to the cave, brushing past lots of seaweed. A cute little Jawshell squeaked
at me and I picked him up, stroking him. He purred and went up my sleeve, looking
for food.
"Hey, stop it!"
I giggled as he crawled all over me, trying
to find food somewhere. Oh no, I thought, I need to get back to Anna! The little
Petpet crawled out from under my sleeve with a Voidberry I had been saving for
later.
Normally I would have stopped him, but I had
to find my owner. I swam through the seaweed, and it almost seemed to wrap itself
around me like slimy ropes. I shivered and kept swimming, this time a little
bit faster. The hopes that I would find my owner soon kept me going.
My arms started to get tired after a while,
and I breathed heavily. Despair set onto me as I realized I was completely lost.
I sank down on a mossy rock and sniffed. I didn't cry; crying wouldn't help
anything, it would only waste time.
I sat on the rock, feeling sorry for myself
and completely lost, while silence crept over the sea. No. Wait. Not total
silence. I perked up my ears, and sure enough, I heard a mournful sobbing from
far away. Maybe it was Anna!
I rushed over in the direction of the cries.
Left, right, up, around, the sobs got louder! I turned into a corner and saw
a dark shape sitting over by a rock, shaking with sobs.
"Anna?"
The thing didn't move. I went closer to see
that the thing didn't have Anna's pale skin and long brown hair, but navy blue
skin and light purple hair. I went in front of her for a better look. The first
thing I noticed was her eyes. They were a dark, dark purple. They made me think
of someone who was trying to be mad and sad at the same time. I could tell she
would be very pretty if she weren't so sad. I took a deep breath.
"Excuse me? Are you ok?"
The girl sniffed, looking up at me.
"What do you want?" she demanded weakly.
"I was just wondering if you were alright,"
I whispered, trying not to sound mean or impatient. The last thing the girl
needed was to feel worse. She smiled a rather beautiful smile. It didn't look
right on her sad, jaded figure.
"I'm Caylis. I am just sad because of a nightmare
I had. Will you come with me? I need to go back to my home."
While we swam to her home, Caylis explained
to me her nightmare. There was a young Usul she knew to be named Garin who was
in trouble. She explained he was in trouble before with Scarblade (I shuddered
when I heard his name, don't ask why) before, but he got out of it. But she
said this time it was much, much worse.
"Do you know what is going to happen to him?"
I asked her quietly.
"No, all I could see was him screaming. But
something bad is going to happen, and we need to help him."
I was taken aback. I had just met Caylis,
and she was already using plural language. "We?" I didn't even know Garin. Not
that I didn't care, but I had more important things to worry about. For example,
I had to find my owner.
Soon we were at Caylis' house. It was very comfy,
with plenty of padded chairs and tables and plants. She told me all about Garin's
past. She explained that he has had very bad experiences with Scarblade and
pirating in general, but triumphs too. She proposed that we go to the Rusty
Anchor, since he was there a lot, to try and meet him. I agreed, unknowing of
what was in store for me when I got there.
When we stepped into the noisy Rusty Anchor,
full of activity, I had suspected Garin to be some ugly, older Usul that was
a pirate just for the fun of it. No. Way. Garin was tall, and his eyes were
a light blue with courage and defiance in them. My mouth opened. He was so
handsome. I suddenly became aware of the fact that I was a Baby Shoyru, and
he would never take me seriously.
He looked down at me and smiled. He picked me
up, and I felt happy. His arms were warm and friendly, and I never wanted to
get out of them. He laughed as I snuggled against his arm.
"Well, are you tough beneath that cute exterior,
little one?" he asked me. I scowled at being called "little one." I jumped out
of his arms and crossed my arms defiantly. He laughed. He put his arm out on
a nearby table and pulled up his sleeve.
"How about you and me arm wrestle, then?"
I gladly would have taken the challenge. I had
totally forgotten Caylis was there until she spoke.
"Garin, we don't have time, you're in deep trouble!"
she warned.
For the first time, I saw him frown. He eyed
her curiously, taking his arm off the table and rolled down his sleeve.
"What do you mean?"
