If you don't know what the Rainbow Fountain was, it was a way
to change your pets colour of species for free. All you had to do was get a pass
by signing up for sponsors. I loved the idea, and got the inspiration for this
story through it.
A Strange Tail
I woke to someone bouncing excitedly on my bed and light on my
face. I tried to pull the covers up over my head, but they were pulled back
by a large form standing on my chest.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, you gotta get up!" a voice shouted in my face.
I groaned and sat up, blinking my eyes groggily. A blue Eyrie peered into
my face to make sure I was really up.
"I'm awake. Sheesh," I muttered, scratching his head. He grinned and leaped
off the bed, yelling something behind him as he bounded out of my room.
"What was that!?" I called after him. No reply. "Un-eairkagh!"
There was the sound of claws skidding on wood and Un-eairkagh's head appeared
in the doorway.
"Hurry up! Sabreur has something he wants to show us."
And then he was gone again. I got up, shut and locked the door so I could
get ready for the day in peace. Sabreur is my brother, two years older than
me. He's brilliant, and currently being paid to go to college. But he still
had plenty of time to spend with his pet Scorchio, Infernus_2000. After I got
dressed, I wondered into the kitchen where Un-eairkagh was finishing up breakfast.
I poured myself some cereal and ate hurriedly, as my Eyrie bounced around the
kitchen in a fit of hyperactivity.
"Melody coming?" I asked of him. Melody is my best friend, also two years
older and a college student.
"No. She's out doing something with Padiglione."
"Ah. When are you two getting married?" I asked innocently.
He skidded to a halt and glared at me evilly. "That's not funny. At all."
"Then how come you two are always spending time together?"
"We're best friends. Besides, Infernus spends as much time as I do with her.
And Sabreur hangs out with Melody too. They're not getting married. So quit
teasing me."
"Then quit calling me Kiddo."
"Kiddo, Child_dragon, what's the difference?"
I sighed and dumped my dishes in the sink to clean up later.
Un-eairkagh was uncontrollable for the short walk down to Sabreur's house.
I was about to strangle him by the time we got there, especially after he knocked
over some poor Nimmo and his owner. I politely knocked on the door, but my Eyrie
just burst on in, nearly knocking over the red Scorchio, Infernus. I grabbed
his tail and he whipped around to face me.
"Un-eairkagh, you can't just go bursting into people's houses, you've got
to knock first," I scolded.
"Well, yeah, but Sabreur's your brother, for crying out loud!"
"That doesn't matter."
"Whatever," he said, striding off towards the rear of the house.
"Sorry, Infernus," I said to the Scorchio "He's been off the walls all morning."
"That's okay. C'mon, Sabreur's in his lab."
We walked to the very last room in his house, where my brother spent his time
making cool little gadgets, most of them highly destructive and meant for the
Battledome. Infernus was an excellent fighter, unlike Un-eairkagh who lacked
the dedication to become good, or Padiglione who never fought. My brother was
busy finishing up the connections to a few wires, in the midst of an enormous
pile of junk.
"So what's new?" I asked.
"I've just made this. It should make give swords a magical charge that'll
make them even more powerful," he said, brandishing a mass of tangled wires
and spare parts.
"Let's try it out then," I said, turning to Un-eairkagh. "Did you bring...
DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!"
My warning came too late, for the Eyrie had flipped a switch on a panel of
half completed circuitry. My brother's eyes got real big, and Infernus dove
for cover. Un-eairkagh just stood there as the machine sparked and hissed. I
ran over and dragged him away from it, just as a fork of green lightning spat
out of the machine, hitting us both. I blinked my eyes, wondering how I got
the other side of the room and where all the smoke came from. I heard my brother
coughing, then he opened a window and the smoke started to clear.
"Is everyone alive?" Infernus asked, returning to the room.
"Yeah, we're fine," my brother replied.
"Oh WOW!! Look at Kiddo," Un-eairkagh said from next to me.
"What?" I asked.
My brother took a look, then stood there, his mouth moving soundlessly.
"What!?" I asked again.
"You're an Eyrie!" my pet said delightedly.
"I'm a WHAT!?" I shrieked.
