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Fflasts the Ixi galloped through the meadow gleefully alongside
his sister Tandreia. It was a beautiful autumn morning. Fflasts had always loved
the crisp scent of threatening winter and all the vibrant colors that autumn brought
out in the world. He glanced over at his sister. She was taking another one of
her flying leaps through the air, her graceful faerie wings keeping her in the
air for a few paces before she alighted in the meadow again to run with him. Her
little Gallion mimicked her, running and leaping behind the two of them.
Tandreia was everything he wasn't. She was older,
smarter, and stronger, too. She had a pretty name, too. "Tandreia" was much
more pleasant to say than "Fflasts Crowmpfy." What sort of name was that for
an Ixi? Fortune favored Tandreia wildly, yet it had never had a glance for Fflasts.
Last year, he had taken her along with him to Faerieland for an afternoon of
fun. He had spun the Wheel of Excitement and received a few coins for her effort.
Of course, when Tandreia spun the wheel, the faeries absolutely showered her
with prizes: a little Gallion to keep her company, and they had even sprinkled
her with faerie dust, granting her wings!
Yet, for all that, Tandreia was a good and faithful
sister to him. Fflasts couldn't be angry with her just because she was lucky.
And pretty, and smart, and strong. She always shared everything she had with
him. No, Fflasts certainly couldn't be angry, but he could certainly be jealous,
and he was. He had never managed to afford a petpet for himself. Not even a
little Spyder or Slorg just to keep him company. He gazed over at his sister
and her little Gallion again and sighed. He trotted to a halt, turning around.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Tandreia had stopped,
too, looking over her shoulder at him.
"I'm going home, sis. I'm... I guess I'm not
feeling well."
"Alright! Your loss!" She gave a squeal of giggles
as Glomp, her Gallion, playfully bit her ankle, and the two of them were off
running and leaping again.
T.B. met him as he was arriving home. The ghostly
Poogle was grinning from ear to ear. Fflasts shuddered at the sight. A grin
on that face could chill the heart, even if you knew TB as well as Fflasts did.
"Hey, chum! Why so glum?"
"Guess I'm just bored, TB Nothing to worry about."
"Well, hey! Come with me then, I'm off to meet
some friends."
"I don't know. I was..."
"Come onnnnn, it'll be fun!"
TB refused to hear any protest and pulled Fflasts
along with him, heading off into the outskirts of Neopia Central.
"Hey TB! Hey Tandreia's brother!" someone called
out as they went on. TB waved a greeting, but Fflasts just hung his head. That's
all he was. Tandreia's brother. People didn't bother to notice an anonymous
blue Ixi unless he was related to someone like Tandreia. They couldn't even
be bothered to remember his name. You would think a name like "Fflasts Crowmpfy"
would stick out in someone's mind.
"Where are we going, TB?" Fflasts asked as they
headed out of Neopia Central, down an old road. They were the only ones going
this way, and it was beginning to get dark. "I think I need to be getting back
home."
"Awww, come on! Don't be a spoilsport. Trust
me, it'll be fun."
Once again, TB brooked no argument. He practically
dragged Fflasts along as the road twisted into a dark forest. It was a good
while before Fflasts realized where they were.
"Hey! The Haunted Woods?? What do you think
you're doing? The last time someone went in here alone, after dark, they...
they came out..."
"As a ghost Poogle?" TB laughed. He still had
a hold of Fflasts's arm and was leading him through a large iron gate. "Don't
worry! I come here all the time. Sidney won't let anything happen to you, I
promise."
"Who?" Fflasts asked. His question was answered
soon enough as a tall and lanky blue person veritably slithered up to them,
wearing the most atrocious suit Fflasts had ever seen.
"T.B! What a pleassure to sssee you! More ssscratchcards
tonight? Who'sss your little friend?"
The Poogle grinned broadly, showing all of his
sharp teeth. "This is Fflasts. Be nice to him, I think he's a little scared."
"Fflassstss..." the name seemed to roll obscenely
off Sidney's tongue. "You don't have to worry, my friend. It'ss perfectly sssafe
here. Why don't you try out our latessst game?"
Sidney gestured over to a group of kids Fflasts's
age who were all gathered around a tall, spookily decorated meter. One by one,
they would walk up and swing a mallet at the bottom of the meter, and would
receive prizes depending on how far they could make the little red ball shoot
up the meter, rather like the Wheel of Excitement.
"Oh. I don't think I will. I'm really no good
at stuff like that."
"Nonssssense. Thisss isn't like those sssilly
faerie gamesss you've been playing. At the Fairground, luck favorsss the ill-fortuned.
Give it a ssswing! Firsssst one's alwaysss free."
Fflasts sighed, but he didn't want to seem like
a poor sport. He walked up to the queue, prepared for a long wait, but the other
kids all moved aside, eager to see the newcomer take a swing. A squat Mynci
handed him the mallet. "Go ahead," the Mynci said, grinning. "First one's always
free. Maybe you can get up all the way up to 'Pathetic!'"
Fflasts harrumphed at that and hefted the wooden
mallet in his hands. He took a deep breath and hauled the hammer over his head.
