Searching For Paradise: Part Eight

     "Well, this is probably the riskiest thing I've ever done!" Allehya hissed to Tye. "And that's saying something for a stray!"

     "I know," Tye whispered back. "Just stay calm and don't say anything!"

     Allehya narrowed her green eyes, but didn't retaliate. The shadow Kougra sighed and turned back to her newspaper. The comics weren't helping. The jokes in them seemed bland, and even the most colorful artwork seemed gloomy to her.

     Tye wasn't having any luck with her choice of reading materials, either. The short stories failed to captivate her as they once had. The faerie Ixi was tempted to throw down her newspaper, but if anyone had seen the Wanted signs, she and Allehya would be arrested.

     From behind her newspaper, Tye peered out the window. It had been about half an hour since they'd set off, and already there were small icebergs floating in the water.

     "How much longer?' Allehya asked.

     Tye shrugged. "How should I know? I've never left Neopia Central."

     "Never?" Allehya whispered, her eyes wide.

     Tye shook her head. "My parents don't believe in vacations," she said bitterly.

     "You mean you've never gone to Mystery Island?"

     "My family hates bugs and jungle."

     "Krawk Island?"

     "Too much riffraff."

     "The Lost Desert?"

     "Too dirty."

     "Maraqua? Roo Island? The Haunted woods?"

     "Too wet. No decent places to stay. My second-oldest sister's afraid of the dark."

     Allehya snorted. "Afraid of the dark?"

     Tye nodded. "Yep. Always has been."

     Allehya flicked her newspaper. "I'm surprised she admitted it."

     "Well…" Tye gave Allehya a mischievous grin. "I kind of found out myself and…"

     "Blurted it out at the kitchen table?"

     "Exactly," Tye said with relish.

     The two pets sat silently for a moment, pretending to read their newspapers.

     "Did you have any brothers or sisters?' Tye asked.

     Allehya's frown deepened. "No," she answered.

     "What happened to your parents?" The question burst from Tye's mouth before it had finished forming in her head. Instantly she wished she could take it back. But to her surprise, Allehya didn't look mad. She just looked thoughtful.

     "Dunno," she said shortly. "I don't really remember them at all."

     "Who'd you live with?" Tye asked.

     Allehya shook her head. "I don't remember anything before the pound."

     Tye was amazed. She'd heard terrible stories about the pound, about its horrible living conditions and the terrifying Dr. Death. "Were you adopted?" she asked.

     "Yes. By a really poor human. His house was a snorklesty, all smelly and dirty. He had omelette every day, and I got cheap food like Grackle bugs and jelly." She scowled. "He would yell horrible stuff at me all the time. And worse."

     "What did you do?" Tye asked, horrified at such brutal treatment.

     "One day, I decided I'd had enough and I had to get out. That night, I snuck out through a window and just ran. It took a while for me to find shelter and food, and learn how to live on the streets."

     "That's awful!" Tye sympathized, wondering if her own life was really as bad.

     Allehya nodded. "No kidding," she muttered, turning back to the comics.

     Another half-hour later, the ferry arrived at a large, stone dock. The water was dotted with sparkling white icebergs. Tye, who had never seen icebergs before, watched them in wonder. She and Allehya were the last to get off, and they were sure to keep the newspapers over their faces.

     "Almost past it," Allehya muttered as they passed the crowded ferry station. "Almost…almost…okay, we're past it!" They waited until the noise from the station had faded away before throwing down the newspapers and giving each other a high-paw/hoof.

     "That was actually easier than I thought!" Tye said, grinning.

     Allehya gave her a serious look. "Maybe that was, but whatever's coming up isn't gonna be easy at all, Tye."

     The faerie Ixi sighed. "I know, I know," she muttered. "There's Terror Mountain up ahead."

     "Yeah," Allehya said suddenly, coming to an abrupt halt. "But first there's Happy Valley…"

     "And the Ice Caves," Tye finished, shuddering at the thought of the Snowager.

     "We'll just have to take a path that doesn't go through there," Allehya said determinedly.

