The Odd Egg Out: Part One

The egg wasn't moving. It was just sitting there. Was it even going to hatch? It was a pale green egg. It hadn't always been such a pale shade, of course, it had once been a vibrant green that seemed to dance with life. But now, it lay on the table, a sad sight. It was scuffed, dirty, and cold to the touch.

     The owner, a young boy, of about 12, was staring at the egg, staring, staring. It was as if he hoped that his staring would heal whatever haunted this egg.

     You see, it was a fine summer morning when this boy decided to get a Neopet. He had been playing Neopets for almost a year, but hadn't gotten a pet-- 'till now. He had been waiting until he thought he was experienced enough to raise a pet. He wanted to be a patient, loving owner, yet a firm, slightly strict one. So this morning, when he woke up, he decided that today was the day.

     He set off at a steady jog, eager to finally get that long awaited pet. He didn't need to think of names, species, or gender. He had decided that all long ago. He would get a Lupe, a green one to run along side him when he went for his daily run. A Lupe to play with, a pet that he would be content with, just knowing that it was there.

     It would be a male. A male named Heromisan. This boy would have enough Neopoints to feed Heromisan, and to buy him toys to play with. Oh, why was it taking longer then usual to get to that Create a Pet center!

     When he finally arrived, he quickly filled a sheet out with a flourish. It went something like this:

     Species: Lupe

     Neopet Name: Heromisan

     Gender: Male

     Color: Green

     Where does your Neopet like to live?: Town

     What does your Neopet like doing?: Exploring the land

     How does your neopet approach others?: Approach with caution

     After he filled out the sheet, he ran over to a line for a machine, impatiently hopping from one foot to the other. He heard squeals of delight as other owners received their egg. As he approached the machine, his excitement grew. He eyed the people in front of him. Just five more to go... four more... three...

     Finally, he was there! The boy placed his sheet into a slot in the top of the computer-like thing, and waited as the machine digested the data. Soon, he heard a whirring sound, and then an egg popped out of the bottom of the machine.

     He quickly snatched the egg up, hardly able to hide his excitement as he walked over to a nearby table. The egg was glamorous. It had a nice sheen over the glossy, green shell. He was about to sit down, when he decided one little "squeal" wouldn't hurt a thing. So he opened his mouth, and before he knew it,

     "WHHOOOOOOO! YAAHHOOOOO!"

     Whoops filled the air. He didn't even notice the disapproving stares as he sat down, now able to control his excitement, as he got most of it out when he had screamed.

     After endless hours of watching the egg, he decided to go home. But after a few days, the egg still hadn't hatched. Soon, the shell took a dulled look to it, and it began to look scuffed and dirty. After a week of waiting, the boy noticed how cold the egg was getting. This brings us back to where we started.

     The boy finally broke his stare and glanced at the heating lamp he had placed over the egg. It was as hot as it would get, and yet the egg was still cold. All of his knowledge about pets, about eggs... all of that knowledge wouldn't help him.

     The days turned to months, and soon the boy gave up hatching the egg, and started ignoring it. Now, every time he glanced at the egg, a feeling of disgust would crawl up and down his spine. Finally, he gave up on it, and carried the ice-cold egg over to the Meridell dump. He would get a new pet.

     After the boy departed, a strange thing happened. The egg began to shine, and soon the pet inside of it hatched.

     "SikalTsuna, SikalTsuna, it's me, your Heromisan!" cried a 3 month old green Lupe.

     But no answer came. Just the whirling of some dead leaves, seeming to float atop the wind.

     "SikalTsuna!" cried the Lupe in a frightened tone, "Where are you?"

     Heromisan looked around, the sky growing dark. Soon, the sun would set, and darkness would envelop the land.

The Past Revealed

     Heromisan whimpered a bit. It hadn't been his fault he hadn't been able to get out of that egg. A bored darkness faerie had been the cause of that. She had put magic powers on his egg, so that he wouldn't be able to get out of his cursed shell.

     ***

(What Happened...)

     The fact was, an evil dark faerie named Lagunia was in detention at school. She was an advanced student, and after school, learned simple tricks from Jhudora. For Lagunia was a favorite of Jhudora's. After a mean trick (Which had something to do with soggy, sticky fire faeries) Lagunia was sentenced to one hour of detention after school for a week.

     Lagunia was sitting in her chair, raving mad. Why was she here? Shouldn't she be doing something? Perhaps a visit to Jhudora? Maybe draining the Soup Faeries pot for a few hours? (One could only drain the pot for a few hours, only if skilled, for the Soup Faerie has strong powers cast on the pot to keep it full!) She should be having fun! Not wait around, bored, until dismissed!

