The Uni and the Miamouse: Part One

     Cuni glanced at a Neohome to see a Faerie Acara hovering a few feet above her cloud of a lawn; a tall, dark-haired girl sat on the doorstep, laughing and joking happily with her pet.

     Alongside Cuni scampered a brown Miamouse by the name of Shyle. She was a bit distracted by the sudden change of scenery, but nevertheless pleased, as she was a Faerie petpet herself.

     "Okay, she wives at 3570 Aiw Faewie Avenue," Cuni said to her Petpet, who gave nothing but a small glance at Cuni with a perplexed expression. "So her Neohome must be up dare!"

     They rounded the corner in search of Winny, Cuni's good friend; she and her owner had just moved up to Faerieland, and this was Cuni's first time visiting the brand-new home. Again, this street was lined with beautiful homes and had a gentle, calm feeling in the air. There was a bit of slushie snow littering the ground, the only remains that had survived the recent week's heat wave.

     "3567, 3568, 3569... 3570!" exclaimed Cuni, blissfully quickening her pace and galloping towards a Neohome with the brass numbers alongside the door: 3570. Shyle hurried along behind her master, but still keeping her eye on her surroundings.

     Cuni slowed down when she reached the gate; it ran all along the home, and Cuni prodded it cautiously, not wanting it to look as though she was trying to intrude. It opened a sliver without a creak, like Cuni had suspected, and she closed it behind Shyle, following the Miamouse down the cobblestone path. The stones were in perfect place and the hedges were neatly trimmed. The baby Uni leapt onto the front porch and rapped her small hoof against the door.

     "Hello?" A spotted Korbat stood in the doorway, who Cuni instantly recognized as Winny's brother, and motioned for Cuni to enter. "Ah, Cuni!" Cuni nodded, gazing wide-eyed at her surroundings; a spiral marble staircase stood in front of her, and to the left was the dome-shaped entrance to what looked like the family room, and Cuni could see sparks and a crackling fire it in the fireplace. A girl (Cuni could not quite make out her features) sat quietly on the sofa with a book in hand.

     To the right was a hallway with one door on one side and two on the other. "Winny's upstairs," the Korbat told her. "Go on up. It's the second door to your right." Again, Cuni nodded and uttered a "thanks" before watching Shiverz reenter the family room, and the Uni scooped up Shyle. She began to climb the stairs.

     Upon reaching the top, Cuni was out of breath and she placed her Miamouse on the ground, bending down and panting. When she looked up, she drew an intake of breath at the long hallway; it seemed to go on forever! Clucking her tongue to command Shyle to follow, Cuni set off for the second door on the right, glad that it was only that; the second door.

     Cuni knocked her hoof against the door gently, and heard hoof beats on the other side of the door. It creaked open, and a nearly identical baby Uni stood, beaming in the doorway. "Cuni!" she squealed, and took a step aside to let Cuni in.

     "Winny," breathed Cuni, now looking around the room with an awed expression. "I wuv your home!"

     Winny smiled. "So do I," she replied, "but it's so big, Pookie almost got lost!"

     "Where ish Pookie?" Cuni questioned, giggling, letting her eyes wander and looking at the large bed, expecting to see the Faerie Polarchuck snoozing on Winny's pillow or curled up at the end of the bed.

     "Up there," said Winny, striding over to her bed and looking up at the ceiling.

     Her answer was so strange that Cuni repeated it to herself under her breath before glancing up at the ceiling. She grinned when she spotted Pookie; there was a fan, and Pookie was snuggled right onto one of wooden blades as the fan was not in motion.

     Winny's bedroom was enormous; well, compared to Cuni's, anyway. She had a large bed in the corner, and a wide window on her bed side. On the other side was a bedside table with a photo of Shiverz and Winny, and a glass of water. A desk had put placed in another corner, and there were several boxes stacked in the final one.

     "Yeah," said Winny suddenly, following Cuni's gaze, "we're still unpacking." Cuni ran her hoof across one of the boxes, and made her way towards the gigantic window.

     "So what haff you been doing hewe in Faewiewand?" Cuni asked as she leaned against the window lightly, watching pets down on the street playing and soaring through the air.

