"Now Tyli, if you do that then the Ghost Lion will come after you!"
"Go to bed now or the Ghost Lion will give you a visit!"
"If you eat too many Neodrops then the Ghost Lion will eat you all up as
a little snack!"
Those were common lines that Neopian mothers would have to say the little-knowing
youngsters. Of course, they were deadly afraid of the beast so they listened.
Every family told the tale slightly different, but this is how the family of
Gwlynn told the spine-shiverring, hair-rising story:
"Would you just close your mouth and listen up, Gwlynn? Man, you are always
such a nincompoop! If you don't behave, the Ghost Lion will tear you up in little
pieces and eat them one at a time. You know, he usually comes right before something
really bad comes. Heh, he should be coming soon, 'cause you are something bad!
Hehehe! Well, anyway be good 'cause he looks for lost spirits! Heh! He's after
you! Hehe! *snort* Hehe!"
Tears were filling the poor eyes of the young, red Kougra. She nodded because
she could never choke words out of her swollen throat. Her owner knew that.
"Heh. What was that GarbageGwlynn? You said WHAT? Speak up, speak when you
are spoken to. Acknowledge that you were listening.... if you were!" The nasty
voice boomed and even Gwlynn's Noil
cowered in fright.
"Hey, I should take that little Noil away from you and SELL it. The only reason
you have it is because that is what came with you when I adopted you little
piece of dorkiness. Now what were you saying! Hurry up!"
"I.... I under..."
"You WHAT?"
"I understand. Can I go?"
"Get out of my sight! And don't come back until after dinnertime! Maybe just
never come back! Let the Ghost Lion get you! Heh *snort* Hehe!"
Gwlynn was a sensitive little Kougra and she sprung away to her best friend's
house. It was very hard for her to take the constant insults. That wasn't even
the worst of it. He would often call her terrible words like 'Fat Chia Head'
or 'Lupe Breath'. Gwlynn often wondered why the Neopian Police couldn't catch
things like that. He would also often try to make her eat things like piles
of Sludge. It truly was a horrible life.
Gwlynn often ran to the sanctuary of Liliai, the beautiful Usul and her wonderfully
kind owner. They both treated her very well and the owner of Liliai was more
like a mum to Gwlynn then her owner was.
Together, Liliai and Gwlynn had shared homes and dreams and told wonderful
stories together. They were wonderful friends and went together like Sabre-X
and Omelettes! Just splendidly, truly splendidly. KNOCK KNOCK, TAP TAP!
Gwlynn was tapping the beautiful wood door of Liliai's Neopian home with their
Chia knocker. Inside she faintly heard the warm voice of Mum, or Liliai's mum
that allowed Gwlynn to call her that. She would adopt her, but Gwlynn's owner
for some reason wouldn't give her up. Besides, mum already had four pets and
it would be even worse to disown one. She could still look out for little Gwlynn.
"Keyorri! Would you mind getting the door?"
"No problem, Mother."
Gwlynn smiled and her knees felt weak. Her heart melted even at the mention
of his name, nevertheless his voice. And he was to greet her! Oh, she loved
Keyorri! He must be the finest Shoyru around! Most Neoteens his age were bossy,
snotty and teasingly mean to their little sisters, Keyorri was sweet and considerate.
Gwlynn tried to snap out of her daydream when the doorknob twisted and did....
to the extent that she could.
Keyorri looked startled at first when he saw Gwlynn with a tear streaked face
that he thought he knew all too well. But then his face softened and he invited
her in and fixed her some Faerie Toast with seasoning sand lightly sprinkled
on it. An odd combination, but he knew it was Gwlynn's favourite.
His deep voice calmed her like a lullaby. "Darling Gwlynn. I'm sorry he did
it again. I just wish.... I just wish I could teach him a lesson to keep his
terrible words to himself... he's the one with Chia breath! Make yourself at
home, you know that. I'll go tell mum and Liliai you are here."
He had called her darling! And he wanted to protect her! This was just too
good to be true!
She was again taken out of her happy abyss when she heard the quick pitter-patter
of large feet. Liliai ran over to where Gwlynn was sitting.
"Oh Gwlynn! I'm so sorry! But I have an idea! Since we're in summer break
let's go on an adventure! Keyorri, Isantyi and Jezabellah all helped me talk
mummy into letting us! We can go anywhere as long as the following requirements
by all...."
Mum - we promise to write
Keyorri - promise to tell him all about EVERYTHING
Isantyi - promise to bring him some food
Jezza - PROMISE to give her a souvenir!
I, of course agreed and I've saved up enough NP for the two of us to go.
"Don't worry about yours, I already stole it from under the log. Hehe!
Shall we go? Oh yeah! Where should we go? I thought maybe we should go to Tyrannia.
Well nah... we could get bored after a while? Maybe the Lost Desert? But what
if Sloth returns? Faerieland.... well, maybe not. I'd spend all my NP on that
Wheel and I heard it's becoming quite a tourist attraction! The Space Centre
may be kinda cool but I heard a rocket is really expensive."
