Wings of Fire: Part Three by frostcrystal |  |
The other pets growled, closing in on Cryz. I pulled
Syll back out of range. Cryz would have to deal with this himself. We would
just get in his way.
The gang leader stepped in front of Cryz, snarling,
"You will pay for that," between clenched teeth. Cryz didn't waste his breath
replying, but just wove an intricate design in the air next to his chest with
his right forepaw, concentrating slightly. A fiery red-and-blue fireball, glowing
orange with magical energy, suddenly appeared from the paw, aimed directly for
the enraged pet. The eyes of the other pets grew wide, and they backed away
as their leader staggered, his used-to-be-blue fur charred and smoking. Then
they broke and ran. Their ex-leader blinked, then limped after them, calling
them to come back. I found my voice.
"Cryz… I didn't know you had the Fireball ability."
He shrugged his trademark shrug.
"I had it before I met you," he answered.
And that was all I could get out of him.
We went home in silence. None of us said anything,
a contrast to our usual - or at least, my usual chattiness. Upon reaching home,
we silently put away the groceries and shopping, and each pet retired to their
own room. I dumped my own purchases on the floor and thought a little. Then
I rose from my bed and, taking some Neopoints, went out again. Syll was a little
too vulnerable for my taste. I was going to modify that.
Half-an-hour later, I came back into the house,
unusually tired because I hadn't dared to take the shortcut. Those pets would
probably still be nursing some grudges, and this time, I wouldn't have CryztalFury
to protect me. I'd had an idea on the long, tiresome way back, and I needed
his opinion. Trotting up to his room, I knocked on the door. Then I went in.
A little later, I came out, pleased. I went
down the hall to Syll's room and knocked on her door. She answered it. "Yes,
Crystal?"
I went inside, noting that she had been redecorating
her room. Mine was mostly blue and white -- hers was mostly pink. And light
pink. And dark pink. She must've made the sheets and curtains herself. I shrugged
to myself. It was no business of mine.
"Syll," I began, "I noticed you're really quite
vulnerable when you're attacked. You don't have anything to protect yourself
with. You depend too much on Cryz, and one day, he won't be there. So, I bought
you this. At least, you won't be totally unarmed when you're cornered." She
stared at the Cobrall Dagger I handed her, then slowly took it.
"But Crystal, how will I hold on to it? I can't
hold it all the time." I raised an eyebrow.
"Make a belt to hold it there, then. I'm positive
you know enough to do that." She glanced guiltily toward her curtains, and nodded.
"How about yourself?"
"I can look after myself."
"No, as a matter of fact, you can't. Besides,
I notice you bought two daggers. What's the other one for?"
"It's for your sister."
"I don't have one."
"You'll have one, soon."
"Will Cryz like the idea?"
"He does."
She looked hurt. "And you didn't tell me?" Her
voice had an accusing note to it.
"I just did."
She laughed a clear, silvery laugh. "But this
dagger will look awful if I wear it, Crystal. Peophins aren't meant to wear
things around their waists."
She had a point. I thought for a moment. "How
would you like to be Halloween, Syll?"
"Halloween?"
"Yup. With cape and hat and all."
~ * ~
The following day, we were down at the Rainbow Pool. Syll held a Halloween
Paintbrush in her front hoof. I had managed to prevail on one of my old
friends, and she had given me the paint brush for rather cheaper than usual.
Looking nervous, Syll stepped into the water, and I brushed the paint brush
slowly down her dark red back and blue mane. The paint brush shimmered and
disappeared, and midnight blue streaks slowly crept across her deep red
coat, making her look rather like a red and blue zebra. Her mane seemed
to change colour from the roots to the tips, and her forelegs gradually
turned jet black. A cape and hat appeared out of thin air, and settled on
her body. It all happened very fast, and in thirty seconds, Syll was a full-fledged
Halloween Peophin. She hopped out, and examined herself with a pleased look
on her face.
"Well?" she asked us, twirling around to show
off her new look. I smiled.
"Very pretty, Syll." Cryz nodded, agreeing with
me.
"Glad you like it," she answered happily.
It was almost two months later. We now had a
new addition to the family; Julynea (pronounced Ju-lynn-nia) the red Kyrii,
or Lynn for short. She was as unlike all the rest of us as she could possibly
be - the youngest, and 'baby' of the family, bright, sunny, and extremely friendly.
She, too, came from the pound, abandoned at only a half-hour old, adopted five
minutes later, still rather naïve and innocent. This sweet, almost enviable
trait combined with enormous soft brown eyes that she could make tear-filled
and pleading at a moments notice (usually when she wanted Sylmarien to make
her some of her favorite chocolate chip cookies) had helped her to immediately
make friends with everybody in the neighbourhood. She had won Syll's heart -
and her cookies - almost immediately, and gained the same protectiveness from
Cryz that had gotten us out of that tight spot in the alley six weeks ago.
In short, everything was doing fine, until I
found the book I had bought the day we were attacked. I had forgotten about
it, and it was on the floor along with a few other things. I picked it up, remembering
that I had meant to give it to Cryz, but had forgotten about it in the excitement
of getting Syll painted, and adopting Lynn. I poked my head into Cryz's room.
He wasn't there. I tossed the book on the bed, and headed back to my room, totally
unaware of how that single book would so totally change our future.
To be continued…
Note from the author: Yes, the title's a bit wacky, and it doesn't really
touch the story much, except for the part at the end, but if you can think
of a better one, just Neomail me and tell it.
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