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Tory anxiously walked alongside her new owner, Dana, as
they were making their way down Wishing Well Drive, in Neopia Central. She was
so excited! It seemed that she had been in the Neopian Pound forever. But lucky
for her, a kind young girl named Dana said that Tory would fit in with her family
perfectly.
“You’ll love Kaliegh, my other Neopet. I’m sure
you two will get along great. She’s always wanted a sister, and I could never
find her the right one… until now.” Tory smiled as Dana gave her an affectionate
pat on her rough head. She had been to other Neohomes before, but Tory always
ended up back in the pound with Dr. Death and the other rejected Neopets. But
she felt good about this one. Dana seemed like a great person from the short
time that Tory was talking to her.
Dana led Tory up to the front porch of a pretty
Neohome made out of brick. She unlocked the door and called, “Kaliegh, come
meet your new sister!”
Tory waited anxiously as she heard the sound
of footsteps coming down the stairs. Feeling shy, she stepped behind Dana and
lowered her head. A beautiful Faerie Usul came graciously down the stairs and
climbed up into Dana’s arms, not even noticing Tory.
“Mommy!” Kaliegh shrieked and she asked, “Where’s
my new sister?” Dana set Kaliegh down in front of Tory and Kaliegh gasped and
took a step back. Tory smiled, in what she hoped would seem like a friendly
way.
“What pointy teeth…” Kaliegh noticed and Tory
stopped smiling at once. “What is it, Mommy?”
“Don’t be silly, honey, her name is Tory and
she’s a Kougra. She’s… erm, a mutant Kougra. Now, why don’t you be a good little
sister and show Tory to her bedroom.”
Kaliegh nodded tentatively and turned her back
on Tory, fleeing up the stairs.
“Don’t mind Kaliegh, she’s just…shy,” said Dana
reassuringly, and she motioned for Tory to follow her up the stairs. “I’ll have
dinner ready soon.” Dana disappeared into a different room.
“What a beautiful Neohome,” said Tory, amazed
at all of the nice furniture and vastness of the house.
Kaliegh pointed vaguely down the hall, “That
is your room.”
“Thanks, but where’s yours?” Tory asked politely.
Kaliegh considered the thought of showing a mutant
Neopet her room. She sighed and pushed open the first door to the left. Inside
was a Regal Oak Wood bed, a pink rug, and posters all over the walls. Little
dolls dressed up were sitting on her dresser. They looked just like Kaliegh.
“Are these dolls you?” Tory pointed to one of
the dolls dressed in a white outfit.
“No, those are called Usukis. I have hundreds
of them. Except for one. Ballerina Usuki. She’s hard to find. Why don’t you
go and find your room, now?”
“Okay,” said Tory, and she slipped out of Kaliegh’s
bedroom. She cautiously pushed open a door on her right. The bathroom. Well,
at least I know where that is… Tory thought. The door on the far left turned
out to be hers. It had a bed just like Kaliegh’s and a dresser. Tory flopped
down on the bed, and the only word that came to her mind was… home.
***
After dinner that night, Tory knocked on Kaliegh’s door. The Usul opened it,
her green wings flapping gently in a rush to answer Tory’s knock. Her face fell
when she saw Tory.
“Can I play with you?” Tory asked.
“I suppose,” Kaliegh said scornfully. She sat
down on the rug and admired all of her Usukis that were lying in front of her.
“Which one can I play with?” Tory asked.
“Uh,” Kaliegh surveyed her dolls a minute, and
then she pointed to one wearing a yellow outfit. “You can be her. Tyrannian
Usuki. I have two of them.”
Tory picked up the toy, feeling warm inside.
Kaliegh told Tory that the Usuki needed to get her fur brushed for her wedding.
As Tory eagerly tried to brush the Usuki’s fur with her paw, one of her black
claws got in the way and she accidentally tore a chunk of the bride’s fur out.
