Private Battle

Kairi the Wocky walked out of the Brightvale Armoury, with a shiny new robe under her arm. She put her hand up to her face to shield her eyes from the sun, which was shining down upon Brightvale. It was the middle of the day, and Kairi was feeling very excited about her hew armour. It had been the last robe in the shop, and had fitted her perfectly. Kairi knew that she had forked out quite a lot of Neopoints to pay for the robe, but in her eyes, it was worth it. Kairi had versed her fellow Neopet, Jarah, so many times in the Battledome, and not won a single match. Kairi thought that with her new armour robes, she could finally win against Jarah the Yurble.

     Jarah waltzed through the doors of the Lost Desert Battle Supplies and whistled as she saw the things for sale. There were Sandstone Boots, a Cobrall Dagger, a Desert Arrow Launcher, a Good Luck Ankh, and many more wonderful and exciting products. She strolled over to the counter and said coolly,

     "Don't bother wrapping them. I'll have the Boots, the Dagger, and the Ankh. Oh, and there's no need to haggle." The shopkeeper sighed and reached under the counter. He pulled the items delicately from their boxes and handed them to Jarah, his best customer. She entered his store once a month to purchase rare and exotic battle supplies. The shopkeeper counted the coins and smiled resignedly as Jarah left the store.

     Kairi tiptoed nervously up to Jarah, who was examining her new weapons. Jarah sounded bored as she acknowledged the Wocky.

     "What do you want now? I haven't got time for another of your pitiful attempts in the Battledome." Jarah turned to face Kairi, who had opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it after she saw the look on Jarah's face.

     "Well, I haven't got all day. Hurry up," sneered Jarah as she stared, disgusted, at the pitiful looking Neopet that stood before her. Kairi swallowed, then whispered,

     "I-I was hoping that I m-might be able to b-battle you again. Except this time, I w-want to make a b-bet." Kairi licked her dry lips, and rubbed her hands together as she always did when she was nervous. Kairi wasn't usually a shy person, but what she was doing was the limit of her bravery. Jarah raised her eyebrows, but quickly lowered them again to reveal a superior look, as if she knew that she was better than the trembling Wocky.

     "You want to make a bet, eh? Well, by all means, name your price!" Jarah then turned her annoyingly pompous smile into what she hoped was a friendly grin. Kairi nodded and replied in a slightly more confident voice than before.

     "If I win, then you have to stop bullying all the Neopets." Kairi looked at the ground in embarrassment after stating her condition. Jarah opened her mouth in protest.

     "I don't bully anyone! I just let them know that I'm better than they are. That's all." Jarah smiled smugly, but then her face turned sour.

     "What do I get if I win?" Jarah looked innocently curious as she spoke, but Kairi knew that she was just bursting to jump up and down and scream 'I'm going to win!'

     "Well, if you win, I'll stop bothering you. You'll never hear from me again. I'll stop asking you to battle me, and I'll never talk to you." Kairi stared fiercely into Jarah's eyes, daring her to refuse. Instead, Jarah laughed.

     "Yeah, I'll battle you. If it means I never have to see you again." Jarah stood up and turned to leave.

     "I'll see you tomorrow. Bright and early." Jarah chuckled and marched off.

      Kairi stepped into the Battledome and faced Jarah. Her fingers were curling into a fist under the dangling sleeves of the robe. She was sure that, this time, she would not be beaten. Jarah smiled confidently and shouted to Kairi across the floor.

     "You ready? I know I certainly am. Ready to beat you again!" Jarah laughed evilly and flung a Poison Snowball at Kairi, who blocked it with her Small Metal Shield. Jarah sneered at her opponent and shouted rude comments about her pitiful attempts.

     "You couldn't win a match if your life depended on it! I don't know why I bother competing against you anymore. It's a waste of my time and skills. I could be out there fighting a worthy opponent, not some snivelling little baby who doesn't know a Snowball from a Battle Faerie." Jarah clicked her tongue and looked down at her fingernails, waiting for Kairi to shout back at her like she always did. Instead, Kairi flung a Fire Snow jar at Jarah, who, unprepared, spluttered as it smashed in her face. Jarah gasped as her hitpoints went down a considerable amount. Kairi smiled in amazement. She had thrown the jar out of rage, but was pleasantly surprised when it put her in the lead. Jarah roared and hurled a Yellow Snowball at Kairi who stepped out of the way just in time.

     "In case you hadn't noticed, Jarah, I've recently gone up 2 levels. I have King Coltzan and a visit to the Healing Springs to thank for that." Kairi smiled smugly as she looked at the scoreboard. She was winning, and she only needed a few more turns to beat Jarah once and for all. Kairi plucked up her courage and lifted a Fire Tipped Spear on to her shoulder. Jarah made a gasping noise and put her hands over her mouth.

     "How did you pay for that? They cost over 30,000 NP!" Kairi smiled shyly and said,

     "My grandmother, the Kiosk Wocky, gave it to me for my birthday. She won 50,000 NP on one of her scratch cards. I knew it would come in handy." With that, Kairi threw the spear towards her enemy, where it pierced her skin. Jarah winced with pain, and then began to sob as she saw her hitpoints go down dramatically.

     "How dare you! How dare you!" Jarah screeched and yanked the spear out of her arm.

     "I'll have you for this!" Jarah picked up her Desert Arrow Launcher and fired three arrows into the air. Kairi walked forwards and raised her arms above her head. The arrows went straight into her chest. Kairi staggered backwards. She stared down at the three arrows and pulled them out in one go. They had no blood on the ends, and her robe wasn't ripped at all. Jarah squinted as she tried to see Kairi's cloak. Then she gasped.

     "That's a magical robe! From Brightvale Armoury! Argh!" Jarah threw her hands up into the air in frustration. Kairi looked up and frowned slightly. She knew that she could win, but she felt a tiny bit of pity for Jarah.

     I can't hurt her anymore, Kairi thought to herself, but if I don't, then she'll keep on bullying my friends. Ooh, I have to do it! Kairi shut her eyes and dug her Golden Wocky Blade into Jarah, who moaned and fell over. She held her stomach and bit her lip, trying not to scream aloud. Kairi walked over to her fallen enemy and bent down over her. She touched Jarah's arm gently, but recoiled quickly when the Yurble bit her hand.

     "You've done enough damage. Don't humiliate me anymore." Jarah winced as she tried to stand. She looked at the board and saw that her hitpoints had disappeared, along with her will to fight. She closed her eyes, and then turned to face Kairi.

     "You win. I'll stop bullying the other Neopets." Jarah walked out of the Battledome and towards Faerieland. All her money had been wasted on battle weapons, so she couldn't even afford a Healing Potion. She just hoped that the Water Faerie could cure her at the Healing Springs.

     Kairi smiled shyly as she stepped into her friend's house. The Mynci rushed forward and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her roughly.

     "Well? Did you win?" Farina the Mynci put her hands over her mouth as she waited for her friend to reply.

     "I…I beat her. She'll stop now. We won, Farina. Our private battle. It's over."

The End