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Hrye dashed from her Neohome a coat partly slung over her
shoulders and a lantern in her hand. The rain whipped her face and hair and
instantly soaked the girl to the skin.
Scinan, Leoht, and Maestitia struggled to follow
their frantic owner. "Where are we going?" Maestitia shouted over the wind.
"To the Island Market," Hryre roared back. "I
want to check the shop." They staggered through the maze of shops in the Market
until they came to a hut that had a black and silver sign reading 'Voices of
the Outcast' across the front door. Hryre and the three pets pushed their way
inside.
Vira looked up from the counter. "Hey Ruin,"
the Acara said through her teeth. Hryre lowered her hood and shook out her sopping
hair.
"Hey Vira, listen, is some of the shop stock
gone?" Hryre asked while her pets attempted to shake water from their bodies.
Vira frowned and slid off the stool that was
behind the counter. "Well, your Eyrie came in here and took about three fourths
of it the other day."
The Shadow Usul flitted out of a corner. "He
wreaked of fear," she hissed thrashing her tail. "Something was amiss, I could
not tell you what, though." The shadow shrugged her slightly transparent shoulders.
Hryre nodded. "Thanks. You two have a good evening."
Hryre raised her hood and opened the door, gladdened to see that the storm was
beginning to let up.
Vira ran up to her. "Ruin_star, what's going
on?"
Hryre shook her head. "Eal's gone, he ran away.
We're trying to find him." Hryre turned to look at her shopkeeper. "Do you have
any ideas where he might be?"
The Shadow Usul slid up to Vira's side. "Try
Neopia Central if he is not on the Island" she said in her hissing voice, "it
seems a logical place to start."
Hryre nodded her thanks and whisked out the
door her pets hurrying after her.
Vira glanced at the Shadow Usul, her crimson
eyes wide. "This is not good, he was so unstable when he came in here before.
I thought he was going to lose it."
The Usul wrung her paws. "We can only wait,
and hope." Vira nodded before returning to her seat behind the counter.
~*~
Ealdor shivered violently, he'd never felt so cold in his life. The Eyrie
suddenly realized the Gallion had gone limp in his arms, eyes closing tightly.
Fear jolted through Ealdor, he lifted the petpet in his paws.
"No," he whispered, "don't go. I need someone
to be here with me." The Gallion shifted feebly and wearily opened its glazed
cerulean eyes. Ealdor pressed the Gallion against his cheek. "Thank you."
"I'm not going anywhere if I can help it," the
little petpet's voice said in Ealdor's mind. "I like you, you're nice."
Ealdor laughed despite himself. "I'm flattered
you think so. If I'm a nice pet, I'm a stupid nice pet."
The petpet clambered onto Ealdor's shoulder
and sunk his claws into the Eyrie's thick fur to keep from falling off. "Why
is that?" the Gallion asked shutting his eyes sleepily.
Ealdor got to his feet. "I did something really
stupid and betrayed me owner." He shook his head tears forming again. Then Ealdor
changed the subject, "Do you have a name? I'm Ealdor_StormLife, call me Eal
though."
"Me?" the petpet's voice seemed far off. "I
had a name once… Seshil yes that's who I am."
Ealdor knew why the Gallion was so weak. Since
it was a reptile the cold made its body slow down, and if too cold it would
shut down. The Eyrie thought frantically about where to go to warm up. He finally
had an idea and tore off toward the catacombs.
It was even colder inside the ancient stone
hall. Ealdor's breath rose in an icy mist around him. He wrapped his wings around
himself and dashed for the Coffee Shop. The warmth of the shop flooded over
him as he burst through the door.
The Shoyru who ran the shop jumped as the Eyrie
came barreling in. She stared at the frightening neopet with her mouth open.
Only when he collapsed to the floor shaking did she run out from behind the
counter.
"Dear dear, what's this?" The Eyrie raised his
head then handed her a white Gallion
"He's really cold, can you do something for
him?" the Eyrie rasped.
They Shoyru nodded. "I dare to think I can."
She hurried with Seshil in her arms to the back room and up some stairs. Ealdor
wearily followed, he felt ancient and all he wanted to do was sleep. His fur
and feathers were still soaked from the storm.
When Ealdor reached the top of the stairs, he
saw the Shoyru place Seshil on a hot water bottle and wrap a towel around him.
She turned and looked hard at Ealdor who was sitting at the top of the stairs
swaying slightly.
She shook her head and ran to get a blanket.
The Eyrie jerked as he felt a soft blanked wrap around his shoulders. He opened
his eyes to look into the kind gaze of the Shoyru. "You could've caught your
death out there," she said glaring at Ealdor. "And traveling through that storm
what were you thinking?"
Ealdor grinned sleepily at her. "I wasn't thinking
at all." He yawned, "Thank you for this, though."
"Oh don't think anything of it dear, it was
the least I could do. Here let me show you to the guest room." She led Ealdor
into a small lightly furnished room. The Shoyru placed the hot water wrapped
Gallion on the bed and lit the candle on the nightstand. Ealdor had collapsed
on the bed and was sound asleep. The Shoyru cast a last glance back at her guest
and wondered where he'd come from.
~*~
Hryre leaned panting against the rim of Rainbow Pool; her pets lay in a panting
heap beside her. They'd been searching all night, to no avail. Luckily the storm
had stopped around midnight and they could search without being blown off their
feet every few seconds.
Hryre braced herself on the lip of the Rainbow
Pool and stared into the swirling waters. They reflected the barely emerged
light of the sun. Hryre's eyes unfocussed and were filled with the memory of
her Eyrie.
She saw him a laughing green ball of fluff he
had been when she first created him. She saw him slowly grow into a sleek and
powerful male Eyrie. The day he had one his first fight in the Battledome.
Hryre started shaking, then saw something that
nearly made her heart shatter with grief. Floating in the multicolored waters
was a dark red Eyrie feather. Hryre lips began to tremble; she reached out and
plucked the feather from the water. The girl clenched her fingers tightly around
fluffy object and pressed it to her chest. She was starting to lose hope, deep
in her heart she was beginning to believe that she'd never see her Ealdor_StormLife
again.
Hryre started crying silently, tears running
down her cheeks to drop into the Pool. Suddenly she felt a touch at her elbow,
the girl looked down into the deep blue eyes of Leoht. The prankster who never
took anything seriously was gazing at her intently.
"Hry, don't give up. We'll find him, I promise
you." Hryre was unable to answer through her tears. She kneeled down beside
the Maraquan Draik and threw her arms around him, hugging the pet tightly to
her chest.
"You're right, Leo," Hryre whispered. "We're
not through yet."
To be continued...
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