Flo: Part Five by shelleylow |  |
A few days later, for that nightmare had been the worst
attack yet and Shell felt it was best to allow some time for it to settle, she
made the announcement that she had decided to get another pet. The three siblings
met this news with mixed reactions. Dasher barked happily, asking eager questions
about gender, species and colour, and then names. Wen sat, looking thoughtful,
a gentle smile on his face. Florepa simply gazed stonily ahead.
When she had gone, and Dasher rushed upstairs
to think of nice, pretty names, Florepa muttered something about the new pet
replacing them. Wen looked at him.
"Flo, Shell said she'd never replace us, not
for Neopia. Surely you trust her?"
"Oh, I trust her alright, I'm just afraid the
new pet will worm its sly little way into Shell's affections." Wen smiled. "Come
on now. She adopted the two of us, didn't she? And she treats us well. Dash's
still happy as a clam."
Florepa nodded. "Perhaps you're right, perhaps
I am being silly."
A few hours later, Florepa had been reading
a new book in the shared room when he heard the door open. Must be Shell with
the new pet, he thought to himself, and got up to see. He could hear Dasher's
delighted tones and Wen's amused grunt as Shell told the little creature reassuringly
that it needn't be scared of the big Grarrl.
As he laid his eyes on the scene, he immediately
stopped in his tracks, frozen in place as he watched his dreaded nightmare become
reality. A tiny green Peophoal was gazing up with benevolent, blue-green eyes
at her new family. Dash, Wen and Shell raised their heads to him.
"Come on, Flo." Shell's voice was welcoming.
"Come meet your new sister."
"Yeah, Flo," said Dasher encouragingly. "Her
name's-" Florepa ran back into the room and shut the door. Shell looked quickly
at Dasher and Wen.
"I'll handle him. You both, in the meantime,
show Tsunami the rest of the house."
Shell couldn't help feeling rather guilty as
she opened the door. There was no sign of Florepa except a blue tail with its
leaf like flap at the end of it that stuck out from underneath the duvet on
his bed. Shell walked towards it and sat down.
"Flo," she said softly. "Please don't be mad
at me."
"I'm not mad at you," came the voice, slightly
muffled by the bedclothes. "It's just…you promised you wouldn't get another
pet in place of me…"
"And I haven't. Tsunami is going to be my last
pet; she'll be part of the family, like I said. I've been planning to get a
Peophin all my Neopian life anyway, and I have a chance now because…Flo, you
have to let it go."
"Surari stole the love of my owners…"
"And you should have no one to blame but your
owners," Shell said, gently but reprovingly. "They are the ones who chose to
get Surari, they are the ones who chose to neglect you, they are the ones who
chose to abandon you. Surari shouldn't be the one you come down on, Flo. I should
have told you this before, and I'm sorry we never had a chance to talk about
it." Silence. Shell decided to continue.
"As I said before Flo, I am not planning to
abandon you. And I want you to please go out there now and get acquainted with
your new sister, and have some lunch. It's an organic vegetable platter."
Florepa eventually emerged from the bed and walked
towards the door. "Alright," he muttered. "I trust you, and Dash and Wen. I'll
go and eat."
But at the door he halted, turned, and his eyes
hardened. "But just don't expect to me to like that…that THING, that's all.
I'll put up with it and take care of it when it needs me, but that's all. I
won't like it, much less love it."
As Shell followed him out the door she sighed,
half in relief that Flo was taking it in his stride, and half wearily because
she knew the battle wasn't quite won yet.
As the days passed, little Tsunami, soon nicknamed
Su, became a well-loved member of the family, but no more so than all the other
pets. For Shell, at least, she presented a contrast to the young Dasher. Dash
as a pup had been bursting with energy and life, vivacious, exuberant and cheery
as most young pets were expected to be. Tsunami on the other hand was quieter
and shyer, as perhaps all her kind. She loved to play with her siblings, but
preferred indoor games to wild romps outside. And, as undoubtedly all her kind,
she loved water. There was a river running not far from the house that was clean
and clear, and in fact where the family got their water, and Tsunami could spend
all day in it, splashing and playing or else sitting in a shallower region enjoying
the feel of the cool water as it ran over her body. And as all young Peophins
who are exposed to water regularly, she soon had taught herself to swim.
As for Flo, he kept true to his word. He 'put
up' with Tsunami all right, and when it so happened that the other members of
the family were busy he would grudgingly set himself to the task of watching
her. But become fond of her, he didn't.
