WHAM WHAM WHAM! A green paw slammed on the wooden door. Hotpaw jerked alert
from what he was doing. "Huh? Who could that be? Ramming on my door while I’m
so busy..."
Hotpaw walked to his door, opening the peep hole. He saw a Green Lupe with
a greedy glint in its gray, gravelly eyes. It wore a green garish garment, and
was glowing with greediness.
"Gads!" Hotpaw gasped. "It’s Paypaw! That gross, greedy grabby guppy of a Lupe!"
Hotpaw frowned. "Geeze... I bet he’s going for some green with an elaborate
scheme. But as long as I prevail, I am certain he will fail! Wait a minute,
why am I talking in rhyme? And how come I’m using words with G all the time?
Ah, never mind... maybe if I pretend I’m not home, he’ll go away, and leave
me alone!" But the Lupe kept on banging on the door.
"Hotpaw!" He hollered. "I know you’re in there! Hurry it up! Don’t be such
a bear!"
"No I’m not here at this spot!" He yelled back. Realizing he just gave himself
away, he threw a paw over his mouth. "Darn! Aw great..."
"AHA!" Paypaw scoffed. "Now I know that you know I’m here, and that
you are here as well! Get out of the place from which you dwell! I need to speak
to thee about some money that you owe me!"
"Oh please, stop talking in rhyme! You talk in rhyme all the time! And now
look, you’re making me do it too!"
"Alright, so maybe all of that is true. But that doesn’t change the fact that
YOU owe me cash!"
"Get off of my property, I’m uh... taking a bath."
"But you’re a Fire Lupe, I know that for a fact! If you make contact with water,
you’ll fizzle and thrash!"
"Blurgh! I would have more peace if I lived with Doctor Sloth..."
"Troth! You speak Troth!" Hotpaw slapped himself. "Alright! I’m breaking this
talking in rhyme thing right now! Paypaw, I do not owe you money, and you know
that! I paid you back several weeks ago!"
"Hotpaw, I believe that your head's screwed on wrong! Have you been listening
to shrill Opera songs? You owe me cash! It’s all too clear! And I will NOT get
out of here!"
"Fine! I’m afraid I’ll have to use force!" Hotpaw threw open the door, holding
a torch. "Back off!" He warned, snarling.
Paypaw simply laughed at the innocent-looking torch. "What will you do with
that worthless trinket? That would be nice to light my NeoHome, me thinkit!"
Hotpaw took in a deep breath, then blew on the flame. A blast of fire flew
from the burning wood, scorching the unfortunate Paypaw. "YEOOOOOOW!! GADZOOKS!!
ALAS!! YOU KOOKS!!" Paypaw fled away, his tail blazing behind him as he ran
into the forest, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake.
"NEVER MESS WITH A FIRE LUPE! AND DON’T TRY THAT RHYMING MIND GAME AGAIN!"
Hotpaw yelled after him, before slamming the door with a crash...
Paypaw sat down in his decrepit house, dipping his tail in a bucket of water
as he sighed. He lived in a grubby apartment, with nothing in his possession
but his adorable Petpet and his poetic thinking. "Pen! Come here! Please be
a dear!" He yelled. Soon, a Doglefox ran in, panting happily as Paypaw rubbed
his head. "Life is oh so difficult for me! A starving poet, with no money! I
must borrow and steal if I want to live. And alas, to my community, I have nothing
to give." Paypaw looked out his tarnished window. "There must be some way I
can get some good pay. What’s a good crime I can pull off in time? My landlord
is coming, and my fingers are drumming while the Chia outside in my lawn is
humming..." Paypaw and Pen both jerked alert.
"Woof!" Pen barked.
"A Chia!" Paypaw leapt from his seat. "Clad in white, with glasses thick. Alas!
Those creatures are quite rich! Scamming that one would be quite a pinch! With
my poetic ways and undoubted charm, I would not have to do the good creature
harm! I’ll use my wits to create some tricks! Then in the money I will definitely
be! HAR HAR HAR HO HO HEE HEE HEE!! Come Pen! We have much work to do! Now fetch
me my shoes! My green ones will do! Oh, it’s half past two! Tea time! I guess
I will stop my never-ending rhyme, for a sip of delicious Earl Gray, some cheese,
and maybe some wine! That sounds just fine!"
Later that day...
Al the Chia wandered down the many pathways of Lupe Forest, looking at the
signs confusedly. Although he had explored much of the forest, he was looking
for a Lupe who lived in a house in a neighborhood which he had never visited.
"Hm, let’s see... 1812 Balthazar Pathway should be the right address..." Al
turned his head down to look at his map. At that moment, something leapt from
behind a tree and whirled the sign in front of him around. Al looked up at a
sign again. The figure was gone. "That’s funny... I thought I heard someone,"
Al shrugged, folding up his map. "Alright, so according to that sign, I should
go... this way!" Al marched onward, clicking a pen in his paw to entertain himself
as he wandered down the dusty path.
A shady Green Lupe appeared from behind the tree, snickering as Al disappeared
down the path. "My trick has worked! The Chia is deceived! And now it’s time
to make my leave!" He quickly turned the sign around back to its correct position,
then ran off into the trees...
A couple hours later...
