Time of Need

      “What is that?” I demanded, clutching my Navibot securely as my owner came skipping through the door.

      “Isn’t he adorable?” Eruanna crooned, snuggling the dark petpet to her chest.

      “I already have a petpet!” I exclaimed.

      Ruan laughed. “He’s not for you,” she giggled, tugging one of my ears. “He’s for me.”

      I could only gape at Ruan as she pranced around the hallway with that Droolik, who had done absolutely nothing since his arrival but stare around our Haunted Woods cottage quite passively, apparently oblivious to the hugs my owner was bestowing upon him.

      “Ruan... you can’t have a petpet!” I stammered out, completely flabbergasted. “Y-you’re... an owner. Human. Petpet. Petpet. For Neopets. Not... owners.” Our cottage was full enough with all the Neopets and petpets already running around. We didn’t need to add another Droolik to the fray.

      “Oh, Grassely,” Ruan sighed dramatically, shaking her head. The Droolik had been positioned on her shoulder, where it sat dully, clutching to Eruanna’s hair to avoid tumbling off. His wings fluttered now and then for balance. “With all you pets so grown up – look at you, a Glowing Aisha! I remember where you were green – I’ve lost my little darlings to hug and cuddle.” She pouted and clutched her hands. “So I was walking around the Fairgrounds and came upon this little dear...” She tickled the Droolik under his chin; there was no reaction, “...and I just couldn’t leave him.”

      She set the Droolik down. “Now his name is Jacques,” she told me sternly, shaking a finger. “And you be nice to him, all right?” Suddenly, Ruan let out another giggle. “An owner with a petpet! Who’d have thought it?” And she skipped out of the hallway and into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

      I sat on my rump and glared at the Droolik, who stared right back at me. Twix, my Navibot, watched us with piqued interest. Unfortunately, I knew that if I attempted to get into a staring contest with a Droolik, I was fated to lose. “Okay, you,” I stated finally, standing up. “Jacques. I don’t know who you think you are, barging in here, but this is my territory, and I don’t care for you one bit.” I remembered how Ruan had danced around with Jacques, looking so pleased and giddy. Usually when she looked at me, there was more anxiety than anything else. “You stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours, and there’ll be truce, right?” There was no reply from Jacques. It was like talking to a brick wall. “And you’re not sharing my room!” Still nothing. Why was I even bothering? “So just...” Fury welled inside me. “Just go!” And scooping up Twix in my paw, I stamped out of the hallway, where I was quite sure Jacques was still staring at my back.

     ~ * ~

      The next morning at breakfast, things only got worse.

      “Ruan! Where’s my seat?” I cried over the din. Nearly all of Ruan’s pets were present for breakfast (her Faerie Pancakes were famous all over the Haunted Woods), so there was quite a riot of noise, which wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was that my seat, second from the end, was gone.

      “Didn’t I tell you?” my owner replied as she waltzed in balancing a tray of pancakes and orange juice. She tossed back her brown hair as she set down the tray and pulled back quickly as her multitudes of Neopets immediately swooped in and began to spear their breakfasts with forks. “Corovan and Fanishanel are away this morning, so I was moving around chairs for Jacques and accidentally misplaced yours. It’s over by Zagrani, so skip over there and eat.”

      That was typical. Grumbling, I hoisted myself up beside the Faerie Zafara and moodily munched at my pancakes, glowering across the table to where Jacques was sitting. Where my seat should have been. The Droolik only happily lapped up syrup that Ruan was offering him from a spoon, still giggling.

      When breakfast was finally over, I left the table quickly and started scampering towards the door, vaguely considering going to the Fairgrounds for the day, when I heard someone call, “Grassely!” after me. I turned and scowled. It was Ruan, pulling in tow Jacques, who now had a leash tied around his neck.

      “Could you take Jacques for a walk?” she asked breathlessly. There was syrup plastered through her hair, dripping down onto the carpeting. I saw pancakes being flung across the dining room at the end of the hall like yooyuballs. Apparently I’d left just in time.

