“Hey did you see–"

“That lady in the front was–"

“I heard they went to see–"

Running through the crowd I heard rumors being spread among everybody I brushed past.  The streets were ablaze with talks of Storks and their purpose here so far away from home.  Even the most destitute of the Wharf had entered the crowds of curious onlookers, all here to see a spectacle unlike anything they’ve seen or will see in their lifetime.  Visitors from Starlight, traveling so far just to see us.

“Come on, Acou!”  My eyes were strained and my cheeks were sticky, but I was still determined.  It’s times like these I’m the most thankful for my small size.

“W-wait Mackie!  I can’t slip past them like you can!”  Acou was getting stopped by the gawking crowd; although unlike myself, everytime one turned to look at him they jumped with disgust.  This was a superpower only a Frog could use, though I’m not sure Acou sees it that way.  

The crowd had halted themselves around a small diner where some Abyssians sat in front drinking and playing cards at one of the tables, behaving in an unusually casual manner for what was transpiring inside.  Most in the crowd knew not to approach, though some either out of ignorance or foolishness would step forward before one of the Abyssians would glare at them while drawing a cinq from beneath their chair.  

The diner was situated near the outskirts of the West Wharf, as was all of the 1088 Barrio, and was just another section of the West that fell under Crenmite.  Crenmite himself saw it fit to revitalize these areas and their administration when he created a set of chief administrators for the West Wharf.  The chief admin of the 1088 Barrio is my Uncle Mauz, but most just call him Captain Mauz or simply, “captain”.

He’s been administering the 1088 since before Crenmite made him official, and is well-respected within its community.  If there’s a dispute or if one needs work, he’s often the man to go and see.  

“Almost– almost there!”  I squeezed through the front of the crowd and plopped out on the other side in front of the diner.  The men sitting in front had almost stood up from their chairs before seeing who I was, then laughed amongst themselves and returned to their game.

“Hey!  Pull me through!”  I grabbed Acou by his sleeve and yanked him past the onlookers, who still hadn’t acknowledged me despite being directly in front of them.  We hurried to the door of the diner where the two of us had to part ways, with Acou going for one of the tables where the Abyssians were sitting before one stopped him,

“Kid, you know the rules.  To the side, over there.”  Acou, in defeat, stepped to my right away from the men and on the other side of the door.

“T-tell me when they’re coming out, okay?”

“I will, wish me luck!”  With that I opened the door into the diner.  Inside was an empty room, where not even the chef was serving at the bar.  The place must’ve been cleared out for the sake of the Storks that had entered.  I went past the bar and into the kitchen behind it, where a set of stairs took me to Mauz’s office above the diner.  

The door was shut and all was quiet, and even while holding my ear to the door I can’t hear anything from inside.  Was it possible the Storks and uncle were meeting somewhere else?

I twisted the knob to find that the office was unlocked, and stepped inside.  It had been some time since I was last here, but every time I’m hit with an aroma of leather and carpet.  There was something oddly calming about his office; though nothing was particularly special about the couches laid adjacent to one another, nor did I feel a certain way about the large desk that sat in front of an arched foggy glass window.  

Some part of it felt quaint, while another part screamed power; and that’s exactly what Uncle Muaz was, powerful.  It’s always been strange to me that mom and dad gave away all this to live outside of the 1088 when Uncle Mauz is so loaded.  But mom wouldn’t step foot around here.  That’s the only reason uncle came to visit us and that itself was quite special; he doesn’t move for anyone else, not even Crenmite.

 

The light which shone through left a ray to the center of the room where a quilted rug lay, similar to the one from the stalls I’d see on the streets, only this one seemed more tame as the rustic colours tied the room’s reddish appearance together.  On either side of the window were shelves lined with framed photos and novelties only an Abyssian would see value in.  One picture stood out from the rest as being that of uncle and my father when they were kids, holding some massive fish with all of their might and giving a large, gritted smile.  

Turning from the picture I could see that on his desk were some empty vials of Beat, a notepad, and an empty mug.  He was here for sure, yet nothing he left told me where he had gone; in fact, the entire building was eerily quiet.  It’s never been this empty in all my time coming here.

“Hm?”  To the left was a door that was never open, except for today of all days.  For some reason, it’s been left cracked open.  

