A Monster's Birthday Bash

     Saskori had been hard at work, building up a resistance of monsters who had been thrown out of Neovia. But that didn’t matter today, for it was the birthday of her Tamed Mini-Monster, April.

     Saskori didn't actually know when her Petpet was born, but this marked the day she had first found her, a smaller monster than she was now. The Cybunny smiled as she thought back at how she tamed the beast, earning her trust as well as the title of Monster Tamer.

     And now the great many friends she made were throwing a party for the little Mini-Monster.

     “How does it look?” asked Annabeth. The Ghost Pteri wrung her wingtips in worry.

     “It better look good after all the work we put into it!” added a pale Vandagyre. Melandine had come all the way from Neovia, and wasn’t going to mince words.

     The tables Saskori’s guests had set up were covered in bright tablecloths, and a buffet boasted cupcakes frosted in blue, April’s favourite colour. Or at least Saskori assumed blue was her favourite, since her fur was blue. There were streamers in yellow, to accent the blue. And tying it all together was a banner hanging outside the tower hosting the party, stating “Happy Birthday April!” The banner had been a group project, with several of Saskori’s current housemates helping paint the letters.

     Saskori nodded. “It looks great!”

     April grunted in approval. Or maybe she was just asking for cupcakes. It was hard to tell sometimes.

     The tower was a great place to throw a party, with its many levels and crumbling stonework. Her Zombie friend, Ally, had made a good call.

     “I can’t wait ‘til everyone gets here!” said Saskori.

     A Halloween Bori frowned, “Are you sure about… all of your guests?”

     “What do you mean?”

     Nathan continued. “I mean, was it really a good idea to invite the Awakened? They can be a little… rowdy.”

     “Everyone loves April. How could I not invite them?”

     Just then, there was a discordant sound outside. It sounded almost like screams, but somewhat more instrumental.

     “What the-?” Saskori peered out the window, but saw nothing.

     The blue-grey Cybunny looked back at her friends. “I’m going to go check that out.”

     “I’ll go with you,” said the Zombie Buzz.

     ***

     They followed the sounds? Music? Whatever it was, they followed it down a path until they reached the crest of a hill. What they saw was the most bizarre scene Saskori had ever seen.

     She saw a scruffy Ogrin hanging by an ankle from a tree and the ghost of Eliv Thade floating around him and cackling. Saskori had never seen the Ogrin before, but he looked Neovian. He had a boot halfway unlaced, arms stuck behind him, and the wide frown of someone who had been yelling until all of his ability to yell had been used up.

     The source of the very-much-not-music was a mummy playing a lyre like a Meowclops with a scratching post. Beside her, a Zombie Techo with blanked-out eyes was wearing spectacles. A few zombies shuffled about holding wooden bats and more seemed to be floating mid-air, before the spirits holding them appeared as Saskori approached.

     The ghost of Eliv Thade asked, “athw si tup no a bealt, uct, utb veern tenea?”

     The Ogrin gave an exasperated groan, his ears swinging like a pendulum as he hung from his ankle. After a moment, he rasped, “a deck of cards.”

     Thade hissed, then he asked again, “Refidtenf gsilth od keam em astegrn, stuh noti firfdnete ezssi lliw ehcgan. Htaw ma i?”

     “Fire? An hourglass?” the upside-down man shouted, "How are you not bored of this and how do you even have so many riddles memorised?”

     At this point, Saskori found the words that had escaped her in her bewilderment. “Um, what’s going on?”

     The Ogrin, seeming just a bit calmer, turned his head to look directly at Lillie and Lanie, who were by an old tombstone passing out little pouches of confetti and more bats. Thade lunged by his face and bellowed another riddle, somehow even stranger than the first two.

     Saskori followed his gaze to the twin Wockies. Ally spoke up first, though. “Oh, so glad you could make it!”

