Perfect Gift

     What could he buy? What would she like?

     There was a multitude of options and several stores across Neopia Central. From clothes, accessories, handbags, and shoes to perfumes, jewelry, and so on... and so on. But what could he buy for her? If it was up to him, he would take everything. She deserved everything, after all. She was the fiercest Pet he had ever met in his entire life, the most amazing, the smartest, the strongest, and the most determined, and she was just awesome.

     She deserved all the good stuff!

     Not that he would admit it anytime soon, especially to her. But that was the truth.

      His life as a leader of a feared guild and fighter of the Battledome Obelisk did not provide him with much income, especially when he left his days of stealing behind, so he didn't have many Neopoints. He could, although, steal anything he wanted at any time he wanted. He was the Thieves’ Leader, after all. No one could rob anything like he could, not even the Meerca Brothers. Like those two were anything near his skills…

     In any case, all he had left was his payment from the Obelisk, which wasn't much. So, he would need to give a good but cheaper one, unfortunately.

     But what?

     He had invited her to spend the Day of Giving with him, well, not only the two of them, of course, but with their friends, like Armin, Hanso, and Brynn. It was Hanso’s idea, in fact. Hanso, who had questioned him about their plans for Christmas and suggested that he invite Hannah to spend it with him and Brynn. At first, Kanrik thought it was a stupid idea, but then, he gave it a second thought and concluded it could be a good idea and so he did: he invited her and Armin.

     After that, Hanso asked him what he would give Hannah as a gift for Day of Giving and that's when an alarm went off in Kanrik's head.

     That's right! He had to give her a Day of Giving gift!

     And the Day of Giving was only a week away.

     How could he have forgotten that detail? Something so crucial?

     Well, to be fair, Kanrik never gave anyone a Day of Giving present before, so he never really had to care about this kind of thing. He surely didn’t care about the Day of Giving at all. But now, that Hannah was about to spend the day with him… Well, he couldn’t look like a fool while Hanso would give a gift to Brynn and Armin would surely give a gift to Hannah and even to him, who had invited the Bori. Kanrik had to give Hannah a gift too! He didn’t care too much about the others, though. He just didn’t want to let Hannah down.

     Now... What to buy?

     He looked again at the store windows, went round and round the shops, and looked at the objects with great attention. The options were endless!

     What if he bought a handbag? Would she like it? Surely it would be something useful, wouldn't it? She could carry her belongings. But what model? They had purses of all sizes, colors, and materials. Which one would she like?

     Or perhaps a backpack? For her adventures, it would certainly come in handy. But she already had a backpack, a very good one. So maybe it wouldn't be a good option...

     Kanrik shook his head and went to another corridor where he looked in the window of some clothing stores. A skirt? A dress? Maybe a pair of pants? But what about her size? He slumped his shoulders. He had no idea what size clothes she wore, and if he bought the wrong one it would be embarrassing. He remembered how Masila would get angry whenever Galem gave her the ‘wrong gift’. Not that Hannah would look anything like Masila, but well, he thought it was better not to risk it.

     Who knows then, a shoe? A heel or sandal? Sneakers or boots? But he didn't know her shoe size, so what was the point?

     The young thief then went to another hallway and saw some cosmetic stores. Hannah never wore make-up. Not that she needed it, anyway.

     Kanrik let out a frustrated growl. He was worried whether his friend would like the gift, whether it would be good for her, whether it would make her feel special...

     Special...

     That was it. He needed to give Hannah a special gift. It couldn't be just anything, it couldn't be a meaningless object. It had to be something that represented how much he truly cared for her friendship.

     And then his mind lit up.

     “This is it!” he clenched his fist over his palm and marched off in another direction.

     However, halfway there, he passed in front of a jewellery store and that's when he saw three masked Pets surround the shopkeeper. Outside, realising the robbery, frightened people were running and screaming away from there.

     Kanrik raised an eyebrow and thought who could that be? They didn’t seem to belong to his guild and no pet in Neopia was allowed to make any robbery without his consent. His guild was a fair and clean organisation; surely sometimes there were a few deviants who broke the rules, but if the Defenders of Neopia didn't take care of them, Kanrik personally would punish them. Either way, he couldn’t let those amateurs do a robbery in front of the Thieves’ Guild’s Leader and do nothing about it.

     *********

     Hannah was nervous and impatient, as well as confused and indecisive. She went round and round and so far, nothing.

     When Kanrik invited her to spend Christmas with him and their friends she accepted immediately but didn’t think about the gift until the last minute. Her mind was so full of things with the Daily Quests, gifting everyone in Neopia when they completed their tasks that she had forgotten about the gift she should get for her friend.

     The problem was that she didn't know what to buy!

     She had asked Armin for some tips, but her friend couldn't be more useless. But it wasn't his fault, Armin really wanted to help and gave several tips, the problem was that... well, Kanrik wasn't exactly an ordinary Pet, so gifts that other pets normally liked didn't fit Kanrik's profile very well. He was a former thief, well, to be fair, he still was a thief, a Leader one, by the way, but she knew Kanrik wasn’t a bad Pet, he didn’t do robbery any longer. Although she never understood the point of his guild…

     The thing is, Kanrik was exceptional in everything, absolutely everything. Not only was he strong, but he was also smart, and brave and he had come a long way over the years since the first time they met.

     He deserved something very, very special.