"I-I... I had a-" she lowered her voice- "nightmare.
About you. You were screaming, and I think you are in grave danger."
Garin simply shrugged and took a sip of something
in a mug. I didn't want to know or think about what was in it.
"Caylis, this is Garin you're talking
to. Remember Scarblade? Got past him-"
"Yes, but Garin, this is-" she interrupted.
Garin overruled her.
"This is what? Another challenge I can get by,
that's what."
Caylis pouted and folded her arms. There was
a very awkward silence between the three of us, and I decided to break it.
"Even if you deny it, Garin, you're still in
danger."
He looked shocked that I could actually speak.
His amazement turned into annoyance. "Look, kid, no one is gonna listen to you.
You're just a baby."
If I hadn't just met him, I would have smacked
him there and then. Caylis' eyes fumed. She leaned in closer to Garin and spoke
in a furious whisper.
"Garin, if you know what's good for you, you
will leave this Shoyru alone! She is one good fighter, and you cannot judge
her on her looks. She got past Scarblade twice and is the toughest fighter in
her class. She scored 48 points in the war, to protect MY people, she is famous
among the Defenders of Neopia; she just had a bad experience with Boochi. So
stop acting so full of yourself. Got it?"
Garin looked appalled. He took a good, long
look at me, as if seeing me for the first time. He seemed to not believe I was
capable of beating someone like Scarblade. The silence spiraled, and I could
tell each of us wanted someone else to say something. Finally, Garin said something.
"Well, I still think you're a baby."
Sweet Kreludor, could he be any more
stubborn?! I chose to ignore this, since most guys were stubborn. Caylis rolled
her eyes. She too, was used to it. She grabbed his elbow and pushed him along
to the door.
"Come on, Mr. Smarty Pants, we've got to get
you down to my world."
"What for?" Garin asked nervously. Caylis smiled.
"My sister wants to see you."
Garin blushed. I took it for granted that Caylis'
sister must be very pretty to make him blush like that. Either that or they
were good friends. He twiddled with his thumbs as we walked over to the dock.
When we got to the edge, he put on some seaweed necklace and jumped in. I followed
after him. Caylis went last. When we were underwater, Garin mocked me.
"How are you going to breathe, goofball?" he
taunted. I folded my arms.
"Underwater breathing ability, 'goofball,'"
I said, sticking my tongue out. He frowned.
"Hey, chill out, I was just kidding."
"Well, it wasn't funny."
"Guys, stop it!" Caylis said angrily. "Get along
with each other!"
Easy for you to say, I thought. I pouted
and followed Caylis to the new City of Maraqua. It was totally amazing, even
more amazing then the last time I saw it. Garin looked at my amazement and smiled.
He had been there loads of times, it didn't amaze him anymore.
A young Aisha who I learned was named Isca came
running out of the palace. She was very beautiful and looked almost like an
angelic version of Caylis. She immediately gave Garin a hug and he hugged her
back.
Caylis watched from the corner, smiling. She
was happy for her sister, which made me sure they liked each other. I admired
that. My brother, Jazz, and I never get along. He just got painted Christmas,
so now he is a Christmas Koi. We never get along anymore because I am starting
to think Anna favors him more than me.
Isca looked over in my direction and released
Garin from his hug. Her eyes widened. She swam over to me and picked me up,
cuddling me and fussing over me.
"Aw, she is so adorable!" she said, tickling
my nose and twirling my tail. She made me very happy; she was so warm and friendly.
I saw Caylis pull Garin to the side and whisper something to him. He looked
in my direction, and she turned his face back to her, annoyed about something.
When Isca finally put me down, she was very
excited. "Oh, Chili, we are going to be such great friends! King Kelpbeard will
love you!"
Caylis butted in. "Sister, Chili's owner is
missing."
Isca's eyes widened.
Caylis continued, "Also, I had a nightmare that
Garin is in danger."
Isca mouthed something wordlessly, her eyes
wide with fear. Her face split into a determined grin and she clenched her fists.
"Don't worry, Chili. We are going to find your
owner no matter what," she said with a determined glint in her eyes.
To be continued...
