Chapter 1

A young Puppet boy moves to a new town and meets two other kids.

The noon's summer wind carried with it the smells of flowers, herbs and the sea and delivered them to Mallory's room. His new room. The boy had his head rested on one of his hands, facing the open window with his eyes closed. Outside, the birds were singing.

It was hard to believe that this little place was their home now. Both Mallory and his ma had been born in the port city of Furthermore, a loud, active place. Meanwhile, the town of Moreover was practically silent in comparison. The sounds of the grove behind the street were the only indication that time was passing at all.

And then he heard a loud snap.

His eyes opened wide, and he had time to see a flock of birds flying away. Something had scared them off.

Without sparing a thought, he turned away from the window and put on a pair of comfortable shoes. Mallory went down the stairs, jumping down the steps in pairs, the sound of his tin joints echoing behind him, and reached their kitchen and living room. Ma was in the sofa, reading a book.

Ma was a lady of medium height and dark skin, her hair was short and puffy, and the same dark green as her eyes. Her clothes were in faded reddish colors, like an autumn day seen through mist.

“Ma, can I go out?” he asked.

She looked surprised for a second before a soft smile came to her face, “Well, is a safe street and a safe town. You can go, but don't walk too far away.”

“Okay!” Mallory jumped in place, turned and ran to the door. He heard his mother shout before closing it behind him:

“Hey! Remember to come back before dinner!”

“Yeees.” He answered.

Outside, the sun was even warmer without the coldness of a newly inhabited house to contrast it. He walked around the house and to the grove. There, the shades of the trees offered cover from the last light beams of the day. Most trees held leaves, some had fruits and some flowers. The dirt path had footprints. Recent footprints, protected from being erased by the breeze thanks to the trunks and bushes.

The young Puppet followed them, trying hard not to get distracted from his mission by the squeaks of rodents, the flash of a white rabbit or the buzzing of bumblebees. As he did, he wondered about what could have scared the birds. He wished it was something cool, like an evil ghost he could trap inside a jam jar. That would make the day interesting.

He reached a part of the grove where a tree of pale leaves and thin branches grew taller than the rest. It was there when he heard a pair of voices.

“… try it.”

“I can't. If you fell, it won't hold my weight either.”

The first one sounded masculine, the second one feminine. Mallory peeked from behind the tree and saw the owners of each voice.

A tall, slender boy with tanned skin, strawberry pink eyes and long braided hair in the same color stood with a leaf stuck on it next to a somewhat plump girl with short, messy white hair. His clothes were in dark, rich colors and hers were made of light fabrics and in earthly tones. A large, dark chocolate bag hanged from her right shoulder.

Mallory approached them, “Hi!”

The girl gasped and turned, giving Mallory enough time to see her eyes had purple irises. Then she hid behind the boy and her eyes disappeared from sight.

The boy frowned for a second. Then his face shifted to a friendly smile. Mallory noticed that he had very faint freckles over his nose, like stars dotting the night sky.

“Hey there,” he said, “You must be the new guy in town.”

“Yeah, but, um, who are you two?”

“It is rude to interrupt others’ conversations” pointed out the girl. She moved from her hiding spot but didn't look at his face, preferring to focus her gaze lower.

“I wasn't interrupting you. You two interrupted my exploration.” It was true, he convinced himself. With a start, he remembered what drove him to the grove, “Did you see an evil ghost here?”

“E-evil ghost?!” The girl stuttered.

The boy just laughed, “Nah, it's just us.”

Mallory's enthusiasms deflated like a balloon, “Oh.” They must have been the bird terrorizers, then.

“An evil ghost would be cool, though. But we do have something cool in our hands right now. Blanche, can you show him?”

For the first time since he had seen her, the girl - Blanche - looked at him with something other than nervousness. She puffed her cheeks, eyes narrowed as if evaluating Mallory, still without looking him in the eye.

The boy elbowed her gently, and she released the balls of air in both sides of her mouth. Reaching for her bag, she left it on the ground and took out something big and round and the color of rock.

“Is that a stone?” wondered Mallory, a little disappointed.

The boy laughed again. “No! It's a dragon egg!” His smile widened alongside Mallory's eyes, “Isn't it great? We think it fell from the tree, and we're trying to put it back on its nest, but we can't climb it.” He coughed and then belatedly took the leaf out of his hair, throwing it aside. He inspected the Puppet boy with keen eyes, “Say, you look pretty athletic. Why don't you try it?”

“Of course!” He said, excitement clear in his voice. He reached for the egg in Blanche's hand, but she gave a step back.

“Are you sure, Partias?” she said in a near whisper.

“Calm down, Blanche. He looks our age, I don't think he's a dragon poacher.”

“… Okay.”

Finally, the egg passed hands. Partias told him the height the dragon nest should be, and to be careful of only holding onto the thicker branches, and then Mallory was on his way.

The wood trembled and creaked under his feet and free hand. Up and up, he made an effort to look carefully for the nest, until he saw a thing that looked like a weird mishmash of charred wood, shiny objects and bird feathers. That must be it.

A brief crack echoed, and he froze, but didn't fall.

Feeling movement in his occupied hand, he looked down at it. At first, relief filled him as he didn't see anything unusual. But then a rift began spreading through the egg's surface like a little river.

Mallory held his breath as the egg hatched in his arms.

Reviews

[1809 Black Plague Decem..]

Hellos, BRG, like the fact that there is more than one element here.
There is a puppet. There is a ghost. And two girls.
Only that the ghost is really is not a ghost the girls say,
but is there? love the write, just don't write that where it takes place is Furthermore,
give it a name, sinigsy ( a place that leads the story.) thank you Dear for being patient, keep writing, I will check on your work, if you have any questions, asks away, email me or in the group site, :P ---Maynard

[1809 Black Plague Decem..]

Hellos, BRG, like the fact that there is more than one element here.
There is a puppet. There is a ghost. And two girls.
Only that the ghost is really is not a ghost the girls say,
but is there? love the write, just don't write that where it takes place is Furthermore,
give it a name, sinigsy ( a place that leads the story.) thank you Dear for being patient, keep writing, I will check on your work, if you have any questions, asks away, email me or in the group site, :P ---Maynard