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Illusen sat in her glade, waiting for pets to ask her
for a quest. Today was just not her day. She stroked her long hair and twirled
it with her fingers, sighing heavily. She gazed at the passing Neopets, and
all of the sudden, a plan formed in her head.
After she had put up the “Closed, please come
back later” sign on her door, she walked into her back room. She took out a
few of her supplies and started mixing up a potion, as she usually did when
she was bored out of her mind. She would make a very good prize for finishing
her last quest, even better and more powerful than the one she had now!
Illusen furrowed her brow and stuck out her tongue
as she concentrated on her formula. She threw in various items, a few thorns,
some cloth, and quite a bit of other junk and stirred it up, then put it on
her table to sit for a few hours while she went back to give more quests.
When she came back inside for the day, she was
exhausted. She went over to check on her mixture on the table. The Faerie glanced
inside the bowl, but it was empty. She frowned and placed a finger thoughtfully
on her chin. Quickly looking around the room, she noticed a green lump right
next to her fireplace, moving up and down, as if it were breathing.
Walking over to it, she tapped it on the shoulder.
“Excuse me, what are you doing in my house? Would you possibly like a quest?”
she asked, making the creature jump up, staring at her with fright in it’s large
eyes.
Illusen also jumped back at the sight of the
creature. She stared it over curiously, noting that it had two horns, hooves,
soft, silky fur, and irresistible button eyes. “Oh my!” she gasped. “You’re
my... my creation! But how... This is unbelievable! But you certainly won’t
do for a quest prize! Oh no, most certainly not.” She continued chattering to
herself, debating on what she should do with it.
“Mama?” asked the horned animal, looking at her
eagerly.
The Earth Faerie gasped. She had no room in her
life for a pet! She quickly changed the subject with the little thing. “I’ll
call you...” she thought for a moment before finishing with satisfaction, “Ixi!
Yes, that will fit you well!”
***
After tucking Ixi into bed, Illusen tipsy toed over to the couch to get some
sleep. No sooner than had she fallen fast asleep, she felt something wet on
her cheek. She opened one eye, and saw the little Ixi whimpering on the floor.
“I’m scared,” she whimpered, looking up hopefully at Illusen.
“Oh all right, get on the couch. You can sleep
with me tonight I suppose.” Without a second comment, the Ixi jumped up and
snuggled down to sleep, and Illusen started to sing a lullaby softly.
***
The next day, Illusen woke up and stretched. She looked around and sighed;
Ixi was nowhere in sight. “Ixi, where are you NOW?” she called.
“Mfft! Pffft! Mmhhmmm!” came the muffled reply.
The Faerie smiled and headed for the kitchen,
opening her cupboard door. “There you are!” she exclaimed, pretending to be
surprised. Ixi looked up from the cereal box and smiled sheepishly.
Illusen scooped up her creation into her arms
and poured some cereal into a bowl, setting it on the table for Ixi. “There
you go, little fella. Eat up! We have a long day ahead of us!” Illusen turned
around and muttered to herself, “And it involves a quick trip to the pound.”
***
After breakfast, Illusen got ready to start her day’s work of giving out quests.
No matter how often she did it, somehow, it never got tiring. “Congratulations!
You have completed quest #29!” she exclaimed happily, patting the young Kau
on the head gently.
“Umm, can I have a quest?” asked a sheepish Acara.
“Of course you can!” Illusen exclaimed. “Please
fetch me a Green Beanbag Chair!”
After a few minutes, the Acara came back, hauling
a beanbag with her. “Here you go,” she panted.
“Why thank you! You have completed quest # 1!”
she handed the pet a small token of appreciation, turning back to the long line
of pets who waited before her.
Ixi sat patiently next to Illusen, constantly
being petted and “oohed” at by other pets and their owners. “You must be very
proud to have such a rare pet like that!” one human commented.
Illusen tried to smile, but couldn’t. “Why...
thank you...” she murmured, dreading what she was going to do later on that
day.
***
Later that day, the Faerie turned to Ixi. “What do you say we take a stroll
around Neopia and see what you think?”
