Bandy- A Bori story about finding home

      The Plushie Bori was not surprised to find his eldest brothers in the kitchen already sipping on hot cocoa. Without looking up, the Mutant Hissi pulled out a chair for him, and the Darigan Poogle poured him a cup, giving it a generous pile of whipped cream. He gratefully accepted both.

      “Can’t sleep?” Tenz asked, his two mouths speaking in unison. It often bothered others how Tenz, two heads, did everything in unison, but Bandy was used to it. Sometimes when Hissis mutated they had separate personalities on the right and left, but Tenz did not. They seemed to be in perfect unison.

      “No, what about you?” Bandy asked.

      “Trying to perfect this cheese souffle,” the Darigan Poogle nodded toward the oven. He sat down, taking a long sip from his mug.

      “I lossst track of time,” Tenz shrugged, with a smile on both his faces. “Working on a sssculpture. I wanted to get it just right. What is keeping you up?”

      “I-I was thinking about how I joined the family,” He responded. “You know- I- well, I just wanted to hear the story, I guess.”

      “Ah, I was wondering when you would ask that,” Steel the Poogle smiled. “That is a good story.”

      “You sssshould remember,” Tenz teased. “It is your ssstory.”

      “Yeah, but Steel tells it better,” Bandy replied, as he got settled more comfortably into his chair.

      “You were born Braedon VonBarret, eldest son of Elouise and Doctor Fredrick VonBarret…...”

     ****

      Braedon VonBarret was the first of only two children born to the VonBarret family, and Fredrick VonBarret loved his eldest son. He’d love Geoffrey (later known as Goo) too, in his own way, but it was Braedon he believed would take over his practice one day and become a doctor like himself. The problem was, Braedon was like other Boris, not really.

      He was a great deal less of a handful than his younger brother, who often got himself in one sticky situation or another, often with the Snowager. Braedon, however, was full of questions about all the wrong things. Instead of being interested in all the things that had to do with medicine, he wanted to know about the vegetation.

      At first, his father thought this was the first step on the path to becoming a physician as most medicines did come from plant bases, but that was as far as the interest went. No matter what his father showed him or taught him to do, Braedon just did not seem the least bit interested. Still, the doctor would not give up on his eldest son.

     ***

      Dr. VonBarret always said he was trying new techniques out to try to garner his son’s interest, but most don’t believe that, as he continued to use his less than popular methods in the Haunted Woods. His business was much more successful there than he imagined when he’d left the mountain with his family.

      Although Elouise and Fredrick deny this very day, they will not admit that by request of the others in their village, one sunny afternoon during the month of Swimming, the VonBarrets locked their door for the last time. They carried very little with them, only the bare essentials, determined to build a new and better life in a new land.

      Elouise had taken her best clothes, a small amount of jewellery, knitting needles, some yarn, a pot and pan in her pack, as well as food for herself and her children. Frederick VonBarret carried some clothes, food and, of course, all of his medical supplies. Garrett, the younger son, brought with him food and clothes, but not much else as he had few possessions and would not miss any of what had been left behind.

      Then there was Braedon, he had packed food and clothing, of course, but hidden at the very bottom of his pack, in a book he’d never read, there was a pressed flower. He had stolen the book from his father’s library to press the flower in. The flower was something else he had stolen, but he’d taken it from the Snowager.

     ***

      His mother had sent him down the mountain to fetch his younger brother and father for dinner. Their village was just above the ice caves, and his father's office was very close to them. Despite their parent’s protests, Geoffery had spent many hours in the ice caves. He particularly liked to visit the Snowage’s Cave when it was sleeping. So Braedon checked their first.

      He didn’t care about the mounds of treasure, and nor had his brother, who instead used the great serpent as a kind of slide. Other Neopians often visited the mountain to try to catch the beast asleep, however, to try and take some of the treasure, it was always changing. On that day, however, something in the treasure pile caught his eye. Something blue stuck out from the chaos of gold coins, Neggs and other trinkets, something Braedon had only seen in books. It was a flower.

