It was morning, a couple days after the fiasco with Sabreur's lab, in which
I got turned into an Eyrie. Un-eairkagh had been teaching me to fly, which resulted
in the utterly humiliating event of me getting stuck upside down in a pine tree.
Un-eairkagh found it hilarious, of course. Now Saubreur had decided I was going
to learn to fight, and today was the day Infernus started teaching me. Which
was why the door to my room was locked and a blue Eyrie outside raising the
biggest fit you've ever seen.
"Kiddo!! Open the stupid door!!" he hollered.
I just rolled over and covered my head with the pillow.
"Kiddo, I swear, fighting's not that hard! OPEN THE… oh, hi Melody."
I sat up instantly.
"Child_dragon? What's going on?" came Melody's voice.
I got up and unlocked the door. Un-eairkagh bounded into the room, followed
by Padiglione the Kougra and FireDarkWolfX the Gelert.
"I'm supposed to learn to fight today," I muttered.
"Oh, that should be fun."
"Not really. Infernus is going to be teaching me, and you know how those two
are. They practically live at the Battledome."
"You'll do fine. Now c'mon."
She took my arm and led me out the door.
We were in Sabreur's backyard, Infernus had just finished getting all his
Battledome equipment ready. I had already turned into my white Eyrie form, and
was looking at my Sword of Domar, then over at Infernus' Professional Bow and
Bag of Endless Neggs.
"Okay, Kiddo. I'm ready," he said cheerily.
Melody, Sabreur, and the pets stood to one side to watch.
"Now, you're kinda small for an Eyrie," the Scorchio said, "so you're gonna
have to rely on speed rather than strength. Pick up your sword."
I gripped the handle and lifted it off the ground. It was a lot heavier than
it looked.
"No, you're holding it wrong. Here," Infernus said, correcting my grip. "Okay,
now take a practice swing."
I swung hard, overbalanced, and landed on my face. Un-eairkagh started laughing
from the sidelines, until Melody kicked him.
"You know what?" Padiglione said. "I think we should go stock up on healing
potions."
"Yeah, I think so too," Melody said thoughtfully.
Infernus kept me working all day. I was about to collapse by the evening.
"You're getting much better," he informed me. "I think tomorrow we should
go fight."
"Tomorrow?! Are you insane?!"
"Yeah. Besides, I have an idea that can guarantee a win every time."
"What?"
"Remember how the Faerie Queen gave you three forms to choose from? Human,
Eyrie, and half and half?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Change to the half and half in mid battle. If that doesn't throw your opponent
off, nothing will. And you'll still have wings, so you can carry off a jump
attack before he recovers."
"That's crazy. No way."
"It'll work."
"No way."
"Try it. Right now."
I sighed and picked up the sword. I held it in position, then shifted into
my half and half form, quickly adjusting to the change in height. I was now
human, with Eyrie wings and a tail. I immediately leaped into the air, beating
my wings, and dove for the imaginary opponent, swinging the sword.
"Excellent!! I think you get more of an arc with that sword as a human-Eyrie
too! Oh, we're gonna kick butt at the Battledome tomorrow," Infernus said gleefully.
I was waiting for an opponent, jittery and utterly terrified. The whole gang
had showed up, and Melody reassuringly patted my shoulder. I shuddered a little
as Infernus approached, leading an Aisha and his owner.
"Level one, just like you," he said confidently. "Good luck."
I glanced at the Aisha. He was red, and just sat there, utterly calm. I looked
imploringly up at Sabreur and Melody. They just smiled reassuringly. I headed
for the arena.
My sword was held in front of me just like Infernus had taught me. The battle
was three seconds from starting, two, one! I leaped into the air, beating my
white wings and dove for the Aisha. He snapped a snowball into the air, I dipped
to one side at the last minute and it only clipped my side. I swung the heavy
sword in an arc, sending the Aisha flying. He jumped to his feet and shot a
lighting bolt out at me. I tried to dodge, but it hit me full on, sending me
flying across the ring. A haze blurred my vision, and I dimly heard my brother
calling my name. I saw the Aisha, and staggered to my feet. He waited while
I got my bearings. I then noticed something. The Aisha was gloating, a smirk
on its pointy face.
"All right, that's it, I'm mad now," I muttered under my breath. I charged
towards him, sword in one hand. He dropped into a fighting crouch. At the last
minute I stopped. The Aisha had raised a blocking shield, but looked, confused.
I shifted into my human-Eyrie form, wings spread above my head. The Aisha squeaked
and dropped the shield in surprise. I swung the sword with both hands as hard
as I could. The Aisha was knocked back, rolled across the ground, and didn't
move. I had won the battle. I calmly sheathed my sword and walked over to where
my friends stood, all cheering and laughing. The owner who's pet I had beat
stalked over, the Aisha in his arms.
"That's cheating!" he yelled, furious.
"How so?" I calmly asked, my wings and tail now gone.
"Owners can't fight!!"
"I fought as an Eyrie. The Faerie Queen herself gave me this ability, you
don't like it, talk to her."
"Besides," Melody said, "How many owners have the guts to go out there and
fight? I noticed you don't. Standing there on the sidelines letting your Aisha
take the beating. Kiddo's one of us, and one of the NeoPets now. Take your loss
and go." He turned an interesting shade of red, seemed to be about to say something,
changed his mind, and stalked off. I faced my friends.
"Let's go get ice cream. My treat." The victory celebration was underway.
To be continued...
Feel free to Neomail me, I encourage it. I like feedback. Sabreur is really my
brother, you can Neomail him also, though I ask you to go easy on that. He's in
college right now, and I'd rather not have him mad at me for getting a ton of
Battledome challenges, etc. | 
