Outlaw by coteau_296 |  |
Jagger trotted up the ridge and looked out over the sea
of rolling grass. The sky was gray and the air was damp and cool, promising
rain. The green Ixi crouched down in the grass, his fur being blown by the strong
wind and becoming one with the waves of green. Jagger
looked behind him, seeing the land of Meridell in the distant haze, almost as
if it was in the clouds. Ahead of him, the grass stretched as far as the misty
horizon. Jagger stood and took up a brisk, steady trot, descending the ridge
and letting Meridell fade into the distance.
Rain began to fall, and the sky became ominously
dark. Occasionally, the sky flickered with distant lightning, followed by a
low rumble of thunder. Jagger knew he was close. Although he could not see very
far through the rain and fog, he knew he was almost there. Meridell was long
gone, and he missed it already. Jagger's fur was drenched, and the Ixi was tired
and hungry. He sat down for a minute, closing his eyes as the rain got him wetter
still. Jagger suddenly realised how cold he was. The wind picked up, and the
rain fell harder. Jagger curled up and raised his head, but there was no shelter
in sight. The thunder was louder now, and closer, with lightning lighting up
the black sky frequently. He lowered his head again, pressing himself low to
the ground and pulling his legs in even tighter. The thunder became a distant
roar in Jagger's ears, the rain a distant sensation of cool water on his back,
and the green Ixi fell asleep in the storm.
Jagger awoke slowly, not opening his eyes until
recalling where he was, and what had happened. He then stood and shook his damp
coat. There was a thick fog surrounding him again, but the sun was up and the
sky was cloudless. He sucked in a deep breath of cool morning air and stretched,
then yawned and closed his eyes. Yes, Meridell was far away now, and he could
not go back. Not yet, anyway. Maybe someday, he'd return, Jagger decided. But
the Ixi shook the thoughts away and began a fast gallop into the mist.
By noon, the fog had risen and Neopia Central
was clearly visible to Jagger. He thought of the shops, and how much food must
be there. He was very hungry, and still quite tired from his previous day's
journey. He walked ahead, kept going only by the hope of finding food. The first
shop Jagger came to was the food shop. Eagerly, the green Ixi trotted in. A
yellow Chia stood behind the counter, watching the store carefully. Seeing the
pet alone, the Chia shifted uneasily. After a few minutes of watching the Ixi,
he finally barked out, "Stray pet! Help, stray pet!" A moment later, the ugliest
Techo Jagger had ever seen strode into the shop. Jagger had never been to Neopia
Central, but he was smart enough to know that he was in trouble, and the Techo
was looking for him. The Ixi darted into another isle and crouched down, listening
for any danger.
The Techo stared at the creature stonily, before
it ran off and hid somewhere. "Sure, make my life harder," he growled under
his breath. He sauntered down the isle, expecting to find a dumb Ixi crouching
behind there with closed eyes, shying away from him. But to his surprise, there
was no pet. The Techo spun suddenly to face the doors as they swung open and
the green Ixi ran away. "Call for help!" the Techo shouted at the shopkeeper
before pursuing his victim.
Jagger didn't know where he was finding the
strength to run. All he knew was he had to run. No, he realized-he couldn't
run. He had to hide. Even if he could run, someone would notice him, so thin
and dirty and tired. Jagger darted behind buildings and trees, avoiding the
road. He could hear people yelling and knew he was terribly outnumbered. This
had not been his plan at all. A large shop with two shields on it was ahead,
and Jagger saw it was Defence Magic. Having temporarily lost the Techo, he slipped
inside, hiding from the shopkeeper's sight.
Jagger crouched low behind a large box, barely
breathing. He could see out the shop doors that his enemies had ran past. But
then he heard footsteps, drawing near. Jagger looked behind him, seeking to
fall away into the shadows and become invisible. He sank back, his hooves ready
to strike should he be noticed. A young girl strode down the nearest isle, her
pet blue Uni beside her. The Uni sniffed some food, then shook her mane and
pawed the ground in disgust. Then, she noticed a figure crouched in the shadows.
