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HowlingWinter, a snowy white Lupess, smiled as she padded
through the knee-deep snow. She paused for a moment, tossing her well-kept mane
of white fur to shake off all of the snowflakes and ice shards that had embedded
themselves in her pelt.
The beautiful Lupess sighed happily, her breath
rising in steamy tendrils of mist in the freezing air. Most pets, even other
Lupes and Lupesses, would’ve been cold in the harsh conditions, but HowlingWinter
had an extraordinarily large and shaggy coat of fur that kept her warm in even
the chilliest of storms.
Not many pets had been blessed with such a coat,
so HowlingWinter was often alone whenever she ventured out of her home to trot
trough the snow. That was just fine with her, though. HowlingWinter was a solitary,
independent Lupess who relished her introvert lifestyle, and was often annoyed
by any pets who attempted to walk or chat with her.
The only pet that she had ever liked was a Cybunny.
He had saved her, years ago, from an eternity of misery. She continued to pad
softly through the snowdrifts before finally reaching a small tree, bare and
plain, save for one small pendant that hung from one of its scraggly branches.
HowlingWinter sat in the snow and gazed upon
the pendant, the tiny sapphire set in the middle that hung from the weather-beaten
string glittering as it swayed gently in the wind. The pendant had belonged
to the Cybunny. HowlingWinter’s long, luxurious fur whipped around, playing
with the cool winter breezes. She placed a paw on her mane and ran it through
the thick fur, her thoughts dwelling upon her pelt.
The coat had come at a price.
She hadn’t always been this way. That was, she
hadn’t always been so "adapted" to the snowy climate.
When she was a pup, her owner had abandoned her
after becoming bored with the young Lupess. LupeyLupe7677, as she had been called,
was tossed out into the dense woods of Terror Mountain, where she nearly perished
from the cold.
LupeyLupe7677 had pawed some snow away that had
been nestled between two pine tree roots to create a small pit, and had slept
in the tiny groove throughout the evening. She shivered all night long, her
thin, puppy coat hardly suited to the freezing temperatures. The young Lupess
certainly would’ve slipped away from life that night, had the Snow Faerie, Taelia,
not been out searching for Snowberries around the same area of the forest. Taelia
caught sight of the shivering pup, and wrapped her up in her warm coat, taking
her home at once.
LupeyLupe7677, curled up in front of Taelia’s
roaring fire, soon had her health restored. The Snow Faerie, desperate for a
new assistant, as her old one had perished sometime ago, blessed the young Lupess
with the essence of winter.
LupeyLupe7677’s fur turned from a light blue
color to the purest white. Her thin, raggedy pelt grew thicker, longer and shaggier.
Lastly, Taelia gave some of her powers to the pup, powers of ice and snow. Taelia
changed the pup’s name from LupeyLupe7677 to HowlingWinter. The Lupess’ transformation
was complete.
Not long after, Taelia began sending HowlingWinter
out into the cold to gather ingredients for her potions and magical spells,
simple ingredients like Neggs, which could be found on some trees, and Chia
Pops, which HowlingWinter was able to purchase from the Lenny that owned the
Winter Foods Shop. At first, HowlingWinter enjoyed her errands, and often had
fun searching for Neggs or haggling with the friendly Lenny.
But after her twentieth scouting mission, HowlingWinter
became bored. She was tired of plodding through the snow, batting ice chips
out of her eyes and blowing on her cold paws, which were not protected by any
sort of thick, winter coat. So one day, HowlingWinter decided to ask Taelia
for freedom.
She trotted up to the door of the Snow Faerie’s
cabin, and gingerly pushed it open. Unfortunately, Taelia was currently busy
giving out a reward to some Grarrl who had completed one of her quests. The
Snow Faerie smirked as she handed the crestfallen Grarrl a Chia Belt, a Sticky
Snowball, and a thousand Neopoints. HowlingWinter scowled. One thing that she
disliked about her owner was how she always gave the pets that completed her
quests such worthless items in return.
