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Zora went to soldier training today. I FORGOT it was today and then I felt really bad for forgetting. We aren't going to see Zora for MONTHS. I know she'll be OK because she's really brave and TOUGH, but I'm still worried about her. I heard stories from grownups about how soldier training can be REALLY scary and people get hurt. Zora is the 1st ultra-modern person going to soldier training, though, so maybe they're used to modern people who get hurt more easily and it's not as DANGEROUS. Don't get killed, Zora! I don't know if you're my FAVORITE cousin any more, because you're so grownup, but I still love you.
We won't even see Zora in the Dreamlands, I think, because soldier training doesn't let people SLEEP very much. That's why Number-dad and Fairy-mom didn't do regular soldier training. Cats HAVE to sleep!
Last night in the Checkerland dream, we started getting the ships ready to sail BACK. We want to get safely to the harbor before HURRICANE season!
The judges decided they LIKE us, so they're sending 2 ships to go back with us to do diplomacies and make it easier to go back and forth. Race-teacher and Elephant Cat and everybody could only go in a leaf bubble because they did MAGIC PIRACY to find the way, so this time it has to be on ships, but they're taking magic plants to plant in Dragon-mayor's town and maybe other places so leaf bubbles can get there. They might go to the Northern Shores and plant one there so all the spidies can VISIT each other. I think that would be really nice.
I'm going to miss the Spider Who Braids Your Hair and Ricarica and Duckweed and Lilypad and all the KIDS in Checkerland. The Checkerland Exploration Club wanted to come, but their parents all said NO WAY no matter how much they cried. I don't think it's very dangerous, but my family does lots of exploring and monster hunting and scary stuff like that. Maybe we're TOO brave.
The Sea Dogs' mangrove has a magic plant to carry too, but DAPPER CAPYBARA and VULTURE QUEEN JILL don't, because they aren't ALIVE. I hope some of the checker cats will ride with us, even if the spidies and tree octos want to stay on the ships with BRANCHES.
Max and I had ice cream with goat cheese and blueberries and it was really good. Putting cheese in ice cream makes it WEIRD SMOOTH. Tiny Squeak liked the melted bits in the bowls, but her TUMMY didn't and she barfed BLUE all over Max's dress. Max shrieked but she didn't go to SHRIEK CITY. She hasn't in a long time, because she's getting more MATURE. She's 8 now!
Max ran inside to put her yucky dress in the laundry and then came out and said, "VV-gram, Squeaker barf on Max dress. Max dress in LAUNDRY." VV-gram tried to be really sorry, but Max said, "Max got SWIMSUIT." A bunch of us went to the pool and Big Sam came with us. He did CANNONBALL jumps to make HUGE splashes so everybody shrieked, but he was really nice to people too. I floated around and got to be a pirate ship for younger kids and it was really nice until the wind started making us cold. Ultra-modern people don't mind, but KITTENS do.
I'm glad Big Sam came to the pool with us. I think he needs more fun and more PEOPLE because he's sad about his family going away. His parents moved to another PLANET and now his KIDS are starting to leave home. I think that must be REALLY hard for parents. VV-gram is probably happy that her kitten didn't move very far away to have his OWN kittens.
After dinner, I went over to Hebichi's house and we practiced the music we got from the Dream Mountain Bugs. It was really weird and Toka and their dads said they didn't like it, but it KIND OF makes sense to Hebichi and me. We aren't getting it right, though. We had to stop and get KITTYSNORFLED.
We dreamed more about getting the ships ready to sail, but Humboldt wasn't there to help. He wouldn't say why when we woke up, so I think he snuck to MARS to see Binzi. Dmitri TEASED him about it, but he still wouldn't say anything. I hope the Exploration Club doesn't get mad at him for doing FLIRTS instead of helping out.
The Checkerlanders were really impressed by Ruffur-teacher's Cleaning Bombs, and now the farmers are trying to figure out how to make VEGGIE ones. They already have plants that DESALINATE. Their ships are really nice!
Broccoli-captain and Minnow-captain are the ones who are bringing their ships with us. Their ships' names are SECRET, like the Sea Dogs' ship. Our friend Secret thinks that's really GREAT.
Today's nice thing was that Big Sam came to drawing practice to be our model. He did really STRONG poses so people could draw somebody with big muscles. Some people did FLIRTS with him and he got a little bit embarrassed but everybody was really nice to him. It was nice having him there and walking home with him and talking about stuff.
Humboldt came back to Checkerland to help get VULTURE QUEEN JILL ready to sail. We aren't as good as the DAPPER CAPYBARA weasels, but our ship is smaller, so we're all going to be ready SOON. We have lots of MEATY plants and vines that attract fish and CATCH them and desalinizing plants with strong sticky leaves that are good for patching things and ALL KINDS of great stuff. All the checker cats and tree octos and spidies are going to start on the ships they're used to do, but I hope they'll come visit our ship later.
Probably we're going to set sail TOMORROW.
In the Awake World, I did really good at MATH in school. Bob-teacher stuck a GOLD STAR on my forehead. It was funny, but I felt really PROUD too. Good job, Samuel!
I didn't get a gold star at choir, but I think I finally got a really COMPLICATED part that I've been having trouble with. Hebichi and Sahara both said I did really good. Another great job from Samuel!
I need to be careful about HUBRIS.
The grownups dreamed about setting sail, but us kittens dreamed about being in Dragon-mayor's city and going to a BIRD OF ILL OMEN concert! We went with a whole bunch of kids from LN's school and it was really fun. I REALLY liked the band that opened for them. They were called ELDRITCH ELEPHANTS and their music was like ghost elephants trumpeting while they played flutes and keytars, that's a short keyboard you hold like a guitar, and glass drums. Cattail thought it was really great too. He's their FAN now. I bought him all of their music discs after the concert, but he has to let me borrow them!
Dmitri and Humboldt were standing up so they could wear fancy BIRDER clothes and dance with Jeanne and LN and all the standing-up people. It looked like fun, but I'm happy being a CAT and dancing like that. I danced with Hebichi and Spin and Blond Dmitry and Morning and we all yelled the CHORUSES and bought Maz a masquillion hot dogs and held Jackie up so they could see and made Blond Dmitry dance with a boy who was LOOKING at him. Then we all went out to have cinnamon rolls and warm juice and everybody who had to got picked up by their parents and Jeanne got a KISS from LN. Lots of people teased them, and LN got embarrassed, but Jeanne was really PROUD that she has a sweetheart and gave her another BIG kiss with a DIP. LN ran away to hide in her parents' car, but I don't think she was UPSET.
Cattail let me borrow the Eldritch Elephants music for the Awake World, so I played it lots. I think some people like Bird of Ill Omen more, but that's OK. I saw Fairy-mom doing a little DANCE and it made me really happy.
At Magic Singing Class, I didn't play any Eldritch Elephant. I told everybody about the weird BUG FIDDLING. It isn't singing, but I think it's MAGIC. We talked about it for a long time, and everybody agreed that Hebichi and I should do our best to learn it because the Dream Guardian Bugs think it's important. Then we got Hebichi to come over and help me PLAY it, and we talked about it a lot more. We had a masquillion ideas about it, but we don't know for sure. Everybody who does magic dreaming is going to see what they can find out.
