As they reentered the Fairygrounds, Oliver point at the Cavity Club.
"Ha! Look at Mr. Drippy!" They looked and saw him surrounded by all the littlies, who were cheering for him. He seemed, pretty happy.
"Hee hee!" Esther giggled. "He does have a caring side after all!"
"Hm. Family's family, I suppose..." Swaine muttered. Abyssa put her hand on his shoulder.
"Mr. Drippy..." Oliver muttered. Abyssa put her other hand on his shoulder. "...this is where you need to be." Esther turned to them.
"Shall we go?" She asked. Abyssa nodded.
"Maybe we should. This is where he belongs, after all." Oliver sighed and turned around, Abyssa adjusting her position so that she had her arm around him.
"...Yeah." He whispered. "...it is, huh." She knew that Oliver didn't want to leave Drippy behind.
When they got back to the boat, Oliver called out to the captain.
"Captain Sindbah!" Sindbah turned around and grinned at the group.
"Oliver!? Thank goodness! Tell me that you at least found somewhere to shelter at night..." Abyssa remembered that they hadn't gone back to the ship last night.
"We sure did!" Oliver said. "And we brought a ton of food, too! There's a little village on the island, and-"
"A village, you say?" Sindbah interrupted him again. "And food, also... I am pleased to learn this. And you will be pleased to learn that my men have completed their repairs to the ship. She is ready to sail upon your command! Shall I give the order to weigh anchor?" Oliver hesitated, then nodded.
"Uhh... yes. Yes please." Sindbah wasn't convinced.
"Hm? You are troubled, I feel. Have you left something behind in the forest?" Oliver shook his head.
"...No. No, we're ready to go!" Sindbah seemed to sense he was lying, but nodded.
"Very well! We sail!" They got on the ship and watched as Teeheeti became smaller and smaller.
"We did the right thing...didn't we?" Oliver asked.
"Of course." Esther told him. "Family is the most important thing there is. We all know that." Swaine and Abyssa exchanged glances, but she said nothing.
"And besides, he's no spring chicken." Swaine said, instead what he and Abyssa were both thinking. "It's probably about time he settled down." Abyssa came over and patted Oliver's shoulder.
"And you've still got us, Oliver!" She told him. "The four of us can do this if we work together!" Oliver nodded.
"I guess so..."
"Ooooooooooooooooooi!" They heard. They looked around.
"Hm? Did you hear that?" Esther asked.
"Huh?" Oliver said, staring out at sea. They looked back at Teeheeti and saw cloud of dust, being made by Drippy!
"Ooooooooooooooooooi!" He shouted again, running across the water and jumping onto the ship.
"Mr. Drippy?" Oliver said as he flew over their heads and landed on his feet in front of them.
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" He asked them. Then he kneeled over, panting. "Phew! I'm pooped, mun! You trying to leave without me or something!?" He demanded of the four humans.
"But... Drippy... We thought you wanted to stay back there in the Fairyground." Esther told him. He got upset.
"Who told you that, mun? And when, exactly? I want names, dates, times!"
"We just though...all your friends are back there." Oliver said.
"Course they are, mun! And they're very dear to me-even the stupid ones! But you and me have been a team now since you were a littlie and I was just a doll, en't it, Ollie-boy? I've been at youer side through thick and thin! Remember what you said? You said I was youer friend! You lot are all my friends! My companions! My brothers and sisters! My family." Swaine groaned.
"Eurgh. I'm going to be sick." He muttered. Abyssa punched him in the shoulder.
"Shut up, that's sweet!" She said. "You're one of the stupid ones he loves dearly." Swaine gave her a dirty look as Drippy continued.
"Thank you, Abby-girl! What I mean is, you lot are stuck with me whether you like it or not, so get it through youer thick skulls, will you?"
"Yes, Sir, Mr. Drippy!" Esther put her hands on her hips.
"Hmph! We were only trying to be nice after we heard what you said to your friends yesterday!" Drippy flipped.
"Oh, so it's my fault now, is it?" He demanded. "I get it! You don't think I've been pulling my weight, is it? Fine! I'm going to start using a little trick I know that'll blow youer tiny minds!"
"Heh, I can't wait to see this." Abyss muttered.
"Anyway, it looks like the gang's all here. Shall we get back to what we're supposed to be doing?" Swaine demanded.
"What he said!" Drippy agreed. "To Hamelin, and the next Great Sage! Autumnia, here we come!"
"Let's go!" Oliver agreed.
Later, Abyssa borrowed the Wizard's Companion to read some of the Twelve Tales of Wonder. She found one called The Fairy Who Wouldn't Stop Crying. It was about a little fairy who had seen something so terrible that he always cried. A wizard came by one day and drank from a pool of his tears, then asked why he was crying. The fairy told him it was because he was afraid of the dark. So the wizard gave him a lantern and hung it on the end of his nose, making the fairy much braver forever. Abyssa laughed as Drippy passed by her.
"Oi, Byssy-girl! What's so funny?" She pointed to the story.
"Drippy, I didn't know you were such a Cry Baby Bunting!" He looked at the page and gasped.
"Mam!" Then he ran off and hid, Abyssa still laughing at him.
"Oh come on back here, Little Lord Lard!"