Yuamie!" A voice echoed from a distance. Hated the sound of her real name, Yumie answered, "Coming Mom!" The pup answered back, dropping her stone and sprinting towards the voice. As the lupe neared her parents, she noticed paw prints. They seemed to be made by some kind of dog. A gelert, maybe. Her curiosity drove her to following the tracks, which she soon stopped as her mother barked at her. "Yuamie get over here now! Playtime is over!" Yumie was scheduled to be back at the den by nighttime, so the Darigan pack could go hunting.

As the little lupe pup reached her home, her mother and father nudged her into the den with the other lupe puppies. They both glared at her, she knew she was in trouble. "I'm sorry…" Yumie huddled to the back and curled up as her parents and the rest of the lupe pack ventured out, howling and yipping as they brought down prey to bring back and feed their young.

The morning breeze awoke Yumie. It was early, about 6 AM and the sun was just waking up over the horizon. The pup could sense the pack arriving; they were just a half-mile away. How she knew, she could smell them and their kill. Anxious Yumie wondered out of her den and started to bark, waking up the other pups. Her parents disembarked at the den and fed the young. The other part of the pack rolled away in their dens, retrieving their babies and caring for them.

Yumie's parents allowed her to play outside again while the other lupes slept with their pups, not yet mature enough to play by themselves outside. Yumie, of course, found her microphone rock. "Spy agent Yumie-" She said slyly to the stone. "Back in business." She ventured out to her accustomed play spot. Except, this time, the little lupe found a desolate path. There was a small broken wooden sign, which read, "Warning" and the rest was smudged off. An odd smell filled her nostrils, and she followed it. On the way, the little pup was smacked in the face by a piece of purple cloth. Dangling from a low branch, was a…. scarf? Yumie cocked her head, and snagged it from the branch. She glanced to her back, where she remembered she wasn't born with wings like the other Darigan lupes in her family. A smirk painted on her face, as she grabbed the scarf and tied it neatly around her neck.

The scarf was distracting the little Darigan lupe. It was oddly shaped, and seemed to look like a cape almost. It rested against her back, as if they were wings. The made Yumie content at the thought, as she continued the trail. The scent got larger as Yumie stepped on a piece of scrapped paper. It read "WANTED: A no named Chia. Has an awkward smell to him, for he's been hiding for almost a year now. Warning- very dangerous. Known to have killed 3 Neopets and robbed 5 banks!" Yumie grimaced at the picture. The paper was worn, and not very clear at sight. A couple of thoughts filled Yumie's head, she'll pretend to spy on this guy! The lupe, snickering, recorded into her stone- "A weird smelly Chia guy! Very dangerous!" She trotted along the path.

A couple of hours passed, Yumie was growing tired. The resonance of a rock hitting the trunk of a tree startled the lupe. She dropped her stone from her mouth, and looked around. There was nothing, followed by silence. Cautiously, Yumie forwarded the path. She came to a row of bushes, and rustling inside. The smell was strong, and for a second that Chia was floating around in her head. /Nah…/ she thought to herself. /It can't be…/ Approaching the ball of leaves and branches, Yumie stood up on her hind legs, grasping the top of the ruffled bush, and peered inside.

Her eyes widened at the sight of someone. Someone fairly familiar. It was the Chia, with ragged clothes, bruised and battered. The remains of a cop were near by, a rusting badge and part of a uniform. Yumie's heart sank; she wanted to work for them one day. That thought left her mind as she glanced around for more evidence. Up in the tree was a crystal blue microphone thing. An idea was loading in her mind. Quickly, with her swift pup reflexes she hopped up the tree, climbed maybe two feet up a branch and grabbed the microphone. This must be that other cop's microphone from a while ago!

