Despite the fact my hair was frozen on end and my whiskers were as stiff as kindle, I opened my eyes the next morning with a bit of happiness. A wonderful aroma had filled my nose, and for some reason I dreamt about eating fish. As I stood up to investigate the smell, my paw met something wet and squishy. I looked down and saw that a fish lay on the ground, right before my eyes. What the…? I looked around me, but nobody was there. I shrugged it off, convincing myself that I MUST have caught the fish in my sleep, since I'm just that talented. The fish seemed safe, so I quickly chowed down.
Feeling rejuvenated, I stretched out my back and aimlessly walked around. What to do today? It had stopped snowing, but the cold hadn't disappeared. There was a thin layer of powder on the ground, left over from the storm. Maybe I could go see if the boat to Toucan Island is running today. Then again, after that stunt yesterday, I should probably stay away from the docks for awhile. Who knows what Toby would do to me if he saw me, or, even scarier, what his uncle would do. I suddenly glanced over to Toby's house, but thankfully for me, it was deserted.
At least, I was pretty sure it was deserted. I heard the sound of feet crunching down on the frosty grass, and I felt myself jump 10 miles high, thinking it was Toby stepping out of his house. However, Toby didn't appear. Instead, two figures were coming from around the corner. I slowly laid down onto the ground, trying to regain my composure, and watched the two figures carefully. When they got closer, I noticed it was two men. The one in front was practically bouncing down the path, looking really excited for something. He was swinging a toolbox wildly in one hand and an axe in the other, and his spiky blue hair was bobbing up and down with each leap and bound he took. The one behind him was lugging many boards of wood over his shoulders, and he looked like an overloaded donkey with blonde hair and freckles. He cautiously avoided getting to close to the man in front of him.
"L-L-Luke!" the blonde gasped out, sounding very tired. "Can you tone down on the axe-swinging…just a little? I can see my life flashing before my eyes."
The blue-haired man in front of him, who I guessed to be Luke, turned around and began running backwards while looking at the blonde. "Aww, come on, Bo. Aren't you excited at ALL? Pops finally let us out of that workshop after, like, WEEKS!"
Bo coughed. "Actually, it's was only a day…and maybe I'd be more excited if I wasn't carrying all of the wood…I dunno. Just a guess. And why do we even need all this wood, anyway? It's like we have to build a whole house or something! All we have to do is fix a little crack! What're we even going to do with this wood? I'll probably end up carrying all of it back home…again…A-are you listening to me, Luke?"
Luke had turned around, obviously pretending not to hear him. I could now see that he had an abnormally huge grin on his face. He began running ahead of Bo, and he turned off the path and into the grass. He stomped on the ground happily. "Yeah! First snow of the season!" he shouted. He suddenly stopped running and turned around to admire his footprints. "Snow is so awesome! Come on, Bo, we should make snow angels and stuff."
Bo rolled his eyes and continued down the path. Luke sighed heavily and reluctantly followed. Very, very reluctantly, as was apparent by the fact he literally dragged his feet over to Bo. At this point I had taken some interest in these two and, figuring I had nothing else to do, decided to follow.
Luke had eventually gotten ahead of Bo again and continued with his axe-swinging. He got a stern yelling from a fat lady with pink hair and a big nose, and I noticed some peach-haired guy swear at him, but neither seemed to have any effect on his behavior. After following them for awhile, I felt like I had travelled the same path very recently. That's when I realized, I did. Just yesterday, this was the exact path I followed Toby down. I began to grow weary, and hoped it didn't end in the same place, too.
My hopes were crushed, and my pace greatly slowed as I watched the two men walk over to the dock. I froze in place as soon as I saw Ozzie standing there. He was standing behind the fishing boat that was once leaning in the corner of the shop. The front of it had been smashed to pieces, and countless more cracks had appeared in the bottom of it. I flinched at the sight of it, deciding I definitely shouldn't get too close. Ozzie looked up at the two men walking over to him and smiled.
"Oh, you must be the carpenters. Thank you for coming." Ozzie looked down at the boat. "Well, here it is. I need the front patched up, and maybe have it waxed. Doesn't have to be anything fancy. All I really want is for it to float again."
Bo laid the boards he was carrying onto the ground with a happy sigh. While Bo was crouched down, I noticed that Toby was standing right behind him. Part of me was happy to see him, but most of me was way too scared to go over there.
Luke had been staring at the boat with a blank look on his face. Bo got a good look at it, and the two carpenters looked at each other with puzzled looks. Ozzie frowned at this gesture.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked, worried.
Luke looked at Ozzie and quickly shook his head. "No, of course not! We can fix your boat and stuff, no problem." He grinned widely.
Bo stepped forward. "Um, it's just that…well, we were told we only had to fix a little crack in it…" his voice trailed off shyly.
Ozzie sighed heavily. "Yeah, that WAS the case." He sharply glanced over to Toby. I recoiled at this gesture, feeling a pang of guilt. I knew it was my fault that Toby was in trouble. Toby, however, seemed unphased by his uncle. He just smiled and calmly folded his hands.
Ozzie looked back over to the carpenters. "I'm sorry about this. When I placed my order, there really was nothing but a crack in it. I am prepared to pay extra for the inconven-"
"Nah, it's cool!" Luke interrupted, a little too enthusiastically. "I'm sure Pops…uh…Dale, won't mind. If he does, I can just tell him I broke it! He's used to it by now!" He started to laugh.