     "Well," began Winny, taking a seat on her bed and glancing up at Pookie, who remained motionless and gave no sign that she knew she had visitors. Shyle had resorted to sniffing the boxes. "Shiverz and I went to the Poogle Races earlier on today, and yesterday we did the Wheel of Excitement."

     "Did you visit da Hidden Tower yet?" asked Cuni with a smile.

     "Yep." Winny giggled. "I saw the Baby Paint Brush, and the Royal Paint Brush, and I even got to see Fyora!"

     "Weally?" asked Cuni eagerly. "What was she wike?"

     "She had on a long, purple gown like she always does," explained Winny. "She smiled at me, too! Do you suppose she lives there? At the Hidden Tower?"

     "Pwobabwy. Who could pass up wiving dare? Or anywhere in Faewiewand, to be exact!" She paused. "What should we do?"

     "We could go watch the Poogle Races," suggested Winny. "But the next one starts in fifteen minutes, if you want to wait that long..."

     "How about da Wheel of Excitement?" mused Cuni. "Oh... wait, never mind... I still haff to wait two houwrs."

     "We could go to the Hidden Tower," Winny said hopefully. "Perhaps we'll see Fyora."

     "Or we could go and pway Faewie Cwoud Wacers!" Cuni enthused.

     "Nah, I've played three times today."

     "Oh."

     "Hey," Winny said, watching Pookie cautiously as the Polarchuck rolled over in her sleep, "do you wanna go and do one of Jhudora's quests? Shiverz took me there yesterday, it was one of my first quests for her. I was a bit scared, but Jhudora's not really all that evil, is she?" Cuni shrugged.

     "Sure," she said. "I've never done one of her quests befowe."

     "Great!" Winny jumped up off of her bed, and made her way for the door. "We'd better take Shyle with us, Pookie's gotten used to the big house by now, but I'm afraid Shyle'll get lost." With a glance at her Petpet, Winny added, "I bet all she'll do is sleep, anyway."

     "Okay," agreed Cuni, picking up her brown Miamouse and following Winny out the door.

     "Jade's downstairs," said Winny as they proceeded to thundering down the marble staircase. "We've gotta tell her we're going."

     Apparently, going down the stairs was less time-consuming and much easier than dragging herself up, because in no time at all, Cuni had jumped the last few stops and landed with a thud on the floor. They turned the corner and Cuni found herself in the family room, in front of a large window overlooking Neopia Central far down below.

     "Cuni!" exclaimed Jade upon noticing their arrival, setting down her book. "How are you?"

     "Fine, tanks," replied Cuni with a larger grin. Shiverz sat on a second couch across from her owner, stroking his White Fangy that sat in his lap. The fire was crackling in the fireplace and its faint glow seemed to really brighten up the room.

     "Jade, can we go do one of Jhudora's quests?" asked Winny, shifting from hoof to hoof anxiously.

     "Hmm," muttered Jade, considering the two baby Unis. "Sure, why not? Be back soon, though!"

     "We will!" chimed the baby Unis in unison as they spun on their heel with Shyle right behind them, and exited Winny's Neohome, slamming the door behind them. The sky had darkened only slightly, and it was now a mix of orange and pink clouds. The cloud below their feet itself had slowly changed to a light shade of pink.

     Skipping joyfully along the cobblestone path, Winny giggled and Cuni followed her. As Winny shut her gate closed, she said slyly, "Wanna fly there? And race?"

     Cuni's face lit up, but she blushed all the same. "Erm, I'm not da best fwyer," she admitted sheepishly.

     Winny beamed, and shook her head. "Neither am I," she replied. "I haven't flown much... it'll be fun, though, c'mon!" With that, she fluttered her light pink wings and hovered beautifully in the air with a look of delight. Cuni stood there, stunned and nervous. "C'mon!" Winny repeated encouragingly.

     The truth was, Cuni was a horrible flier, but she frantically flapped her tiny wings all the same, clutching Shyle in her hooves. To her amazement, Cuni lifted into the air, hovering at nearly the same level as Winny. She sped forward after Winny a bit jerkily, but laughed and beamed all the same; flying was a wonderful feeling. She could feel the rush of the breeze and the cold air; her mane and tail billowed behind her; Cuni felt as though she could go anywhere and do anything, but at that moment, she was heading for Jhudora's Cloud.

