Skypaw was reaching out to the potion when his sensitive
ears picked up the sound of hard-booted feet clicking down the hallway. He quickly
withdrew his paw as the Snow Faerie came into view. She was magnificent. Pale,
white skin, a powder blue robe wrapped around her and two identical, feathered
wings sticking out from her back.
She dropped the healing potion that she was
carrying. It shattered to the floor, dark blue drops of it splashing against
Skypaw's body. He shook himself, and looked up at the Snow Faerie.
"Umm... hi, I was wondering if I could uhh..."
The Snow Faerie silenced him with an icy glare.
"Huh! I expect that you came here wanting to do a quest, didn't you? Well I've
had it with Neopians only bringing me the cheap ingredients and expecting a
rod of nova! Errgh! The last pet that came, a Meerca, he only brought me the
Neopox pizza and left me without the last item! Did I ever say that they were
going to be easy?"
Skypaw shook his head. "No, actually, I'M the
one who needs and ingredient, my brother is going to die if I don't get the
last ingredient for a potion, I need one drop of blood from a willing faerie."
The Snow Faerie laughed and laughed. "Hahaha!!
oh my, that's just... too much! hahaha!!!"
Skypaw sighed. "So you won't give me what I
came for?"
The Snow Faerie brought her face very close
to Skypaw's.
"No."
She laughed some more. Disgusted, Skypaw turned
to leave, but then stopped.
"Look, if you won't give me the blood, will
you at least let me have the fire Wocky morphing potion? So that Marlly can
at least die the way he deserves?"
The Snow Faerie stopped laughing. "Yes, if you
will give me something that I desire." She said. "The last pet, the Meerca,
he brought me the Neopox pizza but failed to give me the last ingredient. Do
you know what that last ingredient was, Skypaw?"
Skypaw shook his head. The Snow Faerie lowered
her voice to a deadly soft whisper.
"It was rather like YOUR puny concoction, the
last ingredient that I need is one drop of Neopet blood. Give me that, and I'll
give you this thing."
The Snow Faerie daintily pulled the fire Wocky
morphing potion from the shelf, and tossed it deftly from hand to hand. "Do
you agree to do it?" Skypaw nodded. "Hold out your paw, Skypaw."
Skypaw slowly put out his paw, he faced it upward
and shut his eyes tight. The Snow Faerie withdrew a small pin. She pricked his
paw so fast that Skypaw didn't even have time to cry out. She allowed one drop
of blood to drip into a small, crystal vial. She blew softy on the wound, and
it closed up. She tossed the dark morphing potion to Skypaw.
"Now get out of here, and bring your friends
the good news!"
And with a short, cold laugh, she shut Skypaw
out into the cold.
Skypaw flew effortlessly down the mountain to
Snowbounce's cabin, it was easier this time, the wind carried him most of the
way. He landed outside on Snowbounce's doorstep, he knocked twice, and stepped
inside. Snowbounce was kneeling beside marlly's bed, pressing a hot cloth to
his forehead.
"Skypaw!" Pyro shouted, rushing over to greet
him. "What happened? Did you get it?"
Skypaw shook his head. "No... she wouldn't give
it to me. I asked for this morphing potion... now marlly can be a Wocky when
he slips into the shadow world, rather than a Lenny."
Pyro was devastated. "Don't blame yourself,
Skypaw. The Snow Faerie has a heart as cold as her home. I'm surprised that
she gave you the potion for free."
Skypaw shook his head again. "It wasn't for
free, I had to give HER a drop of blood. I don't care. I failed my friend...
My brother..."
Pyro sighed. "It's okay big guy, you did your
best. Come on, let's give Marlly his potion."
Skypaw walked up to Marlly's bed, the potion
in paw.
"I'm sorry buddy... It was my fault. If I hadn't
been so stubborn none of this wouldn't have happened. I'm going to miss you...
I'll take care of Ziggy and the others. Be sure to wait for me okay? Wherever
you go. I brought you this..."
Skypaw popped the bottle open and trickled the
dark potion down Marlly's throat. He immediately began to change. The bright
yellow beak melted into his face, rounding out and becoming a snout. The wings
shaped down and widened, changing into two, stubby arms. The dark blue plumage
shifted and became fur. He was a Wocky once more. Tears sprang, unbidden into
Skypaw's eyes. He laid his head down next to Marlly, and sobbed openly and freely.
Marlly was walking down a brightly lit road.
He was moving slowly, as if he was travelling through water. He could see a
bright light shining at the end of this road. He was drawn to it, like a moth
to a lamp. He smiled as the sweet smell of heather and raspberries filled his
nose. He saw to large golden gates, the faerie queen was guarding the entrance.
Marlly approached her but she smiled and pushed him away. Marlly kept on struggling,
he wanted to go there, it was calm and peaceful. He lashed out at the faerie,
and her image shimmered and became that of a faerie Gelert...
"Marlly? MARLLY! You bit me! You bit me! You're
ALIVE!!!" Skypaw screamed with happiness, Marlly was alive!!!
"Marlly! Marlly! Come and look Snowbounce, Pyro!
Marlly punched me in the face, he's OKAY!"
Pyro laughed happily, "Marlly! we thought you
were dead! But wait a second, what happened? We didn't give the last ingredient,
one drop of blood from a willing faerie..." Suddenly, something dawned on Pyro.
"Wait a minute! Skypaw, YOU'RE a faerie Gelert! And you gave blood on marlly's
behalf! why didn't we think of it before! The ghost Lupe never said that he
had to drink the blood... and he said that things can be different than they
seem!"
Skypaw snorted, "You couldn't risk dying without
me, eh?"
***
"Bye Snowbounce! By Pyro!"
Skypaw and Marlly were leaving. It was exactly
one week since that fateful day when Marlly had been swept off Skypaw's back.
A near death experience hadn't stopped Marlly from wanting his full vacation,
so Skypaw agreed to stay for the rest of the time. At last, they were able to
have the vacation that they deserved! Hot cocoa, Cheat! Sledding... It was a
wonderful experience. Marlly and Skypaw were always together from that day on,
they had forged an unbreakable bond, one that only emerged from a true act of
loyalty, like the one that Skypaw did for his brother. Marlly is more cautious,
of course. Still, he rarely is afraid, because he knows that he has a guardian
Gelert watching over him.
The End
Author's note: Ugh, cheesy, wasn't it? Ah well, no other endings I tried seem
to work. Anyway, all of the characters in this story are fictional, so don't bother
Neomailing the owner of the pets Skypaw, Marlly, Nighthowl, Dewbuck or anyone
else I mentioned. Uh, let's see... Anything else? Nope, I think I'm done. Peace!
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