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"Why am I still here?" an annoyed, spotted Kougra muttered
to himself.
Rikku leaned back on the brown slabs of rock
that surrounded the Tyrannian Concert Hall and folded his paws across his chest.
By the look that was on his face, anyone could’ve told he wished he was anywhere
but there. It was the middle of the night, everyone who had attended the concert
was gone but he was still standing outside. The cold winds of Tyrannia whipped
his golden and shadowy fur and he held his black leather jacket tighter around
him. Rikku had tolerated the most horrid music, Yes Boy Ice Cream,
for an entire night. The spotted Kougra shuttered every time he heard the band’s
name. He had put with the screeching and beeps; now he just wanted to go home.
Rikku had an early Battledome match in the morning. It wasn’t going to be an
easy battle and he really needed some sleep. Besides, Rikku didn’t want to loiter
around the unknown land of rocks; he just wanted to go home to Mystery Island.
Suddenly, a Faerie Kougra bounded up next to him. With the sight of the beautiful
girl, he knew instantly why he had tolerated the cold, waiting, and horrible
music. He has done it for her, it was always for her. It was for his best friend
and his only true friend.
"I'm sure they will be coming out soon," she
declared and took the spot on the wall next to him. "You can go home if you
want to," she offered. "I can take care of myself."
"I'll stay, Queenie," Rikku told her. He'd do
anything for Queenie, she was truly perfect. A rare treasure that many spend
their lives searching for and he had found his, in a Faerie Kougra that stood
right next to him. Rikku never would have imagined that he'd ever have a good
of friend as Queenie.
"Thanks," Queenie answered with a huge grin
across her face. "It's good to have some sort of company. If only I could get
Yes Boy Ice Cream's autograph it would be the best gift for Roxy's birthday.
She just loves their retro future style."
"I know," Rikku mumbled.
"They should be coming out any minute," Queenie
repeated and peered at the door that led to the backstage dressing rooms.
"You said that an hour ago," Rikku criticized
harshly.
"I know and I'm sorry," Queenie pouted. She
felt terrible for having to make her best friend sit through a Yes Boy Ice Cream
concert and to have to wait around in the near freezing cold for hours. Her
sister's birthday was coming up and she knew Roxy would just die for a Yes Boy
Ice Cream’s autographs; it would be the perfect present. Her sister was a famous
author for the Neopian Times and a normal, boring present wouldn't have cut
it. She had to get something spectacular and unique. This would be the ultimate
present that not even a famous writer could ignore.
"I'm sorry," Rikku muttered. He always seemed
to never say what he wanted to. Rikku always said things which made him sound
like a major jerk; but he really wasn't. He just didn't have skills in the art
of communication. The Spotted Kougra made up for his lack of communication skills
by being awesome in Battledome and a terrific surfer. He'd give up his trophies
in both fields to be able to say the right thing at the right time. Rikku had
the habit of speaking before thinking; it usually got him into a lot of trouble.
A beam of light flashed on the two waiting Kougras.
A round, little Yellow Chia appeared holding a flashlight. He wore a black shirt
that read, "Security."
"What are you Kougras doing?" he barked, as
he shifted the beam back and forth slowly panning the two cubs. The security
guard believed he had caught two Kougras up to no good. "The concert ended hours
ago. Everyone has gone home, why haven't you?"
"None of your business," Rikku snapped. He wasn't
scared of this plump, little Chia.
"Excuse me? I better get some answers soon or
you are both going to be in trouble," the security guard warned them.
"We are waiting for Yes Boy Ice Cream to come
out through the back. I want to get their autograph for my sister. It's her
birthday soon and it would make the perfect gift," Queenie answered truthfully.
"Sorry to disappoint you but Yes Boy Ice Cream
is long gone," the guard informed them. “They skipped out of here quicker than
a thief; to catch a boat to somewhere. They are probably miles away from here
by now."
"That's awful," Queenie moaned. "What am I going
to get Roxy now?"
