The inside scoop on Jelly W-argh! *choke* Circulation: 175,958,008 Issue: 352 | 24th day of Swimming, Y10
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Flying


by huhnchen_gott

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I remember when Darigan Minion was morphed into a fierce Halloween Nimmo and suddenly had sleek, streamlined wings. I recall how he bragged about being the first of our family to fly, and flew he did. He would constantly make narrow turns and dives at ridiculously high speeds, just barely escaping catastrophe. Niyaami, a sweet, kind-hearted Zafara had been next, and I couldn’t help but smile when she was painted Christmas to look like the angel she had always been. Mom even bought her a cute little faellie to be her companion while she was in the air. I enjoyed seeing the pair of them gliding in loops and twirls, like ballet dancers in the sky. Then, for a few months, my other sister, a feisty blue Xweetok named Juniper Skye, and I were the only ones that didn’t have wings. But I was okay with that, because she kept me company, and we tussled and played tag in the soft green grass, while the others were overhead.

      But then one day my mom took Juniper to the mall as a surprise and got her these beautiful, fluffy cumulus wings. Juniper had been incredibly thrilled, and with a quick good bye, she raced into the puffy white clouds with her best friend Niyaami at her heels. And there I was, a pathetic little Poogle, feeling as blue as the color of my fur, staring longingly after them, but unable to follow.

      It was the same position I’m in now, I realized miserably, as I gazed sorrowfully at the sky, watching my siblings fly above with graceful ease while I was stuck on the ground. As I looked at the damp soil beneath my feet, I felt hot salty tears spring to my eyes, and slide slowly down my face. Suddenly I heard the sound of wings beating next to me, and looked over my shoulder to see Niyaami standing next to me.

      “Why are you crying, Aozorra? What’s wrong?” she inquired, concern etched on her face.

      I sniffled and pointedly looked away before blurting out, “Everyone in the family can fly, except me, and you don’t even seem to notice when I’m not with you guys.”

      “I’m so sorry. We never meant to make you feel left out, and we certainly didn’t want you to feel so ignored. I suppose we’ve been too busy having so much fun to notice, but I promise that will change.”

      “Yeah,” Juniper agreed, landing on the other side of me. “We won’t leave you out again; you can even borrow my wings if you want.”

      “But then you wouldn’t be able to fly,” I said, not wanting her to undergo the same experience I had.

      “I guess not, but I don’t want to leave you down here all alone anymore. It’s no fun if I know you’re sad.”

      “That’s what you think,” smirked Minion, as he finally joined us. “I however, don’t really care how you feel; I’m soaring as much and as long as I want.”

      “Stop being so mean!” Juniper snapped. “Surely it matters a little to you if your sister is unhappy.”

      “No,” he denied, and I felt my eyes getting bright with tears again.

      “Don’t listen to him,” Niyaami said, trying to cheer me up. “He’s never nice to anyone. You know that.”

      “Exactly,” my other sister agreed. “Don’t worry, we’ll think of a way for you to be in the air with us, even if he doesn’t help.”

      “Really?” I hiccupped, “You’d do that for me?”

      “Of course, Sis,” Juniper hugged me, “We love you.”

      After a bit of brainstorming and deciding that building wings was out of the question, my sisters came up with a very simple plan.

      “I can’t believe we didn’t think of it sooner, it’s so obvious. We’ll carry you!” Juniper announced brightly. “We just need to find a kind of harness for you to sit in.”

      “I’ve got just the thing!” Niyaami exclaimed, dashing to the safety deposit box. I stood behind her as she rummaged through it for a few minutes, and stared blankly once she emerged.

      “A fuzzy pink blanket?” I asked dryly.

      “Yes, sometimes the simplest thing works best. Just put it under your stomach, and Juniper and I can hold each end.”

      “Okay...” I hesitated, getting more nervous by the minute. However, I shoved my doubts aside and did what Niyaami suggested, and as my sisters picked up the blanket, I felt myself getting farther and farther away from the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to bear the sight of the solid earth creeping away from my feet. As I opened then again, I was amazed to see a cloud filled sea of blue before me, the neopets below the size of tiny veespas. As we flew close to one of the clouds, I reached out to touch it and found my paw covered in tiny droplets of water. I felt the cool breeze ruffle my short blue fur I inhaled a deep breathe of the deliciously clean air.

      “Wow,” I uttered in awe. “This is absolutely amazing.”

      “It is, isn’t it?” Niyaami replied.

      “Hey, what are you doing up here?” a voice cried; I turned, surprised to see my brother gliding towards us. “And what is that?” he questioned gesturing to the blanket.

      “Aw, is widdle Darigan Minion upset that we borrowed his fuzzy pink blanket without asking?” Juniper teased.

      “You know that blanket’s not mine!” he sputtered.

      “Are you sure?” Niyaami joked.

      “Yes!” he yelled, snatching her halo and zooming away.

      “Give that back!” she shrieked, but I could tell she wasn’t angry, because she was laughing along with the rest of us.

      Later, once we had landed, Juniper and Niyaami, halo returned to its proper place on her head, flopped down beside me.

      “That was great,” I sighed.

      “Wait until we try doing some stunts tomorrow,” Juniper remarked, “Now that will be cool!”

      I was a tad apprehensive about doing tricks, but I didn’t have a chance to worry because my ears soon pricked up upon hearing Mom calling us for supper.

    ***

       Once we sat down to a delicious and totally unhealthy dinner of pizza and cherry-tastic faerie pie, Mom cleared her throat.

      “I’ve been thinking; everyone except Aozorra has wings now, and I feel kind of bad that she’s left out. I think I should paint you Faerie so you can fly with all the others. I know faerie paint brushes are quite expensive right now, but I believe if we save up and budget a little, we’ll be able to afford one pretty soon. That is, of course, if you want to be painted,” she said, addressing me.

      I glanced at my siblings’ smiling faces--well, Juniper and Niyaami were smiling; Darigan Minion was scowling as usual--before I finally answered, “No thanks, Mommy. You should save up your neopoints for something else; I don’t need wings.” I looked around the table, noticing everyone’s slightly startled expressions.

      “But I thought you said you wanted to fly with us?” Niyaami questioned, confused by my response.

      “I do, but as long as I have you guys around, I don’t need wings to fly,” I answered honestly.

      “Aw, group hug, everybody!” Mom said.

      “Oh, no!” Minion muttered, attempting to escape.

      “Get back here,” Mommy laughed, scooping him into her arms while the rest of us crowded around her.

      “Put me down,” Minion moaned.

      “What’s the magic word?”

      “Put me down, or else,” he said, ignoring Mom’s glare. “Fine,” he gave in, “Please put me down.”

      “Well, since you asked so nicely,” she replied, giving him a quick kiss on the head, “Okay.”

      We laughed as he stalked off in disgust, and I grinned, knowing I would never feel left out again.

The End

 
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