Avatar Goldmine

     Congratulations! Meggily now has increased Level!

     Rysony rolled his eyes. How many more times in his life would he have to hear the Techo Master repeat this chant? He looked over at his sibling Meggily and his Neo mom, both beaming with pride. "Great work Meggily! I think your hard work warrants a trip to the beach this afternoon” said their owner Ellen with a smile.

     The notion of spending some time at the beach instantly cheered up the resentful Usul. His sister may get all the attention and the glory, but at least Rysony got to tag along and participate whenever she was rewarded. Ellen extended a hand to each of the two Usul siblings and the trio exited the Training School and headed towards the island shore.

     The beach was a short five-minute walk from the Training School, and Rysony was relieved to see that despite the sunny skies and warm weather, the area was quiet and mostly deserted. Ellen led them to a shady spot, dropped her bag and plopped down in the sand against the base of a large palm tree. "Alright you two, go off and have some fun! I think I'll stay put here and get caught up on the latest issue of the Neopian Times. Be sure not to stray too far now!" Meggily and Rysony both nodded at her before they took off sprinting towards the cyan sea. Neither sibling had uttered a word, yet they both knew they were in a race to reach the water first. Rysony could feel his lungs and legs starting to burn when his sister suddenly surged ahead and beat him to the shore. "Ha! Sorry bro, too slow!" She dipped her toes in the water and gave her brother a gleeful grin.

          Rysony scowled and slowed his pace, feeling defeated. Why did she always have to win at everything? "It's not like we were in a competition," he huffed at his sister, who shot him a gleeful grin. The pair waded waist-deep into the ocean before Meggily completely submerged herself into the warm water. She resurfaced after a brief moment and then took off, quickly paddling away. Rysony raised an eyebrow at this before emitting a sigh, leaning back, and allowing himself to float. Only his sister could have that much energy after spending five hours training with the Techo Master. He closed his eyes and listened to the peaceful sounds of the waves and the soft humming of the island buzzers.

     Ry! Rysony! RYSONY! " The Usul awoke with a start, not even realizing he had drifted off to sleep. Shocked into reality the Usul opened his eyes to a colossal wave roaring directly overhead, and with no time to react he was promptly dunked, coughing and spluttering as his head bobbed to the surface of the water "BLEGH!!!" Rysony snorted salty water out of his nose before pulling himself back up. He squinted looking towards the shore and could see Ellen waving frantically at him. "Where is your sister? " Rysony turned around and scanned the water for any sign of movement. Hmmm, that's odd, he thought to himself. He figured Meggily had gone out for a swim, as she often did after a day of battling, but she was nowhere to be found. He turned back around and shouted to Ellen, "She was swimming, but I can't see her right now!" Even in the distance, he could tell Ellen had a panicked look on her face. "Don't worry, I'm sure she didn't go too far! You head south and I'll take the north end of the island. We'll find her soon!"

     Rysony pushed his feet off the ground and began swimming towards the Rock Pool. In between each stroke, he looked left and right, wondering where his reckless sister had gone off to. He continued heading west, past the Gadgads Hut, the Cooking Pot, and the entrance to the Lost City of Geraptiku. No matter where he searched, there was no sign of Meggily anywhere.

     As the sun began to dip below the horizon, Rysony felt himself growing tired. Initially, he was annoyed by his sister's sudden disappearance, but now he was downright exasperated. He knew Meggily could take care of herself, but a number of gnawing questions were growing inside of his mind. Where on earth had she gone off to? What if something happened to her? And finally, why on Earth was he responsible for finding her?

          Their entire lives, Meggily had been the primary Neopet in their household. As such, she got first dibs on everything – the best books, the greatest toys, new clothes, it all went to her first. If Ellen tried to give Meggily a book she had already read, then it would go to Rysony. If Meggily turned down a treat or a toy because it didn't suit her taste, it would go to Rysony. His whole life had been gifted hand-me-downs and rejected items, and he was growing tired of it.

     It all seemed to start when they were young Usuls. For reasons Rysony didn't understand, the Faeries would only pay attention to Meggily; and they often paid her visits and blessed her with special abilities. As they grew older, the Faeries would visit Meggily and ask for her help in locating rare items across Neopia. In exchange for her assistance, Meggily would be blessed with greater strength, speed or intelligence. Ellen realized these gifts made Meggily the perfect pet for the Battledome, and so Meggily became the prized battling pet.