Uncle Mauz uses it as a study of sorts and the last time I was in that room was with Candor a long time ago.  I knew from then that without permission, no one was allowed to enter; yet rising within, despite myself, I felt that familiar tingle. 

Sitting on one of the couches I tried to relax while I waited for uncle, but before I knew it I had dug my claws into the hazelnut coloured leather and ran them over its bumpy texture.  My legs couldn’t stop themselves from shaking while the tingle grew stronger, and a pulsating displeasure signaled to my legs that I need to be moving.  I darted my eyes between my feet and the door left so senselessly vulnerable.  My mind clouded over and without thinking I was already halfway to the door before finally giving into my impulses.  

It’s the fault of whoever left it open.  If they didn’t want anyone snooping, they should have locked it.

 

Reaching for the knob I swung the door to its sudden stop against the wall, flinching at the loud and sudden bang that seemed to bring me back to my senses, if only for just a moment.  Perhaps I should be more quiet moving forward.  

Inside was a windowless room lit only by the flame of a gas lamp sitting on a desk.  Shelves were along every wall containing countless papers and various books bound by all sorts of materials from the looks of things.  A large, corked bottle of a strange colourful liquid… or maybe some kind of chemical fumes held down a stack of worn parchments.  On the top of one shelf sat a weathered clay statue of an Abyssian holding a spyglass to his eye using only his tail; very emblematic of most of us, save for the more ancient critters.

Brass Beat vials were messily strewn about on the floor, and the centerpiece to this all, the desk, had on it a brass nozzle stained a multicoloured sheen from use.  The gas lamp on the desk haphazardly sat next to a fresh stack of documents, and an envelope which took center stage of the desk.  It was stained a yellowish white and sealed with a wax insignia of a gear… the symbol of prosperity.  Was this why the Storks had come here?  To deliver a simple letter?  

Unconsciously, I had lifted the envelope from the table.  Like a bell my tingle had strengthened its hold on me, compelling me now to do what would undoubtedly leave a stain on my relationship with Uncle Mauz.  This letter, which had come a great distance from the city of Storks and delivered to his hand directly, was on the precipice of being defiled.  

Knowing that… knowing it could jeopardize whatever faith he’s had in me until now, I still tangled with what its contents could be.  I’d have no hopes of understanding what’s written and even then, I want to see.  I have to see.  

Shaking the envelope I could feel it had some weight in it like there was more than just a written letter, and then I ran my fingers along the bottom feeling an outline of some object within.  Would opening this really be worth all the trouble it would cause?

 

I gripped my chest as hard as I could without ripping into it.  The sting from my compulsion was becoming unbearable; it was like my skin had come alive to quiver with excitement.  Every part of me was wailing with the same message: open it. 

I slithered my claw under the lip of envelope, and broke the seal–

“Find what you were looking for?”

“AH– plop”  I jumped at the abrupt words and dropped the envelope to the floor.  Standing in the doorway to the study was a tall, wild looking Abyssian: Fareal.

“I was wondering who was making so much noise up here.  Seems a rat wandered in, hm–"

“Ah, this isn’t what it looks like Fareal–"  His ears perked and twisted on top of his head like they had a mind of their own.  They swiveled to face every corner of the office and to the level below.

“You brought little green along as well, huh… did you figure you needed a lookout in order to steal from us?”

“I-I wasn’t stealing!  You know me–"

“It’s because I know you that I know not to trust you.”  Fareal walked over to me and lifted the envelope off the floor, before grabbing me by the ear.

“Ow! Ow! Okay, I’m going!”

“Hoh~ you’re not going anywhere.  First we have to speak to the Captain.”  He walked me out of the study by the ear, and firmly shut the door behind us, “Sit!”  Pointing to the couches, I took my seat as he placed the letter on the large desk in front of the window.

Fareal was like no Abyssian I had ever seen before.  To begin with, he was tall, really tall.  His eyes were that of a predator, and his height meant that he was always looking down on you with a nasty look; as if you were his next meal.  The last time I saw him smile was when he was still a young kid, like I am now.

Fur grew in strange places as well, like on his long legs.  The fur was coloured a dull gray with black stripes that gradually grew closer near the bottom, covering his feet in pitch black fur.  And his eyes were a bland hazel with two slits for pupils.  From where I was sitting, he looked more like a beast than a person.  When our eyes met, he grimaced with a wry look of pleasure at my predicament.