She flicked her silky tail in amusement, and started forward. But then she was
knocked flat as a green Ixi launched itself at her and struck out with its sharp
hooves. The Uni leaped to her feet to retaliate, but two small horns pierced
her side at once. She whipped around to stab the attacker with her sharp, gleaming
horn, but there was nothing there. Again, she felt two hooves thrust into her
neck. The blue Uni was knocked flat and Jagger reared up and pawed at the it.
The Uni regained her footing and slashed back, narrowly missing the Ixi with
her horn. Jagger leaped back and watched the girl rush to her pet's side. The
Uni looked around, searching for the Ixi. Jagger didn't stay though. In a flash
he was out the door and running back toward the food shop.
The Techo and his team were on Jagger's tail
again. Jagger felt sick and tired, and his stomach was burning from hunger.
He didn't know how he was going on, or why. The Ixi spotted a clump of trees
outside the city, and headed for it desperately. He made a clever loop, hiding
behind the Neolodge and then circling the arcade before crossing behind the
auction house and hospital. Jagger heard the Techo shouting orders to search
for the Ixi, and bring him to the pound immediately. Jagger shook his head.
It was all too much. He was an outlaw, a criminal. He couldn't go back to Meridell,
he couldn't stay here. Jagger shook the thoughts away and drifted to sleep,
dreaming of home.
Jagger woke up quickly, standing and tensing
alertly. A sound had awoken him. Not a loud sound. No, this was a soft sound,
of someone sneaking up on him like one of the thieves in Meridell. He looked
around, ready to run or charge. He then saw the source of the sound. A girl
was making her way towards him, unthreateningly, but not without purpose. He
pawed the ground menacingly, but she continued to come near him. Jagger, desperate
to scare her off, bluffed a charge, but he was so weak it was ineffective. His
legs were weak under him, and he couldn't stand firm. The girl was next to him
now, her brown eyes filled with concern.
"You all right?" she asked the green Ixi.
Jagger didn't respond. Even if she meant no
harm now, she would once she heard of his recent past. The girl snapped a collar
on the Ixi and led him forward, but Jagger just collapsed outside the patch
of trees. "Who are you?" he said, just above a whisper.
"I'm Erin," the girl responded. Then, a mean
voice cried out.
"Look, get them!" the Techo shouted. Immediately,
three other officers were rushing at the girl and Ixi. Jagger closed his eyes
and listened as the girl stopped the attackers.
"What are you doing?" she demanded. "This is
my Ixi. Get out of here."
The officers looked at each other in confusion,
then the Moehog cleared his throat and responded, "This Ixi needs to come with
us, he's in some trouble."
But the girl didn't give in. "I'm sorry about
whatever he did. Here's 500 NP for repairs. Bye now." With that, she lifted
the Ixi into her arms and walked off, away from the Techo and his team.
"That was close," Erin said to Jagger and she set him down next to the Money
Tree. "What'd ya do?"
Jagger sat up and looked at the girl closely.
She was tall and lean, with dark hair and eyes. The Ixi decided he had nothing
to lose, and a lot to gain. "A lot," he began.
Erin looked at him a wrinkled her brow. "That narrows it down," she said sarcastically.
"I was in the food shop, then the Techo came
to capture me, so I ran into the Defence Magic Shop," he explained. "While I
was hiding there, a Uni discovered me, so I attacked it. I ran back, and hid
in the trees."
Erin nodded understandingly and stood up. "Wait
here," she said. Then added, "You'll be fine."
Jagger rested his head on the grass and watched
Erin go. When she was out of sight, he used his remaining strength to drag himself
across the road and hide behind the Neolodge Jagger didn't trust anybody. A
minute later, Erin returned holding a few things. Jagger watched her as she
stared at the spot he had left, then turned to take something out of a backpack.
A beep sounded below his ear and he jerked around to see what it was. His collar
beeped again, and when he turned back, the girl was standing in front of him.
"I was just getting some food for ya," she said
casually as she picked the green Ixi up again and brought him back to the grass.
She took some food out of her pack and offered it to the Ixi. "So what's your
name?" she asked as she took some food out for herself.
"Jagger," he said as he stared at the foreign
food. "What is it?" he asked suddenly.
Erin gave him a puzzled look, then laughed.
