The Snowager's Tiny Pal

      The icy neopet was reminded of this life-time aspiration after he chased two greedy neopets out of his cave with chilly blasts; the recipients being an older red girl Aisha and her little blue Aisha brother.

      There was no other of his kind. It was hard being the only ice snake in Neopia, and it was hard not having any friends. He just couldn’t relate to other neopets, and the deepest darkest secret of the Snowager?

      He was shy.

      Painfully shy, stuttering, sliding around, not making eye contact... the only way he could compensate for not being able to converse with others was by scaring them away. He couldn’t handle friendships, and he had never had a single friend in his entire life.

      The days of Neoschool so long ago had been traumatizing and depressing for him. No neopet wanted to be friends with him after they learned about his... abilities. He frightened them, and soon he found himself with an entire playground all to himself.

      After graduating, he never went back. He slithered and slithered to a place where he could belong. He tried to fit into countless places in Neopia – Meridell gave him the cold shoulder, Tyrannia ostracized him, and Mystery Island hid from him. It seemed that all hope was lost.

      Then, one day, after gliding for what seemed like years, the snowy beast found a place truly made for him. The climate was exquisitely freezing, the snow was delightfully crunchy, and it even had an optimistic name, “Happy Valley.”

      “Finally, a place for me,” he said with an underused smile.

      Oh, but he was wrong once again. The scarf-wearing Chias and other Christmassy neopets and petpets had heard about the Snowager’s powers; he was starting to develop quite a reputation. They screamed and ran in terror from him when he simply tried to reach out and make friends with them.

      All of Happy Valley disappeared behind their locked doors and the Snowager sadly slunk through the town alone.

      He knew he had to leave; he didn’t want to keep them confined forever, so he looked for another place to go.

      Up ahead he saw the tall, uninhabited mountains. He knew he would have to give up on trying to make friends; no one liked him and no one ever would. He still needed a home, though, and a place that was unpopulated and cold would be perfect. Taking one last glance behind him, saying goodbye to what was supposed to be his promising future, he moved forward towards “Terror Mountain.”

      When he reached the top of the snowy mountain, his silvery eyes searched the landscape for a place to seclude himself. After a few minutes he saw it, a home that was just right for him. He glided up to a cave and tucked his head inside the cavern.

      It was wonderful – the icicles clinging to the ceiling, the frosty air, and the icy floor... the cavern had everything a giant ice snake could ever want. The walls gleamed and reflected the bright sunlight, seeming to cast a positive outlook over the lonely beast. Feeling relaxed and at peace, he curled up and lay down on the ground and closed his eyes, drifting into a quiet sleep...

      Boom!

      The Snowager was awakened by the sound of a loud crash, disrupting his deep sleep. Looking around groggily, his eyes focused and he saw a conniving little snow Aisha. Now why would a Snow Aisha come into a cave like this?

      He followed the Aisha’s excited gaze and saw behind him what was so fascinating.

      Treasure, a huge mound of treasure comprised of neggs, battledome weapons, and many other shiny things. So that’s why the neopet was here, not to be his friend, but to steal some treasure from his new home!

      Angry, he emitted a low growl and then blasted frigid ice at the frightened neopet.

      The Aisha, named Keblin, clumsily dashed out of the cave, screaming his tiny lungs out. The Snowager was sad; he had never used his powers to purposely hurt or scare anyone, but enough was enough.

      Neoschool and neopets’ ignorant attitudes towards him in general had made him this way, and he would stay this way.

      Still, the Snowager wished he could have a friend, particularly a little brother.

     ~*~

      The holiday season depressed him the most – seeing neopets be friends together and celebrate at the Advent Calendar. The Snowager could never be a part of that, and even though he had all the treasure a Neopian could ask for, he had not one friend to give any to.

      He could hear the merriment outside of his cavern – Terror Mountain had become far more populated since he made his home there, and his mood became even worse. He turned around, not wanting to even catch a glimpse of the happiness he couldn’t be a part of.

      Crunch.

      Great, another neopet he would have to blast away. Now really was not a good time. Irritated, he turned back around and was shocked at what he saw.

      The sight of a Rainbow Shoyru didn’t surprise him, no; it was the petpet that dutifully stood by his side that shocked him.

      It looked like him. It looked like he did as a baby.

      “Oh no, Snowy, he saw us!” The rainbow Shoyru shot a worried look at his petpet, then dashed out of the cave before he could get injured, leaving his petpet behind.

      The mini snow snake gave a perplexed look at the giant Snowager looming over him. He didn’t look frightened; he was the first creature not to have fear in his eyes when staring into the eyes of the Snowager.

      Could this be... someone like him?

      The petpet startled him by suddenly speaking, “Hi! I’mma Snowickle. Are you a grown-up Snowickle?”

      A Snowickle! Yes, he had heard about the fabled petpet, but apparently there were so few in Neopia... he wasn’t sure if it was just a rumor. He laughed; it was the first time he had laughed in a very long time.

      “I guess you could say that.”

      The little petpet beamed. “Yay! I can’t believe it, I’m gonna get to grow up and be all strong like you someday!” He raced around in a few circles, slid on the icy floor, stopped himself, and then looked up again at the snow snake.

      “Yes, yes you will.”

      Truthfully, the Snowager did not know how the Snowickle would grow up, but who was he to crush the dreams of such a cute little petpet?

      “Well, I want you to be my guide,” the petpet said seriously. “I have to make sure I am really strong, and really powerful, so you gotta tell me how you did it!”

      The Snowager grinned. “Sure, I will be your guide – I’ll be like... your big brother.”

      “Yay,” the Snowickle said and danced around again. After stopping himself from gliding on the ice once again, he looked up at his new guide. “Now, big brother, I want you to tell me how you got so strong.”

      The Snowager took a deep breath and looked down at the excited petpet. “Okay, but it’s a long story, it all started when I was a little ice snake, just like you...”

The End