Saccharine

The world always seems smaller when you're not out in it.

     That was something his father always said; Tamorrusso, lord of a tiny kingdom of Bori in the peaks of Terror Mountain. Aerusso supposed his father had meant it as a warning, yet here the Prince was, out in the world.

     And it looks like.... he was right. Another pet might have sulked, but he was too intimidated by the massive throng of Neopets clustered around him as he tried to navigate the shores of Mystery Island.

     He backed up, groping with his paws until he found the hand of the only other Bori in his temporary, adopted family; Danter. The Halloween pet chuckled, tugging the smaller and younger Cloud pet into a half hug.

     "Scared, Ae?"

     Aerusso pressed against Danter, trying to will down a flight instinct. "It's just... there's so many different kinds and colors of Neopet out here. Back in the Russo Kingdom, it's all just... Bori. Mostly Cloud, but with the royal Faerie Family..."

     ... Except for me.

     The whole reason he had left his Kingdom-to-be in the first place was to learn about the outside world with the hopes of proving to the Council that, even without the wings of his bloodline, he was a worthy ruler. He'd have to be twice as smart, twice as strong, twice as everything of all of his predecessors... just because he'd been born a different color.

     As if sensing his thoughts, the other companion on their outing came up and gave him a hug of her own.

     "It's all right, Ae. Just... try and make one new friend today. You can do it if you just be yourself."

     He gave the Skunk Cybunny a forced smile. "I'll... try, Siy. For you."

     Danter chuckled, then released Aerusso to give Siy an amused grin. "You make it sound so easy... yet you're also so shy around me." His grin shifted into a smirk as the Cybunny blushed to the tips of her ears.

     "N-not really, I mean... I'm f-f-fine..."

     "It's not like opportunities for making friends just... walk right up to you, after all."

     "Y-you never know..."

     Danter laughed at her expression. "Sheesh, you're almost as awkward as Ae over here. Maybe we shoulda brought CC along, too, to balance things out. You'd like that, wouldn't you, Ae?"

     Now he was the subject of the Halloween pet's teasing. The Cloud Bori glanced away, smiling against his will at the thought of the sweet little Zafara.

     Maybe... maybe next time, we can go make friends together. Lost in his thoughts, he wasn't watching where he was going and ran into something fluffy, pink and chocolate scented.

     "Oh!" He yelped, backing up as a dark brown Neopet in a bright pink dress turned slowly and gave him a stare from mismatched eyes. "I wasn't looking where I was going, and..."

     Aerusso paused, glancing over the pet and checking off familiar features. Yes, there were two long, oval shaped ears hiding behind a set of golden curls, and that was a dark shell peeping out from them back of the dress, and... okay, so the pet looked like a confection, but it was certainly a Bori, and around his age, too.

     Try to make one friend, right?

     The Cloud pet cleared his throat, then offered his paw. "Sorry. My name is Aerusso. What's yours?"

     Again, the other Bori blinked - behind long lashes, one eye was green, the other brown. "I'm Ame'lo," she said, suddenly and brightly. A paw gripped his, shook it, then Ame'lo giggled. "You're staring at me- it's making me blush!"

     "Was I?" He glanced down and away. Shoot! I just don't know what color she is. "Sorry, I... uh..."

     "You must be dressed up for the Chocolate Ball right, ma'am?" Siy had escaped Danter's teasing for the moment, and smiled at Ame'lo. She returned the favor.

     "Yep. It's pretty nice to have a day celebrating your color."

     There was a muffled, strangled snort from Danter; the three girls turned to look at him, and Aerusso noticed Ame'los eyes harden into a glare from the corner of his eye.

     That's new. Danter hasn't even said anything, and already someone finds him annoying. Usually it takes them a few minutes.

     "It's nice, all right... ma'am." Flicking his own blond bangs out of his face, Danter smirked. "Nice to meet you. I'm Danter. Mind if we tag along? I wanna know what a Chocolate pet does at the Chocolate Ball. Since I'd think eating chocolate would be rather... awkward for you guys."

     "I don't mind," Ame'lo replied, a little crisply. Turning neatly, she led the three through the crowds. Aerusso hung close to Danter, still, avoiding eye contact with a Rainbow Usul who gave him a smile.

     "Don't look so down, pretty boy," the Halloween pet chided his companion. "Making friends with another Bori only counts as half."

     Shaking his head and trying to hide behind indigo bangs, Aerusso blushed. "Sorry. It's still really... hard for me."

     "Really? After all you've been through, I'd think talking to strangers would be a walk in the Petpet Park."

     Ahead of them, Ame'lo stopped and gave them a curious stare. "A walk in the what?"

     "Never mind."

     --------------------

     Mid afternoon found all four of them seated on the beach, sipping smoothies. Ame'lo shrugged, fanning herself even as they sat in the shade of an Umbrella.

     "Unless you actually get invited to the ball, there's not much to do on this day. Except wander around and get free stuff."

     "I'd think a cute little thing like you'd get that stuff normally, though, right?" Danter gave the Chocolate pet a sharp blue look from behind his skull mask. Instead of blushing or getting flustered like Siy would have, Ame'lo gritted her teeth.

     "Don't make assumptions, you--"

     She stopped, her eyes flicking over to Aerusso. Then she swallowed and plastered on a smile. "I mean, don't be silly! I'm not that cute, am I, Siy?"

     The Cybunny expression was mixed, and she only murmured, "you are pretty cute..." before glancing back at Danter.

     Aerusso was thoroughly stumped. There's something going on here that I'm missing...

     "Aerusso!"

