A Draiks Hero Tail

      Kespri woke up. She looked around to see where she had slept that night. She had been flying around yesterday to find some place to sleep. She had run away from her family because she felt her home was somewhere else. It wasn't that she didn't love her family, it was just that they never went really far away. They always stayed close to home. If Kespri or her sisters and brothers went too far away, they might get lost. This was what their mother feared for the most. But Kespri wanted to see more of the world, she wanted to go exploring. Her family laughed when she told them about it. They didn't understand. That's why Kespri decided to run away. She ran as soon as her family was asleep. She flew away as quietly as possible. She made speed when she knew her family wouldn't hear her anymore. She flew around for a couple of hours and then found a place to rest.

      The world around Kespri was full of fog when she woke up. She couldn't see much of the world around her. But she could feel the ground was soft. To her left she saw mountains rising. To her right she saw a path going down. She was probably in a valley, somewhere on a mountain. She didn't think there were many Neopets higher up so she decided to follow the path down.

      The path was beautiful. Flowers grew and their colors were bright. Some flowers were still closed, waiting for the sun to warm them up. Some Neopets were already walking around. They didn't say anything to Kespri, they were still tired. It was early in the morning so they had just woken up. Kespri wondered if they were exploring with their owners or if they had no home just like her. Would they know where they were?

      Kespri asked to a passing Meerca where she was. She told her she had rested here the past night because she was tired. The Meerca cautiously looked up to Kespri and told her this was Mystery Island. The Meerca told her that the path would lead up to a volcano. It was a dangerous place so nobody was allowed to come too close to the volcano. Kespri thanked the Meerca and said that she was exploring on her own and that she would like to know what the Meerca was doing here. The Meerca took a few steps back, fear in her eyes. Kespri told the Meerca not to worry because she wasn’t going to hurt her. She was just exploring and hoping to find a place to stay. A place where she could feel at home, with a nice family. The Meerca told her to go to Neopia Central to have the best chance of finding a new owner. Draiks were apparently very rare. Kespri found this rather surprising since she knew a lot of Draiks where she used to live. The Meerca answered that most Draiks lived in Meridell, where they are born. Then she told Kespri that she was here to throw some codestones into the volcano. Her owner had sent her here. She finished with saying her name was Amber. Kespri told Amber her own name. Amber asked if Kespri wanted to come with her. She could introduce Kespri to her owner and guide her around Neopia Central when they got there. Kespri was glad Ambe trusted her and they went up the volcano together. She thanked the Meerca again.

      Amber guided Kespri to the top of the volcano. Amber gave away the codestones she had brought with her. In return she got some red codestones. She put them in a bag and started to walk down the path. Kespri followed her. They didn't go really far, because a loud scream made them jump. Kespri asked who that could have been. Amber had, just like Kespri, no idea. She was sure though that the scream came from somewhere around the volcano. Someone could be in trouble. Kespri and Amber turned around to check it out.

      Kespri and Amber ran back to the volcano and looked around. At first nothing was seen. The volcano was giving out red codestones to Neopets who offered the right items, just like usual. Kespri walked around the edge of the volcano. She let out a breath of fire so she could see through the fog. She thought she saw something on the other side of the volcano, something that was in trouble. She breathed out some more fire. That was when she saw the Royalgirl Draik. She was trapped on the other side. Around her there was lava and it came closer and closer. The spot wouldn't be safe for a long time anymore. Kespri wanted to save her, because she knew she needed help and because she liked her. She had never seen any Draiks outside of Meridell. She must be an adventurer too, she thought. Maybe they could be friends.

      What did she have to do? It was dangerous to just fly to her and bring her to safety. There was a big chance they would both get caught in the fire. That wouldn't help anyone. On the other hand, they could both fly. So maybe she should fly up and she would catch her from the air? She walked a little closer to the edge and moved her face toward the Draik.

