All the party crackers left a mess of confetti and streamers that I had to sweep up. I took down the Pin the Slime Trail on the Slorg game from my wall; some of the guests had pinned the "slime trails" directly onto my wallpaper. I cleared the tables of empty plates and cups, and the floor of stray candy wrappers.

I wiped my brow with a sigh and leaned against my broom, staring at the Spotted Vandagyre in the wall mirror tiredly looking back at me. Maybe, when all my family and friends were asking me what I wanted for my birthday, I should've said I wanted everyone to help me clean up afterwards.

Still, when I noticed the presents stacked on my couch, waiting for me, my spirits lifted somewhat and I smiled. Curling up to open everyone's presents for me would be the perfect reward after the cleanup.

But thoughts of cleaning up fled my mind when I squinted at the gifts, all wrapped in multicoloured paper and tied with beautiful ribbons and string. I set my broom aside and approached them; I noticed something about the presents that was off, and that was...

I hurried over to the stack of gifts to look closer at them. I picked up the top box, a brilliant yellow and blue square with a perfect bow on top, and it was surprisingly light. "Huh?" I murmured to myself as I brought it close to my ear and shook it.

No sound.

"That's strange," I thought as I turned the box around to inspect it. The back of the box seemed normal. When I turned the box upside down though, I saw it. A large hole.

I gasped and looked down at the stack. There I saw a hole through the top of the next box. I picked it up and looked into the opening only to find myself staring straight through to the other side.

"Oh no!" I cried out as I quickly moved each box. Sure enough, the trail of holes continued. The path zig-zagged through every box until I reached the bottom of the pile. There I saw the beginning of the trail of paper leading away from the stack. Every box was empty.

"How is this possible, it's only been a couple of hours?" I asked myself as I followed the trail of paper. I soon found myself standing in front of my back door, staring at yet another small hole at the base of it.

All that cleaning and now someone, or something, had stolen all my gifts? I clenched my beak and scowled. It hadn't been that long, whoever had my gifts couldn't have gotten that far yet. With a determined scowl, I opened my back door...

Quickly, I ran after it, ignoring the fact that I hadn’t even put shoes on as I ran through the muddy backyard of my Neohome. It was raining, and hard to see, but I ploughed on anyway as I followed the mysterious being into the forest behind my home.

I still couldn’t make out what it was, but it looked to be some sort of creature. Perhaps a Petpet, or even a Petpetpet? All I could see was a strange path moving forward, zigzagging in and out through the dirt.

“Whatever that thing is, it has my presents, and I need to find it fast!” I muttered angrily.

Quickly, I realized I was running out of breath. But I continued onward, determined to catch the present stealing thief! I was soon led to a small cave on the very outskirts of the forest, overlooking a large hill. The creature seemed to zip quickly into the cave before I could catch it, and I marched right up to the entrance.

I curiously poked my head inside the cave, squinting my eyes so I could see better. The cave looked dark at first, and I shivered from being covered in rainwater and the chill of the dimly lit cave. But as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I was shocked to discover…

There was a soft chitter, and I looked down to see the same furry creature I had chased. Large blue eyes met mine, and the creature made the same soft questioning noise.

"Are you-" I squinted "Are you a Lutra?"

The Lutra began to run gleefully in circles, jumping and twisting in the air so wildly that numerous piles of presents teetered over.

"Hey!" I yelled out angrily, "Be careful! Some of those could be mine!"

The Lutra froze and quivered the moment it heard me yelling, and I immediately felt reproached.

"I'm sorry," I said, much more gently, "I'm just upset because you took my presents. I'm very friendly, see?" I crouched down and slowly held out my hand.

The Lutra came closer to me, sniffing cautiously. Suddenly, she - I decided that it was she - dove into the nearest pile of presents. I heard some scrambling before she popped back up with what looked to be a faerie doll in her mouth. She scampered over to me and placed the doll at my feet, and then quickly ran away a distance and turned to face me again, eyes beaming.

"Was this one of mine?" I said softly. I picked up the doll and turned it around - it was indeed the Snow Faerie Doll I had asked for. "Oh, thank you!"

I reached out my hand again, and the Lutra came forward to rub her head cautiously against it.

"I guess you're kind of cute." I murmured, "But still, you stole my presents! I'm taking them back, okay?"

The Lutra began to chitter excitedly again and chase its tail. I felt a little silly - of course, it couldn't understand me!

Eyeing the piles of objects closest to me, I honed in on the wet ones and began to scoop them up.

