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Better than Scones: Return of the Black Pawkeet - Part Two


by scribe1020

--------

This morning hadn’t gone so well. Alexa claimed that she had hidden our Replica of the Black Pawkeet well, but it was stolen by a Pirate Scorchio. She says that the Pirate Scorchio was definitely NOT from Krawk Island, but that doesn’t help us find it. So far, today’s been going pretty badly.

     -Rose the Usul

The two were sitting in silence again. Rose was busily, but pointlessly, laying out their bedding, then rolling it up again then laying it out again in another pattern, and so on. Alexa sat on a crate farther away fumbling with her Jacques plushie.

     It’s all my fault, she thought bitterly to herself. Five years of taking care of that boat and now it’s gone. We’ll never get the chance to buy another one ever again.

     “There you two are!”

     The two looked up, taken completely by surprise, and watched Scribe the Gelert make her way over to them. She had to climb through a maze of crates in that tiny alley to get to them.

     “I’ve been looking everywhere for you two,” she said. “What are you doing up this late? Krawk Island is a dangerous place at night.”

     “Uh--we, uh... we were just, um....” Rose stuttered. “We were just about to go home... but we needed to stop and rest...”

     Scribe chuckled. She walked over to Alexa and sat down on a crate next to her.

     “Okay,” she said, “Now that we’ve gotten that out of our system, tell me the truth.”

     Rose hid her eyes behind her paw. She was a much worse liar than Alexa.

     “We live on the streets,” Rose sighed. “What can I say? I joined Alexa when my old owner, Ben, kicked me out of his inn, the Salty Stahkee. Alexa’s been homeless for her entire life.”

     Alexa looked up at Rose. That was a lie too, but she decided not to say anything. Her memories were too painful to recall.

     “Good,” Scribe said. “Now, I have a proposition for you. I’ve talked it over with my owner, Rachel, and she said that it would be fine if you came to live with us.”

     The two exchanged confused looks.

     “It’s not much, but it’s a good home. We’d take care of you and maybe a little more so. What do you say?”

     “Th-that’d be great,” Rose said. “What do you think, Alexa?”

     Alexa shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”

      *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

     Scribe’s home was a small, two-bedroom cottage on the western end of the island, wedged in between a bakery and a shoemaker’s shop. It wasn’t much to look at and inside it was pretty cozy, but it had a certain charm to it that attracted the two girls. The main room had a small table and a kitchen area. The two bedrooms spawned off of that. One, as Scribe explained, was Rachel's and her room. Alexa and Rose would be sleeping in the other.

     Scribe walked them into their small bedroom.

     “As Rachel gets the money,” she explained, “we’ll spruce it up with more furniture. Right now, though, you’ll have to sleep in the hammocks. Beds are the first thing on our list.”

     Rachel, Scribe’s energetic owner, poked her head in.

     “You girls doing good?”

     Scribe nodded.

     “Good,” the human said. “Well, I just got a letter that my friend is sick. I’m going to visit her to make sure she’s doing okay. She lives in Neopia Central, so I’ll be gone for a couple days. I’m sorry to leave so suddenly, but I’m sure Scribe will take care of you.”

     And with that, she disappeared.

     The next morning, Alexa and Rose went down to the docks to watch the sunrise. They had told Scribe where they were going, but they weren’t sure she heard. She was busy writing.

     They sat on the weather worn planks and dabbled their feet in the water. Today was better. The loss of their Black Pawkeet stung, but things were getting better. Fast.

     Alexa smiled at Rose.

     “Rachel’s pretty nice, ain’t she?”

     Rose shrugged. “She’s better than Ben, anyways. I don’t know much about her yet, though. We’ll see.”

     In the distance, a group of hush voices drew near. They were sinister voices, lowered in an attempt to cloak their dark plans from common ears. The two girls climbed down under the docks, balancing precariously on the crossbeams, inches from the water.

     “I still think this is a bad idea,” the first said. It was a scruff voice, as if the Neopet had gargled seawater too long.

     “Take it easy,” the second said. It was deeper, rougher, like it was used to dealing with ruffians, “What’re yew afraid of, anyways? They’re just dimwitted citizens! No one’ll see et coming.”

     “What if’n there’s resistance?” said the scruffy.

