Sharp Shards

     "O h benevolent, loving-“

     “Give me a break.”

     Shard the Carmariller was currently bugging her Usul’s human caretaker Ribbon for more food at their family meeting.

     Food which the family simply couldn’t afford at the moment.

     “Please miss, I’ve only eaten once today-“

     “Daniel’s only eaten once this week.”

     The jelly Kacheek glances up nervously from his seat, fiddling with his horn headband. “It’s alright, I’m fine. If we get too hungry we can just eat some of me.”

     Saffri looks horrified at that proposal, her Aisha ears folding over her eyes. “Please Daniel! No need to sacrifice yourself for us!” She holds her Ghosterchief, Cresé, tightly in her arms.

     To contrast Saffri, their Xweetok sister Melodiv cringes. “We’re not eating you Danny. Gross,” Melodiv’s Yullie, Heartcatcher, silently shakes her head.

     “Hey! Hey! Attention!” Ribbon taps loudly onto her unlabeled tin can with a spoon. Everyone turns their attention back to the Neopets’ human caretaker.

     “We’re on hard times again, but we’ll get through this like normal! No eating each other!” She grabs a bag of a couple hundred Neopoints. “I’m going to run to a few wheels and hope for something good. Then I’m going to collect the shop till and hope we have enough to buy everyone omelettes when I get back. Behave,” She exits, leaving four Neopets and their petpets by themselves.

     Shard flies over to her silent owner, wrapping around an ear. The Usul’s been quiet the entire time.

     “Have nothing to say Dar?” Shard whispers quietly.

     Darknetta shakes her head.

     “I doubt that,” The Carmariller stroked her owner’s head. “You have such good ideas, you’re just too shy to voice them.” Honestly, that’s not true, Dar’s thoughts were average at best, but Shard needed to boost her owner’s confidence.

     “They don’t treat you right,” Shard continues. Dar opens her mouth to object but her petpet keeps talking. “They get nicer clothes, Daniel and Saffri get pretty colors while you’re stuck with that basic yellow coat of paint,” Granted, Melodiv was also a basic color but that’s not relevant now. What’s relevant is working Dar up.

     “It’s alright though! Saffri was painted before we got her and Daniel earned his color,” Dar reassures, plucking Shard off her head and petting one of her wings.

     Working Dar up would be a lot harder than just listing minor injustices nobody truly cared about. Clearly the Usul’s not going to turn on her family, so Shard realized she’s going to need to think of something else.

     Luckily she had an idea. Multiple ideas in fact.

     “I’m going to get you a gift,” The Carmariller whispers to her owner in her squeaky voice. “Wait for me in your room.”

     Darknetta nods. “A-alright,” The Usul turns, leaving the Carmariller alone with her plans.

     Ribbon came home to their Faerieland cottage with a bag of a couple thousand Neopoints. “Daniel come over!” The jelly Kacheek perked up and rushed to his owner, who then proceeded to put the bag in his jiggly arms. “I’m heading to my work room, a big story’s happening and I got to type it up.” She said quickly, and left even quicker.

     Daniel didn’t know what exactly a ‘big story’ could be as he held the bag in his jelly paws, satisfied that he’d be finally able to eat this week. He was starving and began to pull out some Neopoints to buy him and his sisters a couple meals.

     Shard watched from a window sill, her eyes scanning the room as Daniel took out a scoop of Neopoints and headed out the door, leaving the bag on the couch. After all, nobody would steal from them.

     Nobody but the devious Carmariller who swooped down the moment the Kacheek left.

     Shard took as much as she could carry in her paws before taking flight. A couple hundred, maybe even a thousand Neopoints. Perfect, she thought as she flew upwards.

     As long as she wasn’t spotted she’d get away scot free.

     So, of course, she got spotted.

     “Hey!” Heartcatcher yells, the Yullie tapping her paws as she looks up at the petpet above her. “Just because you’re hungry doesn’t mean you get dibs! Everyone else is hungrier,”

     Oh well, no matter.

     “Aw, you believed that?” Shard giggles. “I’m not hungry. I just want to see the others starve,”

     Heartcatcher’s expression drops, annoyance turning into fear. “That’s… that’s horrible.”

     “Isn’t it?” Shard smiles, flying circles around the Yullie.

     Heartcatcher takes a step back, trying to regain confidence. “Why are you telling me? I’m just going to tell everyone else how bad you are!”

     “And? Nobody will believe you,” Shard flies lower, tapping Heartcatcher’s nose. “Because I’m wonderful! Friendly as a faerie!” And sharp as glass with just as much of a sting. “And you? You and your owner are jerks nobody here likes. You can’t do anything.” The Carmariller lowers her voice, forcing the Yullie to meet her eyes. “You won’t do anything.”

     Heartcatcher quivers, before turning around and running from the horrid petpet. Shard laughs and leaves.

     H-huh? Why’d you get us so many Neopoints, there are at least a couple hundred here,” Darknetta murmurs. She wasn’t even sure how her petpet got these but she trusted that it was fine. Shard was fine.

     “I think you could use a new coat of paint,” The Carmariller puts the stolen goods under her owner’s bed. “Or at least a new outfit. Something to make you stand out more Dark,”

     “Dark?” The Usul raises an eyebrow.

     “Yeah. It’s a much cooler nickname than the one you have now,” Shard says nonchalantly, a smile gracing her face.

     “O-oh.” She can’t argue with that. It does sound better honestly.

     “So come on!” The Carmariller puts a couple of Neopoints in her Usul’s paws and grabs onto Darknetta’s ear yet again. “Let’s get you something nice,”

     The pair went browsing through some clothes shops, as paintbrushes were too expensive with the little Neopoints they had.

     Darknetta saw many cute scarfs, hats, and accessories but Shard shook her small head at all of them. They were too cute, not the image she wanted Darknetta to carve for herself.

     The Usul was ready to go home after having all of her ideas shot down, but Shard finally found something she found acceptable for her owner.

     Jagged Ink Wings. Intimidating and dark, exactly what Shard was hoping to get for her Usul.

     Darknetta didn’t really think they were that great. They were scary, but that’s not something a scared pet like her really wanted.

     But Shard really wanted her to have them and she didn’t want to say no to her petpet, so she bought them.

     The duo arrived at home, but before they could take a break they were met by Darknetta’s three siblings and their worried faces.

     “Dar!”

     “H-huh?” The Usul frowned. “Wh-what’s wrong?”

     “Dar, something’s wrong with Heartcatcher!” Melodiv cried out with concern. “She’s so down in the rubbish right now and I don’t know what to do!”

     “Dar, somebody stole some of the Neopoints our owner managed to save up today,” Daniel was biting his lip, trying to not let his concern show.

     Saffri was just nervous because her adopted siblings were. “Dar-“

     “Dark. P-please call me Dark,”

     The other pets didn’t bat an eye at the change of nickname or the new wings, just nodding as they continued to explain their problems. It never occurred to any of the Neopets that Dark’s new accessory could’ve been bought with their stolen money.

     Shard landed on her owner’s head, smiling. They’re getting closer to the goal. Her goal.

     Ribbon pulls out her freshly printed paper. She tucks it into the envelope, and sends it to The Neopian Times by Neomail.

     She smiles, whispering to no one present.

     “Another good story Shard. Just as sharp as usual. Keep it up.”

     The End.