Hebichi and I didn't get a chance to find out more about the bugs, because we dreamed we got whooshed across space to Mars. Humboldt and Binzi and Sahara and Simoun and Max and me got to ROVERING around Mars with the Bear-grams. It was daytime so most of the slime molds were being plants, but there were some that were sliming around and we had to drive really FAST to keep the rover from getting squished. There were lots of different plants in the mountains, and some animals that we couldn't see because they HID from the rover. I think some of them were like bears and some of them were like big snakes and a lot of them were like porcupines or hedgehogs with SPINES all over.
Binzi REALLY liked zooming around in the rover because it's the FASTEST. Even going over RAPIDS in boats isn't that fast and exciting. She shrieked and held on to Humboldt and yelled to go faster and the Bear-grams thought she was really CUTE. She said we should all visit her town and sail on her river and see the waterfalls and the singing fish. That sounds really fun!
I hope the porcypines in Cryptotherium Valley are doing good. We haven't seen them all summer because we've been doing so many EXPEDITIONS.
Today's good thing was that I WON a bike race! I had to be REALLY ferocious to not let Tomi push me out of the way, and I DID it. I didn't push them off the side of the ramp, but I didn't make ROOM for them so they crashed into the bushes and I MADE the jump and I WON.
As soon as I stopped, I started feeling bad even though I knew Tomi wasn't hurt because they're an ultra-modern kid. I don't want to be the kind of person who pushes other people out of the way so I can get something instead of them. I want to be the kind of person who SHARES. But bike racing is about WINNING, and I liked when everybody cheered for me and Yiling wrote down that I won.
Maybe I would have said I didn't really win, but Tomi TACKLED me and said I did really good and now it was time for ICE CREAM. I put a WINNER SHARE of money in, and then we all went to the ice cream shop by Tomi's house and drank milkshakes until our BRAINS froze. It was Tomi's COUSIN working there, and she teased them a lot about letting me win because I'm PRETTY. It was really embarrassing, because they didn't say it WASN'T true. I don't know what I would do if Tomi REALLY had a crush on me, but it's OK if everybody thinks I'm pretty because I'm a CAT.
I talked to Number-dad about how I felt bad when I pushed Tomi, and he said it's because I'm the NICEST kitten. He says I don't have to play COMPETITIVE games if I don't want, but maybe it's good to learn how to compete without any FEELINGS getting hurt. I can play board games and try to win and not feel bad about being smart, but it feels different when it's really pushing people and not just their PIECES. I know Tomi won't get hurt just by falling off a bike, but I would, so it feels mean to do it to other people. I don't get MAD if I fall off my bike when I'm racing, though. I know it's a ROUGH game and I play it anyway. Maybe I have to let other people make the same CHOICE. It was hard to explain to Number-dad, but he listened really nice and helped me think about it. That's how I can write it now. He ate my EARS too, because he's a dad cat.
I want to have a SAILING dream, but I had a STORMY dream instead. Sahara and Annabelle and I were at the NORTHERN SHORES. Going there in trucks means we don't dream about it much the rest of the time, but that doesn't mean we CAN'T. It was kind of SCARY because it was almost dark and there was a storm off the mountains with wind and snow so we could hardly see ANYTHING. We had to follow the skate paths and sniff the signs to find our way to the palace. The pengies and moosies who were on WATCH were really surprised to see us, and they nosed us a lot to make sure we weren't MONSTERS, but then they let us inside so we didn't FREEZE. It was really nice to see everybody again and get snuggles from Penguin Max and James and Ricky and everybody. We told them how everybody on the expedition is doing and they told us how they're ALMOST ready for winter and we drank warm juice and ate HERRINGS together. Later we went down to the pengie cave to see Pentameter and the smaller mermaids. It wasn't an exciting dream except for the first part, but it was cozy and full of friends and we all liked it a lot.
Everybody else went to MARS to tease Humboldt about doing snuggles with Binzi. He put his nose up and said they could have Martian friends too, if they weren't so JUDGMENTAL, and that was really funny. We all like to tease Humboldt, but I think Annabelle and Sahara and I had a better dream.
I thought a lot about being COMPETITIVE since yesterday, so I tried to be FIERCER in fighting class, but I didn't really want to hurt anybody, so I only did as good as I USUALLY do. I have to think MORE. You can do it, Samuel!
Hebichi and I worked on the bug music some more. There's a really weird part where it goes UP and DOWN at the same time, but having one person play the up part and the other the down part didn't work. Finally we figured out that each person has to play up and then down, switching back and forth faster and FURTHER. That's REALLY hard. I think even Pion-teacher would have trouble with it! We practiced and practiced until I lost control of my bow and it FLEW into Toka's pie. It was a big mess and Toka got MAD, so we had to stop there and clean up and give Toka lots of kisses. We don't know why dream bug music is so complicated!
Today's nice Awake World thing that I'm writing about is how after I got Toka more pie, they stopped being mad and helped me clean off my bow and said I'm still their FAVORITE sweetheart. Then they told me about all their sweethearts and how each one is REALLY nice but they aren't a big fluffy songcat. It was embarrassing, but nice too. I was amazed at how many sweethearts Toka has. I wonder if they all KNOW they're sweethearts!
I finally had an expedition dream, but it didn't have enough FRIENDS. Fortizimo and Glizando and some of the other capybaras stayed in Checkerland to teach the maras MORE POWERFUL friendship magic, and that's really nice of them but I didn't get to say GOODBYE. Podge is still with us, but all their minions, even Gullie-Bob, stayed in Checkerland TOO. They want to stay with the capybara friends and get some new BIRDS for that continent. Podge is pretty SAD and doesn't fly as much and stays on people's shoulders. I feel really bad for them, because they had a FLOCK and now it's just Maz again. We all still love them, but we aren't BIRDS.
Besides that, it's OK. We're going over the deep water between Checkerland and Bird Passage, with a really GOOD wind. Because we aren't exploring this time, we can sail faster, and we can sing the Favorable Wind Song because we know there aren't any islands for a long ways.
2 tree octos and 1 spidie are riding on VULTURE QUEEN JILL with us. Their names are Mosquito and Ripple and The Spider Who Dances Like Glyphs, and they're all nice. I was worried about Mosquito, because he has an ANNOYING name, but it's because he likes to poke people sneakily and I don't mind that. I can poke him BACK! Mlle Glyphs is good friends with Cally, but all of Cally's STUDENTS like her too. She's interested in stars and secrets and Eldritch Elephants music and all kinds of SPOOKY stuff too, and she has lots of pet BATTIES. Podge and the batties don't get along yet.
We have some dolphins and a pod of POCKET BLUE WHALES swimming with us, but they might stop at islands along the way to get fish and KRILL and spend the winter there. They can't usually cross the deep water because there isn't enough to eat there, but our ships brought food for them to get that far. Even pocket whalies eat LOTS.
Toka came to visit just so they could tell me about their FUTURE DREAM. They were REALLY excited so it was hard to understand, but it was like my dream because the Moon was full of MAGIC and there were WEIRD creatures everywhere and Hebichi went to the Moon and Toka and I weren't MARRIED but we were still FRIENDS and I visited at Toka's CAT CAFÉ a lot to teach the kitties to sing and lots of ROBOTS and DINOS helped at the cat café because they loved kitties too and there were busses like HUGE CATS that ran over the tops of things all the way to the DREAMLANDS and some of Toka's kitties could do MAGIC so people who were going to the Moon and other planets adopted them and Toka knew how to turn into a big kitty like VV-gram so Tiny Squeak could be their SWEETHEART but their grownup name was a SECRET. That's a really long sentence with lots of stuff in it because that's how Toka told the story!
