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Steyria shielded herself with her wings and ran quickly
to warm herself up. The Christmas-painted Eyrie held a bag which contained her
brother’s and owner’s presents. She smiled; all she had left to do was get her
Gelert sister’s present and she’d be done. As she glided up to the door on a
puff of wind, she saw her sister Lelia waiting for her.
“Hi, Lelia,” she said, panting. “Are Kraken and
Elycien home? I need to hide this.”
“No, they went to go shopping with Unia and Sevasa,”
replied the shadow Gelert. “What did you get them?”
“A cloud paint brush for Kraken and a few trading
cards and plushies for Elycien,” said Steyria. “I’ve almost got all my shopping
done, except for you. Are you sure you want to buy yourself the Dragoyle?” she
added. “Christmas is coming.”
“I know, but I just can’t wait!” squealed Lelia.
“Dragoyles are the cutest things! Besides, you know that I want a Fyora trading
card.”
Steyria nodded, thinking to herself. Lelia wanted
two things more than anything else: a Fyora the Faerie Queen trading card and
a Dragoyle Petpet. She smiled inwardly. A few months before Christmas, she had
saved up every Neopoint she had so she could buy amazing presents for her family
and friends. She had just enough NP left to buy her sister’s card.
The Eyrie hurried upstairs to hide the gifts
with the others. She had bought a Christmas Paint Brush for Eevee and had wanted
to buy everyone paint brushes, but Lelia was happy with her shadow coat and
her owner, of course, could not be painted.
Steyria sighed at the thought of paint brushes.
More than anything else, she wanted to be painted fire. She had been born a
blue Eyrie, and then was later painted Christmas because her owner was poor
and couldn’t afford anything better, but she had always wanted to be painted
fire. But she knew she would never get the paint brush for Christmas. Her owner
and siblings could hardly afford anything more than a thousand Neopoints or
so and still be able to get something for everyone. Maybe next year,
she thought.
***
Lelia hummed to herself as she flew over to the Marketplace. The bag of Neopoints
was slung across her back, and she was ready to buy her Dragoyle. She hadn’t
told anyone that she had enough NP, wanting to surprise them. She smiled slightly
as she landed in front of the Shop Wizard.
The Jubjub wasn’t surprised, having seen stranger
things while he helped pets search for items, but said only, “What would you
like to find today, young Gelert?”
“I want to find a Dragoyle,” she said, smiling.
She had brought enough NP to buy some presents for the others as well.
The Shop Wizard paused, and then smiled. “Very
well,” he said. A sheet of paper appeared in front of her. “Touch the name of
the shop to go there, and buy whatever you like.”
Lelia looked at the paper and touched one name
with her paw. Immediately the tent of the Shop Wizard dissolved around her and
a medium-sized, slightly disorganized shop materialized around her. She paused
to get her bearings.
“How may I help you?” said a friendly-looking
Christmas Zafara behind the counter. A nametag clipped to her fur read “Angel.”
“I’d like to find a Dragoyle, please,” she said,
but something else caught her eye. She turned to get a better look.
“The Dragoyle is 250,000 NP,” said Angel. “Er,
miss? Can I help you?”
“How much is this?” asked Lelia, gesturing to
the fire Paint Brush in a case.
“That is also 250,000 NP,” said the Zafara. “Would
you like it?”
Lelia looked at the Dragoyle, chirping and playing
in its large pen. Then she looked at the gleaming Fire Paint Brush. Steyria
would love it. Wasn’t that what Christmas was all about? Giving?
“Yes,” said Lelia. “Yes, I… I’ll buy the paint
brush.”
Angel gave her a cheerful smile and produced
a key, unlocked the case, and handed the paint brush to Lelia. The Gelert gave
her the bag of NP. “Enjoy!” chirped Angel.
As Lelia left the shop, a smile began to grow
on her face. Soon she was grinning ear to ear. Steyria was going to be ecstatic!
***
Steyria was finishing her Christmas shopping, holding a bag of NP in her beak.
200,000 NP was enough to buy the trading card Lelia wanted. She smiled to herself,
thinking about Lelia’s growing card collection. This was what she truly wanted.
It would be the best Christmas gift ever!
As she walked to the Marketplace, she felt something
grab her bag of NP. A few coins spilled out. She grabbed them up, but felt the
bag leave her beak. Turning swiftly, she saw a dark shape stealing away. She
could barely make out the outline of an Aisha.
“An Aisha thief,” breathed Steyria. “Stop, thief!”
Holding the coins, she flew around the bustling marketplace, full of Neopians
shopping for friends and family, but the only Aishas she saw were a classy and
rich Desert Aisha spending hundreds of thousands of Neopoints on supplies for
a Christmas feast, and a tiny Baby Aisha sucking on a lollipop and following
its owner around.
