I was the only real inquisitive one of the bunch. Sure, the others had plenty
of curiosity and a desire to learn, but they focused it on Neopia. I, on the
other hand, was driven to find out just what MiracleStar was hiding from us.
For she was hiding things. She never spoke about her past, not once. My siblings
never asked. When I did, she merely shrugged off my questions. So I was left
to discover who she was myself.
Taffin and I stood on the sidewalk outside a small shop
in Neopia Central. It was a privately owned one, as are the majority of shops.
We just stood there, trying not to look suspicious, chatting about inane topics.
The few Neopians that passed discreetly stared at our wings, but I ignored them.
I still couldn't fly, hovering was difficult enough right now. But we were learning.
Skyil finally emerged from the store, carrying a cheap book. She rejoined us
with a careful smile, and we started off down the sidewalk. Once we were out
of sight of the building, we ducked into an alley to await Jaix. He appeared
silently, startling all of us, as we had not even seen or heard him until he
was standing right over Taffin's shoulder.
"Gah, Jaix!" the Kyrii gasped. "Please don't
do that!"
"Sorry," the Acara replied.
"I don't see why MiracleStar chose this shop,"
I murmured, glancing at Skyil.
She shrugged, still holding the book.
"Well, doesn't matter why, she did, and tonight,
it's ours!" Taffin said happily, fidgeting, like usual.
I gave the Aisha a hard stare.
"What did you find out?" I demanded of her.
She paused for a moment, looking at the sky.
"The girl who runs it, crewchik1221, doesn't
have any extra security besides a lock. She has two pets, neither of them very
strong. The shop is not watched at night, and the lock isn't too hard to get
through. The girl doesn't think she has anything of worth in there. She's going
to empty the shop till tomorrow morning."
"I scoped out the outside pretty well…" Jaix
said, "it'll be easy to get into. Skyil's right, the lock is pretty piddly."
"All right then. Let's go tell MiracleStar,"
I said.
***
Our first couple months of living with our new owner consisted of us learning
the art of her trade. Lock picking, stealth, lying, everything a good thief
needs to know. We soon assumed roles, and began to work not as surly, independent
pound pets, but as a team. MiracleStar was our leader, she directed and guided
us, in turn, we followed her with absolute trust. Jaix was our fighter, and
our scout, as he was the most stealthy of us all. Taffin did most of the delicate
work, even with all his nervous fidgeting, when it came to lock picking and
the such, he was the most gifted.
Skyil worked with manipulating people, with her
mind-reading, she knew exactly what to say and do. Though I worried about her,
she was timid and seemed to regard her gift with more fear than the rest of
us.
I became the leader of the four of us, as MiracleStar
often had us work independently. I organised the other three pets, around what
MiracleStar told us to do. I had the fastest reaction time to making decisions,
unlike MiracleStar, who only seemed to be able to keep track of herself. I don't
know why this happened, as I was still much a loner. You'd think Taffin, who
got along with everyone would be the leader. Or Jaix, whose silent and unwavering
confidence was in contrast to my temperamental moodiness. But next to MiracleStar,
I was in charge.
***
We tromped into our house together, not really talking. MiracleStar was sitting
in the living room, writing in a notebook. She shut it when we came in and carried
it to her room. The other three took seats on the sofa, but I peered down the
hallway, catching a glimpse of MiracleStar placing the notebook in one of her
dresser drawers. She re-entered the room and I hopped up to sit next to Jaix
on the edge of the sofa. Our owner took a seat opposite us.
"So?" she asked.
"Piece of cake," Taffin sniffed.
"No security outside a lock, an easy one at
that," I elaborated. "But there's not really good stuff in there, why are we
robbing it?"
"Practice," she replied, with a cryptic smile.
And that was all. She left for her room without
another explanation. Taffin and Skyil also wondered off to their rooms to prepare
for the night, but I snagged Jaix before he could leave also.
"Don't you think this is kind of odd?" I demanded
of the Acara.
He merely shrugged. "You've been prying into
MiracleStar's life from the day we were adopted," he snapped. "Just leave her
alone."
And then he too left.
I sighed and went to my room.
My room was rather small, and on the upstairs
level. It overhung the back entrance, meaning I had a window leading directly
out onto the roof. I closed and locked the door behind me, I had no desire to
be bothered today. I then sat on my bed and stared glumly at the floor. Perhaps
Jaix was right. Perhaps I was just being nosy, and should mind my own business.
But it bothered me that our owner would not even tell us her past. What was
she hiding? Why'd she become a thief anyway? I heard someone walking around
downstairs, heading into the kitchen from the sounds of it. I recognised the
footsteps as MiracleStar's, she was the heaviest person in the house, after
all, she was human. I hesitated, than nodded to myself. I hurried over to the
window and pried it open, quickly removing the screen and setting it aside.