After the Grarrl left, grumbling and stomping
out the door, HowlingWinter approached Taelia and tugged gently at her coat
to grab her attention. The Snow Faerie whirled around and smiled, placing her
hands on her hips.
"Have you brought me my ingredients?" she asked,
brushing a lock of ebony colored hair out of her eyes. HowlingWinter shook her
head; her deep sapphire eyes locking gazes with Taelia’s cold black ones.
"No, I have not," the Lupess admitted, gazing
at the floor. "Master Snow Faerie," she began. "I would like to request freedom.
I am tired of having to run all of these errands for you. Please, may I leave?"
she asked, staring hopefully into the Snow Faerie’s face. Taelia laughed.
"I couldn’t grant you your freedom even if I
wanted to. The night I saved you, and changed you, I uttered a powerful incantation,
one that bound you to me for all eternity, one that can only be broken by one,
simple thing," Taelia grinned, her eyes cold and menacing.
"And I am not going to tell you what that is,
HowlingWinter. You are under my control forever."
That was it. HowlingWinter, who rarely showed
any emotion, allowed a solitary tear to slip down her snow-white fur. It didn’t
do any good; the warmth of HowlingWinter’s tears could not thaw Taelia’s icy
heart. The Lupess fled, charging out of the cabin and tearing down the mountainside
before slipping on a patch of ice and tumbling down the slope. HowlingWinter
continued to roll down the mountainside, the snow and her fur mingling until
they became one unrecognizable clump of white, until the Lupess struck her head
on a protruding tree root and blacked out.
***
HowlingWinter awoke to a throbbing headache, and was surprised to find that
she was in some sort of cave. A faint rustling noise coming from the far end
of the cave caused the Lupess to turn her head in the direction of the sound.
HowlingWinter focused on a clump of dead, brown leaves that the noise had emanated
from. She waited for a moment before a large eared, white-furred head popped
out the foliage. It was a Cybunny.
He heaved his entire body out of the pile and
shook himself off, spraying leaves in all directions. Upon noticing HowlingWinter,
the Cybunny grinned and stuck out his paw.
"Hello there, HowlingWinter," he said kindly.
"My name is SwiftStorm." HowlingWinter peered suspiciously at him out of the
corner of her eyes.
"How did you know my name?" she asked, edging
away from the peculiar pet. SwiftStorm chuckled and plopped down on the rocky
ground.
"I’ve seen you out in the forest, collecting
ingredients in the harshest of storms when most Pets were snug inside their
caves or burrows.
"One day, I decided to follow you and see where
you went. The weather was fair, so I wasn’t worried about the cold. I traveled
a fair distance behind you, stepping in your paw prints, until I came to the
Snow Faerie’s cabin.
"I hid myself in a clump of nearby bushes and
watched as she took the Neggs from you, and sent you off on another errand.
I heard her call you HowlingWinter."
HowlingWinter sighed, and shifted uncomfortably.
She was still feeling slightly suspicious of the strange Cybunny. A sudden thought
struck her mind.
"The day that I struck my head and fell unconscious…
There was a vicious storm raging outside. How did you manage to come out and
find me? Much less bring me to your cave."
It was SwiftStorm’s turn to sigh. He slumped
his shoulders and his ears dropped. "I was once a servant to Taelia. I had developed
a powerful sickness that I got from a Gelert who bit me. Desperate for a cure,
I ventured up to the Snow Faerie’s cabin, and pleaded for help. She healed me,
but bound me to her with that horrible incantation."
HowlingWinter’s heart fluttered. "So you managed
to escape! How did you do it?" she asked, eyes sparkling. SwiftStorm glanced
uneasily around the room.
"Well, I—" the Cybunny began, but was cut off
as Taelia came storming into the cave, her wings flared and her eyes blazing.