It made me really happy to hear somebody else's dream about a really GREAT future with MAGIC KITTIES. I hope our future is really like that, Toka!
All babies like playing PEEK-A-BOO, but Tiny Squeak is a baby CAT, so if you hide your face too much, she'll EAT your hands, and then when she gets to your face, she'll eat your NOSE too! That made the other baby SQUACK, but Tiny Squeak did the same squack, and they they both laughed so much they FELL OVER. It doesn't take much laughing for babies to fall over, but that's OK. Being HAPPY is more important than being RIGHT-SIDE-UP.
I miss Zora and I'm sad about the gullies and capybaras not coming back with us, and I had COMPLICATED feelings about being competitive, but it was a good week.
I had only imaginary dreams last night. That's OK, I've had LOTS of dream adventures. I dreamt about flying around with birdies and teaching them to play Robot Maze only WE were the robots and we had to steal each other's FLOWER CROWNS to decide who got to kiss Morning. I didn't tell Morning about that dream, because it was really EMBARRASSING and she would get a SWELLED HEAD.
In stories, that's how people dream when they have a CRUSH on somebody but I don't think I have a crush on Morning even though she's really PRETTY. I'm not a teenager yet so I don't get any crushes.
In orchestra class, we tried each other's instruments, and I got to try the DRUMS. It was really fun even though I can't keep the beat EXACTLY. I tried and tried and then I gave up and drummed really WILD and everybody DANCED. I don't know if we got any better at music, but it was fun. Some people tried to play my fiddle and said it was really AMAZING that I can get music from it, so I felt kind of PROUD even though fiddling is pretty ordinary.
VULTURE QUEEN JILL is still sailing across the deep water with the other ships, and we have a good wind so we're going REALLY fast. We did some magic singing and some regular singing and I threw fish snacks for the dolphins to catch by LEAPING and bug snacks for the batties and Podge to catch by FLYING and I took a watch as LOOKOUT which was pretty scary because the strong wind made the ship heel WAY over. It was pretty exciting to see all the ships from up high!
Today's nice thing is that VV-gram and I made CHILI BEAN STEW for everybody in all 3 houses. It was a fancy recipe, so we used 4 kinds of peppers and fried some of them in SAUCE before blendering them, and ½ ground beef and ½ ground dark turkey and tomatoes and tomato sauce and tomato PASTE, and like that. It took a long time to make, but everybody said it was SPICY DELICIOUS. I really liked sitting with so much of my family and giving them food. It made me feel really GROWNUP for taking good care of them.
We were all sad that Zora wasn't there to eat chili bean stew with us, though. I hope she's doing good at soldier training!
Sabertooth Fox got her ANCIENT MARTIAN ARTIFACT working. Now she can SPIDER around on repulsor rays and be tall enough to look a Bear-gram in the EYE and CACKLE. She can go on BOATS too, so she came with us when we went with Solara-captain and Notar and Hor-en and their crew on Binzi's river. It was a lot of work to get the boats around the farming island because the lake is TOO SHALLOW, but we did it, and now we're going to visit some DIFFERENT Martians.
I thought Solara-captain only sailed for the Queen, but I think she got upset about how much fighting there was and took a bunch of people out to the soft green village and the sinkhole village and isn't going back. Maybe somebody she loved got killed. She won't talk about it with KIDS but she seems really SAD.
That makes me worry about my parents and auncles and grams who are there. I know they're all OK in the Awake World, but I'm worried they'll get hurt in Dream Mars. Thinking about it makes me feel REALLY bad and I have to hide in somebody's LAP. Vasilisa-gram gave me a lot of snuggles and said my grownups will be OK because they're really POWERFUL. That helped because she knows a lot about people she loves going to fight. I was still really anxious when I woke up, though, and had to get so many hugs from my parents that I almost missed BREAKFAST. Hugs are more important than food, but being hungry makes people SADDER.
Morning had LIPSTICK today. She said it was to be cuter, but I think it was to make people think about KISSING her. Don't be a teenager like Pixie, Morning!
I think HEBICHI thought about kissing Morning, but I hope they were only thinking about if they'd pretty with lipstick. I didn't ask because it was too EMBARRASSING. Don't be a teenager like Pixie, Hebichi!
We made it to Bird Passage last night, because we're sailing LOTS faster than on the way out. It was good sailing, but it's not as warm as it was before. It's OCTOBER and that's pretty AUTUMNAL. Everybody is pretty happy, even though we miss our friends who stayed in Checkerland.
Now we're going to miss MORE friends, because the dolphins and pocket whalies want to STAY. They think the ocean around the cliffy islands is really nice because it has lots of yummy fish and krills, and not too many sharks or other big carnivores. I think there might be secret whalie reasons they like it, too. Maybe it's a good place to get new ROBOTS. Maybe it's a good place to SING. I like the whalies and dolphins, but they're really DIFFERENT so it's hard to be good friends with them. I'm good at being friends with people with HANDS. And sheepies. And duckies and capybaras, who swim. Maybe it's more important for my friends to use eyes and noses instead of SONAR.
We all worried about the dolphins and whalies, but we anchored there overnight and they still thought it was a good idea in the morning, so we left them there and kept sailing back towards Dragonland. Take good care of yourselves, guys!
I was worried that Podge might fly away to join the other birds, because they don't have their minions or their friend Glizando any more, but they DIDN'T. They sat on Maa-uu and squawked really SAD and stayed with us. We all gave them scritches and bits of fish and told them we love them, and they stayed with us. I'm really glad. Podge has been with us for almost the WHOLE expedition, so I hope they stay at least until we get back to their old home, and maybe FOREVER. You're part of our CREW, Podge!
Annabelle came with her schoolwork and said, "Help me, Samuel-teacher!" so we loafed together and I helped her with science and logic and she helped me with snuggles and PINE FOREST candy. Some people think Annabelle is only good at looking pretty and making friends, but she's really smart. She just didn't understand the WAY her teacher explained it. When we were done, she still called me Samuel-teacher because she DID understand it, so I felt really PROUD. Good job, Samuel!
Later when Dragon-mom was brushing me she said I was a good BIG BROTHER and I felt proud again. Maybe I have to be the big brother now that Dmitri and Humboldt are doing SWEETHEARTS. I didn't say that, because it was kind of MEAN. I know they still love us, and Dmitri helped me with some science homework the other day and Humboldt showed me how to push off REALLY HARD with my feet to pounce and like that. Samuel, be nicer about your big brothers!
When we finished studying and looked at the cute picture Number-dad took of us, Squeaky Pip came to play the EATING PAWS game. There was lots of stuff in the living room to stand on, so we tried to teach her The Floor Is LAVA, but she isn't good enough at jumps yet. Then everybody else came home and wanted to play with her, and it was TOO MUCH and she started crying and we all felt bad, but her mum carried her away for quiet nursing, and our mom washed all our ears and made us do chores. Nobody likes chores but they're important for learning to be grownups.
I dreamed that Max and Annabelle and Secret and Blossom and Sprout and Spin and Maz and Podge and Cattail and I all went to visit on Minnow-captain's ship. It was really nice and FORESTY and had lots of rustling noises and dripping water. I don't think you have to go widdershins and deosil belowdecks to get to everything, because the spidies and tree octos aren't as SPOOKY WEIRD as the Sea Dogs. Everybody thought Podge and Maz and Scary Froggy were great, because they aren't used to BIRDS. They saw lots of birds at Bird Passage, but those ones didn't come onto the ship to be friends. Scary Froggy isn't really a bird, but he has FEATHERS so he's LIKE a bird.
