Snarkie and Krov made their way through the city streets, he waved every now and then to his admirers as they scowled from within their dark corners and shoddy shops up at the arrogant little Aerix. Completely oblivious to their true feelings about him, Snarkie blew a kiss to one of the shrouded creatu, who returned it with a rude gesture. Krov witnessed the indignity of the creatu’s action and growled, but was patted between the shoulder blade with the clawed talon of the Aerix and was told. “Pay them no mind, my dear friend. They are only jealous of my grandeur and endeavor to be me.” Snarkie took the hat off his head, smoothed down his Mohawk feathers, replaced the hat and adjusted his monocle.

“As I said, what a wonderful day, Krov,” Snarkie continued from a conversation they never had, not openly, at least. “The sun couldn’t be sunnier, the air couldn’t be airier, and the ground couldn’t be… groundlier.” Snarkie hooked the studded part of his cane around one of the spikes protruding from Krov’s back to lean down and scoop up a talon-full of dirt. The added weight to his side caused Krov to turn in that direction, walking face-first into the side of a building, crunching his nose into the firm wall and nearly knocking Snarkie off his mount.

“OI! YOU GNAT-BRAINED STEED! YOU ALMOST KNOCKED ME OFF YOUR BACK!” The Aerix snapped, hoisting himself back up and clicking his beak. Krov sheepishly backed up and muttered something under his breath, but was brushed off when Snarkie said. “No, no, no. I don’t want to hear your excuses. Just march. We’ve got to meet with my dreadful sister.” Snarkie rubbed his face with his hand full of soil, forgetting he was holding it. With a disgusted ex
pression, he glanced around to see if there were any witnesses, then snagged a damp towel that was hanging from a clothes line nearby as they rode by it, and wiped his face clean, then dropped the towel to the ground and urged Krov to move faster, glancing around behind him to see if there was an angry female pursuing them

Snarkie’s sister’s house was elaborate and complex, although it appeared simple enough on the outside. One could say that it looked as though someone had raided the box factory with a year’s worth of boxes and it was turned into a marvelous castle… which coincidentally was its name. The Marvelous Cardboard Box Castle stood paramount to all the other homes within the slums. The bottom boxes had attained a dirty, musty appearance to them through the many wet seasons and having absorbed the moisture from the soil, which refused to absorb anything other than sunlight, sunlight, and more sunlight. The soil around his sister’s home resembled that of a mixture between dried paint on leather that was left out in the desert sun for several long, agonizing years. Then someone tried to chop it up with a butter knife but was unsuccessful so they stomped on it out of frustration.

As Krov approached the large door—which was prepared especially for him—Snarkie knocked on the pane and called out. “Dear sister, I have arrived!” A head poked out from among the many layers of the castle and a gleeful giggle was heard. “Who is iiiiiit~?” Called out the small, sweet voice from among the cardboard boxes.  A certain undesirable frustration set upon Snarkie as he huffed and crossed his arms, tapping his heeled boot against one of Krov’s spikes.

When the door did not open, Snarkie barked. “Sister! It’s me, your brother!”
“I don’t recall having a brother~”
“WHAT!? Don’t you make me get Krov to bust down your little home to find you!”
“He wouldn’t dare! He loves me too much.”
The Berrok turned to Snarkie and said. “RAAWFFFF GRRRAAAALGRRRRR.”

“It pains me to know where your loyalties lie, my gorgeous steed,” responded Snarkie as he pressed the back of his talon to his forehead and faked a sob. “Sister, let me in!”

“What is your name?” She called out from atop her castle. By then she had turned her back to them and was picking at her claw and flicking the dirt she scraped out over her shoulder.

With an exaggerated sigh, Snarkie responded. “Sir Snarkie Pants…” Several snickers could be heard from behind him as he glared down at the counterfeit ruby embedded upon the top of his cane. His reflection a reddened version of his perfect self, which perfectly suited his current mood.

“And what else~?”
“Lord of the pot holes…”
“Aaaaand~?”
“I have come to give my loyalties to you, Marvelous Queen.”
“Ooooo~ That’s very sweet, but why else are you here?”

