A Slorg's Story

Right now I'm leaving my slimy trails on the counter of our little shop. I shake my head as I see some pets standing out there with their owners, gawping at all of us. I look at all the Slorgs around me, and we defiantly blow a raspberry at the pets. They scram.

     As an avatar pet, I've been in numerous shops, too many to count. I shake my head again, remembering all the different owners. My story is long, but for the good of Slorgkind I'll tell it.

     I think I like my first owner best. I was a naive little young Slorg around that time, sitting in the petpet shop and hoping that someone would buy me. I eyed the price tag below me and wished really hard when I heard the bell ringing.

     I opened my eyes, set my eyes upon her for the first time. A happy little blue Pteri with an equally happy girl were holding hands. The Pteri pointed at me and the girl nodded. Soon the cash register got fatter and I was bought.

     "Newbies..." I could hear some pets and owners mutter when my new friend, the Pteri, held me and looked at me lovingly. I looked back at her, and she smiled cutely when I gently nipped her wing.

     "Hi, little one," she said. "Hmm... You'll need a name..."

     "Since it's a Slorg," the Pteri's owner said, "I think we should name it Slorgy."

     "That's a nice name!" my new owner declared and smiled again. "Slorgy! Welcome to Neopia! I'm Vistoria and this is my owner Bella." Vistoria pointed at the girl beside her.

     In the inventory, I was equipped to Vistoria. My kind new friend played with me. Her eyes would always glow brightly when she played with me, and I could see the love in them. Being with Vistoria was the best time in my life, I'd say.

     My owner always talked with me, though she quickly realized that I could not answer. Ah, those pets... They always think that we can't say anything intelligent, but that's just not true. I answered with clicks, brrps and other noises that was the Language of Petpets, but apparently she didn't understand.

     Still, I appreciated Vistoria. I think she was the only owner whom I really opened my heart up to and loved. Naive as we were, the Pteri promised me that we would never be separated.

     Bella, Vistoria's owner, soon got out of the newbie status. Vistoria herself always remained childish, cheerful and bubbly. Even though her owner kept telling her that I didn't belong in Neoschool, Vistoria brought me there and showed me off to her friends.

     Then we found the petpet Battledome. Quickly I entered and slowly gained a level with many fights and losses. I learned how to hit hard and take hits. Each time I won, I'd look at Vistoria, and she always told me I had done a good job, even if she wasn't sure that I understood. Then my dear first owner would tell the other pet that I was a really good petpet, even if they had a more rare petpet.

     I got to try out all kinds of things, being Vistoria's petpet. It was the most wonderful thing I had done, and when I look back at it now, even the rainy days were great.

     However, all happiness ends sooner or later. One day the Slorg Avatar was released, and the owners (Vistoria and Bella) were delighted at me giving them an avatar. At first it wasn't so bad, but Vistoria's intelligent owner quickly realized that unequipping me and selling me would make a hefty profit.

     When she told Vistoria that we would have to part, my owner didn't say anything. She stood still for a second, and I could see her blue wings shivering. Then one wing swept down, picked me up and she ran up to her room.

     "Never..." I could hear Vistoria whisper as she hugged me tightly with tears running down her pretty blue fur. "Never."

     "Never," I repeated, but the only thing my owner detected was a sad chirp.

     "But Bella..." Vistoria said, looking at me with the saddest eyes I had ever seen. "She'll take you away. She'll find a way."

     "No. I won't let her." Again, a few stomach flips and a burp to my owner. She blinked at looked at me, then hugged me again and cried into the pillow.

     "I promise... I'll find you. We'll be together..." Vistoria trailed off and squeezed me. I almost couldn't breathe, half from the pain of separating from my owner and half from that squeeze. I looked at my first owner, my best friend in the whole world.

     What none of us had remembered was the fact that my owner hadn't locked her door. When Vistoria fell asleep, tired of all that crying, Bella opened the door, grabbed me and placed me in the user shop.

     That was the first time I had been in a user shop. The stiff, stale air, the cold glass desk and the price tags... Nothing like the well-lit general Neopian shop. A lot of users ran into the shop when they saw me at the window, most of them girls. After a lot of pinches and jerks, I was finally sold.

     As I was carried away, I looked at that window of Vistoria's room. Her promise echoed in my mind, and I promised that I'd try my best to find her so we would be happy again.

     And so, the first chapter of my life ended. A new part was about begin, the bigger part of my life. The thing that had ruined my life would take over... the Slorg Avatar.

     I was hastily equipped onto a Disco Bruce, who seemed to ignore my existence. He never talked with me, only with his friends. It took many days before I realized that I was an avatar petpet. I had heard the story of poor petpets only owned for avatars, but this happening to me... It was hard to believe, but after several months I accepted the painful truth.

     Fortunately the user was a girl, and thankfully she fed me now and then. After she got the avatar the process repeated. Each time I moved, I hoped that Vistoria would fly down from the skies and snatch me away from that ignorant pet who never seemed to bother with me after the first few days. Of course, every pet plays with something new, but the only one that had the patience in the long run was my beloved Vistoria.

