Wonderful Walas

Written for Shipping Week on Morsmordre
Prompt: wallaby
Pairing: Quico/wala

After the success of the beach tea party, Dragon started thinking that her beloved goat man would benefit from a family vacation. Something that would let him take a well deserved rest, away from the farm and all the work that came with raising more than a dozen goats.

When she was left wondering where they should go, Quico tugged on her sleeve and held up his koala plushie. "Wala!" he chirped. "Wala go home!"

"That's a brilliant idea, Quico. We could surprise Aberforth with a vacation to Australia." Dragon liked the idea, even though she knew it would be difficult to afford such a vacation. She would have to dip into her savings because traveling by portkey wasn't an option this time. Not with two Muggle children and a son who might puke and pass out from the sudden departure. Still, she decided it would be worth it. Aberforth really needed a vacation, and it would be good for Credence to get out once in a while.

Once their vacation was booked (four months of salary down the drain) and their bags were packed, Quico shuffled out the door with a suitcase that was on the verge of erupting. He was carrying his little wala tucked under his arm, but he had also packed everything he owned that had a koala on it. Including his favorite sippy cup, his koala shirt with matching hat and socks, and the complete DVD collection of The Noozles.

Credence needed help packing because he wasn't sure how to dress for a vacation to Australia. He didn't know what the weather would be like, so his daughter provided him with a safari outfit that she purchased online using one of Ramon's credit cards.

"Safari?" Credence said, sounding a little confused. His daughter nodded and smiled at him as she plopped the safari hat on his head. "But I thought we were going to the ocean... I wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef and let Chloe visit her family."

Chloe was Credence's pink seahorse stuffie. She was old and flat from all the years he had used her as a pillow, but he loved her all the same, holding her close and rubbing the soft fabric against his cheek. It would be nice if he could take her home to see the ocean and all her little seahorse friends.

Dragon thought about it for a moment. "I suppose we could see the reef as well. If Quico gets to go on a safari and see the koalas in their natural environment, then you should be able to see the reef and all the seahorses too."

Hearing this made Credence smile. He couldn't wait to go on vacation.

.oOo.

Naturally, the trip to the airport had its difficulties. They were detained for almost fifteen minutes because Aberforth smelled so strongly of dirt, dust, goats, and straw that the woman working with airport security swore he was trying to smuggle farm animals into another country.

"We don't have live animals," Dragon explained, hoping they would listen to her and let them board the plane. "Just a load of walas."

As if on cue, an explosion of koala paraphernalia spilled out of Quico's suitcase. Soleil ran past, chasing a naked Gel who leapt onto the nearest plane and stuck there, spread eagle, against the window. Why she was there, nobody really knows. But dementors love to travel just as much as Gellert enjoys streaking through public places.

It was enough of a distraction that the Dumbledore family and their assorted children were able to board the plane while nobody was looking. Everything was going fine until a tiny leaf queen went into the bathroom and exploded green chocolate pear soup all over the walls and floor. Chilindrina immediately threw her out the window while Credence vomited from the stench.

When they arrived in Australia, their first stop was to visit the Great Barrier Reef. They had already purchased a tour of the reef as part of the vacation package and were pleased to see their boat waiting for them as soon as they left the airport.

During the trip, Aberforth and Quico bonded over their lack of interest in sea creatures, with Quico angrily spouting, "No wala!" Chilindrina didn't help the situation. She stood beside Credence and Aberforth, looking down at the bountiful life that existed in the reef. When a whale breached the surface of the water, she cheerfully called out," Look, Grandpa! It's a humpback whale! They must have named it after you."

At least Credence was enjoying himself. He spent almost an hour admiring the colorful fish before falling asleep in his wheelchair and having to be brought back to their room for a nap.

.oOo.

Later that day, their exploration continued on the shores of Magnetic Island. Credence's detour to see the reef worked in their favor due to its close proximity to Magnetic Island, home to the largest koala population in northern Australia. Quico ran ahead of the group, only to be snagged by Dragon so he wouldn't get lost.