This little Usul was getting so wound up about the plan and she was talking
faster and faster so fast that even Gwlynn, who was used to it, couldn't quite
understand what she was saying.
"Hold up Lil! You're talking really fast again. But I have an idea! Let's
go the that area on the outskirts of Haunted Woods and the Unexplored Mountains!
Maybe something grand is hiding there. We can have TRUE adventure!"
As Gwlynn explained the idea, Liliai's eyes widened and she nodded their head.
Mum insisted that they check their sacks just in case they were missing something:
Clothing: Check A little bit of food to last a while: Check Map of Neopia
and Beyond: Check Tickets to "The Cruiser", their only way of transportation
other than by foot: Check Neopoints: Their extreme savings, 3,000 NP EACH! They
would really be living the high life. CHECK!
When mum was satisfied, they said their good-byes and headed off to the station.
They thought of all sorts of things that might happen.
"Maybe Count von Roo will give us a valuable plushie! I love those plushies.
Or what if the omniscient Brain Tree will let us in on some top-secret, superpets
ONLY mission or news."
"Perhaps we'll find a whole new world and there will be a huge paradise. Maybe
a whole village of an unknown pet lives there. Or what if they are super strong
and will take us to the moon. Or..."
Back and fourth they went like that, the whole way to the center of the Haunted
Woods. The Cruiser wouldn't take them to where they really wanted to go because
there was no station there, but the closest was in the Haunted Woods, which
was fine with the two voyagers.
They finally made it to the spot they wanted to be by day and sat on a big
rock together. All they saw was the edge of the woods and the beginnings of
the mountain. Dusk was approaching like a prowling Lupe and they decided to
set up camp with a small tent they bought in a shop at the center of the woods.
They decided to wait for souvenirs, just in case there was something to buy
at the top of the mountain.
Gwlynn could bet her favourite Rainbow Plushie that she could hear some sort
of a hollow drumbeat coming from the top of the mountain, but Liliai just told
her she was crazy and the two went to sleep. Gwlynn stayed awake for a while
longer, pondering the mysterious drumbeat, but in a few minutes she gave into
Liliai's solution and agreed she was just imagining it.
GRRRRRRRRRRRROWWWWWWWL!
The two NeoPets woke with a start and looked at each other saying, "WHAT WAS
THAT?!?!?" with panic racing through their voices.
"Maybe it's something evil!" Liliai had brought her Gallery of Evil
book, just in case. As she flipped the pages, she turned to the "The Ghost Lion"
and read:
An ill-fated omen sent to scare youngsters, the Ghost Lion usually appears
just before tragedy occurs. He is also the hunter of lost spirits and wayward
young pets. You will hear a Ghost Lion long before you see one. Know them by
the sound of their deadly quiet growl. To protect your pets from the Ghost Lion
be sure to lavish them with lots of love. (From Gallery
of Evil)
The two looked at each other in horror and they started running.... but where?
He could be anywhere! All of a sudden the calming but now panicked voice of
Keyorri was in the air.
"Over here! They're over here!"
Soon after, Keyorri landed, soon followed by: "Mum" and.... WHAT? Gwlynn's
owner was here too!" Mum ran to Liliai and hugged her, along with Keyorri.
"She is being lavished with love.... what about me? Who will save me?"
Gwlynn thought her owner would stand there laughing and the Ghost Lion would
take her away so she ran away. A faint voice that she didn't know, which was
warm followed her.
"Wait Gwlynn! Wait, please!"
She stopped, thinking maybe somebody was there to help her. She turned and
saw her owner stumbling behind her.
"Please Gwlynn, please stop. I won't hurt you."
Gwlynn waiting and her heart melted. I AM being loved, now and here. I can
just feel it.
He ran up to her and gave her a big hug as he spoke in a voice that was new
to her, not mocking or harsh, but calm and comforting.
"Gwlynn, I am sorry. I have always been so mean to you and I was wrong. I
thought it would be funny to torture you and to see what you would do next,
but it was wrong. You have a heart too and I...... I love it. I will not hesitate
to say I love it, it's just hard for me to get all emotional. I'll be good to
you, I promise."
"GRRRRRRRRRRAWL!"
The roar was louder then ever now and a faint shadow emerged from the darkness.
It was hard to make out but everyone knew what is was. Laura (who she no longer
called "Mum") ran with her two pets and Gwlynn with her Papi followed. Behind
them they heard a voice like thunder echo in the emptiness of the atmosphere
around them say, "You escaped me now, young ones, but I will catch you when
there will be nobody to love you! GROWL!"
Epilogue: Keyorri, Laura and Liliai returned home safely and lived as a
happy family ever on.
Papi and Gwlynn also returned safely when Papi redid Gwlynn's room, painted
her white (she loved her new snowy look) and gave her things she needed to be
happy.
A few years later, Gwlynn was feeling lonely so they adopted a young, red
Kacheek from the pound named Jazmyne, which was painted Faerie. The two went
on loving adventures together and Papi was the best owner ever. He is now part
of an act that stops verbal animal cruelty and sets Ghost Lion traps for jackets.
The End | 