      “Do I have to?” I whined. “He’s not even my petpet!” What would Twix say if he saw me walking Jacques? He’d think that I’d abandoned him. He’s not the one that’s been abandoned, I thought forlornly.

      “Please, Grassely,” Ruan begged, thrusting the leash into my paws. “Just get him out of here.” A pancake came soaring out from the dining room and slapped Ruan in the back of head, sticking comically.

      “Nice hat,” I couldn’t help but say, grinning.

      Ruan only wiped syrup out of her forest-green eyes and stomped back into the dining room. I could hear her yelling. Glad to get out of the house, even if I did have Jacques, I left quickly, slamming the door behind me.

     ~ * ~

      It took quite a few minutes to persuade Jacques to step out of the boundaries of our cottage. He seemed quite content to sit on the grass like a lawn gnome and watch the strange assembly of Haunted Woods pets and creatures pass, fluttering his wings.

      Finally, I tugged the leash so hard that Jacques was forced to follow, trotting at my side, tongue lolling. Fyora, the petpet had the brains of a Spardel.

      It seemed ironic that I was caring for the petpet that had practically replaced me in Ruan’s cottage. I was one of Ruan’s first pets! I thought furiously, stamping until my paws hurt and I was consigned to stalk angrily through the Haunted Woods, past the Esophagor, past the Brain Tree... I’ve been painted Purple, Lost Desert, and Glowing! I’ve been through everything with that girl, and now she just up and replaces me with this stinking petpet!

      Suddenly, a small idea came over me. What if I... accidentally lost Jacques? I was taking him for a walk. He came off his leash. He ran off into the woods and I never saw him again. Maybe eaten by the Swamp Ghoul...? The possibilities were endless. Sure, Ruan might be sad for a while. But she’d get over it.

      The idea became steadily more appealing as I padded through the Haunted Woods, lost in thought. “Hey Jacques, wanna go on a little excursion...?” I began saying, spinning round to fix the Droolik in my gaze.

      But he was gone. And where I’d been expecting to see a happy, drooling, tail-wagging, wing-fluttering Droolik was a limp leash.

      I felt like my insides had turned to ice. Slowly, however, they began to melt. It was perfect. He’d left without my even having to do anything! It wasn’t even my fault, so I didn’t have to lie to Ruan.

      I had taken two steps back to the cottage when I finally stopped and began to shiver, picturing Jacques in my mind’s eye. Jacques could be hurt! Captured! In the clutches of one of the most horrific creatures of the Haunted Woods! He was just a stupid little Droolik; it wasn’t like he could defend himself. The small petpet would make a yummy snack for the Esophagor.

      “JACQUES!” I screamed, tearing across the Haunted Woods.

     ~ * ~

      “I DON’T KNOW WHEN RUPERT TECHO DIED!” I screamed, tearing at my fur. The Brain Tree was staring down at me, looking quite irritated. “I’m looking for a little Droolik,” I said slowly, trying once again to ask the Brain Tree if he had seen Jacques. “He answers to... well, actually, he doesn’t answer at all, but if you see one, tell me!”

      There was a pause. Then finally... “When did...?”

      “I DON’T KNOW!”

     ~ * ~

      The Esophagor stared at me with his great drooping eyes. “IIIII haave neveeerrrr eeaaten a Droooliiik beforrre...” He looked thoughtful. “Arrre they gooooood?”

      I buried my face in my paws. “Why should I know?”

     ~ * ~

      “Roll up, roll up!”

      I groped along the ground, crooning “Jaaacques...” in a low voice, peering from around legs of people and Neopets that were scampering around the Fairgrounds, wasting their Neopoints and fruitlessly attempting to win the games. I’d long since given up winning the Fairground games, but there were new visitors every day trying their luck.

      “Have you seen a Droolik around here?” I asked one small girl walking around with her yellow Mynci.

      The girl pointed me to the Spooky Petpets stand down the road.

      I slapped myself on the forehead.

