Tales of the Frozen Tundra: Part One

by diamonn

Out in the Ice World diamonn and his two pets had set up camp. It had taken six hours out of the day, but they had finally succeeded in building a cozy igloo with an extra smaller room that kept more heat in, specifically made for Synicle the Lupe and Fortuneon the Jubjub.

Most days usually went as follows: The day began with an alerting bark from Synicle to wake diamonn. It usually required an extra one or two to wake Fortuneon, who would slumber as a result of his late night gambling. More than the excitement of the cards and slots, he enjoyed the company.

See, he was not a businessman like his owner, diamonn, who would always be busy getting Neopoints together to take care of his two pets. He was not a valiant warrior like his heroic counterpart. He was more of a down-to-earth kinda guy - content with conversation and fun. But, it seemed lately that diamonn had been favouring Synicle; hunting with him, sending him through two more training school classes, and even blessing him with four more abilities. So he was oh so accustomed to diamonn leaving early in the morning to hunt some Chias and Kacheeks.

***

With minimal sunlight, visibility was nearly zero. The mouth of the cave opened up to the vast horizon of pure white snow. The only interruption was a trail of footprints where diamonn had led Synicle into the woods to hunt.

"OK, boy. You got a scent yet?" asked diamonn as he crouched underneath a limb dangling from a pine tree.

Synicle's sense of smell was of course unmatched by any species in Neopia. Like most Lupes, his nose was three times as sensitive as any dog. The whiskers on his mouth could feel vibrations in as much as four feet of snow. His muscles rippled as he trekked through the snow, moving troughs in his wake. Alerted by Synicle's nose-first dive into the thick white carpet, diamonn let go of his leash.

"I knew it wouldn't take long," he boasted.

Darting through the snow, Synicle was more like a Kougra than a Lupe. His breakneck speed would normally be a match for any Chia, but this one was a little stubborn. He had made tunnels and while his speed was not as great as the Snow white Lupe, his quickness was tough to handle. Abandoning a chase, the wily Lupe used his Magic Torch to melt some snow and shallow it out - making for an easy catch.

Next, he gave the Chia (as was their custom) to diamonn. In the distance, there were a few more Chias who that one had been hoping to get to before he met his capture. Scattering, they hoped to confuse the relatively young Lupe. Two leaped into the needles of a Pine tree as two dived in opposite directions. Still two young Kacheeks (who had joined the Chias to play tag) were ushered into a den while their brave father stood behind to fight off their oppressor.

Flying, the little Kacheek roundhoused the Lupe and uppercut him under his chin. Synicle snapped at the small Kacheek, who then pulled himself up by his ears. Shaking, Synicle threw the Kacheek into the trunk of a nearby tree, sending him face-first into the snow unconscious.

Now everyone knows wild pets are generally weaker than those with owners. While they are subjected to little to no shelter and days on end without food, they are not dependent upon owners to read them books and teach them tricks. Every once in a while, a wild Kacheek or Chia or even a Jubjub would come upon a faerie who would bless them with an ability, but that was practically unheard of. What wild pets didn't have in abilities and levels, they made up for in heart. This was the only challenge for an attacking Lupe - not that he would be outgunned, but that he would be out-hustled and ultimately outdone.

Making matters worse, several passing wild Chias who had heard the commotion came to join the fight...and they brought a little more than heart...

To be continued...