The Tale of a Note, a Poem, Two Pets, and a Journey

     You see, Rion was cursed. His shiny silver color hid darkness, his happy disposition hid sadness. Rion was abandoned, and forced to attend a boarding school for Lupes and Gelerts. He had no friends, no one to share his past with. That's why he was so cold, so shy, and so mysterious, and spent most of his time writing or exploring on his own. He was hoping to find someone just like him, someone who could understand. But that person was never going to come.

     An old Gelert blew a deafening whistle, and everyone put their paws over their ears as they tumbled inside the schoolroom. Rion slowly got up from his shadowy place under the tree and padded along with his roommates. When he got into the classroom, he took out his geography book and turned to page 273-Tyrannian History. He sighed. Man, can't we just study something useful? he thought. But what he didn't realize was that this would come in handy sometime...

     Rion drifted off to sleep as the teacher droned on about some old Chomby who lived in Tyrannia 4 gazillion years ago. He was dreaming, dreaming about BEFORE he was forced to come here...

     He was running through a beautiful enchanted forest with his whole family, racing and chasing and rolling. All of a sudden, a horrible scream cursed the air. Rion's brother Stormy, had been captured-by humans. Rion ran, and ran, and ran, after him. But it was no use. He stopped and listened closely. He could hear the human writing something, a message, an alert. To Rion. The paper slipped out of the human's hand, and Rion could see his name on it, and the word "find" he leaped into the air to catch the note, but it slipped. His claw ripped the paper in half, and the two pieces flew separate ways. He could hear a voice...Rion...Rion!..

     And then he awakened, only to see Mrs. Gelertian standing over him. "Rion, HOW many times have I told you NOT to fall asleep in history class! And don't start with me with the 'I'll never use it'. Detention!"

     "But-but..I," Rion stuttered.

     "No buts! After school, straight to Mr. Lupine!"

     Rion sighed. He was always getting detention for falling asleep and daydreaming in class. I mean, why do grades matter? he thought to himself. They don't mean anything. But still, detention was a real drag. Mr. Lupine, an old ghost Lupe, and believe me, he was old enough to be ghost, was REALLY mean. He made you write sentences for the entire time. Of course, Rion didn't write sentences. He wrote what he thought the letter would have said. Well, actually what he hoped it said. Because all of his assumptions were unreasonable. He would write things that would never happen, not in a million years. Not until it snowed in the Lost Desert.

     After school, Rion dragged himself into the office. Mr. Lupine was waiting. "Three hundred lines saying that you will never fall asleep in class-history or not!" he roared. "Get to work!"

     Rion began writing. Only he wrote letter, after letter, after letter about what the note could have said. After he wrote 299 lines, he wrote a conclusion:

     "Never give up on what you think could happen, even if it is impossible."

     His mother had taught him that motto. It made him feel better to think about her and her little poemy-like line. She was a beautiful, shadow Lupe. She was captured by humans, along with his sister, Xenthira, and his father, Rikku, one week after Stormy was captured. Well, they weren't captured, they were killed. He saw his mother's body when he came back to the den after his hunt with Xaireno, a Gelert who had been his very best friend. Now Xai had disappeared, and he was forced to live here, sitting in Mr. Lupine's office every day after school.

     After a few more minutes, Mr. Lupine dismissed him. He ran to the bunks to get his book, written by his whole family. Every day, each member of the family would write a poem, a story, or a note in the book. Every page was still intact, even though the humans had raided their den. Except for one. Rion's favorite poem by his brother, Stormy, was torn out. It was about having a family, and having whatever you needed right beside you. That poem didn't really fit Rion anymore. He had no family, no friends, nothing that was once dear to him. He longed for the poem, just to read it, and feel that somewhere, one member of his family was still alive. Maybe.

     That night, Rion didn't sleep in his den. He slept under the big, old tree we heard about in the beginning of this story. He wanted to watch the stars, see if he could see the lights of Faerieland or the Darigan Citadel. Suddenly, he heard a bark. He stood up on his hind paws, looking around. He saw a shadow move, and a Neopet popped out from behind a tree! Rion nearly fell backward. The Neopet had two long ears, a sad face, and a loyal stance. "Rion, it's me," the Neopet said. "Xaireno."

     Rion gasped. "Is...is it really you? Where did you come from?"

     "It's me. I heard you were here. I wanted to put you out of your misery," Xaireno answered.

     "Thank you, thanks so much! I really was miserable," Rion said.

     A piece of paper flew from some unknown place and into Rion's mouth. It looked as if it was ripped in half. Suddenly another piece of paper flew from somewhere. This time, into Xaireno's mouth. He gave it to Rion, and he tried to fit them together. They matched perfectly. He read the note aloud to Xaireno:

     "Rion, I know where your brother is. I did not want to capture him. He is in Tyrannia, deep down in the jungle, stuck inside the wheel, but I cannot tell you which. Good luck".

     "Who is it from?" Xaireno asked.

     "There is no signature," Rion replied. "But we HAVE to find Stormy.

     So there they were, two of a kind, journeying to a faraway place, from Neopian Central to Tyrannia. Now Rion wished he had not fallen asleep during history class. They stopped to rest when they reached Terror Mountain. It was snowing heavily, and their coats were not very thick. They stopped in a cave, but left because it was filled with Grarrls. They soon found home with the Snow Faerie, and she welcomed them with a platter of hot Borovan Brownies. They stayed for the night, and left in the morning. By noontime, the Tyrannian Jungle was in sight.

     "Whoa. I didn't think it was this BIG!" Rion exclaimed.

     "Well, we better get going. I, for one, pay attention in history class, so I know that the only wheel in the Tyrannian Jungle is the Wheel of Mediocrity. It's not far from here," Xaireno said.

     They searched and searched, and finally cam upon the Wheel of Mediocrity. They searched around it, under it, and above it, but found nothing.

     "Maybe if we spin it, we'll find something," Xaireno suggested.

     "There is a picture of a pet on one of the slots. Maybe if it lands on that, we'll find Stormy!" ion said.

     Xaireno spun the wheel. At first it went fast, faster than any other wheel. But then it slowed down, it was getting closer and closer to the pet's picture. It stopped. On the picture. A torn-up Desert Lupe flew through a once invisible hole in the wall. "Stormy?" Rion wondered.

     "Rion, it's me! I've been trapped in here forever! How did you find me?" Stormy exclaimed.

     "By this note," Rion replied. He turned it over. On the back, Stormy's poem was written, now having more meaning than ever to Rion.

The End