Cheese Omelette with a Side of Flattery

     Getting your daily free omelette meant trekking to Tyrannia, and that meant work - this Lupe was not going to spend that amount of time and effort just to get a meal. After all, he might dirty his beautiful black, orange, and red fur with streaks of mud and dirt! He brushed a broad paw across his cheek fur to smooth it out - streaks of orange in his coat lit up in the sunlight.

     No, no bartering with Sabre-X for an extra-large slice today - maybe a bit of cunning will save the trip, the Lupe thought to himself.

     Without any particular goal in mind, the Lupe continued his brisk saunter through the pine-scented woods. He would have to come up with something. With keen yellow eyes, he noted a bright spot of colour in the otherwise brown and green hued woods - there were gleams of rainbow in the very top of a large, stout pine tree. As the Lupe approached closer, a delicate Faerie Pteri was perched there in one of the uppermost branches, his long yellow tail feathers glittering in the sun.

     Huh, these Faerie pets never know how to conceal themselves, the Lupe thought to himself, ignoring the fact that his own coat was a rather bold shade as well. He was prepared to say ‘Good day’ and carry on with his journey, when he noticed something interesting about the Pteri - the Lupe nearly tumbled over a log when he saw it.

     When he looked a bit closer, the magnificent Faerie-coloured pet was holding an omelette in his beak, ready to devour it. The Lupe's sensitive nose told him this was not just any omelette - a cheese omelette, arguably the best omelette flavour! The Lupe was absolutely flabbergasted - he had to have this omelette. His gears were immediately turning on how it could happen. He could ask the Pteri and they could share? But it was such a small slice! He really wanted the whole omelette to himself, to be honest. Of course, he would never outright steal from another Neopet – he wasn't the Pant Devil. Surely there are other ways.

     Sometimes, the less direct approach is best, he thought, as he confidently strolled up to the tree the Pteri was perched at.

     “Good morning, my beautiful fellow Neopian! How your feathers shine today, if you don’t mind me saying!” the Lupe bellowed as he came to sit directly underneath the Pteri.

     The Faerie Pteri, mid-bite into the omelette, stopped and tilted his head cautiously at this bold Lupe, who only grinned charmingly, showing all his pearly white Lupe teeth. The Pteri ruffled his bright feathers slightly but decided to mostly ignore this rather bold Neopet, tightening his beak on the precious cheese omelette. After all, he had just flown all the way back from Tyrannia to enjoy this breakfast in peace. It was only once a week that he made the long trip just for this special item, and he wasn’t about to let some Neopet bother him.

     The Lupe, undeterred by this nonverbal dismissal, continued. “I’ve always thought Faerie Neopets were the most beautiful of all colours. Those shining hues of gold, pink, and purple really suit you, you know. And those tail feathers! I’ve never seen such long and gold tail feathers on a Pteri before”, said the Lupe, fluttering his eyelashes.

     This Lupe may be less annoying than I thought, the Pteri thought to himself, even as he stood up a little bit taller on his perch, fluffing out long tail feathers. It was true; he had just groomed using the newest Air Faerie Hair Brush. And no other Pteri had achieved exactly the same shade of vibrant purple that he had on his feathers.

     "And those wings!", the Lupe continued. "They look strong enough to lift me right up to Faerieland - well, before the Fall, of course! Those strong flight feathers must carry you across Neopia no problem. I wish I had such golden, beautiful wings – I would never have to walk anywhere."

     The Pteri couldn't resist stretching out a wing and admiring the long, golden feathers in it. He turned it back and forth, noticing how the sun would catch the slight iridescence in those feathers and throw out rainbows. Yes, it was very good to have wings, especially such beautiful ones. The cheese omelette the Pteri was holding in his beak was starting to drip cheese as he turned his wing this way and that, admiring the shine.

     The Lupe quickly saw that he was gaining momentum - he knew he had to continue. He tried to not jump out of his fur with urgency and instead composed himself for the next part.

     “And look at how this Pteri shines - what wonderful, strong wings and what fantastic purple feathers! A Pteri this beautiful must also have a lovely voice to go with this perfect plumage. I bet even the Neopian Philharmonic at the Tyrannian Concert Hall couldn't produce music as beautiful as a Faerie Pteri's voice. If only he could sing one song for me, I would be so honoured! With such a beautiful voice, you must not only be seen but also heard!” continued the Lupe, with one paw on his chest, the absolute picture of honesty.

     The Faerie Pteri, hearing this, dropped all thoughts of the Tyrannian omelette. How did this Lupe know he had also been practising her singing voice for weeks? He had a beautiful voice and was capable of achieving many complex notes! The Pteri was so flattered and willing to show off, that he opened his beak wide to sing a few notes for this common Lupe.

     As soon as he did, the cheese omelette fell out of his beak and directly in the open mouth of the waiting Lupe.

     "SQUAWK!", the Pteri uttered, in complete surprise.

     The Lupe, unwilling to lose this ill-gotten prize, trotted off with the omelette hanging from his jaws and his fluffy tail swinging side to side behind him.

     "Thanks for the omelette,” uttered the Lupe around his breakfast. “Don’t you know to never trust a flatterer?”

     The clever, if not a bit rude, Lupe continued at a brisk pace down the forest trail, ready to devour this treat once he was alone. It happened so fast, the Pteri was startled for a bit before registering the events that had transpired – his beak was still hanging open. Well, that will never happen again, he thought. How could I be tricked by such a dishonest Lupe?

     Luckily, this Pteri was well prepared for such misfortunate and also was especially hungry today. He pulled out his back-up plan from a bag – a delicious Chokato parfait with yoghurt and blueberries! Ha, take that, you wily Lupe, the Pteri thought to himself as he could finally dig in for real this time, furtively stealing a glance around for any other marauding Neopets ready to steal.

     After that day, the Lupe went home extremely content, while the Pteri learned a valuable lesson and never lost an omelette the same way again.

     The End.