     ~ * ~

      “Last stop,” I muttered, knocking my paw on the great oaken doors that led to Sophie’s cabin. It was truly the last stop. I’d been everywhere in the Haunted Woods, even the gypsy camp, but to no avail, so I’d forced myself through the bog that led to Sophie the Swamp Witch’s cabin. As uninviting as she was to visitors – I’d never forget the day Molasi came home with three eyes – it was the only thing I could do.

      Holding my breath, I awaited. Finally, the door pulled open, and Sophie the Swamp Witch was glaring down at me, her face twisted into a dark scowl.

      I gulped. “E-excuse me... Sophie...” I stammered out, wringing my paws together and pulling at my stalks in turn. “I-I was w-wondering... h-have you seen a Droolik around here lately?”

      Sophie’s mouth twisted.

      I tried again. “It’s my owner!” I blurted out, now talking faster than a Beekadoodle. “She has this Droolik called Jacques and it’s the dumbest thing ever but I had to take it for a walk and it ran away and I’ve been looking all over the Haunted Woods for it ‘cause Ruan will kill me if she hears I lost it and – ”

      “You’re looking for a Droolik.”

      She didn’t sound mad. I quickly shut up.

      “Aisha, do you know that I keep Drooliks?”

      I cast my mind about, then suddenly remembered. In her game, Sophie had Drooliks flying around with power-ups... could Jacques have really been...?

      “Your game, you mean?” I said falteringly. I stopped wringing my paws.

      “Yes. Well, my Droolik, Terrien, ran away a few days ago. He was my best. Just a little while ago, however, I opened my back door to find him sitting there, happy as you please.” She continued to look down at me, her stare penetrating. I started pulling at my ears again, uncomfortable.

      “Well, I’m glad you got Jacq... er, Terrien... back,” I said at last, after several moments of very awkward silence. My stomach seemed to drop to my feet. Even if I’d found Jacques, I still couldn’t return him to Ruan. It seemed like my death was quite eminent.

      “This Ruan, you say, took care of him?”

      I brought my head back to the present. “Took care of him?” I echoed, snorting. “She cuddled that thing like a Baby Neopet.”

      Sophie grinned. It somehow made her look more alarming than friendly. “Well, I’m grateful,” she said. “Who knows what would have become of Terrien had your Ruan not found him? Now he’s back, and I can continue my game.”

      My stomach was definitely nonexistent now. “Oh?” I said dumbly.

      “Indeed.” Beaming, Sophie leaned back into her cottage and whistled shrilly. Instantly, a small Droolik came bounding forward, sat on his rump at the Ixi’s feet, and gazed at me dumbly. I could tell that it was, without a doubt, Ruan’s Jacques. I nodded to Sophie, a great forlorn feeling weighing down on my shoulders.

      The next few moments were very foggy. I said good-bye and you’re welcome to Sophie’s thank yous, then made my way slowly back to Ruan’s cottage. I didn’t even have time to write out my will.

     ~ * ~

      Ruan listened patiently to my story. When I was done, she was very quiet. I hated seeing that look on her face, her green eyes unreadable. But I had known Ruan long enough to be aware of her sadness. Still, I suddenly realized that even if I had known Ruan for years, I had still failed to see why she had taken in that Droolik in its time of need.

      “Ruan...”

      “Hm?”

      “I’m sorry.”

      “It’s not your fault. And Sophie got her Droolik back. I’m glad for that. It feels good knowing that I helped someone else.”

      I didn’t really know what to say. Slowly, I got up from the cushy chair in the family room and began to pad out of the room, but stopped. Jacques’ time of need was past, but I had almost failed to realize that right now, Ruan needed something, too. Without thinking about it, I went over to my owner and gave her a hug.

      Ruan jumped, startled at the sudden display of affection. “You haven’t given me a hug in years!” she exclaimed, letting out a slightly watery chuckle and returning the squeeze.

      “I just thought you needed one,” I replied, hugging even harder.

The End