     He jumped, almost spilling a few drops of his smoothie at the cry. Ame'lo had jumped to her feet, tugging off her cute shoes and long white stockings, and was gesturing towards the beach.

     "Let's go look for seashells!"

     Eager despite the heat, he followed her, taking her hand carefully. "Won't you melt, though?"

     "What, do you rain or something?" Ame'lo rolled her eyes. "Just because I'm chocolate-colored doesn't mean I'm made of the stuff."

     "You seem really sweet, though."

     The words slipped out before he could stop them. Ame'lo stopped, pulling out of his grip, the seawater brushing her ankles before receding rapidly. A complex, cautious look was crossing her face.

     "Look, I'm not really--"

     "Oh, I'm sorry!" Aerusso's ears went hot with a blush. "I didn't mean it like that!"

     "Aerusso!"

     Danter's shout startled both of them this time, but their attention was soon drawn to the huge wave bearing down on them. There wasn't enough time to run; he dashed forward, wrapping his arms around Ame'lo and bracing his body for the impact of the water.

     WHOOSH!

     For one horrible moment, his world was made up of nothing but seawater, tugging him first one way then the other as it returned to the ocean. Siy and Danter were already running over, and he half-released Ame'lo to wipe water from his face.

     "Are you guys all right?"

     "I'm fine," he replied, glancing up. "Are you okay...?"

     He paused, glancing over the other Bori's features again. Yes, there were still two long, oval shaped ears, but they were perched on top of a mass of short, wet, cream colored bangs. Under a lopsided set of long lashed, bi-colored eyes watched him, first blinking with water then widening with horror. Both glanced down as a golden wig, now a sodden mess, was washed back up to their feet.

     "Ame'lo?"

     Siy was looking at the Chocolate pet, obviously confused; Danter sighed, wearing his best 'I told you so' look and Ame'lo...

     Had torn away from him, snatched up her wig, and taken off.

     Aerusso stood in the sand, still trying to understand it all. What... what just happened? Why did she--

     "Well?"

     His attention snapped back to Danter, whose expression had become more serious. "Are you going to lose your new half-friend?"

     It doesn't matter.

     He tore off, weaving his way through the crowds, not caring that some were huge, some were small, what colors they were or even if they looked at him funny as he ran, still wet with seawater. A flash of pink in the forest, away from the main roads, caught his eye; he continued his pursuit until he came across the Bori, huddled in a miserable wet mass of pink and brown at the foot of a tree.

     Mismatched eyes glared at him, the false eyelashes gone entirely.

     "What do you want?"

     The voice that hailed him was deeper, sharper than before. Aerusso clenched his paws into fists, took in a deep breath and...

     "It doesn't matter."

     Ame'lo raised his head, still wary.

     "What, are you stupid? Of course it matters. I'm a boy, wearing girl clothes and pretending to be a girl. It matters!"

     "It doesn't!"

     He let out a shaky breath, still tired from his sudden run. "I... I want to be your friend. And even if Danter only counts you as a half friend, because you're a Bori..."

     A cream colored eyebrow arched, but the Chocolate Bori stayed silent.

     "... I still want to be friends with you. And it doesn't matter what you look like."

     Ame'lo gave a short, harsh laugh, then buried his face in the folds of his wet dress. "You are stupid."

     Aerusso slumped against the tree with a heavy sigh. Darn it. I blew it. I can't even make... half a friend.

     "You're the idiot, really."

     Danter and Siy had caught up with them; it was the former who had spoken, and who had crossed his arms and was staring at Ame'lo.

     "I can guess why you're dressed like that - Chocolate's a girly color, right? So I bet you got a lot of teasing for that."

     Siy started to protest, but Danter pressed his claw to her lips. "So you figured you'd fool them all into thinking you really were a girl. Pets would treat you better if you were a cute girl."

     "They do treat me better!"

     Ame'lo stood, clutching the dripping wig in one paw. "I even fooled you two," and he nodded to Aerusso and Siy. The Cloud Bori's heart warmed with pity. We're the same. Always judged by our colors, just because we 'shouldn't' look one way.

     The Council practically banished me for being Cloud.

     "If I changed myself to meet their image of how I should me... Then they like me."

     It doesn't matter.

     "Wouldn't you rather be yourself, though?" Siy added shyly. Ame'lo stopped, turned and looked at her slowly, as did Aerusso. She'd said the same thing to the Cloud Bori the first day they'd met, but... he felt like he understood it a little better now.

     Be myself...

     The Chocolate Bori glanced down into his paw, then back up. "... This dress does get really hot..."

     Aerusso charged forward and gave Ame'lo a dripping wet hug; the recipient growled, but didn't push him away.

     "Let's at least find you some dry clothes, Ame'lo," Danter noted, a grin evident in his voice as Aerusso let his new friend go.

     "You really are all idiots..." Wiping something wet off his cheek, Ame'lo marched back to the main roads. The Halloween Bori snickered.

     "Awww, look, he's tearing up!"

     "Shut up!" he snapped, glaring over his shoulder with one furious brown eye. "I just... I got seawater into it, okay?!"

     Laughter bubbled up in Aerusso's chest; he covered his mouth with his paws, but it escaped, first in muffled chuckles then giggles. The giggles became contagious, and after a moment or two, all four pets were laughing and joking with each other.

     "Big girls don't cry, you know, Ame'lo!"

     "Yeah, right, you big sentimental black and white fluffball! You can't even talk when Skullmask turns on the charm."

     "Th-that's not true!"

     "Oh, really, Siy? It kinda seems like a Kadoatie's got your tongue..."

     Little by little, he thought to himself, watching the antics of his two and a half friends, we'll get there.

The End