Amethyst Kadoatie: Part One

     My eyes snapped open.

     I sat up in the long, tall grass; my dream interrupted by a faint cry. Looking around, I wondered what that noise was. It had seemed peaceful enough before I had awoken from my afternoon snooze in the sun - the quiet flowing brook, the clear sky and shining sun, the leaves of the apple orchards gently rustling in the breeze… the crying sounded like a Petpet.

     The yowling pierced the air again. It sounded like this Petpet, whatever it was, was in great danger. I couldn't just leave it there!

     So, immediately springing up onto my feet, I jogged in the direction of the terrible sound as fast as my Kacheek legs would carry me. Wading through a patch of particularly long gnarly weeds, I nimbly vaulted over a hedge - and there I found the poor creature.

     It was a Kadoatie, yowling in distress as it clung to a small rock in the middle of the fast raging brook. (I blinked. Had it really been like this upstream all the time?) As its claws attempted to dig deeper into the hard surface of the rock, the Kadoatie noticed me watching and cried harder than ever, nearly slipping away into the water - and I knew that I must act at once. But how? What way was there to help the Petpet?

     "Hang on!" I yelled desperately, watching it slide down the rock uncontrollably. "I've save you… just hang on!"

     My head swiveled around again and again like a furry yellow spinning top, fruitlessly expecting a miracle. No such luck.

     But I pushed the pause button on my imaginary remote control, then pressed rewind as I watched the recent events I had been in flash backwards on the tiny screen in my brain. There I was, clambering over the tall hedge separating the meadows from the apple orchards. Then I was sprinting in the direction of the Kadoatie's whereabouts. And then I was sitting up and looking around, trying to pick up the source of the danger - my eye catching the pile of logs that had not been chopped yet, for our fireplace.

     Before I could think twice, I was already shooting over the fence and dashing back to the place in the apple orchards where I had been dreaming. Panting, I slowed down when I arrived at the abandoned log pile.

     "Looks like this is going to be hard work,' I grunted, hoisting up the smallest (but long enough) log of the lot and dragging it across the grass as fast as I could.

     When I had finally lugged it all the way across the apple orchards, over the hedge and to the side of the stream, clutching a stitch in my side, the Kadoatie was still clinging in a distraught way to the rock - but was still ever closer to the rushing gray water below, snapping at its tail like a savage crocodile.

     Silently praying that my plan would work, I raised the log (with much difficulty) vertically upwards, holding the base steady - and let the other end slowly topple over towards the rock as the Kadoatie stared. The panicked expression on its face was being replaced with amazement and interest. And so, all according to plan, the other end of the log landed on the rock with a loud bump (even over the noise of the plummeting waters).

     Gradually and steadily, I took a deep breath, and began to climb over the crude bridge.

     The Kadoatie seemed to understand as it gazed at me with its mysterious blue-purple eyes, because it was beginning to edge along the log as well, waiting for me to come close enough. When I had nearly passed three quarters of the way, the Petpet suddenly edged along further, clawed tentatively at the log, and leapt into my arms. Its fragile little body was soft and warm.

     "You're going to be okay now, puss," I whispered, still balancing uncomfortably on the log. "It'll be all right."

     And so I carefully began to manoeuvre myself around, so I could go the other way back to the riverbank. Little did I know that the log was not so sturdy as it looked after all, and it was dangerously bending downwards and creaking and groaning…

     Suddenly, with a horrifying CRUNCH, the log gave way and I screamed as the Kadoatie hurled out of my arms and I fell into the raging brook below -

     Or did I fall? All of a sudden, the scene suddenly slowed down… until I realized that I was no longer plummeting to my death, but hovering just above the flowing brook waters. They didn't seem to be so frightening now that I wasn't plunging towards them at a great speed. But… hovering? How could that be, I thought - until I looked towards the riverbank. The Kadoatie had apparently landed onto the grass on the side of the river, because its fur still looked dry and silky. And it was staring at me… with something purple on its forehead glowing in a way as mystifying as its gaze.

     Still keeping its eyes on me, it slowly tilted its head upwards. As the Kadoatie did this, I felt my body do the same… the strange Petpet's stare carried me over the cold jagged water and over towards the riverbank… down just to a point where my foot nearly touched the grass… and there, I landed with a soft thud.

     "Meow?"

     I felt smooth, silky fur and a wet nose brushing against my cheek. Opening my eyes, the Kadoatie's small face towered over me, peering at me anxiously. I noticed then that its fur was black. A Shadow Kadoatie? Strange, seeing as you couldn't paint Kadoaties Shadow - but I had something far more important on my mind.

     "You… saved… my life," I whispered.

     The Kadoatie purred in agreement. Then I looked back at it more closely, examining its unusual appearance. The purple something glowing on its forehead earlier had turned out to be a pure, water-drop shaped amethyst gem. I gazed at it in awe - and then, realizing how rude this seemed, I sat up and balanced the Kadoatie on my lap.

     Ever since the first time I had seen it, I could just tell that the Petpet was… magical, in some way. Magical. Yes! After all, it must have had powers of some sort to be able to lift me anywhere it wanted. And… the gem on its forehead. The amethyst. It had been glowing as the Kadoatie was levitating me above the brook. Perhaps that was the source of its power?

     "Okay, Puss. You're all right now. Off you go," I told it gently, lifting it up and holding it towards the ground.

     I expected the Kadoatie to jump away from my hands. But it didn't. The Petpet clung on to me even tighter than when it was on the rock in the brook, looking at the ground as if it was something Sloth had zapped your plushie into.

     "Go on. You're free now," I said hastily.

     The Kadoatie didn't move for a long time - and then suddenly, it leapt up onto my shoulder, meowing indignantly.

     "What's wrong?" I asked, surprised.

     But then, judging by the Kadoatie's behaviour, I understood. This poor little Petpet did not have a home. It did not have an owner. It was a stray, lost in the big dangerous world of Neopia… and it wanted me to look after it. I nodded at the bundle of black on my shoulder, telling it that I understood. After all, hadn't I wanted a Kadoatie for a while now? But I had never received one because of the price, until now… and I couldn't just leave it here, to be in peril again…

     "Yes, I will keep you," I told it softly, stroking its wonderful jet-black fur as it purred in contentment. "Even if it does mean keeping your whereabouts a secret, I still will keep you."

     The Kadoatie looked up, hardly daring to believe it. Her eyes were wide, her ears were pricked up - and a happy glow seemed to swirl around her body. Gently lifting the Kadoatie up to my face, I smiled warmly at it. The Kadoatie's eyes twinkled, as if smiling back.

     And then I decided on the name.

     "I think you're going to make a really good friend, Amethyst!"

To be continued...