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Ziippadorah was a heartless, evil Halloween Kougra.
She didn't look like other Kougras, either. Instead of huge expanding wings,
hers were small Darkness Faerie wings. She had green stripes over her body and
her eyes were a dark purple.
Zippy didn't care for her family or her owner.
She hated them with a passion. She didn't want them as her 'family'. But things
aren't always what they seem. In fact, through her cold frozen, darkened heart,
she had a sliver of good. It was a small, but it was still there. It was the
care and concern of her only friend, Zarleon.
Leon was also a Halloween Kougra. He was exactly
like Zippy, too. No one could understand why they were friends either. And this
is where our story begins.
It was the month of Celebrating and Puffkins2000
was out shopping in Neopian Central for gifts for her pets and her friends.
She had left her five pets at home, on the Mystery Island.
"Come on, Coch!" BabyGlorie, a starry Uni, exclaimed
to her younger skunk Usul sister. "I need the decorations for this tree!"
"Hold on, BabyG...." Coch replied, as she lugged
a box marked 'Decorations' towards the living room. "I can only go so fast,"
she added.
"I know. I'm sorry, sis. I just want to surprise
mom with the decorations," BabyG replied softly to Coch, as she set the box
down beside BabyG. BabyG rummaged though the box, taking out the lights, balls,
and garlands. "Plus, she's having that party here soon, so everything should
be done to perfection!"
Coch nodded. "I know. I'm going to help Irri
and Susqu with the rest of the decorating," she said, pointing to their younger
sister and brother. "You stick with the tree."
BabyG nodded in reply, seeming as if she didn't
hear her. She was stringing up the lights already. She went around and around
the tree, carefully.
Coch looked at her sister oddly and then headed
over to the fireplace, where Irridessia, a disco Aisha, was hanging up the stockings.
"Should we even hang up Ziippadorah's stocking?"
she asked softly to Coch, holding up an evil looking purple and green stocking.
Coch thought for a moment and looked at her
younger sister. "You better. Mom will probably be a bit angry if you didn't.
Zippy is family, even if she doesn't like us," she whispered a little sadly.
Irri nodded and continued to hang up the stockings
in order of age; Puffkins, BabyGlorie, Cochiese, Irridessia, Susquhana, and
Ziippadorah. She smiled in satisfaction, neatly adjusting so they hung in sync.
Coch shook her head slightly, just as their
brother, Susquhana, came over to them.
"Where did you want the Chia snow sculpture?"
he asked, holding it in his arms. Susqu was the Angel of the family. Good, kind,
and blind. At least, part of the time. He was given a special gift from a Light
Faerie. He could see every first three days of the month. So that day, was one
of those he could see.
"Over here, dear brother," Irri said, leading
him over the an empty space by the living room entryway, where the snow sculpture
would be the perfect place to stand.
Susqu set it down and then leaned against it
a little, pretending to be gasping for breath. Irri and Coch giggled slightly.
"Oh, it's not that heavy, Susqu!" Coch giggled.
She grinned and then looked over at BabyG, who was now under the tree. She raised
her eyebrow, curiously.
"What are you doing?" she asked, moving in closer.
"Well," came the muffled reply of the starry
Uni. "I plugged in the lights and apparently one of the bulbs isn't working..."
she muttered, trying to fixed the light bulb, which wasn't easy -- especially
if you have hooves.
"I wonder what we'll get?" Irri asked, dreamily.
She stared into space.
"I know what you want, Irri, but I don't
think anyone can buy it for you," Coch said, smirking.
Irri blushed slightly. "Uh... well.." she stammered.
Susqu shook his head, not wanting to go into
this conversation again. "Well, I don't care what I get. It never has mattered
to me," he interrupted.
"Yes, I guess you are right," Coch agreed. "But
I would like any of the blue daisy products. I think they are very stylish."
She crossed her arms, and looked around the living room, making sure most of
the decorations were in order. They had been working at it all morning.
"Plushies are good, too," Irri added. "I wouldn't
mind getting any of them."
"What about you, BabyG?" Coch asked, grinning.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe some help with this
silly thing?!" she growled, a bit angrily at the bulb. "Ack!" she yelped, as
the bulb shocked her and then shattered into a million pieces.
"Oh, BabyGlorie! Are you alright?" Irri asked
concerned, as they ran over to her.
"Yeah, yeah... I'm fine," she said. "But it's
lucky it broke...." BabyG mumbled, heading towards the kitchen to get another
bulb.
"Umm, why don't you let Mum fix it when she
gets home?" Irri asked. "The tree looks fine as it is right now," she continued,
as she heard BabyG rummaged around for a light bulb in the kitchen.
The starry Uni sighed, coming for the kitchen,
with the bulb in her hoof. "I guess you're right," she said. "Mom has hands,"
she added, rolling her eyes and setting the bulb on the table.
BabyG glanced around the room and grinned. "Actually,
I think it looks great in here!" she exclaimed. "We do good work, don't we?"
Her siblings nodded in agreement. They sat on
the chairs and the sofa and drank the hot chocolate that Irri had made for them
all.
"And now, all we have to do is wait for mom
to come home and watch her surprised reaction!" Coch said cheerfully. She sipped
her hot chocolate slowly, making sure not to spill it.
Just as she said that, Zippy had come into the
living room and glared at the happy pets. "What are you morons doing?" she asked
darkly, her spiked black collar shined a little in the light and her shamrock
necklace glistened.
