Picking the Perfect Petpet

     "I wish I could find the right petpet," Beans sighed as he smiled warmly at Eric, whose nose was now poking out from inside Godric's coat.

     "It's not always an easy decision." Godric tickled Eric's nose, chasing him back inside the heat of his coat.

     "You're telling me, there are so many different kinds, and so many different colours! I don't even know where to begin! You and Eric were destined to be friends, though!" Beans cried.

     "We were, yes. He's been with me as long as I can remember, but he wasn't always painted Darigan." Godric smiled, and began to tell the tale of how his Drugal had become Darigan.

     -X-

     "It was just after Edna had cursed me. Eric was a regular Drugal back then. I was struggling with the curse she had put on me; everyone was suddenly afraid of me, but I hadn't changed inside at all. After a few weeks, Eric decided that he wanted a change as well; that way we would both be different. He was just trying to help me, really. So we agreed to pay a visit to the Petpet Puddle. After considering which colour we decided to try something basic, and Eric became a Red Drugal.

     For a few days things seemed normal; of course, it took some getting used to, for both of us. Eric looked totally different, and once I even forgot to pick him up and walked all the way home before realising. Eventually we were used to it, but after a while I started to notice that Eric was acting differently. Just about everything seemed to make him angry. He didn't like his food anymore, he didn't like having his hair brushed, and he even appeared to start to dislike me. At times it seemed as though he was so angry that steam was actually coming out of his ears. I may have been the one who looked scary, but having a constantly angry petpet was beginning to make me scared. So we returned to the Rainbow Pool, with Eric complaining and whining all the way there. This time we decided to go for a much softer colour, and I left with a Faerie Drugal.

     Things went back to normal. Eric was so much happier; it had only took him a few days to learn how to use his new wings. He was soon flying all over the place, brightening up everyone's day as well as mine. But I didn't feel happy at all. Whenever Eric was by my side, everyone would laugh. I looked hideous and scary and Eric, he looked adorable. I tried not to be selfish, Eric was obviously happy. I didn't want him to have to change just because I was getting upset. But after a particularly bad day, when Eric had fallen out of the sky and bumped his nose, and then everyone had laughed as he'd sat in my arms on the way home, we decided a change was definitely needed.

     Next up we tried Snow; that didn't even last the week! It took Eric about ten minutes to realise that he would never be able to play in the sunshine anymore; he'd melt! As much as I really liked the idea of skulking in the shadows forever more, Eric didn't agree and so we went for another colour. Water was not too different from Snow, so that's what we chose next. Eric thought Water was wonderful, he'd always enjoyed swimming, but being a Drugal it hadn't always practical for him. Previously every time he'd gone for a swim his hair would become so tangled that it would take hours to brush out all the knots. That was no longer the problem; the problem now was that I couldn't pick him up . Whenever either of us was scared, I could no longer tuck him safely inside my coat for comfort, and that just would never work for either of us.

     Rainbow didn't work out either. It lasted a little longer than the other colours had; he wasn't able to swim or fly anymore, but he could sit in my arms and sleep in my coat, and ultimately those are his two favourite things. The only problem now was his bright and beautiful colours were clashing horribly against the dark colours I always try and dress in. I could no longer blend into the back ground; he would catch everyone's eye wherever we went. They would stare happily at him, chuckling away to each other, before looking up to smile jealously at his owner. My size and my mask would take just a few seconds to register, then they would freeze, before running away in terror. It was horrible; there was even more screaming and shouting than normal.

     And so it was with very heavy hearts that we headed back to the Petpet Puddle yet again. There were a few colours still left to try, but both of us agreed that it was probably best to just go back to the beginning and make Eric a normal Drugal again. We were both happy back then. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than all the other options. Neither of us wanted to return to the beginning, it made our journey seem pointless, but we didn't see any other option. Just as Eric was about to take his turn in the puddle another petpet emerged just next to us, a Darigan Gangee. Darigan was a colour neither of us had considered; it looked way too scary, but the Gangee grinned merrily at us as he ran off. It seemed as though we both had the same idea at once, and a brief nod was all that needed to be said. A few moments later and Eric and I were walking home, both looking at each other, unsure if we had made the right choice.

     We need not have worried; of course it was perfect. Eric was the right level of spooky. No one smiled at him anymore; no one even looked in his direction. He was his regular self. He wasn't angry or grumpy, he was perfect. We've never looked back. Eric is just wonderful now and we'll never ever have to visit the Petpet Puddle again."

     -X -

     "What if I need your help with my petpet?" Beans cried.

     Godric just laughed. He didn't tell his friend, but he had visited that puddle enough for a life time, and neither he nor Eric ever wanted to visit again!

The End