     “Well, if there’s any resistance, I assure ye, Hader, Scarblade’ll take care of them.”

     Rose’s paws went to her mouth. With the sudden movement, she almost toppled into the water. But to catch herself, she had to let go of her Garin plushie. It disappeared into the dark waters with a plop.

     “Wait--” said Hader. “Did you hear that?”

     “You’re imagining things, Hader. Your nerves have got yew jumpy.”

     “Still... we should check around just to be sure.”

     Alexa and Rose shared horrified looks. If they looked underneath the docks, they would be caught for sure.

     “Hader, we don’t got no time to waste. Cap’n Scarblade’s a-waitin’! Yew know he don’t like’ta be kept waitin’.”

     The loud footsteps moved away, towards the shore.

     “Those fools took our ship an’ our cap’n--we’ll make’m pay!”

     Without hesitation, Rose took a deep breath and plunged into the sea after her plushie.

     “Rose, wait--!” Too late, Alexa’s Usul friend was lost in the depths.

     Alexa slipped Jacques into her sash and glared down into the water, trying to see any sign of Rose. She was just getting ready to go in after her when her head appeared a little ways away, taking in a deep breath of fresh air.

     Alexa caught her paw and helped her out of the water. They both climbed up onto the dock.

     “You okay?” Alexa asked.

     “Yeah...” Rose gasped. She held up her Garin plushie and wrung the water out.

     Alexa nodded and pushed herself to her feet. “Good, we need to get going.”

     Rose looked up. “Going? Where?”

     Alexa shook her head. “Are we really just going to sit by and pretend that didn’t just happen?! No. We’re gonna go talk to Scribe at least--then we’ve gotta find Cap’n Garin and Jacques.”

     Rose still had that blank, slightly scared look on her face.

     “Don’t give me that look!” Alexa snapped, “think about it, Rose, if HE is comin’, Garin and Jacques are the only ones we know of who have stopped him before--and can stop him now. I don’t care if we’re just kids; Jacques and Garin were just kids once, too! This is what you wanted, wasn’t it? A change in our life? Then, c’mon! Take hold of the adventure that’s been thrown in yer face! Whether you like it or not, we’re in the middle of it!”

     Rose stared down at the planks, her chest still heaving. She didn’t say a word.

     “For the record,” Alexa said, putting a shaky hand on her friend’s shoulder, “I’m just as scared as you are.”

     *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

     Scribe was sitting at the little table, hovering a hair’s breath above a leather bound book. Her ink pen scratched busily on the paper, writing out word by word what was on her mind.

     She had been at it for hours, scribbling along by candlelight which glared off of her reading glasses. She was in the middle of a sentence when--

     “Scribe!”

     The front door banged open, breaking her concentration, and Alexa and Rose ran in.

     “Scribe, Scribe!” they shouted.

     Scribe gently placed her pen on the table and turned to address the frenzied Neopets.

     “What is it?” she asked calmly.

     “We were at the docks!” Rose started.

     “And we heard two pets talking--“

     “They said HE was taking revenge!”

     “The Revenge is back!”

     “HE is back!”

     “Whoa, whoa!” Scribe held her paws up. The two fell silent.

     “Okay,” she said, “Start from the people talking. This time, slower.”

     “We heard two people at the docks talking about a raid on Krawk Island!” Alexa cried.

     “Yeah,” Rose added, “They said that HE was coming back and that they would get their revenge, and HE was gonna take care of any resistance!”

     Scribe stood up. “Who’s ‘HE’?”

     “Scarblade!” they both snapped.

     Scribe fell back into her chair. “Are you sure?”

     “Positive.”

     “I can’t believe I’m asking a couple kids,” she mumbled, “but what would you suggest we do?”

     Rose stepped forward. “We need to find the Black Pawkeet. If we find that, Cap’n Garin and Jacques shouldn’t be too far.”

     Scribe shook her head. “And, how do you suppose we find the Black Pawkeet? We--we don’t have a ship or a crew. Are you hoping that it’ll just sail into the harbor while we flag it down? If she does berth here, it’s not very often. The next time she comes around, it’ll probably be too late to save anyone.”

     Rose clasped her paws behind her head, dropping Garin.

