From the Dumpster of Mareni
Can you believe that fool Triano thought me
loyal? Thought me his friend, his ally? Ha! What fool believes me, the great
Mareni, to be one of easy friendship? No, he is naïve, pathetic... But he could
serve me well, this Triano. He has some power, though it dwindles.
Something will have to be done. I have lived
a hard life, out on the street, and I know opportunity when it knocks on my
trash lid. And, as I think, I have decided... Capone will be sent. Yes, Capone
will do the job quite nicely.
Opportunity
I was treading East from Neopia Central to
Meridell, where Gryphon lived near Illusen's Glade. I was not happy about this
location, but I put up with it. However, as I neared the vague borders of the
lush land, I felt a strange sense of being carefully watched. I looked this
way and that, trying to identify the source of my unusual fear. But I saw nothing
as I entered Meridell.
The place was scattered in population and buildings,
and as I walked down the dirt paths, I didn't expect to see anyone, and indeed,
I did not. Until, of course, those eyes suddenly had a body.
I yelped as the Meepit jumped out in front of
me, and hopped up into the air and tried to whack it with my three tails, when
it grabbed the stem of them and pulled me down into the dirt. I gasped, my breath
knocked out of me.
"I am Capone," the Meepit said, stepping over
me. "I am under the great Mareni, and am here to make sure you are safely transported
to your NeoHome."
I snorted. "The only thing preventing me from
going from here to there is you... Capone..."
The Meepit yawned.
"Who are you?" I questioned further.
"I told you. My name is Capone, I work for Mareni,"
the rodent growled.
"How can I be sure? I doubt Mareni would just
send one of his men out..."
"Women," Capone corrected.
"You're a girl?" I cried, not believing it.
How could a Meepit named Capone, with such a plain voice, be a female?
"Do you have a problem with that?" Capone asked,
glaring.
I gulped, remembering how easily she'd thrown
me. "No, no... It was just a little... Surprising. You're... Err... Femininity
masculine?"
She snorted. "Let's just go."
***
Luckily, no one was home. Capone and I snuck into the Guest Bedroom on the
first floor. It was a drafty place filled with cheap Tyrannian furniture, but
I didn't care.
"We shall remain here until proper accommodations
are made," I announced.
"Proper accommodations had better be made,"
she hissed.
"I have Gryphon at my fins! Do not worry, we
shall find a way," I assured her, but the Meepit did not look convinced.
"Humans cannot be trusted."
"Maybe this one can," I snapped, but was immediately
surprised that I had stood up for Gryphie.
"Whatever you say..." Capone sighed.
A door slammed downstairs not much later. There
was the bustle of feet and hooves and the sound of voices. I slithered out the
door of the guest room and into the hall where the staircase to the ground floor
lay. Slowly, I inched down the wooden steps.
"I can't believe you just got Neopox out of
nowhere, Deadele!" Gryphon's voice said angrily. The Lupe's whimper followed.
Gryph sighed. "Well, I'll go buy you some medicine. But you'd better not hang
out with those street Lupes anymore." She then came into my view out of the
hallway leading from Deadele's bedroom.
"Gryphon!" I called, hopping down the stairs.
She turned and blinked several times. "Triano?"
she asked, incredulous. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, that's a long story... but are there
any pets you own that could take me? Capone, too, she's a Meepit," I asked quickly.
"Capone? Where did you meet Capone?"
"She ambushed me," I replied bitterly. "Why
do you ask?"
"Capone the Meepit was a present from my friend,"
I growled at this. "I gave her to my Pteri, Flippie G," Gryphon explained.
"What?" I screeched, but quickly regained composure.
"Ah, well, do you have any place that I can go?"
"Well..."
"I don't like that look in your eye, Gryphon!
I DON'T LIKE IT!"
Once again... FEEDBACK!
To be continued... | 