"Go home, cubs," the guard advised them as he
clicked off his flashlight. He walked away into the shadows to finish making
his rounds.
"So, it was all for nothing?" Rikku screeched.
"We waited in the cold for hours, listened to that horrid music for nothing,"
Rikku exclaimed angrily. "All that torture was for nothing! Thanks a lot, Queenie.
This was such a stupid plan I'd knew it would never work and now you just wasted
over two thousand Neopoints on nothing. Queenie, for someone who is smart as
yourself you sure make a lot of stupid mistakes."
"Don't rub it in or anything," Queenie snapped
and jumped into the air. Her delicate but massive faerie wings caught her weight
in mid air. She didn’t even bother to look back while she zoomed off into the
black sky. Her heart was full of rage and disappointment.
"Queenie! Stop! Wait!" Rikku called desperately
as he watched his friend disappear into the haunting, night sky. "I'm sorry!"
He yelled as loud as he could, but it was too late. Queenie couldn't hear him
anymore. Rikku sighed and silently kicked himself. This wasn't the first time
he had said the wrong thing. Why did he always have to say the wrong thing?
Why did he always seem to make the worst situation even worse? Rikku trudged
off sadly into the night shadows of the Tyrannian Plateau.
* * * *
Queenie's wings lashed angrily as she flew through the night air. She felt
bad enough she couldn’t get Roxy the present she deserved but her best friend
had to rub her face in it. Rikku always seemed to point her flaws or what exactly
was going wrong with her life. She was aware but she didn't need to be reminded
of it all the time. Queenie flew the long flight to her home in Neopian Central,
in record time due to her rage. She finally soared over the lights of city and
headed toward the outskirts. She looked carefully below her paws and spotted
a familiar landing pad. She landed carefully on the landing pad in the garden.
Queenie fumed as she stormed through the gardens to the side door of her home.
She kicked open the glass door. If she kicked it any harder she would have shattered
the glass door and windows in the entire room. Everyone that called Queenie
perfect didn't know about her major flaw; her temper. It always brought out
the worse in the Faerie Kougra.
Queenie looked around the almost all glass room.
Upon a beach chair, her little brother’s petpet was fast asleep. He was curled
up into a dark, little ball and looked so innocent and adorable. The Faerie
Kougra was surprised that kicking open the door hadn't woken him up. The Mutant
Puppyblew must have decided to wait up for her but had fallen asleep in the
process. Queenie pulled off her navy jacket and draped in on the snoring Darker.
She couldn't blame him for sleeping, it was really late and almost everyone
was at home in bed now. Queenie crept through the house quietly trying not to
wake up her dozing family members. Queenie walked softly to the kitchen to grab
a snack before she went to bed, she found it odd that there was a yellow glow
coming from the kitchen. Someone must have left the light on, Queenie
thought. She entered the room and noticed it was no accident the light was on.
A Halloween Kougra was at the counter making two rather large sandwiches. The
chef was Oke, her little brother.
"Hey, sis! Darker and I were just waiting up
for you," Oke said while he placed some lettuce on the towering sandwiches.
He had to be careful not to puncture holes in the lettuce with his claws. "We
got hungry, so I figured I'd make a snack."
"Darker fell asleep," Queenie informed him.
"Figures, he is always sleeping. I can't eat
these both, you want one?" Oke offered as he put the last two pieces of bread
on the two towers of sandwiches. No one in the family could cook, so they basically
lived off of sandwiches and other simply easy to make food like toast.
"Sure, they look great," Queenie replied. She
crossed the room and she helped Oke carry the two completed sandwiches to the
kitchen table. "What's in these?" Queenie asked and examined the different colored
layers of her sandwich.
"Everything but some White Weewoos," Oke joked
and tried to keep a straight face. She knew he was just kidding the sandwich
was just probably as simple as ham or something like that. You never could tell
with Oke though because he did love to eat Strawberry Artichokes. Queenie lifted
the bread of the sandwich and examined it carefully. She sniffed the meat and
decided it wasn’t that of a White Weewoo.
