Can Chias See?

      I woke up... FREEZING. Whoa, was I cold! I touched the ground and found it kind of wet. Sort of like sand, but, not sand. Too cold to be sand. Was I in the Lost Desert? Something was definitely wrong.

      I heard laughter. Very close.

      "What are you doing down there, silly?"

      Huh? Me?

      "What are you doing? Taking a nap? Sunbathing?" The laughter continued. I sensed sarcasm...

      "Is this the Lost Desert?" I asked hopefully. I had my doubts, though.

      "You're kidding, right?" There was a long pause. The laughter stopped. "Wow, you're not. Um, no... sorry. I don't know where that is. But it's not around here. Uh, bye!"

      "Wait!" Too late. I was all alone again. I sat in silence, sobbing quietly to myself. I gasped when something poked me.

      "You alright? You lost? You hungry? I bet I know what you'd like."

      Another poke. Something cold pressing against me.

      "Take it! It's Coco Whip. You'll like it. I'm not handing you Oil and Nuts or anything like that."

      "Where am I?" I asked the kind stranger. His reply- he laughed at me! What was with this place?

      "Where are you? We're in Happy Valley! So cheer up! I'm the Slushie Shop Shopkeeper. Who are you?"

      "The what what? Happy what? Why is it so cold?" I was starting to panic. I'd never heard of this 'Happy Valley' before.

      "You're at the bottom of Terror Mountain, surrounded in all this snow, and you wonder why you're cold?" He chuckled to himself. "You need something warm to wear. Why don't you go see Mika and Carassa? They're Chias, too."

      What was a Chia? What was this guy on about? "Chia? What?"

      "Did you bump your head or something? Yeah, C.H.I.A. Chia."

      I realised I had kept my eyes closed this entire time. I had been so scared. I thought I'd better check myself out to see what he was on about.

      That's odd. My eyes felt open, but I couldn't see anything. I blinked. Nothing. Total darkness. I felt my head to find if something was covering my eyes, and screamed. Why couldn't I feel my ears? Where was my nose? My whiskers? What was going on here?

      I ran. And ran. I just ran. I don't know why. I didn't know where I was, I couldn't see. I slammed into something and fell... not so hard. This wet sand stuff, snow, was soft.

      "TODAY YOU PICK UP... A STACK OF SLIGHTLY USED CARROTS AND A FIERY MITTENS!! YOU ALSO FIND 639 NEOPOINTS!! TODAY YOU PICK UP... A STACK OF..."

      The voice was so loud! I picked myself up and ran again, trying not to bang into anything. I stopped to catch my breath. Bewildered, it took me a second or two to find I really had a Stack of Slightly Used Carrots and Fiery Mittens. I smelled the sweet carrots, and gobbled them up. Kind of chocolaty for some reason. The mittens were warm, so warm! I shoved them on my hands and felt a little better. The Neopoints were nice, too.

      "Any good? The carrots, I mean. I prefer Brucicles myself." I turned to face whoever was speaking to me. I think.

      "Am I a Chia?" I demanded. I didn't mean to be so abrupt.

      "Sure you are. Sorry, can't chat for long. I'm the Rink Runner. I hope this one doesn't land me in-"

      There was a loud splash. I waited for a short while, then slowly headed away.

      So, I'm a Chia. WHAT is a Chia? Then I remembered what the Slushie Shopkeeper had said to me. About Mike and Carrisa. Or something.

      "STOP!" a bellowing voice directed at me, I think, said. "Stop!"

      "I need to find Mike and Carrisa. Please."

      "I think you are mistaken. We've got a Donny, Tarla, Taelia, Mika, Carassa-"

      "THAT! THEM! Yes! Mika. And Carassa. I need to see them. Please! Do you know where I can find them? I'm desperate, I can't see and..." My voice broke. I started to sob again. In between my sobs, I could hear a long sigh.

      "You do look particularly tasty... I will take you to the top of the mountain. Alright? Lupes eat Chias, you know. But I'll let you go. This time."

      "Thank you..." I replied uncertainly. Next thing I knew, I was flying! Well, not quite. But this Lupe was so fast, it sure felt like it.

      As suddenly as it had begun, my 'flight' was over. I called to thank the Lupe, but he was gone.

      Wandering aimlessly, I felt the wind brush against my face. It was colder up here. I wished I had more than mittens to cover myself. I took a few more steps and stopped as I heard someone telling me to do so.

      "DON'T MOVE!"

      "WE'RE COMING!"

      "STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"

      I did as I was told, and in a matter of minutes, I was sitting in front of something warm. A fire?

      "Hi! I'm Carassa! That was a close one. Were you playing Cliffhanger? YOU don't have to do it. That's what the Tuskaninny is for."

      "I'm Mika, what's your name?"

      "But I don't WANT to be a Chia!" Again, I didn't mean to be so abrupt.

      "But... why not? Did you know that no other pet can be coloured Pineapple? Or Tomato? And don't you think Durian is stunning?"

      "It was that Lupe, wasn't it. Yeah. Hey, take no notice. Sure, they talk tough. But they wouldn't really eat you or me."

      "NO NO NO!" I screamed. I appreciated their help. But I wasn't worried about what colour I was, I didn't care if I was on some dinner menu. "I. CAN'T. SEE."

      One of them gasped. Then chuckled. The other joined in. Great, I'm being laughed at. Again. Then I felt a something brush against my face. Slowly, slowly, I could make out shapes. See different colours. SEE! I could SEE!

      "Silly! Your chocolate sauce slid down. That's all. Nothing to worry about. We don't have eyes that look like a Cybunny's or Xweetok's. Or any other Neopet, for that matter. But we CAN see. Really."

      My what? My chocolate? I didn't hear anything past that. "I have chocolate on my head?"

      "Did that crazy Scorchio get to you? Yeah. You're a Chocolate Chia. Here." I was handed a mirror. I took a look at myself. I was, I was... I was beautiful! I was CHOCOLATE! And I could SEE! I admit, different eyes than I'm used to. But they're really kind of cute!

      I stayed a while with Mika and Carassa. They were really nice to me, and taught me all about Chias. One day, I might try one of these 'Pops' they keep raving about. But for now, I'm happy living in the Ice Caves. Oh! And I went back for my Coco Whip Slushie. It was pretty good, but not as good as Oil and Nuts. ;)

The End