     "There it is!" cried Winny, and it appeared that the idea of racing had been long since forgotten; just the joy of flight was enough for Cuni, and, even though she went this way and that without meaning to, she had a great time of it all the same.

     Catching sight of a fairly small cloud floating a few feet above the Faerieland ground with a small staircase extending to it, Cuni drew in her breath; sitting there in a purple-and-green throne, drumming her long, bony fingers on the chair arm, was the evil faerie of darkness Jhudora.

     "Jhudora's not really all that evil, is she?" Winny had said. But as she gazed at Jhudora from this height, and the faerie caught sight of the two Unis, Cuni felt a pang in the pit of her stomach and had a crazy urge to spin around and fly back to Air Faerie Avenue. The faerie seemed to give off an era of menace.

     Breathing heavily from the effort of flying, Cuni began to lower herself to the back of the very short line that had formed on the steps. Winny stood there, pawing the ground with a sense of impatience and nervousness.

     "Get me a Gormball Stamp," Jhudora said in a deep, obviously bored voice without even looking at the trembling red Aisha before her. "Hurry it up." The Aisha nodded vigorously and scurried off in a rush looking terrified.

     The faerie's dark purple hair had green streaks in it and fell down to her shoulders. Her nails were a bright, lime green, and she had a gem hanging around her neck, a green one to match her nails and hair. The line moved forward quickly, and nobody got in line behind Cuni and Winny.

     Finally, as the line got shorter and shorter, Winny took a nervous step off of the stairs and onto the cloud with Cuni close behind. The two Unis gulped as they approached Jhudora. Clutching Shyle all the tighter, Cuni trembled; seeing Jhudora up close, Cuni spotted a long, eerie, violet shadow that her throne cast and noticed a purple-ish mist surrounding their feet.

     "I suppose you want a quest?" Jhudora said in a dull voice. She didn't bother to hide her boredom.

     Winny nodded hurriedly. Cuni did so once or twice, and opened her mouth to speak, but she found she was lost for words. Shyle squirmed beyond control, and Cuni, knowing the Miamouse was tired of being held in her grip for so long, placed her on the ground.

     "Alright then, go and get me a Fun in the Sun Usuki. Get moving." With that, Jhudora gave a wave of her hand and vanished noiselessly, leaving an identical misty purple mist in her place. It began to dissipate quickly.

     "Good thing," whispered Winny, as though Jhudora was still lurking, leading Cuni down the staircase and taking a giant leap down onto the Faerieland cloud. "We've got a fair few Usukis in our Safety Deposit Box. None that you don't have, of course," she added with a hasty grin, knowing Cuni was an all-out Usuki collector.

     "Wanna fwy again?" inquired Cuni, halting as they trotted.

     Winny stopped, too, and nodded. "Why not?" With that, she spread out her wings, which were actually too petite to be spread out, and took flight. Cuni watched for a moment as her friend rose higher into the air, and then stretched out her wings, already feeling the cool rush of a serene breeze, the freedom in the open sky...

     And then she felt her heart skip a beat. Where was Shyle!?

     "Winny!" she called, her heart beating at a mile a minute as she twisted around in a frantic search for her Petpet. "Where--"

     A brown Miamouse was bolting in her direction with the speed of a Poogle at the Poogle Races. She halted rather abruptly, fell forward, and pushed herself back up, a dazed look on her face. Cuni heaved a sigh of relief, lifting Shyle into her hooves as she beat the air with her wings. "I was wowwied!" she exclaimed as the two arose in the air behind Winny. Cuni wavered there for a moment, drifting aimlessly, before flapping her wings and departing through the clear, aphotic sky, dodging shadowy clouds.

     She grew excited as her tail and mane rippled behind her, the joyous gentle gust lapped against her face like waves as she weaved behind and in front of clouds. How could she have despised flying so much before?

     And, just like that, Winny's Neohome came into view and Cuni found herself descending to the ground; she landed lightly on the cobblestone path behind Winny and grinned, letting Shyle bound out of her grasp and pad to the Neohome door. Winny turned the brass knob, and let Shyle inside.

