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It was a peaceful day in Neopia Central. The trees overhead
swayed in the breeze and the blue sky was cloudless. Jenny, the blue Kacheek,
was sitting on a wooden bench outside of the bazaar enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.
“Jenny! Hey, Jenny!”
Jenny looked to the left to see her chipper younger
sister Yasha running toward her. The red Zafara sat down next to Jenny and said,
“You have to come see this! Quick! Come see what I found,” Yasha tugged at her
friend’s arm and Jenny raced after her. Yasha led Jenny down a hill and over
to a clump of bushes that were deserted. She pulled back some branches and Jenny
peered inside. Lying so perfectly on the ground was an egg.
Jenny gasped, “Oh my gosh! Is that a…?”
“It’s a Draik egg, Jenny!” Yasha exclaimed. She
picked up the yellow egg and ran her hands over the smooth surface. Jenny took
it from her sister and pressed it up against her ear with ease. It was amazingly
light for an egg with a baby Draik inside. At first she heard nothing, but then
little tiny squeaks came from the Neopet inside.
“Yasha, do you know how much this is worth? Over
a million Neopoints at least!”
Hearing this, Yasha collapsed to the ground,
smiling wide-eyed at the sky. Jenny transferred the egg to the crook of her
right arm and pulled her sister up,
“We have to show this to Erica!”
Yasha and Jenny ran all the way home, cutting
through the forest to avoid questions from other Neopets in the bazaar. When
they got to the door they were panting and out of breath.
Erica cast them a confused glance when they returned.
She was cooking their dinner of sausage and cheese rolls. She came over to them
to hear what they were babbling about. Yasha handed her the Draik egg and explained
how they had found it. Erica took the egg and admired it.
“It is very nice, but I’m afraid that we can’t
keep it,” Erica said, frowning.
“Why not?” Yasha whined.
“Well, because we don’t know how to take care
of an egg. And besides, I only want you girls. I’m afraid another Neopet, let
alone a baby Neopet, is out of the question. They’re very hard to take care
of.”
“But we could manage!” Jenny assured Erica. “We’d
take care of it!”
“Do you know how much it’s worth, Mommy?” Yasha
put on her cute baby face that she did when she wanted something, “Over a million
Neopoints. Let’s sell it!”
“You most certainly will not!” said Erica. “It
doesn’t belong to you. It’s not yours, so you cannot sell it. Find someone who
wants it, and will care for it. But don’t accept any Neopoints from them. Hurry
and find a good home before dinner.”
Thinking that this was totally unfair, Jenny
pouted. She and Yasha reluctantly went back outside with the egg that was wrapped
up in a kitchen towel, (“to keep it warm,” Erica had said).
“Let’s take it to the Neopian Pound,” Jenny suggested
and Yasha agreed. The sisters walked in silence all the way down the street
and to the pound. They both wanted to keep the egg, but they did not want to
disobey Erica. When they got to the pound, they pushed open the door. About
twenty Neopets and humans were seated in chairs waiting for their turn to see
the Adopting Uni or Dr. Death. Yasha and Jenny took two seats that were between
a Techo and a Moehog.
“We better see if we’re keeping it warm.” Yasha
unwrapped the egg and placed her hand on the surface. The Moehog next to her
gasped and asked,
“Is that a Draik egg?”
“Are you putting up a Draik egg for adoption?”
A strawberry Jubjub across from them asked eagerly.
Soon enough the whole pound was fussing over
the egg. Yasha clutched the egg to her chest as Neopets tried to hold it or
examine it.
“Jenny, let’s get out of here!” Yasha yelled
over the chaotic noise. The two Neopets slipped out of the pound and ran down
the street, Yasha trying to wrap up the egg as she ran.
After the two Neopets were out of danger they
rested against a tree to catch their breath.
“We’re never going to find a good home for the
egg,” Yasha said sadly.
“Not with all of these greedy Neopets around…”
Jenny agreed. “Let’s go home and tell Erica about the circumstances. Who knows?
Maybe she’ll let us keep it if we ask her again.”
Thinking that they had no other choice, and wanting
to do what’s best for the egg, Jenny and Yasha returned home. When Erica saw
that the egg had not found a home she sighed. Yasha explained about the chaos
in the Neopian Pound and how they ran all the way back home.
Erica sat down in a chair at the table and thought
about it. Do I really want another Neopet? She looked at Jenny and Yasha
who were pouting: the face that they did when they wanted something. Can
I afford another Neopet?
“All right, we can keep the Draik…”
“A baby Draik! A baby Draik!” The girls shouted
and they jumped up and down thanking Erica. Erica only smiled.
***
When Jenny went upstairs to bed, she found the egg sitting in their bedroom.
It looked quite the same, except for a small piece of paper that was stuck onto
it. Five letters were scribbled on the paper. Jenny figured it out what they
spelled, “D-R-A-K-E”. Yasha entered and smiled down at Jenny,
“Well?” she asked.
“You named the Draik Drake?” Jenny asked.
“Sure? Isn’t it cute.”
Jenny returned Yasha’s enthusiasm, “Yeah, it’s
a great name, Yasha.”
Erica came in and wrapped Drake in some blankets
to keep him nice and warm, quickly explaining to Yasha about incubation.
“Don’t worry, Mommy,” Yasha assured her. “We’ll
keep Drake nice and warm.”
“Good,” Erica smiled and she shut their door.
For inside the egg, Drake was squeaking again… short little squeaks that were
almost relaxing to listen too. Soon Jenny was fast asleep in her wooden bed.
***
A loud series of squeaking woke Jenny up in the middle of the night. The Egg,
wrapped in some blankets next to her bed, was vibrating.
“Yasha!” Jenny hissed. “Yasha, wake up!”
The Red Zafara woke with a start and Jenny pointed
to Drake. “What’s wrong with him.”
Jenny rolled out of bed and unwrapped Drake.
He was glowing a brilliant golden color and a small crevice appeared at the
top of the egg. It moved slowly down to the bottom.
Yasha was almost yelling in excitement. “Shhh!”
Jenny scolded. “Just don’t wake—”
“ERICA!” Yasha roared. “COME QUICK DRAKE’S HATCHING!
HURRY! HURRY!”
As the shell was about to come off Erica raced
into the room. She knelt next to Yasha and Jenny, and they all watched the egg
wide-eyed and still. The crevices that were running down its shell were multiplying
and also becoming deeper. One side of the shell popped off and a wing appeared.
Yasha squirmed but Erica wouldn’t let her touch it. The other wing appeared
from the other side and the top popped off and landed on the floor. As the three
girls peered inside of the egg their reactions were similar:
“What the…?”
“But…”
“Is that a…?”
Chirp, chirp, chirp!
There was no Draik inside of that egg. Instead,
a small Pteri had been born! It was a Pteri egg, and not a Draik egg. Erica,
Jenny and Yasha exchanged confused glances. Drake tumbled out of the egg and
started flapping his tiny wings. Erica picked him up and cradled him in her
arms, whispering his name.
“Drake,” she said, “Drake the Pteri.”
The End :)
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