BabyG narrowed her eyes a little and opened
her mouth to say something, when Irri nudged her and shook her head slightly.
She shot her a look that meant, 'Be nice'.
BabyG sighed. "We were just decorating for mom,"
she explained. "You can help us, if you wish," she added, when Coch raised her
eyebrow at her.
Zippy growled. "Like I'd ever want to do something
dumb like that!" She narrowed her dark purple eyes and then stormed out the
door, with her petpet Faellie, Kuro Shin, behind her. Kuro Shin was just like
Zippy. She was a pale yellow, with jade eyes and tiny Darkness Faerie wings.
She wore a spiked collar, like Zippy. And she too, was evil. Kuro Shin means
Dark Heart. And she truly had a dark heart. And no one, not even Zippy, knew
she true reflection.
There was a difference between them, though.
While Leon was Zippy's friend, Kuro Shin was not. She hated Leon with every
fiber of her soul. This made Zippy feel torn between her friends. Her only
friends.
"See?" Zippy heard BabyG say to the others,
as she stalked out the door, nearly running over Puffkins, who's hands were
full of bags. "Zippy is just... evil!" BabyG continued. She gasped, seeing Puffkins
walking through the door.
"Mom!" she exclaimed shocked. "Er... surprise?"
Puffkins shook her head. "BabyGlorie..." she
began. "I told you to be nice to Zippy for once," she said, narrowing her eyes
slightly and setting the bags down on the ground.
"I was, mom." BabyG stood her ground and looked
at the human, with her icy blue eyes. She nodded slightly.
Puffkins sighed. "I know it's hard to be nice
to her..."
"Mum? She'll never be nice. Not even for the
month of Celebrating. She... just doesn't have the holiday spirit," Irri spoke
up softly. She looked at the ground when she said that.
Puffkins also looked at the ground, sadly. "I
know..."
The pets and the human all sighed sadly.
"Well, forget about that, mom," Coch said, trying
to be happy. "Do you like what we did to the place?" she asked, smiling. She
glanced at her siblings and grinned at their work.
Puffkins looked around the room, her eyes widening.
"You did all this?" she asked, surprised.
"Of course!" BabyG smirked.
Puffkins grinned at her pets. "Oh, I love it!"
she said, hugging them all.
"We thought you might," Susqu said, grinning,
while BabyG eyed the bags.
"What's in those?" she asked Puffkins, raising
her eyebrow and pointing to them with her orange hoof.
Puffkins smirked. "'Tis the season to keep secrets..."
she sang teasingly. "Those are the food for the party Miss. Curious. And you
better not be snooping around them either..." she trailed off, picking up the
several bags that she had set on the floor and headed to the kitchen, smirking.
As soon as she had left, BabyG turned to her
siblings. "Think she's keeping anything from us?" she asked sarcastically, giggling.
***
While the others were in the Neohome talking, Zippy was already in Neopian
Central. She was bored, looking at the happy, annoying pets, that were too excited
about the month of Celebrating. She narrowed her eyes and glared at anyone she
saw.
She looked towards the woods, that separated
Neopian Central and the Haunted Woods. She quickly looked around and then crept
into the bare, frosty forest. Her small paws made paw prints in the white frosty
snow, but somehow, she didn't notice.
She moved swiftly and silently, trying not to
be noticed. The woods was hers and Leon's meeting place, but this time, she
wasn't meeting Leon.
"Where are you going?" Kuro Shin asked her,
annoyed. She fluttered behind Zippy, almost losing her several times already.
"To the Haunted Woods," Zippy replied, slightly
annoyed at the Faellie. She was annoyed that Kuro Shin always had to follow
her, no matter where she went. She was also angry at her for other reasons,
too, that happened just last month.
Kuro Shin narrowed her eyes, but continued to
follow after Zippy, the cold chilling wind blew right through them both. But
neither of them seemed to notice, nor care.
Zippy quickly wove through the trees, dodging
low tree branches covered with snow and leaping over logs. The last log she
leaped over, she landed in the snow with a pounce, scattering snow in different
places. She stared at the Haunted Woods. "There it is," she said softly, walking
slowly towards the creepy looking place.
Kuro Shin flew onto Zippy's back, landing with
a slight thump, nearly missing the snow that was falling from the trees. She
looked around and made a face. "Why are we here, anyway?" she asked.
Zippy tried ignoring her, but it was no use.
"It's none of your business, Kuro Shin," she replied angrily, walking past the
Brain Tree, with his pulsating brain. Zippy glance at him with curiosity, but
didn't stop to do any quests. She was heading for the Deserted Fairgrounds.
"Why are you going in there?" Kuro Shin asked,
clearly being rude, like usual. "Wait a minute.. You not meeting that pathetic
Kougra here, are you?"
Zippy sighed, her anger turning inside of her.
"He has a name. It's Leon. And no, I'm not meeting him here," she replied softly,
for she knew she was no match against Kuro Shin. "And he isn't pathetic..."
she added softly.
Kuro Shin smirked. "Yeah, right," she said,
rolling her eyes. Kuro Shin may have looked small, but she held some power within
her. She was Zippy protector, although, no one knew why. Zippy didn't remember
her past, so she didn't know who Kuro Shin really was. And Kuro Shin certainly
wasn't going to tell anyone.