“...No one’s supposed to be in there, Mackerel.  No one.”  I already knew that of course, but somehow him reminding me just made me feel even more anxious, “Hoh~ you don’t look very apologetic… imagine how your uncle will react when he finds out his only nephew was here to rob him blind–"

“I already said I wasn’t robbing him!”

“Tsk tsk.” He shook his head, “He’ll be heartbroken.  Working so hard for so many years, and after giving you work; genuine, paying work…”  I could hear voices from downstairs, gradually approaching the stairs, “At least try to tear up a bit.  Maybe that’ll make the Captain feel sorry for you.”

“Can you stop already?  I know you’re just trying to mess with me.”

“The messer thinks he’s being messed with, hmm~”  

“What does that even mean?”  Fareal stuck his tongue out at me before walking to the door at the stairs, and holding it open.  Steps could be heard from the stairwell, and as each one came closer to the door my heart sank deeper and deeper.  

“Good evening, Fareal!”  A light voice came from just behind the doorway as my uncle’s hand gave Fareal a dark, feathered hat. “Thank you–"  Uncle Mauz spotted me immediately, and was soon brimming with joy.

“Is that you, little man?!”

“H-hey uncle–" I stood up from the couch to greet him but I was quickly snatched away by a warm and powerful embrace.

“Haha!  I thought you forgot about me!”

“Urgh, it hasn’t been that long has it?”

“A few months isn’t much to you, but when you get to be my age…”  Uncle Mauz finally let me go, and took a seat on the couch opposite my own, motioning me to relax and be seated,  “What’s wrong with your neck?”

“Hm?”  He motioned his hand around his neck, marking where there was a redness around mine.  I rubbed my own neck where he’d outlined and felt a sting where I had been choked by my shirt.

“It’s a little red is what I mean.”

“Oh that’s… strange.  Maybe my shirt is just irritating it.” 

“Hm…”  He crossed his legs and rested his head on his hand, returning to the pleasant tone he had before, “So, whaddya know?”   Uncle Mauz, from the gray strands of hair to the long, pronounced wrinkles along his cheeks and forehead, was starting to look elderly; although, I could tell just from looking that he was still spry even at his age.

“...Not much.”

“Ain’t that the truth~”  Fareal had placed the hat on a coat rack near the door and joined me on the couch facing my uncle, stretching his long arms across the back, “You should ask Mackie what he was doing before you came back.”

“What he was doing?  Oh yeah, why’d you come to see an old man like me on this fine day?”

“I- uh… saw the Storks–"

“Oh right!  You were always fascinated by those types of things weren’t you.”

“Really, Mackerel?  Still dreaming of Starlight, hmm~  You know what they use Abyssians for in Starlight right?”  Fareal leaned in closer, “They use ‘em for the rats; y’know, like pest control, heh~”

“Stop trying to scare the boy, Fareal.”  Uncle Muaz chuckled at his teasing, then pointed to the scabbard on my hip, “Say Mackie, that scabbard was your brother’s wasn’t it?”  

“Mm-hmm.  Though, it doesn’t have the blade that went with it.”

“A lotta good that’ll do ya then, haha!  Find any new treasures?”  I reached into my pocket and pulled out the music box I had found earlier, flipping it open to show uncle the snapped feet that are still inside.

“Ooh~ an empty box~”  Fareal was less than amused with my valueless find, but uncle seemed transfixed by it.

“How interesting… hmm…  may I see it?”  Hesitating, I handed the box to Uncle Mauz who looked it over while muttering to himself.  When he handed it back I instinctively snatched it from his hand before shoving it back in my pocket.  “Hang on to that one Mackie.  It’s special.”  He gave me a serious stare before Fareal opened his mouth again,

“Hmph.  Anyways, the Storks aren’t the only thing Mackie was here for.”

“Hoh?  Mackie…”  Fareal and Uncle Muaz both stared and patiently waited for my answer.  That heart sinking feeling had returned with a vengeance as the deep pit in my belly continued to grow.  “What were you doing that has Fareal so fixated?”

 

“Th-the door to your study was left open–"

“You didn’t go inside did you?  Oh Mackie, you know you’re not supposed to be in there unless–"

“I know, I was–"

“Don’t interrupt me!”  Uncle Mauz gave me a stern look then continued, “I know that you know, and that’s why it’s even more disappointing that you would enter anyways without my permission.  That’s downright defiant behavior, and from my nephew no less.”