There were lots of spidies and tree octos, and not many checker cats, but there were a bunch of batties and maras. Scary Froggy wanted to catch some bats with his tongue, but when Max saw him looking really SHARP, she yelled at him. "Hunt WILD bats! These batties FRIENDS!" Good job, Max! Maybe she likes the batties because some of them are her NO FUR friends.
They let us see the MAGIC PLANT that's going to help leaf bubbles get to our continent even though it's really SPECIAL. It looks kind of like a bell pepper turned inside-out and kind of like a BIRD OF PARADISE flower and it sings the Sleepy Growing Song to itself. I tried singing the Let's All Be Friends Song to it, but Spider Who Casts Everything With Higher Spell Slots didn't want us to BOTHER it. Maybe we can be friends when it gets planted somewhere and WAKES UP.
I don't understand Caster's name, but I think a lot of the Checkerland spidies' names are JOKES. Spidies are weird and funny, but lots of them are nice.
After going all over the ship and having a big VEGGIE LUNCH, we got tired and tried to rest in the sunshine, but then a whole bunch of spidies and tree octos came and SAT on us! They said the best way to get warm is MAMMAL FRIENDS and maybe they're RIGHT. I got a little bit SQUISHED but I didn't mind because it was really COZY. A tree octo tried to get TICKLY, but Cattail tickled them BACK and everybody thought that was enough of THAT. We all took a nap until the octos and Max had to go back in the shade so they wouldn't get SUNBURN. It was really nice, but I still like sailing on VULTURE QUEEN JILL the best.
I helped pull some WEEDS at the farm, but there wasn't any HARVESTING, so I went to drawing practice and NESSIE-AUNCLE was modelling for us. She was really great because she can use martial arts magic to stay in a pose even if she's in the middle of a JUMP or like that, so we could draw ACTION that we usually can't. You're amazing, Nessie-auncle!
I like magic SINGING, but martial arts magic is really great too. Maybe if I get my advanced certificate from regular fighting class, I'll ask Nessie-auncle to teach me. My family is full of people who know really cool magic, so I should learn as much as I can from them.
I had another sailing dream, with lots of wind and sunshine and Podge yelling about yummy little squids and Hebichi and Jackie sitting at the rail with me to have beautiful weather blow right on us. It wasn't a dream with things happening, but it was REALLY nice and I was happy all day from thinking about it.
The weather was really nice in the Awake World too. It was sunny but not too warm and there was a breeze that smelled like AUTUMN. We did choir practice in the PARK because maybe there won't be a lot more nice days this year. People stopped to listen to us, so we did our BEST and that was enough to get them to CLAP. Good job, singers!
Because it's nice, I'm going to have an OUTSIDE sleepover with Hebichi and Spin and Jean and Blond Dmitry and Morning and Gobi. I hope there's a NIGHTTIME wind to make it really nice to wrap up in blankets and snuggle with my FRIENDS.
It's been a pretty good week. I still miss Zora, but I didn't worry about being COMPETITIVE like before. I did more playing at the park with Hebichi and Gobi and Bina and everybody than bike racing. I did a good job at school and all my classes, so I was proud, but that's not like competition. EVERYBODY can get the best marks!
I'm proud of the chili bean stew VV-gram and I made on Tuesday. It was a lot of work, but it was REALLY good. I want to make it again soon, but maybe SPICIER. Using just tofu instead of meat might be good too. The little pot I made for Lilja-auncle was just as yummy as the big pot.
I don't know if I like people in my level at school wearing MAKEUP. I'm afraid too many people will get CRUSHES and act really weird and not want to be FRIENDS any more. I know that's not really what happens, because Dmitri and Humboldt have friends and not just sweethearts, but it still makes me ANXIOUS.
Last night's sleepover was really nice. All my sisters got their friends to have a sleepover on the Gram House porch, and my brothers and their friends had the treehouse. I think Jean and my Dmitri snuck away to do SWEETHEART stuff, but they came back for more FRIEND snuggles. We had the big fluffy pillows and inflatable pads and everybody had their favorite blanket, so when the wind blew AUTUMN SMELLS and made the trees rustle, it was really COZY.
We all dreamed about MARS. We visited Binzi's town and it was really nice and everybody there was nice to us because we're friends with their ONLY CHILD. It has lots of fancy buildings and parks like the beanstalk city, and there's a huge FARMING cave with crystal stalactites and stalagmites to light up the fields. Way at the back is a BOTTOMLESS CHASM that the Martians used to throw their garbage into, until a masquillion PSEUDOPODS came up and CLOBBERED everybody. Now they leave it alone even when weird SINGING comes up. We all wondered who lives down there and I felt a little bit bad for them because maybe they're LONELY, so Sabertooth Fox jumped INTO the chasm!
We shrieked, but she could put the repulsor rays at ANGLES so she could go down slowly and come back up, and then she DISAPPEARED into the darkness. I got really ANXIOUS when she didn't come right back up, and then she STILL didn't come up so everybody else worried too. We thought about going after her, but we didn't have repulsor rays so we had to go back to town to get ROPES and then we had to ARGUE because all the old Martians didn't want anybody to go. They're afraid the PSEUDOPODS will come back and clobber everybody again. Martians are like that about anything where something bad happened once. I think that might be why they're a DYING PEOPLE.
They especially didn't want KIDS to go, but we're really BRAVE and we love Sabertooth Fox, so we went anyway and Binzi came with us, and then a bunch of grownups came to make sure she didn't get hurt, and we didn't have to because Sabertooth Fox was BACK.
She said the chasm might be bottomless, but only a few km down there's some CAVES and a GOO MONSTER. The goo monster didn't fight with her, though. It gave her a LETTER to bring up, and she couldn't read it because it's in Old Martian but she thinks the monster wants to be PEN PALS. The grownups took the letter away to TRANSLATE it, but the rest of us gave Sabertooth Fox a MASQUILLION hugs for not being dead. Good job making a new FRIEND, Sabertooth Fox!
When I woke up, Sabertooth Fox was in the treehouse talking to all the kids there, so I snuck over to give her a kiss right on the NOGGIN, but then I had run inside to the bathroom and when I came back, everybody was asleep again. I had imaginary dreams about BUTTERFLIES until it was morning.
Last night I dreamed that I was back on VULTURE QUEEN JILL and Tiny Squeak was taking a sunshine nap and Podge came and tucked in next to her with their chin on Tiny Squeek's neck because they're FRIENDS. That was really CUTE, but then a GULL-SIZED battie flew over from Broccoli-captain's ship and looked all around the ship and then tucked in on Tiny Squeak's TUMMY. That was so cute Rei dropped the line they were working with and had to SCRAMBLE to get it back before our sail fell in the ocean! The battie had a leg bracelet like Podge's that said her name is CLOVE. When we woke up, we told Clover, and she said she hopes they can be FRIENDS. I drew a picture of standing-up Clover with Clove sitting on her head and Rafe took it to put on their fridge so I was happy with it.
I think that was the best thing about today, but there was lots of REGULAR nice stuff like tussling with Hebichi and eating PIZZA BUNS and watching some MEGALOMACHY with Rose-gram and everybody.
