The Shortened Tale of a Lupe (Faerie Tales Adapted to Neopian Life)

by ellysketchit

Elly's head jerked up from the book she was reading when she heard the door bang loudly, causing some of the knickknacks on the shelves to rattle against one another. "Robin Lupe" fell unheeded to the floor as she leapt, hands outstretched to grab all the falling items. Just as she was starting to relax, she noticed the Ice Wocky Totem on the far end of the glowing shelf teetering precariously.

"Oh, Neggs!" She gritted her teeth and slid forward, carefully extending one wing until it was under the precious item. Just then a wild, furry blue bundle shot into the room squeaking pathetically.

"He's gonna get me! He's gonna get me! He's gonna...!" The small furry Meerca wobbled back and forth on his tail, clutching his paws across his chest. His eyes were wide and glistening with tears.

"Fennwick!" Elly sighed in resignation as the ice totem crashed to the floor. She stood straight while Fennwick blinked down at the shards.

"Elly, I'm sorry! But he was gonna get me!" His little brow furrowed with anger, now that he felt safe inside his home. "That Lupe is mean!"

Elly brushed her dark, short cropped hair away from her face and started setting the items she'd saved back on the shelves.

"What Lupe?" she asked calmly. She placed a final sculpture away and then tugged on her long, black gloves. One gesture and the broken totem pieces floated in mid air, glowed a faint blue, then sealed together as a single shard of ice. "There," she murmured. "We can still use it...maybe give it to another Neopian on a Quest."

"I know," another voice squealed suddenly from the doorway. Fennwick's expression soured further when he saw his little adopted brother standing in the hall outside.

"Shut up, Snort," he hissed. The young sketch Moehog flashed his tusks at Elly and huffed cheerily.

"It was Wuffles the green Lupe from the Training School," Snortworth informed them all happily. He stuck his tongue out at Fennwick and the Meerca screeched angrily.

"Not fair! I didn't tell her when you ripped all her Fire Bush out! You're a tattletale!" Fennwick yelled. He laid his ears back and bounced over to his owner. Elly smiled down at him and picked him up. Snortworth grimaced.

"And you're afraid of someone named 'Wuffles'," he muttered. He made as if to stride out of the room but Elly called out to him.

"Snort, sit." The Moehog grunted dismally and sat on the living room couch, aware that now he might be in trouble. "Fennwick, how many times have I told you not to slam the door?" Elly asked the Meerca in her arms softly. She folded her wings back and sat next to Snort while Fennwick shifted around uncomfortably.

"A lot," he hedged. "I'm sorry. But Wuffles is a big bully, and he stole my orange Fuzzle." Elly's eyes widened.

"What? And you let him?"

"I didn't want to tattle, and I tried to get it back...but he said he'd beat me up." Fenny looked furious at the idea of his precious toy in the paws of the bully. "I'm not strong...I can't defend myself!" He showed his little, sharp fangs. "I'll just play him a big mean old trick--like he played me! That'll teach him!"

Poor Fennwick. He'd played so many tricks on others, that when it became his turn he didn't know what to do. Elly knew it wasn't his fault; he was just a prankster. And besides, he always gave the stuff back when a pet complained. He just did it for fun...this Lupe was doing it to hurt her friend. She didn't want to see Fennwick stoop to that level. Elly thoughtfully bounced him in her lap until he smiled in spite of himself.

"Fenny, I'm going to tell you a story that the other Faeries told me a long time ago," she finally said. Fennwick's ears perked up, as did his adopted brother's.

"A story? Cool!" He settled down in her lap. Snortworth nestled against her other side as she began...

"The Shortened Tale of a Lupe..."

"Once upon a long, long while," (Elly recited) "Lupes had tails that were as long as Meerca's! They were luxuriously soft brushes that were longer than the entire lengths of their bodies.

Lupes and Chias were still friendly towards another back then, and one day a Lupe and a Chia decided to go out foraging together. They were successful, and managed to grab a whole bunch of fruit for themselves from the forest. But the Lupe was greedy, and kept the best fruit for himself. The Chia saw this, but was afraid of the Lupe--as he was quite larger and stronger than he was. So he let it slide. This, however, happened several times, and the Chia was finally determined to punish him for it. He told his friend they'd travel together to a very big stash of food he'd found in the forest that night.