Zippy sighed again, as she entered the gates
of the fairground. She glanced around, trying to remember something. She looked
at the Spooky Furniture shop and then the Haunted Weaponry shop. Those were
the places she needed to go to.
She slipped into the door of the Spooky Furniture
shop and looked around.
The creepy shopkeeper looked at Zippy and Kuro
Shin oddly. Zippy glanced around, thinking.
Now it was Kuro Shin's turn to look at Zippy
oddly. "Why are we in here?" she asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice. She
couldn't read Zippy's mind, because Zippy was blocking out Kuro Shin's thoughts
to her. And there was a reason why.
Zippy glanced at the pale Faellie. "Do I need
a reason why?" she asked softly, trying not to looked at Kuro Shin fully. She
was looking at a squishy Spyder chair.
Kuro Shin's eye narrowed a little, while her
eyebrow raised. "But you have spooky furnitu-" she began, and then her eyes
widened. "You buying for the Kougra!" she exclaimed.
"So what if I am?" Zippy replied, lowering her
eyes towards the ground. She absently touched the Spyder chair with her paw.
"How can you care about someone like that? I
told you before. Stay away from him," the tiny Faellie said. "He's bad news,"
she continued, putting her tiny pale paws on her sides.
Zippy's anger fired up inside her as the evil
Faellie said that. She spun around and stared at the Faellie.
He is not, Kuro Shin! she thought angrily,
her eyes blazing. Leon is my friend.
I don't know why. He's mortal. A worthless
mortal. He's no use to you... Kuro Shin thought right back. She narrowed
her eyes.
Zippy stamped her paw on the floor, in anger.
He is not! Zippy repeated. Leon makes me happy! she added, but
she drew back, surprised that she even thought it. Her eyes widened at the thought.
Kuro Shin's eyes also widened. "You don't mean
that..." she said, with an eerie emotionless tone.
Zippy looked at the ground. "I do," she said,
with hesitation.
Kuro Shin growled, her eyes filling with hate.
She couldn't seem to speak, nor even believe what Zippy was saying. She flew
out the shop's entry way in a rage.
Zippy sighed, a little happy that the dark Faellie
had left, and turned back to the Spyder chair. It was what she was wanting to
buy. She checked the price of it.
"Way more than what I have," she said softly,
seeing the price. She sighed again.
She slowly walked out of the Spooky Furniture
shop, and headed towards the Haunted Weaponry shop.
She stepped inside the dim-lit shop and glanced
around the shop. The freaky Scorchio shopkeeper eyed Zippy cautiously, as she
was the only one in there.
Zippy swallowed and pretended it didn't bother
her. But she was a little freaked out. She shook her head and browsed around
the weapons.
She remembered Leon saying something about he'd
rather have haunted weapons. She looked at the several weapons, before choosing
an enchanted cobweb.
Again she checked the price. "Why do these things
have to be so high?" she muttered to herself. "I don't have that sort of Neopoints."
"You could," came the voice of the shopkeeper.
He staring at Zippy, which made her a little uncomfortable.
"How?" she asked, backing away a little. She
tried to keep her voice from shaking.
"There many games in the Haunted Woods. Try
those..." he replied in a voice that made Zippy's fur stand on end.
"Games?" Zippy repeated, shaking her head. "I
don't do games," she replied, rolling her eyes. She turned around to leave.
Zippy hated playing games or anything of the
fun sort. She didn't even know how to play games, anyway.
"Fine, then. Then you won't have anything for
your little friend," the shopkeeper said.
Zippy stopped short and spun around, shocked.
"What would you know?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. She stared at the Scorchio
with curiosity.
The Scorchio glanced at Zippy with amusement.
He swung his spooky rubber axe around in a circle, before answering her question.
"I remember you from last time. Of course, it
isn't hard to forget you, with the way you look," he said.
Zippy glanced at herself, agreeing silently
to herself. She waited for the Scorchio to finish.
"And you always hang around that Halloween Kougra.
I never have seen you here alone, without him. I figure that you're out shopping
for him. Am I right?" the Scorchio asked, in an eerie tone.
Zippy nodded slightly. "Yes... Yes I am," she
replied, a little shakily.
The shopkeeper smirked. "Thought so." He swung
his axe once again. "However, you won't have anything, if you don't have the
Neopoints."
Zippy raised her one eyebrow. "And why would
you want to help me, anyway?" she asked darkly.
The shopkeeper smirked. "Sale." His smirk changed
to an evil expression. "Now, be gone!" he shouted, making Zippy jump.
She turned around and ran out of the shop, nearly
running into a mutant Blumaroo, who looked at her oddly.
Zippy stopped, when she was pretty far outside
the Deserted Fairground. She gasped for breath and then shook her head, as she
sat on the cold snow.
What the shopkeeper said had made sense. Zippy
had counted her Neopoints before she had left home. She had ninety Neopoints
altogether. And she needed a lot to get the presents she wanted to, for Leon.
The odd-looking Halloween Kougra looked around,
trying to spot any of the games around the Haunted Woods. She spotted a Chia
Clown game.
Zippy stared at it, curious, for she never played
anything in her life. She slowly walked up to it, and watched the other pets
play it.
For once, deciding right, she decided to start
to shoot the Chia Clowns down. She took the gun in her paws and began shooting.
***
It was several days later and Zippy was sprawled over her wrought iron bed,
counting her hard earned Neopoints. She nearly had enough to buy the chair and
cobweb for Leon.
