It's Raining! It's Pouring! Old Faeries Are Snoring!: Part One

      One day, when she’d finished up her chores, she went down to the grove where she and her friends hung out. The grove, once full of beautiful berries, was now nothing but dried up trees. It had been common for the Neopets to climb up in the branches and pick breakfast, but now, if anyone tried, they risked having the dried sticks snap beneath them.

      Rillion, a Mutant Scorchio, was already there, lying against a tree, snoring softly. Shadows crept up on him and pounced, making his screams echo through the silence of the grove.

      “Shadows, do you have to do that?” he cried out, slugging her in her shoulder. A smug smile lit her lips; he was so easy to frighten.

      “If I didn’t do it, you’d still be asleep, and what fun would that be?” she inquired, her tail whisking back and forth friskily. The look he gave her was enough to make any other Neopet quail in fear, but she wasn’t scared. She’d been friends with Rillion since they were created and she knew that he was all bark, no bite.

      Ehdis, a Custard Bori, came dragging herself along, her tail tucked between her legs and her ears dropping against her head.

      “Whoa, what’s wrong with you, Ehdis?” Shadows ran to her side, her little beef with Rillion forgotten at the sight of their friend in distress.

      The little Bori opened her mouth to speak but began to cry instead. They rubbed her shoulders and urged her to tell them what was wrong, but she just sobbed frantically. Finally, hiccoughing with her hysterics, she calmed down enough to speak. “I overheard my papa talking to my mama this morning. He’s going to try to sell the farm and move us away from here. He says that we’re too broke to stay and that the crops are all dead. I don’t want to leave you guys or leave here.” She began to bawl again and Shadows flopped on her haunches in disbelief. Ehdis was one of her best friends; she couldn’t move away.

      “My parents have been discussing that possibility too,” Rillion replied, nodding his head in understanding. “If it doesn’t rain soon, we’re going to have to go too.”

      “No, you guys can’t leave me,” Shadows blurted, leaping up and shaking her head furiously at them.

      “Shadows, wisen up,” Ehdis snapped. “Your parents are going to have to do the same thing. No one can stay here for long with this drought going on. We’ll all starve.”

      Shadows looked down at the dirt beneath her paws; she knew what she said was true. Just this morning, the twins had cried desperately at breakfast because they were hungry and the tiny portions they got were not enough to satisfy their growing hunger.

      “What can we do about it?” she questioned, dragging her paw through the powder dust.

      “Nothing,” Rillion whispered and tears welled up in her eyes. Quickly, she looked up to try to stop that clears, her eyes staring at the clear, cloudless blue sky. Blinking back tears, her gaze wandered down to the horizon line. There, her vision landed upon a single far off mountain surrounded by a dark forest. The mountain, known as Darkling Mountain, was rumored to be home to some very powerful faeries. No one had ever proved it though as no one dared venture there. The forest that surrounded the mountain was full of vicious and dangerous beasts that hunted innocent Neopets.

      Suddenly an idea, a daring idea occurred to her. “I know what we can do,” she shouted.

      Rillion cocked his head at her as if she were nuts and Ehdis asked disbelieving, “What could we do?”

      “Go there.” She pointed to the mountain. “I know it’s dangerous but...”

      “Dangerous.” Rillion coughed. “Um, try like no one’s ever come back. They’ve been savagely eaten by the beasts that roam in the woods. No one ever goes there.”

      “I know that,” she scolded then continued, “but if we can meet with the faeries that live on the mountain, perhaps we can ask them to make it rain. If we just sit here and do nothing, we’re all going to have to move or watch our families starve. And it’s not just us, it’s everyone. We have a chance to make a difference, come on you guys.”

      Ehdis, who really never said no to anything, smiled and announced, “I’m in. Otherwise, I’m definitely moving and I don’t want to.”

      “Are you guys serious? We could die; no, we’d more than likely die. Moving sure has more appeal than being something’s dinner.” He crossed his arms across his chest and dared them to argue with his eyes.

