Red Dragon's Fortune

The small fishing village of Arowana’s Wharf began to awake as the local merchants and fisherman set up shop to sell what little they could offer. They were all lined up along a main street that ran parallel to the docks, where run down and falling apart junks rested in the calm waves. The village was home to many species of residents, although hares and otters were most common. Most people there were humble, wanting nothing more than to get by. But some dreamed of one day making a better life for themselves and their people.

One such individual was a young skunk named Indigo Amethyst. He sat alone on one of the docks, gazing out at the eastern ocean. He was only 14, but he often spent his time by himself instead of goofing off with friends. His fur was a rich blue purple, and his eyes were a bright cyan behind a blue cybernetic visor. Fluffy white hair puffed at the top his head, running down to his shoulders, and a solid white stripe went down his forehead to his nose. His bushy tail was also white, with a purple spade design taking the place of a stripe. He was dressed in a black cloak and brown worker’s pants, and a red bandana hung from his neck and around his left shoulder.

Indigo’s face lit up as his father’s fishing junk came into view over the horizon. Soon he could see his father Lan, in his standard blue and brown fisher’s tunic. His fur was a slightly more purple hue than Indigo’s, but anyone could tell they were related. As the junk docked, the one driving had veered too far to the left, causing the boat to scrape against the wooden dock where Indigo was sitting. He quickly stood up and ran to the street to keep clear as Lan’s crew began shouting to each other.

Turning away, Indigo breathed a sigh of disappointment at himself. He decided to head into market to let his father work, but he glanced back before leaving. The fishing haul was only a mere five crates of fish, four less than his last trip. Indigo worried that soon there wouldn’t be enough to keep the economy of the Wharf going.

The market was more chaotic than the docks. While he walked through, a frantic opossum pushing a cart of flour yelled at him to get out of the way. Indigo quickly stepped back to avoid the cart, but the opossum’s momentum carried it into a fruit stand, breaking the wheel off and sending the fruit flying. Indigo covered his head as several watermelons splat around him, none of them hitting him. He tensed up as he took in the damage.

“Did you do this?” said a familiar voice behind him. He turned to see his sister Lavender smiling at him. She was two years older than him, and had the same purple fur as their father and white hair everyone in their family had. She was dressed in her blue gi top and sweatpants. A lilac bandana was around her neck.

“I mean, technically?” Indigo responded.

“Well don’t beat yourself up over it,” she said.

“Kinda hard not to.”

More people behind them started shouting, and the siblings turned to see what the commotion was. A grand ornately decorated red and gold wagon rolled down the street, stopping in front of the dock where Lan’s junk was parked. Several gray rats stepped out, followed by one larger white rat with green eyes, dressed in a maroon kimono with golden highlights. Indigo and Lavender watched as he stepped up to their father and handed him a parchment.

“Director Xing Jiao,” Lan began, “what is this?”

“An update from your contractors,” the rat responded. Lan briefly read through the parchment, his face dropping.

“They’ll only honor our equipment loans as long as we triple our fishing output?”

“That is correct,” Jiao said. “And they want results by the end of the month.”

“But that’s not possible. The fish are leaving, thanks to all the pollution dumped into the harbor by your people in Fuyou Zhong. Our junks don’t have the range to follow them.”

“That’s your problem, not mine. I’m just here to deliver the message.” Jiao returned to the wagon, riding off as Lan’s shoulders slumped.

---

That night at dinner Indigo, Lavender, and Lan sat in silence as the teens’ mother Zisa prepared the table. She was just as tall as Lan and dressed in a light blue smock. Her fur was the same color as Indigo. As she was putting some plates down, one slipped out of her grip, shattering on the floor.

“Sorry, Mom,” Indigo said quietly.

“How many times do I have to tell you not every inconvenience we have is your fault,” she said gently.

“They kinda are, with my curse and all.”

“That curse is not your fault either. I gladly accepted before you were even born the misfortune you’d bring as long as it meant you were always safe. Besides, the money I make trading with the Market means we’ll always have more plates.” She was referring to the local Black Market, of which she was a fence. She looked over at Indigo, whose face remained depressed. She crouched down next to him, speaking gently.

“Do you remember why this village is called Arowana’s Wharf?”

“Because it’s the sacred fish of Good Luck?” Indigo answered.

“That’s right, and just because we got a lot of bad luck now doesn’t mean we won’t have some good luck in the future.”

They finished their dinner, and Indigo decided to go to his room, Lavender following.

“Mom’s right you know,” she said. “You’re lucky, the people around you aren’t. But that doesn’t mean you have to blame yourself.”

“It’s hard not to,” Indigo said.

“You know who’s really to blame?” Indigo raised his head, Lavender pointing out the porthole of their houseboat at the docks where the rich would park their junks. Indigo could barely make out a large junk, but he recognized Xing Jiao’s insignia on the side.

“People like him. Who come into our town and demand more from our people just to make them even more money.”

“What are we supposed to do about it?” Indigo asked.

Their conversation was cut short as they heard their mother exclaim from the other room. They peeked through the crack in the door as Zisa threw the parchment Jiao gave Lan onto the table.

“Jiao wants you to bring in more fish?” she yelled. “While his ship is parked in our harbor transporting his personal collection of rare fish?”

“He said it was the only way for the Fisher’s Union to keep its loans,” Lan explained.

“I can’t believe this!” Zisa stormed away to her room, Lan following.

Lavender closed the door to Indigo’s room and turned back to her brother.

“Did you hear that about Jiao’s rare fish collection?” she asked.

“So he has money, what are we supposed to do?” Indigo responded.

“Think about it. Mom’s a fence for the Black Market. Imagine if we got our paws on that fish collection. We turn around and trade it for the fish Dad needs, and his loans are paid off.”

“That sounds like a bad idea.”

“Jiao’s ship’s right there. With your good luck, you won’t get caught. And your bad luck will make it so no one around can stop you.”

“I don’t like it.”

“There’s no way Dad will get the fish he needs in time. It’s either this, or we’re homeless.”

Indigo waited a moment, closing his eyes. Finally, he opened them, realizing Lavender was right.

“Okay,” he breathed, “let’s do it.”