Caution: Quills may be sharp Circulation: 196,548,750 Issue: 925 | 15th day of Sleeping, Y23
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Adventures of the Black Pawkeet (No, the Other One)


by cookiez101

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It was a fine summer day on the sea, and Scallywag, the Black Pawkeet, was perched contentedly on Garin’s shoulder. Garin, the yellow Usul captain of the Black Pawkeet, strode about the ship deck, calling orders here and there, laughing and joking at intervals and slapping his crewmates on the back as he passed them.

     The crew was giddy after raiding a particularly lavish wedding ceremony they had happened upon. Scallywag himself had a small diamond ring that he held in his talons, which he pecked at in intervals, then gazed into its seemingly endless refracting gleam.

     Garin patted his petpet on the head and gazed north at the horizon. “Who knows what tomorrow will hold for us, Scallywag! Life on the sea is limitless, it seems,” he said, and continued to gaze north, his tail flicking about restlessly.

     The crystalline cerulean sky that enveloped them was beginning to darken, however. A little too quickly, too, Garin thought. He had seen many strange events and creatures on the sea, and often found that it was best to accept things as they were in Neopia, and not question the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of it all.

     Cumulonimbus and nimbostratus clouds were forming in the north, centralized in one location, low on the horizon. Garin glanced over his shoulder to the south, west, then east: all was clear, sunny, and brilliant. Garin could have called orders to slow the ship or redirect it in time to avoid colliding with this mass of storm and darkness. But, as all pirates do, Garin loved an adventure and was naturally curious.

     The mass of clouds rushed quickly to them, faster than any storm Garin had seen roll in before. A few members of the crew called out in alarm, and a low murmur of worry began. Garin glanced at the crew, making eye contact with Jacques, the red Kyrii first mate of the Black Pawkeet, who raised his left eyebrow in interest. They both shrugged at one another and continued to watch the rolling clouds.

     Out of the clouds a massive ship, black and enormous, emerged before them. Now Garin was beginning to worry, but it was too late. In seconds the ship was alongside The Black Pawkeet, and the mysterious ship’s crew had boarded The Black Pawkeet, drawn their swords, and begun to attack.

     “ATTACK!” Garin shouted, though it was not entirely necessary; there seemed to be no other choice.

     Scallywag, alarmed at such a quick progression of events, flew to one of the lookout towers to watch and determine where he could assist most. Garin, though he was a quick and valiant swordfighter, was already surrounded by three of the opposing ship’s crew. Scallywag saw his chance and swooped in, beating back a red Blumaroo with a large vertical scar intersecting his eye. Scallywag continued to swoop, back and forth, talons extended, slashing here and there, until the red Blumaroo had become so flustered that he lost his footing, tumbling backwards off the ship and into the sea below.

     “Well done, Scallywag!” Garin shouted, still attempting to fend off a pirate Krawk and a pirate Shoyru at once. Seeing Garin struggling, Jacques tossed an extra sword to Garin.

     “Ha-ha!” He chanted, swinging the swords wildly about.

     Just as Garin was able to fend off the Krawk and the Shoyru, Jacques had prepared an escape route for those of the crew who had not been captured yet – a small wooden dingy. Garin moved towards the edge of the deck, gesturing for Scallywag to follow. But, before he could climb down to safety, a purple Bruce clubbed him over the head, knocking him unconscious. Garin fell heavily into the ocean. Scallywag flew to where Garin had fallen in, but could not see him anymore under the dark sloshing waves. At that moment, Jacques’ dingy had been flooded, and he was surrounded by three sea witches. The sea witches clawed at Jacques with their sharp nails, pulling him under the water’s surface, where he disappeared from view.

     Things were looking grim for Scallywag. He could not hover any longer – he had to keep moving. Casting a last glance at the Black Pawkeet as it was being prepared to be towed behind the invader’s ship, he flew south in search of help.