      Kespri shouted to the other Draik if she could hear her. The girl turned her face toward Kespri. She was unsure where the voice came from so she kept moving her head around. Kespri told the girl that her name was Kespri and that she wanted to try and save her. She asked the Draik to fly up so she could catch her from the air and bring her to safety. The girl still looked confused. She shouted back that she would try, Kespri could hardly hear her. She stood up and jumped up. Her wings moved very slowly so she couldn't stay in the air for so long. But it was too late to land again. The lava had flown over the spot where she had been seconds ago. Kespri knews he had to act fast.

      Kespri spread her wings and flew toward the Draik. The heat was almost unbearable. She put her claws around the Draiks shoulders and started to move back to safety. Amber was shouting at them, they had to hurry. The volcano was going to collapse. Fire would start to be thrown in the air. Kespri had trouble carrying the Draiks weight. The girl was trying to help but she was weak. The girl shouted to Kespri that she shouldn’t give up. They had to get away from here, to somewhere safe, she was counting on Kespri.

      Kespri was close to the edge of the volcano again. She had used almost all of her energy. She felt the girl slipping though her claws. She kept on encouraging her. Amber reached out to them. She managed to grab the girls paws and started to pull her. Kespri used all her powers to get the girl safe in Ambers hands. Not a good idea. The girl was safe but she had no power left to get herself on the edge too. Her wings stopped moving and she fell down the volcano.

      The girl screamed in terror as she saw Kespri falling. Amber couldn't let this happen. She took a quick jump and grabbed Kespri. She threw her toward the edge. But then again, where did Amber go? Luckily a passing Faerie Pteri grabbed Amber and got her in safety too. Just after Amber had landed, the volcano started to collapse. All the Neopets who were still on the volcano ran down the path, followed by the lava. Kespri, Amber and the girl were the last to run down the path. The girl was leaning heavy on Amber and Kespri. Other Neopets tried to help but most didn't keep up on this. Their fear for the volcano was bigger than their need to help a girl in trouble.

      Kespri, Amber and the girl reached the end of the path. They ran toward the village, a place that would be safe from the fire and the lava. Kespri said they were going to make it and that they’d all be safe. The girl was the first to enter the village. Kespri followed her, Amber was last. The citizens brought the girl to the hospital to treat her wounds. This started some commotion at the village entrance which got Amber trapped in the valley, the fire speeding at her. Kespri saw it when it was almost too late. She knew she didn’t have much power left. She gave it everything she had and carried Amber away from the fire and closed the gates. Amber and the other citizens carried her to the hospital where both she and the girl could be healed.

      By the end of the day, Kespri woke up. She looked around, white walls surrounding her. It took some time to remember what had happened. The girl, she realized. Was she okay? She stood up and walked to the other bed in the room. The girl turned toward her and smiled. She thanked Kespri for saving her. Her owner had been very worried about her and that’s why her owner wanted to thank Kespri too when she was healthy again. Kespri told her she was welcome and that she couldn’t just leave the girl in trouble at the volcano. The girl told Kespri her name was Efehdra. Kespri told her name too and explained that she was an explorer and looking for a place to stay. Efehdra thought she could be of help with that. Then she fell asleep again, still healing from her wounds. Kespri decided to rest some more too so she would be all right when Efehdra's owner would come and thank her.

      The next morning Kespri and Efehdra both walked out of the hospital. Efehdra was greeted by her family and owner. Her owner, Lisanne, was very happy to see her Draik being all right. She thanked Kespri for saving Efehdra and said that she heard that Kespri was looking for a place to stay. She offered to adopt Kespri because Efehdra already liked her. Kespri answered that it would be great to stay with Efehdra and her family. Efehdra smiled at her and said they would be great friends. She asked Kespri to come and meet her sisters Yerola and Oilisie.

      And so it happened. Kespri was adopted and had a lot of fun with her new family. Once in a while she visited her own family again and told them about the wonderful things that she had seen and done. Her family missed her but they knew she would never come back. She was happy with Efehdra, Yerola and Oilisie, in their home in Faerieland.

      The End.