She raised her hand and uttered a spell, causing the entire cave to flood with
a bright green light that sent SwiftStorm tumbling to his paws. HowlingWinter
barked in panic as the Snow Faerie wrapped her arms around her forepaws, and
soared back up the Mountain to her cabin.
HowlingWinter was anticipating scolding, yelling
and punishment from Taelia, but the Snow Faerie did no such thing. Instead she
just chuckled harshly and said,
"You see? You cannot escape from me, HowlingWinter.
You are forever bound to me."
HowlingWinter said nothing. She had come so close
to learning the secret of freedom, but it had been dashed in a flurry of ice
and snow.
By the next morning, things had pretty much
returned to normal. HowlingWinter ran errands for the vindictive Snow Faerie,
though not as readily as before. She would trudge somberly through the snowdrifts,
barely blinking as the sleet and hail hit her face, stinging her eyes, nose
and ears.
When not fantasizing about freedom, HowlingWinter
would allow her thoughts to drift over to SwiftStorm, the Cybunny. He had shown
her great kindness and she hoped, with all her heart, that he was okay.
That evening, HowlingWinter sat miserably in
Taelia’s cabin, staring out the window and into the raging storm, pondering
the night. The Snow Faerie stood not ten feet away, mixing up potions and paying
little attention to the miserable Lupess.
The heavy silence that resided through the cabin
was broken by a sudden, loud banging noise. Someone was knocking at the door.
HowlingWinter snapped up her head, and glanced at the door. Taelia sighed, muttering
something about some quest Pet, and opened up the door. To HowlingWinter, and
Taelia’s surprise, SwiftStorm strode resolutely into the cabin, carrying with
him a pendant. The pendant itself was circular and bronze, with a small sapphire
set in the middle. The Cybunny turned to HowlingWinter and tossed the pendant
to her. She caught in her paws and stared at quizzically, unsure of what to
think. Taelia looked furious.
"What are you doing?" she growled, glaring daggers
at SwiftStorm, who simply glared back at her and said eleven words. Eleven simple
words that changed HowlingWinter’s life forever.
"I pledge myself to thee, let the current slave
be free."
Taelia roared with rage and stamped her foot
on the floor, the impact causing the entire cabin to tremble. SwiftStorm looked
at HowlingWinter and smiled sadly.
"You are free, HowlingWinter. Take the pendant
and hang it from a tree branch, so that you can always remember me when you
see it."
The Lupess was still shocked. "B—But how?"
SwiftStorm sighed. "The only way that the current
servant of Taelia can be freed is if a true friend pledges themselves to the
Snow Faerie in the place of the current servant. My old friend did that for
me many years ago, and I am doing it for you now." HowlingWinter was about to
speak, but the Cybunny cut her off, hissing,
"Go!"
So she did. The Lupess ran down the hill and
into the forest, where she hid deep within the thick needle-laden boughs of
the pine trees.
The next day, HowlingWinter ventured out of the
forest, with the amulet, and traveled around the wintry landscape until she
found what she was looking for.
A young tree, only a couple of feet tall. It
was the kind of tree that SwiftStorm would’ve liked. HowlingWinter smiled through
her tears as she hung the pendant on of the branches, where is twisted slightly
before righting itself and turning forward, the brilliant sapphire glinting
as the bright sunlight slanted off of its surface.
The white Lupess sat in the snow in front of
the beautiful pendant and watched as it swayed slowly in the cool winter breeze.
The End
Epilogue: HowlingWinter still lives in the forests of Terror Mountain, and
she lives happily, freed from the Snow Faerie’s clutches. She still remembers
SwiftStorm, but she knows he would’ve wanted her to enjoy life to the fullest
and not dwell to heavily on his memory. HowlingWinter is officially registered
under the ownership of the user Battlepuppy, (one of my extension accounts)
–though she truly is a free and wild Lupess at heart. Please send any Neomails
directly to me. (Battlesunn) Thanks!
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