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When Annalisaca woke up, she didn't know where she was at
first. All she knew was that she was feeling the most comfortable she had ever
felt in her short existence. She didn't even want to open her eyes, thinking the
wonderful warmth and relaxed feeling would disappear, and she would be back in
the one-roomed house, hunting for some forgotten food with Devil and Flueriel.
But then she remembered all that had happened,
and opened her eyes. They had searched for Devil_the_Wolf_2 where he told them
to meet him, and where they had last seen him alive, at the Money Tree. He wasn't
there, though they stayed for hours, so they decided he must have been staying
at the Neolodge. Flueriel had told her new owners that he was grumpy when his
sleep was disturbed, so they were going to continue looking for him in the morning.
Anna didn't want to move. The bed was so roomy
and soft that it felt like a cloud. The only other bed she had ever slept in
was the hospital bed (it felt like a hewn stone bed compared to this one). Light
streamed through the open windows and danced across the floor. She laughed out
loud for joy.
Anna felt like hugging someone, and her orange
fuzzle was the closest thing to her so she gathered it in an embrace. She desperately
wanted to go back to dreaming, to catching up all the sleep that had been deprived
of her. But she got up, her brother was more important than sleeping in. Who
knew what could have happened to him after Flueriel and herself had collapsed
outside the Magic Shop?
* * * * *
"I'm sorry, there is no Flueriel or Annalisaca staying in this hotel," the Acara
behind the Neolodge counter said to Devil.
"Please check again!" he said nervously. He
was still the calm and level-headed Lupe that had sacrificed his own safety
to find food for his sisters, but being away from them for so long was making
him increasingly panicky. He looked to his owner desperately, wanting her to
do something to find Flueriel and Annalisaca.
"I'm sorry, I've checked 9 times already and
I'm quite sure," the Acara said frowning. She picked up some paperwork and began
reading it, turning away and making it clear that she was finished with him.
Devil walked over to born_again_pirate sadly.
"They're gone. Let's go home."
You have to understand that Devil did not usually
give up on things the first try. But he had a feeling that no matter what he
did, he would never see his sisters again. His owner put a hand on his head
with a reassuring grin, saying that it would all turn out alright.
But Devil wasn't so sure.
* * * * *
At first the pets mourned over the loss of the other, or other's in Devil_the_Wolf_2's
case. Their whole lives had changed in less than 24 hours, and they would never
be the same.
But eventually each got used to his or her new
lifestyle. And though the sisters could never forget their brave brother, and
he could never forget his sisters, they made the best that they could out of
the situation.
Devil went on long voyages to Krawk Island with
born_again_pirate. They always came home to their boat with handfuls of dubloons,
and were familiar faces at the Golden Dubloon. The Fontaine sisters were almost
like Devil's replacement sisters, as they were serving him so often.
"Tis a way o' life, ye' 'ave to be the adventurous
type, but 'tis also about treasure and explorin'," his owner used to say. He
got used to his new way of life with his new owner and Pirakeet (called Tarip),
and he gradually grew to enjoy it. He would never admit to his Krawk friends
that he didn't know what a pirate was before he met born_again_pirate!
Flueriel and Annalisaca were happy too, and
though they didn't like to admit it for the memory of Devil, it was the best
time of their lives so far. They had shelter and loving owners and every morning
woke to an exciting new day. They used to take the family petpet, Grar the Puppyblew,
for long walks in the sun. It was a happy time, sleeping in and being pampered
and spoiled. But it was in no way uneventful, their schedules were busy and
one day they even took a trip to Krawk Island themselves, just missing Devil.
"I miss Devil," Annalisaca said sleepily, leaning
against Flueriel's soft side.
Flueriel smiled to herself. "Anna, we both do,"
she said gently, closing the book that she was reading with a creak. She placed
it on the pile of faerie books that were on the floor already. "But you know
how you can see him?"
"How?" Anna asked, looking up at her sister
in surprise, blinking her tiredness away.
"When we go to sleep, we can dream. We can see
him there, just like he used to be with that funny bushy tail and his haughtiness,
and the way he always gave us the last tin of olives," she whispered fondly.
"Do you remember the way he was so proud that he didn't want us to see him suffering?
He had to be brave for us, to be our big brother that protected us."
Flueriel realised that Anna was asleep, and
even if she was awake she wouldn't understand, but she continued talking to
herself. "Sometimes I have nightmares though," she murmured. "These terrible
dreams that I can't escape, where he's there. But he's forgotten about us Annalisaca.
He just stares and you can tell by the hollowness in his eyes that he doesn't
know us. Eyes never lie Anna. Or sometimes it's worse. He sees us, but he turns
away. He wants nothing to do with us."
"He wants nothing to do with us…" A tear trickled
down her blue cheek, and she silently scolded herself because she knew that
they were just dreams. Devil would never really forget them.
She looked at her little sister, curled up hugging
her orange fuzzle with her eyes tight, and a small smile on her face. She hoped
that her dreams would be nice.
* * * * *
Flueriel and Annalisaca woke up the next day hearing footsteps in the hallway.
That's strange, Flueriel thought, Jessica and Scott never come up
here this early. She had to force herself up usually, fighting for a few
more minutes in luxury, but today was different. Something felt wrong.
"Anna," she said, but the yellow Jubjub was
already awake and clutching her orange fuzzle with a puzzled expression. "Who's
upstairs?"
They got up and opened the door, wondering why
on Neopia their owners were creeping around. Slowly they slipped down the hall.
It was already decorated with happy pictures of the pets, even though they hadn't
been living there long. They stepped into a room where the footsteps and a voice
they didn't recognise were coming from.