Confusion now replaced his frustration. Usually that was the response she demanded from him every time, but now it was different. He raked his brain for a possible answer. Once he found it, a sense of hopelessness set in and he muttered something inappropriate under his breath and announced. “Because you asked me to come.”

“That’s right! You are such an obedient little servant. Come on in. Dark Rose, open the door for my brother and Krov.” And with that, she vanished from her perch into the castle. The doors opened slowly as the darkly coloured Otachie revealed herself and gazed at them both. “She awaits in the dining area.” And with that, she vanished into the darkness.

“I hate that Otachie. Thinking she’s better than us. She’s dirt, I say. Dirt!” Snarkie seethed, fuming on top of Krov, who glanced around for the Otachie to catch one more glimpse of her. When his mount didn’t respond to his statement, Snarkie tapped his cane on his shoulder spike and said. “OI! You don’t have feelings for her, do you?”

“RASDLFHALKGGGGOOWEI!”

“… right then.” Snarkie said, quirking a brow and gazing down at him through his monocle, then his attention was brought back up to where his sister was, sitting on the other side of the table, looking as marvelous as ever.

She had an elaborate dress on that fluffed out in the back due to her tail being there. It dragged along the ground in a flowing train wherever she went. Feathers lined the end of her bodice, around her waist. Her bodice fit her form excellently and was encrusted with multi-coloured stones in the middle of the chest piece in the shape of a diamond, which lead the rim of her bodice to curve upward into a heart-shaped figure. She looked rather eloquent, but Snarkie knew better than to judge this book by her cover.

“Oh dear brother, it’s good to see I still have a little bit of control over you, even though it is reluctant and spiteful at times,” Marvelous said while signaling him to take a seat in the makeshift chair down the table from her. He crawled down from Krov’s back and sent him away to go chase after his current interest. “I must be honest with you, dear brother. I have brought you here because of your birthday.”

A suspicious gaze was given to her as Snarkie examined his sister’s ex
pression. Satisfied with his inspection, he responded. “My lovely sister, do not lie to me. You have brought me here simply to remind me that, despite all I have done for you, I will always be lower and insignificant to you. You always find humour in my dismay, and always will.” Feeling quite smug and proud of himself, Snarkie crossed his arms and tapped his cane against the table, which too was made of cardboard.

“Oh no, no! I wouldn’t be cruel about such a thing. You misjudge me, older brother.” Came the hurt and saddened response.

Knowing his sister better than to believe her on the second round, he quipped. “PAH! And what happened two birthdays ago?”

Marvelous took a moment to ponder what happened, then giggled mischievously and said. “Oh brother, what’s a little joke among siblings?”

“You had me plucked and re-feathered while I was unconscious from Dark Rose bashing me in the head with a frying pan.”

“AH HA HA HA HA! Oh brother stop, you’re too funny~.” Marvelous said while clutching her sides and rocking a bit in her chair through her fit of laughter, though that was the only sound in the entire castle. “No, my brother. To prove to you that I am sincere, I present to you with this gift. Come and get it from me.” She held out a perfectly wrapped box with a pale blue wrapping paper and a vibrant red ribbon tied neatly into a bow on top.

Ever the skeptical about his sister, Snarkie approached carefully and plucked the box from her talons and scrutinized the package. It smelled like her house. No doubt it was a box from one of her rooms that she wasn’t sure what to do with since it was too small. He ripped off the ribbon and wrapping paper and pulled out an exquisite ring. “Oh my…” he whispered. The ring had three gems encrusted upon the surface with an elaborate design. It looked something like what one of the Guardians would wear. The silver was comprised of two different strands that twisted between each other and hooped around the gems. The middle being the largest, a ruby, and the two surrounding it were diamonds.

The present was unlike any he had seen before and he promptly put it on his right index finger. “Sister, this is marvelous!” Snarkie exclaimed, admiring the ring in the light.

“It is so me, isn’t it?” She said while watching his gleeful ex
pression. “Now this ring has magic properties. It exaggerates any feeling that others hold towards you.”

As Snarkie continued to examine the ring on his finger and admire how beautiful it looked on there, he reflected to how everyone felt about him. “If…” he said, getting slow to realize the magnitude of his situation. “If everybody loves and adores me already… just imagine how much they’d love and adore me if I wore this ring!”