She sighed. A few more games, and she would
be able to buy the items. She just hoped they were still there. She stuffed
the Neopoints in a bag and shoved it under bed.
As she stood up, she heard voices in the hallway.
She crept closer to her door, putting her ear on the door, so she could hear
better.
"I wonder where Zippy keeps going?" a voice
asked. It sounded like BabyG talking, but Zippy wasn't sure.
"Mum said that Satushi said she hasn't see her
around," Irri was saying, though her voice was muffled. "Zarleon hasn't even
seen her around, which is pretty odd!"
"Yeah, I know," the BabyG sounding voice said.
"Do you think Zippy's mad at Leon?"
"BabyGlorie..." Irri replied, slightly annoyed
sounding. "I don't think Ziippadorah would be. She-"
"I don't think we'll ever know what Zippy thinks,"
BabyG interrupted. Zippy heard the clomping sounds of the starry Uni's hooves,
so she figured she left.
Zippy shook her head. It was true. She was avoiding
Leon, but the reason was that she want him to know she was buying him anything.
He was hoping to surprise her friend.
She was even surprised at herself for doing
this. Though she couldn't figure out why she felt just a tiny bit different.
Maybe it was her imagination. Or maybe she was actually feeling the true meaning
of kindness and giving...
***
Zippy quickly cut through the Neopian woods towards the Haunted Woods. She
ran, panting a tiny bit, and kicked up snow. Her breath came out in little puffs
of icy fog, while holding her bag full of Neopoints.
For once, Kuro Shin didn't follow her and Zippy
was extremely overjoyed at that.
Zippy quickly hurried through Haunted Woods,
passing by the Brain Tree and several mutants.
She slipped through the gates of the Deserted
Fairground and the headed towards the Spooky Furniture shop.
She spotted a Halloween Kougra and their mutant
Puppyblew coming out. Zippy's eyes widened in horror. It was Leon and Vash!
She looked around and then quickly dodged into the bushes, laying flat on the
ground. The bushes had rustled a bit when she jumped in them.
The Halloween Kougra looked up, seeing her tail
slither in the green plant. Leon raised his eyebrow curiously. "Zippy?" he asked
softly. "Is that you?"
Zippy held her breath, not answering the Kougra.
Don't find me... Don't find me... she
wished silently, closing her eyes. She was laying on a sharp stick, which pained
her, but Zippy refused to move, even slightly.
Zippy opened her eyes and watched Leon with
her dark purple eyes. Leon was looking towards the bush still. He stood there
silently for a moment. His ears lowered a little and he sighed, walking away
slowly.
Vash looked from him to Zippy's hiding place,
curiously. She cocked her head to the one side and then slowly followed after
Leon, her ears also lowering.
Zippy let a breath out of relief and watched
as the two left out of her sight. She sighed out of guilt, but yet was relieved.
She waited a few minutes, before going into
the Spooky Furniture shop. She scanned over the furniture, before seeing the
last squishy Spyder chair. The odd Halloween Kougra smirked to herself, running
her paw over the back of it.
She glanced at the shopkeeper. "I want to buy
this," she said, looking at the red-eyed Grundo.
The Grundo didn't say anything, but he stared
at Zippy and held out his hand.
Zippy looked at him oddly, but gave him the
exact amount of Neopoints for the chair. She turned away and lifted the chair
in her arms, carrying it across to the Haunted Weaponry shop.
"Ah, I see you've come to buy something..." the
Scorchio greeted Zippy, as soon as she walked in, lugging the chair in.
Zippy raised her eyebrow, but nodded. "Yeah,
I am," she replied, setting the chair down and glancing around the weapons.
She sighed, shaking her head. The only weapon that she was planning to buy,
and they didn't have it anymore.
"You wouldn't be looking for this, would you?"
the evil shopkeeper asked, raising his eyebrow, along with an enchanted cobweb.
Zippy looked at him, not knowing what to say,
nor think. She simply nodded. "H-how did you know?" she managed to ask the shopkeeper.
"I know these things," he said, holding out
his clammy claws and dangling the cobweb in front of Zippy face.
Zippy gave him the bag of Neopoints, as he handed
her the enchanted cobweb.
Zippy set the weapon gently on the chair and
picked the chair up. Just as she was leaving the shop, he heard the eerie voice
of the Scorchio behind her. "I'm sure he'll like it..."
The voice freaked Zippy out a little. All the
way towards the Mystery Island, the voice seemed to echo though her mind.
***
It was the time. Satushi and her pets were coming over, to exchange gifts
with Puffkins and her family.
Zippy had hidden Leon's gifts in her room, in
the corner, under a sheet. Kuro Shin glared at the chair and cobweb every time
she looked at them. She hated the fact that Zippy bought anything for Leon.
Zippy smiled slightly towards the corner and
then wandered out into the hallway, emotionless as usual. She had left Kuro
Shin in there, with a threat to her in her thoughts. She made sure the evil
Faellie could hear her.
Zippy sat on the ground and stared at Puffkins,
who was decorating the stairs railing, with Irri was helping her. They both
were wrapping garland around and adding little springs of holly.
BabyG was reading on the chair, in the living
room, upside down. Her mane hung on the floor, in the orange and green pile.
Coch looked at her older sister. "What are you
doing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the starry Uni.
"Reading..." BabyG replied, still scanning the
book, her eyes moving back and forth as she read quickly.