     “We are happy you invited us to your party.” one said cheerfully, though it was hard to tell which twin was speaking. Then the other added “We do so look forward to frolicking with the birthday monster.”

     “Of course,” said Saskori, “But why is there a man hanging in a tree?” The blue-grey Cybunny nodded at the Ogrin.

     “Oh. It wouldn’t have been nice to show up without a gift,” said Lillie-or-Lanie.

      “We brought April a pinata,” Said Lanie-or-Lillie.

     Saskori grimaced, but quickly hid it with a polite smile. “Thank you. April doesn’t need a pinata, though.”

     The twins frowned. “We went through all this trouble to bring a gift,” one said, and then the other finished, “that everyone could enjoy with the birthday monster.”

     “Are you sure you want to use Neopet as a pinata, though?” asked Saskori.

     They nodded their heads at the exact same time. “We caught him fair and square.”

     “It will be such a riot. Hurray.”

     Saskori looked at the upside-down gentleman, then back at the twins. She crossed her arms. “No. I will not allow you to use this poor man at a pinata. Take him down, nicely, or else… or else I won’t allow you to attend April’s party.”

     All the gathered Awakened stopped in their tracks and the forest became quiet again. Even Thade had stopped his constant string of riddles.The twins turned to each other and whispered, and the words that were loud enough to hear indicated they were set on frolicking in the tower and enjoying a party they had been actually invited to.

     Saskori’s ultimatum had silenced Eliv Thade too, allowing the Ogrin hanging from the tree to become aware of what was going on, and giving him a chance to speak. “I-I don’t have to be a pinata to entertain, you know. I am a… I am a seer, and if you have questions you want answered, I can read my cards for everyone. Wouldn’t that be a nice break from your regular revelry?”

     “That does sound fun!” said Saskori’s Zombie companion Ally.

     “We still want your brain,” a twin said, pointing a bat at the Ogrin.

     “Whatever funny magic you have should make it extra tasty.”

     “But you can keep it for now.”

     “There will be more parties.”

     “Uh, think of it this way: there’s more than one way to appreciate a brain, and a good conversation with someone who has one is my favourite.” Saskori gave two thumbs up in awkward support of herself.

     “We can let his brain soak up fear in the meantime.”

     “Like a sponge cake. Of course. It should be tastier that way.”

     Saskori did her best to ignore the last comments. “Ooookay then, let’s get you down, sir,” she said, pulling out a silver knife from her satchel. Some of the Awakened members eyed the monster-taming tool with unease and tightened the grip on their bats, but Saskori paid them no mind.

     She climbed the tree. “Ready?”

     “Yes. Th-thanks. The blood has gone to my head.”

     Saskori started sawing at the rope. “Mm-hmm. Ally, get ready to catch him.”

     “Just-- don’t cut the strap on my arms. It’s from the lyre, after they took it. They stopped me from taking my boot off to slip free. If I lose the lyre, it will reappear under my feet and I will break my spectacles. Again.” Sighing, he added, "They took those too.”

     Ally grabbed the Ogrin at his shoulders, ready to ease him to the ground. “Looks like they broke your pocket watch too.”

     “No, it’s been that way for some time. I-I keep meaning to fix it, but it never seems important enough to take the time away from my research.”

     “What do you research?” asked Saskori. “Oh, that should do it,” she added as the frayed rope gave out. The Neovian gentleman dropped a few inches before being eased to the ground by Ally and a few other helpful Zombies.

     “D-divination, historically. Family legacy, though ‘seer” is more a simplification of a curse. Or another gift. Matter of perspective. I’m researching this Lyre now and matters… matters concerning the fate of Neopia. S-sorry if that made no sense. That ghost has made it hard to think straight.”

     Saskori carefully unstrapped his arms. “Fate of Neopia. Sounds intense, Mister, ah, what’s your name?”

     “I am Orion O. Ophiuchus. And you are?”

     The Cybunny handed Orion the lyre strap. “Saskori. Just Saskori.”