"And maybe a few extra ones too..." I muttered, eyeing a few objects on other piles. There was a scratch card poking out, which I always loved. And that Lord Kass Card looked valuable, too valuable to sit in the mud.

Arms full of presents, I stopped once to look back at the Lutra, still chasing its tail. "Sorry little buddy, but this is coming with me!" I announced before gingerly stepping backwards out into the rain and -

"-What are you doing?" A voice inquired coolly behind me.

I gulped, my face flushing red. Slowly, I turned around to face...

"The Pant Devil!" I exclaimed, stumbling backwards a little bit. I narrowly avoided tripping over the Gormball Ursula Action Figure I had put on my birthday wishlist some time ago now. I briefly wondered who it was from as I caught and regained my balance.

"The one and only," he responded with a note of pride in his voice and a maniacal grin. "It's not polite to enter someone else's home without a formal invitation. In fact, it could be considered breaking and entering."

I glanced around the cave more closely now, taking in my surroundings. The Pant Devil's piercing stare illuminated the bizarre den I had stumbled upon in an eerie red light. I could now see that the cold damp floor was littered with towers of items! There was far more here than just my missing presents. Towers and towers of miscellaneous items, none properly sorted. Even the cave walls were covered! There were posters and framed photos hanging around me, all presumably stolen.

I spotted a Team Kiko Lake poster and rolled my eyes. That tracked. That particular Altador Cup team was constantly collecting donations or so they called it. As a prime thief, it figures the Pant Devil would resonate with them.

Mustering my courage, I finally met the Pant Devil's stare with a challenging look of my own. "It's also not polite to steal someone's presents! You took my gifts," I countered.

The Pant Devil chuckled in response. "So I did," he readily admitted. "Finder's keepers. Stealing is kind of my whole thing. Nothing personal."

"But it is personal!" I found myself arguing back. My heart was racing at being face to face with one of Neopia's most infamous villains but this was truly ridiculous. I summoned all my defiance and bravery. "Those gifts you stole were from my loved ones. My friends and family! They specifically bought those items with me in mind. They're not meant for you!"

The Pant Devil tilted his head thoughtfully, considering my rant. "Well, what are your presents worth to you?" He asked. Seeing my look of tentative confusion, he grinned before continuing on. "You discovered my lair which is quite inconvenient, to be honest. I have no desire to pack up and move. I, erm, am a bit of a packrat as you can see. So I'll make you a deal. You can have your presents back on one condition...

The Lutra I had followed into the cave cooed and purred at my feet, showing me her soft underbelly. The adorable Petpet was certainly an unknowing accomplice to the infamous villain. I reached down and gave her a belly rub that she happily accepted.

I sighed and gathered my convictions. “I’ll agree to your proposition on one condition,” I said with as much bravery as I could muster.

The Pant Devil raised a bony, ghastly hand in protest.

“Hear me out,” I interrupted. “I’ll do this for you and keep your secret so long as I can keep her.”

I dropped the presents I had picked up previously and exchanged them for the Lutra, snuggling her to my chest.

“You want to keep the Petpet that I stole from you?” the Pant Devil asked incredulously, pausing a moment before laughing at me. “That’s rich! You Neopets are complete saps. Dear Sloth.”

The floating monster wiped away tears from his laughing fit. He was quite entertained. I, on the other hand, was not.

“Yes. That’s what I want,” I said, holding my ground.

“Fine. You’ve got yourself a deal. I’m sure I’ll be able to find another tiny pest to help with my bidding in no time.”

I turned on my heels and headed out of the cave, with my new thieving Petpet following behind me…

I was interrupted from my moping by the sound of soft chittering. I looked down to see the Lutra - my Lutra - looking up at me with big, concerned eyes. As if to cheer me up, she flopped over onto her back in the middle of the muddy trail, pawing at me for more belly rubs. I sighed, finally cracking a smile as I leaned down to pet her. No matter what happened from here on out, saving her would be worth it.

...

I'll spare the details of my long trek back through the rain, but by the time I got home, my feathers were soaked. I leaned against the door and shook myself dry, watching my new Petpet do the same - already the two of us were in sync. Gathering my resolve for the task ahead of me, I opened the door of my Neohome, but it soon became clear that I'd forgotten something.

"UGH," I groaned loudly when I saw the state my living room was in - with all the confusion and excitement of the missing presents, I'd completely forgotten I still had so much cleaning to do. In my frustration I kicked a box of Wrapping Supplies, sending the colorful paper rolling across the floor. "Great, this is JUST what I need, another huge mess to..."