     With that, Lagunia suddenly thought of a trick that evil-hearted, Neopian-hater Jhudora had taught her. It was a simple trick, but it could ruin the life of a pet. She hadn't quite got the trick down, but she could do it. She was sure of it. Lagunia first did a simple spell-- just to distract the light faerie that was watching her. She tipped over a pencil case in the next room, causing the case to break open, and pens and pencils to scatter about the room. The light faerie immediately stood up.

     "I'm going to see what that was-- you stay here. And don't cause ANY trouble, young lady!" the light faerie gave Lagunia a warning look before she left.

     As soon as the faerie started down the hall, Lagunia took the chance to chant a spell,

     "Young pet, your life is done.

     You're to be trapped, your life, un-spun.

     You'll never get out,

     Don't try to pout--

     You're stuck in that shell,

     Not a word shall you tell."

     With that, Lagunia zapped a purple, foul-smelling bolt of evil towards a random egg. That egg just happened to be Heromisan. But what Lagunia didn't know was that someone was watching. The light faerie had quickly flown to the classroom and saw the scattered items. Then, she had just as speedily put the stuff back into the case and quickly flown back down the hall. She had arrived just in time to hear the last two lines.

     Upon hearing those last two lines, the light faerie sharply drew her breath in. She recognized that spell. But how was she to save the pet upon whom this spell was cast?

     From that day on, the light faerie searched. It had taken her months to find that poor pet, still inside the egg. She quickly freed the pet of the spell, and went on her way. When she freed Heromisan, though, it would take a few days for the spell to actually completely wear off. And in those few days, SikalTsuna abandoned the egg, not knowing that keeping the egg just a few moments longer would have given him the pet he always wanted.

     ***

(Back to the present...)

     Heromisan looked around, realizing that he was in a dump. Why had his owner placed him here? Maybe it had been an accident? Perhaps... which meant that he must get back to SikalTsuna.

     In the egg, Heromisan had sometimes been able to get a split-second glance at SikalTsuna. He somehow knew that SikalTsuna was his owner's name, though how, he did not know. Perhaps it was the doing of that light faerie? Anyways, out of the few, very short glances he had gotten of SikalTsuna, he knew that his owner had shaggy brown hair, intense brown eyes, and a thin frame.

     With these few facts, Heromisan was ready to set off and find his owner, ready to brave whatever came past. But first, he should find a place to bed down...

     ***

     Heromisan woke up to the sound of screaming. He sat up in the haystack he had slept in, only to find himself nose to nose with a pitchfork.

     His eyes grew big with fright. Heromisan gulped nervously. What was going on?

     "Now, yer tryin' to take our few items we have in th' night, are ye?" asked the pet holding the pitchfork.

     "No, uh, sir, you see-," Heromisan was cut off before he could answer.

     "Shut yer mouth! I know yer type! Ye big fellas, ye think that ye can take on us poor folk. Ye think that ye can come and fling us small guys 'round. But ye've been caught! Now, git! Before I stick yer nose full o' holes!" the gravely voice continued.

     "But, sir, I was just trying to find a place to sleep! My owner, er, lost me, and I'm trying to find him!" protested Heromisan in one big breath before he could get interrupted again.

     "Ya right, now git!" the Kacheek thrust his pitchfork in Heromisan's noise.

     Heromisan yiped. This was his first experience out of the egg. Boy, weren't pets violent these days? And why did this guy use 'ye' instead of 'you' and 'yer' instead of 'your'?

     Heromisan rubbed his nose and swiftly backed off. He gave a hurt glance at the Kacheek before running off into the main part of Meridell. Once there, Heromisan immediately decided that he wasn't "Up with the language" and that he should start talking the way these people did.

     After he made that decision, he plopped down and rubbed his nose gingerly. He realized that it was bleeding slightly, and that the throbbing pain was a steady one.

     Making his way over to a booth, he asked, "Do you know where a hospital is?"

     One glance at Heromisan's nose sent the shop keeper into instant panic. He saw those tiny prickmarks in his noise bleeding slightly. What if this poor kid bleed to death?!?

     "Yar! Oi! D'oh!" screamed the owner all at once. Suddenly he resumed his calm, "Someone, git this kid to th' nearest hospitle'"

     The owner didn't quite pronounce the word right, but the people around him understood.

     Suddenly, Heromisan had the strange sensation as if he was floating. It felt like he was being lifted through the air!

To be continued...