Chapter 12

I’ll Hold On Extra Tight

I slept through it all.

The beat of boots on the docks did not wake me. Nor did the rigging of a hundred other ships that clanged like bells where the seagulls shrieked. The sea was a distant hush that my dream might have mistaken for a wind or the storm we’d sailed through. As my crow’s nest warmed beneath the morning sun, I did not stir. Though I breathed in the smells of the city stone and fish that sold at market, I continued dreaming. When breezes reached in to ruffle my fur, I must have smoothed my belly by reflex.

A voice woke me. “Boggo Ugo Oggo,” they said.

A yellow bestie stood over me. Her yellow fur ruffled in the breeze.

“What are you doing here?” I said.

“Fetching you.”

“Me? I’m sorry—I couldn’t find any tunnels.”

“Well the goblins sure won’t know about them.”

“I was going to try again today.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“There’s more humans out there than I’ve ever seen before,” I said.

“Warm weather brings them out.”

“We should wait until dark.”

“You’re safe with me,” Ella said. “I’ve come and gone many times.”

“There are fewer after dark.”

“Come sit with me. I’ll show you.”

We sat at the threshold of the crow’s nest.

“There are twenty tunnel ends,” Ella said. “One is right above the rocks you were flipping yesterday.”

“There are a lot of pier guards on the dock today.”

“There’s another tunnel by the piling under Green-fin.”

“The water is really high there.”

“Come with me, Boggo.”

“I want to.”

“Would it help if I held your hand?”

“My hands are sweaty,” I said.

“I’ll hold on extra tight.”

“Is it ok if I’m not as fast as you?”

“We’ll take our time. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“Let’s see if I can first summon Thrush.”

Reluctant to leave Ella’s side, I got up and stumbled across the space. I took a bottle from the loot chest of dreambon ales, pried the cork off with a pop, and poured a libation down onto the deck below. The beer traveled for nearly 3 whole seconds before splatting by the honeysuckle. More seconds passed until I had to admit to myself that Thrush wasn’t coming. I hoped he still wasn’t after the human woman. He should be done with that.

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With a sigh, I corked the bottle and returned it. I packed a few things into a bag I slung over my head.

I took Ella’s offered hand. She pulled me down the mast, through the rows of gigantified flowers, down the gangway, and down a piling. We scampered along the underside of the dock toward the boardwalk.

She turned back every once in a while and slowed when she got too far ahead of me. My ears lay flat, but I returned her smiles. The sea crashed below us. The barnacles watched on like monster eyes. When I spent too long thinking about the humans above us and the sea below us, I slowed to a crawl. But in a flash of yellow, Ella would be right beside me again. She’d put her hand upon mine, give a pat and a smile, and continue on. She skittered on with ease, light as a squirrel, and as yellow as dandelion petals.

How did she know where to put her claws? How was this such an easy thing for her? Why didn’t the sea give her pause? How did she become so brave? What did I need to do to become like her?

Ella leapt from the underside of the dock to the rocks by the sea. Her tail poofed like a squirrel’s. She landed like a cat. I made moves to leap, but trembled the whole time. When I eventually leapt, I landed like a thrown pillow. After I cleared my head of the daze, Ella turned a rock over to reveal a tunnel end. I sprinted in.

We scampered down red bestie tunnels at full speed. The floors were covered in red fur. As we raced by many red besties, they cried out “blue!”.

After an hour of running, Ella stopped at a fairly large chamber, about the size of Hawkin’s cabin. Several hide sacks leaned against the wall. Ella grabbed one and then shed yellow fur from her coat and spread a couple of seats for us. I wiggled into mine. She wiggled into hers.

“Do you like chicory roots?” she said.

“Up there with dandelion roots.”

“For me too.”

She rummaged through the sack for chicory roots. She split them in two and shared a pile with me.

“I haven’t had proper roots in weeks,” I said.

“What do all the flowers on the ship grow from?”

“Those aren’t mine to take.”

“Have some more of mine.”

“I want to share something with you too.”

I rummaged through my own bag.

“A fruit,” she said.

“A dreambon. My best friend gave them to me.”

“Tastes like chocolate.”

“Orange,” I added.

“Honey.”

“Cream.”

“Oh the seeds are so good!” she said.

“Have the rest of mine.”

“I couldn’t.”

“I’m full,” I said.

“I like crunchy foods. Do you like crunchy foods?”

“Me too, I do.”

“You know what would be a good way to digest?”

“Sleep?” I said. “As all besties do?”

“We’re not like other besties.”

“If it were up to me, I’d suggest we play a game.”

“Let’s play a game. Would you like to play with me?”

My ears perked. My tail wagged. “A game?”

“It’s called Rolly Holey.”

Following directions, I helped Ella dig 5 holes in the chamber. The earth was set aside to be refilled after we were done. I assumed red bestie excavation rules were the same as blue bestie rules. From another sack, Ella withdrew 4 sets of round crystals. I was given a set of 4 colored spheres and a set of 6 clear spheres. The first were blue like lapis lazuli. The clear ones were like quartz crystals. Ella had a set of carnelian colored ones and a set of clear ones.

“Throw down the colored marbles,” she said.

I followed her example and tossed mine near the holes. I stood about 10 paces from the holes where I was told to stand. Ella flicked a clear marble across the chamber. It clicked against a carnelia marble and knocked it into a hole.

“You get to keep whichever ones you sink,” she said.

“Is it my turn?”

“Once I miss.”

We must have played close to 20 games by the time we stopped for a drink of aquifer water. I couldn’t believe that I’d learned another game already! Even though we didn’t really play for keeps—I would have had no marbles to play with after the first game—I had a blast.

“What a game, Ella! How are the marbles so perfectly round?”

“That’s how they came. I’ll show you.”

We cleaned up and packed our bags. Then we sprinted through the tunnels for another hour until we angled up toward the surface. When we got close enough to feel the foot traffic of humans reverberate through the earth, my ears went flat, my tail sunk low, and I wrung my hands.

At the end of the tunnel, where I could clearly hear the scuffle of human’s boots, Ella said, “Are you ready?”