It had only been a few hours since their meeting with Sachet, that the two had finally gotten back home. One of the few disadvantages of being a Paca who lived outside the city, traveling always took forever and was incredibly taxing. The two burst into the cottage and made a beeline to the egg. They knew their next move would be to take it to Monet and see if he knew anything about where it had come from.
Peppermint Milk ran ahead to grab the egg, just to find one of their worst fears realized, “Ahh Peppermint Sticks, Cookie it’s hatching!” Frosted Cookie’s fur prickled up, she thought that this could happen, but had been really hoping she was just being a worry wort. “What! What are we going to do? Suger we just got back, it took us hours to get back here, we may not be able to get to Monet in time.” Peppermint Milk grabbed their partner and gave her a little squeeze, “Then we will just have to try our best. I’ll grab the small wagon from outside, and you can sit in the barrel with the egg.“ Frosted Cookie looked back at their partner in shock, “Suger, you think you will be able to carry all that weight?” Peppermint Milk snickered a little making the silliest face Cookie had ever seen, “Honey every time I go to the farm to get fresh ingredients, I have to pull that wagon back filled to the brim with milk and eggs. The milk and eggs can get pretty heavy, essentially when we have a big order to fill, and…” Frosted Cookie chuckled before finishing Pepermint’s sentence “And we always have a big order to fill.”
So with their spirits lifted, the two bounced into action, grabbing the egg and their wagon, the two began the trek to the address Sachet had given them. Pausing every little while to check on the egg as well as letting Peppermint Milk catch their breath. It was not till sunset did they finally reach Monet’s place, but the crack that had appeared on the egg had seemingly progressed during their journey, it was obvious the little critter inside was ready to come out.
Frosted Cookie jumped out the wagon and Peppermint Milk parked the old piece of wood in an area where it would hopefully not cause a disturbance. They then banged on Monet’s door anxiously awaiting the supposed “Snekket Master”.
After a few seconds, although for the two bakers, it felt like a few hours, a drowsy Monet opened his door. “Good evening, can I help you two with anything?” “We heard from Sachet you know a lot about Snekkets?” Frosted Cookie said while Peppermint Milk showed him the half-hatched egg, “This appeared on our door-step the other night, we have no idea who gave it to us or how to take care of a baby Snekket, we want to try to return it to its original owner, but they left no trace of who they are. We don't know what to do…” Peppermint Milk said in almost a panic.
Monet looked at the two with amusement, “You two have no need to fret, the egg was gifted to you by a Snekket, because you were chosen for Eggs Giving!” The two looked at each other with confusion before both asking in unison, “What is Eggs Giving?” Monet smiled at the two confused but well-meaning Pacas, “Come in and I will explain,” he said while gently taking the egg from Peppermint’s fins.
“So like us Pacas, Snekkets also have holidays, one of them being Eggs Giving. During Eggs Giving, Snekkets will find whom they deem to be a worthy caregiver and leave an egg on that Paca’s door. This year, It seems you two were chosen to take care of this soon-to-hatch Snekket.” Peppermint Milk and Frosted Cookie looked at each other in terror, “but we know nothing about Snekkets,” Peppermint uttered, “the Snekket must have made a mistake, I don't think we would make very good Snekket care-takers. Why would the Snekket choose us anyway?” Monet put a nub on Peppermint’s shoulder, “I think you are undervaluing yourself here. Think, Snekkets will choose a Paca for a variety of reasons, sometimes it is because they view them as good caregivers, other times it's because they just like the Paca. Is there anything you have done that you feel would draw in a Snekket?” “NO,” Peppermint Milk exclaimed. Frosted Cookie spoke up in protest, “Suger, what about all your pets? You love and take very good care of all those pets, maybe that's why the Snekket chose to leave an egg at our cottage doorstep.” Peppermint Milk shook their head, “Taking care of pets is not the same as taking care of a Snekket, the Snekket will need a lot more time and energy and I am not sure if I can provide that to a Snekket.” Frosted Cookie rubbed their partner’s collar, “Suger, it won’t be all on you, I will be there too. If we raise the Snekket, we will both be raising the Snekket, not just you.”
Monet gave the egg back to them with care, “If what you are scared of is not being good enough care-givers, I feel you have no reason to fear. Bad caregivers would not have spent the whole day trying to figure out what to do with the mysterious egg.” Monet looked at the two but could see they were both still nervous. “The Snekket trusted you with the egg, now you just have to trust yourselves.” The two looked back at Monet, then at each other, then at the egg. “Okay then…” Peppermint Milk uttered, “we will see what happens I guess, thank you Monet.” The two looked back at him one last time and smiled before walking back to their wagon.
It was very late when they left Monet’s place and the two were exhausted after spending hours walking back and forth and back and forth. Frosted Cookie broke the silence first, “Suger, I heard there was an inn not that far from here, would you like to stay there this evening?” Peppermint Milk shook their head slowly, “that would be nice, hon, I don't think I have the energy to walk any farther today.” So the two headed over to the inn to crash, they kept the egg close to them, while they slept so if the Snekket decided it was ready to leave its shell, they would hear it. They both tried to sleep peacefully that evening, for they knew the next day would bring them new adventures, and possibly their new Snekket friend.