Coch sighed. "Well... Hurry up. Everyone will
be here soon!" She carried in the wrapped gifts from the kitchen, for Satushi,
Ari, Kyur, Vex, and Leon. Susqu came out from the kitchen with the rest of the
gifts. He moved with caution, as he couldn't see now.
BabyG waved her hoof. "Yeah, yeah. Sure..."
she replied absently. She really wasn't paying attention.
"Where are we putting these?" Susqu asked Coch,
holding the armload of gifts in his arms.
"I guess on the sofa," Coch replied, dumping
the gifts on the Kauvara sofa and sighing. "I really hope everyone likes their
gifts," she said to Susqu, who was dumping the rest of the gifts on the starry
print.
Puffkins came into the living room, followed
by Irri. Zippy had crept closer to the entry way of the hallway, near the living
room's entry way, laying down on the floor, putting the head on her paws. She
was right up against the cold wall, hearing the annoyingly cheerful voices of
her 'family'.
Puffkins smiled. "Oh, I'm sure we will!" she
said cheerfully. "Besides, it's not the gifts that matter, but our friends,"
she added, grinning. She sat on the sofa and set the wrapped presents up, just
as the doorbell rang.
Puffkins grinned again and quickly stood up.
"That must be them!" she announced, rushing to the door. She opened it and stared
at the two pets standing there, a little unsure of them selves when they saw
her shocked face.
"Myn! Tin! You're here!" she exclaimed, a little
shocked. Mynzillo and Tinzillo were BabyG, Coch, Irri, Susqu, and Zippy's cousins.
Myn was a red Lupe with white swirls around
her body and was missing her right leg. She had really pretty silver eyes, too.
Tin was her twin brother and a blue Gelert,
with black flames going up his legs. He had dark golden eyes, but his left eyes
was slightly lighter than the other, because he was blind in that eye. He also
didn't talk every much, since he stuttered.
Myn limped in, with her bother following close
behind. "Is it too early to be here?" she asked, as Puffkins stepped back, opening
the door wider.
"No, I just thought you were arriving with Satushi.
Have you seen her?" Puffkins asked, closing the door.
Myn shook her head. "No, sorry..." she replied
and then smiled at her cousins. "Hello, everyone!" she said, bubbling over in
cheerfulness.
BabyG looked up from her book. "Hello, Myn!
Hello Tin!" she said, grinning, tilting her head back a little more to get a
better view of the Lupe and Gelert.
Myn raised her eyebrow and looked at the starry
Uni curiously. "Er... hello..." she replied, wondering why the Uni was reading
upside down.
Zippy's ears' perked up as someone knocked on
the door. This time it was Satushi and her pets. She looked towards the door,
in anticipation, but didn't move a muscle. She sighed and rolled her eyes in
an annoyed fashion at the others.
"They're here," Puffkins announced to everyone,
again, but this time, she was sure.
BabyG quickly got from the chair, setting her
book on the table next to it, and headed over to stand with the others. Coch,
Irri, and Susqu followed, as everyone gathered in the hallway.
Puffkins grinned widely and opened the door.
"Hello!" she said cheerfully, smiling at their friends. "I'm so happy you're
here!" she added.
"Hello everyone!" Satushi cried, grinning as
the door opened. "It's great to see you all again!" she stepped into the house,
giggling and fumbling the gifts in her arms for a moment, but caught them before
they fell.
Kyur, a starry Uni with small crescent moons
stepped in, just as Ari, a Christmas Gelert, did. They were both carrying colorful
wrapped gifts in their arms.
Leon silently walked inside, moving a few feet
away from everyone, his ears lowered. His dark purple eyes shifted down for
a moment as three petpets scurried in, and Vash, his mutant Puppyblew, stopped
at the Kougra's feet. He was carrying a few poorly wrapped objects that pointed
out at odd angles.
Vex, a creepy mutant Korbat, came in last, stopping
at Satushi's feet, her large ears perked as she looked around at everyone.
Zippy stared at everyone, lifting her head slightly.
But mostly, she was looking at Leon. She actually couldn't wait to give the
Kougra the items she bought for him.
"Hello, Ariacee!" Irri said happily, running
to hug her friend. She hug him, still grinning.
"Irri!" Ari chimed, grinning widely and hugging
her, trying not to squeeze the colorfully wrapped boxes in his arms. "I missed
you!"
Suddenly, the whole hallway was talking at once.
Their loud chattering and cheerful talking was getting slightly on Zippy's nerves.
She had been in the house for a few days with them and their happiness. Not
to mention Myn and Tin were always over anymore.
Zippy looked at Leon again with her dark purple
eyes. She laid her head back down on her paws and watched the annoying cheerful
group. She glanced at Vash and then at Leon and then sighed, lowering her eyes
towards the ground. She was hoping the others would leave soon.
"Oh!" Puffkins gasped, as the packages almost
fell. She giggled. "Do you need any help with those?" she asked, smiling. "We
can set them in the living, with yours," she added. She held out her hands to
catch any of packages that Satushi was carrying, in case they fell again.
Satushi giggled and nodded. "Yes please! That
would be nice!" she replied, grinning. "It was a bit difficult to carry all
of these to your house!"
Puffkins laughed and took some of the packages
from Satushi. She smiled. "I would think so!" she said. Satushi and her pets
lived in Neopian Central, while Puffkins and her pets live on the Mystery Island.