"Dada wala?" he asked, holding up his koala plushie. He was trying to ask why Credence couldn't come with them to see the koalas. He was really excited and wanted to share this moment with his honorary father. "Dada," he said again, this time holding up his family card.

Dragon sighed. It was difficult having to leave her son at the hotel with Aberforth, but at least they would have some quality time while she was out with the kids.

Gently, she told him, "I'm sorry, Quico. But since this is a hiking trip, Daddy isn't able to join us this time. The terrain is too rough, so we won't be able to push him in his wheelchair. However, you can take lots of pictures to show Daddy when we get back to the hotel." She held out a camera and placed the strap around his neck. Quico's mouth formed a perfect little O as he looked down at the camera and touched the leather straps. "See, Quico? Grandma is giving you a very important job. You're our photographer. How does that sound?"

Quico nodded enthusiastically. He promised to take pictures of everything, including all the birds and flowers, and once again darted off down the trail.

Before long, the forest floor was littered with photographs. Dragon put Credence's safari hat on the energetic child to keep the sun out of his eyes, gathered up the pictures, and together they continued on their way. Every now and then, Quico would stop and ask his koala plushie for directions. He'd hold the koala up to his ear and pretend it was talking to him.

Dragon knelt down beside him and could hear Quico whispering to his stuffie. "What does the wala say, Quico? Are we getting close to meeting up with the rest of his family?"

Looking into the canopy, Quico could see a multitude of leaves swaying gently in the breeze. They had to be getting close. He has studied koalas at home and knew these were eucalyptus trees. He held the koala's paw, making the stuffie point towards the path. Any minute now, they were bound to see some koalas.

Dragon turned her attention towards the trees, hearing the birds singing overhead. Quico heard them too, then he felt his heart sink. Credence loved birds. If only he could be here to see them.

His hand reached for the nearest bush, closing around a thick branch as he inched towards the edge of a hill. There was a bird's nest in the tree overhead. He only needed to move a little closer to get a good picture of the baby birds inside. The branches began to crack, giving out under his weight as he attempted to climb through the bushes and into the tree. Leaves went flying, the koala plushie was sent soaring through the air, and Quico took a tumble down the hill.

A cloud of dirt and dust rose into the air. Down he rolled, tumbling along until he came to a stop at the bottom. He was a little dazed, but otherwise unhurt. His koala, however, was no where to be seen.

"Wala?" Quico looked this way and that, his hat askew on his head. He adjusted his hat and sat up slowly. "Wala? Wala?!" His voice carried on the wind, but nobody was around to hear him. "...Uh oh..."

Quico was on the verge of tears when he was approached by a wallaby. The curious creature had something familiar in its pouch.

"Wala?" Crawling across the ground, Quico reached for the grey ear he saw peeking out of the pouch. His hand was inches away from the creature's pouch when a baby wallaby poked its nose out, its tiny paws curling around Quico's stuffie.

Part of him wanted to snatch the stuffie and make a run for it, but there was something delightfully cute about the little joey. "Babby," he burbled, patting the tiny wallaby on the head. The mother wallaby then scooped up Quico and tucked him into her pouch before bounding across the plains.

.oOo.

As soon as Dragon realized that Quico had gone missing, she summoned Rooney and Melba from one of her interdimensional microwaves, conveniently stored in her travel bag that had been charmed to hold many things. The kangaroo and koala knew every inch of the Australian outback and would be excellent guides to help her locate Quico.

Rooney went to the other kangaroos and asked if they had seen anything, while Melba scouted around and asked her fellow koalas for help locating the child. It took some time, but eventually they were pointed in the direction of a group of wallabys sunning themselves by a watering hole. In the shade of some trees by the water's edge, Quico was sharing the pouch of a mama wallaby with her baby, the both of them cuddling his stuffie and having a nap.

The trees overhead were filled with koalas, who were either sleeping on branches or serenely munching leaves. A scattering of photographs covered the ground, depicting several images of koalas and wallabys. Quico's adventure had been a success. His wala was able to spend time with its family and he had lots of pictures to show Credence when they went home.