     "Hey," said Jade, who was, as it seemed, just about to climb the stairs. "Didn't think you'd be back so soo--"

     "No time," interrupted Winny, blushing a bit, "we're on her quest! C'mon, Cuni."

     She guided Cuni down the hall the baby Uni had seen on the right, and banged open a door; it was a cellar, and the two Unis clambered hurried down the stairs with SHyle at their heels. Winny pulled a string, and a lamp sitting on a chipped, wooden table burst into life, flickering.

     The basement was practically empty with the exception of themselves, a few boxes, an old heater, and a cupboard. Winny banged the cupboard door open impatiently to reveal their Safety Deposit Box. Cuni turned away, as not to invade Winny's privacy, allowing her to tap in the code. The baby Uni heard a creaking sound, and turned to see the box door slowly opening all on its own.

     It looked like a small passageway, but it ended a good length away as Cuni peered into it. The Safety Deposit Box was full to bursting with random items and looked as though it would distend. Winny dug through the box, shoving items out of her way and nearly burying herself. Cuni noticed her Miamouse digging as well.

     "Good job, Shyle!" praised Winny, emerging from the box; Shyle held, clutching her tiny brown paws, a tattered Fun in the Sun Usuki. "We'd better hurry! C'mon!"

     They turned the light off, rushed up the stairs, and left a puzzled Jade without shutting the door. Cuni snatched up Shyle amiably, and took off in such a hurry that she did not hesitate, and focused so hard on flying as agile as she could, she did not stop to feel the swift breeze and to take in the slowly dimming sky. She struck the ground rather in front of the staircase leading to Jhudora rather harder than she intended, placed Shyle on the ground, and when Winny landed (she'd finally landed before Winny!) the two staggered up the stairs.

     Her throne was empty. "Where'd she go?" asked Cuni, looking around at the deserted cloud. The mist around their feet, strangely, did not disappear.

     "Dunno..."

     Suddenly, a puff of smoke swirled in the air, swelling to the size of Jhudora herself. When it had dispersed, the darkness Faerie stood there, smirking, and seated herself on her throne.

     "Do you have my Fun in the Sun Usuki yet?" she asked coldly, twirling her stringy around her finger and glaring at the pair of Unis. They nodded, and Cuni stepped forward after having taken it from her Petpet, who was now standing at Winny's side, standing stock-still. The baby Uni held up the Usuki and let Jhudora's grimy, spider-like fingers close around it. She snatched it away, and Cuni shuddered; being a Usuki-lover, it broke her heart to see such an object going to such evil.

     "Oh, here's a little something... before I forget," Jhudora sneered, sounding as though she wished she could forget, waving her hand; a Gnome Shroom appeared out of thin air, levitating magically for a few moments before Winny now took a step forward and grabbed it, tucking it safely under her arm. "Now go."

     They didn't need telling twice. Cuni and Winny exchanged nervous glances, spun around, and took off, cantering down the steps and sprinting in the opposite direction once their hooves touched the ground. Once they were a good distance away, Cuni and Winny stopped, turned to face the cloud, exchanged yet another glance, and burst out laughing.

     Stifling a giggle, Cuni mused, "She wasn't exactwy dat scawy, was she? It's jus'... her reputation for bein' evil, and all."

     Winny was grinning. "Nah, guess not," she agreed. "Just being around her and all... it was a bit unnerving." Winny glanced up at the sky. "It's getting a bit dark, isn't it? Look! The stars are coming out now... well, just a few. We'd best head back to my house... perhaps you can spend the night, if you play your cards right with your owner."

     "Hope so!" exclaimed Cuni, and reared up, throwing back her mane in eagerness.

     "Trust me," Winny said, "flying at night's a bit more challenging, but nothing we can't handle. It's fun, too, and in the morning, when you fly just above the clouds here in Faerieland -- you can see the sun coming up, and everything's glowing and warm."

     "Wow!" The baby Uni trotted a bit ahead, and said, "Shall we take off, den?"

     "You bet!"

     Cuni fluttered her wings, and was prepared to take flight -- when suddenly, she glanced around, and felt a pang in her heart. She spun around, looking in every direction for a blur of brown, or a bolting Miamouse. But there was none.

     "Winny!" she shrieked. "Shy's gone!

To be continued...