Chet Flash wuz here Circulation: 192,333,119 Issue: 642 | 25th day of Eating, Y16
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_____8142


by britttu

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Chapter I

I was a pet like any other. I too was met with two beautiful eyes belonging to my owner and a warm home awaiting for me as I hatched.

     However, my first owner left me. I never learned why exactly. Perhaps it was my name, nina1842. I've learnt that Nina is a girls' name, and me being a male, I've been teased about it quite a bit. In any case, all I know is that one day I just woke up at the Pound.

     I was a blue Wocky, a very curious and friendly pet. At the Pound, I often saw people visiting, looking at the different pets and sometimes taking a pet with them. I was excited about getting adopted too. Any time a young man or woman came in, I smiled bright, wiggled my tail and did all I could to impress the people.

     But it wasn't long before I noticed that no one really even looked at me. I learned the reality that Wockies and blue colored pets weren't very rare, and my stats weren't that impressive either, being a level 1 pet. All in all, as hard as it was for me to accept it - there was nothing that special or rare about me.

     As time went by, I came to accept my life at the Pound... New pets kept flooding in; some of them were adopted incredibly fast, others stayed for weeks, months and years. Once in awhile, my friends got adopted, and every time I looked with jealousy as I saw them leave happy with their new owners from the window. I knew I'd probably never see them again. I hadn't done anything wrong, yet here I was, stuck in this prison and there didn't seem to be any hope to get out.

Chapter II

     One sunny spring morning, I woke up early and heard excited voices, pets moving about more than usual. I didn't take much notice and fell asleep again. As I woke up later, I noticed suspiciously many pets were gone, even ones that hadn't been adopted for years.

     Katie, a staff member, approached me. I looked at her curiously as she only came to pets when she had something to tell or needed us to do something.

     "Hey there. You'll go home to an owner, little one, aren't you glad?" she said in a manner as if I had already expected to hear it.

     "M-me?!" I stuttered, completely stunned.

     "Yes, you." She smiled. "It's a fostering program, haven't you heard of it?! We're shutting the Pound down for a while, and all the pets will go to a foster home. An owner has already been chosen out for you, and - it's time to go!"

      She waved at me to come along. I looked around me in disbelief, but no one was around. She was indeed talking to me! Excitement ran through me as I ran to a mirror to check if my coat looked alright.

     "Hmm... Not bad," I decided, and ran back, following Katie. My heart was beating twice as fast, as I left the Pound after being there for years and years.

     "What will she or he be like?! Will there be other pets? How long can I stay with them? Will they like me?" These questions and others ran through my head fast, as we were travelling to meet the one who was to take care of me. I decided to take deep breaths, and try to calm down. She said there was still some way to go, so I took all the time I could to relax.

Chapter III

     And soon I did see her. She lived in a lovely house in Brightvale. Seeing her, I smiled so bright and wanted to just run to her from excitement, but Katie said she needed to explain some things to her before.

     So I observed the one who was to be my new foster owner. She had beautiful blonde hair and a friendly face. However, she looked quite confused - seemed that she had just heard of the program. Realizing that, I blushed. I curled my tail around me and sat down, as the talk seemed to take more time than I expected.

     But as Katie finished explaining, my foster owner came to me, smiling. Seemed that she was as excited as me about the sudden surprise. We got off nicely and chit-chatted as she took me in her house.

     It had been a long time, being in a proper home. so I took a good look around me as she said she was going to prepare some food for us. It was so much more colorful here than the grey tones at the Pound.

     I sat down behind a table in the living room as Britta brought a big plate of cupcakes from the kitchen. "So you're nina8142? How should I call you?" she asked with a wide smile as she placed the cupcakes on a table,

     "Y-yes... that's my name, but you can just call me Nina," I answered, slightly nervous.

     "Great. I can't wait to introduce you to your new siblings! I'll go find them. You eat, okay?" She smiled and stood up from the chair, then climbed up the stairs.