"Come on," Leon muttered to Vash, then looked
at Zippy. He started to head over to her, then abruptly stopped beside Puffkins,
causing Vash to nearly run into him. "Here... if you're taking the gifts, then
take these," he said, shoving the presents into her arms, then continued to
walk toward Zippy.
Vash smirked at the Halloween Kougra as she
followed him, then fixed her small red eyes on Zippy, her ears perked.
Puffkins looked at Leon and quickly grabbed
at the packages that he shoved in her arms. "Er... okay..." she said slowly,
slightly confused. She looked at Satushi and raised her eyebrow and then glanced
at the packages. She started walking towards the living room. "Follow me," she
says. "All the other gifts are in here."
Satushi giggled, then looked at Leon as he walked
away. "I think Leon's just a little grumpy... this is his first Christmas, and
I made him help wrap presents," she explained, smirking. "Yeah... the poorly
wrapped ones are his." She giggled and nodded, then followed Puffkins into the
living room.
Soon, and more to Zippy's happiness, the others
soon followed the humans, talking away to one another cheerfully.
Zippy's dark purple eyes followed Leon and Vash
as they walked towards to her. She lifted her head up a little. "Hello Leon..."
she said softly, so no one would hear her.
Leon walked over to Zippy, stopping beside her.
"Hey, Zippy..." he said softly, looking down at her. "You okay?"
Vash sat down close to Zippy, grinning insanely
at her, her grey ears still perked.
Zippy slowly sat up, looking past Leon. She
made sure no one was listening and then looked at Leon. She nodded. "Yeah, I'm
fine," she said slowly. "Those annoying perky people are getting on my nerves..."
she said, narrowing her eyes slightly. She looked back at Leon and then at Vash
and smiled slightly.
Leon glanced over his shoulder, at all the pets
in the living room. "Yes... Satushi, Ari, and Kyur have been driving me insane
this week," he muttered, rolling his eyes and looking at Zippy again. "They
even made me wrap some of that junk."
Vash grinned wider at Zippy. She barked a few
times, and Leon translated, "She says they even hung some mistletoe over the
stairs." the Halloween Kougra said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Idiots..."
Zippy rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it..."
she muttered. She looked at Leon for a moment and looked at the ground and towards
Vash, curiously. She couldn't understand the Puppyblew yet. Leon was the only
one who could understand her. Zippy looked towards the stairs at the plant and
rolled her eyes. "You've got to be joking..." she said bitterly. That was Coch's
doing.
The odd Halloween Kougra sighed and looked at
Leon, thinking of something. She decided to give him his gifts, before everyone
came back. "Stay here," Zippy said, backing away slowly. "I'll be right back..."
she added, stalking towards her room, her tail flicking slightly.
Leon rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately, I'm not.
And all of their stupid laughter is getting extremely annoying," he added, lowering
his ears. He raised an eyebrow and watched Zippy backing away. "Oh... alright,"
he replied, raising his eyebrows and glancing at Vash, who shrugged at him.
Zippy glanced back at Leon for a second and
then quickly slipped into her room, closing the door.
Kuro Shin narrowed her eyes at Zippy, as she
closed the door, watching her carefully with her jade eyes. Zippy glanced at
the Faellie, who was standing on her bed, as she slowly walked over to the left
corner of her room, where the gifts sat.
"Is he here?" Kuro Shin asked darkly,
narrowing her eyes more. She put her paws on her hips and glared hard at the
Kougra.
Zippy sighed, slightly hurt at the Faellie's
question. "Yes... Leon is here," she replied, using the Kougra's name to annoy
Kuro Shin, but also to make a point that Leon did have a name.
Zippy began to pull out the chair, the sheet
almost falling off, as Kuro Shin fired another question at her. "Did he get
you anything?" she asked, with a hint of curiosity , yet jealously in her voice.
She stared at Zippy, her eyes seeming to blaze with an odd fire, that reflected
her hate for Leon, and everyone else.
The evil looking Kougra looked at Kuro Shin,
a little surprised at her question. "I... I don't know..." she replied. She
shook her head. "Nor do I care..." she added truthfully, opening the door and
ignoring Kuro Shin, but before she could say anything more. She pushed the large
sheet covered object out, with a flat brown package laying on top of it.
Zippy pushed it towards Leon, stopping next
to him. She looked at the ground and took a deep breath. "Um... this is for
you..." she said softly. She was slightly embarrassed, because she didn't know
what Leon would think of her. She had never done anything like this before in
her life.
Leon watched the odd Halloween Kougra curiously,
his ears perked. He slowly moved over to the large object, staring at it. "Zippy...
what's this?" he asked softly, gently placing his paw on it, his dark purple
eyes were full of curiosity.
Vash stared up at it for a moment, then looked
at Zippy. A grin slowly had spread across her face and her ears perked up.
Zippy looked up at the Kougra and smirked slightly.
"Why don't you find out for yourself?" she replied, almost teasingly, but stopped
herself in time. She picked up the flat brown package and handed it to Leon.
"Open this first, though..." she added softly.
Leon smirked and took the package. "Alright
then," he replied, taking an edge of the package and starting to open it.
Vash's small grey tail wagged and she watched
Leon, grinning. Zippy also watched Leon open his package, along with his reaction
to the gift.
"I remembered what you wanted..." Zippy commented
softly. It was a pretty strange thing to remember, since she really couldn't
remember certain things. Some were bored into her mind, that she wouldn't ever
forget. "I just hope you like it.."