It was off, but it seemed to be still working. Glancing down, she noticed the Chia wasn't even paying attention to her, so he must know she's not there. Swiftly, the lupe jumped down. This wasn't a game anymore, she kept telling herself, and you can make a difference. Wondering a couple yards away from the Chia, she turned the microphone on to make sure it was working. A soft fuzzy noise appeared, followed by a "Hello, this is the sheriff of Pinetree Wood." Yumie's stomach was filling with butterflies. She could get in serious trouble from her mother. "…. Was there a Chia with no name on the loose?" For once she didn't chortle. This was dead serious. Finally, the sheriff replied, "How'd you find him?" Yumie felt so proud of herself. "I sniffed him out! I didn't know, actually, but then I found the wanted sign and I could smell this weird smell and there he was!" She left out the inconsequential details. "He's at the end of this path… there was an old broken sign that just said warning on it, but the rest was smeared." The cop nodded at the other line. "I'll be right there."

About a half hour passed, and the cop finally arrived. He was a large nimmo. The nimmo cop seemed surprised. "You're…you're only a child!" He said in awe and disbelief. He knew it was her too, for the microphone was clipped to her ear. Yumie knew he wanted it back when she noticed him starring at her ear, and she returned it with a disappointed look on her face. Yumie led the cop to the Chia who had fallen asleep. He quickly handcuffed him, called backup, and the Chia was taken away to jail.

After that mess was cleaned up, and Yumie was speechless, the sheriff had her lead him to her den. Her parents quickly rushed up to the cop and immediately were pleading for apology. "What did she do!? We're so sorry if she got into a mess!" The sheriff stopped them. "Actually, I'd like to thank this little lupe. She found us a dangerous criminal." Yumie knew at that moment she would be in trouble. "In fact, we need more like her on our team." The nimmo sheriff boasted himself by putting his hands on his hips. Yumie's parents just cracked up laughing. "She's no cop!" Her father said. "No, I mean, we need a spy." The nimmo said, dead serious. The lupes stopped laughing. The Darigan lupe pack crowded behind the commotion, eavesdropping on them. Yumie, still speechless, enjoyed hearing these good things about her. Her mother finally added, "Well, she was born with an unusual sense of smell and can smell a dragonfly over half a mile away. Isn't she a little too young though?" Sheriff Nimmo burst out laughing. "Oh, she's not completely ready yet. She'll need training for quite a few years." Yumie stepped up from behind the cop and looked at her parents with an 'I really want to do this,' look. Yumie's father, sighing again, finally replied. "I don't think we can trust Yumie at this age alone." The nimmo cop frowned. "She won't be alone. Quite a few trainers'll train her, and she'll be a great spy for us. I know it." The two lupe parents looked at each other, and nodded. "Ok. She can go." They decided.

Her parents bid Yumie and the cop farewell, and made sure Yumie promised to be good and they'll stay in touch with her. The cop led Yumie to the place where she will be trained. "First, I need your name." He glanced down at the little lupe. "It's Yuamie Gyeui." She said. "Just call me Yumie though, please." She replied, becoming more serious. Now that she was a spy-in-training there was no goofing off.

We have a newcomer." Sheriff Nimmo said to the other cops and agents. "This here young lupe is going to become our next spy." A couple of mocking laugh remarks could be heard from the crowd. "No really, she found the nameless chia. He was in such an obvious place too, where we couldn't find him and she could." Yumie remained quiet. "Where is Swift?" A female wocky made her way from the crowd. "This will be your teacher. She was our former spy, but she retired to be a spy trainer." He explained. "You will be staying with her for the next few years until you are ready." He led Yumie to Swift.

Swift led Yumie to the training area. "So, Yuamie is it?" Yumie quickly replied, "Yumie." She said hesitantly. The wocky said nothing until they were at the spot. Yumie kept wanting to call it a dojo, but it wasn't a dojo. "We will start tomorrow, young spy-in-training. It is too late now, for you've been through too much today." Swift showed Yumie to a room, it wasn't a den, but it was small and empty like one. "Sleep well tonight." The wocky said in her usual calm voice. "Tomorrow you shall learn how to be unnoticed." Yumie quickly drifted to sleep.

***

Two years of training passed. Yumie was now one and a half years old in dog years. She could now stalk and move around swiftly, and quietly. She could also talk into a microphone quiet enough to be unnoticed. The spy-in-training has caught 2 more criminals, a thief, and a murderer. Mild criminals however, since she was not ready for the more dangerous and serious ones.