Suddenly I froze, staring at the paper. My eyes widened, and I scanned from one side of the room to the other, a crazy idea dawning on me.

"... That's IT!" I exclaimed, turning to face my new Lutra, who cocked her head at me and made a curious coo. "The Pant Devil never said I had to find items of equal value to replace my gifts - just items of equal *rarity!* And this-" I quickly returned the loose paper to its box, holding it up to demonstrate, "- this is the answer! Wrapping Supplies are the same rarity as a Snow Faerie Doll!"

I can't know for sure if the Petpet understood me, but it seemed like my excitement was contagious, and she started bounding around the floor excitedly. With newfound spirit, I rushed about the room with her at my heels, combing through the post-party mess for anything I could use. "With any luck, I'll get my presents back, AND have this cleaned up in no time! Let's see, for that Trendy Vandagyre Scarf, a Basic Red Balloon. For the Gormball Ursula Action Figure, what could I... AHA, someone left behind their party favours - this Zafara Kaleidoscope will be perfect!"

With everything I had been through that day, the plan felt like a much-needed win. I was convinced I had outsmarted one of Neopia's most notorious villains... But I was so caught up in my own brilliant scheme, that not once did I stop and wonder if the Pant Devil would actually hold up *his* end of the bargain...

“I think you’ll find that I’m rather quick at thinking on my feet!” It was true, I was pretty proud of myself.

My Lutra chirped and bounced, hopping down from the wagon I had used to carry the items I wished to trade. I decided to use my old empty gift boxes to keep them sheltered from the pouring rain, and I set each of them down in a row before the Pant Devil. I admit it felt a little cathartic, presenting him with his own foolishness and bad wording - not to mention the help it had in cleaning up the mess that was currently my Neohome.

The Pant Devil leaned forwards, taking a ghostly hand and opening the first present box. He stared at the Basic Red Balloon that lay presented before him. For a moment, his face was unreadable but he quickly moved on to open the remaining boxes. Slowly, his gaze returned to me and I tried not to feel my spirits damper at the sneer on his face.

“This had better be a joke. You do want your gifts back, right?”

“It’s not a joke!” I almost shouted, reaching into each gift box and placing them on the floor. My Lutra cooed at the empty boxes, dragging them away to play with. I was too focused on the situation to pay her any mind. “You said items of equal rarity! This Zafara Kaleidoscope for example!” I held up the offending item. “It’s the same rarity as my Gormball Ursula Action Figure! I’m simply using your own instructions, I never had to find anything of equal value!”

For a moment, the Pant Devil was silent with eyes fixated on the items I had presented to him. Slowly, his face morphed to one of amusement, and I felt my hopes begin to sink as he laughed.

“W-What?” I cried. “I’m just doing what you asked, I just happened to find a loophole, fair and square.”

The Pant Devil continued laughing for a while but eventually stopped to catch his breath and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Who- Who do you think I am?!” He sneered with a mixture of contempt and gleeful malice. “You think that you’re so clever as to outsmart me, did I really strike you as the type of creature that would roll over to a loophole? Like this is some contract where I need to hold up my end of the deal to the exact word?” He continued to laugh, and I felt my head beginning to droop in despair.

“But- But-“

“But- But-“ The Pant Devil repeated mockingly at my attempt to argue. “You know what I meant, kiddo. And I guess that means I’ll be keeping your precious gifts. Too bad they didn’t mean enough for you to take this seriously. I will be keeping these though, maybe I can find some use for them.” He picked up the items I had presented to him before I could think to grab them. I wasn’t particularly upset about losing my party favours; the moral failure of presenting these items and being laughed at for what I thought was a great plan hurt more than losing them.

I didn’t try to argue, at this point I felt too defeated to say anything. Instead I gathered up the gift boxes that my Lutra had closed and arranged into a small tower and headed back into the pouring outside. I tried to ignore the malicious chuckling from behind until it eventually faded into the distance.

It was official, this was the worst birthday ever. In fact, I couldn’t possibly imagine a way it could have been worse. My lost gifts kept coming to mind, and I kicked myself at thinking that I could outsmart the Pant Devil like that. There was truly no honour among thieves.

My wagon hit a rock, lurching sideways and bouncing the empty gift boxes into the air. I reached forwards to catch one that nearly tumbled off and then paused. Something felt.. off. This didn’t feel empty at all.

Quickly, I opened the boxes to peek inside and gasped. It was a Snow Faerie Doll! Somehow my original present had found its way back into my possession without me even realising.

