A Weewoo's Tale

     He cast his glance around himself, down at the hustling Neopets hurrying across the wharf. His eyes landed on a hopping white bird-like object, not unlike himself.

     Wait a moment. That was a Weewoo. Just of one of those strange other colours.

     He lifted his wings and gracefully dived down, keeping his sight on the white Weewoo. Once his clawed feet hit the ground, he scrambled his way among the crowd, frantically trying to catch up to the other Weewoo. He chirped.

     The green paw of a Gelert stepped on his tail. He twittered angrily before giving up, taking flight again. He flew above the crowd and looked for the white Petpet again, having lost sight of it.

     Ah, there it was, following that pirate Shoyru. He darted downward again, this time aiming to land closer to the other Weewoo.

     His claws scratched at the wooden boards of the dock as he landed only a few feet away from his target. He bounded across the ground and stopped right behind the white Weewoo.

     He chirped happily, letting the other know that he was there. The white Weewoo stopped in its tracks before turning around.

     A female Weewoo, he could tell. Male Weewoos weren’t normally that... polished. Pretty, if you will.

     She let out a few notes, equally as happy as his. Just then, the Shoyru clicked its tongue, and the white Weewoo let out a sad tweet and followed the Neopet.

     The Weewoo followed them. After all, he had nothing else to do, and he could use a friend.

     ***

     They ended up in the Golden Dubloon, the finest restaurant in Neopia. The Weewoo had often snuck in here and stolen a few bites of food from the kitchen when the chefs weren’t looking.

     The rugged-looking Lupe proprietor of the restaurant, Captain Hackett, exchanged a few words with the pirate Shoyru, and then pointed at the Weewoo. The Shoyru looked down in surprise at him. He cocked his head, letting his expression appear hopeful.

     The white Weewoo adopted his expression, her features marked with optimism. The Shoyru sighed.

     “It looks like my Weewoo found a friend along the way,” it said to the Lupe. “I’ll treat ‘em both.” Hackett nodded and let the trio in. Both of the Weewoos leapt about happily for a second before flying into the Golden Dubloon.

     The Weewoo perched himself on the table, getting his first good look at the pirate Shoyru as it glanced at the menus.

     It was also female, he decided. It had longer eyelashes than a male would, and it was rather petite and slim.

     The Shoyru put down the menus and waited for the waiter to come back around. To pass the time, she patted the white Weewoo’s head, eliciting a happy squeak from the Petpet. She preened with happiness, letting her owner pet her for a few minutes before chirping and looking at the other Weewoo.

     The Neopet turned her head and smiled kindly at him. She extended a hand to ruffle the feathers on his little head. It was a strange sensation, being petted, but he decided he rather liked it. He let himself smile, and flew to the other side of the table, settling himself next to the white Weewoo.

     He looked around the restaurant, enjoying the silent company of the Shoyru and her Weewoo. It was... peaceful. Flying to the tallest mast at the crack of dawn and watching the sun rise was peaceful, too, but he realized he liked being around others.

     He was so wrapped up in his thinking that he didn’t realize the Shoyru had already ordered and that the food was coming until he smelled the shrimp appetizer.

          He perked himself up and looked at the seafood. He’d heard of shrimp before, what with the chefs in the kitchen sometimes yelling about it whilst he was hiding in a cupboard, but he didn’t know what it was like.

     The Shoyru noticed him eyeing the shrimp curiously and picked a piece off for him. She held in front of his beak as he sniffed it lightly before reaching out and snapping it out of her fingers.

     Oh, it was good! He finished the bit of shrimp quickly and patiently waited for another piece. The white Weewoo apparently liked shrimp, too, for she finished her share almost as quickly as he had his.

     The pirate Shoyru smiled and broke up a few more bits for the Petpets. They snapped the delicious seafood up, enjoying the taste.

     It was much better than stealing the occasional bite to eat from the kitchen.

     ***

     The Shoyru had acquired a keg from the Golden Dubloon, and was carrying it home, albeit with some trouble. Big keg, little Shoyru, you do the math.

     The two Weewoos were following her in the air, their little wings flapping in synchrony. They chirped contentedly every now and then, and dropped themselves to the ground once they reached the Shoyru’s Neohome.

     The Weewoo hesitated, not sure if he was allowed to go in, or if he had to find another tree to lodge in for the night. The white Weewoo shared his hesitation; she looked at her owner thoughtfully, silently asking if her new friend could stay for a while.

     “Come on, little fella. A handsome Weewoo like you deserves to be somewhere warm tonight. It’s supposed to be rather cold this evening,” the Shoyru said, dropping the heavy keg to open the door.

     He liked the Shoyru quite a mighty bit just for that little show of hospitality.

     The two Petpets fluttered into the house, emitting little peeps of laughter. They darted in and out of the various rooms, chasing each other until the Weewoo almost flew into a closed door.

     The white Weewoo stopped flight mid-air, and then rushed to her friend after she was sure he was all right. They dropped themselves to the ground, landing softly on the grey plush carpet.

     The Weewoo cocked his head and looked at the door, wondering what was in the room behind it. His friend chirped and pecked on the door twice, and then stepped back and tilted her head up.

     A pirate Eyrie emerged from the room, towering above them, its head swiveling back and forth. The white Weewoo hopped over to his foot and climbed onto him. His head snapped downward.

     “Oh, hi there. Back already?” it said in a gruff voice. Definitely masculine.

     The white Weewoo chirped and bounded over to her friend.

     “And I reckon you’ve made a new friend. Exciting day fer you, eh?” He grinned. “I’m going to go talk to Stella. I’ll see you later, little nippers,” he said before tromping down the hallway.

     The white Weewoo, having successfully introduced her owner’s companion to her new friend, looked quite pleased with herself. She flapped her wings and waited for the Weewoo to join her in the air. Once he hoisted himself, she flew back into the living room, him close behind.

     She slowed down a bit as she headed toward a window, next to which was a cage and perch of sorts.

     The Weewoo gulped. A cage?

     The white Weewoo, sensing his reluctance, darted into the cage and pulled the door closed with her beak. It snapped shut, instantly locking. The Weewoo stared at her in disbelief.

     But then she extended a clawed foot and picked at the door. It swung open, and she flew out.

     Okay. That wasn’t a bad cage if she could let herself out so easily.

     This time when she went back in, he joined her, settling himself down on the red blanket at the bottom of the cage. He went to sleep, with the white Weewoo dozing on the swinging perch above him.

     ***

     He sat on a mast to watch the sun rise, as he did most mornings. It was silent for a few moments before he heard the flutter of wings. He didn’t need to look up to know that it was the white Weewoo who had joined him, coming after him after noticing he had left early.

     In that moment, as they watched the sun come up together, he knew he had found a friend for life.

The End