I then clambered out onto the roof, using my tail and wings for balance. I crept
silently across the shingles, knowing that my siblings had incredible hearing,
but also knowing that they were used to me getting up here. I stopped just above
MiracleStar's room. I took a deep breath, and jumped off the rooftop. I beat
my wings, hard, hearing the wind rush beneath them. I hovered in mid-air. Breathing
a deep sigh of relief, I turned in mid-air, ever so slowly so as not to upset
my balance, and pried open MiracleStar's window. I folded my wings and dropped,
grabbing onto the sill and pulling myself into her room. Sure enough, the door
was shut, like always. And Skyil's room was right next to MiracleStar's, so
she would of heard me enter if I'd gone the traditional route. I crept over
to the dresser and eased the drawer open. The notebook was laying there, and
I cracked it open to the page she'd been writing on when we came in.
"Are you always this nosy?" a voice said from
the window behind me.
I nearly leaped out of my fur.
"Taffin!" I spluttered, eyeing the Kyrii angrily
as he awkwardly slid through the open window.
"Yep. Heard ya scrabbling around on the roof
and thought I'd see what you're up to."
"I'm…" I said, desperately searching for an
excuse.
"Poking your Zafara nose into things that you
shouldn't," he said sternly.
He stopped, listening.
"C'mon, we'll talk more in your room," he muttered,
making his way gingerly out the window. I didn't bother with being careful,
merely leaping out the window, spinning in midjump and catching myself on the
sill outside. I pushed up against the side of the house with my back paws, beating
my dragon wings, and slammed the window down. I managed to gain enough altitude
to snag the edge of the roof and haul myself over.
"Show-off," Taffin muttered, rolling his eyes.
I sat down on the rooftop, looking out across
Neopia.
"So, the absolute truth," he said, sitting next
to me. "Why are you so nosy about MiracleStar?"
I shrugged.
"I don't know. I just am, I guess…"
"Faeries above Nianso!" Taffin said in exasperation.
"Look, Taffin!" I snapped, leaping to my feet.
"Just leave me alone, all right? I can do what I want. I'm a Dragon Thief now,
remember?"
The Kyrii looked at me for a long time, than
stood, spreading his own dragon wings.
"And so am I. And Jaix and Skyil. We're a team
Nianso, it's time you got that through your head."
And he hopped off the side of the house and floated
down to the ground. I stared after him, then returned to my own room.
It was a nervous wait until nightfall. I donned
my cloak solemnly, a pure black one MiracleStar had made to cover my blue fur
and wings, and gathered up my thieving tools, lock picks, a dagger, and other
assorted useful items. I strung these on a belt around my waist. I then looked
in the mirror, and brushed my bright blue fur out of my eyes. I took a deep
breath, and walked downstairs where the rest where waiting.
***
We fanned out when we neared the shop. MiracleStar and Jaix headed for the
back, Taffin and I for the front, and Skyil climbed up on the roof, keeping
a lookout for anything or anyone. I nodded to the fire Kyrii, his vivid flames
hidden beneath his cloak. He nodded back and starting working on the lock, his
paws busy with the lock.
"Too bad you can't teleport through solid objects,"
I muttered, but he ignored me, absorbed in his task.
There was a soft click, and Taffin smugly opened
the door, holding it open and mock-bowing to me.
"After you!"
I smiled and slipped inside, and he followed.
Once in, Taffin started looking for valuables while I went to the back and let
MiracleStar and Jaix in. She nodded to me and headed straight for the backroom.
I shrugged and took up a post near the front door.
"This is pointless," Taffin muttered, joining
me, finishing packing a small bag with Neopoints. "I mean, we got about 10,000
out of the till, but the items aren't really worth our time. We should be off
robbing someone much richer."
"We need the practice Taffin," I replied mildly.
"Let's go," I heard MiracleStar say softly from
behind us.
"All righty," Taffin muttered, and followed
her out the shop and down the street back to our house.
***
All of my siblings went to sleep nearly immediately after we got home. I stayed
up however, waiting until things quieted down. I then snuck out of my room and
downstairs, creeping down the hall to MiracleStar's room. Then someone stepped
out in front of me.
"Jaix!" I hissed in surprise.
"Go to bed Nianso," the Acara whispered back.
"Leave her alone tonight."
"But," I protested, and he merely silenced me
with a shake of his head.
"We're a family now Nianso. And family should
trust each other. Now, if you don't want to trust MiracleStar, the door is that
way. Because I for one won't allow this."
I stared at him coldly, then glanced over to
the front door, and to the night beyond.
"I've been there before, and never again," I
whispered softly.
I shrugged, and reluctantly turned and headed
back to my room. And I vowed to never again do anything that would destroy our
family. I had done it once before, and never again will I.
The End | 