“How was the concert?” Oke asked. Queenie took
a huge bite of her sandwich and sighed. She didn’t bother to give her brother
a reply; she didn’t want to relive the memories of the night. "Why the sad face?
Was the concert that bad?" Oke asked concerned. He never saw his sister so sad;
she was normally pretty content Kougra. Queenie had calmed down now and seemed
more depressed than angry. "You should be happy you got Roxy the best present
in the world. Darker and I were talking about it and we wish we had gotten it
for her."
"I couldn't get their autograph," Queenie sighed
and stared at the food in front of her. Suddenly, she lost her appetite.
"No way!" Oke exclaimed. "What are you going
to get her now?"
"I don't know. Look Oke, I am tired I think
I am just going to bed," Queenie informed him while she rose from the table.
"What about your sandwich?" Oke inquired.
"I lost my appetite." Queenie admitted and disappeared
from the kitchen. The Halloween Kougra grabbed Queenie's neglected sandwich
and put it on his plate. Queenie walked up the stairs to her bedroom trying
to think of another present to get her sister. She could always get Roxy clothes
or make up but she wanted to get something special for her sister. She would
appreciate the clothes or grooming items but it wouldn't be the same.
* * * *
Rikku had spent all night wandering aimless through the Tyrannia. He had ended
up at the docks and missed the last ship to Neopian Central. The spotted Kougra
was going to miss his Battledome match. Rikku hated to miss a match but there
wasn't anything he could do. Unlike Queenie, he was a landlubber and couldn't
fly to Neopian Central. He couldn’t even go home to Mystery Island because the
next boat didn't embark for a couple of hours. The spotted Kougra was stuck
at the stone docking station of Tyrannia and sitting on a rather on uncomfortable
marble bench. Rikku watched the Neopets and humans that glided through the lobby
of the docks and tried to distract himself. He was trying to keep himself from
mentally beating himself up; he had done enough of that last night. The spotted
Kougra lay back down on the stone bench; he hadn't slept a wink and decided
to catch some shut eye while he waited for his boat. A pair of Blumaroos sat
down on the bench next to him, he didn't mean to eavesdrop but his large ears
picked up on their conversation.
"I can't believe Yes Boy Ice Cream is going
to be performing at King Roo's Jubilee. This is going to be so exciting," the
Green one told his yellow companion. Rikku ears pricked up and he began to listen
more intently.
"Who cares about those Shoyrus? They are just
a filler because M*YNCI couldn't make it. At least, 2 Gallon Hatz is going to
be there," The Yellow Blumaroo answered.
"Don't forget Sticks 'N Stones!"
"And a Dice-A-Roo tournament!"
"Free gift bags from the Spring Shop!"
"Gift certificates to the Grandma Roo's Cafe."
"Autographs from all the musical guests!"
"We might be able to meet King Roo!"
A voice called loudly interrupting the excited
Blumaroos,
"Boat #456 to Roo Island will be departing in
fifteen minutes! The boat to Roo Island leaving in fifteen minutes!"
"Let's go!" The Blumaroos squealed loudly and
bounced toward the ships. Rikku didn't care much about the Jubilee for King
Roo or the free stuff, but he knew that Yes Boy Ice Cream would be there. He
scrambled over the ticket window where an elderly, wrinkled Tyrannian Moehog
sat behind the counter.
"You again," he huffed angrily. "I told you
there are no more boats until this afternoon for Mystery Island. No exceptions!"
Rikku slapped his ticket to Mystery Island on
the counter and stated, "I want to exchange this for Boat #456 to Roo Island."
* * * *
Queenie still couldn’t figure out what to get Roxy for her birthday. Queenie
figured she'd wake up this morning with some brilliant idea, but she didn't.