     As she walked down the hallways and thought and rethought about the options and possibilities of gifts she could give her dear friend, Hannah ended up passing in front of a jewellery shop, and that's when she noticed three suspicious Pets entering the shop. Her senses beeped immediately, so she walked around the outside of the shop, to analyse the scene and understand if those Pets really posed any danger.

     When she quickly returned to where she was standing, to her surprise, she came across none other than a hooded Gelert, hiding behind a tall plant that was decorated with Christmas lights and ornaments, lurking around the store and waiting for the right moment to enter.

     “Wait, isn't that Kanrik?” she said to herself. “But what is he doing here?”

     She smiled as she understood the situation and walked over to him without him noticing her. She then crouched down beside him and said: “What are we looking at?”

     Kanrik jumped up and turned to her at once.

     “Ha-Hannah? What the… do you wanna give me a heart attack or something?”

     She giggled. “Sorry!”

     “Wha-What are you doing here?”

     “I saw that some suspicious Pets came into that shop and decided to help.” she smiled. “So, what's it going to be? I presumed you’re not with him, although you’re the thieves’ leader, huh?” Her tone was a little bit accusatory.

     “Wha-what? N-no!” Kanrik blushed a little. “I don’t even know them, and you know that my days of robbery are gone! But I won’t let some cheap thieves steal from stores without my consent! There must be order, even among criminals!”

     Hannah scoffed. “Yeah, right…” She knew better than that. Kanrik would never admit, but he had gotten soft. “So, what’s the plan?”

     Kanrik nodded and said: “In order not to put those Pets in danger, I'll throw my Altador Cup Throwing Star in that direction to get the thieves' attention,” he pointed to a spot further ahead of the two. “And then we'll take advantage while they're distracted and go into the shop!”

     “Deal!”

     Both Pets then looked in the direction of the shop, where they could see the bandits with their blades pointed at the shopkeepers who were putting the jewellery into large black bags, and others with their arms raised.

     He looked at Hannah again and she smirked as she nodded to him and then he threw his star that caused a noise from the other side and the bandits, startled, looked in that direction. Seizing the opportunity, together they entered the store.

     “Hey, not cool to rob a shop without the Thieves’ Leader's consent!” said Kanrik.

     “Not cool to rob a shop at all!!!” Said Hannah with a sharp tone and hard look on her face. Kanrik just shrugged.

     The shopkeepers and the bandits stared at them with wide eyes as they watched both Pets approaching. Then one of the bandits, the taller and skinnier one, who seemed to be a Pepper Chia pointed his blaster in their direction shouting: “You!!!! I know who you are, and I won't let you mess with us! If you take another step, I'll–"

     The Chia didn't even have time to finish his sentence and when he blinked, Kanrik had already knocked out his two other partners, a Peach and a Lime Chia, while Hannah had kicked the Pepper one and taken the blade from his hands.

     “W-what? B-but how?”

     The Pepper Chia tried to run away, but Hannah was quicker and pinned him down, throwing him to the ground and pressing a knee against his back.

     “Hold it right there, you punk. Now you’ll face justice and pay for your crimes!” she said, and glanced at Kanrik, who smiled at her and nodded.

     After a few minutes, the chaos dissipated, and the Defenders of Neopia arrived on the scene and arrested the robbers. The shopkeepers thanked the two Pets for their help and tranquility returned to normal in Neopia Central. Then the friends moved away from the crowd and to a quiet place, Kanrik celebrated by saying:

     “I’m glad those fake thieves were stopped. I can’t let the name of my guild get dragged into the mud!”

     “Oh, please!” Hannah rolled her eyes. “You are a thief!”

     Kanrik chuckled and shrugged. “Whatever… You were amazing out there, Hannah!” he said, his face flushing a little and Hannah felt her cheeks blush instantly.

     “What are you doing here at Neopia Central, Kanrik? Did you come to buy my Christmas gift by any chance?” she teased.

     Kanrik opened his mouth and then closed it, only to force a smile and scratch his head.

     “I knew it!” Hannah smirked. She realised this the moment she had seen Kanrik hidden behind that plant. He was not the kind of person who frequented that place, much less one which was so far away from where he lived.

     “Okay, you got me. I came here to buy your Christmas gift... then I saw those fake thieves and my plans were all shot down,” he admitted a little disappointed.

     “Well, there’s still time before the stores close,” said Hannah. “And I could use some of that time too...”

     Kanrik then stared into her blue eyes that seemed to want to look away from his green ones.

     “You also came to buy my Christmas gift, didn't you?”

     Hannah forced a smile and answered: “All right, all right! I admit it, I also came to buy your Christmas gift!”

     Kanrik could only laugh at the irony. It was amazing how much like the two of them were, despite all the circumstances.

     He then stepped forward and poked her with his elbow making her blush a little. With a warm smile drawn on his lips, he said: “Have I told you that you're kind of nice for an Usul? We could use some of your skills in our guild…”

     Hannah rolled her eyes again. “I’d never join such a devious guild. I’m not a criminal, you know?!”

     Kanrik raised his hands in a defeat move. “Just saying!”

     Hannah then smiled and poked him with her elbow, making him blush a little this time. “So, what did you buy me?”

     “Oh… well… I didn’t have time to buy your gift after all…” Kanrik murmured.

     “That’s okay… I don’t need any gifts. To be honest there’s nothing I’d like more than to have you as my friend!” She smiled and Kanrik mirrored her smile. “So, I guess I already have my gift, huh?!”

     “I guess I could say the same…” He admitted. Because having Hannah's friendship was the best gift Kanrik could ever have.

     The End.