The Journey

The ship rocked gently on the becalmed sea. Unceasing sunshine made days a bit too hot for Louis. "I miss Lobsteronia," he sighed. "It was hot during the summer, but never THIS hot." He plumped back down in his throne-basket, bag of munchies in one hand, TV remote in the other.

Scratch came and sat next to the giant lobster king. "Do you think Lobsteronia was maybe a bit further north?" she asked
.
"It's possible," Louis admitted. "It was a lot colder during the winter than it is here. I don't remember much, but I do seem to remember that much..."

"Perhaps we should set sail and head to more northerly climates," Scratch suggested. "the fish have gotten scarce in this neighborhood. Not that I eat the stuff, but I know you like them. "

"Do you mean it? Can we travel someplace new?" Louis wriggled excitedly.

Scratch thought a moment. "It may involve leaving Dent behind though. And it may take time to get where we're going. And it may involve joining a crew on another ship once we get there. Do you think you can handle all that?"

Louis stroked his chin with an oversized floppy claw. "Those things ARE scary to contemplate, aren't they? I don't know--it would take some thinking, certainly. But changes are always scary ones, even ones that may turn out for the best. Who can say? Sometimes you just have to dive in and see what's under the surface."

"--And hope you don't drown..." mused Scratch.

Mort the dragon waddled in. "I come for your crunchy gold squares of cheese, woman." He grinned. He noted Louis' and Scratch's serious expressions and the smile faded. "What? are they on strike at the cracker factory? What's up?"

"Scratch and I are discussing pulling anchor, or at least joining another ship. There isn't much here for her to do...although she hasn't let me in on what she'd be doing at the other place", said Louis.

"Scholar. I'd be going back to school." Scratch grinned.

"Oh," said Mort. He sat back on his haunches and looked at the cook and the lobster. "Can I come too?"

"Well, YEAH," said Scratch. "You don't think I'd leave you to your own devices, do you? You'd have the cracker factory knocked off before I could say 'Cheez-it'. "

"Hurrah!" cheered the little dragon. He did an excited backflip and landed on his head. "Ouch."
Scratch picked up the little dragon and rubbed his head. "And you never know, they may have shiny stuff there, too, to put in your basket."

"BONUS!" snorted Mort. "Always a plus. When do we start?"

"Preparations are underway. May take a while though," said Scratch.

"I can be patient. As long as I have my cheese crackers, I'm content......" Mort bounced on to the floor and nosed the pantry door open. "Just say the word, my dear Scratch, and I'll help ya pack."

"I, too", said the lobster. "At least the packing part. Don't know about the cheese crackers. Unless they're 'goldfish' ones." The King smiled.