I dreamed that grownup Martians translated the letter from the goo monster and it said it was REALLY sorry for the pseudopods but they threw down POISONOUS garbage. It would be OK if they threw down YUMMY garbage and sometimes letters because it's lonely in the UNDERWORLD. I felt REALLY bad for the goo monster because it hasn't gotten anything from the upper world for hundreds or THOUSANDS of years, but I'm not a grownup Martian from that town, so I didn't get to go to the TOWN MEETING. Sabertooth Fox did, though, and I think she did a good job because then the Martians drove a whole TRUCK full of garbage and threw it in the chasm along with some fancy boxes that probably had LETTERS.
I hope Binzi's town and the goo monster can be FRIENDS. Maybe Mars needs more CAPYBARAS.
When I told people who weren't on Dream Mars about the goo monster and the letter, they felt really bad for it too and said we should ALL be pen pals. That's really nice of you, guys! We got some nice paper and all different-colored pens and STICKERS and wrote a big letter together, telling the goo monster all about what it's like to live on EARTH and Dream Earth and I told it some about the Space Train. Then we made a box to put the letter in along with a bunch of EARTH TREATS for the goo monster to try, like choco and bacon and cheese and fried peppers. Bina wanted to make a PARACHUTE to get it down safe, but Blond Dmitry was worried the goo monster wouldn't catch it, and said we should use a rope. They almost got in a FIGHT, but I said we should ask Sabertooth Fox-teacher, because she went down there, and everybody said that was a good idea.
Sabertooth Fox-teacher said it was 4200 METERS to the goo monster's cave. Our box isn't too heavy, so we could use really thin rope, but that's still a lot of rope! We decided to use a parachute instead, because the goo monster has a NET by their cave to catch stuff that falls down. Bina was really SMUG, but we all frowned at them and said Blond Dmitry's idea was really good TOO. Sometimes Bina gets CARRIED AWAY, but really they're nice so they said using rope was smart and gave Blond Dmitry hugs until he got a little bit embarrassed, and let him decide that the parachute should be BLUE.
I'm going to sleep with the box next to me every night until I can take it to Dream Mars and drop it into the chasm.
I didn't have a Mars dream last night. I dreamed I was LIQUID again, and I flowed like a little stream until I dripped off a cliff like a WATERFALL and trickled down the trees into a river. That made me anxious, but I didn't get DILUTED. I flowed in the river and it was really cool and nice until I woke up and didn't have my blanket. When I went back to sleep, I dreamed that Bina was QUEEN OF JUPITER and we all had to fly spaceships to fight against her FOX GLIDERS before they could throw homework all over Earth and then my TAIL came off and I had to stick it back on with GREY TAPE before my spaceship crashed and let the GIANT BUNNIES out. It was a ridiculous dream.
Tiny Squeak was really FEROCIOUS today and tried to eat everybody's hands and tails and WHISKERS, so we said her Halloween costume should be a PIRANHA. Then we talked a lot about costumes, because it's only 2 WEEKS to Halloween and I haven't had ANY good ideas. Maybe I'll have to put a SHEET over me and be a ghost. That's the costume for people who don't get around to making a REAL costume before Halloween.
I talked to Faun about costumes, and he's going to be a TREE OCTO, which is really nice. He's going to have some tentacles and a suit that changes color and a plush battie and like that. Then his friend Corben came and we had a big argument about how many things you have to say before you can say "and like that". I think 2 is right, but you can do it after 1 if it's GOOD, like "an elephant with a long trunk and like that". Corben said you have to have 3 or you're LAZY, but I think that's because they LIKE arguing. I don't like it as much, but it's like COMPETITIVE talking so I need to PRACTICE.
Corben has SHINY black feathers and their hands and feet are KIND OF like bird feet with bird CLAWS. They're really COOL. When Toka said they're a bird like Toka is a kitty so they should EAT THEM UP, Corben said they can't because Corben is BIGGER, just like Toka's kitties have to stay inside and not go out hunting CROWS. Now Corben and I have to be friends because we're both Toka's SWEETHEARTS. You're really FUNNY, Toka!
Being a checker cat is too SIMPLE. Maybe I should be a magic plant or a pocket whalie. I wouldn't be a pocket WRONG whale, though. Maybe I'll be a GOO MONSTER and have a CAVE for my costume. Then I'll have lots of room to store TREATS. I won't talk to anybody, I'll write them letters telling them to drop treats into my NET.
We made it back to the circle of islands around the big sandy patch with red tile ruins and hammerhead sharks. That means we're almost to Snaily Island!
Some of the Checkerland people wanted to dive to explore the ruins, so we stopped and waited for the sharks to leave and then a BUNCH of us dived. Chibi Moosa and Boogie showed their Moose Diving Technique, and Cattail and Scary Froggy paddled around, and everybody had fun swimming. The Checkerlanders didn't find anything interesting, but they took notes so ARCHAEOLOGISTS could come visit someday.
1 battie tried to dive for little squids like Podge did, but they're a LAND bat, not a water bat, so they got stuck in the water and couldn't take off and Thomas Pengie had to RESCUE them. He was THEIR HERO.
This is where I found Horace's name. I hope he's doing OK. Probably he is because he's in Checkerland with his gullie friends and everybody, but I still WORRY.
We talked about costumes a lot today. Sahara said she was going to be a snake eating another snake's HEAD, but I know she only said it to make me shriek, so I DIDN'T. Sometimes siblings are really DIFFICULT.
That made me not want to talk about my idea, but Simoun and Sahara said they want to be cool Martians like Solara-captain and Humboldt wants to be a black-pointed Martian like Binzi. Maybe being a goo monster in a cave would be COOL.
Hebichi is going to be a BIG dragon instead of Little Dragon and Spin is going to be a capybara and Pixie is going to be 1 of the Vampire Witch's daughters from MEGALOMACHY. That's going to be a FLIRTING costume, because Pixie is a teenager like Pixie. Maybe Rei and Cara and Nico will have flirting costumes too.
Zora won't have a costume because she's at soldier training and doesn't get ANY days off. I hope she's OK.
We made it to Snaily Island, but we couldn't stay long because we need to beat the BAD WEATHER home. Snaily-Bob and everybody are doing really good and the carnivorous snailies have been experimenting with MARINADE to make the bird meat still good even when it's not FRESH. We introduced the Checkerland people to them, and that went really GOOD because the tree octos are MOLLUSCS too. They're girls and boys, but I guess it's OK for molluscs. The Checkerlanders gave the snailies some seeds for the trees with MEATY fruit, so maybe the snailies won't have to kill birds AT ALL after the trees grow. The snailies gave them a bunch of carvings, which they really liked. I'm glad for more friends!
Max is thinking about STANDING UP for her Halloween costume so she can be Shoobop from THE SHOOBOP SHOW, that's a funny show for little kids she watches with Secret. She hasn't told our PARENTS because she's afraid they'd SHRIEK about her standing up and having to put her fur back on afterwards, but she isn't scared because she doesn't have any fur so she thinks it won't be itchy. I don't know if she's right, but everybody else who stood up put their fur back on and is OK even if it was awful when they did it. You can do it, Max!
Zeb-auncle helped me think about a goo monster costume. It would be nice to have robot pseudopods to come out the front or robot legs to carry me around, because I only have 4 limbs, but it would be really COMPLICATED. I'll just have some SOCKS on my hands to be pseudopods, but I have to find out from Sabertooth Fox-teacher what COLOR they should be.