The yellow hair came off in Tory’s claws and she tried to get it out.
Kaliegh screamed. “Moooo-oooom!”
Dana came running into Kaliegh’s bedroom, “What’s
wrong?” she asked, her eyes filled with concern. Kaliegh showed Dana the Usuki
with the chunk of fur ripped out.
“I’m sorry, Kaliegh!” Tory tried to apologize,
“It was an accident!”
Kaliegh started to cry and Dana picked her up
in her arms, trying to calm her down, “It’s okay, honey, we can fix it!”
Kaliegh wiped her tears away and rounded on Tory,
“Don’t you ever touch my dolls again, you mutant!” Horrified, Tory bolted from
the room and down the hallway, where she slammed the door and hid under her
covers.
“Tory, wait!” Dana called.
Tory felt like crying herself. Her one chance
at having a sister, and now she screwed that up. Why do I mess everything
up? she thought. Dana knocked on the door. Here comes my ex-owner to
take me back to the pound…. Dana came in and said, “Tory, are you okay?”
She pulled back the covers on the bed and found Tory curled up in a ball, trying
to pick the rest of the Usuki’s fur out of her claws. “Don’t worry about that.”
“I was just trying to brush the doll’s hair,”
Tory explained, “I didn’t mean to…”
“I know, baby.” Dana cuddled Tory in her arms
and rubbed her back, “Everything will be okay.”
“Can I go out for a little bit?” Tory asked.
“But you just got here,” Dana protested. But
seeing the look in Tory’s eyes she added, “All right. Be back soon.” She slipped
some Neopoints into Tory’s paw and gave her one last hug before Tory rushed
out of the house and down the street.
***
At the Bazaar, Tory looked for the Usuki Shop. What was that Usuki called?
Tyrannian Usuki. Tory pushed open the door and asked the Blumaroo behind the
counter,
“Do you know if you have a Tyrannian Usuki?”
As the Blumaroo went to check, Tory waited anxiously.
The Blumaroo returned and shook her head. Tory thanked her anyway and turned
to leave. Something in the window caught her eye.
An Usuki in the window display read, “Ballerina
Usuki -- Limited Edition!” Ballerina Usuki? That was the one that Kaliegh had
wanted! Tory gasped and rushed back inside the store.
***
Tory got home that evening only to find that Kaliegh was avoiding her. She
trudged upstairs past Kaliegh and crawled under her covers again. Dana sat at
the foot of the bed, trying to console Tory, “Kaliegh didn’t mean what she said.
She’ll just have to get used to having another Neopet in the family.” Tory nodded
and tried not to cry. Dana scratched Tory’s ears and then left the room. Tory
heard her going back downstairs. She thought about Kaliegh’s present that was
concealed under her bed. The door opened and Tory closed her eyes, thinking
it was Dana.
“Tory?” It was Kaliegh. Tory opened her red eyes.
“I’m sorry,” The Usul whispered. Tory smiled and sat up.
“I have something for you,” said Tory, accepting
her apology. Dana appeared in the doorway. Tory handed the bag to Kaliegh and
she reached inside. Her face lit up,
“Wow! Ballerina Usuki!” She exclaimed, “Oh, thank
you!” To Tory’s surprise, Kaliegh wrapped her arms around Tory’s shaggy neck
and for the first time, Kaliegh smiled. She ripped open the package and withdrew
the beautiful doll.
“Do you want to play with me, Tory?” She asked
and Tory’s grin widened.
“I promise I’ll be more careful this time.”
Kaliegh laughed and picked up the Tyrannian Usukis.
One was in mint condition, and the other had the chunk of fur ripped out. Kaliegh
smiled and looked down at the perfect one. She handed it to Tory saying, “Here.
Keep her. Now you can start your own collection.” Dana sat down with them and
gave them both a hug.
At that moment, Tory knew that she was accepted
into their family. She couldn’t have asked for anything else.
The End
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