Patience Makes A Dream Come True

His heart pounded in his chest, his ribs seeming to rattle from the force of it as he moved his head around the rock to catch a peek at the guard that was currently napping. Ssyndur couldn't believe it as he stared in shock at the posture the Tonu had, the guards spear resting on the ground and him leaning heavily against it, the typically large and watchful eyes shut as a snore admitted from the creatures mouth.

     "I can't believe it, Mostoff, he's asleep, he's actually asleep!" the Hissi whispered to his Melton, who floated loyally by his side. It seemed like months ago that Ssyndur had been right here, trying to catch the guard off guard to take a plunge into the Magma pool, only to have the disappointment of the guard being alert. The only saving grace from that day was the fact that the glow worms leading Ssyndur to where they had Mostoff, giving him the precious petpet as a gift.

     A sound of excitement left Mostoff and Ssyndur smiled at the Melton since soon after becoming partners in crime, they shared the same dream of swimming together in the Magma pool. "Are you ready?" Ssyndur asked, slithering out from behind the rock he had been hiding to move towards the pool. Mostoff gave another sound of excitement before shooting ahead of the Hissi, weaving his little body through the heat vents around the pool.

     As soon as he got to the edge, Ssyndur looked down at the swirling magma that he had dreamed about being near since he was a baby Hissi. "This is it..." he whispered, looking up at Mostoff as the petpet fluttered near his head. "I'm going, I'm going," he said with a laugh as the Melton pushed his head towards the pool, trying to make him hurry along.

     And yet he still stalled. In all of his life, Ssyndur dreamed of this very moment, of the Tonu guard either being away from his post or slumbering as he now was. PN had also tried to make his dream come true, visiting the pool when she was able, just to see if there was a slight chance that the guard would be away, with no such luck. Vychous continued to tease him, stating that he'd never take the swim he so dreamed about, and Ehnvy decided upon his own dream, inspired by the sheer determination of Ssyndur.

     "Maybe this will mean that Ehnvy will be able to see that patience is all it takes to make a dream come true," he whispered to himself as he shifted his tail around, looking at the tip of it before slowly lowering it into the pool. Despite the heat that came from the magma, the liquid itself didn't scold or burn as he thought it might.

     The Hissi chewed on his lower lip, closing his eyes before slipping more of his body into the pool, allowing the magma to slowly cover him. "This is it." The words came out as a whisper before he plunged his head under the magma, allowing the lava to cover him from the top of his head to the tip of his tail, becoming fully emerged before resurfacing. Mostoff gave an excited squeal and plunged into the magma as well, swimming up to Ssyndur's side to nuzzle into his spot under his wing before zipping off to play in the magma.

     Ssyndur laughed as he watched Mostoff play about the magma, the petpet popping up and out of the magma every once in a while to dive back into the pool. He had paid so much attention to his petpet that he hadn't noticed three other Neopians coming forward, who must have noticed that the Tonu Guard had been slumbering on his post.

     It wasn't until he heard someone's laughter behind him that he knew he wasn't alone and he turned with a jerk only to gasp as he saw Aldric Beign, Captain of the Moltara Altador team and Tulah Kisner, the female Acara that held the right forward position for the team. The Kougra and Acara stood at the edge of the pool, their eyes trained on Mostoff as the Melton bounced about in the magma.

     "That's a happy petpet there," Aldric stated as he slid into the pool to join them, Tulah nodding her head as she did the same.

     "He's.... He's been... been waiting for... for this..." Ssyndur stuttered, trying to swallow around the lump that had formed in his throat. Aldric Beign was the reason why he dreamed of taking a dip in the Magma pool. The Captain of Moltara had always, always been his idol and having the Kougra, as well as having the added bonus of Tulah with him, Ssyndur was star struck.

     Play it cool, Hissi man, play it cool, Ssyndur thought to himself, despite another part of him excited over the fact that Ehnvy and Vychous were never going to believe him.

     "That's nice that you thought of him when came here," Tulah stated as she rested her head back against the edge of the pool, allowing the lava to work it's magic on her Magma coat.

     "He's shared my dream ever since coming here... I've been trying for months, years, to take a swim and Mostoff has been the best supporting role I've had by my side," Ssyndur rambled on before his scales over his cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, you guys probably want to relax since you're both working so hard for the cup."

     "No, man, it's cool, continue to swim. Your scales haven't fully taken on the Magma change yet," Aldric said, calmly as he too relaxed against the pool's edge. "This thing is big enough for every player in the Cup so just chill for a bit." Ssyndur nodded and allowed himself to float onto his back in the Magma, moving his wings every so often so that he didn't drift all willy nilly through the pool.

     After a time, Mostoff came over to him, settling on his stomach and Ssyndur decided it was about time to get out. Aldric and Tulah were still relaxing in the pool and the Hissi made sure he wasn't going to disturb them, swimming to the other side of the pool before getting out.

     As his scales were removed from the magma, he felt a tightening settle over his body, and his eyes widened in fear as he became unable to move. Without his knowledge, Aldric had been watching him and swam over towards the Hissi, jumping out of the pool to stand next to him.

     "Don't worry, man. It's the Magma transformation. Give it a moment," he said calmly, resting one of his paws on the "shoulder" of Ssyndur. The inability to move was quiet terrifying for the Hissi but with the Kougra standing near to him and telling him what it was, he relaxed and soon, just as Aldric had stated, he felt his scales loosen up, though when he looked down, he was shocked to find instead of the brown rocky appearance he had as a Tyrannian, he looked as if he was on fire with a new Magma appearance.

     He looked up at Aldric with a large smile on his face and the Kougra smiled back in return, patting his back. "Lookin' good, man, lookin' good!"

     Ssyndur thanked Aldric, and allowed the Kougra to slip back into the pool. Though the inner fan within him wanted to scream in delight with having Aldric Beign speaking to him, he allowed the two team mates to have their private time, knowing that they were going to need it as they won this year's Altador Cup!

The End