Zippy then looked over at Vash and smiled slightly,
not really seeming like herself. She seemed slightly happier. She tapped her
extended claws on the floor, waiting patiently.
Leon glanced at Zippy, then opened the package
quietly, pulling out the enchanted cobweb. He dropped the box and stared at
the glistening grey web in his paws, then smirked. "Zippy... this is great,"
he said, holding the Enchanted Cobweb in both paw, in front of his face. "Thanks,"
he added, smirking at her.
Vash grinned insanely, hopping up a few times.
She barked her approval, looking at Zippy with a grin.
Zippy smiled slightly at her friend. "You're
welcome," she replied softly, looking at the ground, but was pleased. She stared
at the floor before looking up, having more to say. "I'm glad you like it..."
she added.
Zippy glanced at Vash and nodded her head, seeming
to understand her. She glanced at the larger object and looked at Leon. "And...
I also bought this for you, too..." she trailed off, motioning to the object
with her dark black paw, her natural dark purple, almost black, claws shining
in the light.
"Yeah, I really do like it. Thanks, Zippy."
Leon replied, smirking at the enchanted cobweb, then looked at the other object.
He reached out with one paw, holding his cobweb in the other, and pulled off
the covering, revealing a squishy Spyder chair.
The Halloween Kougra smirked, looking at it,
then at Zippy. "You know me too well..." he said softly, lifting his ears. "Thank
you."
I guess I do... Zippy thought to herself,
as Vash scurried over to the squishy Spyder chair, then hopped up into it. She
grinned at the two Kougras, sniffing around in the chair, her ears still perked.
Zippy glanced at the mutant Puppyblew, as she jumped on the chair. He's liked
what I've given him... she added to her first thought.
Zippy smirked. "I thought you might..." she
said softly. Zippy looked at Leon, with her dark purple eyes, thinking her thoughts.
"Hey, now if I didn't know what my best friend would like, what kind of friend
would I be?" she asked, smirking. "And you're welcome..."
"That's very true. And I think I know you pretty
well, too," Leon said, smirking. "I have a few things for you. I'll go get them,"
he added, turning and facing the living room. He smirked at Vash, who was grinning
at him, her teeth slightly mismatched, then walked over to the pile of gifts.
Zippy looked at the Kougra a little oddly, raising
her eyebrow. "You... you got me something?" she asked, a little shocked. She
sat there, a little stunned, watching Leon in the living room. She had never
expected anything from him.
Leon glanced back at Zippy. "Of course," he
said, smirking as he stopped beside a pile of gifts, that were for the others.
He knelt down for a moment, rummaging through the presents, then picked up four
presents wrapped in black paper. He stood up and quickly walked over to Zippy,
stopping in front of her.
"Here..." he said softly, holding out the four
gifts. One was small and oval shaped, another circular, the third lumpy and
oddly shaped, and the last large and pointy, sticking out at odd angles.
Zippy was still slightly shocked, as the gifts
were handed to her. She looked at Leon and smirked slightly, not knowing what
to think, not say. "I just never expected..." she said softly, trailing off
again, not knowing how to word what she wanted to say. She picked up the small
and oval shaped present and began to open it slowly.
"Well, at least I surprised you," Leon replied
simply, smirking and watching as Zippy opened the gift. "Hope you like them."
Vash grinned and laid down in the squishy Spyder
chair, watching Zippy opening her gift.
Zippy smirked at Leon. "Yes... you did... And
my plan was to surprise you..." she said, opening the black wrapping. The paper
dropped to the floor, as she gasped slightly. "A night stone..." she exclaimed
softly, quickly putting it around her neck. The amulet hung a little above her
shamrock neck. It glistened a little in the light. It looked pure evil, which
was perfect for both Kougras. "Thank you, Leon..." she said, staring at it in
awe. She touched it with her small paw.
"Well, it worked." Leon replied, nodding. He
smirked and looked at the night stone. "Glad you like it. It'll protect you
from Light attacks, and I thought it might be fitting," he added, smirking and
handing her the large, oddly shaped gift. "This one I thought would be, too..."
Vash stared at Zippy, still grinning. She barked
a few times, liking the night stone, her small tail wagging as she watched.
Zippy nodded. "I do..." she said slowly, liking
the night stone, that fell around her neck. She looked up and smirked. "And
perfect, too..." she added. She looked at the next gift curiously, raising her
eyebrow and started to open it. It was a huge gift, and oddly wrapped. She wondered
what it was, as she was tearing off the pure black wrapping.
Leon smirked and held the two remaining gifts
in either paw, watching Zippy. "That one was a bit harder to wrap," he commented,
rolling his eyes. "And, of course, I was the one who Satushi made do it."
Zippy smirks and tore off the remaining paper.
Her eyes widened when she saw the spooky patio chair. "Leon, it's wonderful!"
she exclaimed, sitting on it quickly. "Thank you," she said, smirking, and looking
around at it. Her tail flicked a few times, as she looked it over, trying to
avoid sitting on the sharp teeth.
Leon smirked as he watched Zippy still. "You're
welcome. I had hoped you would like it," he replied, smirking. "And there are
still two more," he added, holding the lumpy present toward her. "This one is
from Satushi and the others, but the rest are from me. They weren't sure what
to get you."