“I tried to tell him–"

“Oh, butt out already!”  Fareal shrugged and leaned back to his side of the couch, reclining with a somewhat pleased look.

“Mackie, you're not talking to him right now; you’re talking to me.”  Uncle leaned in, resting his arms on his legs, “Open your mouth.”

“Come on, really?”

“Yes really, now open your mouth damnit!”  I opened my mouth as wide as I could, and Uncle Mauz moved his head up and down to eye it, “So you weren’t in there to score some Beat, huh–"

“I-I was just curious alright, I couldn’t help it!”  I heard a snicker from my left as soon as I mentioned my curiosity, 

“That damn compulsion again?  When are you going to grow up already~”

“Fareal.”  Now Uncle Mauz was glaring at Fareal, a look that’s meaning he already knew.  Fareal got up from the couch and went to stand beside Uncle Mauz’s desk, putting both arms behind his back and standing in attention.  Truly, someone who knows best when to quit.

“...So you were curious?”  Uncle Muaz leaned away and fell back onto the couch.

“Y-yeah, that’s all.  I really wasn’t trying to steal.”

“Curious, eh?  That can be forgiven, but the Storks… well unfortunately, the Storks have already left.  I was just downstairs sending them away.”

“Oh…”

“You sound disappointed.  Did you want to meet them that badly?”

“More than anything!”  He had a smile on his face as he stood up and approached his desk.

“So Fareal, why did you think my honest nephew was trying to steal from me?”

“He was opening a letter in your study, sir.”

“A letter?”

“Yes, the one on your desk.”

“Hmm…”  Uncle Mauz lifted the envelope which I had tried to unseal, swaying his tail in a strange motion as he did,  “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”  Uncle Mauz placed the envelope back on his desk and turned to face me.

“I would hardly call that stealing, so… no harm done!”  In an instant he returned to that person brimming with energy I had seen before, much to my surprise.

“Wait… I’m not in trouble?”

“No, of course not– well, you still went into my study without permission but technically, you didn’t steal anything.”

“What about the envelope?”

“That’s the part where things become technical.”
“Technical?  What do you mean?”  He paused for a moment to think before answering,

“...Mackie, what do you know about the Storks?”  Uncle Mauz leaned against his desk, and placed one of his hands on the envelope behind him.  

“Like, how they lay their eggs and stuff?”

“Pfft, what?  No, I mean what do you know about their city, their history… their dealings with your father and I?  Those kinds of things.”

“I don’t know that much.  I know my father was friends with a few–"

“Just friends?”  He crossed his arms and grinned,  “I tell ya what, tomorrow you’ll make up for breaking into my study by doing some deliveries, get ya back to working.  Afterwards, I’ll tell ya everything you’d ever need to know about Starlight and the Storks.  Deal?”

 

A chance to learn about Storks?  What kid would ever pass this up?  It was a chance of a lifetime to even gaze upon one, but now I have the chance to discover more about them and about their sacred city.

“Deal!”

“Haha!  I like your attitude!  Tomorrow morning, don’t forget!”

“I won’t, I promise!”  Uncle Mauz got up from his desk when I stood up from the couch, and gave me a big hug.

“You forgetting something?”  He blew up his cheek while I pecked it with a kiss, and got a kiss in return.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, little man!”

“See you uncle!  Bye Fareal!”

“Yeah, whatever.  Stay out of trouble!”  With an eye roll he closed the door behind me as soon I entered the stairway.  I was ecstatic leaving the office.  The moments where I ran down the stairs and out the diner entrance were like a blur in my mind as every part of it was occupied by thoughts of Starlight.

 

“Mackie!  Did you see the Storks?!”  The crowd which had been outside the diner had all  dispersed back into the city leaving only the guards and a lone Frog around the diner.  Acou, who had been standing here the entire time, looked even more excited than I did as his eyes glistened with unbridled anticipation.

“No, no.  They were already leaving when we got here!  But something great happened!”

“What?!  Tell me!”

“I’ll tell you and everyone else!  Let’s head back to Trash!”  Swiftly we scampered away as the guards in front of the diner smiled upon seeing us so excited. 

“Oh– gasp, come on!  We just ran to get here!”

“But I can’t wait and neither can you!”

“Haaah~”  Acou gasped for air, and we ran deeper into the city towards Trash where I will be the envy of the Wharf.