     “Dang,” she said, “I hadn’t thought of that. There’s no way anyone’ll just lend us a ship to find the Black Pawkeet--which is impossible to board unless it’s attacking you... and no crew in their right mind would believe two kids when we tell them our story. We’re sunk.”

     Alexa plopped down on the floor, deep in thought. “No, no. We aren’t sunk. I know where we can find a seaworthy boat--and a crew.”

     *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

     “Ah can’t believe Ah’m doin’ this. Oye--First Mate! Stop botherin’ tha Palmplat!” Salty grabbed the Piraket’s tail and plucked it off of the wire cage. “Alexa, make sure we get all of the Pirakeets, they like to hide.”

     Alexa picked up Swabby by its shaft and stuck it in her belt like a sword, much to its indignation. She then ran over to corral the Pirakeets into one of the empty cages. Rose was trying to push a Blurtle out the door, without success.

     “Mr. Salty,” Scribe said, “I see no reason to bring all of these petpets along with us. It seems much too dangerous!”

     Salty snorted at her. “Miss Scribe, are yew a petpet owner?”

     “Well, no.”

     “Well,” he said, “when yew get one, the liddle crittur’ll become yer child. These petpets--they’re me mateys. Ah go nowhere widdout them.”

     Scribe shooed away a Snarhook that was curiously sniffing around the hem of her dress. “Should we bring your Dubloons while we’re at it?”

     Alexa hefted the Pirakeet cage while its contents squawked irritably. “Only if we’re setting up shop on board!”

     “All aboard!” First Mate shouted, “all aboard!”

     “The lass has a point, miss Scribe,” Salty said, “Dubloons’ll just slow us down. Now, do’ya mind help’n me wid the Octorna tank? Rose, me liddle nipper, them Blurtles’ won’t be a-goin’ anywhere they don’t feel like goin’. Pushin’ ain’t gonna help. Git those two Plathydons. They be easier to carry. Alexa, watch where ye step, yew got Krikkets followin’ ye. Miss Scribe, don’t worry ‘bout the Octornas touchin’ yew, the slime usually warshes out. Now, don’t give me that look, missy! Ah can’t carry ‘em on me own!”

     “All hands on deck!” First Mate cried, letting out a whistle. “Ship ahoy!”

     When all of the petpets were on board and organized, the Little Nipper set off. Salty was at the helm, Scribe was below deck, and Alexa and Rose were sitting at the prow.

     “You know,” Rose said, turning to Alexa. “the last time I was on a boat was when Ben and I came over from Neopia Central. We took a day-long journey by ferry.” She giggled.

     Alexa, who was sitting on the railing, smiled down at her. “How was it?”

     “Well, I got seasick, and Ben was worried the entire way that we were going to be raided by pirates. Every fifteen seconds he would point out to the horizon and shout ‘I see it! I see the pirate ship this time!’. That... that was when he was cool. I don’t know what happened to him... but he turned bitter. He stopped caring about me and more about the day’s profit and such. It broke my heart.”

     The two sat for a while. Rose started fiddling with her Garin plushie’s shirt and Alexa stared out to the horizon in thought.

     “Rose,” she said, “I’ve never been off of Krawk Island before. I’ve never stepped foot on a ship and--and I’ve only seen pictures of places like ‘Neopia Central’ and ‘Altador’. When I was little, I believed that Neopia was one big ocean and Krawk Island was the only thing in it. The only reason I’d heard of those places was because of stories that Pa told me before I went to bed.” She smiled shyly and concentrated on Jacques, a tear streaking down her cheek.

     Rose stared at her in amazement. “Alexa... I didn’t know you had a father. You’ve never talked about him before.”

     “Yes,” Alexa mumbled, “Well... he’s not around anymore.”

     Rose stared at her a moment longer. When she realized that Alexa wasn’t going to say anything else about him, she got up and headed to the Captain’s cabin at the aft. The only thing that hindered her was Swabby, who was swabbing the deck.

     Salty watched Rose disappeared into the small cabin; a Farnswap scuttled out as the door closed. It stumbled up to Salty and sat down, grinning wildly and wagging its tail so fast it was a blur.

     “What’re ye smilin’ at?” Salty scorned.

     “Yew!” First Mate screeched in Salty’s ear, “Smilin’ at yew!”

     “Bah!” Salty pushed the Piraket off of his shoulder. “Begone, yew nuisance!”

