A lone fire Lupe stood deep within the heart of forest. It was dark, the moon
was hidden by a veil of dark clouds. He grimly stared into the night, invisible
except for his bright eyes and twining flames around his legs. There was a rustle
in the bushes, and he turned.
"You came," he said darkly, not a question.
"Yessss, indeed I diddd," the newcomer hissed, stepping out from behind the
brush. He was covered in a ragged black cloak, hiding everything except for
his eyes, which glowed red like coals in the fire.
"Do we have a deal?" the Lupe asked.
"We do. Half now, half onceeee the task is completeee," the figure said, holding
out a bag heavy with Neopoints.
The Lupe quickly took the bag and inspected it, satisfied with its weight.
"A deal. Do not cross me, Lord," he said, putting a sneer into the title.
"No, you do not cross me. Remember, you must have proof. I want her destroyed,"
the cloaked one said, no trace of a hiss now. He turned and vanished into the
night.
"It will be done. This… human… shall be destroyed," he said, smiling. He laughed
and bounded off into the night.
I was cooking dinner like I did every night, except this time I was actually
cooking, not merely heating something in the microwave. Aldrai was doing his
best to help, and Un-eairkagh was being "useful" by reciting such things as
the number for the fire department, how to use a fire extinguisher, and so on.
All things considered, I was doing quite well with the pasta, until I actually
tasted it.
"Oh, ick," I muttered, shoving the pan aside. Un-eairkagh took a tiny sip
of the sauce and fell to the floor, rolling on the ground and crying he was
poisoned.
"Quit the theatrics," I told him, and rinsed out the pan. "We'll just go get
something from the bakery for tonight. And we'll stop by the chocolate factory,
how's that sound?" Un-eairkagh immediately leaped to his feet, miraculously
cured.
"Yippee!" he shouted, and ran for the door.
I put the dirty dishes into the sink and followed him out the door. The striped
Eyrie was leaping around in the yard, singing some nonsense song.
"What's gotten into you?" I asked.
He paused for a moment.
"You are actually giving up in a reasonable amount of time, last week it took
three tries before you called it quits."
"Hey!" I shouted, and held up a fist like I was going to smack him.
He let out a yelp and took off running down the street towards the market
place, and I resumed my leisurely walk with Aldrai, free of distractions.
It was such a nice evening we decided to eat outside for dinner instead of
taking the food home. We sat just outside the art gallery, finishing up our
sandwiches. Un-eairkagh had just devoured his and was starting on the white
chocolate Uni I'd bought him. I was content to watch the people and pets pass
by, all different types. A pair caught my eye, not because they were anything
unusual, but because they had no owner with them, and looked a little lost.
It was a striped Uni and a shadowed Shoyru, both girls. I figured I might as
well make sure they weren't lost. I got up and walked over, Aldrai and Un-eairkagh
watching from the sides.
"Hello," I said brightly. They both turned to me, looking confused.
"Good day," the Uni replied formally. She seemed to have received almost noble
training in manners.
"Are you lost?" I asked.
"We are," the Shoyru said.
"Do you have a home?" I persisted.
"We do not," the Uni replied.
"Do you have an owner?"
The pair hesitated for a moment.
"We don't," the Shoyru said quietly.
"Then how about you come home with me for the night? I've got a spare room
you can use."
The two pets looked at each other for a moment.
"Truly, we are grateful for your offer," the Uni said. "It is much appreciated,
we will come."
I led the way, wondering where the Uni learned to talk so formally. Aldrai
and Un-eairkagh just looked at me, the Eyrie in despair. I made a short shushing
motion before Un-eairkagh could say anything, and I led the way home. On the
way there, I informed them my name was child_dragon, and introduced them to
Aldrai and Un-eairkagh. The Uni was named MoonFall, and the Shoyru Terraile.
Once inside, I got them something to eat, as they hadn't had dinner yet. They
were obviously hungry, but didn't wolf their food as I would of expected. Instead,
they had impeccable manners. Since I spend a lot of time around my friends and
they're pets, my concept of manners was pretty loose. I decided I needed to
find out where these pets were from. Un-eairkagh was oddly quiet, he seemed
a little out of his league.
"So, where are you from?" I asked.
"Neopia Central," Terraile replied hurriedly. She can't lie, I thought to
myself.
"Why don't you have an owner?"
There was a long pause.
"Well, you need one. You can either go to the pound, which I wouldn't suggest."
The two looked at each other, a little scared.
"Or," I continued, "you can live with me. I've got room."
Un-eairkagh started choking behind me. I heard Aldrai lead him quickly from
the room. Good thinking on his part. The two pets looked at each other, and
I just smiled and left the room after my pets to give them time to talk it over.
I found Un-eairkagh in a state of shock.
"How can you do this to me?" he gasped.
"Easy," I said. "Aldrai, can I count on your approval?"
He thought about it for a moment then nodded.
"All right, then."
There is a tap on the door.
"Child_dragon?" came the Shoyru's voice.
"Coming," I replied, and went into the dining room.
"We've decided to live with you," MoonFall stated, "and as such, we will also
tell you who we are, for our host should not be kept unawares."
"If you move in, I'm not you host," I said seriously. "I'll be your owner.
Which means I'll take care of you and protect you."
The pets nodded.
"Very well. Our owner. But we need to tell you our story."