Zippy smirked, as she looked back at Leon. "And
I do," she replied. She looked curious at the other gifts. She took the one
and began to open it carefully. "I do like the gifts you've given me... I know
the others have one for you, too... They don't know what I had gotten you..."
she said, unwrapping and revealing a Von Kougra Plushie. She stared at it, not
knowing what to think of it. "I've... never had a plushie before..." she said,
sounding somewhat awed by it. She looked up at Leon holding the plushie in her
lap. "Thank you..." she said, actually meaning to him.
"I think Satushi knows what I got for you, but
I'm not sure about Kyur and Ari. And of course Vex knows," Leon said, rolling
his eyes and smirking. He looked at the Plushie, then back at Zippy. "You're
welcome. I don't have any plushies either, actually." he added softly. "But
I'm glad you like it..."
Zippy smirked at Leon. "Of course... Vex seems
to know everything..." she said. She glanced back at the plushie and then smirked
again at Leon. "I do..." she said softly. "No one's even given me anything before..."
She touched her night stone with her paw again, forgetting about what a few
of Puffkins' friends gave her when she's was a baby. She looked curiously at
the last gift. "And what's in there?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better
of her.
Leon nodded slightly. "Yes... it does seem that
way," he agreed, then smirked again. "Well, I can say the same. No one has ever
given me gifts before." He looked at the enchanted cobweb and squishy Spyder
chair, then added softly, "And I couldn't ask for anything better... they're
both great."
The Halloween Kougra looked at the last gift
in his paws, which had an odd circular shape, and was wrapped in black paper.
"This one was hard to find... but I thought you might like it," he said softly,
handing it to Zippy. "I hope you do..."
Zippy smirked slightly. "I couldn't ask for
anything better, either," she replied. "But... you are the best gift I could
ask for. You're friendship means a lot to me..." she added softly, taking the
gift and swallowing a little, not believing she actually had said that aloud.
Leon looked at Zippy, slightly surprised. "Zippy...
I don't know what to say. I..." he said slowly, perking his ears. "Well... I
think the same thing. Your friendship is really all I could ever want... so,
thank you," he added, looking at the floor for a moment.
Zippy blushed slightly, still not believing
she said that aloud. Luckily her redness was covered by her dark fur. "You're
welcome..." she replied softly.
She looked the gift over curiously, trying to
forgetting what happened in the last few seconds and then looked at Leon. "What
could it be?" she asked, opening it with her dark claws.
Vash grinned at the two Halloween Kougras, showing
her sharp fangs. She looked between them, then at the gift in Zippy's paws,
her small tail wagging.
Zippy opened the gift, and stared at it, completely
shocked, the wrapping falling off to the ground. Inside was a bracelet. It was
a strap of black leather, with silver spikes jutting out from it. A thin silver
chain hung from it, only a few centimeters long, and had a small gem attached
to the end. The gem was small and circular, and was a very dark purple, almost
black, with reflections of dark light shimmering across it.
Zippy gently lifted out the bracelet, and looked
it over, still shocked. For the first time in her life, she grinned and then
looked over at Leon.
"Oh... Leon... It's... beautiful!" she said
honestly, not believing she was saying those words. She quickly and unexpectedly
hugged the Kougra, throwing her arms around his neck, her small Dark Faerie
wings fluttered slightly.
Leon smirked as he watched Zippy, then his eyes
widened as she threw her arms around his neck. "Well... I'm... glad you like
it..." he said slowly, looking surprised. He seemed more shocked, than anything.
Zippy had never hugged anyone in her life, let alone touch anyone. She didn't
allow anyone to touch her head.
After a moment of silence, he slowly took the
bracelet from her paws. "I think it's nice, too.... but will look even better
on your wrist," he added softly.
Zippy quickly pulled her arms away from Leon,
realizing what she did. Leon smirked, hardly moving as the Halloween Kougra
pulled away from him. Zippy smiled slightly. "Uh... yeah... I-I think it would..."
she stammered slightly, lifting her right paw up slightly, as Leon lifted his
paw to hers, and slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. Zippy looked at the bracelet,
as it was slipped on her wrist.
The dark purple gem dangled slightly, twirling
gently from the spiked bracelet. It let off a dark purple gleam as light hit
it, giving it a slightly eerie, yet beautiful appearance.
I'm never taking this off..., Zippy vowed
to herself in her thoughts, loving the spiked bracelet. It fit her appearance
well, too.
Vash's grin got even wider as she watched, her
tail wagging faster. She hopped up, barking her approval, and watched the two
Halloween Kougras from the Squishy Spyder Chair.
She smirked slightly. "Totally cool.." She said
to herself, looking the bracelet over again. She glanced at Leon. "Merry Christmas,
Leon..." she said softly.
"Well, I'm glad you like it. I hoped you would,
and it was rather hard to find..." Leon says softly, his dark purple eyes looking
at Zippy. "Merry Christmas, Zippy."
So, Zippy's first Christmas in Neopia, was exciting.
She loved her presents, which was the first. And she did keep her promise to
never take off that bracelet. But she's back to her evil self again, like usual.
But at least Zippy was nice for a day... And
is still nice to her only friend. And always will be, no matter what.
Author's note: Special thanks to Satushi for this story! I couldn't have
done it without you! You are truly a great friend! ^^; And thanks to Leon, (Satushi's
Kougra) for this story couldn't be possible, without your friendship to Zippy.
Happy holidays to everyone in Neopia! Have a safe and happy one, too. ^^
Remember, friends and family are the most important, during the season. Or anytime...
^^
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