     Soon I learned not to care. It was the only way from keeping my heart from shattering. Each time I left my slimy trails at the price tag in a user shop, I felt a pang of sadness. Didn't they see me? Didn't they see that I, like those pets, wanted to be needed?

     Sometimes I wished that there was a pound for the petpets like there are pets, but if I thought closer about it, then it'd be worse. I learned how to deal with the movement, and each time the hurt diminished. Nevertheless, it still hurt. Every bumpy carrier reminded me of the time I had been so carelessly taken away from Vistoria.

     I closed my mind off and learned to stand still, just like a statue. My feelings were frozen, and in that I did not feel any more sorrow. Sometimes my owner would have siblings, and they would have rare, pretty petpets attached to them. No one wanted to associate with a plain, only-good-for-avatar Slorg....

     At least I believed that until I met Casanova.

     "Hi hun," she said when she met me.

     "Hi..." I replied dully.

     "Aww... Cheer up," she said, reaching a Snowbunny paw out to me. "I'm Casanova. Welcome to the household where they only have avatar petpets."

     "A-avatar petpet..." I whispered, shocked. Mentally I had known that I was one of those, but having someone telling me that outright at our first meeting...

     "So," she said, ignoring my shocked look. "What's your name?"

     "S-Slorgy," I whispered, still appalled. I looked around the incandescent room. The rich, dark red velvet curtains made the room feel so bright, and I couldn't believe that in this room, there were two avatar petpets like us. The furniture suggested that the user had more than enough Neopoints, and I wondered why he or she didn't spend them on some more rare petpets.

     "That user is an avatar fanatic," Casanova said, as if she had read my mind. "Anyhow, so you're Slorgy? Wow... They're really creative this time. No really, but still..." Her left ear twitched, and she continued. "You'll get used to this. It's actually pretty nice, being a rich somebody's petpet. At least they won't forget to give you food."

     I was too astonished by her words and that room to say anything.

     "Well, that's what happens when you have loitered around for a couple of years, moving here and there..." she said. "Of course, I have to stay attached a lot longer than you do."

     "That's..." I uttered, but Casanova interrupted.

     "Oh, I forgot. My name may be Casanova, but just call me Cassie." She looked around and then looked me in the eye, this time more serious before. However, she still kept her lighthearted tone. "Now, where was I? Well, I can see that you're pretty shocked about this. But you know, being an avatar petpet isn't that bad. Normal petpets just get equipped and forgotten... As an avatar petpet, you get to move around a lot and see the whole world. Don't be so depressed; depression isn't good for you. Just look at me. I've learned how to deal with it, and enjoy myself on top of it all."

     "Still," I said defensively, "Just getting us for avatars, that's..."

     "Oh, you're going to say that the users are cruel and only want us for avatars? Well, that may be true, but if you look at it in another way... You're special. I'm special. People want us. Because of those avatars. That's a good thing, being wanted."

     "Not just for an avatar." Oh great. Here I had finally found someone who actually talked to me, and I was already ruining it with an argument.

     "You get special treatment. That isn't a bad thing. A lot of pets lose interest in their petpet. My owner only cared about me for the first two weeks, then a while when the avatar was released and now I get to move around, eat good stuff so I won't run away and relax. I don't have to mope in a corner and get depressed." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Look Hun, just relax and enjoy the ride." Then she looked down at her well-manicured paws and looked at me again. "Sometimes there are sad things happening, but there's bound to be. Maybe you were lucky with your first owner... That makes all the difference. But kid, sometime you've got to realize that in the end, you'll probably be forgotten." She raised her chest and her eyes darkened. "You've only got yourself, and an avatar helps quite a bit in that case."

     Again, I was too overwhelmed with feelings and Casanova's speech to say anything. We talked a lot more leisurely after that, but the first speech would always come in my mind when Cassie said anything. In time, we became friends, as friendly as two petpets could become.

     But as I've said before, all happiness ends. After the 'Something has Happened!' message popped up, I was whisked off to the user shop and sold in five minutes. A game called Test Your Strength was now available to play and it gave out Slorgs as one of the prizes, so I was harder to sell now.

     Like this, but without any Casanovas or Vistorias, I was equipped and unequipped to numerous owners. Some of them were nicer than others, but I remember one particularly mean Lupe who used to fill me full with air like a balloon. The moral lesson of that occurrence is: Never, never stay attached to a Mutant Lupe who looks evil. He or she will probably be evil.

     As Casanova had mentioned, the sadness of it all slowly diminished. Towards the end, I actually started enjoying moving around. Still, I could feel a little bit of sadness each time. Even though I was royally spoiled sometimes, being an avatar petpet wasn't as great as Casanova had claimed. Then again, that dark look on her face on the first day told me how it really was.

     I was lonely. Whenever I was left in a dark corner, I tried to fill myself with the warmth of the memories of my friends. Memories of Vistoria, playing with me and telling me all about her Neoschool days (after Bella forbade her to take me to Neoschool). Memories of Casanova, of us playing in a rainy pool... Despite her dainty looks, Cassie was quite a wild person once she got into it. Those happy memories were the only thing I had left to fill that hole, that black, gaping hole inside me.

