Luperusse was an ownerless Lupe, but that was not to
say he lived in the Neopian Pound. In fact, Luperusse was a wild Lupe, wandering
the vast lands of Neopia, and living off bits of the Giant Omelette in Tyrannia.
He was thin and ragged, and his blue fur, long and matted, was covered in filth.
***
One morning, Luperusse took his usual trip to the Giant
Omelette. When he arrived, he saw that Sabre-X
was there.
"Hurry up getting your Omelette, you!" snapped
Sabre-X, as Luperusse looked through the Giant Omelette for slice with Sausage
on. "There are other Neopians waiting to get their Omelette!" Sabre-X added,
throwing a slice of Omelette in the hungry Lupe's face.
Luperusse picked the Omelette up, and without
glancing at it, wandered back off to Neopia Central, where he leaned against
a nearby tree. He looked down at the slice of egg. What a weird Omelette,
he thought.
It had purple wings, and was studded with weird
purple-and-bright-green berries, and didn't exactly look tasty. Nevertheless,
Luperusse ate it, greedily.
As soon as he had took one bite, the Lupe began
to change. His dirty blue fur became sleek and purple, and some parts of his
body, such as his belly and face, turned light green. Dark-purple wings sprouted
from his back, and Luperusse knew that he could fly.
***
"Oh, look at this Lupe, Sharon!" cried a passing Skeith, pointing at Luperusse
with her long, silver claw.
Sharon, the Skeith's owner, turned around and
stared at Luperusse. "Well, what about that Lupe, Skeithena?" she asked, pretending
that Luperusse was just a normal Lupe. "You want to adopt it, or something?"
"Yes, Sharon," Skeithena replied, to Sharon's
astonishment. "Look, that Lupe hasn't got an owner - let's take him in! Pretty
please with an Organic Cherry on top?"
"All right, I'll do it just to please you, then,
Skeithena," said Sharon hesitantly. "But...just be careful with that Lupe, all
right?"
"Yes Sharon." Skeithena had already walked over
to Luperusse's side. "Hey there," she said gently, "we're going to adopt you.
Everything's going to be all right."
"Fine," said Luperusse grumpily. "But I'm hungry.
I hear Skeiths eat a lot," he added sourly.
The yellow Skeith laughed. "This one doesn't."
***
In the afternoon, Skeithena came back home with a bundle of Faerie books in
her hand. "Hi, Sharon," she grinned, throwing the books down on the Glass Coffee
Table. "How's Luperusse?"
Sharon waved a hand carelessly. "He's fine -
a little grumpy, you might say, but right now he's asleep upstairs. What books
did you get at the Faerie Book Shop?"
Skeithena was an avid reader. "Those books cost
me a bundle, but it was worth it. Faerie books are always good. Oh, and Sharon,
I found where we found Luperusse. I think he left it there." She showed her
owner the 2/3 Omelette that had turned Luperusse into the purple-and-green monster
he was.
"I don't care about it." Sharon shrugged. "Do
what you want with it, Skeithena, you're welcome."
***
Right after dinner, Skeithena began reading one of the books she had bought,
Faerie Berry Recipes. For hours she read through it, but soon she was
bored with that. She flipped through the book, and, at Page 187, saw a picture
of the Omelette that Luperusse had been eating just before Sharon had found
him. Immediately, Skeithena began reading through the text beside the picture
of the Omelette.
Rare
Faerie Berries and Their Recipes:
The Jhudaberry Omelette
The
Jhudaberry is an extremely rare berry, and only the famous Dark Faerie Jhudora
knows where it grows. The Jhudaberry was a legend until a young Kacheek spotted
it next to Jhudora's throne.
Rumour
has it that Jhudora once made a type of Omelette called the Jhudaberry Omelette.
If any NeoPet ate it, they would become a slave of Jhudora, and would serve
her until the Jhudaberry Omelette's spell was broken. According to the legend,
pets that had become slaves of Jhudora could only be cured by eating a -
Skeithena looked up at the Clock on the wall.
It was 12:00 am NST and she could hear the pattering of paws outside. It
must be Luperusse, she thought, putting her book down. She put a snack (an
Illusen Cream Cookie, to be precise), a Rainbow Gun and Faerie Berry Recipes
in her Quiggle Backpack. Without further ado, skipped out of her room, following
the sound.
