A Tale of Two Bori: Part Nine

      By the time the sun was setting below the horizon, Feinly was truly exhausted; her fur was more brown than white from all the mud, and all of her muscles ached from fatigue and the atrophy she had accrued from her bed rest. But when she wearily surveyed her yard, it was with a smile of satisfaction. She had cleaned up the flood's wreckage, and now she could get back on track. She carried her porcelain teacup to the pond, filling it with the cool spring water and a pinch of the tea leaves she kept in the little tin. Carefully she left the cup perched atop a wide flat stone, knowing the sunlight and the residual warmth the rocks radiated would steep her tea for tomorrow morning. Then she curled up into a tight ball beneath the trees at the edge of her soon-to-be garden, and immediately fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

      ---

      It was late morning when she awoke. Yawning and stretching stiffly, the white Bori emerged from her resting place feeling a bit lethargic. Her shoulders and back were sore from the heavy lifting yesterday, so rather than jump right into working, she shuffled over to drink her sun tea and relax. As she sat on the warm stone, her large ears swiveled back and forth, catching the sounds of nature. She could hear the rustling and yipping of a pair of Juma playfully dashing through the bamboo further up the hillside. Gikerot lizards were creeping from their hiding places to find a sunny spot they could spend the afternoon. This place was amazing to her, so verdant and full of life. She sipped the floral tea, feeling contented. It came to her a passing thought at first – there were so many native creatures living wild on the mountain. What if she captured herself a petpet?

      It wouldn't be a concern for today, she mused, knowing that her gardening had to take priority. But... it was a little lonely out here all by herself. Feinly was well accustomed to living a solitary life, but the encounter with Anshu had shown her that socialization didn't have to be scary. Maybe some sort of small companion would be a good thing for her, give her motivation to do her best work. She sipped at the tea, contemplating this. She had never had a petpet before. It was a bit intimidating to consider the responsibility of raising a living being. Perhaps she would gather some scrolls on the subject, now that she had a way to read them.

      Once she finished her tea, Feinly began her task for the day: digging irrigation ditches to control the runoff rainwater. She used her Bori talent for tunneling to carve a winding path into the hillside around her terraced levels, curving this way and that much like the rivers she had seen. Once she got to the bottom of the hill, she dug a path through the cherry trees and around the flowerbed she was planning, finally leading to the still pond by her stone walking path. Then she gathered flat pebbles from the riverbed and lined the swales with them, hoping it would aid in slowing the rainwater's descent, giving it a better chance to be absorbed by the plants she would cultivate there. It took her all afternoon, a painstaking effort that she hoped would pay off in the long term. If she could turn the mountain's unpredictable weather into her greatest asset, this garden could be self-sustaining and last forever.

      Feeling even more exhausted than the day prior, Feinly sat on the edge of the pool, dipping her weary paws into the cold spring water. She splashed the water onto her face and claws, rinsing away the grime that was caked in her fur. Dirt was much messier than snow. She felt like she constantly needed to clean herself off. After she had scrubbed away the mud, the Bori stretched out on the warm stones on her footpath, letting the fading sunlight and warmth dry her heavy fur. She was so drowsy and tired from her hard work, though, that she was soon fully asleep.

      ---

      Feinly awoke the next day feeling disoriented – she could not remember why she was laying in the middle of the stone path, and it took her several confusing moments until she realized what must have happened. How embarrassing, she mused, her nosetip blushing pink. She seemed to be developing a habit of passing out in the middle of walkways. At least this time no one had to find her that way. She rose, flexing her claws and finding them stiff and achy. She could really use a break from all the physical labor.

      It was then her sensitive ears caught the sounds of something nearby. There was a rustling noise, accompanied by some sort of gnawing. From where she stood, Fein could see several patches of weeds and sprouts of bamboo; pulling them out was to be her task today, to make room for the flowers and pretty things she did want growing here. There was nothing large enough to notice from this vantage point, but a flicker of movement caught her eye.

      Feinly held her breath, anxiously peering at something small and white behind the weeds. There, it moved again! Some... thing, some creature, had invaded her place of solitude while she slept! Steeling her nerves, the Bori edged closer, her tail lashing back and forth nervously behind her. Was it dangerous? It did not strike her as one of the colorful creatures she knew from the wilderness here. She had seen wintry petpets before – Feepits, Polarchucks, Yullies – but never a Slorg, which was the true name for this interloper. Instinctively, though, she knew that this little gastropod was intent on eating her plants.

      Feinly watched the white creature inch its way closer and closer toward one of the bamboo shoots, much to her agitation. How could she repel it? She was a pacifist in every sense of the word, incapable of confrontation, or even raising her voice. Was this to be the end of her entire project? Devoured before it even had a chance to grow? The weeds were unimportant, but if she could not remove the Slorg and creatures like it, it would surely eat everything she planted. She fidgeted with her claws, visibly upset as the little Slorg began nibbling on the fresh bud.