Ixi nodded her little green head vigorously,
eager to walk around and stretch her legs. Illusen couldn’t help but giggle
at her creation.
Once they reached Neopia Central, Ixi’s eyes
widened in amazement. “Mama, look!” she gasped, gesturing towards the toy shop.
“Can you buy me something? Please?” The Faerie smiled and nodded, entering the
shop.
A few minutes later, they exited from the Toy
Shop, Ixi beaming with pride at her new Blue Lupe Plushie.
Their next stop was the Slushie Shop. Illusen
laughed at Ixi attempts to try and use a straw with her slushie. It resulted
in slushie all over Ixi and the floor. The duo stopped at a few more stores.
Illusen had never shopped anywhere before, as she always was brought everything
she could possibly want or need, by all the pets who were more than eager to
complete her quests, and get a big reward, or possibly a trophy.
Once Ixi was satisfied with playing with her
knowledge of Neopia Central, Illusen knew what she had to do now. If she waited
any longer, she might not be able to bring herself to do it. “Where next mama?”
asked Ixi.
Illusen stood up and started walking, and immediately
Ixi followed. After walking for a few moments, she opened a door and walked
inside the building.
“Dr_Death,” she said softly. “I-I have to...
give her to you. Her name is Ixi.”
Dr_Death gasped. “Where did you come across a
rare pet like her? I’ve never seen anything like her! You’ve created a new pet,
the Ixi! Everybody will be wanting one.” Illusen nodded, knowing that the Techo
would see to it that there were more Ixi across Neopia in the near future.
The little green Ixi looked up questioningly
at Illusen. “What are you doing mama?”
Illusen stifled a sob. “I’m not your mama, Ixi...
I can’t take care of you. I’m so sorry,” she said, giving Ixi one last hug before
bursting out of the Adoption Center.
***
Two Years Later...
Ixi were now one of the most popular pets in Neopia. As Illusen sat giving
out quests, she’d remember her own little Ixi, and would regret getting rid
of her. She had been such a bundle of joy, so happy and innocent. She hadn’t
known why things had happened the way they did. All Illusen could hope was that
she had been given a wonderful home and family.
She’d smile at the pets and give them quests,
rewarding them as need be, but it wasn’t the same as before she had met Ixi.
Sometimes, a pet would catch her staring off into space daydreaming, and would
have to get her attention to snap her attention back to earth.
***
A few weeks later, Illusen groaned as her alarm clock rang. “I’m not ready
for another day of this,” she mumbled, forcing herself out of bed. She ran her
hands through her sparkling hair, which was smooth as silk, even after just
waking up.
After a quick breakfast, she rushed outside to
find that there was already an enormous line of pets waiting for her; she was
late, for the first time in her life. She sighed as she sat down, hoping for
something out of the ordinary to happen to her.
“Okay, you can do it, just five more pets until
lunch break,” the Faerie thought to herself. Finally, she was down to her last
pet. “Why am I so eager to get out of here?” she thought. “It didn’t used to
be like this! I used to love my job, but now--” a voice interrupted her thoughts.
“I’m here for a quest,” came a shy, familiar
voice. Illusen looked up and gasped to see her little Ixi standing right there
before her eyes, beaming with happiness.
“Ixi!” the Faerie squealed, getting on her knees
and hugging the not-so-small green bundle and sobbing with joy. “Where have
you been these past years?” she asked softly.
Ixi smiled as Illusen embraced her, and told
her the whole story of how Dr_Death had decided not to put her in the pound,
and instead had kept her until he had experimented enough to make a new species
of neopet--the Ixi. After wandering around aimlessly for a few days after Dr_Death
had let her leave, she had decided to return to Illusen in hope of being wanted.
Illusen beamed and gave her long-lost pet another
hug, telling her how special she was. "Lunch is ready," she said happily, dragging
Ixi inside, and putting an "Out for Lunch" sign on her door.
Finally, after so long, Ixi and Illusen were
reunited. And they would never again be separated in all of their lives.
The End
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