In a moderately sized NeoHome in the east side of Neopia
central, the candles were lit, the food and drinks were on the table, and the
lights were all strung outside. A new fireplace from the advent calendar roared
in the living room, in a desperate attempt to add some atmosphere, something
the little NeoHome lacked. It was almost seven o'clock: the Christmas party
would be starting in a few minutes.
Jyndal sunk into a soft Zen chair and heaved
a heavy sigh; his Red Usul frame completely exhausted. Getting his NeoHome ready
for the Christmas party had proved much more work than he had anticipated. He
had invited forty or so guests, though he only expected near half of that number
to show up, as usual. After all, it was less than a week away from Christmas
and there were a lot of Christmas parties going on. He was so tired he could
barely keep himself from falling asleep right there. Luckily for him, the first
guest was already knocking at the door.
Opening it up he saw Rintli, an arrogant blue
Lupe and fanatical Draconian supporter. He invited him in to sit down, being
the kind host he was.
"Hello, Jyndal, how goes the party?" the Lupe
asked.
Jyndal sighed. "Rintli, the party hasn't started
yet, you're the first one."
Rintli looked puzzled. "An hour in and it still
hasn't started? It's 8:00, shouldn't somebody be here?"
Jyndal sighed again. "It's only seven, Rintli."
"Really? When I left the Battledome (fighting
those wretched Meridellians) I could have sworn it said 8:00. Then again, I
just glanced, but I really thought it was eight. You know, I've never seen you
there, at the Battledome I mean. You really should fight with us, we're in the
right yet we're still struggling with victory." Rintli could tell Jyndal wasn't
interested, yet he continued, "I mean, think about it Jyndal: The poor Draconians
were twisted into those horrible creatures all because of Skarl's selfishness.
And you're just going to stand around and watch this atrocity take place?"
Luckily for Jyndal there was more knocking at
the door. He opened it; it was Entsun, a starry Scorchio.
"Hey, Jyndal, I brought some fruitcake for the
party, it's Ummagine flavoured!" Entsun exclaimed in his usual flamboyant style.
Jyndal took it from him and put it on the table.
Why did everyone give him fruitcake?
Within half an hour almost all the guests had
arrived. Rintli was already deep in conversation with wild arm movements about
something, more than likely, involving the war. That seemed to be all he could
talk about, think about even, after it started. The party was in full swing
by nine without any problems; that changed.
It all started when Rintli's new petpet, Avenging
Fury the Dracoknack, started tantalising one of the other guests Symol. He nipped
at it while cackling evilly, watching the Symol hide behind its owner's legs
in fear. At the end of it all the Dracoknack licked its lips, just to add that
extra "Will he eat me?" factor.
"Hey, what's your freaky little pet doing to
my Symol?" asked Wynyana, a yellow Kyrii.
Rintli chuckled and taunted. "Why, he's getting
revenge for all the things Meridell did to him. Is your Symol too used to living
a leisurely life with the Orb, perhaps? Can't take the stress of the real world,
maybe?"
"Don't bring the war into this, Rintli. He's
a petpet, he just lived there, he didn't steal the Orb," she said, picking
up her petpet defensively.
Jyndal saw the need to step in before Rintli
went too far; he wanted this to be an enjoyable evening. He almost regretted
inviting Rintli now. The Lupe had become a little over the top about the war.
"Calm down, calm down. Let's leave the war out
of this. Just enjoy yourselves and keep your petpets under control." He looked
at Rintli. "And try to keep the zealous converting thing on the light side,
okay?"
Rintli didn't smile. In fact, he scowled at Jyndal
so angrily that Jyndal was almost offended.
"You're neutral. If you don't want to get involved
in the war, stay out of this as well," Rintli said coldly.
Ickros, a Halloween Kougra, walked into the room
just in time to hear the very end of the conversation. Being on the Meridellian
side and a little hot headed, after hearing Rintli's remarks he couldn't help
but butt in.
"You better watch what you say about Skarl, weakling,"
he snarled at Rintli.
It had crossed the line for Jyndal. He didn't
need this to ruin his party. It was just a war, something he wasn't even involved
in, and it was going to cause a fight in his NeoHome.
"Stop this nonsense! All of you stop! Look, this
is a Christmas party, not a-" He was cut off by Rintli.
"Get back, Jyndal. I have a thieve to take care
of..." Rintli said, stepping forward with a very dangerous look in his eyes.
