At the edge of the haunted woods the mountains stretch up towards the sky. High up on a ledge is and entrance to a cave. Do you dare to climb up and investigate this cave? You do? Well you're not very bright are you? There could be anything living in there! But you go on. . . Okay.

As you enter the cave you are plunged into darkness. You didn't know a cave could get so dark so fast. After all, the entrance is pretty big, it should let a lot of light in. But it seems as though the cave is devouring the light, the darkness pressing outward. But that's impossible, right?

It seems so quiet; you can't hear anything but your own footsteps. Just as you decide the cave must be deserted you hear a faint rustling. You turn and suddenly a huge dark eyrie is standing in front of you. Her piercing green eyes seem to glow in the darkness.

What are you doing here?" She demands. But she doesn't give you time to respond, she just screeches "Get out!!" and spreads her wings, as if she's about to leap at you.

But instead of fleeing for your life you stay, (do you have a death wish?) and try to explain that you were just curious about the inhabitant of the cave. And now that you're here you'll really interested in learning more about the eyrie.

After a bit of persuasion the eyrie reluctantly allows you to stay. She doesn't look like she's about to attack you any more, but she still glares at you sharply. You get the feeling that all this aggression is just an act to hide her true feelings. It seems she's just happy to have some company.

So what's your name anyway? guest? My name's Lyre..."

About Lyre

Lyre is a large shadow eyrie. Her fur and feathers are a dark charcoal grey, almost black. Her mane, the underside of her wings, and tail tuff are light grey. The tips of her primary wing feathers are dark purple, as is the tip of her tail tuff and tips of her ears. She has a small purple marking under each eye. It looks like a slightly slanted inverted triangle with two small dots to either side. The sides of her face are light grey, like a typical eyrie, but she has a unique marking, the light grey goes down to a point and back slightly, ending at her lower cheek. The inside of her ears and lower cheeks are very pale grey. Her beak is shiny black, and her eyes are dark green.

Lyre wears lots of silver jewelry. She has three rings on the lower half of her tail and two bracelets on her left front leg. She has five piercings in each ear, three posts on the bottom and two hoops on top. She has two hoop piercings on each of her wings. On the right wing the second hoop has a chain that connects to a cuff farther down her wing.

Lyre has three pale silver tattoos. On her left hip is a sort of U shape with curled ends. Over each curl are three dots, and near the bottom to each side is three dots. On her left front leg, right under her bracelets, are two slightly curved lines that curve toward each other, sort of like parentheses. The one more toward the left is a bit higher and has a dot above it. The one toward the right is lower and has a dot below it. On her right front leg is a spiral. The end of the spiral continues a line down that wraps around her leg three times. For a refrence, see Makeables of Lyre.

Lyre is very reserved and quiet. She keeps to her self most of the time and doesn't say much. Lyre likes to spend time alone deep in thought or reading. She also spends a lot of time exploring with her petpet, Claudio. She likes to wander around the wilderness areas of neopia. She doesn't spend much time in the heavily populated areas.

Around other pets and people Lyre can seem rude. She doesn't talk much, and when she does it's usually to tell someone to leave her alone. But really she is just very shy. She doesn't know how to act so she just pushes people away. Secretly Lyre is very lonely and would love to have friends.

Lyre doesn't open up and feel comfortable with someone until she's known them for a long time. She can be very moody and sometimes goes into long sullen periods where she stays in her cave and avoids people even more than usual. She just sits alone and stares off at nothing.

But it seems as if you've caught Lyre on a good day. After lots of encouragement the shy eyrie begins to open up and talk to you.

Well Okay, what do you want to know about me?" She begins. "I guess my name... Lyre. It's pronounced like liar, but I'm not dishonest." She grins. "A lyre is a musical instrument, a bit like a harp only much smaller. Cool huh?"

Well actually my official name is Lyre_77, but underscores and numbers are so annoying." She lays her ears back and grumbles. "My owner, Meer, was a newbie when she named me, she didn't think of anything better to name me, she insisted I be called Lyre, and since that was already taken I got stuck with _77. But just pretend like that's not there, okay? Just call me Lyre. If you call me 'Lyre Seventy-Seven' I'll have to bite you." She grins to show she's joking... or is she? It's sometimes hard to tell her, so you move on to another subject...