Ozzie looked at him, surprised. "Oh, well…thank you. That is very kind of you." Obviously not knowing what else to say, he nodded at Toby. "I should get back to the counter. You stay here in case they need help with the design." Before Toby could react, Ozzie went into the shop.
Luke placed his axe and toolbox down with a grin. "See, Bo? I TOLD you to bring the wood, and look! We're gunna need it!" He brushed some hair from out of his face.
Bo grumbled unhappily. "If you're so confident, maybe you should carry it next time…"
Luke looked over to Bo, still grinning. "Huh? Didya say something?"
"I said…we should get to work now."
Luke nodded in agreement, and the two started their work. Toby walked over to a nearby crate and slowly sat upon it. He folded one leg over the other and leaned back, looking up at the sky. He had a smile on his face, and looked so…at peace. It made me feel at peace as well. I sat down, suddenly and strangely relaxed…
…until I felt something breathe down my neck. I turned around as slowly as I could, and there was Raider. He was breathing heavily and was sporting one of the creepiest looks I have ever witnessed in all my nine lives. His razor-sharp teeth were spread across his face, and his brow was raised in such a way that it immediately brought to mind the idiosyncratic look of a rapist. I felt my inner peace fly out of my ears, and I jumped back into the middle of the road, accidentally yelling out a loud squeal. Raider laugh loud and hard at this, and I just huffed angrily at him.
Before it occurred to me what I had just done, I heard a loud "SWEET!" My feet were suddenly off the ground, and I was staring into a pair of yellow eyes. Luke was lifting me high into the air as if I were some sort of play-thing. I tried to wiggle free, feeling absolutely mortified, but Luke refused to put me down.
"Aww, hey, kitty cat! Meow, meow!" he chanted, bobbing me up and down to the point where I felt extreme motion sickness and, not to mention, humiliation. As if that wasn't bad enough, he brought me over to Bo and placed me down into his mat of blonde hair. I tried to keep myself from falling, but luckily Luke was still holding onto me.
"Haha, Bo! You have a cat on your head!" Luke laughed.
Bo moaned. "Come on, Luke, I'm not doing this work all by myself!"
"Okay, okay!" said Luke. I was half-expecting him to lower me back to the ground, so it was an unpleasant surprise when he simply walked away, leaving me on the top of Bo's head. I automatically clung to his head for dear life in the only way I knew how, and Bo let out a small cry of pain. I jumped off as quickly as I could and put space between us, afraid he would try and hurt me in return. Bo, however, just rubbed his head a little and continued to work, and I sighed with relief.
I looked over at Raider, who was now laughing even harder. I gave him my best I'm going to kill you look before feeling a hand upon my head. I looked up and there was Toby, looking down at me with a smile. All fear that I had of him being angry with me simply vanished when I saw his peaceful face.
"Good morning, kitty. Did you like your fish? I would have stayed to watch you eat it, but I had to go to work…Anyways, nice to see you again."
It took me a while to understand what he was talking about, but then I remembered the fish I found in the morning. It was from him! Maybe I wasn't as awesome as I originally thought myself to be.
A day that was originally going to be boring and cold turned into a relaxing one. As the carpenters were hammering away, I watched Toby fish from off the dock. He caught many fish, and even gave some of the smaller ones to me. By the end of the day, I was stuffed and one very happy "kitty". Raider watched from the shadows for the majority of the time. I stuck my tongue out at him every time, but in all honesty, I did feel a bit guilty.
"Eyy Toby!" shouted Luke. "We're done with the boat!"
Toby looked down at the fish in his hand. "I guess this is the last catch of the day. Hmm…looks like a part of its fin was bitten off." He placed it on the ground in front of me to let me know I could have it. I knew if I tried to eat the fish, I'd probably explode. Instead of eating it, I knew exactly what I should do with it. I picked the fish up carefully and carried it over to the billboard sign in front of the shop. Raider was lying underneath it, trying to fall asleep. I made sure he was watching before I placed the fish in front of him.
"Wait…what's this?" he asked in a confused tone.
"It's yours," I said bluntly. I was going to leave it at that, but Raider was still giving me a strange look. "If I eat another fish, I think I might throw up…which is why I'm giving it to you," I explained.
Raider grinned, a little sheepishly. "Oh, Daisy, you're the most wonderful cat in the world!" I raised my brow at him, and he just laughed. "Sorry, I should learn to stop doing that…"
I walked back over to Toby, who was now in a conversation with Luke.
"This boat looks pretty sweet!" said Luke. "Hey, do you think I could use it sometime? Or I could use it with you or something?"
Toby looked surprised. "It's only a fishing boat, though."
"Yeah? We could fish in it and stuff. It'll be fun! Right?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess you just didn't strike me as the fishing type." Luke gave him a confused look, so Toby quickly added "I mean, fishing is about patience and relaxation, and I'm afraid it may seem a little boring to you."
"I never count things out until I try 'em myself!" Luke punched a fist into the air enthusiastically.
Toby laughed lightly. "Well, ok, if you say so."
Ozzie came out of the shop to examine the newly repaired boat. He nodded with approval. "It looks great. Please give Dale my regards." After the two carpenters gathered up their supplies and left, Ozzie turned to Toby and said "You're free to go. See you tomorrow."
Since I lived right next to Toby, I decided to give him permission to walk me home. I took my place under Ben's Tree, as usual, and watched Toby enter his house. I couldn't help but notice a look of hesitation right before he entered, as his eyes switched between me and the door handle. He eventually entered his house slowly and without a word.
The night already felt warmer than the last, and I fell asleep easy.