     ---

     Scallywag knew there was land south of where their ship had been attacked. There had not been much variation in direction once they had departed the wedding party. He kept flying, even when his stubby wings were aching from exhaustion. He had to keep going. He glanced down at the dark waters below, thinking of what a tasty treat he would make to a Jetsam. He had to find land. He had to find help for his friend, for his friend’s ship, and for his crew.

     He had been flying for a few hours, and the light was beginning to fade. Glancing about him, he saw a shape bobbing in the water to the west. He flew towards it: it was a blue plastic sandcastle pail. It would do, he thought. He alighted on it, nearly tipping it over with the force. Once he had balanced well on it, he tucked his wings and slept.

     ---

     Scallywag awoke to the feeling of his right wing becoming drenched. Startled, he roused himself, looking about. The pail he had been resting on was not moving and had been set by the ocean’s waves into a shoreline. Where, he did not know. He flutter-hopped to the sand, moving his talons in it and enjoying the warmth. He thought he could just nap here some more, and then worry about everything else later … no! He couldn’t do that. His eyes snapped open. He needed to find Garin and help the crew. And save the ship. And he needed to find some breakfast.

     Though hungry and thirsty, a full night of rest rejuvenated him. He glanced about: beyond the shoreline were enormous crooked trees, covered in vines and moss. They were unlike any other trees Scallywag had seen before: not like the palm trees of Mystery Island, or the varied deciduous trees of Scurvy Island or Krawk Island. The trees were surrounded by an enormous bog. He wondered if the entire island was a giant swamp.

     If he was not somewhere he knew – or even a similar place to somewhere he had visited – he truly was lost. And, he would have no idea of what berries or seeds would be safe to eat. He would have to figure it out, he supposed. He had no choice.

     Empowered by this thought, Scallywag lifted up, kicking out a small spray of sand as he did so. He fluttered up, up, up, so that he was above the canopy and would be able to find an appropriate place to forage. He flew for a few miles, not seeing much except for more of the same canopy cover and swamp. He was ready to give up, and just forage within the swamp, when he spotted a brightly coloured thatched roof. He had never seen this brightly coloured of a roof before – red, yellow, and green. Intrigued, he dropped in altitude and alighted on a rickety wooden railing on the wooden hut’s porch.

     He had not been able to see the hut’s colour from so high up, but was even more shocked at this: it was a brilliant blue. Surely, no Neopet who lived in a hut this beautiful could be cruel, he thought. He fluttered to a small window, alighting on the ledge, and pecked his small beak on the glass. He could not see inside at all, which made him worried. What if it was abandoned?

     He rapped his beak against the glass again, and, to his surprise, something within tapped back on the other side of the glass. He heard footsteps, and someone opened the door, padding around to the window where he sat.

     He had not expected it to be a faerie. He could not believe his luck! An air faerie, wearing a flowing robe printed with clouds, stood gazing at him and smiling. She had dots of white paint underneath her eyes, and a line of blue paint across the bridge of her nose.

     “Well, you’re definitely out of place,” she laughed. “Everything here is so vibrant in colour that it almost hurts your eyes. Here,” She extended her cupped hands toward him, and he hopped onto them.

     “Oh, my. You are too cute,” she said, scratching his head.

     Scallywag shook her off, puffing out his chest a little indignantly.

     Cute! I am a pirate! he thought.

     She laughed again. “Oh, okay. Not cute. We’ll find another descriptor for you.” She gazed at him a moment. “You must have blown in from somewhere. Were you migrating?”

     Scallywag shook his head.

     “Hm. Alright. So not a vagrant. Well, were you trying to go somewhere?”

     Scallywag hopped about on one foot, then the other.

     “Okay, so kind of. A small bird in the middle of the sea, with no reason to be. Well, we’ll figure it out, won’t we? How about some snacks?”

     Scallywag hopped up and down quickly. He had lucked out in finding her hut in the expanse of the swamp and forest.

     “Okay, snacks are a definite yes. You have your priorities straight, my friend,” she said, carrying him inside her small hut and shutting the door.