Oh, you want to know about my tattoos? You want to know how a furred creature gets a tattoo? Okay I'll explain. First all the fur in the area where the tattoo will be has to be shaved and waxed so there's no hair at all. Then ink is injected into every hair follicle with a needle. Similar to how you get a tattoo on your skin, only the ink has to go into each individual follicle. Then when the hair grows back it is permanently dyed that color. It's a very long and painful process. But it was worth it for me.

My tattoos aren't just random cool looking markings. They each have a deep symbolic meaning to me. Of course I'm not going to just tell you what they mean, they're very personal. But I'm sure you can guess one of them if you just think a little bit." Lyre grins at you.

Stats

Name: Lyre_77
Nickname: Lyre
Gender: Female
Species: Eyrie
Color: Shadow
Birthday: June 14, 2006
Age: 49622 Hours (Adolescent)
Owner: Meer (quoththeraven77)
Level: 21
Hit Points: 30 / 30
Strength: 28
Speed: 24
Defence: 27
Intelligence: 72
Battledome Score: 2478

Lyre's Collection

I love to collect things. It's my favorite hobby, aside from reading and exploring. I collect all sorts of things. I guess you could say I'm sort of a hoarder. I like to gather up all sorts of things and display them around my cave. I'm kind of a pack rat. *pokes my owner to get the pack rat av* :P I collect mostly plushies, fish, anything gothic looking, and any evil/spooky/halloween themed items. I'll add more things to this list later. Since I'm just starting out I can't collect too many things, right? ;)

My Favorite Things
Here are a few of my favorite things from my collection. To see all of my collection you can look at my gallery. Well you can't look at it yet, cuz it's not ready. XD But you'll be able to look at it soon!

Evil Toy of DOOM How could you not love it's evil DOOM-ness?	Fire Jetsam Plushie It's so fiery and cool. XD	Headless Vonroo Plushie Muahahaha!! It's headless!
Eye Candy *giggles* Eye candy... get it?	Poisonous Lollypop It's Poisionous! Plus I love green and purple.	Plushie Fungus My funniest plushie. Or is it a plushie? ;)

Family

Meer - My owner. Her username is quoththeraven77, but she goes by the name Meer. Some people on Neopets like to call her Raven so she goes by that too. She's a lot like me, she's shy and a bit of a loner. We understand each other and get along really well. She takes very good care of me and my brother.

Saerhyn - My brother. At first when Meer said she was going to adopt another pet, I was worried she'd get a lupe or a gelert, because I hate canines. But then she got a uni and I was even more worried. Unis have a reputation for being stuck up and vain. But Saerhyn turned out to be a pretty cool guy. Even though he's way more out going than me, he accepts me for who I am and doesn't get on my case about being shy. He's fun to hang out with. He says I'm weird, but pretty cool for a girl.

Rider - My uh, brother. I dunno if you could really say this guy is my brother, but I guess he's part of the family now. Kinda. Well it's weird, he just showed up one day, and now it seems he's here to stay. I don't know what to say about him, because we really don't know much about him yet. But he leaves me alone and doesn't bother me, so I guess he's okay.

Cobalt - My brother. Cobalt's an odd one. Heh, yeah I know I'm one to talk. But Gobalt is obsessed with becoming a wizard. That's about all he wants to do or talk about. I think he's kinda pushy and annoying. But that's not so bad because he really isn't around much. He spends most of his time off at school. Wizard school, yeah. So he's not around to bug me much.

Reihakai - My brother. Even though Rei is my younger brother, he's very protective of me. He acts like an older brother, always watching out for me. I think that's sweet, even though I don't think I need protecting, I can take care of myself. But Rei just cares a lot for me. Sometimes the two of us go flying together over the mountains, or just sit and relax in his garden. I think Rei and Saerhyn are the only ones who really understand me.