"What do you think you're doing, Rintli? It's
just a war, nothing to ruin a party, my party, over!" Jyndal reasoned.
"Just a war? Just a war? Pets just like you and
me were living peacefully and then what happened? Some greedy knights came in
and ruined their lives. And you say it's no big deal? Get back Jyndal, this
is beyond your comprehension, obviously," Rintli said, more grave then ever.
"Lies! Skarl never took the Orb, he would never
steal something like that!" Ickros said, butting in again.
Suddenly Rintli's Dracoknack, Avenging Fury,
leapt on to Ickros, biting and scratching him rabidly.
Jyndal realised something. These weren't his
friends; these weren't the pets he knew. These were mortal enemies, fighting
against each other for a reason far beyond either of them. And on top it all,
it was almost Christmas. He couldn't have all this happen at a Christmas party
where everyone was trying to have a good time. He had to take action. Even though
that wasn't the average move for the placid Usul, it had to be done.
Meanwhile, across the room, Ickros beat the vicious
petpet off of him. The Dracoknack growled again and, with the encouragement
of Rintli, was about to strike once more when it was swat by Jyndal's powerful
tail. The petpet flew across the room slamming into his prized Zen chair with
great momentum. The petpet tried to get up but instead slumped on the floor
unconsciously.
"What are you doing, Jyndal?!" Rintli screamed
at him. "Have you lost your mind?!"
All of the other guests flooded in from the other
rooms, trying to make sense of the scene they beheld.
Rintli paid no attention to them. "So, Jyndal,
you really had your allegiance with Meridell all along. You played the innocent,
the neutral one, but now we can see your true colours. And then you go and do
this." He pointed to his delirious petpet.
The guests, not actually seeing the act, supposed
that Jyndal had done something quite horrible, some even assumed that the petpet
was dead. A Kiko, obviously on the draconian side, drew his attack fork and
pointed it at the Usul.
"Beware, Meridellian, you traitors slay one of
our own and you too will be slain!" he snarled.
"Traitors? Traitors?" Wynyana laughed "Why, Rintli
only switched sides three day ago. Isn't that the true definition of traitor?"
Rintli growled and raised his hands in the air
furiously. "Lies, lies I tell y--"
"Ah, you say that, Rintli," a Skeith in the crowd
of onlookers interrupted. "But I too remember your former allegiance."
"Of course you do; you're on the side of Meridell.
You'll do anything to make me look bad," he replied, a little less hot-headedly.
"Oh no, I'm a steadfast Draconian. You, however,
were not always," replied the Skeith matter-of-factly.
Rintli's eyes blazed with anger, as did his body.
He trembled, trying to keep from lashing out against the Skeith His bronze sword
almost left its sheath, but he was able to control himself. Everyone at the
party now looked on, making it all the more humiliating for the Lupe. He didn't
know what to do, they were all looking at him, he was sweating, and he was enraged.
But his path was chosen for him.
"Just like all you Draconians," said Ickros.
"You're a hypocrite. You switch sides because you think Darigan's winning, not
for any 'moral duties' like you're always telling us real warriors. No, you're
a hypocrite, a worthless, pathe-" Ickros was cut off by Jyndal, something Jyndal
had done numerous times during the evening and was getting very tired of.
"Ickros, that's enough! You're worse than Rintli!
Stop trying to start a fight where there isn't one. If you don't calm down I'm
going to ask you to leave," Jyndal said, agitated and extremely frustrated.
Unfortunately, it was already too late for poor
Jyndal. Now the Draconian supporters were terribly mad at Ickros, and all the
other Meridellians for that matter. Of course, Rintli, the one the whole insult
had been aimed at, was one of the most furious. His tail swatted back and forth
in an anxious habit he'd developed when he was a young pup. His teeth were clenched
tightly, trying to contain his anger. But now he wasn't the only one: both sides
were divided on either side of the room, looking at each other with eyes of
rage, hatred even, and reaching for their weapons.
Jyndal could see what was about to ensue. He
had given up all hope of calming both sides down now. But he couldn't let a
fight break out in the middle of his Christmas party. Maybe if he just waited
there emotions would settle down, then they would start to think reasonably
and everything would be fine. Maybe.
"Hey, I've got an Orb myself," said a Grarrl,
holding up a Gobstopper "You want it? Probably not, if you did you would have
already taken it," he taunted, obviously trying to infuriate those on the
side of Meridell.