Al scratched his head as he looked around. "This doesn’t seem right..." He
was standing in front of a grimy-looking green apartment building. Suddenly,
the door flew open to reveal a grinning Green Lupe.
"Ahoy there, friend! Please come and draw near! I really find Chias to be quite...
dear!"
Al smiled. "Wow! That’s um... great! I was worried I’d be doomed to a much
worse fate. Hey, why are we talking in rhyme?"
"Pets ask me that all the time. I guess it’s just my poetic way..."
Al shook his head. "Alright, thanks, that’s great, but I really must be going..."
"But why should you? It is not snowing!"
"Now, that’s just confusing..." Al muttered. "I mean, why would it matter if
it were snowing or not... HEY!"
Paypaw snatched his arm. "Oh, come now Al! My rhymes may be confusing at times!
But I must insist I will do you no harm! Even though I am dragging you by your
arm!"
In a few seconds, Al found himself sitting in a broken armchair, the Lupe setting
a cup of tea onto the table in front of him. "Please, drink your fill while
I cook some krill! I wonder, is my voice getting shrill? Alright, I’m going!
Enjoy your beverage!" Paypaw turned and walked into his kitchenette, a devious
smirk on his face.
"It should cause some serious leverage..." he added under his breath.
Al looked at the tea. "Why krill?" He muttered, before gulping it down. "Hm,
good stuff... needs more sugar, though... huh... funny... is this herbal tea?
I suddenly feel very sleepy... hey, there’s that rhyming again." His eyelids
suddenly very heavy, Al fell asleep, snoring louder than a marching band on
St. David’s Day.
Paypaw crept back into the room. "Alright my friend, you’re fast asleep! In
your pockets are the treasures I seek! Stay in rest, my Chia dear, for poverty
is very near..."
Paypaw snatched Al’s labcoat and began digging through the pockets. He pulled
out a spare pair of glasses. "Hm..." He reached in and pulled out another spare
pair. "Well, while the thunder crashes! This pocket is full of nothing but spare
glasses!" He reached into the other pocket, pulling out two pens, a paperclip,
and some lint. "Lint! Lint! That’s all I see! Worthless is what this Chia be!"
Paypaw suddenly noticed that the Chia had a hidden pocket in the inner lining
of his coat. "Hm... well well, what have we here? Maybe my pay is now quite
near..." Paypaw poked a greedy paw into the pocket, searching it thoroughly
until pulling out... two neopoints. "That’s it?" He blurted. "Two lousy points?
A pair of dull-colored, worthless coins? Why is it that this Chia’s so weird...
Alas, it’s just what I had feared... But wait!"
Paypaw threw the drugged Chia off the chair to reveal the backback he had been
wearing. "Alas! Here may be the real gold! I think that I will be that bold!"
He picked up the snoring Chia, tossing him outside through the open window.
"Begone, you curse! I have what I need! Now I can satisfy my endless greed!"
He slammed the window shut, then dashed up to the backpack, reaching into it
eagerly. "Joy of joys, here is the green! Wait, this green is not what it seems.."
Paypaw suddenly felt something clamp onto his paw. He bit his lip and squinted
his eyes. "Hm... this thing is causing me pain... I do not think that there
is anything to gain..." He pulled his paw out to see a Bad Seed plant clamped
onto it. "Oh spite..." Paypaw muttered. Suddenly, two more plants leapt from
the bag, and, snarling, clamped onto his nose and tail, growling. "OH SPITE!!"
Paypaw yelled, a little louder. "PEN! PEN! PLEASE ASSIST! MAKE THESE LOWLY PLANTS
DESIST!!!" Pen took one look at the snarling, vicious plants and fled underneath
the coffee table, his tail in between his legs. "LOUSY WORTHLESS DOGLEFOX! I’D
BE SAFER PROTECTED BY A CARDBOARD BOX!!... YEEEEEEEOW!!!"
Paypaw screeched as the plants bit down deeper and began growling louder. He
began to flail around the room, until finally he threw the plants off. They
thudded against the wall, stunned for a second before jumping up and resuming
their loud barking. Humiliated, Paypaw fled from his own home as the plants
nipped at his feet. He climbed up a tree, the plants barking from the bottom
as he panted. Gasping for breath, the torn-up Lupe clambered up branch after
branch. "This lousy Chia is no good! I must keep him away from my neighborhood!
And as for the rent, I’ll refuse to pay! I swear I will not spend another day,
here where the Chia may once again roam! I’ll find myself a safer home!" With
that, Paypaw sat down on a firm branch, sulking until the Bad Seeds went back
to their owner quite a few hours later...
Al woke up with a start, his eyes fluttering as he looked around, confused.
"Heigh-Ho! Green Lupe? What a strange life, stol’n hence, and left me asleep?
I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of a Chia to
say what dream it was. Man is but a Piffle, if he go about to expound this dream.
Methought I was -- there is no man can tell what. Methought I was -- and methought
I had -- But Chia is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought
I had. The eye of Chia hath not heard, the ear of Chia hath not seen (not that
Chias have ears), Chia’s paw is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor
his heart to report, what my dream was... but boy, it was a great dream!!" With
that, Al jumped up, dusted himself off, and, whistling, walked back down the
path...
The End(Or not the end... that is the question...) | 