     First Mate clumsily took to the sky, flapping with all his might until he could safely perch on the one small mast.

     Salty turned back to the wheel, putting two firm paws on it.

     “Ahoy, Alexa!” he called. “What be our heading?”

     Alexa looked up. She stared at him for a little while, her eyes faraway and sad.

     “What be our heading?”

     She shook her head as if to rid herself of the memories. “What didja say, Cap’n Salty?”

     He looked up at First Mate. “Hear that, you great feather bag? The lass called me a cap’n.”

     “Cap’n Featherbag!” cried First Mate, “Cap’n Featherbag!”

     “Bah!” He focused back on Alexa. “What be our heading? Which way should we go?!”

     There was a pause as Alexa looked around at the horizon, then back at the shrinking strip of Krawk Island.

     “Which way is Moltara?” she asked.

     Salty squinted at the line where the clouds met the sea.

     “Thattaway!” he called, pointing to the northeast.

     “Then go thattaway!” Alexa said, mimicking Salty’s accent and pointing off in the same direction as him. She stood up on the railing, her Jacques plushie in her sash.

     Salty gently turned the wheel until the prow lined up with the small Kyrii’s paw.

     They were still going towards the northeast when night fell. Scribe was sitting with Alexa, who hadn’t moved, and First Mate taken his perch on Salty’s shoulder.

     Alexa was staring up into the sky.

     “Lookit all those stars,” she whispered.

     “Yup,” Scribe said. “I can see some of the constellations, too.”

     Alexa looked at her. “You can?”

     “Yup.” The Gelert pointed up at a small group of stars. “See that? That’s the Sleeper.”

     “Yeah...” Alexa was looking back up into the night sky. The stars twinkled in her huge blue eyes. “And those stars right there? That’s the Hunter. And--and that’s the Protector... those stars over there make the Wave... that one is the Farmer. Oh! I can see the Riser, too! And the Thief is right over there...”

     Scribe was staring at her intently, wondering how she knew so much.

     “Alexa,” she asked, “who taught you all of that? I know you didn’t figure it out by yourself.”

     The Kyrii stared down at the dark waters. They reflected the bright jewels in the sky.

     “Sailors sail by the stars, don’t they?” she paused. “Well... a sailor taught me. We used to lean out the window of our room and point out the constellations every clear night. And on really special nights, we might see a shooting star in the sky and he’d tell me to make a wish.”

     “Who was this sailor?”

     Alexa didn’t say anything.

     Scribe sat there for a while, looking at the child in disbelief.

     “Well,” she said, “I’m gonna see if I can get some shut-eye. This rocking motion is giving me a stomach ache.”

     Scribe went into the Captain’s Cabin.

     Alexa took Jacques out of her sash and set him carefully on the rail.

     “Feel that spray?” she asked him. “Smell that salty air? We’re on the ocean. To you, this must be home.” She looked out into the sea. “To me, this is the start of finding mine.”

     A dark shape flitted passed, disrupting the white diamond reflection.

     “What--?” She leaned forward, trying to get a better look as a larger shape passed.

     “Ship ahoy!” First Mate squawked.

     Salty squinted into the waters.

     “That’s not a ship, yew scallywag!” he snapped. “Can’t ye see it’s a shipwreck?”

     Swabby swish-swished up. He tapped on Salty’s peg leg three times. Salty lifted his foot up, one by one without looking. Swabby didn’t mop, he continued tapping.

     “Whaddya want?” Salty glared down at him.

     Swabby kept tapping.

     “Kyriiiiii overboard!” First Mate called.

     Salty looked up at the Piraket. “What?”

     “Kyriiiiiiiii overboard!” he repeated, “Kyriiiiii overboard!”

     “Oh no.” The old blue Kyrii looked over to where Alexa had been sitting. There was an empty rail with a lonesome Jacques plushie on it.

     He abandoned the helm and ran to the railing.

     “Alexa!” he called, one paw on the railing and the other cupped to his mouth. “Aleeexaaaa!”

     The glassy water was calm, not a sight of anything but the pieces of driftwood from the shipwreck floating by.

To be continued...

 
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» Better than Scones: Return of the Black Pawkeet - Part One
» Better than Scones: Return of the Black Pawkeet



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