I'll Be Home for Christmas

     ~~~

     Pyland winced at the surprisingly bright morning light reflecting off the fresh dusting snow as he padded out into the garden of his family’s Neohome. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed his sister perched on the bench, having returned from her pre-dawn Battledome training session at the Mystery Island Training School.

     “Mornin’, Lenz. Looks like we got our first snow of the season.”

     The Draik’s voice briefly stirred Lenzi from her sunrise trance. She vaguely nodded in her brother’s direction before returning her glassy stare back out to the glistening forest surrounding the Faerieland Crater and the snow-capped towers of Faerie City beyond. She took a long sip of her warm mug of borovan and patted the open seat beside her.

     Pyland slumped onto the other half of the Xweetok’s bench, careful to not accidentally pin her gossamer wings under his spiny tail or knock over her rusty training sword. The pair sat in a brief moment of melancholy. Their breath crystalized before them in the crisp air. Eventually, Lenzi spoke.

     “It’s the First of Celebrating. Advent Calendar starts today.” She sighed. “Leah always loved this time of year. Did you know she almost painted me Christmas once? She worked dozens of shifts at the Igloo Garage Sale trying to save up, but she never could afford that paint brush. It took a lucky quest from Baelia for her to finally paint me Faerie.”

     Pyland half-chuckled at the image of their owner scrambling around on the ice. “She always did have some sort of hare-brained scheme of how she was going to make the holidays special. It’s a good thing she taught Punzele how to bake, because she never could afford to buy us much.” He licked his lips thinking of their sister’s famous gingerbread, then tentatively asked, “How long has she been gone now? 6 years?”

     “Give or take. Last I saw her, she mentioned that school was keeping her busy and it was getting harder and harder for her to take time to visit us. You know. Same story as everyone else. So few owners come around anymore. Life got in the way for them.”

     The Draik nodded. Countless other families of pets were in the same boat. He knew that his owner still cared about him and his sisters somewhere deep down. She had spent hours and hours of her preteen and teen years meticulously arranging and rearranging their Neohome and old Habitarium, slinging slushies in the Moltara stands during the Altador Cup to buy Lenzi’s first Battledome set, or creating art for their adoptive sister Riyeti’s brief career in the beauty contest. While he was the youngest of his siblings, his sisters told him Leah had spent hours combing through the sands of the Forgotten Shore for weeks until she finally found his egg. He believed it, since his very first sight upon hatching had been her beaming smile as she scooped him out of his shell. Ultimately, though, he had come to face the sad reality that most humans eventually lose interest in the things they loved as kids. What use did a grown-up have for her childhood pets?

     A sombre silence hung between the siblings. Even if left unsaid, they missed her. But time moves forward, and life goes on. Lenzi’s gaze shifted up to the small clusters of crystal islands high above their home. She had been born shortly after the fall of Faerieland, but Leah had always loved recounting tales of the old city in the clouds and her escapades with older pets helping fellow Neopians stave off the wraiths. Lenzi was thrilled when she eventually got to fight alongside her in the Wraith Resurgence. What would her owner make of New Faerieland, she wondered? Did she know about Luxinia and the new attempts to rebuild? Had she heard about the whispers of unrest surrounding the recent Faerie Festival and rumours of dark forces gathering in the shadows of Neopia? Lenzi had only recently taken up fighting in the Battledome again, since she figured she should be ready if any real fighting were to break out. Would Leah even care now that she was so… old?

     “But that’s enough about that.” The Xweetok abruptly stood and stretched her stiff neck and back. “I’m planning on heading up to Terror Mountain in a bit to check out what Reina’s got up her sleeve today. Maybe they’ll be giving out some decent Battledome equipment this year. We both know I can’t upgrade my set otherwise. Do you want to come with me?”

     Pyland shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Let’s grab something to snack on while we fly over before heading out.” The pair trudged back inside. Pyland briefly paused to take a forlorn glance at the fireplace mantle. Punzele had already hung the sibling’s four well-worn stockings, but without the fifth, the spacing was a bit wonky. After years of disappointment, they no longer pulled Leah out of the storage shed. It sat there, collecting dust, with Lenzi’s old pair of Yooyu Knuckle Dusters and beaten-up Wooden Blocking Shield.

     He shook his head, trying to collect his thoughts, when he suddenly heard a shriek and a crash from the other room. He rushed into the kitchen to see what was wrong. Lenzi stood by the sink, mouth agape, with the final dregs of her now-lukewarm borovan pooling around her feet near what remained of her now-shattered favourite mug. Pyland followed her gaze out the window, across the front garden, and over the fence. Just beyond the property line, out by the road, an adult-sized humanoid figure with purple hair waved at them over a small tower of brightly wrapped boxes, most of which were clearly fresh from the NC Mall. His jaw dropped. No, he thought. It couldn’t be–could it?

     Before he could say anything, Lenzi snapped out of her stupor and zipped out of the room. She wasn’t fully aware if she was running, flying, or both, but she moved towards the fence as quickly as her lithe little body would carry her. She flung open the gate. The woman with the boxes cracked a soft smile.

     “Hey, Lenz. Long time no see. I’ve got something for you.” She slipped off her knapsack and dug around for a moment before pulling a shiny new Void Blade out of the pack. “I would have gotten here sooner, but the guy at the Trading Post was driving quite a hard bargain.”

     Abandoning all pretence of decorum, Lenzi shrieked with glee. She took a running leap and pounced on her long-lost owner, her best friend, her kindred spirit. The tower of packages tumbled around them as she tackle-hugged Leah to the ground, nuzzling into her chest just to hear her beating heart and feel the warmth of her body heat.

     Leah’s grin widened as she returned the embrace, burying her face in the fur around Lenzi’s neck. “I missed you so much, Lenz.”

     More shrieks from the cottage. Leah’s eyes began to well with tears as she saw three figures rapidly emerge from the front entryway; a Draik, a Cybunny, and a Lutari. They had waited. They had all waited. And she was finally home.

     The End.