Keith and Dash: Part Two

Also by springsteen0991

The sun's army of sunlight invaded Tyrannia's Plateau and drenched every inch of it with its hot light. It was barely sunrise, yet Tyrannia had already grown incredibly cold to incredibly hot in the time span of a few seconds. Caves of rock and black boulders reigned the empty terrain, and as the sun made its ascent across the dark blue sky, Tyrannians slowly roused themselves off of their beds. The early-birds that lived on the Plateau were busy watering their rock trees, and some even found it necessary to scream 'Good Morning!' to their neighbors despite the fact that the day was barely starting. Waves of heat flew from the sandy ground and made the humid air twist and turn like a Cobrall. Meanwhile, in one of the many caves upon the Plateau, Dash, a Pink Buzz, slowly pushed himself off his too-soft cotton bed and onto the too-hard rocky ground.

     "Another disheartening day," he growled slowly as he pulled himself off the already warm floor. Dash blinked a few times and stared around his cave. Pah. Cave? It should be called a dungeon for all that mattered. The walls were covered in black dust, the ceiling was low, and the floor wasn't just as hard as a rock... it was rock. The rotten wooden chair that stood near the doorway was starting to turn old, and the bed caved in whenever he sat on it. An aged picture of his family hung on the wall beside his bed, and he gazed at it with disgust. Dash hadn't spoken to his family in years.

     Dash blinked sleepily a few times before he stretched his skinny, long arms and extended his long, bony fingers. He tiresomely made his way towards the entrance of his dungeon and released his flimsy, bright pink wings. Just as he reached the entrance, the sun's unbearably bright rays reached his eyes, and he quickly shielded them with his hands. Dash had not yet grown used to living so close to the sun, and he believed that he would never adapt to it, even if he actually tried.

     Slowly, Dash started to walk away from his prison of a home, sighing morosely with every buzz his wings made. He had no idea what he wanted to do today, and he wasn't looking forward to it, either. He had barely any neopoints, anyways. He blinked tediously as images and thoughts cluttered about in his head. Maybe he could go grab some dung-infested furniture, or rotten meat, or boo himself mad at the Tyrannian Concert Hall...

     "Perhaps the Wheel of Monotony could waste away my time," he muttered. His pink wings buzzed before he jumped off the ground and started to fly towards the large, brown, wooden wheel. The sun was still unbearably hot, and the dusty wind clouded his eyes and filled his mouth with sand. It was a horrible day, and the sun had just barely risen.

     Once Dash arrived at the Wheel, he instantly felt as if the Tyrannian Quiggle in charge of the Wheel didn't want him to be there. Dash didn't know why he knew, but he knew that the Tyrannian Quiggle definitely did not like him. It was like a tick inside of him... instinct, even. As Dash dropped himself onto the ground, he watched disinterestedly as the Quiggle rolled his eyes, smirked smugly, and bowed haughtily before he said, "Welcome, would you like to spin the wheel?"

     "Why not?" Dash said as he withdrew a few neopoint coins from his bag. "There's nothing else better to do."

     The Quiggle's eyes filled with greed. He was practically drooling as he eyed the coins in Dash's hands. Dash frowned back at the covetous Quiggle.

     "That'll be one hundred neopoints," the Quiggle murmured before he added, "please," as an afterthought. He was so incredibly rude. Quiggles nowadays. Dash frowned even harder before realization hit him like an arrow from Ultimate Bullseye.

     Neopians were cruel, greedy, and harsh, so why bother frowning when he could glare? So Dash glared and handed the neopoints over to the Quiggle, who practically yanked it out of his hand. After the Quiggle safely pocketed his earnings in a bag tied about his waist, he gave the wheel one good kick and watched wearily as it started to spin. It went round and round, a blur of brown and black and boring and bothersome. It continued to spin as if it wasn't ever going to end, and it was just so monotonous. Dash huffed and puffed and sighed and frowned, until, finally, Dash decided that he couldn't stand being here any longer, and left without a word. I'll come back later, Dash decided, and with that, he buzzed off towards the green Tyrannian Jungle.

     Once Dash reached the Tyrannian Jungle, he looked around at the crowded trees and overlapping leaves with a sigh. It was dark, and the dirty green canopy hid the ground from the drenching sunlight. It was still sickeningly humid and disgustingly hot, and Dash growled miserably to himself as he brushed off another wave of sweat that had appeared on his forehead. He was sure that he was going to faint from dehydration soon, and probably no one will ever find him... or even bother to look for him. Not even his distant family that had ignored him for many years. Yet, they still sent Christmas and Easter cards as if they liked him. They were such a bunch of fakes.

     Slowly, Dash started to wander around the jungle and stared at the games and shops that crowded the main roads. The food smelled foul and spoiled at the Tyrannian Food Shop (and most of them were), and Dash didn't want to wait for another wheel to stop. The village looked crowded, and the cave paintings were filled with horriblly vain Pink Puppyblew carrying tourists.

     "I guess I'll go to Tyranu Evavu, then," Dash muttered heavily to himself and started to approach the Tyrannian Usul and Blumaroo that ran the game. The moment they saw Dash, though, they frowned and waved half-heartedly. The tick that existed within Dash ticked once again, and instinct took over his emotions and thoughts. They hated him, Dash knew that, so Dash frowned back at them.

     "Grunt ugga ugga ugg ugh," said the Tyrannian Usul, and the Blumaroo laughed in chorus. Dash, who didn't understand Tyrannian despite the fact that he had lived there for many years, was positive that they were insulting him.