It was true. I now sported the shape of an Eyrie, just like Un-eairkagh, only
white. I stood up, wavering slightly as I adjusted to four paws instead of two
feet. A tail, wings, a beak, fur, everything.
"Cool," Un-eairkagh said.
"No, not cool," my brother replied, investigating the machine my Eyrie had
fiddled with. "I have no idea how to change her back."
There was silence in the room.
"I'll work on it, sis," he said with a sigh.
"How about we get some outside help?" Infernus suggested.
"Like who?" I asked. "You're the best inventor around."
"How about the faeries?" Un-eairkagh suggested.
I looked at him for a moment. "Sure. Whatever."
"No, seriously. If they can't help us, then we're no worse off than we were
before, and you'll get to see how much fun flying is!"
My brother looked up slowly. "Flying…" he said. "Kiddo, if I can't fly, at
least you try it!"
Unassisted flight had been a lifelong dream for both of us.
"Well, all right. We'll head over to Faerieland, I'll see what it's like to
be an Eyrie for the day, and then we'll return here and see what progress you've
made."
"Can I come?" Infernus asked.
"Need your help," my brother muttered, dismantling part of the machine.
"Oh, that's right."
The Scorchio picked up a screwdriver and joined my brother.
"See you later, I guess."
They muttered replies, already engrossed in their work. Un-eairkagh bounded
out the door, I followed more slowly.
We were in the marketplace of Neopia Central, I needed to check on my shop.
Un-eairkagh had been talking non-stop on the finer points of flying, and frankly
I was starting to get a little scared. I had mastered walking on four legs,
and was now as agile as Un-eairkagh, except I didn't fly yet. I had just finished
restocking my store when a young Uni trotted up to us.
"Why are you white?" she asked. "I didn't think there were white Eyries."
"Long story," I muttered, hurrying to get away.
"She's my owner, and she used to be human!" Un-eairkagh said gleefully.
"Wow!! You got turned into a pet," she said, trotting to keep up with me.
"Yes," I said through gritted teeth. "And I'm trying to get turned back, so
please leave me alone."
"Tell me how!! That's really neat!! Can I get turned into something else too?"
"Well, you see, she's got this brother…" Un-eairkagh began.
I snarled and leaped into the air, beating my wings furiously. I started to
ascend, rather slowly, then quite quickly.
"Hey, Kiddo! Wait up!" Un-eairkagh yelled, following me.
I kept flying, leaving both my pet and the Uni behind. I then had the bad
idea to look down. The houses below were mere dots, and I realised with a panic
how high up I was. I stopped flapping, then started to tumble. I yelled in fear,
flailing my wings. I felt a sharp tug on my tail, and someone yelling, "FLAP!!"
I did just that. I straightened out, and stopped losing altitude. Un-eairkagh
glided a safe distance away next to me.
"You all right?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said breathlessly. "Just panicked there for a bit."
"Looks like your doing fine, now. Lets practice for a bit before we head to
the city, the thermals can be a bit tricky."
We reached the city with only minor trouble, mainly a rough landing on account
of me. A group of Shoyrus found it rather amusing, but Un-eairkagh and I gave
them a vicious glance and they shut up.
"Where first?" I asked.
"The Healing Springs."
We headed over there, I somewhat nervously. The Water Faerie looked at us
and kindly asked what she could do for us.
"Well, my owner here got turned into an Eyrie and she wants to be turned back."
The faerie looked at me closely.
"You got turned into an Eyrie," she stated, a little sceptical..
"Yeah," I muttered, staring at the ground. "My brother likes to invent stuff,
and something went haywire."
"The solution is simple!" she said brightly.
"It is?"
"Certainly! Just go to the Rainbow Fountain."
"But that only works on pets!" I protested. "It won't turn me back into a
human, will it?"
"I can make a potion that when poured into the water, could work. I just need
ingredients."
"Could work?" I said slowly, not liking that phrase.
"Yes. Now, here's what I need…"
Un-eairkagh and I had shopped for hours. We had one item left, a frost mote,
but we could not find one anywhere. Un-eairkagh had insisted on repeating my
tragic story to every shopkeeper in existence. And I thought I was ready to
strangle him this morning. We entered yet another little shop, and were greeted
by a sour looking Lupe.
