Fated: Merry Meet Again

     And yet now, they were forgotten. The world had forgotten them, and they had forgotten each other. They lived their lives separately, with no thought or memory of what they had done, or of the friendship they had once shared. Kiliaresetar and Shalaresilv were placed in the Pound, under new names, and adopted by people who lived on the opposite side of Neopia from each other, never to see each other again... unless fate should take an interest once more....

     The Darigan Kougra yawned and stretched, folding and refolding her dark wings. Chantelle - once known as Shalaresilv - rolled over, tossing the blanket off as she did so. Sighing, Chantelle padded down the stairs. "Kaya?" she called to her owner. "I can't sleep."

     The eighteen-year-old gently placed her magazine. "Do you want me to read you a story, Chantelle?"

     She looked down at her paws uncomfortably. "Yes, if it's all right. I know it's kind of a kiddy thing, but hearing a story somehow always seems to help me fall asleep."

     "It's all right," Kaya told her. "I'd be happy to. I think I've found one you've not read yet."

     "What's that?" Chantelle asked.

     Kaya smiled. "I think it's called Twist of Fate. It's old. I hadn't even heard of it before I found it in the Book Shop during my restocking. It didn't appear on the Shop Wiz, though, so I decided to read it to you."

     "Yay!" Chantelle enthused, bounding up the stairs. She sat on her bed, recovering the blanket while Kaya climbed up to her room.

     Finally, the human reached her pet's room, book in hand. Kaya sat down on the single chair, opening the book to the first page. She cleared her throat. "All right. Chapter One." Kaya paused once more, then took a deep breath and began.

     "It was the darkest of times, and some would even say hopeless. But not all was without light and joy. Among the despairing Neopets of the world, there were two friends. They were Kougras, Darigan and Faerie, as different as night and day in everything including color. And everywhere they went, the people found hope and light once more, if only for a brief moment. Later, it would be said that it was fate that had brought Shalaresilv and Kiliaresetar together."

     Chantelle drew in her breath sharply, but Kaya was so involved in the story that she didn't notice. As Chantelle listened, she thought over why the first paragraph could have startled her so. But soon enough, the story drew her in as well. It was the story of two Kougras, joyful friends in the worst of times, who found the courage to save the world from the evil of Dr. Frank Sloth.

     Eventually, though, the tale had to draw to a close. "And while Neopia was saved, soon all began to forget what was owed to the two Kougras. And eventually, they separated, and they both forgot. Kiliaresetar and Shalaresilv were adopted by people on opposite sides of Neopia, under new names, and were fated never again to meet."

     Chantelle was sniffling at the end. "Thanks for the story, Kaya," she said, "but the end was really sad."

     Kaya herself was tearing up. "I know, sweet. Anyway, it's time to sleep now. You should be fine."

     Nodding,Chantelle rolled over, tucking the blanket around herself. She drifted off to dreams of Sloth and evil and a Faerie Kougra.

     ***

     "Shalaresilv," the other Kougra breathed. "Silv, why have you forgotten? How could you forget me, forget what we've done?"

     Chantelle blinked, knowing at once that the other addressed her. "I'm sorry, but I don't know you, miss."

     The Faerie Kougra with the bright gold eyes tilted her head down sadly. "You see? You've forgotten even me, your best friend Kiliaresetar. Remember how we used to play tricks on each other, then laugh when the other couldn't figure it out? When I used to call you Silver-fur, and you'd get mad at me for implying that you were old?"

     She took a deep breath. "You used to call me Kili. Please, remember, Silv!" Kiliaresetar pleaded, anguish in her eyes.

     Chantelle backed up. "I - I'm sorry, I don't know you," she stammered. Chantelle continued backing up, until she hit something. She looked back at it and gasped in horror. It was Sloth! He grabbed her and dragged her away. Chantelle fought against the huge green hands, but to no avail.

     With a shriek, Chantelle bolted upright. The dream had come and gone again. It was the fifth time in as many days that it had appeared, and she began to wonder whether or not there was some meaning to it.

     Yawning, Chantelle got up and, not even bothering to brush her fur, padded down the stairs. There was a huge rumbling across the road. "Kaya, what's that?" she asked plaintively. "It's really noisy."

     The teen glanced out the window. "Someone's moving in across the way. There's a bunch of Skeiths out there, eating breakfast before they start."

     "Ah." Chantelle smirked. "Can I go see? Maybe I can help!"

     Kaya smiled, patting the dark Kougra on the head. "You're a sweetie, Chantelle. Go ahead."