Claudio - My petpet. Well a zomutt certainly wouldn't have been my first choice for a petpet. But I didn't choose Claudio so much as he chose me. He just started following me one day and wouldn't go away. I guess I've kinda grown to like him. He's really weird though. I think he has some mental problems or something, he seems to think he's a cat. 0_o You should read his story, click his name to jump to it.

Likes and Dislikes

Things I enjoy and things that really bug me.

Likes • Darkness • Quiet • Exploring • Reading • Fishing and eating fish • Solitude • Plushies • The Haunted Woods

Dislikes • Loud noises • Glaring bright lights • Most people • Being forced to be friendly • Being misunderstood • Canines • Usukis • Faeries (They're so UGLY!)

Makeables of Lyre

Woot! Little mini-me's!

(Meer wanted me to say to please excuse her complete lack of shading skills :P )

Regular Shadow Eyrie Adoptables

Because all shadow eyries are cool!

Claudio's Story

Part 1: Darn Delusional Dead Dog

Lyre was taking a leisurely stroll outside of Neopia Central. It was a pleasantly cool evening, and she thought she might go shopping for a new plushie before going for a walk in the haunted woods. She was lost in her own thoughts when she heard a soft whimper behind her. She turned around and saw a small petpet sitting on the ground looking up at her.

Oh, great, it was a zomutt. The only thing worse than a dog was a smelly undead dog. She sighed and turned to continue on her way. The zomutt whimpered again and she turned to glare at it. It probably belonged to someone and it would go back home if she just ignored it. But as she started to walk away the zomutt ran up beside her and started whimpering again. Lyre turned and glared at it, pinning her ears back. "Go away now, shoo!" She waved her paw at it to try to shoo it away. "Go home, I don't like dogs!" The zomutt stopped and stared at her, cocking it's head to the side and looking quite confused.

Lyre assumed it was confused because it's oh so cute puppy dog stare wasn't working on her. All canines were the same, whether it was a gelert, a lupe, a warf, or a creepy little zomutt, they all expected to get whatever they wanted just by giving you those big sad puppy dog eyes. Well, zomutts didn't really have big puppy dog eyes so much as huge empty eye sockets with disconcerting glowing orbs in them, but they still thought they could manipulate anyone they pleased just by acting cute. Well it wasn't going to work with this eyrie, no way. "Look at me, I'm half cat, I am not a dog person." Lyre said. The zomutt shook its head and stared at her, still not getting the message.

Lyre sighed and started walking toward Neopia Central. She hated being in crowded areas, but maybe there the zomutt would find someone else to bother and leave her alone. She kept walking and the zomutt kept following her. She tried her best to ignore it. Even looking at it and telling it to go away would probably only encourage it. She wandered around Neopia Central and still the zomutt followed her. It wasn't too crowded today, the there were still plenty of pets about. Lyre avoided them as usual, but there was plenty of opportunity for the zomutt to find someone else to follow around. But the zomutt just would not go away. Even when she went into shops and left the zomutt outside, when she came back out it would still be sitting there waiting, staring at her with those weird glowing eyes.

Finally she was completely fed up. She wasn't going to waste her whole evening on this stupid zomutt. She stopped and glared at the zomutt once again. "Listen, you can't follow me around. I don't want a petpet right now. And I certainly don't want a zomutt." The zomutt didn't seem to be paying attention. Lyre swished her tail back and forth in irritation. The zomutt watched her tail in fascination. Suddenly it leaped up and batted at the end of her tail with one paw. Lyre jerked her tail away in surprise and the zomutt batted at it with the other paw. It sat up and held its paw in the air, batting playfully at her tail. Now that was odd. It didn't pounce on her tail or try to chew on it like a dog would. This was more like a. . . like a cat would act.

But Lyre had had enough. She turned and walked away at a fast pace. The zomutt followed her and continued to bat at the end of her tail, leaping up to try to catch it. Lyre turned again. "Listen, this just isn't going to work. You can't win me over, I don't get along with dogs, I'm sorry. I don't like any kind of canine." The zomutt's ears drooped--all four of them, weird thing--and it looked both hurt and confused. It shook its head again and said, "Meow?"