     "Grunt ugg ugaga uggug yourself," Dash growled angrily as he dropped a few coins on the ground.

     Both the Tyrannian Usul and Jubjub gave Dash a crooked look before they shrugged, snickered, and took out a few cards.

     "Blurgh," said the Tyrannian Usul as she placed two cards down on the ground. One was face up, and the other was face down. Dash already knew the rules of the game, since he faintly remembered playing it during his younger, more innocent days.

     The face up card was a 3.

     Dash scoffed when he saw it, and his wings buzzed excitedly despite his rather horrible morning. "Tyranu," Dash said quickly, almost as if he feared that the 3 would jump up and run away. The Usul flipped the other card over and it was higher. Dash was right, obviously.

     So Dash continued to play Tyranu, Evavu with the Tyrannian Usul and Blumaroo. But, as time passed, and despite all that had happened previously, excitement was starting to slowly build up within him. Each card was either terribly low, or surprisingly high, which made guessing quite easy. If the card was a 7 or an 8, surprisingly, Dash always managed to guess correctly. Each time he got it right, his wings buzzed even faster, and his mind was starting to focus and his head was beginning to clear. Even the Usul and Blumaroo were starting to get into the game, for they grew noticably quiet after he correctly guessed his 23rd card. He was actually winning.

     Dash continued repeating either tyranu or evavu throughout the entire morning, and his guesses continued to be correct. It was in this fashion that he breezed through the bronze trophy, and slowly inched his way up the silver trophy category.

     Afterwards, each time Dash guessed correctly, the Blumaroo would say something in Tyrannian that inspired him, almost as if the Blumaroo was trying to praise Dash. As time passed, Dash started to believe that the game's hosts were actually starting to respect him. Well, everybody loves a winner, Dash thought to himself, never once believing that they had never hated him in the first place, or that they were just plain nice.

     The sun, by now, had seated itself upon its throne situated directly above Neopia. It was still unbearably hot, and waves of heat could be seen for miles and miles around. Still, Dash felt surprisingly cool and suave. He continued to win, and with each correct guess, the little bubble inside him that always brought him down started to grow smaller. His mind was starting to soar, and his shoulders started to lighten, as if a load was being lifted off his body. The world didn't seem that greedy anymore, and it wasn't unfair as well. After years and years of unexplained sadness, Dash felt happy.

     "Tyranu," Dash said confidently as the Usul flipped over the card. He was correct.

     Finally, Dash had reached the point in the game where one last guess would make him or break him: the gold trophy. One card away from the coveted gold. Dash waited eagerly as the Usul flipped over the card... it was a King. A smile planted itself onto Dash's face, and he wanted to jump with joy. Anyone who had ever played Tyranu, Evavu knows that, with a King, the answer is always Evavu. So Dash confidently pumped out his chest and proudly said, "Evavu."

     "Ugg ughg ugga," the Blumaroo said as he flipped over the card. It was an Ace. Dash had lost.

     "Ugga sorag," the Usul said comfortingly and patted Dash upon the back, expecting the morbid Buzz to be even more gloomy. But, surprisingly, Dash just simply smiled and politely asked for his silver trophy. The Blumaroo handed the trophy to Dash, who smiled obligingly at him and flew off.

     "Ugga ugg ugg," the Usul said to the Blumaroo, and he nodded in agreement

     As Dash flew off, a smile was planted on his face as he gripped his silver trophy close to his heart. He had never been so happy in his life. To think, he was so good at Tyranu, Evavu that he was only one card away from a golden trophy... it was amazing. He couldn't wait to write a letter to his family to tell them about his good fortune. With all those cards they had been sending him, it was only proper for his reply to be riddled with good news. Although losing when he was so close was quite disappointing, Dash knew that tomorrow would be a new day.

     When Dash approached the jungle of Tyrannia, he breathed in deeply and gazed about at his surroundings. The air smelled sweet, and the world felt completely fine. Overhead, the sun was warm as it gazed down upon the ground and glittered off the silver of his new trophy. For some odd reason, everything that was once so irritating looked calm and serene now. Dash buzzed excitedly as he zipped between the trees of the forest and approached the Wheel of Monotony. He had almost forgotten about it in his joy...

     "Hello there!" Dash said excitedly to the Tyrannian Quiggle and rushed towards the wheel. It was going slower now, and Dash was positive that it was going to stop some time soon. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

     The Tyrannian Quiggle smiled warmly at Dash and congratulated him on winning a silver trophy in Tyranu Evavu. Just as Dash was about to thank him, he heard the wheel click faintly. The Wheel of Monotony had stopped. The little arrow at the top was pointing to a picture of a small petpet engraved on the wooden wheel. Confused, Dash asked, "Well, what in Neopia did I win?"

     "Wait up," the Tyrannian Quiggle said briskly before he confidently walked over towards a small wooden crate next to the wheel. He rummaged about in it until, finally, he took out a small, little purple petpet. It was a Mazzew.

     Dash grinned in happiness and picked up the small petpet and rested it in the crook of his arm. The Mazzew just simply gazed at Dash before it sneezed and coughed simultaneously. Dash thought that it was awesome. "Thank you!" he shouted to the Tyrannian Quiggle before he turned around and started to buzz back towards his home.

     Wow, he thought silently to himself. A new friend and a shiny, bright, silver trophy.

     Today couldn't have been better.

The End