Voice of the Neopian Pound Circulation: 186,916,395 Issue: 512 | 16th day of Gathering, Y13
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Cocoaj Gets a Little Brother


by oakfeather

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It started out as a quiet, calm afternoon in Neopia Central. Or as quiet and as calm as the most populated city on the face of Neopia could be.

     I was walking down the streets, my long hair blowing all around me, including into what seemed my hair's favorite spot--right in front of my face. I sputtered, brushed it back, and kept going, only to have it jump into my face again like an excited baby Lupe trying to get a treat.

     "Ever thought of cutting it?" a deep, somewhat amused voice came from my right.

     I pushed it out of my face long enough to see a large blue Eyrie walking beside me, his blood red irises gleaming with humor.

     "Yes, I have, but I like having my hair long," I said back to the large griffin-like neopet, before finally just deciding to grab my hair and stuff it into the back of my T-shirt.

     "But it's inconvenient to you, obviously, so just cut it," he said matter-of-factly.

     I could do that if I was a guy, but I like my hair. It's soft. Usually. Unless I forget to put in my Pebeanjay Flower Conditioner.

     "It's a girl thing," I said. "You wouldn't understand."

     He rolled his eyes, but kept walking. "I don't get you humans. So dim-witted."

     I blinked at him, feeling increasingly irritated with him. "This dim-wit," I said, pointing a thumb at myself, "just won us 400 neopoints at Meerca Chase."

     "You do realize you got the lowest score of anyone there today?"

     Well, yes, I did, but I didn't want to admit it. "So? It's still enough for a meal." My stomach growled noisily, and I cast a small restaurant a gaze that made it look like I was about to bow down and worship it.

     He subtly changed our direction, so we were heading away from the restaurant. I followed him because I decided I wasn't all that hungry (or that's what I told myself--I just didn't want to get left out in the sun to get all dried up like a prune while trying to remember the way home, so I followed him). But after about ten feet, my stomach growled at me, 'I WANT FOOD. NOW,' so I turned around and began to march myself to the restaurant.

     "Do you have to eat now?" Coja complained loudly, not really because he was in a rush to get home, but more because he didn't want me to spend all the day's neopoints on a huge meal I was likely to consume.

     "Unless you want me to spend all the neopoints on my own meal, you should come along," I suggested, grinning wildly.

     He followed me inside after this, deciding he could go for a Bluna Burger or two.

     My stomach was protesting too much for me to be picky, so when the waiter handed me a menu, I plopped down 100 NP and asked for the biggest sandwich that it could afford.

     Cocoaj sat down on a booth seat across from me, and picked up a menu. He began to scan it over for an item to pick.

     I waited about sixty seconds while he continued to look it over, while my stomach whined and growled like a rabid Kadoatie, which seemed to disturb a few of the people in the tables around us.

     The waiter also stood there, waiting (no pun intended, of course).

     I began to glare daggers at Coja, who just smirked as he flipped the pages.

     "Well?" I said, a vein popping out of my forehead as my stomach began to scream at me louder, 'eat foot, eat food! eat at boochi's pizzeria!'. Actually, the last part was some person outside advertising.

     "I'll have a..." He drew it out, enjoying my squirming. "Spicy Chicken Burrito... a Bluna Burger... and a Jumbleberry Achyfi."

     I sighed in relief as the waiter left with the orders.

     "You, my good Eyrie, are a major pain in the rear," I said, glaring at him.

     "I know," was his simple reply.

     And then our meal arrived, which we demolished quickly, before heading out to go home.

     The crowds were thinning out now, most owners and pets heading home, which was a relief, because that meant that the commute home would be quick.

     The very regal blue Eyrie walked ahead of me, his beak high in the air, and his tail waving lightly. He was a very large Eyrie, with his forehead a good few inches higher than mine, with his entire body at least two and a half metres long.

      I had obtained him shortly after arriving in Neopia, at the Neopian Pound. I had decided to explore first before getting a neopet, when I saw him inside the glass windows there, in an area where neopets would walk out of the back room, where I assumed the cages were, and walk around to be shown off to potential owners.

     I had been surprised to see such a huge neopet, and also a bit in awe. I had come in and spoken to him, and he talked to me about all the things he knew--which happened to be a good bit more than I knew at the time, and told me about his impressive win streak in the Battledome.

     He had since then, though, refused to do any battling, take me flying anywhere like he told me he would, and had acted like a mooch. But he was my mooch.

     He suddenly lifted his head up, blocking the now setting sun, and disrupting my train of thoughts, which crashed into the inner wall of my skull and exploded.

     "What is it?" I asked.

     He blinked, and then said, "Sounds like a crying pup. Probably a spoiled little Aisha whining for a white chocolate Chia." He snorted and kept walking.

     As I followed him, the sound grew loud enough for me to make it out better. It sounded like sad whimpering, followed by tiny hiccups, coming from an alleyway.

     "I dunno, Coja, it sounds like trouble," I said, changing direction towards the alleyway, walking more quickly now.

     "What, are you trying to get yourself robbed?" he grumbled, staring at me. "I'm not coming with you, and losing all my neopoints at rainbow-gun-point."

     I waved my hand at him, and said in a teasing tone, "Okay, okay, you stay here. Have fun looking for another owner with some neopoints and a neohome after I get robbed at rainbow-gun-point."

     He seemed to reconsider at that point, and followed me into the alley. "Oh well, I suppose someone has to keep you out of trouble."

