It was Christmas Eve in Neopia. The air outside was still
and cold. More like freezing. In fact, it was so nippy, that the only way you
could survive outside was to buy about a couple hundred fire motes and tape
them to yourself, or, alternatively, you could shrink yourself so you're able
to share a bottle with the fire Faerie. It was that cold. (Or you could put
on some extra layers of clothing, but why go through all that trouble?) Thus
everybody stayed inside setting their presents under the tree, singing carols,
and waiting patiently for Santa Kaus's annual trip.
Slyndar was crouching in a dark corner, in his
living room, behind the Christmas tree. He did this often for the fact that
he didn't want to be seen. His shadow hue and black designer suit definitely
helped.
He stayed there silently, occasionally poking
his head out to check for the presence of his family members. He glanced around
the living room, eyes darting like angry airborne buzzers. Never trust those
eyes. They rarely missed a detail. Slyndar was watching. Always watching, watching
for a signal, false move, or even, perhaps, the slightest twitch. And he was
still watching when he took a swift bite of a nearby gingerbread ornament that
hung on an evergreen bough of the Christmas tree. He paused for a second, savoring
the flavor. Mmmmm. Gingerbread. Then the cookie was popped in to his mouth and
chewed hastily as he crept out of the corner Aisha-like.
That move was pretty hard to achieve, considering
the fact that he was a Shoyru. He had spent hours mastering that one.
The mischievous Shoyru silently scaled the stone
wall and quietly crept on the wooden dinner table. Here, he would have an ideal
view of the kitchen. He quickly scanned the kitchen and focused on his objective
-- the cookie jar.
Okay, so even though the Shoyru was the sneaky,
mischievous type and he the fact that he knew the best burglar tactics, didn't
mean he couldn't have a soft spot for cookies.
He tiptoed into the kitchen and then positioned
himself on the edge of the orange jelly table and swiftly unfastened a long,
slender rope from his belt. Slyndar made a loop on one end, tightened it, and
made sure it was secure. Then, using his never-failing perfect aim, he swung
the other end of the rope towards the glass ceiling fan. It grasped on. He glanced
around behind him and climbed the rope quickly. The cookie stealer then crawled
into the loop so that his waist suspended him in mid-air. He smirked visibly
as he caught the sight of some old tin cans, tied together by some colorful
string, lying on the kitchen floor near the counter where the jar of cookies
were located. Lame, even by Neopia's security standards. Slyndar sneered. Never
expected an attack from above, did they? He stretched his arm towards the lid
of the cookie jar and-
It was this moment that Slyndar's teenage owner,
Elayth, happened to stroll into the kitchen. She was quite surprised to see
him there, but then again, who wouldn't be? Slyndar had hardly made a sound
during the whole operation.
The cookie-napper froze. Drat, foiled again,
he thought as he swore under his breath. Softly. He couldn't afford to get into
bigger trouble.
Elayth tossed her dark hair over her shoulder.
With her hands on her waist, she shook her head. "Naughty, naughty!" she scolded
as she shook her finger. She took the cookie jar and locked it in a high kitchen
cabinet, along with the other cookie jars that Slyndar had been caught stealing
from, out of reach, or so she thought. When the Shoyru saw this, he wasn't worried.
Lock picking is child's play.
Elayth turned to him. "You have to stop stealing.
I've told you many times now!"
Slyndar just glanced at her and smirked.
Elayth silently fumed. No respect, pets these
days. Then again, pets usually didn't show respect, ever. "Don't give me that
attitude, mister!"
The cookie burglar stared at her, unmoving, waiting
for her to give in.
"Okay," Elayth admitted, "Your strategies are
good, and I've only caught you a few times, but that doesn't mean you can keep
on robbing the cookie bank."
The shadow pet grinned. He was a pro at cookie
robbery. The only times he had been caught were by sheer luck. He couldn't believe
he was caught this time. The plan was so perfect and he had gone through quite
a bit of work, too.