      Forgetting that he’d only come here to fetch his brother, who was liable to wake the beast at any moment, he moved forward. He slipped on coins and other items, making quite a racket, but he didn’t care. Seeing his brother so determined making his way up the treasure hoard, stopped Geoffrey in his tracks.

      Sure, Geoffery did some really dumb things like using the creature as his own personal slide and perhaps throwing snowballs at the other villagers, and always making a mess try as he might not too, he’d never have done that. Not only was his brother about to steal, he was going to get caught. That much noise was sure to wake the great serpent, and it did not appreciate others taking from it. They’d both seen many being blasted by its icy breath.

      “Braedon!” He hissed. “What are you doing?!”

      Whether Braedon was ignoring him or just not listening, Geoffery never knew, but he was right about the Snowager. The icy serpent, who was not the lightest of sleepers, woke angrily, turning its dark blue eyes on the intruders. He was particularly interested in the Blue Bori, who stood in the middle of the treasure pile reaching for something. He opened his mouth wide and prepared to unleash his fury on the unsuspecting pet.

      Geoffery, doing a rather stupid but brave thing, tackled his brother, sending them both falling down the other side of the treasure pile. Braedon, surprised but satisfied with his acquisition, looked up to see the mess he’d put them in. When the second blast came, it was he who pulled his brother out in time but received a punishment for his wrongdoing.

     ***

      Elouise was not happy with her sons when they finally reached her doorstep that evening. She had prepared quite the speech for them, but when she saw her older son cradling one arm, all the steam went out of her. Calling for her husband, she rushed out into the snow to greet them and check on her precious firstborn.

      Geoffrey had been unfairly blamed for the incident and sent to bed without dinner. Braedon had tried to protest, but neither his parents nor brother would let him. The younger sibling, already in trouble for being in the caves, did not want him to be punished as well. So while his parents doted on him, Braedon thought about the flower he’d hidden in his coat sleeve.

     ***

      Braedon knew that the path down the mountain his parents had chosen was not an easy one, so he did his best to keep his brother and himself out of trouble. His parents had decided not to go through Happy Valley so as not to let the two brothers draw attention or cause any problems for being, “unbori” like. Neither boy minded however, the trees they passed made great targets for snowballs, they made while their parents weren’t looking.

      For the first few days, their trip was rather pleasant. The weather was nice, and their parents had even begun to relax some. Everyone was enjoying the fresh air, and the boys’ antics weren’t bothering anyone, but on the fifth day, the snow came.

      At first, it wasn’t too bad, they were natives to the mountain, so they could handle snow, but it got worse and worse until one could barely see one’s paw in front of one’s own face. Braedon concentrated on his brother’s pack in front of him.

     He walked behind his little brother so he wouldn't get lost. The family had started travelling in a straight line, so each member could follow closely behind the other. Elouise was behind Fredrick and Geoffrey behind her, and lastly, bringing up the rear was Braedon. Their plan had seemed foolproof until Braedon walked into a tree.

      “Don’t panic,” the Bori told himself. “Mom always said if you were lost to stay where you were, and they would find you.” He sat down under the tree and started carving out a little nest for himself in the snow. They would find him, he assured himself.

     ***

      “Kookie, don't get so far ahead!” Braedon awoke with a start. He did even realise he’d fallen asleep at all. Now he heard voices and laughter. That didn’t sound like his family at all, but maybe they could help him. He grabbed his pack and made his way out of his cosy nest, and headed toward the merry bunch.

     ***

      “Mom tried to find your family, but they’d already left the mountain, and you didn’t know where they were going,” Steel continued. “So you decided to stay with us, and we started calling you Bandy instead.”

      “Shhhh,” Tenz pointed to their brother with one wing. The Bori slept soundly, head laying on the counter and an empty mug in front of him.

      “Let’s get him to bed,” Steel laughed softly.