     “Thank you, Saskori,” Orion said with relief. He took the strap and turned towards a large, sewn-together zombie that was presently playing the pilfered lyre with much fervour.

     “Give it back,” said Saskori, tilting her head down slightly in sternness and crossing her arms again.

     The zombie groaned loudly and showered Orion in a handful of confetti in the colour of fall leaves, but did hand back the lyre to him. He slipped the strap back over his shoulder and through the looping decorations on top of the Lyre’s arms.

     “And the glasses,” she added, holding her paw out and turning to the Techo that had taken them.

     “Brains?” the Techo asked.

     “Er, Ally, can you translate for me? I’m not very good at that dialect yet.”

     “Of course,” said her zombie friend. “They said, ‘Why?’”

     “Because I said so.” Saskori sighed. “Listen, I think we’re going to have to raise a few ground rules. No living or undead pinatas. No taking what doesn’t belong to you, including brains. And no changing the mortality status of any partygoer. I want people to be as alive or undead as when they started. This should be a party that’s fun for everyone! It’s April's birthday-slash-gotcha day, after all.”

     “Ugh. Brains,” the Techo groaned, taking off the spectacles and holding them out with an exaggerated frown.

     “Thank you,” said Saskori, taking the frames and handing them to Orion.

     He cleaned the lenses with a sleeve and put them back on. “Ah. I missed seeing solid shapes. Is there a good place to lay out my cards here? I was just here to find a quiet place with history to play my Lyre, but now I have a promise to keep to this undead horde.”

     “There’s a tower nearby. We've set up some tables there. Let’s go!”

     ***

     It had been an amazing party. You could tell because the tower was crumbling further than ever now. There had been dancing, cupcakes, and party games like hide-and-go-eek, a variation of Kacheek Seek popular in the Haunted Woods. Most of the guests were gone now, but April was snoozing under a table, and the Clarke siblings were folding tablecloths.

     Orion had been busy the entire evening, reading the cards to literally every single person alive and undead there. Except one.

     When Saskori approached, Orion asked something unexpected. “Have you any experience with divination? Practicing it, I mean.”

     “No,” she said, taken aback.

      His voice was confident now that he had finished reading for the Awakened, and his stutter had gone away. “While before today we were strangers, you have demonstrated you have a strong spirit and I can trust you with my tarot deck. I am curious if you have a similar skill as mine with the art and science of stars.”

     “I guess it wouldn't hurt to try.” Saskori sat down across from him. “Tell me what to do.”

     “We’ll start with a basic spread: past, present, and future. If the skill is already present, you will be able to tell important truths about these matters and I’ll have a fuller view of what has happened in my life and what is to come. Please draw three cards and place them in front of me face-down, then turn them over in the same order.”

     Saskori nodded, then took a deep breath, and took three cards, one at a time, and placed them in front of Orion. “Ready?”

     “Yes. Please go ahead!”

     Saskori flipped the first card, “It’s a blue plushie hanging from a tree! Just like you were! Haha, this is past for sure!”

     Orion winced and adjusted his glasses. “I’m sure I’ll find a way to laugh about it too, someday. There's very low odds that you’d draw The Hanged Man first by luck alone, so there’s a good chance that the cards are also having their fun. Go on.”

     Saskori nodded. The second card revealed a Shenkuu crew on a ship. “Uh, you’re on a ship? No, that’s not right, let me just- “ Saskori read the text on the card this time, “Oh, Six of Swords, you will find six swords right now!”

     No swords appeared. Orion did a cursory glance at the tower walls to confirm. “Are there swords on a higher floor I have not seen?”

     “I mean, there could be, we can check later, I wanna know your future!”

     “The cards have been silent with me on the matter as of late. Let’s see if you have better fortune.”