"Now, I hope this is the last time I have to
tell you- Stop stealing cookies!" Elayth scolded, returning to her favorite
method of lecture. "Okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. Right. Whatever." The Shoyru slid
out of the loop and sat on the counter unhappily, as a sign of defeat. Actually,
his brain was sparking with ideas on how to get his hands on the cookies in
the cabinet. His thinking process was suddenly interrupted by an adorable, diminutive
pink figure that just toddled in.
It was Slyndar's baby sister Floof. Floof sleepily
rubbed her eyelids and yawned.
"Aww," Elayth cooed. "Did the big, bad Shoyru
wake you up from your nappy?"
Slyndar rolled his eyes. Did the big, bad
Shoyru wake you up from your nappy? Honestly. He hadn't made a single detectable
sound during the process and here was Elayth, blaming him for everything- as
usual.
Floof nodded, obviously not fully comprehending
the question. Elayth ruffled the baby pet's fur lovingly.
Slyndar rolled his eyes a second time. Typical.
Female teenage owners always favored the cuter pets. Who could resist his sister,
a baby Uni? No one. Muttering darkly, he quietly took this ideal opportunity
to slip away so he could avoid punishment. He sat in a nearby dark corner, hidden
from view, as he eavesdropped on his family's conversation.
"Sly stealing cookie?" Floof asked with a sickening
cute expression.
Slyndar grimaced at the sound of his nickname.
"Yes, Sly tried to steal cookies," Elayth replied.
"Again."
"Oh."
Moments of silence passed.
"Well," Elayth suddenly asked, "Are you excited?"
Floof blinked. "For wha?"
Elayth ruffled her fur some more. "For Santa
Kaus, silly!"
"Santy Kaus?" Floof asked as her eyes lit up
considerably.
"Of course," Elayth half said half sung. "It's
Christmas Eve!"
"Oh."
Then, being the sweet, caring, goody-good baby
Uni she was, Floof suggested that they should bake cookies for "Santy."
By now, as I'm sure one can imagine, the dullness
of the conversation had nearly lulled Slyndar to sleep, but when the phrase
"bake cookies" was mentioned, he was instantly alert. He switched to an upright
position as he listened.
"…Santy would be all covered in thoot and would
be very habby to get cookies!" Floof finished.
"Why, I bet Santa would love that!" Elayth gushed,
completely ignoring the fact that she had mispronounced several words. "What
a great idea! I tell you what. I'll go get the ingredients and you pick out
the cookie shapers!"
Floof was happy. "Okay!" She scurried towards
the kitchen, only to trip over her own hooves in the process.
Slyndar saw this and tutted silently. Perhaps
he'd instruct her in agility sometime, but then he thought better of it. Agility
was the key to his cookie-stealing career. No need to give his rivals the advantage.
He glanced into the kitchen. His teenage owner was busy gathering the ingredients.
Slyndar spared a few seconds to calculate. It would take about an hour to mix
the ingredients and an hour and half to bake. It didn't take the average person
that long, but considering the amount of dilly-dallying Floof and Elayth displayed,
the estimate would be appropriate. Well, knowing cookies, the bake time usually
depended on the type of cookie it was.
The burglar licked his lips and hoped it was
chocolate chip, but then his hope plummeted. Considering his recent bad behavior,
he probably wouldn't be allowed a single crumb. He slumped and sighed unhappily.
Most of his elaborate schemes revolved around cookies. Hey, he couldn't help
liking cookies. Syndar's stomach rumbled like a force 7 earthquake. A determined
expression soon replaced the despaired one. He had to get those cookies! He
crept up the stairs to his bedroom to do something of vital importance -- come
up with a plan to get his hands on those cookies!
To be continued...
Note to readers: Slyndar and Floof do not belong to me. I made up the names
myself though. One day I searched their names, and they were already taken. Surprise,
surprise. Please remember to read the next part!
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