No Mars dream last night either. I don't know what everybody else did, but Cattail and the twins and I visited SKY KITTEN and her clowder. Sky Kitten and I did the RAINBOW TAIL DANCE, but then Cattail came over and danced TOO. We didn't notice because he has a little mastydon tail, but it's RAINBOW STRIPES too. He's Sky Kitten's TAIl COUSIN now!
It's getting cold up in the mountains where they live, but the stegos were still visiting them, so we got to sing with them and tell them they have BEAUTIFUL voices and wave goodbye when they went down to the LOWER valleys where it isn't so cold. They don't get cold EASY because they're big, but they aren't very warm-blooded so they can't stay way up in the mountains during the winter. They'll come back next spring.
Sahara and Simoun mostly wanted to visit Snake Fangs so they could get CERTIFICATES for Venomous Magic Biting, but they played a lot with him and Flier and told them stories about Mars and sailing and Checkerland. Now all the teenager cats want to run away to sea. Their parents said they have to wait until they're GROWN UP, so they got really GROUCHY. Maybe the twins will get them to RUN AWAY FROM HOME to have adventures. I don't think that's a good idea, but not having ANY adventures isn't good either. They're older than me so they won't listen if I tell them not to anyway.
Cattail and I played lots with Sky Kitten and Tosi and Mimble and the other younger kittens and it was really FUN even though we didn't have bikes or treehouses or legos or anything. We did lots of TUSSLING and built SNOW FORTS and climbed way up trees until Aria-auncle yelled at us. Then I helped cook a really big MOUNTAIN GOAT that Snake Fangs and the older kittens hunted. I felt a LITTLE BIT bad for the goat, but it was already dead when they brought it back to the cave, so I was OK with helping take it apart. It had REALLY long soft fur that will be a good blanket for somebody, and the meat was yummy when we roasted it in the stove with berry sauce and wild SPINCH.
It was a REALLY nice visit and I'm glad Sky Kitten and everybody are doing good. I hope I can visit more often.
Zeb-auncle helped me work on my Halloween costume. It was really nice of him! We found a cave costume pattern that somebody already made, and put foam crumbles all over it and sprayed it orangish and reddish kinds of browns to look more MARSISH, and got STRAPS so I can wear it like a turtle shell and it will stay balanced even when I sit up to use my hands. I'll make my arms and legs black to show they aren't part of the costume, and have IRIDESCENT grey socks to put on my hands for psuedopods, and a bag made out of clear string for my NET, and it will be REALLY GREAT. You're the best, Zeb-auncle!
I was happy all day because I got to visit Sky Kitten. I told Tiny Squeak all about it, and she didn't understand what I was saying but she laughed and laughed because I was happy. Tiny Squeak is REALLY nice. I love her LOTS.
Our expedition is already back to the cliffy islands where we saw the grouchy pocket cachalot and pretty soon we'll be going back across the DEEP WATER. We haven't seen any pocket whalies since the ones from Checkerland left, so maybe this isn't their usual territory.
I'm a little bit sad I didn't get to dream about saying goodbye to the snailies, but visiting Sky Kitten and her clowder made me REALLY happy.
In the middle of the night, I woke up because Max bopped me with her tail while her and Annabelle were SNEAKING OUT. I wanted to go with them and see what they were doing, but Humboldt sang the Go Back To Sleep song, and I DID. Then I dreamed about the whole TOWN getting flooded so we had to go on boats and there were big ALLIGATORS in the water and SHARKS in the deeper parts so falling in was SCARY. It wasn't a REAL nightmare, though, because nobody got eaten and somebody gave us TRAINED alligators that were friendly.
I don't know why it was alligators, who only live in AMERICA instead of crocodiles.
In the morning, Max and Annabelle wouldn't tell us why they snuck out because it was a SECRET. I think it had to do with their COSTUMES. Max doesn't want anybody to know she's going to STAND UP and be SHABOOP.
Toka wants to be ISAAC MEWTON because he's a really GREAT kitty, but they said I have to help ASK because it's RUDE to be somebody who's still alive. They said it's OK to be somebody from a long time ago, though. I have to have a SLEEPOVER at Hebichi and Toka's house.
It's been a nice week. In the Awake World, the weater has been sunny and cool and the trees are less green, so it feels really AUTUMNAL. My friends were really nice to the goo monster and we had good ideas for Halloween costumes and we all signed up to help at the Halloween party. In the Dreamlands, we're making really GOOD time, so we can get home and not DIE in a hurricane, and I got to see my tail-sister SKY KITTEN. She's really great!
I've been writing LOTS and maybe it's not good to stay up so late. I think it's still good to write something nice that happened every day, but I'll try writing just what happened and not making it like a STORY.
Toka and Hebichi and Theo and Cleo and Mlle. Floofypaws and Cattail and Jackie and I ALL went to ask Isaac Mewton if Toka could be him for Hallowween. We made a MISTAKE in our planet-jumping and ended up on DEIMOS at first, but we were really sorry and ran to Space Train right away so there weren't any RAY GUNS.
The Deimosians ran away from us so they could stay SECRET, but I think I saw an IRIDESCENT GREY PSEUDOPOD. Maybe they're goo monsters like the one under Binzi's town!
The Space Train aliens weren't REALLY mad at us any more, but we still hid in Isaac Mewton's quarters so there wouldn't be TROUBLE. He's doing really GOOD and making lots of measurements of Mars and he got to visit Deimos but Heads-captain said it's all SECRET. That's OK, we're just glad he has lots to do. We shared fancy ice cream and old-fashioned cameras from Earth and did lots of snuggles and Isaac was really PROUD that he's cool enough for people to be him for Halloween. It was a really good visit!
Toka and Hebichi's dads made us WILD BACON for breakfast and it was REALLY GOOD. Toka and I and the kitties PURRED UP A STORM. Hebichi said it was NO FAIR that dragons can't purr, but dragons can get KISSES and that's pretty nice.
Zeb-auncle helped me with my costume some more, but the other pocket foxies were busy with the ELECTROFLIER and I knew he really wanted to work on that, so I took the Mars-colored paint and went home to work on it myself.
Clover and Rafe and Oona came for dinner and I helped Dragon-mom make BLACK BEAN TOFU for them. They really liked it, and when we gave Tiny Squeak some of the juice, she liked it too. Even Lilja-auncle liked it, so we were really PROUD.
Rei and Cara and Nico came over after dinner and we played an asteroid-swooping game with them. It was really hard! I did OK by watching Nico, but I still had to use a lot of thrust and sensor time, and then we changed so I went first and I crashed EVERY TIME. Orbits are TRICKY. I wished Isaac were here to help me.
I started off with an expedition dream that was pretty scary because there was a STORM but also pretty EXCITING because we could run before it and sail REALLY fast! It was a lot of work to keep the sails right when the wind CHANGED, though. I'm glad we had Maa-uu and Mama-uu and lots of ultra-modern people to be STRONG.
All the WATER made me wake up to pee, and when I went back to sleep on the pen pal box, I had a Mars dream! Everybody who put their love into the pen pal box was there too, and that made me really happy. Sabertooth Fox and Ubiquitous Bob-auncle and some other pocket foxies were building an ELEVATOR, but it's not done because 4200 meters is a REALLY long elevator, so we got to throw our parachute box down. It went really slow because there's lots of AIR down there, just like there's less air when you go up, and not much gravity, so we know it will be fine. I hope we can all be friends, goo monster!
