The Other Side
The Chia talked as they descended the stairs.
"I can see you're new around here," she said. "These are pretty tough parts
for a Chia to live. My name is Tricky, by the way. What's yours?" Her question
was met by silence. "Well, all right then. Go ahead and be rude to the girl
who saved your life." She sniffed as she opened a door at the end of the stairway.
The room was very large and lit by candles, lanterns,
and torches of just about every kind. It seemed to be some sort of a pitiful
attempt at a market place. There were a half-a-dozen stalls (which were really
just countertops made out of molded dirt) peddling various nuts and berries
and a few of them selling building supplies like straw and wood. One display
that seemed to be drawing a crowd was stacked with Chia pops. Elm observed that
for a market place it wasn't very busy.
"Hey! Chipper! Peachy!" Tricky called
to a group of Chias. "Get over here! We've got another one!" A yellow
Chia and a peach Chia hurried over. Elm recognised the yellow one as the Chia
who, if it weren't for the interference of a certain faerie, would be in his
stomach right now.
"Oh my," said the yellow Chia, "You
got into a scrape with a Lupe, did you? You're not hurt, are you? Do you need
something to eat? Are you lost? Do you..."
Tricky glared at him, "Chipper, one question
at a time. It won't help to overwhelm him."
Elm spoke up. "I'm not hurt. I'm not hungry.
I'm not lost. If I have a problem, it's nothing you Chias can help me with.
Go away." He plopped down on the floor and sulked.
"Are you sure?" the peach Chia asked. "My name
is Peachy, and if you have a problem we could certainly try to help..."
Elm sighed. He certainly couldn't tell them that
he was a Lupe Even if they did believe him, it wasn't like they would be able
(or willing) to do anything about it. But he decided that if he was going to
survive as a Chia he was going to have to tolerate other Chias, and even accept
help from them.
"Oh, it's nothing," he said. "I guess I would
like something to eat though."
"Right..." Chipper said, "Well, all I have at
the moment are a few dried apricots. If you're really hungry you can have those,
but there's some better stuff back at the home."
Elm eyed the bag of shriveled up fruit Chipper
was holding out to him. "Oh... I think I can wait."
Elm was disappointed to see what the "better
stuff" was. Mixed nuts and raisins didn't quite seem like a meal to him. In
fact, most of the things he'd seen lately were disappointing. The Chias had
an underground "city" (which Elm thought could barely be called a village) that
was made up of caves and tunnels - SMALL caves and SMALL tunnels. "The home"
Chipper had referred to was a small dug out cave with three piles of straw for
beds and seven occupants (four of whom lived there and the other three were
sick Chias being cared for by Tricky and her friends). Elm thus concluded that
Chias were primitive and herbivorous.
He didn't stay at those conclusions for long.
A red Chia burst through the doorway. "Tricky!
Peachy! Chipper! Guess what?" he shouted excitedly.
"What, Chestnut?" asked Tricky, "Have
Lupes disappeared from the face of the planet?"
"Huh? Oh, nah! But you know that rich old adventurer
down the street? You'll never guess what he's been up to! He heard we needed
food so he went down to Chia Close in Neopia Central and traded his good pillows
for a turkey!!! AND HE'S GIVING IT TO US!!!" Chestnut pulled out a tray he'd
been hiding behind his back and revealed a well-roasted turkey. "The old guy
is a lot nicer than he lets on! And a lot braver!"
Elm was confused. "You eat turkey?" he asked.
"Only when we can get a hold of it," Peachy said.
"Great!" said Elm. "Can I have the drumsticks?"
There was silence, and everyone stared at him.
"The drumsticks?" Peachy asked, confused.
Tricky shook her head. "Oh please. Not another
one of THEM."
The Truth
"All right, Elm," Tricky said. "If you're a house
pet I suggest you go back to your house and if you're a city slicker I suggest
you go back to your city. I sure wish I could."
Once again, Elm was confused. "What?"