"Do you have any Frost Motes?" I asked, praying he did. The Lupe looked at
us, then nodded abruptly.
"Here," he said, placing one on the counter.
"Thank you so much!" I said, counting out the Neopoints to pay for it. "Yeah,
we really need this," Un-eairkagh began. "You see, the white Eyrie is my owner,
but she got turned…."
I grabbed his tail with my beak and dragged him out of the store before he
could say any more.
The Healing Springs Faerie promised the potion would be done in about an hour,
and to come back then.
"Now we need a pass," Un-eairkagh said gloomily.
"But this is a special case!" I protested. "They've got to let us use it."
The Eyrie shrugged. I sighed loudly and scuffed at the ground.
"You need a pass?" a voice said from behind me.
I turned around and saw the Uni I had meet in the morning. "Yes. Do you have
one?"
"I sure do! You can have it, I don't need it, and it looks like you do."
"Thank you! Thank you very much!"
"No problem."
She handed me the pass, smiled, and trotted away.
"We're in luck!" I whooped to Un-eairkagh. "I'll be human before nightfall!"
The line to the Rainbow Fountain wasn't that long, but I could hardly stand
it. As fun as being an Eyrie was, I liked my normal form. We stepped up the
crystalline waters.
"Here goes," Un-eairkagh said, and poured the potion in. I hesitated for a
moment, then was shoved violently into the pool by Un-eairkagh. I hauled myself
out, spluttering and gasping. Then I promptly fell on my face. I was back on
two feet again.
"Hey, it worked!" I exclaimed, standing up.
I then noticed every NeoPet there staring at me, aghast, and Un-eairkagh rolling
on the ground, laughing so hard tears were forming.
"Not… quite!!!" he howled between his laughter.
I looked at my reflection in the pool's surface. I was human, mostly. I still
had wings, huge graceful white ones. And a tail, a long tail that reached to
the ground.
"Oh NO!!" I said. "Now what?"
"Back to Faerieland, I guess," he said still snickering. "Can you still fly?"
I could. It was strange to have wings as a human, and a tail, no less. We
flew all the way to the Healing Springs, my face burning red with embarrassment
as a Pteri nearly fell out of the air in shock at seeing me.
"Oh, dear," the faerie said when she saw me. "I think we need the Faerie Queen's
help on this one."
I waited nervously in a large room at the palace, Un-eairkagh by my side.
The Queen finally appeared, and looked me over carefully.
"Gotten yourself into quite a mess?" she asked kindly.
"Yes," I said, subdued.
"Well, all wrongs can be righted."
She waved her hand and a glow surrounded me. It faded, and I noticed the weight
of the wings was gone.
"All fixed, with a little extra added," she said, smiling mysteriously. She
left, and Un-eairkagh and I looked at each other.
"Now what did that mean?" he asked.
We were back at my brother's house. Sabreur was thrilled to know we had solved
the problem on our own, cause he and Infernus had made zero progress in our
absence.
"So what did the Faerie Queen mean?" he asked after we related our story.
"I don't know."
Suddenly it struck me. "Infernus, how do you use your abilities?"
"Huh?"
"Like Smoke Screen. How do you use it?"
"Well, I just will it to happen. And it does."
I closed my eyes. I had a hunch. I willed myself to become an Eyrie. I opened
my eyes and got the wonderful sight of my brother, Un-eairkagh, and Infernus
all staring at me bug-eyed.
"Wow!! Cool!" Un-eairkagh shouted.
"Pretty nifty," my brother agreed.
"Try that half and half, after the pool," Un-eairkagh suggested.
I did. I was human, almost.
"Too cool. You can be human, an Eyrie, or half and half," Infernus said.
"Do you know what this means?" my brother asked.
"I'm special?" I asked innocently.
"No, no. You can fight in the Battledome!"
Leave it to my brother to draw that, of all conclusions.
***
Feel free to Neomail me, I encourage it. I like feedback. Sabreur is really
my brother, you can Neomail him also, though I ask you to go easy on that. He's
in college right now, and I'd rather not have him mad at me for getting a ton
of Battledome challenges, fan mail, etc.
To be continued... | 
