The Perfect Petpet for Sophie

      ***

     Sophie had been on her own for almost a year now. She was carefully reading one of the many spell books she had found in the old shed. She read the ingredients that she would need for her next potion and picked up her staff. The power of her staff was the only magic she understood fully. Somehow she just felt a connection with it. She pointed the mysterious sceptre at her cupboard and focused her thoughts. In no time, the cupboard was glowing green and spooky ingredients were pouring into her pot.

     Sophie was a green Ixi with dirty green fur. She was still wearing the pretty blue and white outfit and bonnet she had on when she escaped the Haunted Woods, but now they were tattered and torn.

     Sophie grabbed a stool and looked down at her concoction. It was a bubbling brown. She shook her head.

     “This isn’t right,” she muttered to herself.

     Suddenly the brown goop began to dry out and shrink. Soon all the she was left with was a pile of brown pellets.

     “Where did I go wrong?” moaned Sophie as he consulted her book.

     She realized that the spell would only work on a full moon.

     “How could I have missed that?” she said as she stomped her foot. “I wonder if these brown things have any use.”

     The young witch flipped through the pages until she came to a page that looked useful.

     “‘If a potion goes wrong, the result is normally a good treat for your petpet,’” she read.

     Sophie sighed from loneliness. Not for the first time, she felt like there wasn’t a person in Neopia who cared about her.

     “Maybe I should find a petpet,” she pondered, “but I need to keep practicing my spells so I can help Mom and Dad and Reggie and Bruno.”

     Sophie considered her options. She was confused, but eventually she came to a decision.

     “It would be a waste for me to throw away all this petpet food,” she concluded, “and I’ll probably need something to clean up other messes.”

     So she resolved to go out into the Haunted Woods and find a companion.

      ***

     Sophie waded through the muddy swamps and through the creepy woods. It was always dark here and every time she looked at the bushes, there seemed to be something watching her, but she had gotten used to the spookiness. As she left the swamps, leaves and twigs crunched under her feet. It wasn’t too long before she came across a Bearog.

     “Hey, little guy,” she called out, “do you want some of my treats?”

     All three of the creature's heads came rushing and devoured the product of the failed potion. After it had finished, the three sets of eyes began to beg for more.

     “I don’t know,” thought Sophie. “You seem a little too cutesy for me.”

     The Bearog left in a dash when it realized that it would not receive any more food. Sophie continued her search. The next petpet she came across was a Crokabek.

     “Hello up there,” she called to the black bird. “I have some food.”

     The Crokabek eyed her and then flew down. It began pecking at the brown pellets. Then a few more Crokabeks saw an opportunity to get something to eat and joined the first Crokabek.

     “If you want to come home with me, I’ll give you some more,” offered Sophie.

     So she returned with a flock of Crokabeks.

      ***

     The next morning, Sophie began to regret taking home the Crokabeks. They were cawing at 5:00 am NST. She could not go back to sleep, so she got up early and began to go about her day. The Crokabeks were nothing but trouble. They flew around her shack, knocking over anything on shelves, they were constantly squawking about something, they left feathers all over the place, and the were always bumping into poor Sophie.

     By the end of the day, Sophie had had enough, so she shouted, “Every single one of you filthy pests, get out now!”

     After that, she picked up her staff and shooed the irritating petpets. Once they were all gone, she sighed at being alone again. It was better than living with the Crokabeks, but she still wanted a friend.

     “I won’t give up yet,” she said, determined. “There has got to be a pet out there for me.”

      ***

     The following day Sophie was back out in the wilderness. She trudged through the mud in search of another petpet. Eventually she spotted a Slorg. She looked at the critter and frowned.

     “I’m not sure if I want something that’s so slimy,” she muttered.

     The Slorg left without taking any acknowledgement of the Ixi. Sophie continued around the woods. Suddenly she tripped and fell in the swamp. She looked at what made her slip and found a Rock.

     “You don’t look too bothersome,” she observed. “How would you like some petpet snacks?”

     She reached out a handful of brown pellets, but got no reaction from the Rock.

     “Aren’t you hungry?” she inquired.

     The Rock still gave no response.

     “You’re way too boring,” Sophie scoffed.

     As the Swamp Witch continued her search, she came across a hollow tree that looked like it might be inhabited by a petpet. She approached the tree and peered inside. She was shocked to find a Meepit staring up at her.

     “Hey, little fella,” she greeted it. “Would you like one of my treats?”

     The Meepit accepted and devoured the pellet silently. He didn’t stop gazing at Sophie, not even to blink.

     “I’m going to take you home,” Sophie declared as she picked up the Meepit.

     Sophie marched home, sure that this was the petpet that she wanted.

      ***

     When Sophie woke up the next day, she was glad to find that she had gotten the sleep she needed without being awoken. She walked over to her cupboards, wondering where the Meepit had gone. She opened the cupboard of ingredients and screamed with surprise. She had not expected to find the Meepit staring at her inside.

     “You scared me.” She laughed uneasily.

     The Meepit replied with a neutral, “Meep.”

     Throughout the rest of the day, Sophie would find the Meepit in random places with the same expression. To make matters worse, every five seconds she would hear, “Meep.”

     By nightfall Sophie felt like she was going to have a heart attack.

     “You are worse than the Crokabeks,” she shouted. “Get out!”

     Before the Meepit had a chance to move, she blasted it with her staff.

     “Now, to get rid of the mess that started this whole ordeal,” she yelled. “I never want to have another petpet in my life!”

     With those words, she tossed the remaining petpet snacks out into the swamp.

      ***

     Sophie woke about the next morning still feeling lonely. She heard some movements outside and went to investigate. She gasped as she saw a gang of Meowclopses eating the pellets that she had thrown out. When the Meowclopses caught sight of Sophie, they progressed toward her. Several of them began purring and rubbing her ankles.

     Sophie picked one up and said, “You guys are pretty cute, and you still have a spooky look. I guess I could try one more time.”

     So Sophie invited the Meowclopses inside to live with her. Over the next few days, she found that they could take care of themselves without bothering her. However, they still kept her company all day. Eventually she taught them how to help her with her experiments. The Meowclopses learned quite fast how to clean up spills. For the rest of the Sophie’s time in the shack, although she did miss her family, she never felt alone again.

The End