     I looked as she went. It felt so odd, being in a house with pets and an owner again. I felt a little worried if maybe I had a pound smell on me; or if I looked different. Suddenly, I remembered the cupcakes, as I was quite hungry. I took a bite. It was quite certainly the most delicious thing I had eaten for a long-long time. I ate it up fast and put another cupcake on my plate.

     Soon my new foster owner returned, behind her three beautiful painted Xweetoks and an Elephante. I looked at them curiously.

     The pets wiggled their tails and gathered around me fast, introducing themselves to me pretty much all at once. Everyone had big friendly smiles. The pets sat down at the table and took a cupcake. Then we all started chatting.

     I thought the other pets might not like me, but everyone was so friendly. One of them, a speckled Xweetok, even told me she was adopted from the Pound too, years ago. Hours went by as we chatted on the most random topics, laughed, all through munching on the absolutely delicious cupcakes. They didn't give me any weird looks nor made a big deal of my name, or my color.

     "I always wished I was painted... so someone would want to adopt me too," I said after a moment of silence, looking at all the other pets' pretty coats.

     "Is that so?" asked my new foster owner, surprised. She sat back, thinking. "I don't think you should feel ashamed of your color. But if it truly is a dream of yours, then maybe I could assist you... I was told that I cannot paint you, but I could morph you, if you'd like that."

     "We all think you're beautiful as you are though, too," added the island colored Xweetok smiling. Everyone nodded.

     I blushed a lot. "It's a dream I've had for a while... But I couldn't ask for it. I know how expensive morphing potions can be. I do think you're all so beautiful too."

     Everyone smiled. The chatting went on for awhile, until my new foster owner said she had to go work at her coffee shop, and the other pets were tired, so I went with them to their room. We chatted and played together some more, then took a little nap.

Chapter IV

     In the evening, as Britta returned, she said she had a gift for me. She took me to a room, and searched through her bag, making me more curious with every moment. Finally, she took out a potion from her bag... "Wow!" I exclaimed. As I looked at her, excited, she looked into my eyes seriously.

     "I want to give this to you as a gift," she began, as I looked at the potion with big curious eyes, examining it from all different angles and sides,

     "It's not the most expensive morphing potion around, but I thought of you, buying it. The potion would make you into a white Xweetok." She stopped for a moment to check how I reacted, then continued,

     "I feel like you're a part of our family already, even though I don't know how long I'll be allowed to keep you. And seeing that you loved the other Xweetoks' coats, I wondered if we could give you a new coat like theirs... So you could leave behind the old and start out new."

     Looking into her sincere and kind eyes, I felt tears coming to my eyes out of nowhere. I didn't quite realize what caused it, nor whether it was appropriate, yet I couldn't hold it back. She hugged me and I hugged her back.

     "So just tell me when you make up your mind, alright?" she told me in a calming voice as I was feeling better.

     I nodded.

     She then left me alone in the room. I looked around, and decided to hop to the window pane from a chair standing by it. I sat down and looked out at the scenery outside. The trees gently swaying in the wind, magenorbs and purblares growing; pets and petpets moving about in the background, all looking as though they had some important work to do, and places they needed to go to.

     It seemed as though the Sun was about to set. I let my thoughts drift and started to think back on my entire life - how I was left, and how living in the Pound had affected me; how the other pets kept putting me down, and how I believed them, and believed honestly that I would probably never have the chance to feel the warmth of a real home again.

     And yet here I was today, beyond what I or the others expected. I was sitting in a beautiful home, without any need to compete anymore with so many other pets for food or attention, because there simply was enough.

     I sat there for a while more, until I hopped off the window pane, and went to look at myself in the mirror for the last time in the way I looked now. I twirled around, appreciating my current look and form while feeling ready to go on another adventure, with a new look.

Chapter V

     "Are you sure?" Britta asked, holding the potion in her hands, as the other Xweetoks ran around crazy in the room, and the Elephante sat calmly next to my new foster owner.

     "Yes. I thought about it well and I'm sure this is what I want," I said, confidently.