She had Battledome matches all that morning and she was planning to go shopping
for a gift afterwards. In her last match, Queenie had fought against a Mutant
Krawk and had barely succeeded in winning. Queenie pulled her bag over her shoulder
and walked to the lobby of the Neopian Central Battledome Arena. A familiar
Island Ixi was sitting a chair in the center of the lobby. An anxious Ixi called
to her,
"Hey Queenie!"
"Hey Vix! How did your match with Rikku go?"
Queenie replied. Vix was the type of pet who lived for Battledome; the Island
Ixi was never seen outside the Battledome arenas, unless she was training.
"It never happened," Vix informed Queenie. “He
never showed up.”
"What?" Queenie gasped, "That's not like Rikku.
He'd never miss a match."
"I know. You think something happened to him?"
Vix asked.
"I don't know," Queenie replied while images
of her best friend surrounded by demons and monsters filled her head. Vix sensed
Queenie's worry and rapidly declared,
"I'm sure he is fine. He can take care of himself."
"I bet you’re right," Queenie feigned a smile
because worry still filled her brain and heart. She just hoped Rikku was all
right.
"I have to go I have another match in the Haunted
Woods. If you see Rikku tell him to get in touch with me to reschedule," Vix
called as she raced out the door.
"Bye Vix!" Queenie called while the Island Ixi
scampered out the door. "Where are you, Rikku?" Queenie muttered to herself
as she began the walk toward the many shops of Neopian Central hoping to find
a gift for her sister.
* * * *
Queenie returned home gift less, she couldn't find anything as possibly as
special as what her older sister deserved. Queenie trudged through the garden
to the front door. Roxy's birthday was tomorrow and unless she came up with
a brilliant idea soon, she'd be gift less for Roxy's big day. No one deserves
not to get a gift from their sibling on their birthday. Before she could open
the door of her Neohome, it flung open and a Striped Shoyru flew barreled outside.
Her older sister torpedoed Queenie and they stumbled backwards. Roxy quickly
pulled her little sister into a hug. She squealed happily,
"Thank you so much for the gift! It's not even
my birthday yet! Thank you so much Queenie!"
"What are you talking about, Roxy?" Queenie
asked dazed and confused. The striped Shoyru pulled out a Yes Boy Ice Cream
Trading Card which was signed by all three members of the band. "But...I..."
"Rikku dropped it off. He said you accidentally
left it with him," Roxy babbled. "I am going to show Kyo264!" Roxy loosened
her grasp on her sister and took off into the air, "Thanks again, Queenie! You're
the best sister ever." Queenie watched for a minute while her sister flew out
of sight. She stood there in shock for a couple more seconds before the Faerie
Kougra raced inside the house.
She threw down her bag and called up the stairs,
"I'm going out and won't be home till late." Queenie raced out the door and
took to the air to begin the flight to Mystery Island into setting sun.
* * * *
Rikku rested on a boat’s bench while they cruised toward Mystery Island. He
looked up at the night sky which sparkled with stars and pulled his leather
jacket closer to him. It had been a long day, he had taken the boat to Roo Island
and stood in line for three hours to get Yes Boy Ice Cream's autograph. Then,
he took another boat to Neopian Central to drop off the gift for Queenie’s sister.
Rikku raced from his best friend’s house to the docks and caught the last boat
home to Mystery Island without a minute to spare. Rikku was dirty, his eyes
were bloodshot from getting little to no sleep, and his fur stuck up in every
direction. He was ready to go home, take a bath and get some rest.
The boat had finally docked at the harbor of
Mystery Island. Rikku stepped off the boat and walked down the docks to find
a rather familiar Faerie Kougra in a navy jacket. She stood there waiting for
him.
"Hey," she whispered.
"Hi," Rikku replied softly. He looked like such
a complete mess and as always Queenie looked beautiful. After all, she was painted
Faerie.
"I don't know how you did it, but thanks," Queenie
said. Rikku hesitated for a minute and stared at his bottom paws. Then, for
the first time in his entire life, Rikku finally said the thing he wanted to,
"Anything for you, Queenie. Anything for my
friend, especially my best friend."
The End
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