Meeting Qualsins

      I absolutely did not want to go. We were headed to a place that I never wanted to visit in my entire life - The Neopian Pound. I knew that we were only going to get a new pet for me to play with, but I was terrified of what that place could hold for my future. What if, while we were there, Genny found FOUR pets that she liked, and decided to abandon me? What if one of these new pets was an even cuter Zafara? Zafaras are my owner's favorite pet! If there were any in the pound, I thought that I'd be a goner for sure!

      I sighed and put on a brave face. I knew that I was just being silly. All of these fears were childish; Genny would never put me in the pound. That, of course, didn't stop my nerves from jumping as I shakily made my way downstairs.

      When we finally got to the pound, Genny smiled at me. "Don't worry, Skye," she said, patting the top of my head, "We won't be headed for the bad door."

      Even though I had never been to the pound before, I knew exactly what she meant. There were three doors to the entrance. The first was a beautiful pink door, propped open to show a sweet looking pink Uni helping a current pet owner sign some final adoption papers. The second was a steel door with the word TRANSFER thickly engraved on it. There was a line out the door with pairs of owners, waiting to trade their pets. The third and final door was the Bad Door. Doctor Death kept poking his head out, and glaring at all of the pets nearby. I all but pushed Genny through that first door.

      The beautiful pink Uni greeted us immediately. "Hello!" she said, "Looking for a new pet?"

      I relaxed a little bit as my owner talked. This Uni was very nice. "Yes, we are." My owner proudly smiled. "I need a new friend for my baby, Skye. Mind if we look around?"

      The Uni nodded, slightly distracted by the new owner who had just come through the door. "Of course, of course. Just go through to back door to see them." She then turned her attention to me. "I hope you find the perfect playmate, Skye. If you need anything, my name is Rose."

      She left this soft, safe feeling inside of my belly, but the happiness from talking to Rose was instantly sucked out of me when we entered the back. Inside that room were dozens upon dozens of small cubicles with glass fronts. They were all sparsely furnished, containing a bed and food bowl in each, with gray-toned carpet and walls. Each pet looked more miserable than the last. The new ones were sobbing, asking out-loud what they did to deserve this; the older ones all looked as if they had given up hope.

      I looked up at my mom to see tears in her eyes. "Let's walk, sweetheart," Genny whispered, trying not to cry, "And let's give one of these pets a good home."

      We passed a few cubicles, looking at some of the pets as we went by. Very few made eye contact - they were all too lost in the horror thrust upon them to notice us. Some owners ran past us, clutching onto painted or particularly strong looking pets, hoping to make it to Rose before another person found them. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something with a bit of color pop out. One of the pets had taped a painting to the inside of their glass wall, proudly displaying it to the world.

      Obviously curious, I walked over to find out who was inside. "Hello?" I asked, tapping on the glass a little. "Who's in there?"

      A checkered Shoyru head peeked around from behind the painting. "Hi," he said softly, although I couldn't tell if that was his tone, or if that was an effect of the glass wall. "I'm Qualsins." I couldn't believe it! A painted pet with a wonderful name, still in the pound? And did I see a red Pikis hopping around behind him? "Oh, don't mind that thing," the Shoyru said bashfully, noticing my gaze. "That was a lab petpet. Doesn't like me at all. And he bites sometimes, to be honest."

      I turned to look for my mom, only to find her standing right next to me. "How long have you been in here?" she asked the little Shoyru.

      He sighed. "Not as long as some of the other pets in here," he answered vaguely, "My original owner was a very nice lady. She didn't ever stop loving me, but she just needed a change, I suppose."

      Genny motioned to the painting. "Did you do this?"

      Qualsins' eyes brightened up immediately. "Oh, yes!" he said, "I love to paint, and draw, and sculpt, and... well, lots of things! Art is the best!"

      No more than two seconds later were we leaving with Qualsins. He had cost more to adopt than some of the other pets, but we had all clicked so perfectly that we knew he couldn't be left in there. He was coming home with us, and staying there for good. And I couldn't wait to become best friends with him.

      A week passed by, and we had two new siblings: Cantrua the Ogrin, and Ibenti, who was originally a Bori, but had been morphed into a Poogle as soon as he was adopted. They were arguing over something mundane when Genny burst through the door with the hugest grin on her face. "True!" she called. "You remember how you've always wanted to be painted Faerie, right?"

      Cantrua laughed. "Of course, Mom," she said, "But I know we don't have the money for it, yet."

      Genny was grinning from ear to ear. "Well, I have a surprise for you," she said. Out from behind her back came a real Faerie Paint Brush. Where had she gotten one so fast? "Get ready to go out today, kids, because we're going to the Rainbow Pool, and then I'm buying you all some chocolate to celebrate!"

      Cantrua gleefully ran upstairs to brush her mane, while Ibenti followed, grumbling about how he never got anything nice, even though he was currently Striped. Qualsins was about to go upstairs too, when Genny stopped him. "I have some news for you, Qualee," she whispered, pulling out a letter. "That gift for your sister was from your original owner."

      Qualsins was in shock, and to be honest, so was I. This was an expensive gift from an old owner? How could one person be so generous? "She looked you up, and was so happy when she saw that I was taking care of you," Genny continued, "and she sent some gifts for you, as well."

      That's when we saw it. A pretty little Flosset smiling up at Qualsins, holding a Checkered Petpet Paint Brush. Qualsins smiled as wide as he could, tears forming in his eyes.

      "See?" he said. "I told you she never stopped loving me."

The End