Adventure Can Lead You Anywhere

      Dressed in pale blue ice armor and a simple cream colored cloak, the Maractite Shoyru stood tall on a snow covered cliff nearby, taking his time in finding a sturdy handhold in the icy rock. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and instantly froze as he gritted his teeth together and his knuckles turned white. Climbing up the side of the side of a frozen mountain had seemed like a great adventure when he was safe at home, reading about it by the warm fire.

      He chuckled grimly, his voice echoing back at him from the wasteland of cold. Next time, he was going to choose to visit the sunny Mystery Island or Fairyland, heck, he'd take the Haunted Woods over this place. It wasn't that he minded the cold terribly; he enjoyed a snow day as much as the next Neopian. It was the emptiness of the place that really got to him, and the fact that he was getting sick and tired of all the climbing. Being a Shoyru, it was true that he could have just flown to the top and at an outstanding speed too, if it hadn't been for all the wind. Aqua was in fact an excellent flyer, and as much as he hated to admit it, it was just too dangerous to fly, so he climbed.

      Tediously, he continued reaching for handholds with his teal blue wings folded against his back, with nothing between him and a sheer drop that would surely mean his demise if he made a wrong move. It took him at least a couple of hours to reach what wasn't even the mid-section of the enormous rock, though it felt much longer. From there, it wasn't as steep, but still quite a challenge, he didn't complain though. He was just happy to be on solid ground again.

      With only the sound of the roaring wind, Aqua trudged on through the deepening snow, rubbing his hands together for what little heat it could generate. The snow had started falling thicker than ever and the air grew even colder. Worriedly, Aqua began to search for any sign of shelter from the storm he should have avoided by postponing his reckless trip.

      For a while, he wallowed in self-pity (as even the best of us do at times), making himself feel less foolish and responsible for his own misfortune. These thoughts didn't last long however, as he tended to be very forthright and honest with everyone, including himself. By nature, he was kindhearted and pure, but more often kept to himself, immersing himself in books of fairytales and adventure. His books gave him a sense of freedom, but sometimes the landscape on a page just wasn't good enough, this usually resulted in sudden and extreme trips to far away, and sometimes dangerous locations. Truly, his compulsive recklessness and need to explore was unmatched, and always getting him into trouble.

      Many a time, his owner and siblings had tried in vain to stop his outlandish expeditions, expressing their annoyance and worry as any loving family would, but in the end, his desires had to be satisfied. There is only so much adventure one can get from books.

      As the young Shoyru continued his journey up the mountain, the storm steadily worsened to the point where he couldn't see five feet ahead of him. The wind howled and chilled him straight through as he trekked ever upwards on weary feet. When at last he felt that he could go no further, he collapsed quietly into the snow, and coughed heavily as the freezing air moved in and out of his lungs. If he didn't find shelter he would surely perish. So, with his remaining strength, he unfurled his wings and used them to help himself back into a standing position. Straining to see through the thick snowfall, Aqua could hardly believe his eyes when they settled on a nearly invisible opening in the mountain wall. The reason he noticed it was because of an odd blue light coming from within. Wasting no time, he hurried to the entrance and ducked in.

      On the inside was a magnificent, frozen cavern lit with large glowing crystals that shimmered mysteriously. Aqua only gazed at the beautiful scene momentarily however, before collapsing onto his back a little ways in. Once he caught his breath he sat up and attempted to brush the snow off his armor and out of his hair, allowing relieved laughter to fill the sparkling cave.

      As he chuckled to himself and combed his short blue locks with his fingers, his attention was suddenly directed to his ice helmet on the ground beside him, which was clearly moving. With a cry of surprise, he scrambled backwards and stared at it intently as though it would attack him at any moment. The helmet stopped and stood still for a moment, only to begin shifting back and forth again moments later. Intrigued, Aqua slowly approached it and reached a hand towards it. With a pause of uncertainty, he lifted it, and gasped softly as his blue eyes met two pairs of gleaming red ones.

      He quickly identified the small black creature as the petpet known as a Spyder, though what it was doing so far away from the Haunted woods he couldn't begin to guess. Trembling slightly, the tiny animal drew its little legs closer to its body in fear as it stared unblinkingly up at the Shoyru. Feeling a bit bad for the lonesome petpet, he attempted to ease its feelings of trepidation by offering a hand giving a gentle smile.

      "It's okay, friend, I won't hurt you," he said sincerely.

      The Spyder retracted slightly, eyeing the hand warily. Slowly though, it seemed to loosen up, and as Aqua rested against the wall of the cave, even climbed onto his hand and let him see it better. He noted with interest that the Spyder had only one fang instead of two.

      "Now what could you possibly be doing so far from home?" he pondered aloud, more to himself than as a question.

      "I came to see the top of the mountain," a new voice said quietly.

      Startled, Aqua looked down at the Spyder in his palm and blinked.

      "You- Did you just talk?" he said, bringing the petpet closer to his face.

      The bug shuffled nervously. "...Yeah."

      "Whoa." Aqua's eyes widened as his curious mind wrestled with the new thought. "How-? "

      "We've always been able to talk," the Spyder interrupted. "You Neopets just never care enough to hear the voice of something as small as a bug."

      "I never knew. This is amazing," Aqua exclaimed. "What's your name?"

      The Spyder frowned at his enthusiasm, as he was not used to so much attention. "Toothless," he said finally.

      "It's nice to meet you, Toothless! My name's Aqua_Vulpa, but you can call me Aqua."

      "Okay," said Toothless. "...So, what's your business out here then?"

      "Oh! I came to see the top of the mountain too actually," replied Aqua, looking up.

      "Well, I was actually going to follow that tunnel over there," Toothless said, gesturing to the far wall with one leg. "We could go together now if you'd like."

      Aqua looked over at the ice tunnel and grinned. "I'd like that."

      Standing, Aqua put his helmet back on and brushed himself off. Readjusting some of his armor straps and making sure that Toothless was secure on his shoulder, they began their journey through the cave tunnels. The trip took quite some time, but was a lot easier than climbing on the outside in that blizzard. As the two adventurers traveled they exchanged information about themselves, learning that they had a lot more in common than they thought. They both liked learning and reading fiction, though Toothless was more of a fan of sci-fi rather than fantasy, they were both somewhat reckless and both shared a need for adventure.

      By the time they made it to the exit at the top of the mountain, they had become fast friends and finally got their wishes granted. The peak of the mountain was still windy, but the storm had past, leaving them to gaze in awe at the sparkling new snow that covered the landscape.

The End