***
One fine morning Tsunami waddled up to Shell, as she had to having no hind
limbs but a tail.
"Shell," she asked politely and quietly, as
always.
"Could I go down to the meadow by the forest
to play?"
"Of course, dear," Shell said. "Only you'll
have to get one of your brothers or Dash to take you, because I'm waiting for
an important Neomail. Sorry."
"Me neither, Su," called Dasher. "I'm trying
to decide which of these new books to read first."
"Or me," called Wen from the kitchen. "I'm trying
out a new recipe for Blueberry Fish Pops to make them more tasteful."
Everyone looked at Florepa.
"Fine," he muttered, getting off the sofa where
he had been sitting doing nothing in particular. "C'mon, let's go."
Tsunami's neat little hooves made no sound on
the springy turf of the meadow. The grass was quite long, up to the tops of
her legs, but she was obviously enjoying herself as she wandered contemplatively
to and fro, dragging her tail behind her over the grass as she went. Florepa
sat on a flat rock and watched the little green and red and gold shape among
the light coloured grass, thinking what a bother she was. "Who cares about her
anyway," he grumbled to himself. "I'm only looking after her for the family."
Tsunami was having fun. She loved the feel of
the grass tickling her slender limbs and flattening under her broad tail. She
made her slow, meandering way to the edge of the forest, lifted her head, and
froze. She had seen, sharp-eyed as she was, a flickering blaze of yellow amongst
the green bushes in the forest. Tsunami's senses told her to address the situation
with caution, but like all young things, she was curious, and she walked slowly
and cautiously towards the area, sniffing the air.
When she was about ten metres away from the bushes,
a long low snarling yellow furred shape with narrow whiskered jaws suddenly
launched itself out of the undergrowth and at her. Tsunami's Peophin instinct
took over in the panic she felt and with a loud squeal for help fled as quickly
as she could into the grass and made for the nearest source of water, which,
she knew, was the river. Once in her element, she knew, she would have control,
she would be able to leave the Lupe pack far behind. Even a baby Peophin could
swim well enough to do that in the water.
But a baby Peophin on land is an entirely helpless
creature where flight from predators is concerned. Her awkward tail kept getting
in the way as she had not yet learned by experience how to balance it with her
body weight by leaning forward, her tiny hooves too weak as yet to propel her
whole weight over the ground. Moreover, the long grass was entwining itself
around her limbs, tripping her up. She could hear the triumphant howls of the
pack behind her as they gained on her, and in desperate terror tried to move
even faster.
Florepa, from a distance, heard the squeal and
saw the pursuit as it crossed the meadow. I don't care about Peophins, he tried
to tell himself, but something else was telling him, no, no, this one hasn't
done any harm to you. Not this one. This one is different. This one isn't Surari.
This one is your sister.
Instantly, as fast as he could run, Florepa was
off the rock and away over the grass.
Tsunami was tiring fast. Her breath came in
short gasps and she knew she could go no further. With a last struggle she flopped
down in the grass, completely exhausted and sobbing for breath, covered her
eyes with her fore limbs and prepared for the end. In a second the Lupe pack
was on top of her. But in another second there came a wild cry of "LEAVE MY
SISTER ALONE!" and a blue and yellow and orange bolt shot straight into them,
sending them tumbling left and right and yelping in shock. Several of the braver
ones, however, picked themselves up and turned, growling threats, on Florepa,
who was now straddling the Peophoal, protecting her. He fought them off, using
none of his weapons but all of his skill and experience, and pretty soon, they
were all galloping off back into the forest, grumbling or yelping.
As the noise of their growls subsided, Tsunami
slowly uncovered her eyes. There, above her, was that elusive, anti-social brother
of hers, who had, she now saw, saved her life. For a moment the two pets regarded
each other. The inky-dark eyes looked into the blue-green. Then, with a whinny
of relief and gratitude, Tsunami rubbed her head against the Zafara's foreleg.
Florepa, despite himself, felt a feeling of brotherly love and protectiveness
run through him, one that he had not felt since Carayi. This Peophin was indeed
different from Surari. Never again would he have those horrible dreams, or fear
replacement, or hate Peophins, especially not this one. He smiled lovingly down
at her. "Come on Su," he said, with genuine warmth in his voice. "Let's go home."
The End |