      The petpet was gleefully oblivious to Feinly, gnawing at the plant while she leaned silently closer to study it. Her ears perked forward with interest as she noticed something – the petpet was made of snow! The moderate climate had not melted its body at all, but it was clearly composed of snow. It even had shiny black lumps of coal for eyes. It must be enchanted, she decided naively, since nothing made of normal snow could exist outside of the wintery mountains. Feinly felt a strange fondness come over her then. She would never see snow again if she remained in Shenkuu forever, but she could keep a little of it here with her in this form, and it could never melt no matter how brightly the sun shone. Plus, it would be easy to care for a creature that indiscriminately ate plants – it could simply graze all day. She impulsively reached out and scooped up the tiny creature, marveling at how cold its body was. It burbled a greeting, shiny coal eyes bright with excitement.

      "Snowip," she whispered, finally finding her voice. "I'll call you Snowip... you'll live here with me. If you like eating plants, I can teach you to eat weeds... And then we can be friends..."

      Snowip squirmed happily, smiling up at the Bori. Feinly smiled in return, feeling a rush of confidence. She would never have a reason to be lonely or homesick, not with a little companion made of snow to follow her around. She set down the Slorg, watching as it inched its way back to the bamboo shoots, champing away with its tiny snowy teeth. It certainly seemed hungry. Where had it come from, anyway? Snow petpets were native to Terror Mountain, or so she had thought. She supposed it could have belonged to someone else, a trader perhaps, but out here in the wilderness it was obviously lost. Perhaps she should check in town to make sure no one was missing it before she officially adopted it at her own. She would hate for anyone to be upset with her for stealing their exotic petpet.

     ---

     It was still morning, and Feinly decided a walk into town would be a welcome break from the landscaping. She went to her bundle of scrolls, determining that having a translator along would aid her greatly in her first attempt to speak the Shenkuuvian dialect. At the very least, she could read the shopkeepers' signs now. Then she scooped up the little snowy Slorg and placed it on her shoulder, hoping it would remain perched there for the long meandering walk downhill. For the most part, it did, although it seemed to develop a great interest in her furry ears and spent most of the journey trying to bite them. The morning mists had almost fully evaporated under the sunlight by the time they reached the port town, and Feinly tried to steel her nerves before emerging from the secluded path. Noon was the busiest time for all the venders and traders, so she had to be prepared for a crowd.

     It surprised her to find the path was largely empty. Feinly padded anxiously forward, wondering where the Shenkuu citizens had gone off to. She looked to the Remarkable Restoratives shop, but saw it was closed; Anshu had already left. Several other shops were closed as well, and as she moved closer to the ocean and the many vending stalls, she began to hear the chatter of a crowd elsewhere. She touched Snowip to make sure it was still perched comfortably on her shoulder before edging closer to the group of Neopets gathered on the docks.

     They were bunched together too tightly for her to see what they were all staring at, and she was too timid to push her way through. But she crouched close to the wooden pier and pulled out her scroll, listening intently to the words they were gossiping about and trying to clumsily translate them.

     "...came from the ocean..."

     "...cold as winter..."

     "...blue foreigner..."

     "...take him to the emperor..."

     Closing the scroll, Feinly stood with worry in her eyes. From what she could gather, some strange-looking foreigner had washed ashore, and was being taken for an audience with the emperor? She too was a strange-looking foreigner, but no one had paid her that kind of negative attention when she first arrived. And what did "cold as winter" mean? Snowip nudged her face with its blobby head, causing her to hold her breath nervously. There must be some connection between Snowip and whatever this stranger was. She needed to see for herself. The Bori shuffled closer to the crowd, trying to peer between the sea of elbows and tails and wings. It was no use; she was far shorter than most of them, and the traders were all too fascinated with watching whatever was on the end of the dock to let her through. Finally she flattened herself against the wooden floor of the dock, trying to peer around their legs.

     The sun had reached its high point in the sky, and light shone brightly down on the prostrate figure crumpled on the pier, caught in some fisherman's net. His fur was glittering, gleaming a pale crystalline blue like... ice. Memories began to stir in her, the sights and sounds she had repressed of the skeletal horde that had rained destruction on her birthplace. Flashing blades and soulless eyes, the ice creatures had raided the mountain and changed her life forever. Her heart fluttered rapidly in her chest, claws trembling with fear. It was too warm on this summer day for natural ice to exist. Icy skeletons hadn't found their way to Shenkuu... had they? She wanted to flee, but her quivering form would not respond; she wanted to cry out for them to throw it back into the sea, but her voice had deserted her. Not here, not how, she did not want to lose this place she loved so dearly. Just then, sunlight was caught like a prism as the creature stirred, emitting a soft groan as he regained consciousness. His head began to rise, pale unblinking eyes staring directly into hers. Feinly managed a strangled squeak of horror before going limp, out cold.

To be continued...