The Chia and Lupe always traveled together. They set out late at night and wandered through the forest for some time, getting colder by the minute.

'Where is this food?' the Lupe grunted irritably at last. 'It's almost winter, you know, and it's cold out! Are we almost there yet?'

'It's over here,' the Chia said, running towards a large pool of water in the middle of the forest. He pointed with a stubby little hand at the reflection of the moon, shining so bright and full in the water. 'There's your food--a very nice cheese. See?'

'Wow!' the Lupe howled with delight. But then he remembered that he'd have to share it with his friend, and he sighed bitterly. He wanted the whole thing to himself, but he knew he had to have the little one's help to get it. The devious Chia grinned behind one hand and then looked around, as if afraid someone was nearby.

'But wait!' he said in a hoarse voice below a whisper. 'Someone might be coming along any minute. I didn't bring a knife or anything to cut it up with...and we have to do that to get it out. I know!' The Chia smiled widely at the Lupe. 'Let's say you cover it with your tail until I bring something back to cut it with?'

'Good idea,' the Lupe nodded. He swished his tail around and held the length of it above the shining reflection. The Chia gave him a thumbs up (now you know it's a Faerie tale, seeing as Chias don't have thumbs), and scurried off, giggling to himself.

Along the way he met a Skeith that decided he looked rather appetizing. He was all alone now, with the Lupe guarding the 'cheese', and he was hard pressed to get away before the hungry devil flattened him with his immense bulk. He reached his house out of breath and scared out of his mind, but thankfully, safe.

Let's go back to master Lupe. He had been sitting for several hours with his tail on top of the reflection, but now he was wildly impatient. Finally he snarled and decided that he had had enough. But lo and behold! When he wanted to move, he found his tail stuck to the pond, which had frozen over! He yelped and yanked as hard as he could...and the long tail that he had snapped in two, leaving him with the shortened brush he has today.

That's why Chias and Lupes don't really get along very well...and why Lupes have shorter tails now than they did long ago."

Elly finished her tale, and the troubled little Meerca yawned. Snortworth was gazing dreamily out the window.

"Elly...?" Fenny finally asked.

"What is it, Fennwick?"

"So...so you're saying that if I do something mean back..."

"It won't solve anything, Fenny," Elly said firmly. She looked him right in the eye. "The little Chia thought he was so clever, and look what happened to him!"

"He was almost a Skeith snack," Snortworth chuckled.

"How did a Skeith fit in the forest with all those trees?" Fennwick asked suddenly, looking puzzled. Elly coughed.

"It is a Faerie tale." She giggled. "Consider who told you the story!"

"Ohhhhhh." He sighed. "I get it now...If I do something back, it will probably blow up in my face, right?"

"Yes, Fennwick. It probably will."

"And I don't want him to be mad at me. I want to be friends!" he pouted.

"What should I do?" Snortworth saw his older brother was confused and decided to try to help.

"Maybe if I went with you, we could talk to him," he suggested. "Tell him we want to be friends, and maybe he could teach you how to battle..."

"...and I could teach him how to do Quests better? He was always jealous of me!" Fennwick's beady black eyes widened. "I bet that's why he did it!" ee exclaimed. "He's jealous of me...he feels all bad because I just completed another Quest with Elly!"

"Looks like that's a plan." Elly smiled. "Now! I'm going to finish reading this," she said as she picked up her book, "and you two can go talk to Wuffles. After you feed Sir Fuzzalot," she called out to Fennwick. "Your Magaral is starving. Go feed him. Then go play."

"Yes, Elly..."

Of course, this wouldn't be a Faerie tale kind of story if it didn't end well. Fennwick and Wuffles became friends. The big Lupe taught Snortworth and Fenny all kinds of battle techniques, and they showed him tips on completing Faerie Quests. Elly finished her book, and Sir Fuzzalot...well, he got fed an extra triple-sized ration of PetPet miggle-chunks for dinner...

*Burrrrrrrrrrrp!*

...as you might be able to tell.

The End