     And I knew what I yearned. Somewhere to be safe... Somewhere I wouldn't be lonely. But I realized that an avatar petpet made this practically impossible.

     The end came soon. One rainy day I was placed in a user's shop again. It was a dusty shop that had not been used for a long time, and right then I saw a teenage girl looking inside. As hard as I could find to believe it, she was looking at... me.

     Quickly the user dragged her Faerie Ixi and they entered the shop.

     "Is that a Slorg?" the girl asked my owner's owner, pointing at me.

     "Yes."

     "A quick deal here," she said in a quaint way. I listened to the sound of coins on clattering on the desk, and knew that I had been sold. Again.

     I took a look at the Ixi. She was a dainty, pretty creature, and wouldn't be a bad owner. I looked around in the user's shop for the last time, feeling a little bit sad. Then my new owner whisked me up with her beautiful faerie wings fluttering, and I was off to my new home.

     "Your collection is almost complete," she told her owner.

     "Almost..." the teenage girl muttered.

     "Though I still find it odd that you didn't think of getting a regular Slorg until now."

     "Well, I was just waiting for them to go down in price..." the girl admitted and looked at my owner.

     Collection? I was surprised. A sneaking suspicion that I would be part of an avatar petpet collection made me feel somewhat ill. Then again, the hopeful part of me said, maybe I'd get good friends like Cassie...

     The bell rung, and I realized that I was in a shop. I took a look around the user shop and got big eyes. Yes, I know that Slorgs have naturally big eyes, but this time I was just simply appalled.

     There were Slorgs... Slorgs like me, crawling around in the shop. They were everywhere! On the walls, the desk, the floor, the shelves... everywhere!

     And then I took a look at the price tags. Unbuyables.

     I now realized what 'collection' meant. I'd be part in this Slorg collection. I took a look around me and saw all kinds of painted Slorgs. One Slorg, Two Slorgs, Red Slorg, Blue Slorg. I couldn't help but to chuckle at the thought, and all the Slorgs looked at me.

     My owner gently put me on the floor and said, "Hi Slorgs! This is your new friend, Slorgy! Be nice to him, he's part of the family at this gallery."

     "Let's go," the teenage girl said. "I still have to find an Invisible Slorg... And a couple of Slorg-related items." She reached her hand out to the Ixi, who put her hoof there daintily and together the two walked out of the shop.

     I was left there. Alone.

     And yet I was not. Here were Slorgs, my brethren... But I still felt alone. There was a certain cold atmosphere, and once they had taken a proper look at me they got on with their crawling. Only one of them, a Plushie Slorg, stopped and talked to me.

     "Hi," he said. "Welcome to the Slorg Gallery! I'm Plush, the resident greeter." Quickly he told me the rules, and after that I felt a lot better.

     The days went on, and I turned into one of the many Slorgs in the gallery. And that's the end. The end of my days as an avatar petpet. Plush told me that I would never be sold again, only put on display so Neopians could look at me. He told me it was a good life, getting to do whatever you wanted and getting fed every day.

     It was the haven that I had wished so long for. Somewhere where I would stay safe and never have to be sold again. It was a closed-off little world where we Slorgs ruled.

     I got to know all those different Slorgs, with their pretty and sometimes odd colors. Even though they were my friends, my first two true friends held an important place in my heart. Sometimes I'd look outside on a rainy day and remember how I got separated from Vistoria. Here in this peaceful place I can remember... I can think. And it doesn't hurt so much as it did before. I'm not living in the middle of the whole avatar-ness anymore.

     I'm looking outside now, and it's a rather rainy day. I guess this is the end of my story, since more haven't happened. I've just gotten to know everyone, and even though some of them are rather cold, we're all Slorgs.

     I look outside again. Far away I can see a speck of blue... It's coming closer. With a gasp, I realize that the familiar shape I am looking at is a blue Pteri. She stops in front of the window, and I quickly try to make her see me before she moves on.

     But she moves on too quickly. A memory stirs inside me and for a fleet second I wonder if it is Vistoria. But then I know it can't be, because there's a Snowbunny skipping happily after her.

     A Snowbunny... Casanova... I look closely at the petpet, and realize that it really might be Cassie. I shout out to them, but my actions, movements and noises travel slowly through the stale air and stop at the cold glass window.

     They walk away cheerfully, despite the fact that it is a rainy day. I feel my heart sink as I see them disappear from my view.

     "They'll be here again," Plush tells me. "They were here yesterday at this time, but Tindra was playing with you right then. Don't worry. They'll come here again."

     I can't help but to worry. Plush reassures me with a slight nudge of his tail, and slowly I calm down. I close my eyes, listen to the song of the raindrops and replay the events that just happened in my mind.

     Maybe it's Vistoria and Cassie. Maybe they ended up together. But they sure looked happy... I feel jealous for a second, but then I realize something. If they're happy, then it's all good. I'm happy here. I've got my safe haven, and I'm not an avatar petpet anymore...

     With a jerk, I realize what I still haven't gotten. I really wish they'd come around again so I could see them. They are the friends I want to meet. Oh, I can't wait until tomorrow!

The End