A Memory On the Wind by winter_pony4
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"Faerieland, huh? That sounds like a lovely place to live." Ruestilla mused to herself as she was flying clumsily through the air. "If only I had some time to get used to flying before I had to move... This new form is lovely, but it's a far cry from anything I'm used to." she chuckled. Once a Cloud Ruki, Ruestilla now awkwardly fluttered in the sky as a Maractite Shoyru. "Jewel said she wanted me to live with her cousin Skyies... I'd suppose with a name like that, she's kind of obligated to live in Faerieland." she wisecracked. Landing for a moment to catch her breath, she checked the note Jewel had given her. "91814 Faerie Lane, Faerieland. That's the address I'm supposed to go to... Well, in any case, I passed Brightvale a little while ago. I should be close." She stashed the note away in her bag, and took off for the skies again. I wonder what Faerieland is like... All I've known was the Pound, the Lab and Neopia Central. What does Faerieland look like? Are the Neopets there nice? What does a Faerie look like? Are they nice? One question after another struck the daydreaming Shoyru. She could hardly wait to arrive, but at the same time she was nervous as well. --- After an half hour of flying, she saw a massive crater looming on the horizon. She was stunned. ...Is THAT Faerieland? I thought a place like that would be in the sky!
She drew near. As she flew closer to the crater, she saw a large city lying in the crater. Liberal amounts of pink and purple painted the city, and beyond the city walls lay a craggy area decorated with crystal-clear streams and rich foliage.
Wow... the scenery here looks downright magical... Perhaps I have nothing to worry about! In any case, however, I should probably look around town to find my new home...
Ruestilla landed at the city limits. As she peered into the gates, she couldn't believe her eyes. The city was in absolute disrepair, yet it was incredibly lively. It was as if nobody even noticed that the buildings were barely being held together. Despite the damage, everyone seemed genuinely happy. She wandered in. Neopets filled the streets, as did these winged creatures unknown to Ruestilla.
Are these the Faeries? They look rather lovely, she mused. But enough about that. I need to find out where I should go...
She wandered up to a Faerie Kacheek. "Excuse me, but do you know where Faerie Lane is?" she asked.
"Oh, Faerie Lane? You just take a right at the Employment Agency." The Kacheek explained.
"...Where is the Employment Agency?" Ruestilla asked, sheepishly.
"Go straight ahead. You can't miss it. People from all over Neopia swarm there to work for the Faeries." He explained.
Ruestilla nodded. "Thank you!" She walked off.
If only I had a map of this place, she thought. Or would that just confuse me even more? She shook her head. "Just keep going straight, and take a right at the crowd of Neopets..." she muttered under her breath.
---
Eventually she stumbled into the neighborhood. She pulled out the note. "91814 Faerie Lane. Hopefully this neighborhood doesn't really have 92 thousand houses!" she gulped.
She strolled down the street, checking the number for every Neohome.
She soon came across a cozy little home. She looked at the address. It was 91814. "This must be the place..." Ruestilla murmured, as she went up and knocked on the door.
Shortly after, a Faerie Aisha opened up the door. "Hello?"
"Are you Skyies?" Ruestilla asked.
"Oh! You must be the one Jewel sent! Nope, I'm not Skyies, but she is here." The Faerie Aisha beamed. "Hey, Skyies! The new pet's here!" she called out.
Another Neopet came down the stairs. Ruestilla shielded her eyes; the Neopet emanated a blinding blue glow. What little she could see was the shape of another Aisha.
"Whoops, sorry about that! It takes a little while for others to get used to a Dimensional Neopet's glow." Skyies chuckled. "Come on in!"
The nearly-blinded Shoyru stumbled inside the house. As her eyes recovered, she saw that the house was humbly decorated, but it still had a certain charm to it. "This looks like a nice place to stay." she smiled.
"Glad you like it! Let us introduce ourselves. I'm Kliayi!" The Faerie Aisha beamed. "You've already met Skyies, and there's another one who lives with us, but he's out shopping. We can introduce you to him once he gets back. What's your name?" she asked.
"I'm Ruestilla." the Shoyru stated. "I'll be honest, I'm not a very good flier, so getting here from Neopia Central was pretty hard."
"I don't know why Jewel didn't bring you here herself. She's a Hissi now, isn't she? Before then, she was a Faerie Grarrl, so it's not like she doesn't know how to fly..." Skyies muttered.
Ruestilla stared at her, bewildered.
"Oh, but enough about that. You must be pretty hungry, right? Why don't you go down to Faerie Foods and get something to eat? I promise you, they're unlike anything you've had before." Skyies winked, as she gave Ruestilla 5000 NP. "Maybe you can also learn the layout of Faerie City while you're looking around. It'll make getting around a lot easier." she beamed.
"Alright, I will." Ruestilla smiled, as she took the bag of NP, and left.