     Chantelle smiled as she bolted out of the house. She would find a new friend! She weaved in between the multitude of feasting Skeiths, running for the house. At the last moment, though, one moved, to stand directly in her way. Chantelle gasped, knowing she'd be unable to stop, but instincts from a time long gone kicked in, and she dug her claws into the earth before pushing off hard, soaring over the fat blue Neopet. At the height of her jump, her wings flapped open, to brace herself against the hard landing.

     Oddly, the story from five days ago haunted her. Shalaresilv had been a mighty warrior. Her reflexes were superb, her weapon skills exquisite. The tale hinted that no one had ever defeated her in a fair fight. Again, Chantelle began to wonder about where she had come from and who she really was. After all, she was adopted.

     Chantelle shook it off as she loped off to meet the people moving in. It was just a dream, right? The teenager and two pets moving in were much more interesting.

     "Hi!" Chantelle chirped as she drew to a halt.

     One of the pets, a Faerie Bori, looked up from his work. "Hiya, who are you?"

     "My name's Chantelle," she told him. "I live across the street, and I though I'd come and see if you needed help moving in."

     He looked at her gratefully. "Thank you. I'm Tau, and this is my adopted sister, Cyral. Our owner is Allie." The two named poked their heads up and waved. Chantelle caught her breath at the sight of Cyral. She was a Faerie Kougra, but her eyes were a bright gold, as Twist of Fate had said. Cyral looked clumsy, as well, like the Kiliaresetar of the story. Indeed, as Chantelle moved to help, Cyral dropped the box she was carrying.

     Reflexes kicked in again, and Chantelle's leap brought her over the wall of containers between them and under the falling box in scant few seconds. Cyral stared at the Darigan Kougra, eyes wide. And why should she not? After all, the pet in front of her was her opposite in every way that she could see.

     Chantelle could not contain her curiosity any longer. As she handed the box to Cyral, she blurted her question out: "Have you ever read a story called 'Twist of Fate'?"

     Cyral blinked, a bit taken aback. "Actually, I was about to ask you the same thing. Your coloring, your agility... I watched you clear that Skeith. Even your eyes - they're a clear silver. You look and act exactly like Shalaresilv."

     Laughing, Chantelle picked up another box, to carry it into the house. Cyral did the same as Chantelle voiced her reasons. "Oddly, you look and act exactly like Kiliaresetar. Faerie, clumsy, gold eyes... you're my opposide, in every way, shape, and form."

     The two laughed together as they entered the house, but suddenly, they stopped. A hooded figure stood in the middle of the main room. "Who's that?" Cyral whispered to Chantelle.

     "You think I'd know, Kili?" Chantelle snapped, then gasped. The words hadn't felt like they came from her. They felt like they belonged to another lifetime, to someone she wasn't. "Sorry," Chantelle said, a moment later. "I don't know where that came from."

     The hooded figure chuckled. "Old memories returning, dearie."

     "What's that supposed to mean?" Cyral snapped. "Silv - Oh! Sorry, Chantelle. Like you said, I don't know where that came from. Very sorry."

     The figure was annoyed. "If we could stop apologizing for calling each other by nicknames from years ago? Just get on with it and recognize each other."

     "What? Who do you think you are?" Cyral shouted, angry now.

     Another point for the Kiliaresetar similarity, Chantelle thought drily. She had been recorded as the more easily angered of the two.

     "It's not who I think I am, but who you think you are," the cloaked person chuckled. "You think you are Cyral and Chantelle, two exactly opposite Kougras who live across the way from each other. But you are not. You are Kiliaresetar and Shalaresilv, the two Kougras of the forgotten legend, who saved Neopia once in the darkest time. Admit it."

     The odd figure disappeared in a flash of smoke, and Cyral and Chantelle were left to stare at each other blankly. "Do you think we could-" Cyral began.

     "-Really be Shalaresilv and Kiliaresetar?" Chantelle finished. "Whoops. There we go again. Yet another point. The story said-"

     "-That the two of them often finished each other's sentences." Cyral looked smug, while Chantelle was scowling.

     "I feel as though I've met you before," Chantelle told Cyral. "I don't know what's going on here, but I believe that we can be the best of friends. So what if we're opposites? So were the two Kougras of the story."

     Cyral smiled. "Indeed, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

     And the two became the best of friends, as Chantelle had predicted. In time, nicknames cropped up, but those that stuck were Kili for Cyral and Silv for Chantelle. Neither knew why they stuck, or why they had become friends, but they knew one thing: It was good they had met.

     It was fate's hand that brought Kiliaresetar and Shalaresilv together once more. For what purpose, not even they could say. But whatever lies ahead, they will face together, as best friends, forever.

The End

Author's Note: Just to let you all know, this may or may not turn into a mini-series. I've set it up so it can go either way, so I shall toy with it until I'm happy with it. Hope to hear from you, get feedback, etcetera.