     Rysony came to a halt when a large stick suddenly came down before him in the water, blocking his path. He gasped and once again inhaled a mouthful of ocean. He started coughing and choking on the water and grabbed onto the stick to hoist himself up.

     Young traveller, you look weary. Where are you headed in such a hurry on this beautiful evening?

     Rysony caught his breath and glared up at the Island Mystic, an elderly Kyrii with a bone protruding through his nostrils. He must have gotten lost in his thoughts as he realized he had made it to the hut on the far northwest side of the island.

     Uhh, I'm looking for my sister. We were swimming down by the eastern shore and I haven't seen her in over an hour. She's a Usul like me – have you seen her?

     The Island Mystic gazed at Rysony, a thoughtful expression on his face. He paused before answering: "I have not” Very well, I may be able to help you, but first, let me tell your fortune.

     Rysony frowned, not wanting to waste any time. He didn't know much about fortune telling, but what he had heard sounded far-fetched. “Thanks, but I really don't have time to…

     Before he could continue, the Kyrii had disappeared into the hut. A faint hazy smoke began to drift out the partially open door, inviting Rysony inside. He heaved a sigh and shook his head as he waded towards the shore. He shook the water off his fur as best he could before following the cobblestone path to the rickety hut. Rysony pushed the door open, wondering what the Island Mystic could tell him that could possibly help him find Meggily.

     Rysony nervously approached the Island mystic, to seek his fate. The mystic was sitting in a royalty high red chair, surrounded by bamboo sticks, with two wealthy-looking Royal-girl Kyriis waving fans in his face. The Island mystic turned as Rysony got closer to the high-chair and, spoke 'Welcome to my little hut. Ahh, I guess you came here to have your fortune told, eh? (Rysony slowly nodded his head, with his heart feeling like it could explode) Well... here it is...

     The Island mystic said ‘You’ll need to be a Top avatar collector before you’ll be able to recover your sister. I suggest finding Black Pteri first, my friend!’ The Island Kryii smiled as he nodded, wishing Rysony luck.

     Rysony gulped and turned away to walk away from the hut, slowly making his way home with his head bowed down. He could not stop thinking about what the Island mystic said. Rysony remembered how Ellen usually made her way home earlier than Rysony and Meggily, so dinner would be ready soon as Rysony and Meggily reached their home. Rysony was exhausted from his search at the beach and eager to get some food in his belly.

     As soon as Rysony arrived home the chia police walked out of the driveway. Ellen came running out of the front door, 'Where have you been?!’ After few seconds of hugging, Ellen asked Rysony ‘Where’s Meggily, did you find her?’

     Rysony gulped as told Ellen that he had not found Meggily yet, but was leaving to go on an adventure tonight in order to find her. It could be dangerous and would start with finding the black Pteri, so he explained that may be gone for a while.

     Ellen tearfully hugged Rysony and whispered in his ear 'Good luck, little one. Please be careful.

     Rysony rushed into his sister's bedroom to grab Meggily's treasured battledome set which contained a Snowglobe Staff, Purple Sticky Hand, Gilded War Hammer, Lesser Healing Scroll, couple of Snow Mudball & Parchment Cloak, along with her essentials.

     Rysony zipped up his backpack and walked out the door. He took a moment to look back at his neohome, and waved slowly to Ellen, wondering whether this would be the last time he would be home. Rysony put on a determined face as he began walking away, quickly losing sight of his Ellen and his Neohome.

     Rysony walked for hours, through a heavy rainstorm, wondering where he could find the black Pteri.

     He finally found a little place to set for settle for the night and laid out a little sleeping bag and cushion. As a very soaked Usul laid down to look at the stars, he wondered if he would ever find the black Pteri.

     Sitting in the middle of the empty field, Rysony suddenly saw something swiftly fly past him. He quickly jumped and turned to see a giant black pigeon-like creature sitting very still on a tree branch. As Rysony slowly drew closer, he realised what he was looking at. It was the Black Pteri…

To be continued…