Boxes and Names

Fish carried the Trubsaw Baby through the underground world of the BoxTrolls. He smiled at the child who only cooed in response. Despite being human the baby is, without a doubt, adorable to him and the others. It's been days since those Red Hats have broken into his human friend's home and...

Fish shuddered at the horrendous memory and held the child tighter. He didn't want to recall that tragedy, and he certainly didn't want this baby to either. Speaking of this baby he will be needing a name, Fish never got a chance to know what Herbert called him, and a box since he is part of the family now.

The BoxTroll spotted Shoe by the pile of scraps from their recent nightly collecting. He waved over to his friend, who turned and smiled at them, and walked over to the pile, his baby giggling along the way.

Upon standing a foot from his friend Fish told him he needs a box to hide in, and to provide a name based on the cover. Shoe nodded and, after stuffing his mouth with the bugs he was feasting on, climbed on to the pile of scraps and dug through it.

Fish had to hold the baby and moved back several times as oddments fell, almost landing on their heads. He called out to Shoe, warning him to be careful, and grumbled to himself with an eye-roll.

Finally Shoe came back with a flattened box bearing no picture. He smiled proudly and handed it to Fish, who took it with a skeptical look. Unfolding the box, fish found it to have no cover to name the baby by, and barely holding together, for it was ripped to the edges.

Fish gave an expression saying "Really?" to his fellow BoxTroll and Shoe's smile faltered. He whined that it was the first one he found, and that he even picked it up himself in the collecting.

Fish rolled his eyes and gestured to the box, saying it was no condition to use, and it doesn't even have a picture to name the child bye.

Shoe waved his hand in dismissal but went back up to the pile and dug through it again. As more debris fell Fish crossed his arms but waited patiently for his friend. He looked at the baby, who was teething a piece of metal, and smiled fondly at him. He'll teach the kid how to hunt for good parts to build. He'll make a great BoxTroll when he's older.

Shoe finally slid back down and carried a metal box that bore a white hat on its face. Fish took note that it had no holes on it.

Shoe proudly held out the box to Fish, pointing to the white hat symbol on the front. Fish only tapped spaces where the holes should be. Realizing his error, Shoe looked around until something caught his eye and he made a "Wait" gesture before dropping the box and running off.

As Fish stayed in his place the Trubshaw Baby crawled into the box and peeked out to him. He giggled and waved his hands, begging for attention. Fish bent down and played with his hands until Shoe came back with a sharp tool built of various parts. It had the handle of a hammer but bore a sharpened screwdriver, tied with metal wiring, in the head's place.

Fish picked up the baby as Shoe happily drove the tool through the metal walls, making four large circles. His work done, Shoe dropped the tool and held his arms out for the baby. Fish was at first skeptical about this, but nonetheless, handed him over.

Shoe placed the baby back in the metal box and moved the arms through the holes, and placed his feet where the bottom holes are. He gestured for the baby to stand up, but upon first trial he wasn't able to move an inch. He tried multiple times and gave a whimper at the final failure. Shoe tapped his chin in thought and Fish just stated this is impossible for anyone to wear.

He picked the baby and decided to just let the matter be but Shoe grabbed his arm and begged him to wait. Giving him one last chance, Fish complied and stood in his place. He tapped his foot impatiently. It was getting late and he already sees multiple BoxTrolls coming together for the pile.

Shoe frantically dug through the pile, desperate to find something useful this time. Through his rush he tossed aside an open box with a picture of an egg as the cover. The box floated in the air before landing delicately at Fish's feet. Curiously he picked it up and inspected it. The box was small, small enough to fit the baby in, and had a picture this time.

"Eggs" he said amusingly. Yes, that's a good name. He did here Herbert planning to name the baby with an "E" as the starting letter. With a whistle, Fish took Shoe's tool and cut out four small holes for "Eggs" hands and feet. Placing the chid in, he inspected how it looked. Not bad, the box this time held together, was light enough to move around in, and was even big enough to hide in. It's perfect.

And Eggs thought so too. He waved his arms and legs and giggled as he walked around in it. Tripping he fell, beginning to whimper, but Fish immediately picked him up and hugged him until his sorrows went away. Eggs reached out to touch Fish's face and he chuckled.

He looked at Shoe, who was still rummaging though the pile and shook his head with a smile. He called out to his friend, who popped out with a pasta strainer on his head, and gestured to the Trubshaw Baby with his own box.

"Eggs!" he shouted and pointed to the picture of the eggs on the box. "Eggs!" And with that he left, carrying Eggs, to the box-pile.

Upon realizing what he had done. Shoe gave a cheer with a jump, but slipped and ended up sliding down the pile and tumbling to the Boxtrolls, who are now asleep. Shrugging, he climbed onto the top and gave Eggs a pat on the head and Fish a nod goodnight before squeezing inside his box and went to sleep with a proud smile. He finally got the right loot.