      Shadows rose on her back legs so that they were equal in height and she pled, “If we don’t do something, who will? Do you want to let your fear destroy Meridell?”

      He glared at her then turned his back upon them. “Fine, I’ll do it. But if something tries to eat us, I’m feeding you to it first.”

      “I guess that seems fair.” Shadows grinned. Ehdis jumped up and down in excitement, though Rillion still didn’t look at them. Knowing Rillion, he’d stomp around and be huffy and puffy for a while, but in the end, he’d perk up.

      For the first time in a long while, Shadows felt hope. They were going to try to save Meridell. Hopefully they’d be successful but at worse, they’d be eaten by something. She was going to try not to think about that part, as much as she wanted to make it rain, she did not want to become dinner.

     They hung out for a while longer, plotting their trip to Darkling Mountain. They all agreed to meet in the morning with supplies though Shadows wasn’t sure how she was going to work that one. With the crops dying, food was scarce and it was already difficult to get portions. But she was sure that somehow, she’d figure it out. Rillion left first, grumbling the entire time how dangerous their trip was going to be.

     After he left, Ehdis pulled her aside, “Shadows, thank you for thinking this up. You’re my best friend and I don’t want to leave. If something happens to us, I just wanted to know that I love you like a sister.”

     “Ah, I love you too, Ehdis.” They hugged each other then waved goodbye. As she walked home, she looked for the cloud of dust that would mark where her father was working, but there was none. The hackles on her neck rose; where was her father?

     When she walked in to the small house, her father was sitting at the table, his forehead buried in his paws.

     “I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he sighed, shaking his head slowly back and forth. Her mom was behind him, rubbing his shoulders, trying to console him. “I’ve tried my hardest but this drought is killing the land. I just can’t do anything for us anymore. I think we’re going to need to move.”

     Shadows felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach and she hid behind the hallway wall, trying desperately to breathe. It was as if Ehdis’s announcement that her family was going to move was setting off a chain reaction. They had to be successful with their plan to go to Darkling Mountain or else face losing everything they’d ever loved.

     It was difficult to eat dinner with her family, for her parents kept quiet on what they were considering and her siblings seem to be blissfully unaware of their possible future.

     “So, Shadows, what did you do today?” her mom asked as she doled out her portion of the limited food.

     “I saw Ehdis and Rillion today,” she announced, trying to keep the anger out of her voice, and then she casually added, “Ehdis’s family has decided to move.” Her father looked up from his plate at her words but didn’t say anything.

     “Unfortunately, there is a lot of that happening right now,” her mom replied, giving the twins their portions.

     “Yes, yes, there is. Rillion’s parents are discussing moving too. I can’t imagine even considering leaving our family home and all of our friends. I’m glad you guys aren’t thinking about that.” She was trying to elicit some kind of news about moving from them but her parents seemed as if they were determined to keep their secret until it actually happened.

     Her father responded, “Unfortunately, those that are leaving don’t have a choice. If we don’t get rain soon, I’m not quite sure how Meridell’s going to keep ticking. It’s taking its toll on everyone.” The way he was looking at her said that in his own way, he was trying to tell her that they were considering moving but he was unwilling to come out and say it.

     “And what did you two do today?” her mom asked the twins, quickly and conveniently changing the subject. The twins began to babble excitedly about playing in the dirt and exploring a dried up ditch but their words meant little to Shadows. She only listened half-heartedly, envious of her younger siblings’ blissful ignorance of the importance of the conversation they’d just had. It was as if only Shadows knew of the enormous change that was looming on their horizon and it was a heavy weight to bear.

     It wasn’t easy to go to sleep, what with her plans and the news she’d overheard. If they weren’t successful with their quest, everything she knew was going to be affected. Somehow, she managed to drift off to sleep with the heavy dread of what the future could hold bearing down upon her.

To be continued...