Well done, Yumie." Swift told her. "You are almost done. Another years worth of training and you are complete." The young-adult lupe couldn't help but feel excited. Her progress was recorded to the sheriff every two months. He claimed she was doing well, and was quite talented.

Finally, one day, Swift asked Yumie about her scarf. "I found it." Yumie explained. "It is my fake wings." She said. The wocky nodded, knowing Darigan lupes have wings. "It's good you don't have wings. They slow you down, and are loud." Yumie didn't believe that at first, but then she remembered back when she could hear all the other Darigan pup's wings flap as they desperately tried to fly.

Yumie continued to practice and train her spy skills. Every day for the past year she was getting better, and better. Finally at the end of her lessons, Swift brought her to the sheriff where she had to complete one more task. "You are very vary talented indeed. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen someone as talented as you before." Yumie was now an adult lupe. She nodded, hiding a grin. "I trust you Yumie, with this task. You are not yet complete. There is another criminal I need you to find. He is slick, and very sneaky. Alls we know is he goes by the name "Silent Stalker." Yumie rolled her eyes at the unoriginal name. "Where should I look?" She asked. Before Sheriff Nimmo gave her the answer, he dug into his drawer and pulled out the same crystal colored microphone. "You might need this." He awarded Yumie with the microphone. Yumie was speechless, yet again. "Thank you." She said. "Anyway, he was last seen in the alley." Again, with the unoriginal hiding spot. "Alright." Yumie said. "I'll get him.

She dashed out the door, looking for traces of Silent Stalker. She couldn't help but snicker at his name though. Since it was daytime, she'll go around finding evidence about this vaguely known guy. Soon, the sun, too, fell asleep leaving the stars; moon and city lights do its job. Yumie loved the city. It was so much different than her home in the forest.

A strange smell, again, drifted in Yumie's nose. It was the smell…of money, and a lot of it. Yumie was certain it was Silent Stalker. The silhouette of someone with a large sack leapt a crossed the street into the alley on the opposite direction. It was 2 AM in the morning already, but Yumie could stay up countless days searching for someone until she catches them. The spy swiftly made her way to the alley, where she saw the same silhouette of the guy with the bag. There was money in there for sure. Yumie eavesdropped on the two people as they had a conversation.

Listen to me," one said, "Take this money. Hide it in my secret hideout so I can go snag the diamonds in the jewelry store." Followed by that sentence was slight laughter. This must be the guy, Yumie thought to herself. She called the sheriff. "I got him." She said. "I'm going in, but I need backup" Yumie grabbed the pair of sunglasses she recently bought with the money she was saving a few years ago when she caught those other criminals.

Soon backup arrived, quickly enough for the Silent Stalker not to escape. "Oh crud! Cops!" His companion ditched him. "You little-" Silent Stalker started, but before he could finish, Yumie grabbed a hold of him. He flailed and kicked, and grabbed out a pistol. Yumie was surprised for a second, until she realized it wasn't loaded. The spy led him to the officer and he was soon escorted to jail.

Sheriff Nimmo was greatly impressed. "Well done, Spy Yumie." He addressed her as, and gave her an official spy badge. "The microphone is now yours, you've deserved it." Yumie nodded again, feeling greatly pleased with herself. "I have to ask for one favor. I would like to work for myself, and help others around. I don't want to just work here." Sheriff Nimmo was slightly surprised. "Oh, really? Well since you've been a great help to us and you've accomplished so much, you are allowed to go solo. Your spy badge proves you are a true spy, and you've passed training. Congratulations." All of the sudden, an office worker ran up to the front desk. "Phone call for Yuamie Gyeui" He handed the phone to her.

It was Yumie's parents. "Mom, Dad, I made it." She said happily into the phone. "I'm a spy now!" Her parents seemed pleased. After that conversation, Yumie walked out of Sheriff Nimmo's office, content of what she accomplished.