There was a strange man opening their safety
deposit box. He had beady eyes and stubble on his chin. Standing very still,
Annalisaca gripping her fuzzle in fear. The blue fur on Flueriel's back bristled
and she couldn't help growling ever so quietly.
"ALRIIIIIGHT!!!! A FISH NEGG!" the intruder
exclaimed, holding up the prized possession that Jessica and Scott had spent
months saving up for. "These guys are so dumb, who uses such an easy password?
Oh yeah... gotta change that password."
They followed him silently, as he went into
another room and did something to change this 'password'. All of a sudden they
felt alone. The look they exchanged verified that they weren't imagining it.
"I'm scared," Anna whispered.
"Me too," said Flueriel, biting her lip. At
that moment, the man turned around and saw them. His eyes widened in surprise,
and he looked angry for a second. Then his face turned red as if he was embarrassed
to be caught stealing their things. Then he smiled maliciously and took a step
towards them.
"Soooo, you are the 'wonderful' pets they've
been talking about," he said slowly, choosing every word carefully. "Well, let's
see how wonderful you look in the pound," he smirked, grabbing them by the scruff
of their necks. Flueriel yelped and tried to bite him, but she had never learnt
how to defend herself properly. Anna hugged her fuzzle, letting out a cry.
He walked out the door, pulling them violently
behind him.
The Pound, or Adoption Center as Jessica had
liked to call it, which had once been a sight of joy and happiness at the prospect
of getting loving owners, now looked like the worst place on Neopia. Flueriel
and Annalisaca shuddered, wondering how the dismal grey concrete building could
ever have been a happy-thought trigger.
They huddled together as the man handed over
some Neopoints to a yellow Techo wearing a slightly dirty white coat. Anna hugged
her fuzzle so tightly - so nobody would take it away - that it seemed part of
her fur.
The pets cried out as they were pushed into
a cage. Annalisaca ran up to the edge of her cell and pushed her little Jubjub
face against the cold bars.
"Don't be scared Anna," Flueriel spoke softly,
"Scott and Jessica will come back for us soon."
They waited patiently for an hour. Then they
waited a day. A week went past, and their owners did not come to collect them.
Flueriel knew deep inside that they wouldn't, no, couldn't come back for them.
But still she waited, loyally.
They had a stiff pile of straw to sleep on and
a bowl of water to drink from if they were thirsty. "They treat us like petpets,"
the Eyrie in the next cell said bitterly. Everything was incredibly dirty and
uncomfortable, quite a contrast to what they had become accustomed to, but in
some twisted way it reminded them of their happy days with Devil, cramped up
in the one neoroomed home. But through all this, they had each other, even if
Devil would never be seen again.
"I hate this," the red Eyrie announced to Flueriel,
when Annalisaca was asleep. Regorey was the most negative Eyrie that Flueriel
had ever met.
"These people don't see us, they only
see stats and colours," he continued, as Flueriel didn't reply. She looked at
him sadly, his eyes were dark and troubled and he was hunched over uncomfortably.
Some of his feathers were missing but he seemed too depressed and morose to
care for his appearance.
"That's not true," she spoke softly, but with
a trace of anger in her voice. "My old owners, they used to love me."
"Then why did you end up here?"
The question made Flueriel think. She looked
over to her sister, sleeping peacefully in the stiff hay with her orange fuzzle
resting atop of her head. Why did they end up in the Pound, alone and homeless,
if Jessica and Scott loved them?
* * * * *
Things were not as bad as they could have been, even if Annalisaca and Flueriel
were prisoners in the Adoption Centre, they had each other. They still had their
dreams.
However, the pitiful pleading and cries every
time a potential owner walked down their way was terrible. All around them,
some pets would literally scream and throw themselves against the bars, pleading
the human to chose them. There were a few uninfluenced pets, like Flueriel,
Anna and Regorey, who didn't, and the pets who had been there for so long that
it seemed pointless to even try.
For Flueriel and Anna, it could get worse. Now
they didn't even care if they were adopted by a new owner, just getting away
from this place was almost all they dreamed of.
One day the yellow Techo came to their cage,
the one with the stiff nametag on his white coat reading 'Dr. Death.' He opened
the door, and for a moment Annalisaca, Flueriel and Regorey (from the next cage)
stared. Was this it? Were Anna and Flueriel finally adopted? With hopeful eyes,
they looked up at him, hoping that their misery was over.
"You," he said, pointing a stubby finger at
Anna. "Come with me."
"What? N-no!" she protested, her eyes widening
in fear. Was somebody adopting one of them, by herself? The thought had never
occurred to the sisters. Anna was panic-stricken, she couldn't be separated
from Flueriel! She had never for one minute been without her.
Flueriel was in shock herself. How could she
have not imagined that somebody would adopt only one of them?!
Dr. Death frowned in annoyance, "I haven't got
all day." He roughly picked up Annalisaca and her she only had enough time to
grab her fuzzle before he pulled her out of the cell and closing the door with
a loud clang.
"Anna!" Flueriel screamed. She started crying,
calling Anna's name over and over again. "Just explain. Explain that we are
family and we've been through too much to be separated again," she sobbed after
them.
However, Annalisaca was not getting adopted
that day. Instead, she was being moved to a different wing of the Pound, one
rarely seen. It was the place where the common pets were put, and there wasn't
much hope once you were with them.
"Flueriel," Anna cried, hugging her orange fuzzle.
This wasn't happening. She couldn't be left with nobody. The yellow JubJub was
too young to fully understand, but she was sure she would never see her family
ever again.
To be continued…
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