One Moehog finally reached the boiling point.
"Darigan's a liar! Fools, can't you see what's
happening? He's lying to you, manipulating you, he's making you into a disposable
army!" he yelled stomping and snorting as he did so.
An arrow was released from an Expert Bow, whizzing
across the room and nearly striking the Moehog between the eyes. Jyndal couldn't
believe what he had just witnessed. A friend of his, a very good friend had
fired on another friend of his out of anger. This wasn't the Battledome; this
was his living room. This wasn't a friendly match; this was war.
Soon snowballs, novas and other weapons were
flying across the room. The two sides rushed each other, swinging swords, firing
frost cannons and scratching one another in the fury of battle. The scene taking
place in his NeoHome now horrified Jyndal. He tried to yell at them, tried to
get their attention, but they were all lost in the rage of battle. Two grand
lightning beams unleashed by someone he believed to be Meridellian blew the
circuitry in all the electronics, including the lights, of his NeoHome Now it
was completely dark except for the candles flickering about in different places.
Furniture was cracking in half and vases of all kinds were shattering as they
fell from their positions.
Of course, everyone wasn't fighting; some had
taken cover behind corners or especially sturdy pieces of furniture. Jyndal
did the same, hiding behind a stone sofa, something that definitely is considered
sturdy. The battle raged on, many of the fighters falling down unconscious.
And then, to Jyndal's horror, one of the Skeith's tails knocked over a candle.
The candle was knocked onto the tablecloth, which was set ablaze. The fire grew,
spreading to the carpeted floor and moving on from there. It spread to the walls,
the curtains, everything on that side of the room. This was far more terrifying
than anything that had happened thus far, his NeoHome was burning to the ground!
The fighters soon realised what was happening
as they felt the heat searing against them. The majority of them rushed away
from the fire at the same time. They struggled to get to the door, tripping
over one-another and becoming entangled by other pets' tails. Jyndal couldn't
run. Everything he owned, his whole life, was disappearing before his eyes.
But he had to move: the fire was spreading, and unless he wanted to give up
his life he would have to move.
The other guests were still trying to get through
the door, something that proved extremely difficult since they all had to be
the first one out. Entsun was the first to get the bright idea of diving through
a window, the only way to avoid the crowd. He did so, and to everyone else's
astonishment was quickly safe and away from the house. Now all the pets were
going through the windows as the fire expanded to the ceiling, causing several
of the ceiling's boards to fall down flaming.
Jyndal had to make his move now; he was almost
the last one left. There was nothing he could do about the fire. He bit his
tongue and ran through the doorway, but not before making a narrow escape with
a flaming lamp that fell in front of him. As he exited the house he couldn't
help but stand in the street, looking on at his burning NeoHome The "guests"
all stood dumbfounded next to him, some were in a state of shock while watching
the house burn, and others felt guilty for what was happening. Rintli suddenly
had a thought that cut him to the quick, his petpet was still in the house!
"Avenger! AVENGER!" he called in a vain attempt
to get the petpet out of the house.
The roof fell apart as the flames reached the
last rooms of the house. Some of the guests were quietly sneaking away into
the darkness, not wanting to be charged by the Chia police for the accident.
Rintli sunk away with some of them, wishing he
had his petpet at his side.
Hours later, near midnight, Jyndal sat on the
curb, looking up at his demolished NeoHome He walked through the gaping hole
that was once the door, he saw the stone sofa, it was the only thing still in
good condition. A low murmuring whimper sounded around him, he thought it was
himself for a second. After listening, he realised that it wasn't him, it was
something else. He followed the noise deeper into the remains of his NeoHome;
it grew faintly louder as he approached what was once his living room.
It seemed to be coming from the charred remains
of his Zen Chair, though he couldn't imagine how. The Chair was up side down,
probably overturned by the stampede of pets that left his NeoHome after the
fire. He tried to turn it back over, but the ashes were still hot. He gave it
a good shove, causing it to crumble into a half ash, half fabric pile. Suddenly
the whimpering grew louder. Looking down he saw a Dracoknack still crouched
under what had once been the Chair. It purred and rubbed up against his leg,
thrilled to be free from the cover that saved its life. He picked it up and
it licked him, trying to thank him for letting it out of the small prison. Apparently
the Dracoknack had become much better natured after its near-death experience.
It wasn't exactly a ray of hope, but it was a
glimmer of light in the darkness of Jyndal's night.
The End
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