---
Wandering around for a while, she eventually smelled something good. Searching for the scent, she came across a shop. Like any other building in Faerie City, it was worn down, but still looked inviting. She went in, and a blast of warmth came over her. Neopets lined up for lunch as an Earth Faerie was cooking up a storm. Ruestilla got in line. “I don't know what I want from here, though... They say the food's really good, but there's so much to choose from...” she sighed, staring at the giant menu. “First time here?” A voice said from behind her. Ruestilla turned around to see a Grey Eyrie, smiling patiently. “W-well yes, actually. I just moved here.” she stammered. “Well then, welcome to Faerieland.” he grinned. “I typically get the Flying Faerie Veggie Platter here. Most of the stuff sold here are really more suited as snacks or dessert.” “Ok, then. I'll just get one of those.” As the two got to the front of the line and got their food, they sat down at the same table to eat. “So where are you from?” the Eyrie asked. “Neopia Central.” Ruestilla responded. “Really? Same here. Faerieland's a lot better in my opinion, though. Much more colorful.” he chuckled. “You know, I can probably give you a tour around here. Faerieland's not as hard to get used to as you think it might be.” “That would be great!” Ruestilla beamed. “It'll make settling here a lot easier.” --- After finishing their meal, they went looking around the city. “You see, Faerie City is the best place to go for shopping, but the rest of Faerieland's great for having fun!” the Eyrie beamed. “Like what?” Ruestilla wondered. “Well, there's the Wheel of Excitement, the Poogle Races and Jhudora's Bluff if you're feeling really adventurous, but there's something in particular I've wondered about.” the Eyrie mused. “The Faerie Caverns. They say deep within the caves there's treasure, but nobody's ever found it because the Faeries cast a spell to make people who go in get lost.” “Why would they do that?” Ruestilla frowned. “I thought Faeries were supposed to be nice.” “Oh, most of them are. I guess it's just that they're trying to hide some really good loot!” the Eyrie smirked. He paused. “Wanna try and find it?” Ruestilla went wide-eyed. “But you just said nobody can find the treasure. What makes you think we can do it?” The Eyrie shrugged. “It would be pretty cool if we end up being the first ones to find it. Maybe we'll be rich!” He had a devious look on his face. Ruestilla hesitated. “...Alright, I'll go along!”
--- After a bit of walking, they came across a crag with a cave in the side. Water was flowing from the cave entrance. “These are the Faerie Caverns.” the Eyrie said. He bent over the water and dropped 400 NP into the pond. “That's just a custom around here. They say it brings good luck while traveling in the caves.” he explained, as the golden coins disappeared from view. He grabbed a branch from a nearby tree, and struck it against the rocks. The friction set the branch on fire. “The caverns are pretty dark, so we'll need a torch. Now that we got one, we're all set. Let's go in!” the Eyrie dived right in, with Ruestilla following suit. Almost instantly, they came across a fork in the road. “The Faeries, I've heard, were pretty crafty in hiding the treasure. I think if we're to find the treasure, we'll have to pick three correct paths.” the Eyrie stated. “We can't dally. The torch is pretty weak, and it'll go out if we stall for time.” Ruestilla wondered for a moment. “Let's try the path on the right.” They walked through the tunnel, which simply led to another fork. “So far so good...” the Eyrie mused. “Let's try the left this time.” Yet another fork in the road. However, this time they could see a light... coming from either path. “Oh man, we're so close. I can feel it.” The Eyrie brimmed with anticipation. “Which path should we take?” Ruestilla felt pressured. He seems so excited... What if I pick the wrong path? “...Erm, the right?” “Alright! Moment of truth time!” They bolted down the path... And tripped on a rock, falling into a puddle. The torch went out. “...Darn. That wasn't the right path.” the Eyrie sighed. “I'm sorry.” Ruestilla frowned. “I thought that would be the right one.” “Eh, it was just some wishful thinking. I did say the treasure would be really hard to find. Oh well. We can't stay in here anymore with the torch gone out. If only my housemate were here...” the Eyrie mumbled. Ruestilla looked confused. “What good would your housemate do?” she wondered. “She's a Dimensional Aisha. We could use her as a torch.” the Eyrie snickered. Ruestilla thought for a moment. “...What's her name?” she asked. “Skyies. Why?” Ruestilla was shocked. “I just moved in with Skyies! Are you the Neopet she said went out to shop?” “Oh! You're my new housemate? She said someone new would be coming in! Heh, I guess it really is a small world. What's your name?” he asked. “Me? I'm Ruestilla.” ...A long pause. “...Rui?!” the Eyrie exclaimed. Ruestilla was taken aback. Other than Jewel, the only other Neopet to call her that was a Yellow Bori she knew back when she was a Cloud Ruki in the Pound. That Bori... “...Diggaleg??” Ruestilla asked, bewildered. “I... I can't believe it! Rui, it really is you! I didn't recognize you!” Diggaleg said, gleefully. “I can say the same thing! You've changed so much!” Ruestilla said, in shock. “Skyies uses the lab ray. She even used it on herself; she was the Green Eyrie that adopted me.” Diggaleg explained. “I'm guessing whoever adopted you also used the lab?” Ruestilla nodded. “Yep. Jewel took me in and introduced me to the lab. I guess our dreams of becoming a cool color both came true!” she laughed. Diggaleg beamed. “They sure did! You know, I don't care about the treasure anymore. I found my best friend again!” Ruestilla got up from the puddle. “Come on, let's go home. I think Skyies would be happy to find out we already know each other.” Diggaleg got up as well. “Yeah, we should probably get out of here before we catch a cold from sitting in the water for too long.” He smirked. “Race ya out of here!” He bolted off. Ruestilla chuckled to herself, before chasing after him. Moving to Faerieland was going to be all right. The End.
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