Pounded and Proud

     I cannot remember who created me, nor can I remember what I was born as. I know I was in the pound for months, as a Blue Yurble. All credit to Yurbles, they're fantastic people, but that's just not who I am, or who I was. I was miserable, more miserable than I would have otherwise been. According to the Pink Uni, (whose name I'm sorry, but I can't remember at all) I was languishing in the Pound for six months.

     I have the vaguest of memories before the Pound. I think I lived by Kiko Lake, I think I ate Gourmet foods. I think I was happy. But I may have dreamt all this.

     The day I was adopted should have been one of the best days in my life. I was slumped against the wall of my cage throwing around a small ball someone had left behind, when I realised the footsteps had stopped nearby. I glanced up at the girl standing, incredibly, I front of my cage, and quickly looked away again. At the time, my neighbour was a Skunk Zafara, the only reason he had yet to be adopted was that he would start talking before they could decide they wanted him. I was sure he'd be gone in a day or so. But as a blue Yurble, I was fairly low on the totem pole. I didn't want to see this girl, who seemed nice, turn away from me. You know in the Pound how painful it is to see yet another rejection.

     "Hi. What's your name?"

     I had to look up to make sure she was talking to me, before I responded. "Anonymised," I grunted back at her, returning to my very important work with the ball. I heard a squeak of excitement? Irritation? Pain? I had lost the ability to distinguish between emotions after that long in the Pound. Then I heard the all too familiar sound of footsteps retreating.

     I'm not sure why this episode affected me more than the others. I decided to curl up and have a nap, anything to avoid thinking, am I right? I don't know how long it was, but suddenly I heard a noise I hadn't heard before. Blearily, I lifted my head and blinked around. "Anonymised?" someone said softly. "Anonymised, look at me."

     Somewhat grumpily, I obeyed the directive, seeing someone who looked a lot like the girl from other, but not quite. What was going on? Why was she in my cage?

     "Anonymised, my name is Kai. I'd like to adopt you. Will you come home with me?"

     I didn't know what to say. I had been in the Pound so long, I found I couldn't remember Neopia at all. "Umm," I hedged, unsure of what to say.

     "I promise I'll be nice." Kai grinned at me. "You're my first adopted pet, so you'll have my full attention. Are you up for it?" she asked, reaching a hand out to me.

     I looked at it, took a deep breath, then put my paw in her hand. "Let's give this thing a go, then," I said, and stood up.

     The next hour was a whirl of paperwork, potions and petpets. Once we'd finished signing me out of the Pound, we went down the road to the bank, and Kai accessed her safety deposit box. She flicked through it briskly until she found what she was looking for. "Drink this," she finally said, handing me a blue and orange striped bottle. Marginally apprehensive, I nonetheless swallowed down the odd mixture, noting as I did so that it tasted ever so slightly like fireworks.

     At once, I felt myself standing taller, smiling and stretching in a way I hadn't done in months. "Wow!" I exclaimed excitedly. "What was THAT?"

     "Super Strength Healing Potion." Kai grinned. "You were looking so down, I thought you needed it. Come on, let's go find you a Petpet!"

     "What, seriously?" I couldn't believe my good luck. Before I knew it, I was cuddling tiny petpets who were crowding around me, desperate for some attention. I could relate to that. There was one particular, a bouncy Noil that kept nudging under my arm for attention. I think I fell in love with the little guy.

     Kai came back from chatting to the shop owner, took one look at me with the Noil cuddled on my lap, and, beaming, turned to the owner. "I think that's the one for us! Boy or Girl?"

     I named him William, and he's here with me today. He has not left my side since that day.

     After I had been with Kai and her other pets for a week or so, Kai came to see me in my room. "I like what you've done in here," she said, sitting on the edge of my bed. I smiled at her, and fidgeted with the Noil on my lap.

     "Annie, you're not entirely happy, are you?" I could never have predicted that question. I just stared at her.

     "I want you to be happy, and I think I could probably make it happen. Can you tell me what's wrong?"

     I didn't answer. But suddenly, there was a lump the size of Krawk Island lodged in my throat.

     "Annie?" Tears were starting to form in my eyes, and I stared at the Noil desperately, trying not to let them out. The bed creaked and moved, and suddenly I was enveloped in her arms bawling like a baby Lenny.