     Saskori flipped over the last card. “Uh, Earth Faerie who’s not Ilere, with a Noil, this is called Strength, um, you will get a new Petpet who’s very strong.” Saskori nodded once, but her face betrayed her uncertainty.

     After a short, wistful sigh he said, “I can hardly take care of myself when the visions are tormenting me. I am glad you are able to look after your April. If I were to get a Petpet, I would have to find a new home for it soon after and that would be unkind.”

     Saskori squinted at the future card. “Maybe just ignore that one, then. Maybe it’s more of a suggestion?”

     “Let’s see if we can find exactly six swords in this tower,” Orion said, shuffling the deck and putting it away, “then we’ll have a way to test if my present has something to do with six swords.”

     Saskori brightened up. “Of course! You’re so clever.”

     The pair got up and started looking around the next floor up. After the seventh dusty wardrobe, though, Saskori wiped her brow and said, “I give up. There are no swords here. Just Spyder webs.”

     “I appreciate you taking the time to try something new. I was truly hoping that we would find the swords and the cards were only being more literal than usual in your paws. The clearest symbolism of the Six of Swords card is the boat, which generally refers to some kind of transition. In my case, I am troubled by a lack of change. Even so, please don’t be discouraged! While you are not yet showing aptitude, you are still quite young, and the first card that came up means you should not dismiss your potential. I have almost eighty cards in my deck. You drew the very one that laughs at my incredibly recent problem.”

     “That was kind of funny, wasn’t it? Like, funny haha, but also funny strange.”

     “I would agree. And beyond that, what were the odds that you were celebrating here, the same time I came looking for this tower, and the same time the Awakened decided to set a trap for me?”

     Saskori rubbed one of her long ears, thinking. “Well, I’m not great at math. Two of those things are related one hundred percent, but the other part is just pure chance.”

     “Is this a riddle?” he asked reflexively. “I have already heard enough riddles tonight for a lifetime!”

     Saskori laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s move on to my reading.”

     “That still sounds like a riddle, but at least you are doing the opposite of hounding me until I answer correctly. What kind of question do you want help with answering?”

     Saskori shrugged. “I don’t really have anything in mind. Maybe just a simple one like I did for you?”

     “Past, present, and future?”

     “Yes, that one.”

     “We can sit on the floor and do the reading here if you would like. I have a clean handkerchief the party crashers did not find to protect the cards, which the spread is small enough to fit on.”

     “Sounds great!” Saskori quickly sat down cross-legged on the floor.

     Orion sat down across from her, and spread the handkerchief over the stone. It was undyed cloth, but thick enough to not be blown away by the breeze passing through the gaps in the wall. He took the deck back out, and dealt the three cards.

     “Are you in a sound place emotionally to continue? Depending on one’s position in life, it can be difficult to reflect on these things. I want you to be ready before I flip these over.”

     Saskori considered this. “It’s three little cards. I’ve faced worse. I think I’ll be okay.”

     He responded, “Alright. Let’s begin,” and flipped the first card over. It illustrated a hungry pair of Neopets, oblivious to the Giant Omelette they were walking past.

     “Five of Pentacles. Your past is marked with hardship, loss or abandonment. Life has asked you to be too strong, too soon. If you are able to, take comfort that this card aligns with only your past. I am sorry.”

     Saskori fiddled with her earring. “I mean, I’m doing fine. I guess it’s not wrong, but I haven’t really thought of it that way.”

     “The tarot is like a lens. If you need a moment to process this change in perspective, that is fine. It can be like… suddenly finding yourself upside down,” Orion said with a chuckle.

     She shook her head. “That’s the past, like you said. I don’t tend to worry about it.”

     He took a moment longer to flip over the second card. It revealed a grimacing Aisha deep in thought, before a desk covered in candles and papers.

     “Ten of Wands. It represents responsibility and burden. You were the one to organize this party, but the meaning is heavier than that. Do you find yourself taking on more and more projects until you are stretched so thin you cannot hold?”

