Tiawa's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Tiawa rolled toward the tall front doors, but something stopped the plan cold. A wooden box sat on the castle steps. Tiawa peeked inside. A smaller orange o lay there, round and soft, no bigger than a crumb. A tag hung from the box. It read: NAME: TINY O. BREED: WHOLE GRAIN OAT. AGE: INFANT. NEEDS: DAILY MILK DROP, ENDLESS CUDDLES, NO SPOONS! XYLOPHONE INCLUDED. Someone had left this baby to be adopted. A second xylophone sat beside Tiny O, smaller than Tiawa's own. Tiny O reached up and gripped Tiawa's edge. It would not let go. Tiawa could not carry a baby through those huge doors and still play the happy song. But Tiawa could not leave Tiny O alone either. "Drop it or bring it. Don't stand there." The voice came from above. Tiawa looked up. In the tree beside the steps sat a chicken, feathers puffed, beak open wide. This was Drummidary's neighbor, Yelmut, stuck in the branches. Every time Yelmut shifted, a branch sparked with fire, then froze white. Yelmut flapped and got tossed back. "I'd help. I can't. Obviously." Then the ground thumped. A striped creature stomped up the path, half dog, half bee, wings buzzing hot. This was Drummidary, and his feet hit the stone like drums. He stopped at the box and sniffed Tiny O. His red eyes softened. "A baby needs a home," Drummidary said. He looked at the castle doors, then at Tiawa. "I'll carry the box. You keep the little one calm." Tiawa lifted Tiny O's tiny xylophone and tapped one soft note. Tiny O stopped wriggling and listened. Tiawa played three slow notes, and the baby laughed. Now Tiawa had a way to carry Tiny O without the baby crying. Drummidary stomped a steady beat with his feet. Tiawa matched it on the xylophone. Yelmut, still stuck, called out the tempo. "Faster. Faster. There you go." The music and the stomping rolled together up the steps. Drummidary wedged his nose under the box and pushed. The doors were too big and too heavy for Tiawa alone. But Drummidary leaned his whole striped body against one door. It groaned and swung inward a crack. Tiawa slipped through the gap first, playing the whole way. Tiny O clung to Tiawa's side, quiet and happy. Drummidary squeezed the box through behind them. Inside, firelight glowed on a long table. The kitchen. Tiawa had reached it at last. But Tiawa was not alone anymore. A hungry baby clung to Tiawa's side, needing a milk drop and endless cuddles. Tiawa could see the kitchen now, yet Tiawa could not simply play the happy song. First, Tiawa had to feed Tiny O.