The Real Avatar is the Friends We Made Along The Way

     The White Kau bolted out of the Scratchcard Kiosk and cursed herself for losing track of time. A few scratchcards fell out of her pocket as she ran, but she couldn’t be bothered. They were all Race to Riches Scratchcards anyway, so she could easily find them through the Shop Wizard again. It would be a lucky (or unlucky) Neopian’s day when they picked up one of them. That dang smug Wocky! ‘We have a loser, ladies and gentlemen!’ She recalled his annoyingly condescending tone. But no time to harp over that now!

     10:53 pm.

     Dashing past a clique of Neopians emerging from the Slushie Shop, causing a Purple Bruce to splutter all over his bow (whoops!), Ragi sprinted towards the Ice Caves as quickly as she could. The hard crunch of snow under her hooves turned into sharp clinks as she emerged into the Ice Caves. Ignoring all signs of ‘Caution! Slippery Roads!’, Ragi ran ahead, hoping that today wouldn’t be the day she fell face-first on the ice.

     For the past 10 years, Ragi had been visiting the Snowager every day, three times a day. Except for a few days when she had caught a terrible cold after visiting Terror Mountain during a terrible blizzard, and of course, during his Winter Starlight Hibernation, where she could only visit once a day. But every other time of the year, 3 times a day: 2 pm, 10 pm, 6 am. It’s become part of her daily routine now. All for the chance at the Snowy avatar. She needed it. It was the last one missing from her collection. Will today be the day? Well, she needed to get there before the Snowager woke to even get her chance.

     10:58 pm.

     A low rumble reverberated throughout the icy lair. The sound of the Snowager’s slumber. In the wide open cave of the Snowager, one would usually tread carefully, quietly, lest the Snowager wake. One would usually attempt to steal from his guarded pile of treasures from right under his curled body before getting the heck out. Ragi, however, continued her sprint all the way into the cave, the clack of her hooves on the ice loudly announcing her arrival.

     “Snowy! I’m here!” She proclaimed loudly. One would think Ragi and the Snowager were the best of friends.

     The Snowager stirred at the sound. Ragi watched in anticipation and braced herself for a blast, but the Snowager simply curled tighter into himself. At this point, a regular Neopian would run just in case it woke. But not Ragi.

      10:59pm.

     “BLAST ME!!!” Ragi shouted, her voice echoing in the wide cave. The dangling icicles trembled in fear at Ragi’s conviction.

     The Snowager then opened his eyes with a peek. “What is all this racket…” The Snowager grumbled unhappily, awoken from his slumber.

     Ragi stood tall and stretched out like a Nova, welcoming the blast. Surely she had riled him up now.

     “What are you doing?” The Snowager shot an icy glare at Ragi.

     “I’m waiting for you to blast me, of course.” Ragi replied matter-of-factly. She let out a big smile and stretched her arms out more.

     “You don’t want to steal from me?” The Snowager asked, incredulous. Neopians always tried to steal from him, especially a certain Blue Chia.

     “What? No, I don’t want your treasure. I just want you to blast me!” Ragi was exasperated now. How many times did she have to repeat herself?

     “Why would I do that to someone who didn’t try to steal from me?”

     “Because I woke you up?”

     “It’s about time I woke up anyway.” The Snowager yawned and stretched, his full height towering over Ragi.

      11:00 pm.

     Ragi missed her chance now. She slumped in defeat, mumbled an apology to The Snowager and turned to leave.

     “Wait,” The Snowager called out before Ragi left his cave. “Explain yourself. Why do you want me to blast you? Wouldn’t that hurt you?” His curiosity was piqued, and he could not help himself.

     “It’s for the avatar. I’ve been trying to get the avatar for YEARS now.”

     “And a blast from me would grant you this avatar?”

     “Not always. It’s random. That’s why I’ve been coming every day, 3 times a day, for the last ten years.”

     Ragi didn’t realise The Snowager could show expression on his icy face, but he looked almost taken aback by her confession.

     “What is this avatar for? Does it have value?” He asked.