I made my way over to the other boxes and felt a feeling of pure joy overcome me. A Trendy Vandagyre Scarf! A Gormball Ursula Action Figure! A Wind Up Wocky Toy! A Meowclops Cushion! All my presents!

I turned towards my Lutra, who began to hop up and down excitedly. She must have..

“Oh you amazing little creature.” I reached down to scratch behind one of her ears. “You sneaky little thief..”

I glanced behind me, back towards the faraway Pant Devil’s cave. Would he notice that my presents were missing? There had been a treasure trove of stolen items from other Neopians in his hideout, but surely he’d check to see if mine were still there..?

I found myself shuddering a little, worried about what he might do if he found out my Lutra had stolen them back.. Ohhhh, I didn’t want to stick around and find out..

“Come on.” I said to my loyal and adorable Petpet. “Let’s get out of here….”

How will this story end?

“Oh no,” I groaned. This was really bad. Even if it took a few hours for the Pant Devil to notice my pilfered presents, he would have no problem finding me now. Besides that, I couldn't stop thinking about those other stollen presents sitting in his cave. It just wasn't fair! Someone had to do something, but what could I do? I was just one little Vandagyre; it wasn't like I was a Defender of Neopia...

“That's it!” I suddenly exclaimed, causing my Lutra to squeal in surprise. “My friend's mom, she's a volunteer with the Defenders of Neopia! She lives just down the road from me,” I explained, while opening my gift boxes and gathering up my gifts into my arms. I wedged my way through the front door and unceremoniously dumped all my gifts on the living room floor, then grabbed my broom, which was propped up against the wall from where I had been cleaning earlier.

“Okay, little Lutra,” I said. “We have one more job to do.”

Moving to stand behind my wagon, I started to push it back along the same tracks I had made earlier. As I did, I used my broom to smudge the tire tracks, mushing them back into the soft, muddy ground.

“Boy,” I mumbled to myself, “when I started cleaning up after my party, I never thought I'd be cleaning something like THIS.”

It was slow work, but after a little while, I had fully covered my tracks, and soon, the mouth of the Pant Devil's cave was back in sight. Wiping the sweat from my face, I tossed my broom into the wagon, then took it by the handle, and started to pull it off in a slightly different direction. Not a moment later, I heard an awful screech come from inside the cave; the theft had been discovered.

I broke out into a run, with my Lutra right on my heels. I didn't dare turn around to see if the Pant Devil was following me – I just ran and ran, until finally, I saw my neighborhood come into view. When I reached my friend's house, I dropped the wagon handle and left it right outside the front porch, then ran around to hide on the side of the house.

Much sooner than I had expected, I heard the cackling Pant Devil approaching. I held my breath, and then, I heard something unexpected – a knock on the front door.

“Foolish little Neopet,” the Pant Devil drawled as he knocked. “Did you even realize you led me right to your doorstep?”

But when the door opened, the Pant Devil didn't find me.

“Well, well,” my neighbour said. “If it isn't the Pant Devil. And what's this?” She must have been looking at my wagon. “I believe my son wrapped a birthday present using this same wrapping paper earlier today...”

“I, er... uh...”

At this point, I chanced a glance around the corner. My friend's mom was a big, imposing Kougra, and she had a freeze ray in her hand. The Pant Devil was slowly backing away from her.

“I think – I – must have the wrong house... BYE!!”

The Pant Devil zoomed off into the forest, and the Kougra took a step outside. She stooped down, examined the wagon treads, and immediately set off after the little thief.

“Let's leave it to her,” I whispered to my Lutra, and together, we scrambled back to my house, stopping only to grab my wagon along the way.

Finally, finally, I was back home. I shut and locked my door, and my Lutra looked up at me curiously.

“Boy, you sure did cause a lot of trouble,” I told her. The Lutra's ears drooped, like she knew I was reprimanding her. “But... you helped me get out of it, too, so I can't be too angry.”

My Lutra cooed happily, and I scritched her under her chin.

“I think I'll call you Kanny,” I decided. “Because you're a little thief, like the famous thief Kanrik, and also because you're clever; in fact, you're... Canny! What do you think?”

My Lutra – my Kanny – twirling around my arm and nuzzling her nose against me, causing me to giggle. Together, Kanny and I jumped flopped down on my sofa, on top of some crumpled-up wrapping paper... but I decided to leave it alone. After all, I had cleaned up plenty of messes today already!

The End.