When I saw Bob-auncle working on the elevator, I said not to tell me the goo monster is named Gooey-Bob, so he said he WOULDN'T tell me, and I shrieked. The Bob Cabal is EVERYWHERE! But they're nice Bobs so I GUESS it's OK.
Hebichi and I were doing homework together and they suddenly started LAUGHING at me. They said it was because I'm in choir AND magic singing class, but when I'm thinking I sing DOOT DOOT DOOT like everybody else. I felt like they were laughing at me for not being COOL ENOUGH, so I tickled them until they SHRIEKED and then I felt better.
It's weird that Hebichi always wears a SHIRT now, but it doesn't SAVE them.
We made it back to Little Elephant Island but when we anchored and went ashore to get some fresh water and food, they were still SHY. They didn't even come to say to Zigzag and Cattail when they went out by themselves singing the Let's All Be Friends Song. We're in a hurry, so we'll have to come back and make friends another time.
Nelson-captain says we're making REALLY good time and probably we won't DIE from HURRICANES. Good job, guys!
I played some more of the asteroid swooping game by myself. It's still really hard, but I'm getting better at using only a LITTLE BIT of sensors to figure out what I need to do. You can do it, Samuel!
This month's HUMMINGBIRD CASTLE is REALLY spooky! There are monster hands in the corners in the corners of ALL the panels, and when the kids went back home, the town was EMPTY, but when they snuck through the bramble into the next yard, everybody was THERE. I don't know what's going on, but it's really EXCITING. Dmitri and Gobi and Bina and Hebichi and Florence sat with me in the treehouse and we had lots of IDEAS, but we don't KNOW what's going on. Lam-artist, you're really great!
Hebichi and I dreamed about being BEETLES again, and beetling around the mountain with the FIDDLING BUGS. We drank all different kinds of SODA and ate all different kinds of HARD CANDY and fiddled together. We didn't play the piece they were trying to teach us, but we played lots of pieces in that style, with notes bouncing back and forth and like that, so it helped. We played some pieces in MAMMAL style, too, and the bugs thought that was the FUNNIEST thing ever. Some of them laughed so hard they rolled down the mountain and we had to throw ropes down to pull them back up. I felt KIND OF bad about that, because I think the fiddling I learned from Pion-teacher is really good, but it's OK if bugs think mammal stuff is weird. Mammals think lots of bug stuff is weird.
Magic Singing class was really nice because we practiced songs for keeping people WARM and SAFE in the winter. Sahara was a little grouchy because she wants FIGHTING magic, but everybody else got really cozy. Tiny Squeak came to see what we were doing and fell asleep on Morgan's foot, and that was really nice TOO.
I only had IMAGINARY dreams last night, and they were really FUNNY. I dreamed Max was REALLY Shaboop and Secret was the person who WRITES the Shaboop Show so Max had to do whatever she wrote and then Flim-Flam jumped on the TYPEWRITER, and then it got MORE ridiculous.
It was really rainy today, so we got all MUDDY from bike racing and had to take a nice warm bath when we got home. The tub isn't big enough for everybody who raced, but I took a bath with Max and Dmitri and it was really SPLASHY. We got BIG FLUFFY towels afterwards and that was nice too.
I like when it's sunny and windy and smells like autumn, but I like when it's RAINY and windy and THUNDERY too. I like all kinds of weather except when it's grey and DRIZZLY or when it's too HOT. I might not like BLIZZARDS or HURRICANES but I've never been in any.
The other nice thing about rainy weather is it makes warm food even YUMMIER.
When Humboldt did STAR SIGHTINGS, he said we were right where Sheepy Birthday Island used to be, but there was NOTHING there. Sheep Magic is really POWERFUL. I still haven't figured out how they do it.
I switched to DAPPER CAPYBARA for a while, to visit with all my friends there. Truffle's MOM was visiting too. She had a birthday, so now she's a TEENAGER. She's a big BUNNY, though, so maybe she won't want to go flirt with Pixie and Cara and Nico. I hope she stays really nice.
Dragon-mom and Fairy-mom were on different ships, but I got to be with Number-dad lots. We worked together really good, but we did lots of SNUGGLES too. Number-dad has a really BIG heart, so he loves all the capybaras, but his BEST capyfriend is Algernon, who always carries a tangerine on their head. They're weird but NICE.
Today we did the last of the HARVESTING. There are vegetables that can grow later, but we didn't plant any in our farm, so we're DONE with farming for this year. I know our farm is just for FUN but next year I think we should plant more so we get veggies for as LONG as we can.
I know my parents got seeds for the REGULAR plants from Checkerland, but maybe we shouldn't grow them here. They might be INVASIVE SPECIES. I hope we find out by next year, because it would be REALLY cool to plant Dreamlands plants in our farm.
It's 4 DAYS until Halloween. Lots of people are still working on their costumes, but mine is DONE. Thank you a WHOLE BUNCH for helping, Zeb-auncle!
Max was practicing STANDING UP in her closet and she didn't shriek AT ALL. I heard her squack a little, but only because she forgot to close the door all the way. I don't know if she was right that not having fur makes putting it back on easier, or if she's just really TOUGH, but good job, Max! You're going to SHABOOP the BOOBOP!
I'm thinking a LOT about standing up, because it's nice when I do it in dreams, but it's really SCARY. Simoun and Humboldt DID shriek when they put their fur back on because it was so ITCHY and horrible. Usually I'm not afraid of things that hurt, like WIPING OUT, but this is different. I don't know why. I have to think about it a lot more.
We dreamed about sailing past Death Noodle Island, but we didn't stop. Nobody wants to see snakes eating each other's HEADS. Podge and some of the batties flew over to look, but then they came back and hid under the capybaras until Nico-captain gave them all fruit. That island is still HORRIBLE.
Pretty soon we'll be to Berry Island. I hope there are still berries, but it might be too LATE for them. We'll find out.
The weather is still good for sailing, but the wind is getting COLDER. I tried being little so I could hide under capybaras too, but smaller cats get cold easier, and I had ship chores to do.
It's been a good week. I really like that it's getting to be more AUTUMNAL and I have lots of FRIENDS to be cozy with. I like that Tiny Squeak has less TINY and more SQUEAK. I like that we went to the pizza place and played foosball and I BEAT Dmitri. I got to tease him about doing too many SMOOCHES and not enough PRACTICE. Then Jean threw WATER on me, but I probably deserved it. I wanted to make sure I did, so I did a piracy on his GARLIC CHEESE BREADS. Arrrr!
We got to the archipelago where Podge got their MINIONS. There are still a MASQUILLION birds there, and they flew to all our ships and YELLED and POOPED and did PIRACIES on our food. Podge hid under a capybara until they saw another gull doing a piracy on THEIR snack bucket. Then there was a LOT of yelling and they got Maz and some batties and told those gulls who's the BOSS. Podge is really FIERCE when they want to be!
That scared all the birds away, but later some calamari gulls and another gull I think is a NORTHERN PICKLE GULL came to perch near Podge and think about joining their FLOCK. Maybe Podge will have more MINIONS, if they aren't too scared of Maz.
That's where we were when I figured out how belowdecks works on the mangrove, too. I haven't had lots of dreams about visiting the other ships on the way back. Maybe we're too busy sailing as fast as we can to get home to have time for visiting. I'll see the Sea Dogs and the spidies and pengies and moosies when we get to PORT.