"No wild Chia would seriously expect to get more
than one drumstick off a turkey. I think you come from a better place than this,
and you ought to go back to it while you still can. Being a wild Chia is no
fun at all. I learned that the hard way." Tricky looked into Elm's eyes. "If
I'd stayed in the pound a few more days I most likely would have been adopted.
But I got the notion it would be more fun to live on my own. I escaped and,
well, the rest is history. If I could do it over again, I would have stayed."
"But..." Elm protested, "I'm NOT a runaway pet."
"Then you come from a city? A REAL city? Like
Chia Close? Where they have proper houses and beds and food? And you'd give
that up for THIS?"
"No! It's just that I... I... I need some time
alone!" Elm finished weakly, and ran outside.
He had wanted to get some fresh air, realised
there'd be none of that since the whole village was under ground. He understood
now that these Chias weren't primitive, just poor. But more frightening, he
realised that Chias were a lot more complicated than he'd ever imagined. They
weren't some sort of living machines with computer programs for brains and instincts
for emotions. They were people. The realisation scared him.
Now he also realised that Tricky was standing
beside him, watching him. "Why," he asked her, "isn't this place
a proper city, like the ones you were talking about?"
She laughed. "Why? It just isn't! There's
no one reason! Though I do suspect that having all of those Lupes around sort
of cuts off trade."
Elm suddenly felt defensive. "They have
to do it, you know; it's instinct. Hunting Chias, I mean."
The Halloween Chia laughed. "Yes. Instinct.
And yet half of them sleep in plush beds, wear clothes, and eat with silverware.
They can control their instincts when it's convenient for them.
Elm blushed. "Yes, I suppose... but it's
more than that. It's tradition."
Tricky gave him a VERY odd look. "Since
when do ALL traditions HAVE to be honoured? Some traditions are best NOT followed.
I've heard, for instance, of a tribe of Lupes on Mystery Island who practice
a tradition they call ‘live sacrifice.' Each year they randomly select a member
of their tribe and burn them to death then throw the ashes to the winds."
Her gaze then turned cold as it focused on his eyes. "Would you have YOUR
pack do that, Elm the Lupe?"
Elm stood with his jaw hanging in surprise. Tricky
gave a small smile. "I hit it right on the head, didn't I?" Elm nodded,
he didn't know what else to do. He suddenly noticed that Peachy, Chipper, and
Chestnut were standing near by, listening with amazement. Tricky looked down,
her smile fading. She spoke slowly, "A friend of mine was once destroyed
by a Lupe So was Chestnut's brother. I want you to understand, Elm of the Lupes,
that most Chias down here have a bit of a vendetta." Elm suddenly got a
sinking feeling. "Which is why..." Tricky said, turning to her friends,
"none of you can tell ANYONE what you've just heard. Some poor demented
sap might want to hurt our friend here just because he was born a Lupe Understand?"
The three Chias nodded.
Elm, once again, was confused. "That's IT?"
he asked, not able to stop the flow of words coming out of his mouth. "That's
IT? That's all you're going to say about it? Chipper..." he looked at the
yellow Chia. "Today I... I... almost... I almost destroyed you... and I
would have... but... but... the faerie... she changed me into a Chia and...
and... and... I'm sorry," he finished weakly.
"Well... you didn't," Chipper said,
not able to look at Elm, "and... excuse me for being a bit dramatic, but
I think you've changed a lot more than just your species in the past few hours."
There was a moment of silence. "Well then,"
Tricky said "it's decided. We won't say another word about it. Elm, you
can stay or leave depending on what you want to do. If you stay there's a piece
of drumstick with your name on it. But remember, don't act all embarrassed when
someone says something bad about Lupes It's a dead give-away. And there are
bad Chias as sure as there are good Lupes"
He thought about those words as he headed back
into the cave/house. "Tricky," he asked, "Am I a ‘good Lupe'?"
"I don't know," the Halloween Chia
said without looking at him. "Why don't you tell me?"
To be continued... |