     The inside of the hut was just as colourful as the outside. Wooden bookshelves lined the walls, with a variety of multicoloured spines. A woven tapestry depicting technicoloured clouds took up a large portion of the wall space; a few talismans with colourful beads and feathers decorated the area beside it. Various houseplants, growing much too large for their pots, crawled about. A small plush cot sat in one corner of the room beside a patched armchair and a wooden table. The air faerie set him down on the bed gently and pulled aside a beaded curtain at the back of the hut. She rustled about, banging dishes and crackling packaging, before exiting and placing a small dish before Scallywag.

     On the dish was a small bowl of shallow water, a handful of seeds (some sunflower, and others Scallywag did not recognize), blueberries, and a coconut half-filled with liquid. Scallywag perched on the coconut shell, gazing at the air faerie blankly.

     “I see you’ve found our island speciality first. That’s good ol’ Lutari Island cocojuice. It’s like water, but sweeter. It’s from a coconut tree!” She said. “And, those seeds should all be safe for you to eat.”

     Scallywag hopped about cheerily, drinking and eating voraciously. While he ate, the air faerie kept him company, chatting to him. “That’s the name of this island where you are, anyway. Lutari Island. The island changes its location, so it’s no surprise that you haven’t been here before.”

     “I’m Briana, by the way. I was sent here by Fyora to keep watch over this island and take care of things. I also give out quests, because, what else would I do?” She laughed. “It’s too bad I can’t learn your name.”

     Scallywag, having finished his meal in a small amount of time, sat blankly, full and happy, staring at her with glossy eyes.

     “Well,” she said. “I guess I’ll let you rest. Seems like you’ve been through an ordeal. I don’t know how many folks will come to do a quest for me today, but,” she stopped, pulling out a woven tapestry, similar to the one on her wall. “I’ve got bigger fish to fry, anyway.”

     Scallywag, feeling finally safe and content, dozed off into a food-fueled nap, seemingly forgetting about Garin and The Black Pawkeet for the moment.

     ---

     Scallywag dreamt of fire, sinking ships, and Garin gasping for air. He awoke with a start. Briana looked up from her work. Somehow, the tapestry still appeared to be still just as unfinished as it was when he fell asleep.

     What was he doing! He needed to find help, and here she was, an air faerie! He needed to find the ship and the crew! He thought, flapping and squawking madly about the room.

     “Hey! Hey!” Briana shouted, standing. “Chill out! What is your deal?”

     But Scallywag did not know how to communicate to this faerie. Garin seemed to understand him when he needed to tell him something, but she did not. Scallywag alighted on the cot again, slumped in defeat.

     Briana stared at him a moment, her hand on her cheek. “I wish I could help you,” she said.

     Brightening, she said, “Oh! I know! How about we go into town? Maybe that will help you feel better. And maybe there will be some … uh … clues. And you can tell me what you want to tell me? Yeah?”

     Scallywag flew to her shoulder, alighting there, and the two climbed down from the hut’s platform, following a dirt path northeast.

     ---

     Town was not far, but Scallywag was entranced with the variety of brightly coloured feathered petpets flying about, species he had never seen before, zipping around vines and evading the reaching arms of the crooked trees. Brilliant flowers, of bright oranges, yellows, blues, and reds, caught his eye from their vines or from their stalks.

     They wound past an expanse of flowing springs, the water crystal clear. He could see small fish-like petpets darting about within it, clearly visible even from far away.

     Once past the springs, the trees surrounding the path seemed to bow out, and a clearing of sorts appeared, covered in tufted grasses and more colourful flowers. Neopets seemed to be bustling about or stopping and chatting with friends here. The Neopets here were a species Scallywag had never seen before: they stood fairly tall on two legs and had long tails that curled, not unlike a Usul’s, but much longer. Their heads were a square shape, and their faces flat, with a large, round, shiny nose. They wore robes of all different colours, and adorned themselves with colourful face and body paint, as well as moulted feathers, most likely from the local petpets he had seen.

     “Well, here we are! I’ll show you around. We passed the Healing Springs, I’m sure you saw that. If you ever get hurt somehow, go there. The shop and bank are just up ahead. The Wheel of Luminescence if you’re bored, or the Bog of Chance if you’d like to dig through items others don’t want and find a treasure to keep. I think it’s rather fun, personally,” Briana said.