     "What? But there're no trails! If we got lost, nobody could find us!"

     "I thought we didn't want anyone to find us," Allehya said reasonably.

     Tye groaned. "I didn't mean if we got lost!"

     Allehya looked around. "Let's try going up the east side. We can keep Happy Valley in sight, so we won't stray too off course."

     "Allehya," Tye grumbled, "Just because we can see Happy Valley doesn't mean we won't get lost!"

     "Would you rather be arrested?" Allehya shot back. "It was your idea to come, remember? You were the one who said we should get the Orb back, and clear our names. Well, now that we're here, I'm gonna find the thieves, and the Orb, with or without your help.

     "Now- are you going to come with me, or are you heading back to the ferry?"

     Tye gazed at the mountain's side. It looked steep and snowy and dangerous. There was no obvious trail. She looked back at Allehya, into her determined green eyes, and opened her mouth to answer.

     Another hour later, Allehya and Tye were breathing heavily as they made their way through the thick snow. Allehya's fur rippled in the frigid winds, and Tye's wings were clamped tightly in an effort to keep warm.

     "Allehya, the sun's going to start setting soon!" Tye called ahead.

     The Kougra paused, looking down at the lit windows in Happy Valley, then at the horizon. "What're we gonna do for shelter?" she shouted back.

     "You mean with all that gear from the store, you didn't bring a tent?"

     "I wasn't planning on coming to Terror Mountain! A bit of warning would've been nice!"

     Tye bit her lip and tried to think. "I read in an adventure story about a Terror Mountain explorer," she shouted at last. "He slept in caves he made in the snow."

     "Snow caves?" Allehya shouted. "That sounds even colder!"

     "It's not!" Tye called. "The snow cave traps insulation, which makes it warm inside. Think of it as a den!"

     Allehya looked around. "I don't see a place we can-" She suddenly narrowed her green eyes and leaned forward, like a Gelert pointing toward a scent.

     "What's up?" Tye asked, tromping up the incline to get to Allehya.

     "Over there," Allehya said, pointing toward a sheet of solid ice sliding down from a ledge like a frozen waterfall. "Is that a hole?"

     Tye squinted. The sun was beginning to set, and it was already harder to see. "I think so!" she said excitedly. "Come on!" Tye began running toward the ice sheet.

     "Wait!" Allehya called, running after her and stepping in her path. "We don't know what's in there!"

     Tye shrugged. "What're the odds they're dangerous?"

     "I dunno. That's why I'm suggesting we don't go in!"

     "Then we won't go in. We'll see who's there and if they'll let us stay for the night, and if they won't, we'll go make a snow cave."

     "There won't be enough time to build a cave if we check this place out!" Allehya protested.

     "It'll only take a minute," Tye said calmly. "Now, c'mon. Let's see who this cave belongs to."

     Up close, the hole was revealed to be large enough for nothing larger than a Tonu. Allehya peered into it, then shrugged.

     Tye stepped up to the hole, took a deep breath and called, "Er…hello? Anybody there?"

     Allehya sighed and sat on her haunches. "It better not be anything dangerous," she muttered, eyeing the hole warily.

      A voice echoed back down the tunnel, making Tye jump and Allehya leap to her feet.

      "Come in, travelers," the voice said. "You're welcome here."

      Allehya eyed Tye nervously. "You're going in, aren't you?"

      "If it means we don't have to sleep out here," Tye replied, entering the hole. She walked with ease into a large tunnel made of sparkling ice. "Wow," she whispered, looking at the shimmering walls around her.

      A moment later, Allehya entered, her paws silent on the stone floor. She studied the tunnels walls and ceiling and whistled.

      Tye squinted into the darkness ahead. All she could make out was a turn ahead, then pitch black. Cautiously, the Ixi stepped forward and rounded the corner. She gasped. Allehya slid silently beside her, and her jade colored eyes widened.

      The two pets were standing in the entrance of a huge, ice cave. There was a fire burning brightly in the center, making the ice walls shimmer and glow purple. A large, thick icicle stuck out sideways from the right wall. It extended until it was centered over the fire. Hanging from the icicle was a spotted Korbat, wings folded comfortably at its sides. The Korbat's eyes were closed, but its ears twitched as they entered.

