The Skeith Wins by a Head
IN A COMFORTABLE little NeoHome on Mystery Island, a red Eyrie named Monique
was making friends with her new brother, a Skeith named Zxcvbnm. Her owner had
just adopted the new pet from the pound and had asked Monique to make him feel
at home, and to please not tease him about his name.
"Hey, Zxcvbnm, would you like
to see a trick that I taught my Bearog?" asked Monique in an effort to draw
her new brother out of his scaly shell. Zxcvbnm nodded happily; he had been
in the pound for several days, and was so glad to be out. He just wanted to
fit in well in his new family.
Monique led the way to a small
room behind the kitchen where her Bearog, Itsy Bitsy Mitzy, slept on a bamboo
rug. "Let's show our trick, little buddies!" shouted Monique.
The Bearog quickly jumped
to attention, with all three of its heads poised anxiously waiting for their
cue.
"Itsy!" shouted Monique, and
she threw a Chocolate Faerie Cake into the air. Itsy neatly grabbed the cake
from the air. "Gulp."
"Oooooooohhh, my my my," said
Zxcvbnm. "Cool trick!"
Monique smiled and said, "Bitsy!"
as she threw another Cake into the air. Bitsy also caught the cake neatly with
a little gulp. Finally, Monique cried, "Mitzy!" and threw a third cake. The
third Bearog head also made a clean catch.
"My turn, my turn, my turn,"
shouted Zxcvbnm.
"Erm, well, okay," said Monique.
She tossed a Plain Faerie Cake into the air above Zxcvbnm's head.
WHUMPH!!! GULP!!! Zxcvbnm
launched himself into the air and snatched the cake, nearly taking Monique's
hand with him.
"He he he," giggled Monique
nervously. This Skeith was quite a wild pet. Monique could tell that she was
going to have to hide her Space Faerie Snowglobe and any other breakables that
she valued.
"OK," said Monique. "Itsy's
turn again..." She tossed another cake in the air.
"MY TURN!!!!!" roared Zxcvbnm.
"GULP!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"EEEEKK!!" screamed Monique.
**Minutes later at Dr. Smock's Petpet Clinic**
Dr. Smock was quietly polishing
his surgical tools when he saw Monique come racing through the front door. She
was carrying a Bearog unlike any that Dr. Smock had seen before. This one only
had two heads. "Must be some sort of strange mutation," Dr. Smock thought to
himself as he headed out to talk to the visitors. Just as he came into the waiting
room, the door opened again and a yellow Skeith came in, carrying an ice chest.
"Dr. Smock! Dr. Smock!" shouted
Monique. "You have to help my poor Bearog. There's been a horrible accident."
"What an interesting specimen,"
Said the Doctor. "He seems to be a rare two-headed Bearog."
"No! That's the problem,"
cried Monique. "Zxcvbnm, you dolt! Get over here and show the Doctor what you've
done!"
Zxcvbnm the Skeith shuffled
forward abashedly, and opened the cooler. Inside was Bitsy's severed head laying
on a bed of ice.
"Oh, dear," said Dr. Smock.
"This is an emergency. Get my scrubs! Get the patient onto the operating table!
Get my sewing kit! Get that Skeith out of here!"
Zxcvbnm put the iced Bearog
head on the operating table and scooted out the door. Monique got Itsy Bitsy
Mitzy onto the table, while Dr. Smock scrubbed and gathered his tools.
The Doctor put surgical masks
on the two remaining heads, and administered a light sedative, since they were
both highly agitated at having seen their middle head torn off by a flying Skeith
in the middle of their act. Soon they were dozing, and Dr. Smock took Bitsy's
head out of the ice chest. "That was good thinking, Monique. The ice has preserved
the head perfectly and kept it from deteriorating. I think we'll be able to
save it... erm, I mean them. This pet."
Dr. Smock quickly aligned
the head and did a quick repair job of the major artery. He stitched around
the esophagus, surged the nerve endings and then turned and top-stitched the
fur. He put Bitsy's head in a splint, to allow it to regenerate a little without
being disturbed.
"Whew," said Dr. Smock. "That
was tricky, but I think that she'll be as good as new. I'll keep her here in
the clinic for a few days to observe the fusion."
"Thank goodness," said Monique
as she fell into a chair, exhausted by the traumatic activities. She had nearly
nodded off, when she heard a terrible sobbing. She looked around but didn't
see anyone. Then she heard the miserable crying coming from behind her chair.
She pulled out the chair and there was Zxcvbnm, crying and snuffling.
"Oh, I'm such a naughty boy.
I just can't help it. My impulse control is... like... non-existent," bawled
Zxcvbnm. "I'm going to be abandoned again I JUST KNOW IT! And I deserve it!"
"There there," said Monique.
"It's not true. You're not evil, just a little impulsive. And even though you
did bite one head off of my Bearog, you also saved Bitsy's life. You were the
one who knew to put the severed head on ice! I never would have thought of that,
and Dr. Smock said that that's what saved the Bearog!" Monique threw her arms
around Zxcvbnm, taking care to stay clear of his teeth.
"Well, you learn a lot of
Petpet first aid, when you're a Skeith. I'm so glad that you're not mad at me."
The brother and sister walked
off with their arms around each other. "And just to show my appreciation," said
Zxcvbnm, "I'm going to help you clean up all those old Neopian Times Issue 3
that you have piled up under your bed."
To be continued... | 