Closing his eyes, he swung with all his might, slamming it down on the button
so hard he lost his balance. He didn't see the little red ball shoot up the
meter, or what level it landed at, but he heard a buzzer. Moreover, he heard
the silence of everyone around him, even Sidney. He must have done really badly,
he thought, for them to not even say anything. He sighed, hanging his head.
All of a sudden, the kids around him burst into
cheers. Sidney laughed a hissing, wheezing cackle, clapping his hands with delight
at the look on the Mynci's face. Fflasts looked up... and up and up. He couldn't
see where the ball had landed, but it was well above 'Pathetic.'
"Well!" exclaimed the Mynci, recovering his
composure. "I suppose there is someone worth his salt in the lot of ya. What's
your name, son?"
"Fflasts Crowmpfy, sir."
"And what a name! Fflasts! Fflasts the Mad,
the Fierce! Fear this young Ixi, ladies and gentlemen! He's as strong as a Skeith!"
Fflasts couldn't help grinning. The small crowd
was cheering "Fflasts the Mad! Fflasts the Mad!"
"Ssstop ssstalling, Arnold, and give the young
man hisss prize."
Arnold the Mynci shot Sidney a look, but then
grinned again, waddling over behind his booth. "Yes, yes indeed! A fierce little
friend for a fierce young Ixi, I think." Arnold's top hat ducked underneath
the counter for a moment, and when it came up, the Mynci was holding the strangest
thing Fflasts had ever seen. A pile of luxurious green hair, with piercing eyes
and devilish horns peeking out of it. It was growling menacingly.
"Take good care of her, you hear? She needs
to be groomed every day, but she's quite loyal. Hold out your hand."
Fflasts did as he was told and Arnold set the
little Drugal by Fflasts's hand. The pile of hair snarled fiercely at first,
but sniffed tentatively at his hand. After a few moments, the thing skittered
around and rubbed itself at Fflasts's feet, sitting down and growling at anyone
that came to close. Fflasts couldn't believe his luck. He sat himself right
down on the ground, hugging his new best friend and taking some time to give
her hair a quick groom. When he stood up again, the crowd had gone back to taking
their own shots at Test Your Strength. Only TB and Sidney had stayed nearby.
"Oh!" TB cried out suddenly. "I won, too! I
can't believe it!" He had a coin and a card in his hand and was scratching off
a little circle on the card. "Look here, Sidney! You see? Three of them."
Sidney gave out an exaggerated sigh and took
the card, studying it carefully. He peered at TB as if he didn't trust him,
then gave out a hissing laugh. "Ssso you did, young friend. And about time,
too! You're my mossst frequent cussstomer."
"Look, Fflasts! Look! I've won, too!" Fflasts
laughed happily for his friend and came closer, curious to see the prize. Sidney
made a flamboyant flourish with his fingers and slipped his hand inside his
jacket. Fflasts watched, and was a little startled when Sidney gave him a curious
wink.
"For sssuch a good cussstomer, I have two prizesss.
But, only if you promissse to share." TB bobbed his head eagerly. "One isss
for fighting, and one isss for drinking," Sidney said, pulling out two stoppered
bottles. Both contained nasty looking concotions. The only way to tell which
was which was that one was labeled "Potion," and the other was labeled with
a list of cautionary usage warnings. He handed them both to TB
"Well! Our lucky night, hey Fflasts? Here, have
the potion. Ghosts don't need to drink!" TB laughed and handed him one of the
stoppered bottles, which Fflasts considered dubiously.
"I'm supposed to drink this?"
"Go on, Fflasstsss the Mad. I think it will
go quite well with you new nickname! Have I sssteered you wrong thisss night?"
Fflasts still looked unsure, but he shrugged.
What was the worst that could happen? He unstoppered the bottle and poured the
thick liquid into his mouth. He was surprised by the pleasant, if bizarre, taste.
He swallowed it and wiped his mouth with the back of his paw. "Ah! That was
refreshing actually."
TB was regarding him with widened eyes, his
red irises looking at him in shock. Fflasts was quite shocked himself when he
felt the horns on his head growing longer and more sinister. His bland blue
fur was growing shaggier and turning green, and he was suddenly no longer comfortable
on four feet. He stood up on his hind legs only to find that his tail was much
longer now, reaching the ground. A pair of teeth grew into menacing fangs.
Though bizarre, the transformation was not painful,
or even uncomfortable. Slightly hunched over, Fflasts felt like this was how
he should have been all along! The Drugal at his feet chirruped curiously and
rubbed its head against his ankles, showing its approval. Fflasts looked into
a nearby fun-mirror and laughed at his distorted image. "Fflasts the Mad, indeed!
You were right, Sidney. This is great!"
"No one will dare forget you now, my ssspooky
friend."
Fflasts laughed again and shook Sidney's hand
heartily. "No, I don't think they will. Wait till Tandreia sees me! C'mon TB!"
The two of them laughed together as they ran
out of the Fairground gates and down the road, with Fflasts's new petpet skittering
along beside them.
The End
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