      "Welcome," the Korbat said. "I saw you would be coming."

      Allehya gave Tye an alarmed look. Tye looked up at the spotted Korbat. "Not to be rude or anything," she said hesitantly, "But who are you? And by any chance, do you know a striped Korbat named Reno?"

      The Korbat smiled. "My name's Zeno. Yes, I do know Reno quite well. He and I were born at the same time, on the same day. Not brothers by blood, but by time."

      Allehya turned to Tye with a dubious look on her face. Tye remained focused on the Korbat. "Are you a psychic like Reno?" she asked.

      At last, Zeno opened his eyes. Like Reno's they were white. The Korbat fluttered down from the icicle at landed at Tye's hooves.

      "I'm not as much of a psychic as Reno is. I only get the occasional vision," the Korbat explained. "My special gift is a knowledge of all Neopian legends. I know all the old-pet languages. I know what Neopian monsters are legends and which are real."

      Zeno fixed his eyes on Allehya, whose tail flicked involuntarily. "You're Allehya," he said. Turning to Tye, he added, "And you're Tirana. The Kougra's Allehya, and the Ixi's Tirana."

      "That's what Reno said to us!" Allehya exclaimed. "What does that mean?"

      Zeno studied the pair solemnly. "It's a shame," he said at last, "that the legends haven't made it as far down as your generation."

      Tye and Allehya shot each other puzzled glances, then looked back at Zeno.

      The old Korbat smiled. "Lie down," he said. "This'll be a long tale."

      Tye and Allehya lay down, Allehya's golden bands clinking as they touched the stone floor.

      Zeno closed his eyes, then began to speak.

      "A long time ago, a group of faeries met. There was a representative from every group of faerie."

      "I'm guessing Fyora was somehow involved?" Allehya guest.

      "Actually," Zeno said, "She wasn't. She wasn't alive then. This group of faeries decided that the pet species needed help to bridge society gaps. Whenever two pet species, and eventually other differences, began to have tension between them, the faeries would send a pet of each species to ease the tension. Eventually, of course, the Neopets found out about the group. They began calling the child selected by the faeries their word for 'peacemaker.'"

      "So, what happened?" Allehya asked.

      "Some families began to grow out of the idea. And when Neopoints came around, everyone lost it. The belief began to die out in entire species. The Ixi are only one example.

      "And without the belief, the faeries were unable to tell the parents that their child was a selected peacemaker. They devised another solution: color names. The faeries controlled the color of the peacemaker pets, making sure that no other cub or pup or foal was born that color. This lead to family traditions of naming pets of a certain color a certain name. The faeries sent dreams to those who would name the child, telling them to call them the old-tongue version of peacemaker."

      "That's what my family's like," Tye said. "All the faerie Ixi in my family are named Tirana. Not that there were that many."

      Zeno nodded. "Of course not. The word 'Tirana', after all, is old-Ixi for 'peacemaker'. And obviously, faerie is the color chosen for Ixi peacemakers."

      "What about the Kougras?" Allehya asked.

      "Now that's interesting," Zeno said. "Some Kougras forgot the legend, but others didn't. These Kougras got actual visits from the faeries, telling them that their cub was a peacemaker. What the Kougras do with their peacemaker cubs is give them golden bands to wear around their front legs. It serves as an everlasting reminder of the peacemaker's goal in life. Or should I say the Allehya's?"

      The ice cave was silent for a long moment.

      "But why didn't they tell me?" Allehya choked out at last.

      "Traditionally the Kougras save the knowledge until the peacemaker is thirteen and old enough to understand what their mission is."

      Allehya looked down at the stone floor. "My parents died when I was seven," she whispered. "I always wondered what these bands meant."

      She looked up at Tye, comprehension in her eyes. "We're the peacemakers," she said slowly. "Zeno, if there was tension between two social classes, would the faeries send down peacemakers?"

