The Adventures of Caragh the Halloween Krawk

     Up until now, Caragh had been a lone Krawk petpet. She looked down at the thick undergrowth that squelched in between her webbed toes with every step that she took. She was an intelligent petpet and noticed change rapidly, for she had spent many years wandering in the cave which was now "home" to her, occasionally coming across other Krawks, but they were long gone now.

     There's footprints here, she thought to herself... Looking around, faint traces of light broke through minuscule holes in the prison-like walls of the cave. It was a strange but familiar sight; she could sense that she was not alone.... How very right she was. (Of course, petpets can't talk, only think, so excuse the lack of speech from our star of the show.)

     "Ow!" cried Jordy, tears gathering in his eyes. "It bit me!"

     Jordy was a Halloween-Christmas-Ghost Zafara (he'd be customised not too long ago, so we'll just call him a "special" Zafara). He'd longed for his very own petpet, and Scenette was determined to get him one - whatever the cost. They'd planned a trip to the Fungus Cave to study the petpets there, but now that they had picked up this cute *cough* critter named Caragh, it seemed the search was over.

     Caragh began to growl menacingly; she wasn't one to mess about with, and Jordy knew it. He sighed and put her on the floor, where Caragh recoiled into a defensive position. She was not some cute cuddly creature who liked to play dress up or attend tea parties, and she wasn't about to drop her guard for such stupidities.

     "Look, I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to be your friend," began Jordy, "but while you're staring at me like I'm the next Dr Frank Sloth is not going to help matters. So, first of all, why don't we call a truce? I'm Jordy, and I'm not as scary as I look, I promise."

     Caragh widened one eye. (Yes, petpets can do that! Or, this one can.) She peered up at Jordy and Scenette. They were both grinning and had a warm and friendly feeling about them. Caragh felt better; she didn't feel so lonely any more. Maybe it was indeed time to become a companion rather than a loner. Her siblings had long ago met their own friends and goodness knows where they were now. She'd finally have a sense of belonging and wouldn't have to worry about strangers attacking her with spoons, forks and random Battledome weapons, just because of how rare a species of petpet she was. She jumped onto both feet, and began to waddle towards Jordy. His grin widened; he knew his charm would work on the little Krawk.

     The three of them proceeded to exit the cave, which took a while since they were already in quite deep. On exiting, Scenette decided they should make a stop at the Golden Dubloon. It was quite busy, so they boxed their leftovers and began to walk to the dock, where they would then travel to their neohome in Roo Island, a short trip away by boat. They went to bed as soon as they arrived, as it was quite late already and they were all extremely exhausted from the journey.

***

     The next day, Scenette left early that morning to attend the shop restocking in hope of getting some good deals. Jordy decided to take Caragh to the Neopian Park for some intense training, but wasn't having much luck.

     "Look," said Jordy, frustrated. "If you can't WALK nicely beside me, Caragh, you are going back to the neohome."

     Jordy sighed. He hated 'breaking in' new petpets, and Caragh seemed to be the most boisterous one he'd ever had. He could not seem to successfully train and encourage her to be a polite and well-mannered petpet. So far, she'd bitten two of his neofriends and Jordy had lost some fur himself; Caragh didn't seem to understand the concept of being a "good" companion to a fellow Neopet and was beginning to really test the patience of Jordy. Would she EVER learn?

     Apparently not, Jordy thought to himself. There's got to be a way, there just has to be...

     Jordy dragged Caragh by the paw, friction now burning at both of their feet as she attempted to disobey her owner.

     "That's it! Caragh, you're hopeless!" Jordy cried exasperatedly. It was no use; she was just a wild, untamed petpet and there was nothing he could do about it. Then a poster caught Jordy's eye...

     'Is your petpet vicious and untamed? Do you think YOU need help with giving it some solid ground rules? Have no fear, Captain Threelegs is here! Come along to Captain Threelegs Swashbuckling Academy in Krawk Island, where brand new Petpet Taming sessions will be offered from the Month of Hunting. Only two dubloons per session! Come and teach YOUR petpet how to behave!'

     "That's it!" Jordy cried. It was perfect; he'd finally get the petpet he'd always wanted and she'd be a friendly one at that. No longer would his neofriends be afraid of entering the neohome; instead they'd greet her with elation in open arms, rather than having their fur torn out and then running in fear, occasionally knocking over a table lamp or two. It seemed like a great idea, until they actually got there...

     The boat trip from Roo Island had been tiring and he had spent most of it restraining Caragh from eating a poor old Quiggle's withered jacket. It had some teeth marks, but for the most part it survived the attack from the Krawk. Jordy had apologized and offered a bag of neopoints for the Quiggle to take it to Donnie on Terror Mountain to repair it, but he flat out refused and chuckled, saying he'd had trouble with petpets in the past, too.

