Beauty is Only Fur-Deep

      "Hey Dexter," he called out. His answer was met with a grunt as lazy green eyes opened to glare at him.

      "I was sleeping. Whatdoyouwant?" an annoyed growl asked.

      "Do you ever feel like you aren't good enough?" he asked, though his voice was more of a Mortog's croak.

      Dex shook his head sleepily. "No, I don't. I'm going back to my nap." The Xweetok rolled over and went to sleep, ignoring anything further from Klecther.

      Klecther sighed. His mom told him he was not grey, but a gorgeous silver. Silver and grey looked the same to him, and he longed for some color in his fur. The Kougra dropped his head on his paws. The chill wind ruffled his fur, and he shivered. A Pinchit crawled on the ground in front of him. Bright yellow and orange with green claws. So beautiful, Klecther thought. So colorful. He closed his eyes, and began to sleep. Time passed, and the sky soon turned orange and yellow as the sun set.

      "Hey, negghead, wake up," Dex shouted, nudging the Kougra with a paw. Klecther opened an eye and stood up, shaking the grass and dirt from his fur. "Time to go," Dex said.

      Klecther sighed, looking up at the sky. So colorful. He looked down at his own paws, expecting to see the colorless silver of his fur. How surprised he was when he saw pink on his paws! He picked one foot up and stared at it, eyes wide and mouth agape.

      "Dex! I'm pink!" he shouted, happiness and shock ringing in his voice.

      "Pink? You negghead, you're rainbow. Let's get going. Mom has dinner waiting and I'm starving."

      Rainbow? Klecther ran off to the lake, mewling at his reflection. So beautiful! Rainbow fur! The Kougra couldn't believe it. All of his dreams came true! He was finally colorful!

      "C'mon! Let's go!" the green Xweetok shouted impatiently. Klecther ran off to meet his brother, a new bounce in his step. Happiness came off the young Kougra in waves. He wasn't dull boring silver anymore! Some faerie must've noticed how sad he was and granted him this gorgeous pelt of fur.

      The twosome walked on home to their lovely piece of Darigan real estate. Klecther noticed many admiring glances towards his fur. He caught several girls gushing about how handsome he was. He blushed with both embarrassment and pride. He saw his Mom by the front gate, she was waving at them to hurry.

      "MOM!" Klecther shouted, barreling into the young woman. "I'm rainbow!" Dex rolled his eyes.

      "Yes, I know," she said. "Now let me up so we can eat dinner. You two go wash up!"

      Klecther felt like laughing. He was finally happy in his own fur!

      "Don't forget to wash your paws before we eat!" his Mom shouted. Klecther obediently went to the sink, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His fur was beautiful. He was beautiful. He felt like he had all the confidence in the world. The Kougra turned on the faucet and soaped up his paws before thrusting them under the warm water. Happiness quickly turned to horror as he realized that the color began to wash off his paws. Underneath the pink which was now sliding down the drain, was the silver he so hated. He felt the color sliding off his fur all over his body. He looked around, horrified to see the beautiful color falling away into a puddle of rainbow on the bathroom floor. Silver fur shone dully underneath. Klecther's heart started to race, and he tried picking up the rainbow and throwing it back on his fur, but it kept sliding off!

      "NO!" he shouted, waking himself up. He looked around. Still in the meadow. The sun was just now setting. Dex was glaring at him, but Klecther ignored the moody Xweetok. He ran off to the lake. Silver eyes stared up at him from the water. "No," Klecther whispered, dipping a paw into the water onto his reflection.

      A deep sadness overcame the young Kougra. He had been so beautiful, only to have it taken away. He couldn't bear to look at his ugliness anymore. Heart heavy, he walked back to his brother and they both started for home.

      Tears fell onto his paws as he walked. Girls did not look twice at him, though they gossiped about Dex's gorgeous green mane. He couldn't bear it, and ran ahead. He dashed through the gate and ran into the house, diving onto his bed. The tears fell openly, and sobs escaped his throat.

      "Honey," he heard his mother say as she entered the room. She walked towards him and sat next to him on the bed. Her small hands pet his fur. "What's wrong? What happened?"

      Klecther turned his face away from her. "I'm ugly," he whispered in-between choking sobs.

      His mother's mouth turned downwards. "You aren't ugly. You're very handsome," she said.

      Anger flashed in his eyes. "You have to say that! You're my mom!" he shouted, shrugging her off of him.

      "Klecther, you're special. You realize this? Silver is a very beautiful color, and it is rare. Not many neopets have your color," his mom told him. He just shook his head and wiped his tears off his face with a paw.

      "It is ugly and dull and grey," he mumbled. "Everyone loves Dex's green mane. And everyone loves beautiful colorful flowers, and colorful paintings, and colorful foods, and colorful clothes. No one wants something that's just ugly silver." His mother frowned.

      "I wanted you. Remember when I first saw you in the pound? I knew right then, I had to have you. I knew you were special from the second I laid eyes on you," his mother said, getting up off the bed. "You are very special, Klecther. You are a kind and sweet Kougra, with a wonderful heart. Your fur is beautiful. You don't need to be different. You are so beautiful, just the way you are right now."

      Minutes passed, and eventually Klecther looked up at his mother. Tears no longer fell from his eyes. "I think you're right," he said quietly. The emptiness in his heart felt full, as he realized that his mother's words were true. His fur color was unique and special. He was beautiful, in his own way.

      "Good! Let's go get some dinner," his mother said happily, ruffling the fur on his head. Klecther finally felt at peace with himself, and for once, was comfortable in his own fur. He joined her and Dexter at the table, and conversation turned to laughter and Klecther couldn't stop smiling.

The End