Friday the 13th

      A few minutes later, Catie went through the door to her living room, having finally made it home. Exhausted, she sank into the beanbag chair, but almost automatically sprang up again.

      "AAAAAH!" she screamed as a white, furry something landed on her. Then she realized she knew that something, or, rather, someone. "LC," she said skeptically, "what are you up to?"

      The Baby Cybunny looked up. "GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS! It's Friday the 13th! Let's tell scary stories and roast marshmallows and-"

      Catie rolled her eyes at her sister. WAS it that day already? "LC, why can't you go play with your blocks?" More to hide her fear than anything, the Acara ran quickly into the hall. Since they had just moved into their new Neohome two days ago, Catie accidentally made the wrong turn, and strolled into her brother's room.

      "What do you want?" Reno asked, lying on his bed.

      "Oh... um..." Catie couldn't think of anything to cover her wrong turn or fear. "Nothing, nothing at all."

      The Blumaroo raised his eyebrows. "Uh-huh... .You're worried about something, I know it." Catie's brother seemed to be just barely resisting the temptation to roll his eyes.

      Catie sighed. "Just because I made a wrong turn, doesn't mean I'm worried about anything! You're so... so..." Catie couldn't think of a good word that would express her anger, but not get her owner to yell at her. "Annoying!"

      Reno couldn't help it this time; he rolled his eyes. "Has it ever occurred to you that you're afraid of everything? Glowing petpets, Darigan pets, ghosts? You're nothing but a scaredy-Wocky."

      Catie growled, infuriated. "I'M NOT A SCAREDY-WOCKY!" she bellowed. She looked rather surprised that she could shout so loudly.

      Reno lay back in bed. "Fine, then, go out there and be BRAVE. I don't really care." Ignoring the renewed mutterings coming from his sister, he rolled over on his bed and closed his eyes.

      Still fuming, the Acara stomped out of the room. "How can he accuse me of being a coward... I haven't seen HIM do anything particularly brave, so how can he call ME that?" Catie stormed right past her room, past the Kauvara Beanbag Chair, past her sister, who was still stacking her blocks on top of each other, trying to see how tall she could make the stack. She went into the kitchen, grabbed a pack of marshmallows (only fitting, she thought, seeing that it WAS the 13th... ) and stormed through the door and out of sight.

      Five minutes into her journey, the Acara was already having second thoughts. The wet grass glistened with the rain of a few hours previously. The ink-black sky stretched above her, and the eerie picture was completed by a round, full moon sitting in the sky.

      "I'm not scared; it's just a superstition..." Catie repeated to herself, but the words didn't feel true; on the other hand, she was shaking so badly she might have been frozen in a block of ice. "It's just a superstition..."

      Catie walked onward, toward the horizon. Where she was going, she didn't know, but she had her compass with her, and, anyway, she had something of a photographic memory and could remember how to get anywhere. But that wasn't the thing that was worrying her. The trouble was, she couldn't convince herself that she'd be able to make it back anyway.

      She paced onward, shivering with mingled coldness and fear. WHAT had she been thinking? Why had she left, desperate to prove to her brother that she was worth something?

      A crack of a twig brought her back to Neopia. She froze, listening, waiting. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she thought she heard a howl from behind her. She pivoted slowly on the spot, scared of what she might see.

      As it turned out, the howl had been real. A Halloween Lupe stood before her. Catie quivered once again. But, hang on... something was wrong. The Lupe was actually smiling! It opened up its mouth. Catie closed her eyes, waiting.

      "You might want to leave."

      Catie opened her eyes.

      The Lupe continued speaking. "I'm Alenn. But my name's not important right now." His tone suddenly sounded more concerned. "You need to leave."

      Catie tried to speak, despite her fear. "But... why?"

      Alenn sounded rather impatient. "How can you not notice? I'm a WERELUPE. With me around, you're in danger! I'm a danger to all of you..." He turned around. Catie thought she heard a sniff come from him.

      "Well, look at this. I'm the most cowardly Neopet in all of Neopia, and look; I'm standing here, talking to you. Would I still be here if you were that dangerous?"

      The Lupe sighed and turned around. "It's just times like this that I wish I could be somewhere... anywhere... else."

      Catie looked from him, to her bright pink wings, to the moon, and back to Alenn again.

      "I think I can arrange that."

      Ten minutes later, they were flying up toward the moon. Catie rushed toward a passing rock. They landed on it. Then the Acara spotted another rock and hopped toward that one. The rocks seemed to know where the two were going, and they soared off toward Kreludor, staring at passing stars as they went.

      They landed, both of them shivering. "I really should've brought my jacket," said Catie, and they both burst out laughing.

     "Well," said Alenn. "Goodbye, I guess..."

     Catie sighed. "Goodbye." She soared off, back toward her home, nearly being drenched by tears as she went.

     The Acara landed right in front of her door. "And it's only 11 NST," she said, amazed. But she wasn't amused by this thought. She didn't feel like she could be amused again.

     She went through the house's door. Thankfully, her little sister was asleep. She sighed and went into the hall. Amazingly enough, Catie actually made the right turn this time. With a sigh, she sank into bed.

      "Catie?" called a sleepy voice from her doorway. As it turned out, LC actually hadn't been asleep. "What are you so sad about?"

      Catie turned away. "Nothing," she said, blinking away tears.

      "Come on, I'm your little sister. You can tell me..."

      "Okay," Catie said with a grin. She launched into her story: How she had got home, made the wrong turn into Reno's room, and been accused of being a Scaredy-Wocky; how she had left, met Alenn, and had to say goodbye mere minutes later.

      "Wow," LC whispered, amazed.

      Catie sniffed. "You-you won't tell anyone... will you?"

      LC smiled. "You can trust me. After all, sisters stick together, right?"

      In spite of herself, the Acara smiled back. "Right," she replied, still staring out the window.

      This might have been her imagination once again, but she thought she saw a dark shape on Kreludor, and heard a familiar howl from far away, as though it came from the moon.

The End