More Than My Teeth

But no. It's not a lobster.

It's a spotted-tailed mammal with teeth.

What is it saying?

Don't fly off! 

When I see teeth I fly off, says the Tzeet.

I'm more than my teeth, says the quoll. 

What more? asks the Tzeet.

I'm a crew member, says the quoll. Didn't you see me leap out of that paperbark canoe?

No, says the Tzeet. I wasn't looking. I was thinking.

About your brother? asks the quoll. 

You were sent by my brother? says the Tzeet.

No, says the quoll. But his partner is looking for you.

The Tzeet peeps out between leaves.

There is the lagoon. There is the paperbark canoe in the middle. There is a lobster with his dominant claw in the air, checking for breezes.

Where is she? asks the Tzeet.

Who? asks the quoll.

My brother's partner, says the Tzeet. The one who was looking for me.

She didn't come, says the quoll. WE came.

In fact, only you came, says the Tzeet.

It looks that way, says the quoll.

You with the teeth, says the Tzeet.

You with the feathers, says the quoll.

What's that supposed to mean? asks the Tzeet.

If I was going to eat a bird, says the quoll, it wouldn't be one with orange, green and yellow feathers.

Good to know, says the Tzeet. That's one of the things I've been thinking about, in my solitude.

Whether you'd get eaten? asks the quoll.

Why I am like I am, says the Tzeet. 

The colours?  asks the quoll. 

No, the reasons I can't seem to fit in, says the Tzeet. My brother fitted in. But after the trip on the ferry and the movie and the trip here, I felt restless.

What was the movie? asks the quoll.

The Tzeet recounts the story of the movie he watched on the ferry, with the puppies in colourful uniforms and the magical crystals.

By the time he has finished, the quoll also feels restless.