet again. He hadn’t meant to cause trouble, though none of them really seemed to mind. He wasn’t artistic, helping Tenz and Scarlet had gone terribly wrong. With Jungle and Steel he had managed to start fires. At least with Kookie and Bandy he’d made reasonably easy to clean messes. Still he wasn’t sure he fit it there, not even a little.

      “What have you trapped now, Matey, another Weewoo?” Door jumped when he heard Forest’s voice. Of course it was her ship he’d snuck on to. Who would have aggressive Cofferlings. Of all the rotten luck, he planned his escape very carefully so she wouldn’t know he left till after she’d left the island.

      “Well if it isn’t the stowaway,” Dred said, when they opened the Door.

      Door launched himself forward into the Aisha’s arms, crying. Forest hugged him tightly and Dred felt sure they added another member to the family, but just not to the part he expected. It felt strange to be an uncle, but he couldn’t wait to share the news with the rest of the family.

     The End.