Halloween is the DAY AFTER TOMORROW so we had to go all around getting stuff for the PARTY. Some people already have their costumes on so we got barrels of soda from a tree monster and stood in line for curtains behind a famous chef from a cooking show and like that. My costume is too COMPLICATED to wear when I'm doing stuff, but Faun's friend Corben had a cloak of black feathers so they could be a spooky bird and Jean had a jumpsuit like race drivers wear and like that. I'm saying "and like that" a lot because of the argument I had with Corben.
Number-dad is going to make his fur glow and have some BONES and be a BONFIRE. That's supposed to be spooky, but he's such a good fluffy dad that it might be COZY instead. I didn't say that, because when people want to be scary, it makes them feel bad to say they're cute.
It's HALLOWEEN EVE. People who didn't PLAN AHEAD for their costumes are running ALL OVER, but Hebichi and Max and Dmitri and Jean and I got to sit way up on the net at the spider park and get AUTUMN BREEZES and talk about magic dreaming stuff. We felt really COOL. Max and Jean were the coolest, though, because they had LEATHER jackets. Maybe my next coat will be cool like that.
We only got to POSE for a little while, because there was more party work to do. We put up SKELETONS and GHOSTS and got some JACK-O-LANTERNS from the Gram House and a CANDY MACHINE from the grocery store. Lots more people had costumes today.
Last night's dream adventure was having ice cream with all my SIBLINGS and our FRIENDS at Basking Shark 311 Flavors. LN wants people who are her and Jeanne's age to come to the Halloween DANCE at her school. I don't know if that's going to work for me, because I'm going to be a MARS creature, so I might have to have a Halloween dream on Mars. I said I would come to the dance if I COULD, and LN gave me a big smile. I got embarrassed because she's really pretty.
I got to check on my zoo really quick and everybody is still doing REALLY GOOD. Tater is getting the new habitat ready for the EUROPASAURUSES that are coming to live with us soon. Europasauruses are SAUROPODS, but they're only about 5-6m long, which is TINY for sauropods. I think they don't weigh even 1 TON. We're going to have a whole HERD because they aren't too big. They're going to be next to the brain cows.
I'm glad our zoo keeps getting new animals. We got oloros and effies and rhamphies and viscachas and the firebirdie and the giant hedgiehog, and I still want to get platypuses, and lots of the animals we met on the expedition could come live here so people can meet them without having to sail so far. It would be REALLY great to get a MARS section of the zoo, but even in the Dreamlands, I don't know how to make the gravity OK for Mars animals.
The very first map I drew of the zoo was shaped like a KITTEN, with smart animals in the head and wiggly animals in the tail and like that, but the zoo is STILL that shape. I was really surprised because we keep adding habitats for the new animals, but the Dreamlands are MYSTERIOUS.
I thought maybe we would have the dream about LN's school party tonight, but instead it was a MARS dream. The pocket foxies were still working on the elevator, so we didn't have any letters back from Gooey-Bob yet, but I threw down another letter about the goo monsters on Deimos. I hope the Deimosians don't get mad at me, but if Gooey-Bob has FAMILY somewhere, I think it should know.
After that, we went to see the waterfalls that splash over glowing crystals and they were REALLY beautiful. It was like rivers of fireworks! There were only a few singing fish at home, but when Binzi sang to them, they sang back like birds and cymbals and guitars, and all of us from choir sang with them. It was so wonderful that when I woke up, I was CRYING. Annabelle washed my face and I gave her a masquillion hugs, and I wanted to go back to sleep and take her to see it, but we had to get up and go to SCHOOL.
People whose costumes were good for school wore them, but mine is too BIG. Hebichi's must be too, but I haven't seen it yet, because they want to be SURPRISING. I think only their dads have seen the Big Dragon Costume. Morning has a fancy dress and a frame, because she's a PICTURE of Morning. Gobi is a tall Martian like the queen. Ace is a timetraveller from an old show who was named Ace too. They like blowing things up. Lots of people were monsters and MEGALOMACHY characters and some people were HUMMINGBIRD CASTLE characters. That made me happy.
We were really ROWDY in school, so the teachers frowned at us a lot, but we did our best until lunch. Then we all ran away to finish costumes and set up for parties and everything. I'm going to be busy, so I have to write about the rest of the day TOMORROW.
I was right that my parents SHRIEKED when they saw Max standing up to be Shaboop, but she said, "Max PRACTICE" and then it was OK. You're so cute, Max!
We all thought Hebichi was going to be Big Dragon, but when we got to the party, they were a SHEET GHOST because their costume didn't work. They were REALLY upset! We all gave them a masquillion hugs and I pulled their head into my cave so I could kiss their ear, and that helped a LITTLE BIT. Then we got markers from a nice teenager and drew on their sheet so they were a DRAGON ghost, and that helped more. We drew them frills and back spikes and WINGS, and then drew skulls and bats and spooky stuff like that around the bottom and THEN Ace drew FIRE on all of the spooky stuff because that's what happens when a story dragon flies over.
Gobi said now she knew what Hebichi was worried about during school, so I felt like a really BAD friend because I didn't notice at ALL. I was too busy thinking about my OWN costume. I gave Hebichi ALL my hugs, but really they needed the hugs BEFORE. They got happier from all their friends still liking them and not thinking they're dumb, though. Everybody has ideas that don't work out sometimes!
When Hebichi felt better, we had a REALLY fun party. Everybody had really GREAT costumes and we had lots of PARTY SWEETS and there was dancing and we played games and there was a costume CONTEST. The pocket foxies won the prize for MOST MECHANICAL with their GIANT ROBOT SNAIL. It had 2 cockpits in the eyestalks and balconies for the foxies to dance and a TURRET at the point of the shell that shot SPARKS, and it crawled around on a big rubbery foot and had a RADULA that stuck out to get candy. It was REALLY GREAT!
None of my siblings won for Most Martian because a teenager was MARS with a whole globe and a map of Mars and STICKERS for people to point to wherever people they know live on Mars. I think the stickers gave them the win, but we all still put stickers pointing to where the Bear-grams live. I got 2nd place for Gooiest because there was a grownup who was a HUGE GREEN SNOT MONSTER and they had to get 1st place or they would HUG the judges. I don't think I ever want to make a costume that isn't good for hugging.
Number-dad was a really SPOOKY fire and he even made his EYES glow. I don't know how he did that and could still SEE, but I didn't hear any magic. Dragon-mom was a LICH QUEEN, that's a really POWERFUL kind of magic zombie, and Fairy-mom was a zombie cat. I didn't like that as much, but she was CREEPY and that's good for Halloween.
Tiny Squeak was a BABY BUNNY. She didn't act like one because she doesn't know about Halloween or pretending or anything, but she was THE CUTEST. VV-gram was a big bunny, so they were cute together and they won 1st place for Parent and Kid costume.
Lots of kids were Shaboop and their friends, because it's a really POPULAR show, and a teenager was Picklina, that's Shaboop's MOM, so they all did KIND OF what she said, and it looked like they had LOTS of fun. I got bopped with the Boobop a few times so I fell down with my pseudopods sticking out all funny and the kids laughed until they fell over.
We danced and partied until we got so tired we had to go in the chill room and take off our costumes and sleep. I wrapped up in the sheet with Hebichi and hugged them with my PSEUDOPODS and it was really nice. They weren't mad at me for not taking care of them at school.
The Halloween party was a HUGE SUCCESS.
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