After a few minutes of walking, she spotted Luperusse,
and went after him silently. Unlike other Skeiths, Skeithena did not tire easily,
and so they soon arrived at Faerieland.
Of course, Luperusse was approaching Jhudora's
Cloud, and Skeithena buried herself in the fluffy Faerieland clouds, making
sure that her head stuck out a little so she could see. Luperusse walked into
the Dark Faerie's cloud and Skeithena did too.
Jhudora greeted Luperusse warmly. "Luperusse,
I have been expecting you," she whispered, beckoning him over (Skeithena just
stood at the door and watched, in fear of being caught). Jhudora waved a hand
and suddenly the room was illuminated with her lamps. "As you know, you are
here to serve me. What I would like you to do for me first is to make more Jhudaberry
Omelettes for me! We will put them in the Giant Omelette, and soon, all the
Neopets will serve me!"
"Yes Your Darkness," Luperusse answered, with
no expression in his voice.
"Now, young Lupe, I have the Jhudaberries here.
Put ten of them on each slice of Omelette, five on each side. It will immediately
grow wings, and to stop it from flying away, you must say my name three times.
Do you understand, Luperusse?" cackled Jhudora.
"Yes Your Darkness." The Lupe began to make Jhudaberry
Omelettes.
Suddenly, Jhudora glanced outside, and saw Skeithena!
"Skeith, come here!" she screeched.
Petrified, Skeithena did not move, so Jhudora
walked towards her, and took the Quiggle Backpack off her. She opened it and
took Faerie Berry Recipes out, letting Skeithena take the Backpack back.
She laughed. "So, you've been reading about Faerie Berries eh? Found out about
my lovely Jhudaberries?" Giggling, Jhudora ripped the half-read page about the
Jhudaberry Omelette into shreds.
Skeithena couldn't speak, and she stared in horror
at the torn paper on the ground.
Jhudora ignored Skeithena, and turned to the
Lupe. "Ah, Luperusse, I have to go and pick more berries. Make sure your Skeith
sister doesn't escape, or else!" ordered Jhudora.
"Yes Jhudora," came Luperusse's inexpressive
answer, as Jhudora walked out of the Cloud.
As soon as Jhudora left, Skeithena shouted to
Luperusse, "Don't you care about anything except serving Jhudora, since you
ate that Omelette?"
Luperusse didn't answer, so Skeithena examined
the ruined fragments of page 187 of Faerie Berry Recipes. She saw the
words any food cooked by Illusen on one of the pieces of paper. "Aha!"
she cried in triumph.
The Lupe put the Omelette he was working on down,
and looked suspiciously at his sister. "What?" he cried. No sooner had he opened
his lips, Skeithena had flung an Illusen Cream Cookie into his mouth! Luperusse
swallowed it.
The Skeith expected the Luperusse's appearance
to change, but nothing seemed to happen. However, Luperusse smiled at her. "Skeithena,
you have broken the spell. I am no longer Jhudora's slave - "
"LUPERUSSE! WHY HAVE YOU STOPPED MAKING MY OMELETTES!"
Jhudora had just arrived back with a handful of Jhudaberries. When she realised
what had happened, she screamed. "No! I won't let you escape..."
"So long, Jhudy!" Luperusse interrupted. "Come
on, Skeithena, you're not exactly heavy - climb onto my back and we'll fly back
home!"
Luperusse (with his Jhudora-purple wings) flew
off with Skeithena, with Jhudora gaping in shock below them. She did not give
chase, because she knew that Luperusse was free.
***
When they got back to their NeoHome, Skeithena told Sharon the full story of
what had happened with Luperusse and Jhudora.
"Uh, Luperusse, why don't you...look normal anymore?"
inquired Sharon.
"I don't know. Hey, genius," Luperusse called
to Skeithena, "look something up in Faerie Berry Recipes, please!"
"Sure!" Skeithena read aloud: "'Page 189 -
The myth about the Jhudaberry Omelette says that sometimes when the spell of
a Jhudora Slave is broken, the slave is no longer a slave, but will not change
appearance. This, supposedly, happens on extremely rare occasions...'"
Sharon smiled. "So, that explains it. I guess
not all legends are false."
The End | 
