The story I am about to tell is about a Lupess who discovers her inner power.
She, as well as some her friends, must make a journey to learn about honour,
justice, and when it's the right time to fight. Read on...
A Lupess named Kelissa had lived alone her whole life. She scrounged the streets,
hunted in forests, and was proud to be wild. She had no PetPets, and liked it
that way. She was independent and free. She looked like a Faerie Lupe, except
her eyes were all purple and her pupils were catlike slits, and she had two
long fangs. Her wing pattern was slightly different, also. But she liked being
different. It made her feel special.
One day she was sitting on some grassy hills and decided to go into the city
to get food, so she trotted down onto a ledge and leapt off. She beat her wings
harder and harder, and finally managed to stay up in the air and soar for Neopia.
She landed in an alleyway that was very loud. In the brick apartment buildings
near her, teenagers and their pets were throwing raucous parties. Cars and taxis
and light rails were zooming by on the street in front. And news choppers were
low flying overhead. "Hmm, maybe I could get some Neopians to give me some pizza
scraps," she pondered, and silently walked over to a door. She scratched and
whined, until finally plop! A piece of meat pizza squarely landed on her face.
She picked it up with her mouth and set off, ready to eat alone. But suddenly
a large vehicle pulled up, and a figure popped out, net in hand.
"A stray! Well, time for the pound!" the man said, and before she knew it,
Kelissa was muzzled and in the back of the dark van being driven for the pound,
and without her piece of pizza. A blue Aisha, a red Elephante, and blue Peophin
sat around her, looking glum. Kelissa ripped her muzzle off.
"I'm Kelissa. Who are you?" she asked.
The Peophin sadly looked up at her and, still frowning, replied, "I'm Marina,
the Aisha is named Serz, and the Elephante is Grad."
"Where are we headed to?" Kelissa asked.
"The pound. It's the worst place any NeoPet can live in. They don't feed you
much, most of us aren't adopted, and if food runs too short...Well, let's just
say last night I think I ate my cell mate," Marina said, near tears.
"Why would I care? I eat other NeoPets all the time. I spoil parties, ransack
unlocked houses, and do whatever I want to, because I'm a free Lupe," Kelissa
replied, swelling her chest with pride.
"Free no more, Kelissa. You're going to be doomed because of those fangs, you
know. No person wants a weird pet!" Grad said. His gem was barely shining at
all.
Kelissa laughed. "I'm not the weird one! You guys are all acting sad, and I'm
sure no person wants a depressing pet either. I don't want to get adopted anyway.
I like my independence," she said.
"You won't feel the same after you stay in that nasty place for any length
of time. It changes a pet for good," Grad said. Kelissa shook her head.
The van finally arrived at the pound after about an hour of driving around,
though they couldn't find any more stray pets. "We're here, little NeoPets,"
the driver said. He came around to the back of the van, and lead the pets to
the pound.
"Don't run," Grad said. "Or they'll tie you up and drag you in by your tail."
Then they went inside the building, which was a lovely little lobby. It had
nice, clean carpet and furniture, a chandelier, and a bright neon pink Uni behind
the desk. And then the Techo walked up next to her.
"Newcomers, eh? And I see a couple of you are here for the second time," he
said, leaning over the desk to get a better look at them. He studied them very
closely, then withdrew. "Good job, Mr. Avery. You and your partner will get
40 NP each," the Techo said, leaning back in the chair.
"You should give 50 NP for the Lupess, since she's a faerie," the Uni said.
"Very well," the Techo replied.
Then he grabbed the pets and dragged them into the dark, damp hall where NeoPets
were in cages to the ceiling. Barks, howls, meows, and all sorts of sad noises
were coming from most of them. The Techo stuffed Grad and Kelissa in one cage
on the floor, with Serz and Marina in the cage to their left. The Techo then
locked the cages, walked out of the hall, and slammed the door shut.
"Aw, this place isn't so bad. You guys are exaggerating!" Kelissa said. "I've
been in quagmires worse than this." She the glanced over at Serz. "Hey, what's
up with him? He's all silent and everything," Kelissa said.
"He used to have owners. They were monks, and he took an oath of silence, which
his masters assigned to him. To break the oath would be like dishonouring his
previous owners," Marina explained. Serz opened an eye (he had been meditating
at the time) to look sideways at the other cage, then closed his eye again.
"Whatever," Kelissa said, rolling her eyes. "I don't believe in all that silly
honour stuff with owners... because they're the ones that dishonoured him, with
disowning him and all."
Then they all heard a funny scratching outside the brick walls behind the cages.
"What is that?" Grad said, pressing his large ear against the wall. Suddenly,
the brick pulled out, and a ray of sunshine shone in the corridor. Grad blinked
against the light and peered through the cage bars, and through the brick hole
into the sunny side-street outside.
"Are we in the right plassse?" a voice said. A Cobrall poked his head in. "We're
looking for the burger joint. Isss thisss it?" The Cobrall hissed. A Fat Cat
then peeked in also, the two PetPets had their heads squished together.
"If not, I'm still willing to sell you some purrchandise," the Fat Cat said.
"This is the pound, sorry. Go sell your stupid junk to someone who cares,"
Kelissa snapped at them, scowling.
"No, please stay," Grad said. "Can you help us out of here?"
"How isss that?" the Cobrall insisted. "I have no armsss."
"Well, you can slide enough bricks out, maybe you can pull this whole cage
out and open it. Then we can go get our friends," Grad explained to them.
"What's in it purr us?" the Fat Cat asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I know exactly where the sushi joint is, and one of my friends works there.
Is you help us, I'll get you all the salmon you could eat for free," Grad said,
smiling.
No cat could resist uncooked fish for free. The Cobrall looked satisfied also.
Without another word, the two PetPets started pulling out bricks. Eventually
there was a big square, big enough for the cage to fit through.
"On my count, we hurl against the side of the cage, and then you two PetPets
grab it, okay?" Grad said, determination in his voice.
They all agreed.
Meanwhile, the rumour of a breakout was spreading like wildfire. Finally the
whole corridor was squawking and barking with shouts of wanting freedom. "Okay,
NOW!!!" Grad yelled, and Kelissa and him threw their weight against the cage.
It shuddered and slid out an inch. The PetPets then grabbed it (the Cobrall
using his tail) and started pulling. The two NeoPets kept pushing on the other
side of the cage.
Then something hit Kelissa, a thought. "Wait! The--" she started, but it was
too late. Their cage slid out with a sudden lurch, and the pile of cages on
top fell over with a huge noise. Cages on the other side of the corridor fell
and clattered, and the NeoPets started shouting worse than ever. Some cages
opened, and the NeoPets were leaping everywhere, looking for an exit. The worse
part was, Serz and Marina's cage was blocked off.
"Oh no! What'll we do now? We can't just leave them!" Grad exclaimed.
Kelissa shook her head. "No way. The workers are gonna be coming in, and they'll
be grabbing any free pets they see. If we go back in, we'll never come out,"
she said.
So they left for the sushi mart and had a hearty meal, then headed for the
wilderness, lead by Kelissa.
Will they make it uneventfully to safety? Will Marina and Serz ever escape
the pound? Find out next week.
To be continued... |