Yurble and the Winter World

      He tugged on his thick, woolen coat. The colour was something to be admired; only a master could have created that perfect tone of red and only a master could have perfected that shine. Along with his dazzling wings, Yurble certainly looked very Christmassy. So why was he stuck on Mystery Island?

      He had spent many days, staring over the horizon. When the sky was clear, you could just see the faint silhouette of the marvelous peak. The weather snowy weather looked beautiful in the pictures he’d seen and everything looked so joyful, not at all like the strange Mystery Island. Yurble still was trying to avoid the ‘legions of evil Kyrii’ and he’d heard so many haiku, he could make them up on the spot.

      “Strange island I’m on,

      Tormenting me without end,

      Why not a mountain?” he mumbled to himself. Could it hurt to have a little vacation?

      The sun was making staying inside an impossibility; where was 06 when you needed a cold drink? He would just have to get his own. At least it gave him something to do, and maybe complain about later on.

      The Neohome's door loudly opened, before falling off its hinges for the ninth time. Yurble was sure a certain owner was meant to be fixing that, but he was probably too busy ‘writing’ or ‘earning neopoints’. He could also assume this meant omelette was for dinner. He figured it was best to buy the refreshment quickly; he could always shift the blame to Xwetok later. It wasn’t like the crazy pet would actually deny it.

      He found himself in Mystery Island’s Tropical Food shop. It wasn’t long until the shopkeeper restocked, providing Yurble with a nice glass of lemonade. Why couldn’t it be an ice cream instead?

      Yurble was turning to leave, when something immediately caught his eye.

      ‘Make neopoints fast, visit Terror Mountain!’ the poster read.

      This was exactly what Yurble had been looking for. One glance at this and 06 would be running across the sea in seconds. This would probably be disastrous, considering 06 wasn’t a Flotsam, Jetsam, Lutari or any other swimming Neopian species. Yurble made sure to remind 06 of this; a boat would probably be safer anyway.

      Reaching up, Yurble ripped the poster from the shop's wall and ran straight back to his Neohome.

      “They could just ask!” the Techo mumbled to himself, replacing the stolen advertisement, but no one was around to hear.

      Yurble was gasping for breath when he finally got back home. The door still hadn’t been fixed, but that didn’t matter.

      “AHH!” 06 yelled, waving a broom at the strange Yurble, who appeared to be attacking him.

      “L—Look!” Yurble said, continuing to shove the poster in 06’s face.

      “Neopoints?” The words took a few minutes to register in 06’s head, but he eventually shouted, “NEOPOINTS!”

      The plan proved to be a great success. In a few days, he would be enjoying the wintery wonders of Terror Mountain. Even if it was just a day trip, Yurble would be satisfied to have been there at least once. But now that he had his wish, Yurble had to be ready.

      Two days passed, but eventually, 06 was ready to set off. Yurble still couldn’t figure out why the gigantic suitcase was needed, but he supposed it wasn’t getting in the way of his perfect day. He was full of excitement. In a short while, he would be in the chilling cold like he’d always dreamed of. He’d be escaping the Mystery Island’s strange inhabitants, and be joining Terror Mountain’s fun loving residents, for a short while anyway.

      “We’re here!” 06 suddenly exclaimed.

      Yurble was already out of sight. Everything was perfect; Chias were skating, igloos were scattered everywhere, Neopians sang, pets danced and everyone was smiling. This obviously explained the name ‘Happy Valley’.

      Yurble couldn’t help but feel at home. The snow felt soft and the mountain was so big, he just had to explore. He couldn’t help but notice a rather interesting cave; it was sure to have something inside.

      Sure enough, the Ice Caves were full of Neopets playing, buying and even trading Neggs. But for some reason, pets were also creeping into a cavern and back; they even came out with items. Yurble immediately ran over there.

      A big, blue lizard was spread out across the floor; he assumed this was the Snowager. It appeared to be in deep sleep. He quickly noticed the pile of items behind it. It was asleep, right? He crept forward, just in case it wasn’t a very friendly lizard, which was probably the case.

      “Got it!” He smiled to himself, staring at the rare negg in his hands. Suddenly he heard.

      “Yurble, YURBLE!” 06’s loud shouting definitely wasn’t good.

      The Snowager stirred and quickly came to its senses. It spotted Yurble almost instantly, and then stared at the Negg in the pet’s hand.

      “GRROOOOAAAAARRRRRR!” it bellowed at the top of its breath, before sending thousands of icy shards in Yurble’s direction. Satisfied, the Snowager went back to sleep, leaving Yurble wondering what exactly had just happened.

      “What!?” he shouted, noticing 06 outside the cavern.

      “I bought you a slushie.”

      All that pain, just for a smoothie. It just didn’t seem fair. But Yurble wasn’t prepared to let his day be ruined. Terror Mountain still looked great, and he was stealing in the first place. He wasn’t prepared to give up, but he couldn’t help asking.

      “06, what’s that strange, ominous, glowing patch on the floor?” But before 06 had a chance to answer, a large, icy ghost appeared from nowhere. The Ice Devil charged forwards. Within one quick second, Yurble’s slushie had been stolen.

      Yurble was getting angry, but quickly realised he didn’t want the slushie anyway. Instead, he decided he would try his look at Tarla’s Shop of Mystery, but things got even worse.

      A snowball came flying out of nowhere, hitting Yurble directly on the face; he decided to ignore it. A gust of chilly wind knocked him off his feet; it was mildly annoying. Chia after Chia after Chia greeted him with random phrases that made no sense. The Snow Faerie told him to wrap up warm. After another snowball, another Bruce and another visit from the Snow Faerie, Yurble couldn’t stand it.

      Terror Mountain was too happy, too unfriendly and too painful. The snow was cold, the snowballs hurt and large beasts blasted you from every direction, not to mention there was a second Pant Devil. It certainly didn’t look as good as it sounded, although the word ‘Terror’ certainly should have implied something. There was only one thing left, Yurble could do.

     “ENOUGH! I’VE HAD IT WITH TERROR MOUNTAIN! I’M COLD, HUNGRY AND ANNOYED! SO WHY CAN’T I GO BACK TO MYSTERY ISLAND?!!” he snapped, leaving complete silence everywhere...

The End