     “It’s an achievement. A collectable. Think of it like a game trophy on display. It’s not worth Neopoints, but it’s worth something. You collect your treasures, surely you can understand.”

     The Snowager hummed in pensive thought. “A collection of achievements. A collection of no further value… My treasures are priceless, but I can see value in a worthy collection, whether tangible or not.”

     The Snowager seemed deep in thought, and their exchange fell into silence. Ragi wasn’t sure if that was her cue to leave. In the giant lair with the Snowager casting his long shadow over Ragi, she started to feel very small. It was getting late, and she wanted to crawl into bed. She had to be back at 6:00 am anyway.

     “Alright then, I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Thanks, but no thanks for not blasting me. Have a good ni-“

     “I’ll do it.” The Snowager interrupted her abruptly. Ragi, who had already turned her back and was headed toward the exit, skidded to a halt. Her hooves screeched on the ice.

     “What?!”

     “I’ll blast you. You have made me see things differently.”

     Ragi couldn’t believe it. She never thought The Snowager, of all the creatures in Neopia, would show kindness. Her excitement from before began to flare again. She stretched out once more, hooves in the air like a bright shining Nova. She wasn’t sure if it would work, since it was past the time of the Snowager’s sleep. Though she did wake him up, so technically it would count as a blast, right?

     “Blast me!” She shouted once again.

     Sucking in a deep icy breath, the towering beast reared back. Ragi closed her eyes, bracing herself. The Snowager fired an icy blast at Ragi!

     ———

     “Something has happened!”

     ———

     “Did it work?” The Snowagers spoke in a deep whisper, the rumble of his voice breaking the frozen silence that hung in the air after the giant blast.

     Ragi rubbed her head and checked her horns. The Snowager certainly outdid himself this time. She could feel a bruise forming on her back where she fell against the ice. She always thought that, as a White Kau, she already blended in with the snowy views of Terror Mountain, but now with her frosted fur, she was sure that she looked positively like a Snow Kau (even though she had never seen one before). She stood up slowly, urging the spinning stars in her vision to fade away. Her hooves clinked clumsily against the ice, and she felt slightly embarrassed at her current state despite the circumstances. When she did get blasted by the Snowager, he would curl back to sleep, rather than stare at her curiously with those menacing eyes.

     Thinking of ‘the circumstances’ snapped her back to her senses. Back to more important things. She checked her avatar collection and avatar count with haste. She stared at the little image of the Snowager’s head in her collection. She couldn’t believe it. Years and years of visiting The Snowager, and she finally got it.

     “Rawr…!” Ragi read with creeping excitement.

     “Rawr?” The Snowager repeated, thinking that surely he had blasted her too hard this time.

     “It worked!” Ragi jumped up with a big shout. Forgetting all her previous worries about her physical state after the blast, she landed poorly on the ice, her legs slipped, and she fell once again on her behind. She winced in pain, but nothing could compare to the happiness and relief she felt at finally obtaining the avatar. “Thank you so, so much.” She looked up toward The Snowager and saw that he was smiling. It looked strange on his usually brooding face, but Ragi thought she had never seen a more sincere smile.

     “You’re very welcome. Now, I’m hoping you could give me something in exchange…” The Snowager asked curiously.

     Worry grew in Ragi’s heart. She did not think about offering anything in return. What could she even offer THE Snowger in exchange? She had nothing. Pushing aside all her concerns, she asked, “What would you like?”

     “Nothing too much, I hope. I would like you to continue visiting me, and not when I’m asleep.” The Snowager stated. “I seem to have found value in something intangible myself.” His crystal eyes twinkled down at her, and Ragi understood.

     “Of course, Snowy. I’d visit you whenever you’d like. And I’ll show you my whole collection next time! But maybe please don’t blast me again.”

     Ragi and The Snowager beamed at the idea. With a wave, she headed back to her cottage and fell into bed. Despite the purple bruises forming on her fur, the White Kau fell into the sweetest sleep she’s had in years, with dreams of visiting her new friend again.

     The End.