30. Maggie

30

Maggie

Maggie was so bored she was going to die.

Everyone had stayed cooped up inside all day. And not even the interesting part of inside! Every time she tried to go and find out what was hiding under the house, someone grabbed her and said she'd better not. As though NOT was ever BETTER.

At least there were lots of people around. And she had her hoard-box back now. Maybe she could trick some of them into getting into it? Except it wasn't big enough, and no matter how many times she dragged it in front of them, they just picked it up and said, "Oh, be careful with that, Maggie, you don't want someone to trip on it!" When that was EXACTLY WHAT SHE WANTED.

The eely ladies were fun. They had told Maggie how beautiful she was, and how impressive her hoard was. She might have wanted to add them to her hoard, but they smelled a bit like the man who kept hanging around Pointy Teeth Lady and she… still wasn't sure about him. And then the eel ladies went and swam in the big horrible wet, so definitely not. Even though they brought fishes back to eat. And let Maggie eat them.

The big lion-man was no fun. He wouldn't let her sneak past him downstairs at all . His mate, the one who smelled like a bird, played with Maggie for a bit—good!—but then she realized that all the playing was to keep her away from the interesting downstairs. BAD.

Lance kept looking at his "phone" and groaning, or talking to people on the little screen and sounding grumpy and then putting it down and groaning more.

Keeley… Keeley had cuddled her lots. That was fine. She wanted to cuddle Keeley, too, but she also kind of wanted to be mad at her for being so far away for so long. The same way she was mad at the big dragon! Where was he?

Oh.

Far away.

Way way away, past the… big water.

But that was all earlier. It was dark now, but the dark wasn't like it had been when it was just her and Pointy Teeth Lady and the tentacle man. There were so many bits of light in this darkness. Moving lights and zooming lights and faraway glowing lights. They were all far away. But close enough to get to, if she could just… maybe… just maybe…

But no one would take her there , to poke at the lights and the moving things, no matter how hard she bit them. They kept just saying, "It's the middle of the night," and "We're trying to sleep, Maggie," and singing her stupid little songs and cuddling her. She didn't want songs or cuddles. She wanted—she wanted—THINGS.

Maybe food? Was that what she wanted? Maybe more fishes? Maybe maybe?

Food, she thought desperately, rolling around on top of Keeley and Lance in their bed. Fishes! Fishes fishes fishes.

Lance rolled over, one arm over his eyes, and groaned. "We should nail a lid on top of the cot."

"Like with goldfish," Keeley murmured beside him.

"Goldfish?"

"Like… If you've got a cat."

"More like nailing the cat in…" Lance yawned. "Remind me in the morning."

They were both HORRIBLE. Maggie hissed and tried to find somewhere to bite them both again, but they hid under the covers.

"It's time to sleep, sweetheart," Keeley murmured from under the blankets.

Maggie threw herself down in misery. She didn't want to sleep! She wanted to go OUT.

But… she didn't need Keeley or Lance to go out, did she?

Ooh. She could take herself out.

Then she would go and find the big dragon and show him how she was BIG and SCARY and she should be allowed to go out all the time, wherever she wanted. And make him tell her what a goldfish was.

The room was locked up, because her furry parents didn't actually want her taking herself anywhere, but that didn't stop her. She waited until they were both asleep, then pried open the lock on the door, then the other lock, and the "baby-proofing" lock, and crept out into the hallway.

The house was locked too, because pffffff stupid reasons, but she knew how to deal with that. It was even easier than getting out of the room! No one had guessed that she could squeeze herself out the tiny gap in the highest window in the bathroom on the second floor, but she could!

Oh. She also could have zapped herself through it. She tried, just to be sure. Pop, back inside. Pop, outside again. Aha! She could! Pop, pop, pop.

She stopped, her sides heaving. That was fun! But also, hard.

She didn't like hard.

Maggie crouched on the edge of the roof, waiting for the tiredness to go away. It took soooooo long. Should she change her shape? Hrm. Hrm hrm. No. The other shape would have more energy, but it was also very very dumb. It couldn't even walk. It didn't have ANY teeth.

She gnashed her teeth together to remind herself how good her teeth were and trilled smugly.

Behind her, some people were shouting. Someone was calling to her, but pfffff. They weren't as interesting as this: the cool night air whispering over her wings, promising her that she could fly very high and very fast and be the best dragon of all. The ocean was shining in the moonlight. It was big, and scary, and very horrible bad, but…

She tilted her head and chirruped. The ocean was big and horrible and wet, but looking at it now, it shone like a very large and very precious thing. Was the ocean a treasure? Could it be her treasure?

That was the best thought she'd ever had. She bet it could be. Even if it was scary. SHE would be SCARIER. She would show it!

She gathered herself up, ready to launch.

"Maggie? There you are! What are you doing?"

Carol was wearing a flappy robe over the not-very-much clothing that Maggie's grown-ups wore at night. It was still more clothing than they ever managed to make Maggie wear. Carol was rubbing her eyes and staring up at Maggie like something was terribly wrong.

Which it was! She'd almost caught her!

Maggie blew a raspberry at the shocked shark shifter and jumped out the window.