     She opened the potion and handed it to me. With my paws shaking, I drank it quickly. It tasted surprisingly sweet, with a hint of a tchea fruit. Then I closed my eyes, awaiting for the changes. The feeling of what happened then, can't really described, but it was unlike anything I had experienced. It didn't hurt at all luckily, it was rather a little ticklish. Suddenly I felt that the changes were done. I felt different.

     "Woooow, you look prettyy!" I heard one of the Xweetoks shout.

     I swiftly opened my eyes only to be met with everyone staring at me with big eyes, it took me by surprise. "D-do I look alright, did it work?" I looked away, blushing.

     "Go see for yourself!" I was told.

      So I ran off to the mirror, all the pets following me. As I got there and I saw the mirror, I stopped. It's odd to see yourself looking so much different from what you're used to seeing.

     "Wow..." I looked at myself closely and twirled around couple times. The other Xweetoks gathered around me excitedly, jumping up and down.

     "Is that me?" I thought, looking at the beautiful fluffy white coat. Then I noticed the sky blue eyes - the eyes were still mine... Without a doubt, it was me.

     We had a very fun evening after this - the other Xweetoks told me all about how Xweetoks live and what they are best at, there was much laughter and lightness in the air. In the late evening, everyone went to sleep, close to each other. I finally felt like I was a part of a family and I slept like an angel.

Chapter VI

     The next morning was beautiful. The Sun was shining so bright that it warmed up the room; there was a faint sound of chirping and tweeting outside. It felt so fresh. The other pets were still sleeping, and I decided not to disturb them just yet as they looked so peaceful.

     I jumped up to the window pane once more to take a look at the world. Jumping seemed easier with a Xweetok's body. It felt comfortable in my new body. And the world outside seemed so welcoming, full of new opportunities...

     Then, suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. "Who could that be?" I wondered. After a few knocks, I decided I should go get the door, as everyone else seemed to be asleep.

     I was greeted with a familiar face - Katie! From the Pound. I was taken aback.

     "Yes?" I said, twirling my new tail.

     "Hello, I wanted... wait... Nina?! Is that you?" she looked at me, not believing her eyes,

     "Y-yes?.. What is it?" I asked, not really excited for her visit.

     "Well," she scratched her head, "I thought it was obvious - the foster day is over, I must take you back to the Pound."

     "What?!" I exclaimed. "Back there? No! Can't I stay here?" I looked back inside were it looked so warm, friendly, peaceful.

     Katie looked at her papers calmly and read something, then replied: "No - she cannot keep you, it was just a foster day. She has four pets already, anyway..."

     Nina looked down at her white paws, moving them nervously, feeling everything getting blurry in front of her eyes.

     "I'm sorry, but that's just how it is. We're in a hurry, really, so let's start going back to the Pound."

     And we did... I didn't even get to say goodbye - it ended just as suddenly as it started.

Chapter VII

     So now again I'm back in the Pound. Back to the grey and the usual...

     Britta and her pets have come to visit me and told me they were sorry they couldn't say bye because they didn't realize I would have to go... And I don't blame them. She said she would definitely adopt me, but she cannot take more than four pets. She promised to start visiting me a lot. But it's still different than it would be at her home... But I guess that's that.

     Thinking back, that one day feels like a beautiful dream, My coat reminds me of the many things I learnt that day... That everyone is special and unique, regardless of what anyone says. This thought gives me strength to go through all the harder days, because I now realize that everyone has a reason to exist. Even if someone doesn't seem to have a special talent, fancy clothes/color or a high level. Simply being yourself, and being honest and nice to others around you can make a big difference and start something beautiful.

     And in the end, I don't mind my name at all, in fact I've grown to love it. Many pets have fancy names which are very beautiful, but I'm me. I like the numbers, even if they seem random. And even if I won't be adopted, it doesn't lessen my worth. I'll still wear my name proudly and never let anyone make fun of it any more.

      Remember - there is always hope, no matter how dark things may seem. Best wishes & Peace,

     8142

The End

 
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