      "They'd consider it," Zeno replied.

      "They did more than consider it, Tye," Allehya said, her green eyes glowing. "We're the peacemakers- we're supposed to ease the tension between rich house pets and poor pets on the streets!"

      "That's why I'm so different from my family, isn't it?" Tye asked Zeno. "It's because I'm supposed to be sympathetic."

      Zeno nodded. "Yes. If you hadn't been selected as a peacemaker…"

      "I'd have grown up as selfish and mean as they did," Tye said, wincing.

      Zeno nodded. "It's getting late," he said. "I see that you've brought food, unless those packs are full of something else."

      Tye and Allehya nodded. Tye still felt guilty about stealing the food.

      "You should save the food for the trip up the mountain. There's almost no wild fruits on this mountain."

      Zeno flew up to the wall opposite his icicle, and entered a small tunnel. A few moments later, he reappeared with two yellow-orange fruits in his hands, and one in his mouth. The spotted Korbat glided down toward Allehya and Tye, and gave them one of the fruits.

      Tye studied hers. It was pretty large, about the size of her hoof, or Allehya's paws. The fruit gave of a tangy, sweet scent that reminded Tye of oranges. But unlike an orange, the fruit was smooth all over.

      "This isn't a peel, is it?" Allehya asked Zeno, studying her own fruit.

      "It's more like an apple skin," Zeno said, taking a large bite of his own. "They're quite filling," he said.

      Tye shrugged and took a bite. It was one of the best things she'd ever tasted. "This is pretty good!" she said before taking another bite.

      Allehya finally bit into her own fruit. "Weird," she commented after swallowing. "It tastes like meat."

      "No it doesn't!" Tye protested, swallowing another bite.

      "To her it does," Zeno said. "To you it probably tastes like something different. A fruit, maybe?"

      Tye nodded. "What kind of fruit does that?" she asked.

      "This kind. It's a special fruit I grow in small amounts inside the tunnel. It takes a lot of specifics to make them grow right, so usually I don't have any."

      "Well, thanks for having some now!" Allehya said, finishing her fruit and licking her paws clean.

      "Don't mention it," Zeno said. "Now, if you'd like to spend the night, you're welcome to. But the thieves aren't far, so I'd recommend heading off as soon as it gets light."

      Tye nodded. "Thank you so much, Zeno!" she said, smiling at the Korbat.

      Zeno smiled at the two of them, then flew back to his icicle, closing his eyes as he hung upside down.

      Allehya rested her head on her clean, outstretched paws. "So we're peacemakers."

      Tye shrugged. "I guess," she muttered. "I'm not sure what the Orb has to do with anything, though."

      "I don't think it does," Allehya said thoughtfully. "I think the Orb is just something we have to go after in order to…I don't know, show that rich and poor pets can work together." She shrugged.

      Tye looked up at the ice ceiling. "I can't even change my own family. How're we supposed to change the world?"

      Allehya was silent for a moment. At last, she said, "You said there were a few peacemakers in your family before you, right?" Tye nodded.

      "I think there were a few in my family, too," Allehya said. "Do you know what your peacemakers did?"

      Tye shrugged. "My parents said they were lady-like, quiet, and mild-mannered." One side of her mouth turned up in a grin. "They were saying I should behave like them."

      "Well, if they were ladylike and quiet, how were your peacemakers supposed to help the strays?"

      Tye narrowed her eyes. "I don't think they did," she muttered. "My parents wouldn't have called me that if one of the Tiranas had helped strays."

      "I don't think my peacemakers did anything either," Allehya said quietly. "I think if they had made some effort to ease tensions, they would've appealed to the Ixi peacemakers."

      "So that's probably about three peacemakers who didn't contact each other, because the Ixi were too lazy and the Kougras too scared," Tye summarized

      "Pretty much," Allehya agreed. "But maybe it's just a chance the peacemakers'll meet. Like sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't."

      "Maybe," Tye muttered. She yawned. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to get some sleep. I didn't think helping a stray Kougra get away from Neopia Central could be so tiring!"

To be continued...