     It took me a while to calm down, before I said something I had never vocalised before.

     "I'm not supposed to be a Yurble."

     It was like a great weight had been lifted off my chest. But it was quickly replaced by another, what if she thought I was weird.

     "Oh, is that all? Sweetheart, that's not a problem, we can sort that easily!" Kai sounded so breezy as she handed me a tissue.

     "Re-really?" I hiccoughed

     "Really. I can get you a morphing potion, or you go to the Secret Laboratory every day. What are you?"

     "I don't know. I'm just. I'm just not a Yurble."

     "Let's go then! Lab, then, yes? And your Noil can go too, if you want?"

     As my noil buried into my arms at that suggestion, we assumed he didn't want.

     "What name did you choose?" asked Kai as we gathered some food for the trip.

     "I haven't, yet. Do you have any ideas?"

     "Well, as we walk, shall I tell you why I adopted you?" I nodded, and we set off.

     "I didn't know who I was looking for when I went to the Pound that day. And then, I saw you. Firstly, you're great with that rubber ball, I was really impressed." I snorted with laughter. "Secondly, your name. You like your name, don't you?" I do, and I told her so. It's unusual but easy to pronounce. It was pretty much the only thing I liked about myself in the Pound, that and my sharp dry sense of humour, of course.

     "I thought you did," continued Kai. "Well, your name made me think of something. Ever heard of Shakespeare?" I shook my head. "Well, he was a writer, but lots of people think he didn't write anything, that someone else wrote everything and paid him to use his name. That person remained anonymous, and that's what I thought of when you told me your name."

     "Because that person remained anonymous, anonymised their work, I see!" I had never heard someone say something nice about my name before, and that it made them think of some famous writer? I was touched.

     "So what do you think I should call my Noil?"

     "Well his first name was William, Shakespeare's I mean, what about that?"

     I looked down at the eager little noil winding its way between my legs. "William," I said, testing it out. "William!" He jumped up at me and nuzzled my face.

     "William it is." Kai smiled.

     "What was the other reason you picked me?"

     "You looked like you could use a break. Even if you didn't want to stay with me very long, I could look after you and make you happy, paint you if you wanted, so you would find it easier to find a permanent family." I didn't know what to say at this, did this mean she would want me to leave? "But then, I got to know you, and I hope you don't want to leave." I smiled, it felt like I smiled with my whole body.

     I went to the Lab every day for over a month. Some days, nothing happened. Some days, I got a massive strength boost that made me break the glasses when I was drying up. I came home striped, electric, green, then a Ruki, then red, then faerie, then zombie, then an Elephante, then a Kau, then white, then I lost count. Every time I changed species, Kai offered me the opportunity to stop, but I never took it. None of the species felt right. Amazingly, I didn't get disheartened, but energised, to continue until I was happy.

     Then one day, I left the house a Lupe, and came home an Aisha. I felt almost right. Kai came into my room that day with some dresses that she had hoped Lorelai, my new big sister, would want, but Lorelai had (quite rudely, I gathered) turned them down. I loved them. I looked in the mirror and almost felt I was looking at me.

     "What do you think?" mumbled Kai through a mouthful of pins as she hemmed the pale blue dress. Lorelai is quite a bit taller than me.

     "I almost feel like me, but I don't know."

     Kai straightened, turned me around so she could check the hem was even. "One more for luck?" she suggested.

     "One more for luck," I agreed.

     My last trip to the Lab was sixteen months ago. As you can see, I feel brilliant. I am an Ice Aisha, I always was icy, it was just trapped by fur. If I hadn't been Pounded, I would never have met Kai, or my brothers and sisters, and I probably would have always been an Ice Aisha trapped in the ill-fitting body of a blue Yurble.

     I am not ashamed of my time in the Pound. I wouldn't be who I am today without it. And I like who I am today. So I'm here to tell you that I am a Proud Pound Pet. And you, you should be too. We learnt to survive on our own, and then we found the families we love and deserve. We should take pride in being Pounded. We were just too much for our original owners, and we can only hope they see the error of their ways.

     Be proud of your Pound background. I am. Thank you for listening.

The End