     I rolled my eyes, and then stopped as I heard a quiet whining noise.

     Coja stared into the gloom, and took a sharp intake of breath.

     "What?" I said, straining my eyeballs to look for anything in the black shadows at the corner of the alley.

     My eyes soon adjusted, and I spotted a lanky shape, which I soon identified as a Gelert.

     "You can come out; it is safe," Coja said to the pup calmly, his tail swishing impatiently.

     The shape emerged, revealing itself to be a small Gelert, whose dull coat hung shaggily around his lanky frame. He was obviously very young due to his small size, but he had the frame of an older Gelert, instead of the thick, pudgy, almost Lupe-like body.

     He stopped sniffing, and looked up at me with wide puppy eyes.

     My heart melted like a chocolate Chia in the mouth of a Lupe, and I scooped him up immediately, and snuggled him to my chest with an "Awwwwwwwwwww."

     "Ahem. Neopia to Oakfeather," Coja said, clearly irritated at my mushy display.

     "He's so cute!" I squealed.

     "Mhm. Save the squealing for the trip to the pound, Oak."

     "What?" I said, squishing the pup more, who stopped crying in sadness and instead yelped from the near-suffocating death hug

     "We aren't keeping him," he said in irritation.

     "Who says we aren't?" I said.

     The Gelert poked his head out from my arms, and whined, "Where's my owner? Do you know where he is?"

     I shook my head. "Sorry, I don't. Did he leave you here?" I said, feeling sorry for the little Gelert.

     He nodded, biting into his lip. "A-a-and he took Mr. Feathers!" he sniffled, and then began to cry.

     "Mr. Feathers?" Coja said. "What kinda name is t-"

     I elbowed him for being rude, and then said, "Who's that?"

     "M-m-m-my Weewoo!" he cried.

     "Weewoo?" I sputtered, remembering the hefty price tag of the little bird petpet, about 400 thousand neopoints to be exact.

     He sniffed loudly. "Y-yeah, a white one."

     I blinked. "White one? That's gotta be four hundred fifty thousand at the very least."

     "Musta had a rich owner," Coja said.

     "C-c-can you find him for me?" the little pup said hopefully, his brown eyes wide and glossy with tears.

     "Uhh, sure," I said, making Coja fall over with a squawk. "I'll take you back to my neohome, and we'll go from there."

     Coja was foaming and raving in the background about how we were gonna find a specific white weewoo.

     ***

     About five hours later, Coja and I were trudging down the streets of Neopia, having just flown all over Neopia trying to locate an affordable White Weewoo that we could pass off as Mr. Feathers, with no such luck.

     "It's f-f-freezing," Cocoaj complained, his feathers and fur fluffing up. "All this for a little Gelert pup."

     "I know," I said with a dejected sigh. "If it's not in this shop, I don't know where else to look."

     We shuffled into a petpet store, which was close to closing.

     "Do you have any Weewoos in stock?" I said hopefully to an elderly yellow Kacheek who was sweeping up.

     "Nope, sorry, kid," he said gruffly. "Havn't seen none in 'ere since last Winter."

     I sighed, "Okay, Coja, let's head ho-" I stopped as I spotted a beaten-up, torn old White Weewoo plush on the shelf behind the counter.

     "Is that for sale?" I asked. It wasn't exactly a real white weewoo, but maybe it'd be some comfort to the little pup.

     "Hm? That old thing, some young man came in here and sold it to me, I paid him a few hundred neopoints since it's so ragged. I was gonna take it on over to the plush shop to see if that Usul over there'd want it."

     "I'll give you three hundred for it," I said, pulled out the gold coins.

     "Sold," he agreed, taking it down and exchanging it for the neopoints in my hand.

     "Thank you," I said, smiling slightly.

     I climbed onto Cocoaj, and he flew us out the open door, and into the night sky, back to our neohome.

     Once we landed, I opened the door and hung up my jacket, and was barreled into by a little Gelert pup.

     "Did you find him? Did you?" he squeaked in excitement, his little tail waving, and his eyes hopeful.

     I wasn't sure what to say to him, I couldn't bear to disappoint the little furball, so I just held out the white weewoo plush.

     He blinked at it, then grabbed it in his mouth, yipping with joy, "Mr. Feathers!" He ran around in circles, happier than a Cybunny in a chocolate carrot factory.

     "It is?" I said, my eyes wide with amazement.

     "Yep!" he barked, and dropped it. "See? See? H for hound!" He pointed to the little H scrawled on the cloth tag.

     "That's great!" I said, relieved, and happy. I scooped him up. "Hound's your name?"

     He nodded, his ears flapping around. "Yep. What's yours?"

     "Oakfeather," I said, smiling wider at him.

     "Can I be Oakhound? Can I be your pet? Can I? Can I?" He wriggled with more excitement.

     I laughed. "Sure, sure. I'll take you to get signed officially to my name tomorrow."

     He yipped in joy, and leapt on Cocoaj. "Big brother!!"

     'Big brother' looked down at him, his eye twitching.

     "Congratulations, Coja," I said, grinning widely at him.

     He glared daggers at me, but then couldn't help but smile slightly as the pup slobbered all over his mane, and I knew he'd grow attached to the little pup in no time.

     Yep, things were gonna be interesting from now on.

The End

A/N: Thanks for reading! :D I hope you enjoyed. And yes, I was inspired heavily by Stoneman3x, a great NT author.

 
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