It's Hard Being Small: Part One

by Strata_skywolf_200 & Indigokitten

It was another boring day in Neopia, at least to me anyway. Well, my name is Sapphire, but I don't see why my former owner called me that. I'm more of a stick in the mud then a shining blue jewel, although I am blue. Oh, me? I'm a small Aisha, and I mean small. I'm probably the smallest around here. I'm never noticed, at least not by many people and pets. The only pets that notice me usually step on my tail, or bump into me because they didn't see me. Instead of growing up, I think that I'm growing down. See, one day I was happily playing with my owner, when she left, she never came back. Maybe she forgot about me, I thought, the first day she didn't come back, but then weeks passed. I left, I had too, I was starving.

Now, many pets would have gone out and started begging for food - but not me. I wasn't going to sink to that level (hypothetically speaking...). Well, I did try asking a few people, but they didn't really notice me... that's the problem with being short. So, I decided I would have to just tale the food. Now, I know this is known as 'stealing' - but back then I didn't know it was wrong. My owner hadn't been there long enough to teach me!

I'll always remember the first time I ever stole food... I was standing around the main shops area, when the most appetizing smells came wafting down from above me. I looked up, and saw I was near the bakery. That Kacheek guy had just put a tray of freshly baked donuts in the window, and the smell would have driven any hungry pet to the brink of insanity. I had to have a donut... just one of those warm, sugary rings with their icing that glinted in the sunlight... my mouth began to water. I scarcely knew what I was doing as I crouched further down, watching for the Breadmaster to turn his back, and then…

The adrenaline rush was amazing as I snatched the donut and ran through the crowds, dodging people's feet and pets' feet and the odd PetPet... behind me I could hear shouting, and I knew I was being chased, but I daren't look back. I ran so fast that my little legs ached as my feet pounded across the hard ground, but - suddenly there was no ground beneath my feet; it was as if I was flying... "Here's our little thief!" said a voice, and I turned my head to see that a tall owner who I’d seen talking to the Breadmaster had lifted me into the air. "What do you think you're doing, taking food without paying? And where's your owner?" As I struggled to free myself, I looked around me. A crowd had gathered to see what all the fuss was about, but one particular group of pets caught my eye.

The crowd was outside; it looked like some sort of gang. It was made of four pets. There was an Aisha; he stood quite tall with his green coat. There was a Lupe, who was tough and proud in his red fur. There was a Kougra, who’s quick to react in her stunning silver-striped coat. Even a Wocky that you could see was brave if you looked into her eyes and she had a gigantic fluffy blue tail, like most of her body. Well, finally I loosened the tall man's grip and broke free. I felt for some reason I should follow them. I ran out of the crowd and started trying to find the group of four; it had taken long enough for them to move out of my view. I still had the donut, and ate it on my way, although it wasn’t as filling as I thought. I searched for the longest time, I almost gave up, but then, I found them, or they found me. Pretty soon, I saw that green Aisha again - he looked out at me from behind a corner, as if checking to see if I was still following. I ran towards where I had seen him, but there didn't seem to be anybody there.

"Hello?" I called, as I peered down the dark alleyway, "Anybody th-" Suddenly I felt a hand clasped around my mouth. "Shh! Keep it down," said a deep voice from behind me, "You don't want them to catch you, do you?"

I used my hands to try and pull the hand down so I could speak. "Who's them?" I asked, puzzled. "We know that if you had an owner you wouldn't be around here, because owners don't let their pets come here. This is where most pets that end up in the pound come from," the deep voice explained. When I turned around, I saw that the voice belonged to that red Lupe, who was standing in front of the rest of the 'gang'.

The green Aisha peered out from behind the Lupe and waved at me mischievously. The Lupe spoke again, "We can help you, if you join us..." "Help me?" I replied, indignantly, "What makes you think I need help? I can manage quite well on my own, thank you..." Of course this wasn't true, but I always was a stubborn, proud little thing.

"If you didn't need our help," the Wocky said, "then you wouldn't have been caught..." I had to agree that, if they hadn't distracted that guy who caught me in the marketplace, then - who knows what might have happened? "Well... what's in it for you if you help me?" I asked. Here the green Aisha seemed to take over from his friends. "What Granadier and Asmyth are trying to tell you is that... well, we saw how you handled that whole situation back there. We could really use someone like you in our gang." I was confused, the situation in the bakery wasn't necessarily handled very well, but then again, maybe he meant how I didn't cower and struggled. Yea! That had to be it!

"You're so small, nobody even noticed you - except for that donut stuck to your ear!" said the Kougra, speaking for the first time. I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that they had failed to notice my extreme bravery and lightening-fast reflexes, but hey - if I could use this whole height thing in a positive way, maybe it wouldn't matter so much! "Well, I guess - if you really need my help - then I could consider joining your gang..." I turned my back and glanced behind at the small group of pets. "Erm... what is it exactly that you do?" The green Aisha chuckled, and the rest of them picked up the laughter. It was obvious he was some kind of leader.

"Have you ever read the story of Robin Lupe?" Grenadier said, his gaze falling on a nearby dustbin and a look of fond remembrance in his eyes. I confessed that my owner had seldom bought me books, so I didn't know what he meant. "Ahh... that was one of my favorite books. My owner would often read it to me, when I was but a young Lupe-pup..." The Kougra interrupted him. "We go around Neopia, stealing from the rich to give to the poor - just like Robin Lupe in the story! We help all the poor abandoned pets who hide, scared of being sent to the pound. It's a very important job!"

"I guess I'll join," my stomach rumbled, "but do you have anything I could eat before I start?" I looked around to see if they would offer some food. "We don't have any, but I suppose we could get some, follow me," Clarai (the Kougra) said, then she whispered to Theo (the Aisha), "This could be a test, she could steal enough food from them to feed some of the others, sound okay?" Theo replied, "It's okay with me, but you'd better explain to her to take the right amount of food, enough for others."

To be continued...