     “Ah, and the Training School. But that’s only for Neopets, so. Plus, you’re a tough little Pawkeet, anyway,” Briana laughed, winking at Scallywag.

     But Scallywag wasn’t paying attention to her words; all of the colours and exciting new items and surroundings were a lot to handle. Especially some of the jewellery the locals were wearing that appeared so exotic and expensive to him. Scallywag felt himself wanting to zoom over and snatch up a particularly attractive looking shiny teal beaded necklace, but restrained himself.

     As he was gazing about, he spotted two of the strange looking Neopets holding a broken-off wooden piece of a boat, discussing it together. Even from that distance, he could see the burnt brand on it: a small black Pawkeet symbol. It was a piece of the dinghy! Scallywag launched himself from Briana’s shoulder, fluttering to it, landing on it, and hopping up and down upon it. The two Lutaris dropped the piece of the ship in surprise, also dropping Scallywag. He landed with a little thud on top of it.

     Briana rushed over to him. “Oh no! Are you alright?”

     Scallywag, though a bit dizzy, tried to hop up and down again, but fell over.

     Briana slapped her right palm to her forehead. “I am such an airhead. You’re from a pirate ship, of course you are. This was your ship. ‘The Black Pawkeet.’” Briana smiled. “You’re Garin’s petpet. I know about you.”

     Scallywag, his head clearing, flew up, fluttering around in circles around Briana. He landed on her head, pecking at her head playfully. Briana laughed. “I know how to help you. Let’s get back to the hut.”

     ---

     Once back at the hut, Briana gave Scallywag some water and blueberries to revive him after his fall.

     When he had finished resting, she stood before him, her hands on her hips. “Now. I don’t know how to help your crew … I’m not that powerful. Obviously, something bad happened to Garin and your crew if a piece of the ship’s dinghy ended up here. But! I can send you to wherever Garin is, so you know for sure what happened to him. And if it’s … bad … my spell will send you back here. Then we can decide what to do next.”

     Scallywag gazed up at her with wide eyes. She scooped him up and cuddled him to her cheek. “I know it’s scary. But you’re a brave pirate! You’ll be alright.”

     She held him out in front of her in her palms. He straightened up, puffing his chest out.

     “That’s the spirit!” She said, carrying him out to the porch.

     “Goodbye, little one. If you’re ever lost, just think of Lutari Island and you’ll be here once more. Now, off you go!” She said, then inhaled deeply, and blew out a heavy breath towards Scallywag.

     Instantly, he was lifted up, floating along at a quick pace towards the sea, without even having to flap his wings once. Turning, he saw Briana waving from her porch, becoming smaller and smaller, until a strange fog erased all that was once Lutari Island.

     ---

     Scallywag floated along for many miles. He was not sure when his journey was going to end. Just when he was beginning to fret, as the sun was growing low in the sky, he spotted a dark shape on the horizon.

     As he floated closer and closer, he was able to see the ship’s flags. The Black Pawkeet! It was alive and well. And there, on the deck laughing merrily, was Garin.

     Briana’s spell took Scallywag all the way to the spot directly before Garin, then dropped him. He fluttered down, and perched on Garin’s shoulder, chortling. Garin, shocked, grabbed Scallywag, holding him out before himself in amazement.

     “Scallywag! It’s you! I’ve been so worried!” He said and hugged his friend. He looked at him again. “You’ve got … you’ve got face paint on. And what is this green feather? And where did this fancy necklace come from?”

     Scallywag had not realized it, but Briana had sent him away with some parting gifts.

     Garin laughed heartily. “I suppose you had your own adventure, while we had ours! We have so much to tell one another!”

     And so Garin learned about Lutari Island, and Scallywag learned about Isca and the fight for New Maraqua. The Black Pawkeet sailed into the orange and gold setting sun, the brightest sunset Scallywag thought he had seen yet.

      The End.

 
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