Cybunny Down: Part Two

      We'd been on the ocean plenty of times together but it was still nice to just be with your best friend. Still I worried this trip would all be for nothing.

      "Frodin?" I called his attention away from the Flotsams he had been watching below the water helping to get the boat ready. "What if this is all for nothing and we don't find the island or the Cybunnies?"

      He looked at me really hard then. "Well, at least I got to have a great adventure with my best friend." He bumped me with his shoulder. "And neither of us have ever been to Lutari Island. You think they have good food there?"

      Just like that, he had raised my spirits.

      "Anchor's aweigh!" we heard the captain call and we leaned over the side of the boat to watch the Flotsams all swim away from the ship to the beach.

      Neopets sat on the shore waving to others on the boat and neopets on the boat waved to the pets on shore. Both of our parents were waving at us as we pulled away from the dock. They knew we knew how to take care of ourselves but they still worried. We waved back to them and hoped they understood we would be home soon.

      ***********

      We had been on the water for about an hour when I heard Frodin call, "I'm bored!"

      I had packed a book just for the trip over the ocean called 'Karate for Beginners' and was actually enjoying it.

      "I told you to pack a book or a game." I threw Cybunny Down at him from where I was sitting. "Entertain yourself."

      Frodin grumbled at me a bit then picked up the book. "I've already read it, Meelu." I watched him flip through the pages before seeing his eyes light up. "Hey, let's go to the galley."

      "Why?"

      "I don't know."

      I rolled my eyes and marked my page with a faellie bookmark. "Let's go." I linked my arm with his and we walked toward the galley.

      Down in the galley we met Kelvin a small blue Korbat and Revel a yellow Skeith. They were playing a round of cheat and Frodin asked to deal us in.

      "Ye got any dubloons, kids?" Revel asked with a sneer.

      Frodin pulled three one dubloon coins out of his pocket and laid them on the table. Kelvin dealt us a hand and we began to play. Kelvin won the first round and I won the second.

      "So why are you kids headed to Lutari Island today?" Revel asked but kept his eyes on his cards.

      Frodin and I exchanged a glance before he answered, "We are looking for 'Cybunny Down'. Ever heard of it?"

      Kelvin and Revel burst out laughing. It was a full two minutes before they caught their breath.

      Frodin asked, "Why is that funny?"

      "Cybunny Down isn't real, kids. We've never tried to find it ourselves but we have met two or three neopets over the years who have tried to find it. One of them we never saw again. You see, we have been sailing for over ten years. We together have seen every continent and every island there is. None of them have ever been filled with the legendary Cybunnies that those neopets raved about." Kelvin said all this with a hard look in his eyes.

      "We have a map, you see." Frodin made a move to pull the map out from between the pages of the book but I stopped him with a paw.

      "You two are quite young still and I say this cause I want to see you both on this ship going back home. Don't try to find Cybunny Down." Revel said to us in a very serious voice.

      "We'll be at Lutari Island within the hour. You too better get back on deck."

      ***********

      When we got to Lutari Island, we walked around all the stalls on the shore. There were clothing stalls filled with shirts, pants, and dresses in every color of the rainbow and food stalls with fruit with names that neither of us could pronounce and so many books I couldn't count them all.

      I bought a couple of the adventure books with a few hundred neopoints and stuffed them into my bag. Frodin scoffed at me.

      There was one stall filled with neopets that were on the ship with us. They had gathered around a large green Lutari.

      "The storm cleared away a few months ago and now we are able to share our culture and foods with the rest of Neopia. We are so happy to have visitors to island and hope that you too will share your culture with us. Thank you." He smiled and the crowd dispersed.

      We walked up to the green Lutari. "Excuse us? Could you tell us if there are any islanders that would be willing to sail us to neighboring islands?"

      The Lutari smiled at us and pointed us in the direction of a tourist notice board. "Anything you want to know can be found on that board. I hope that helps you."

      The colors of Island all blended together with a beauty I would never forget. Flowers of purple blue and yellow that looked as though they would never fade or brown.

      "This place is beautiful," I whispered to Frodin. "We should come here again for summer break." I smiled at him and took another bite of my salad.

      "Definitely. Can you imagine exploring deep into the island where even the Lutaris don't go?"

      "Okay, Mr. Adventurer. How about we focus on Cybunny Down right now and exploring this huge Island in like two years when we are older and have more neopoints." I nudged him to get him to focus. "We need to check that notice board and see if we can find someone to sail us to this island."

      We sat down on a large patch of grass and a nice lunch of local fruit then went in search of the notice boards. On the way we had several happy Lutaris say hello and welcome to us. Several others tried to sell us fruit and supplies. We bought some for the trip and continued to the boards.

      We looked at several of the notices advertising boat rides and where they went. "How about we try these three first." He pointed toward Jacob, Noel, and Dean. "And from there we'll just ask around. They are on docks four, five, and six." He took my paw and led me back toward the beach and toward the docks.

      "Hello, I am Jacob," a loud island Lutari called to us as we walked onto dock four. "How can I help you young neopets?"

      "Let me do the talking." Frodin whispered to me. "Hello,, Jacob. I am Frodin and this is Meelu. We wondered if you could take us to this Island." Ludin handed the map over to Jacob. He looked at the map then eyed us suspiciously.

      "You are looking for Cybunny Down?" He handed the map back to Frodin. "I have been there many times and have taken many a neopet with me. We have never seen any Cybunnies or any other neopet for that matter. The island is completely deserted. Where did you get that?" He eyed the map again.

      Frodin looked to me and silently asked me to tell Jacob. "It was given to me by and old blue Cybunny at the Cybunny Carnival last week. He didn't tell me his name and he disappeared before I could ask him any questions." I hung my head thinking I sounded stupid. Maybe this whole trip was a bad idea and we should just cut our losses and go home.

      Instead Jacob's eyes softened. "I believe I know that Cybunny. He used to be a friend of mine. He must see something special about you." He clapped his large hands together. "Okay, it will cost you ten thousand neopoints."

      "It is too late in the day to leave. We will leave at dawn tomorrow. I expect you here at dock four." He looked at us with weary eyes. "If you like you can camp on the beaches here but be aware there are some pesky petpets out here." With that said he hopped onto his boat an disappeared into the cabin.

      We found a secluded part of the beach where only a few others were laying out sleeping bags and starting small fires. A couple small tents spotted the beach. We could hear instruments being played a short distance away.

      Frodin looked over at me and broke into a big grin. "We've never camped on a beach before."

      "Let's break out the sleeping bags, Mr. Adventure," I said. "We need all the rest we can get."

To be continued...