A large smile appeared on the beak of Marvelous as she patted her brother’s back and said. “Absolutely, Snarkie. Now go and show everyone your ring and bask in their undying love!”



As Snarkie and Krov marched through the dusty streets, the people began to flood out of their homes and shout angrily at Snarkie. The sun glinted off the ring and cast a reflection upon all their faces, infuriating them more. To Krov, he began to walk a little faster because of the fear he felt from their angry shouts and menacing fist shaking and their current fascination with throwing objects at them. To Snarkie, however, it seemed as though they all cheered for him and glorified his presence. “Yes, my beloved people! I have returned! Please, please. One at a time, my mount can’t support all of you!”

Krov panicked and darted on forward, fleeing the mass crowd of people trying to climb up on him. Doing so nearly knocked Snarkie off his back and caused him to yell angrily. “KROV, YOU RAMPAGING IDIOT! WATCH WHAT YOU’RE DOING!” He clung to one of the spikes on the Berrok’s back and held onto his hat as they bounded through the narrow streets until they came to a dead end. Krov glanced around frightfully as a group of people closed in on them.

Snarkie slid off his mount to greet his citizens. As he hit the ground, everyone began to rush towards him. When one pulled one of his feathers out, Krov jumped in between them and roared, scaring them all back effectively and giving him enough time to grab Snarkie in his teeth and jump over a wall.

Once safe from the mob, Krov dropped Snarkie to the ground and sat over him. Snarkie reflected a bit on what just happened, then said. “They don’t like me much, do they?”

“GRUUUUUU.”
“… I’ve been fooling myself…”
“BRAAWWRRR GRUUUUDARRRRRGGGG.”
“WHAT?! Of course they love me, but my sister is a slimy witch and has tricked me yet again!”
“GUUUUURRRRRRR…”

Snarkie snapped up and snapped his fingers. “Let’s sneak into her castle at night and slip the ring onto her toe. She’ll never see it because of that gaudy dress and everyone will hate her more than me!” The plan caused Snarkie to cackle evilly and work fast to pull the ring off his talon and start towards the castle. Krov whined and followed a few steps before Snarkie said. “NO! I must do this myself. If she sees you then she’ll get suspicious, but I am as agile as a cat and sneaky as a… cat.” Snarkie ran across the roof tops with the ring in his talons and scaled the higher roofs with the help of his small wings.

Once he reached his sister’s castle, he glanced around carefully, knowing Dark Rose would be around somewhere. When he didn’t spot her, Snarkie made his way up the side of the castle and heaved himself over the wall. The black Aerix took a moment to wipe his brow of the imaginary sweat that had formed and took off yet again in search of his sister’s room.

Once there, he found himself trapped on the balcony due to the large Otachie blocking the doorway. Deciding he couldn’t be bothered with more sneaking around, Snarkie stepped to the right once and began to cut through the cardboard and broke in through the side. The cutting had awoken Dark Rose, but she was easily handled with a swift cane to the head, knocking her unconscious. As quickly as he arrived, Snarkie ran to his sister’s bed, pulled up her dress enough to just see her toes, put the ring on her smallest talon and made his escape, pulling the cut cardboard up as he left and securing it in place.



The next day, as Snarkie and Krov walked along the streets as usual and acting their usual selves, they spotted a large group of people in front of the Marvelous Cardboard Box Castle and they approached to see what the hubbub was about.

“She’s in there! We know she is!” Whispered one.
“She better come out soon…” Said another.
“I can’t WAIT for her to come out and greet us!”

Snarkie chuckled to himself and rubbed his talons together and watched as the doors opened, revealing a bandaged Dark Rose and a magnificent Marvelous. Instantly the crowd cheered and screamed her name. They kept their distance, however, but reached to her, which she kindly met their reaches and touched their hands and paws. Snarkie stared at them wide-eyed. Why did they not mob her like they did to him? As Marvelous began to speak, Snarkie tapped the right shoulder spike of Krov’s and he began to saunter down the street.

“Clearly that ring only works if it’s on a talon!” Reasoned Snarkie, to which Krov groaned a bit and shook his head.