Steyria sat down, barely unable to believe what
had just happened. She had merely 1,000 NP left to spend on her sister, and
she couldn’t think of anything that the Gelert would want. Wiping a tear from
her cheek, she wandered around to see if anyone had an item they would like
to sell.
“Hey, Eyrie! Want a great deal?” said a voice.
She turned to see a Draik holding a large cage. “I’ll sell you this beautiful,
healthy Airax for 1,000 NP. I’ll even throw in a bag of Airax food. What do
you say?”
“Um, sure, I guess,” mumbled Steyria. What did
it matter? Lelia would sell the Airax as soon as she got her Dragoyle, but at
least it was something. Besides, on the shop wizard Airaxes could go for up
to 4,000 NP.
She sighed as she walked away from the marketplace
with the Airax’s cage in her paws. Poor Lelia! She knew that her owner and siblings
were all buying inexpensive and fun presents for the Gelert, and that hers would
be the one her sister would love. But now… The Eyrie shifted the heavy cage’s
position in her paws as she walked dejectedly up to their Neohome.
She checked around to make sure Lelia wasn’t
home before stealing upstairs to her room. Stowing the Airax in a corner of
her room, she covered the cage with a blanket and poured Airax food into the
small bowl in its cage. “You won’t have to stay there long,” whispered Steyria.
“Christmas is only the day after tomorrow.”
***
On Christmas morning, Steyria couldn’t help feeling excited in spite of what
had happened a few days before. She knew that Kraken, Eevee, and Elycien, at
least, would love what they had received. And who knew what her own packages
contained!
“Merry Christmas, Steyria!” greeted her owner
as she walked towards the Christmas tree. There was a large pile of presents
under the tree and the five stockings were stuffed with candy and small gifts.
Soon Lelia, Kraken, and Eevee had woken up and
the five of them sat next to the Christmas tree to begin the gift opening. “Here,
Kraken, this is yours,” said Steyria, handing a box to her brother.
“Oh, wow!” exclaimed the blue Chomby as he opened
it. “I’ve been wanting this so much! Thanks, sis!”
“No problem,” said Steyria, giving him a smile.
After a while, Elycien said, “Steyria, why don’t
you give Lelia her present? I haven’t seen it.”
“Oh dear!” said Steyria, standing up. “It’s still
in my room. It’s a bit awkward to wrap, so I hope you don’t mind.” And I
hope you don’t mind what it is, she thought.
“I don’t mind,” said Lelia, looking curious.
“While you’re up there, I’ll find your present. It must be around here somewhere.”
Steyria sighed as she walked up the stairs. This
would certainly be the worst gift Lelia ever received. Everyone knew that the
Gelert was going to buy herself a Dragoyle, and here her own sister was buying
her another Petpet. She uncovered the Airax’s cage and took the sleeping Petpet
out carefully so it wouldn’t wake up and make a fuss. As she walked down the
stairs, holding the Petpet so it would be hard to see, she saw her Gelert sister
waiting eagerly. Her brother and owner seemed surprised by Lelia’s enthusiasm,
though Steyria’s younger Wocky sister didn’t notice anything but the package
addressed to her that she was involved in shaking.
“Here’s your present, Steyria,” said Lelia brightly,
a mysterious smile on her lips.
“Here’s yours,” mumbled Steyria. “I know you’re
going to buy a Dragoyle, but it was all I could find.”
“An Airax?” said Lelia softly. “But I thought…
never mind, just open yours. I’ll tell you later.”
Mystified, Steyria tore open her package and
opened the box inside. “No… way!” she said. “How did you – why – it’s a Fire
Paint Brush, Lelia!”
“I went shopping for a Dragoyle while you were
finishing up your Christmas shopping,” explained Lelia. “I found a shop that
had one for 250,000 NP, which was exactly how much I had saved up. Then I saw
that the same shop had a Fire Paint Brush in stock, for the same amount. I bought
it instead so you could have your wish, Steyria.” The Gelert smiled. “I didn’t
think that I would be getting a Petpet anytime soon, and I had almost given
up on the Dragoyle. Then… you gave me an Airax! Thank you so much!”
Steyria explained her story. “I was going to
go get you the Trading Card you wanted. Then an Aisha Thief stole my bag, although
about 1,000 NP fell out. Then I saw this Draik who was selling an Airax for
1,000 NP. I agreed, because I couldn’t think of anything else that you would
like. I was really upset, though, because I knew you were going to get a Petpet
yourself. But now…”
The two sisters embraced lovingly. This was definitely
the best Christmas ever!
The End
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