     "Caragh!" yelled Jordy. "You're not doing yourself any favours here. Why can't you just be like any other petpet?!" He stood with his paws on his hips, with a frown practically painted onto his face. He was running out of patience and Caragh looked up with no sense of consolation in her eyes at all. It was as if she was deliberately finding delight in angering Jordy. Dragging Caragh once again, - this seemed to become a daily chore - Jordy pushed open the door to the Academy.

     "Avast! Arr, are ye here for the petpet trainin' classes, young lad?" asked a familiar voice that belonged to none other than Captain Threelegs himself. Jordy nodded and glanced down at his Krawk, of which her paw was in a tight grip with his own.

     "She be right in no time, young lad, jus' leave it wi' me. I'll whip 'er into shape. Follow th' deckhand to th' other room an' I'll be there shortly. Jus' gotta adjus' me wooden leg - as ya do." He hobbled off, grunting slightly, and Jordy pulled Caragh along the wooden floorboards to a small room in which was occupied by other Neopets and petpets.

     The deckhand led them both in and Jordy sat down on a stool in the corner, popping Caragh onto his knees. She wriggled, squirmed and even tried to bite him - the other Neopets and petpets looked on, curiously. Jordy bit his lip nervously; he knew it must've looked pretty bad, but thankfully at that moment Captain Threelegs walked into the room and all eyes turned on him instead. A silence fell over the room as he began to speak.

     "Right, me hearties. It's time ta lay down some discipline rules wi' yer lil' critters. Firs' of all, ye got to show 'em who's boss. Can't be havin' no Neopets taking th' orders of their petpets, can w' now?" Captain Threelegs paused for a moment to take a look around the room. All of the occupants were listening attentively. Then he carried on speaking, talking the Neopets through simple steps to gain complete ownership of their petpet. This included anything from offering rewards or refusing trips out; basic things that would trick them into behaving.

     The sessions continued for many months for Caragh and Jordy, but still Caragh remained wild and untamed. It seemed as though nothing would work... Maybe it's time to give up, Jordy thought to himself. He was only wasting dubloons on something that seemed like a pitiful effort.

     "Cheer up, Jordy. I'm sure she'll settle down soon," said Scenette. "After all, she did wander alone for many months in the Fungus Cave, didn't she?"

     "I suppose so... Hey! That's it!" Jordy said with glee, lightbulb above head. He had an idea and wanted to try it out as soon as he could. Whispering in the ear of Scenette, she gasped and agreed they should try it soon. Eyeing the Krawk petpet in the corner, they grinned and planned out the trip they were going to make very soon...

***

     "Rise and shine, Caragh; we're going out today," said Jordy, cheerfully picking up the little Krawk from her bed. She growled and scratched at Jordy; she did not want to be awoken from her slumber.

     "Aw, don't be like that. It's okay, I'm sure you're going to love what we're doing today!" he said in response as she tried to bite his paw. Jordy had a real trick up his sleeve and Caragh wasn't aware of it at all... what a shock she was in for!

     Jordy had planned a trip to Krawk Island, the Fungus Cave to be exact. The boat journey there was the same as it had always been; the usual routine of biting, scratching, the occasional scream from an elderly female Kiko who had just had her hat snatched off in the jaws of Caragh, and then of course there was the growling and the frantic shouts of, "Caragh! No!" from Jordy and Scenette, while trying to prise many objects out of her grasp.

     Stepping off the boat and making their way to the Fungus Cave, Jordy could hardly contain his excitement for what was hopefully going to happen. He couldn't predict it, of course - he was no mind-reader - but hopefully what was on his mind would hopefully come out with positive consequences.

     "Caragh?" asked Jordy. Caragh was waddling up the Fungus Cave beside him, slightly timidly. She obviously didn't want to really come here, but this was all a part of Jordy's plan. He grabbed her paw and pulled her up to the entrance.

     "You obviously don't want to stay with me and Scenette anymore," said Jordy slyly. "You're free to go back to your home. Go on!"

     Caragh shied away; she didn't want to go! Jordy pushed her forward, encouraging her to go in. He turned his back and slowly began to walk back towards the boat... Caragh began to roar; she was upset that Jordy had left her! All this time, she'd been so awful to her companion and his friends, and now she was going to be alone again! Frantically, she waddled as fast as she could to Jordy who had now sped up his walking pace, Caragh was going as fast as her little legs could carry her - she nearly tripped! - and when she was as close to Jordy as possible, she leapt into the air and fixed herself to his leg, nudging it with her nose lovingly.

     Jordy smiled; he had been hoping this would happen. He picked her up into his arms and carried her back towards the boat, where Scenette was already seated. She smiled too, and moved her bag so that the two of them could occupy the empty seat. They didn't hear a word from Caragh for the whole trip home...

     After the previous day's event, Caragh was a lovable petpet. You'd not recognise her at all. In fact, most people thought Jordy had just got a new Krawk just like Caragh but imagine their surprise when they found out he didn't!

     Petpets have feelings, too, Neopians! And it looks like this story had a happy ending. :)

The End