A Chance To Fly by Celesdragon |  |
"Don't be late, Don't be late!"
Sheraw repeated over and over in his head as he jumped and ran through the
area of the Mystery Island Forest separating his family's house and their cousins'.
He spared a glance upwards through the canopy to spot silver, red and yellow
pairs of wings making their way through the sky. Not for the first time did
he wish for wings, instead of four white paws that kept him earthbound. The
Kougra spat a mild curse as he tripped over a branch and let the package he
was carrying slip go. He and his family of Shoyrus were already late for the
party and he did not need to show up late, dirty, and with a broken present.
Last week they had shown up late with his oldest cousin's present and missed
when she had received her new Anubis. C.D. had been absolutely furious! That
hadn't been his fault that time, Shoka had taken too long at the dock haggling
for some fruit. This was the time though, he moaned as he made his way to the
edge of the forest and out onto the lane where Litanime's house was. Why did
he have to be the only one that had to run through the forest, everyone else
could fly above and not get dirty. Seeing his sisters and brother already at
the door, he put on an extra bit of speed and got to the door breathless seconds
after Shoka.
"Late again?" rumbled Skanranon, Litanime's huge silver Eyrie who was holding
the door. Skan hadn't meant to sound so mean, but in Sheraw's mood it sounded
horrible. Sheraw greeted the Eyrie and quickly walked away and into the main
room of the house. He was instantly overwhelmed by an array of colours, species,
and various PetPets who had invaded the house in honor of Lita's second pet's
one year birthday. Attempting to step over a pair of Gruslens wrestling on the
floor, he looked around for somewhere to put the present. His cousins, Burrakki
and Aquadra, waved him over to the solid oak table that was the center of the
dining room. "You look a mess, what you do, trip in the mud on the way here?"
At Sheraw's silent downwards gaze, the painted pets started laughing. "You're
almost a match for Burrakki's colour!" The shadowed Gelert pushed the mud splattered
Kougra into the bathroom. "Here, take a towel and try to wash off. C.D. will
have a fit if she saw you in anything less than your best white." With that,
the pair left to join the party and run crowd control.
A few minutes later, he reentered the dining room cleaned. He looked around
for anyone he knew, and spotted his Shoyru sisters in the middle of a huge group
of various painted and plainfurs. Celes was comparing her red fur to that of
a red Aisha, while Ghardi had found her boyfriend, Deraxyl, and had moved to
the back of the crowd to talk to him in quiet. They were giggling over something,
probably the red Aisha Celes was talking to. Shoka was listening to a pair of
greenish Wockys by the door. He knew of a few others in the crowd which consisted
mainly of Shoyrus, Aishas, and a few random faerie pets. Too many winged pets
he noticed, instantly jealous. He left the room, searching out someone else
to talk to. He found his owner, C.D., in the Dragon den, Litanime's lounge.
She was deep in a conversation with several other owners. A few rooms later
he was attempting to avoid Skan, the Eyrie seemed to be following him for some
reason. Skanranon and Sheraw did not get along even at the best times.
"Hey little brother!" He blinked and turned to see another Kougra's face.
"Earthsky!" he exclaimed.
"What do you think so far of the party, little brother?"
The red Kougra laughed, knowing his hatred of crowds. She had always called
him "little brother" even though she was only his cousin, it was a sense of
closeness for the only two Kougras in a huge extended family. He teased her
back, knowing she didn't like so much attention, even if it was her birthday.
He handed over the present and wished her a happy year, before leaving to finish
exploring.
He decided to head up to the second floor room that had only recently been
built. It was an open air room, made for the flying pets to land at when they
came home. He loved the room, and was waiting for C.D. to build one for the
Shoyrus in his family. He found no one up there, and settled down in front of
the huge window to let the wind finish drying his fur. He never heard the pet
come up behind him until it cleared it's throat. The Kougra jumped before realising
it was Skanranon. He dreaded the words that were coming, Skan never said anything
to him that wasn't "in his best interest".
"How's it going?" the Eyrie asked, shocking the Kougra into silence.
The Eyrie sat next to him and stared out into the sky. Sheraw stared up at
the silver-feathered pet before turning back to looking at clouds. "I noticed
you didn't seem to want to talk to any of the other pets, so I figured I'd come
up and see what's bugging you." The Kougra thought about answering with an attitude,
but decided to ask what was really bothering him.
"What's it like to fly?" he asked, watching Skan turn to look at him in shock.
"That's what's bothering you?!" the Eyrie couldn't stop from laughing.
Sheraw now even more in a bad mood, ignored him for a few seconds before answering.
"Everyone else in my family can fly, Celes, Ghardi, even Shoka! And you and
Aquadra can too. I'm the only groundpounder in my whole family. I want to fly!
And between taking care of four of us, C.D. can't afford to buy a Faerie paintbrush!
The only people who are willing to sell a brush cheap are thieves. Do you know
what it's like to want to experience something so bad it hurts?" Sheraw emphasized
by thawing his paw onto the wooden floor.
The Eyrie regarded him in silence and turned to look at the sky again. "Actually...
I do," he answered, "You know the
gallery under Neopia Central? There's a painting there... of a desert
Eyrie. The Faeries have never made a desert brush that could paint us, but someone
painted one on canvas anyway. Since the first time I saw it, I've always wanted
to be painted that way. Silver is a great colour, especially for Eyries, but
that painting..." The Eyrie shook his head and kept staring out into the sky.
"I know what it's like to want something so bad it hurts. I know what you feel
like, trust me." The Kougra watched the other pet reach into a pouch hidden
behind one of his wings. He pulled out what looked like hairs or bristles. "Unlike
me, there can be something done for you. A while ago, I was wandering the Rainbow
Pool with a fellow Eyrie. He works there, protecting the pool from jokesters.
When I asked him about Eyrie brushes, he gave these to me. They're bristles
from a faerie brush, he meant for me to try them whenever the faeries decided
to make a Faerie Eyrie. Since it's only a few bristles, the affects are temporary,
about an hour or so. A trial period, I guess."
He placed the precious bristles on the floor, between the two pets. "I've given
up my dream of being Faerie instead for becoming Desert. I think you should
try these, if you wish to try flying." With that, the Eyrie opened his wings
and took off into the sky, leaving a silver feather to float and land next to
the precious bristles.
Sheraw stared at the small pile of miracles, before using the feather to pick
up the brush remains and stuffed it all into his pouch hidden around his neck.
He rushed down the stairs, deciding whether or not to tell C.D. about Skan's
gift. He hung a quick left out the door, neatly avoiding the crowd of Lupes
and Chias staring down each other and ran out the door, yelling a Hi - Bye to
the few he recognised. He knew he had about two hours before the party would
be over, and just once... he would like to feel the wind blow under his wings
while soaring above the island. Just for even the small time Skan had given
him, he would endure a lifetime of being grounded by the limits of being a normal
Kougra.
The End |