"It's just a burger," she replied as she opened a Neocola.
Jagger ate it quickly, and then sniffed Erin's
pack for more.
"Here, have an omelette," she offered. "Bacon
and Broccoli."
Jagger ate it quickly, then stood up and walked
back to sit beside Erin. To his surprise, she reached over and unsnapped the
collar around his neck. "There ya go," she said as she stuffed it into her pack.
Jagger stretched and nosed the pack again, but he could tell there was no food
left.
"Well, thanks a lot. I gotta go now," Jagger
said slowly.
Erin smiled. "I guess I'll see you around,"
she said. "Bye."
Jagger turned and walked away, towards the PetPet
Shop, where he hoped stray pets would be welcome. Inside, tiny petpets jumped
in cages, and Neopets browsed excitedly, pleading with their owners to buy them
a pet. Jagger sat in front of a window with a Whinny behind it, thinking of
Meridell. Suddenly, Jagger was roughly grabbed and put into a net.
"Gotcha!" the Techo sneered as he dragged the
green Ixi out of the shop. He avoided the streets, so the Ixi's friend wouldn't
see him, and approached the adoption centre.
Although Jagger had some of his strength back,
he didn't put up a fight. He knew it was useless. The net was made to hold Neopets
that fought much more ferociously than he ever could. The Techo grabbed him
and tossed him into a small cage that smelled and was dirty. Jagger looked to
see if he had water, but the bowl was bone-dry. He sat, cramped in an awkward
position, thinking of an escape plan.
Erin packed her backpack up and stood, wiping
the grass clinging to her knees. She was not a newbie, nor a veteran of Neopia.
But she had never found a pet she liked. Erin shouldered her pack, then walked
over to the adoption centre. This was her routine, and she hoped one day, she'd
find a pet that she'd like. Inside, pets were barking, roaring, neighing, and
making any noise they could to be found. Erin passed by a Gelert, a Lupe, a
Wocky, a Usul, shaking her head at each one. She continued to walk past cages,
and gasped when she saw a green Ixi, with its coat dirty and dark with sweat.
"Jagger!" she exclaimed with the shock evident
in her voice.
Jagger awoke and saw Erin, his eyes lighting
up immediately. "Erin? What are you doing here?"
Erin rolled her eyes at the question. "Jagger,
what happened?" she asked.
"I was in the PetPet store, and the Techo used
a net to trap me. Now I'm here," Jagger stared the young girl.
Erin reached into her backpack and pulled out
126 NP. "I'll be back," she said to Jagger as she ran to the front desk.
"Welcome to the adoption centre!" the red Uni
greeted as Erin strode up.
"Jagger, the green Ixi in cage 63," Erin said
coolly. The Uni gave her a form to fill out and sign, then a collar to show
ownership. Erin filled out the sheet, then handed the Uni 126 NP and grabbed
the collar and cage key.
"Thank you for adopting a pet!" The Uni called
as Erin ran back to cage 63.
Erin slid the key into the lock and the cage
door swung open. Jagger leaped out and allowed his new owner to slip a collar
on him. "Thanks," he said as the two ran outside.
Erin grinned, and rubbed his head. "You bet,"
she responded. "But I suggest you stay with me at least until you get to know
this place a little better," she added. "Neopia is a dangerous place, and a
pet without an owner isn't going to last long."
Jagger nodded. "Yeah, that Techo really doesn't
like me. I'm not leaving you again."
Hearing Jagger say that, Erin looked him over
carefully. "I'm not big on keeping pets perfectly clean and groomed, but you
look like you really need to get cleaned up," she told her new pet. Jagger's
fur was streaked with brown, and mud had obviously dried on him. The rain had
made his fur dull and sickly looking, and a few ribs stuck out, showing he had
been starving.
Jagger frowned. He didn't want a bath, ever.
"I hate baths," he said.
Erin laughed. "No, I'm not going to give you
a bath. The river is clean enough to get some of that scum off of you. And you
could use some more food."
Jagger smiled at Erin, really liking his new
owner. "Where is the river?" he asked.
"This way, come on," Erin broke off to the right,
and Jagger happily followed at her heels.
The End |