Lyre blinked in surprise. Okay, the zomutt just meowed at her. "Uh, you're a dog, not a cat." She told it. The zomutt got upset and glared at her, shaking its head. "Meow!" Lyre started to back away from the strange creature, but it came right up to her. It began weaving in and out between her legs, rubbing its whole body, from chin to tail tip against each leg, the way cats do. Lyre was so startled she tried to move away and tripped over the zomutt and fell on the ground.

Mew!" The zomutt cried, ran to her side and began licking her face. Not huge slobbery dog kisses but delicate little cat-like licks. Lyre saw that the zomutt didn't have a collar, just a piece of string tied around its neck. On the string was a piece of paper. She sat up and took the paper. On it was words written in a sloppy, jagged script, as if the person who wrote it had been in a hurry: "Claudio the Zomutt, free to a good home!" And below that, in an even sloppier hand: "Oh please just take him!!!" Well now that was very odd. What could possibly have happened to make someone that desperate to get rid of this petpet? What did he do to warrant being shoved out on the street with just this cryptic note?

Lyre felt sudden trepidation about this strange petpet. Perhaps she should try harder to get rid of him, and fast. If he was so awful that his previous owner had abandoned him like this. She looked down at the zomutt, who was now rubbing his cheeks against her leg. He acted so weird, that couldn't be good. But yet, Lyre was starting to feel sorry for him in spite of herself. The poor little guy just wanted someone to accept him and love him . . . Just like she did. She imagined how it must feel to be abandoned by your owner, being so unwanted that they would just throw you out, not even trying to find you a new owner, just leaving you out on the street to fend for yourself. Yet he was still so trusting and willing to find someone else to care for him, even after he had been betrayed.

Lyre sighed. She was giving it, she couldn't help it. How could she leave the zomutt alone now? "Well, I guess I could take care of you . . . For a little while anyway." She said. The zomutt looked up at her with wide eyes and cried "Murrrow!" He began rubbing against her again and when Lyre ran a paw down his back, he began to purr. Now this was the strangest thing yet. Nothing without feline physiology should even be capable of purring; yet this little zomutt was purring quite convincingly. He was either a very impressive mimic, or. . what? There was something very strange about him.

Lyre stood up and looked at her new petpet. 'Claudio the Zomutt' the note had said. "Claudio? Is that your name?" She asked. The zomutt nodded his head. What a weird name, she raised an eyebrow. "Do you like that name? Wouldn't you like to be called something different?" She was thinking she could name him Killer or something cool like that. The zomutt shook his head vehemently. "You like being called Claudio? You sure?" The zomutt nodded and meowed happily. It was a really dorky name, but he seemed really attached to it. Lyre sighed. "All right then."

Claudio the zomutt purred loudly and rubbed against Lyre's leg. Why did he act so weird she wondered? "You know you're a dog right?" She asked.

Claudio immediately stopped purring and glared at her with his ears drooping, he shook his head, clearly very upset. "Meow meow, meow! He said.

Lyre blinked. "Okay okay, you're not a dog. You're a cat?" Claudio brightened up again and nodded. "Alright." She said. He clearly had some serious issues, but she didn't want to get into that right now. He didn't like being called a dog; he thought he was a cat. Okay, she would humor him, for now at least. "So, Claudio the cat, I suppose we should get you a real collar. Come on, the petpet supplies shop is just up there."

Lyre started walking. Claudio mewed happily and fell in step beside her, his long fluffy tail held high and waving slightly back and forth, the very end curled delicately. Lyre looked at his tail, she realized he hadn't wagged it once since he first showed up, even when he was clearly happy. He just held it up in the air like a cat. It was then that Lyre noticed the strange thing on his tail. Near the end of his tail was a silver ring. Tied onto the ring were a tiny bird skull, a black feather, and a string of small beads. Looking at it gave Lyre a chill, it was very odd. What could it be? Some sort of charm or talisman? Or just decoration? Lyre shivered. What was she getting herself into?

To be continued . . .

Well that's all for now." Lyre stretches, folds her wings, and wanders deeper into her cave, disappearing into the darkness.