     “It’s more like one very big project, I guess you could say. I’ve been working to organise a movement in support of monsters. But that’s neither here nor now.”

     “Hmm. It can also refer to a sense of duty, or struggles in general. I could not see or hear much of anything when you and your friend came to my rescue out there, but I would not be surprised if these concepts align. Screams are common enough in these woods that it would have been easy to pay me no mind.”

     “Well, I’m glad we did mind, because you’ve been great tonight.”

     “That is kind of you to say. I do try to not be the kind of stuffy grown-up that bored me as a kid. I find children often have far more questions and more interesting ones, as well.”

     Saskori nodded. “Speaking of questions, let’s see what that last card is.”

     When he turned the last card over, the image was of a skeletal Korbat holding a trident. He was in front of a field of darkness and fire, and surrounded by thorns.

     Saskori read the card and recoiled. “Death,” she whispered.

     Orion nodded, but his voice was hopeful when he spoke.“No, I know what it looks like, but this is a good thing! The card is more than its title and I’m relieved to see it. I-it just means change. More rebirth than death, really. Especially following two cards speaking of burdens and hardship, it means the difficult times will soon stay behind you.”

     Saskori eyed the card warily, but nodded. “If you say so.”

     “Look closer. The card itself is even framed by growth and life.”

     Saskori studied the card. “I guess I can see that. And even that Korbat looks like no reaper I know.”

     “I’ll confess I had a feeling that the cards might seem frightening. Yet you faced what they had to say head-on, just like how you managed to make those frankly horrible little girls play nice for the evening. Whatever the future holds in store, you have the spirit to make it out just fine, especially if you keep your friends by your side.”

     Saskori rubbed her arm, “Aw, thanks.” She stood up and stuck out a paw to shake with Orion. “Can I count you among my friends?”

     “Sure!” he said, putting the cards and handkerchief away so he could stand and shake her paw, “If you are ever near the printing district in Neovia, I can try to assist with any questions you want help with.”

     “Thanks! And next time, I’ll keep in mind to set the rules before I invite the Awakened.”

     His jaw dropped and he froze completely with an expression of shock. “ Uh…w-what?” he managed to say, and then shook his head and asked slowly, “ You purposely invited the Awakened?!”

     Saskori frowned, carefully picking her next words. “I did… I know a lot of Neopians who are, er, eligible to join, and I thought it’d be a good idea to invite them to join April’s party.”

     “Your undead friends were no problem. They’re good kids! It’s not that the Awakened are neither dead nor alive, it’s that they are greatly dangerous because they do what they find fun whether or not someone’s getting hurt. That makes for bad company no matter where on the mortal coil they rest. I’m still grateful you saved me from a dreadful situation, though I may or may not have been in it if you made a different choice. I’m also beginning to think you are far too brave for your own good.”

     Saskori made her way to the stairs, Orion following. “I’m glad you clarified. There are those in Neovia who are against the undead, good or bad. I’m trying to fight against that, but I will keep in mind to be more careful with my choice of allies.”

     “That is a relief to hear! I know people from my town can be small-minded-- my own family shuns me for my beliefs in science-- but you can find friends and allies even in Neovia. And the rest wouldn’t be trying so hard to keep out the strange if it was not our home too. And it is my home, and after I play my Lyre here to test if that will break the block I’ve been having, that’s where I’m returning.”

     As they made it to the first floor, Nathan waved. “We’re all packed up and ready to go.”

     “I’ll be ready in a minute!” Saskori said, then turned back to Orion. “It looks like it’s time for me to go home. Thanks for the reading! I hope we meet again soon.”

     Orion waved goodbye, and the melody of the Lyre drifted out of the ancient tower as Saskori made her way from the ruins, April snoring in her arms. Saskori tried not to think about the cards, but as she made her way to her home in the Woods, she was haunted by visions of her past, present, and most of all, the skeletal Korbat who represented her future.

     The End.