"Let's sit down, I'm guessing it'll take a while," I said. "Aldrai, Un-eairkagh,
come say hi to your new sisters!"
The two walked in, the Eyrie a bit reluctant. There's going to be trouble,
I thought to myself. Un-eairkagh had on the most sullen and resentful look I've
seen in my life. "My full name is Lady Sryi MoonFall. I am of royal blood, in
an ancient Uni family. Terraile is my companion, an orphan my father gave shelter
to. We, I, grew tired of my life, as royalty, I have very little freedom, and
what I do have is restricted by the necessary protocols of proper behaviour."
The Uni pauses for a moment, and Terraile took over.
"I suggested we leave and make our own way in the world, have a nice simple
life on our own. We didn't have much reason to stay, as MoonFall never knew
her mother, and her father died two years ago. Her brother is reigning now,
and he's not very nice to his sister."
MoonFall looked saddened at this, dropping her head.
"It is not worth being royalty anymore," she said sadly. "So I wish to be
like everyone else for once."
"Then you're in the wrong place," I said with a slight smile. "Cause we're
anything but normal."
The pair looked at me curiously. I stood and turned into the white Eyrie.
They both gasped.
"Now, it's my turn to relate a story," I said, and I told them the entire
tale. The two listened attentively, while Un-eairkagh pretended to be nodding
off, until Aldrai elbowed him. I finished up my tale and looked at the clock.
"Umm, bedtime you guys," I pointed out.
"Ahh, c'mon," Un-eairkagh muttered.
"Very well," MoonFall said primly, and stood, Terraile following her. I grinned
and led them upstairs to the guest room.
"I'll get a new room built tomorrow, but for now you can share, okay?"
"Sure," Terraile replied with a shrug.
I left them and went downstairs to check on Aldrai and Un-eairkagh.
"You okay with this?" I asked of Aldrai in his room.
"Yes," he said softly. "I like them."
"Good," I said, ruffling his fur.
I then headed into Un-eairkagh's room.
"Why?" he asked angrily.
"Because sooner or later, they'd wind up in the pound. You're being selfish."
"I am not!! You can't just bring pets in like that, what about us!?"
I took a deep breath.
"Come with me, we're going somewhere."
"Now? It's late," he protested.
"Now."
I got up and led the way out the door. We walked down the street in silence,
all the way to the pound. The Techo greeted us, and Un-eairkagh looked up at
me in trepidation.
"Can we just look around?" I politely inquired.
He nodded and let us in. We walked down rows of cages, full of miserable abandoned
pets. One in particular, a blue Techo, caught my eye. He sat there, staring
at the ground, eyes totally devoid of emotion. It was like he'd given up living
a long time ago. I let Un-eairkagh take a good long look, then led him back
outside, thanking the Techo on the way out. My Eyrie just sat there, eyes wide
and stunned.
"That's where'd they'd be, sooner or later, if someone didn't take them in.
Got it?"
He nodded.
"I was being selfish… wasn't I?"
"You were."
He lowered his head, and I swear I saw a tear.
"I'm… sorry."
"That's okay. Let's go home."
Once home, Un-eairkagh startled me with a question I had thought I'd never
be asked.
"Kiddo, who were my parents?" he asked softly.
I stood there stunned for a couple of seconds.
"Well, I… don't really know…." I said slowly. "See, you were my first pet,
when I was just getting started in Neopia, and it never occurred to me to find
out. So I really have no idea."
He thought on this for a moment, then startled me with another question I
didn't expect.
"Do you have parents? Cause I know you're brother, but that's the only family
I know."
I shook my head and laughed a bit. "Of course I have parents. Wouldn't exist
without 'em. But they're not in Neopia, it's rather hard to explain."
"Are they nice?"
I laughed at that. "I have great parents. Where do you think I learned everything?
It's really hard to learn such things as cooking or driving from a book."
"But you can't cook," he pointed out.
I sighed irritably. "Just go to bed."
He shrugged and went to his room, and I to mine.
I got up at my usual time the next morning. All my pets were in the kitchen,
much to my surprise. Lady MoonFall seemed to be cooking breakfast, something
I never did. Un-eairkagh was talking, and I refrained from entering the room
to hear what he had to say. Sure, I was ease dropping, but I wanted to see if
Un-eairkagh was actually behaving.
"And don't ever let her cook," he was saying, "cause it's really bad. And
if you run out of books to read, just tell her, cause she believes in reading
a lot. And don't go over to Sabreur's house unless you feel like listening to
the two of them ramble on and on about technology and the Battledome and junk
like that. Melody's house is always great to visit cause she's got three pets
now, a Kougra, a Gelert, and a Uni that she adopted a couple days ago. She's
really fun and will buy you toys if you look pitiful enough. Speaking of Melody,
if we're going somewhere and you get a choice of whose car to ride in, go with
Melody, always. If they won't let you, then it's a choice between two evils
and the lesser is Sabreur, I think. And if you see Kiddo pulling out her music
stuff, find an excuse to be out of the house, no matter what."
Aldrai caught my eye and grinned. I grinned back. A family indeed.
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. Melody is also real, my best friend. She's in college
too, her NeoPets name is horngodess, but I wouldn't suggest bugging her, she has
a very demanding major and hardly any free time. Sakuko is also real, she's a
really nice person. | 
