Little Blue Lupe

      Little Blue Lupe was unlike any other. She lived on the coast of Mystery Island. She loved to frolic, play, and dance. Little Blue Lupe was only a baby, but that didn't stop her from trying to make friends. Each day she'd explore out on the coast, hoping she'd find someone to play with! Today, she was extra determined. There were many Neopets and petpets out by the ocean for her to play with, and surely, one of them would be her very best friend.

      The ocean was a beautiful place to be. Little Blue Lupe resided on one of the shores of Mystery Island, where the waves came in with a white foamed crash, brushing up the shells from the deep with every push and pull. While looking at some of the shells, Little Blue Lupe noticed one in particular - a Maraquan Turtum, marching about.

      "Hello Little Turtum, would you like to play?" Little Blue Lupe asked, crouching down low to meet at his level.

      "Of course - that'd be great. Let's hang out in my shell. I have the coolest stories to tell..." The Turtum said, popping back into his shell.

      Little Blue Lupe frowned and lifted up a paw to knock on his shell. "No, no! I can't. That's much too small for me. Us Lupes use caves to hide, not shells! Why don't we go play in my cave, instead? It's big and dark, and sometimes kind of creepy.. but I promise it's safe."

      The Maraquan Turtum seemed frightened by the Baby Lupe, and promptly rolled away in his shell, leaving Little Blue Lupe with a big frown on her face. Caves must have been scary to Turtums... Trying to stay determind, Little Blue Lupe looked up to the sky, hoping she'd see something else to play with fly by.

      There was one! Right up ahead - Surely this Pawkeet would be interested in playing!! Little Blue Lupe jumped up and down, her frown instantly turning into a smile as the Pawkeet took a dive and swooped in to the Baby Lupe's side.

      "Hello Little Pawkeet! Would you like to play?" The Lupe said with excitement, her whole body wriggling as she crouched down to play.

      "Of course I would, come fly with me!" The Pawkeet squawked, flapping up with his green plump figure, towards the blue summer skies. The Pawkeet started to flutter around in a playful way, his plump body requiring her wings to move at an extra speed to keep her weight up in the air.

      Little Blue Lupe sat up, with a frown on her face. "But wait, I can't fly!" She shouted, as the Pawkeet turned to look.

      "I cannot fly, I do not have wings. I have paws, and claws, and..." When she looked up, the Pawkeet had fled! Was it something she had said? She looked down at her paws, thinking about her words. Little Blue Lupe felt her eyes start to water, but she refused to cry. She WOULD find a friend, no matter what.

      Perhaps the ocean was a better place to look, and so she did. Her paws touched the waves as they washed up on shore, giving her a slight shiver from the feeling of rushing waters against her.

      In the depths of the waters Little Blue Lupe noticed a formation of bubbles, before a cute little Cloud Kiko appeared, splashing and playing in the waters.

      "Hey! Want to play with me!?" Little Blue Lupe smiled, her tail wagging once again.

      The Kiko offered a smile. "Sure! Let's play. But first, join me in a meal! Doesn't this salted seaweed look delicious?" The Cloud Kiko lifted some seaweed up from the ocean depths, taking a crunch bite out of the green colored food.

      The Little Blue Lupe made a disgusted face, pulling back and sticking her tongue out. "Bleghh!" She said, "Seaweed is not a meal for me.. I like meat, especially Kacheek Meatballs and Barbecued meat is my favorite! It's so good... watch out, I'll pounce on the count of three!"

          But the Kiko didn't like Little Blue Lupe's jokes, and frantically swam away. The Baby Lupe let out a sad sigh as she disappeared. "I am just not good at making friends." She said, kicking a small glossy blue shell out of the way.

      Deciding friendship was something she just couldn't create, Little Blue Lupe dropped her head and sighed, before looking out over the horizon. It had been a long day, and not one, or two, but three friends had been afraid and disappeared right before Little Blue Lupes eyes. Her eyes started to glaze over with tears, finding it harder to fight them back.

      "I'll just never have a best friend." She sighed, looking back to the ground. Three strikes, and she felt out. It was no fun being turned away multiple times. The Baby Lupe sat down, her paws digging into the sand and her ears dipping down low.

      "But you'll always have me!" A familiar voice rang, turning Little Blue Lupe's ears to the side. A large blue paw rested on the Baby Lupe's shoulder, and she turned quickly with a large smile.

      "Daddy!"

      "Yes, my Little Blue Lupe. You will always have me. So lets dance, frolic, and play this day away!"

      And that was exactly what they did, as they ran up and down the beach, jumping here and leaping there, Little Blue Lupe laughed, and giggled - the day just couldn't be better.

      All evening they played, wrestling with love, until both of their tongues hung low to the ground, and they lay together on the beach, watching the sun dip below the horizon.

      "Don't ever forget how important family is, Little Blue Lupe." The father Lupe said, looking down and smiling at his daughter.

      "How could I forget?" The baby Lupe smiled, cuddling closer to her father.

      The stars shined above them, and their noses lifted to the sky as they began to sing a beautiful song together, howling to the stars.

      One by one, the Maraquan Turtum, the Pawkeet, and even the Cloud Kiko appeared to watch them sing. It was an entrancing song, and a beautiful harmony between father and daughter.

      "Maybe we should have played with her." The Pawkeet squawked. But the Cloud Kiko shook her head.

      "Do you see those teeth! They're sharp, and she'll try to eat me!" The Kiko backed away, trembling with fear.

      "Oh goodness. Maybe she's not that bad. We should give her a chance." The Maraquan Turtum chimed in, his eyes soft as he watched the father and daughter.

      The two Lupes howled until they couldn't sing any more, and slowly, Little Blue Lupe began to fall asleep, snuggled up in her fathers arms.

      "Goodnight, Little Blue Lupe. Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring." He said, softly, looking over to the Kiko and petpets that were watching from afar. "I'm sure it will be better than today." He raised his eyebrows to them, as if implying a better outcome for tomorrow's fun.

      The sea critters that watched all smiled with peace, perhaps tomorrow, Little Blue Lupe would actually have some friends to play with. Perhaps a cave hiding, non-flying, carnivore could fit in on the beach. Perhaps, Little Blue Lupe... could be their very best friends.

      The End.