Ivey and Fawn

All the country folk had heard at one time or another, of the hidden corner of Faerieland where the magical pea vines grew peas of the strangest sort. They had been raised with the stories of the gnarled vines, from which came the roundest and juiciest peas in all the land. And still stranger tales - of the little pea who had come from it - a celebrated member of Faerieland society - now a master gardener behind the palace walls, to whom Fyora herself begged consultation for her own private gardens of herbs. And though few had ever seen the strange pea, for she did not parade herself publicly, all thought of her with admiration and adoration. Many a time their crops were plagued with pests and drought, and always the little pea came to their rescue with new repellants and her ancient earthen magic, to insure that hardship would not fall upon the Neopians who looked to her in their times of despair. She had been named Ivey, after the sacred vines she had come from.

     But seldom was she made a spectacle, so when Fyora's personal supply of Beetroots had dwindled dangerously, Ivey went out unrecognized amongst the masses, as she journeyed toward the edge of the Haunted Wood to collect some more. In the meadows by the borders they grew in flocks, hovering above the ground a few inches. They liked the cool breeze which came from the forest and grew abundant. It was a long journey to make for one so small, but Ivey didn't mind. She enjoyed venturing from the castle walls for the comfort of the earthy ground, and the smell of rain.

     It took til nearly midday before she got there. She left early, before the Naleaps could wake to coo from the treetops, to avoid the crowded banter of the city streets. By the time she had sidled over to rest on the cool bank of a nearby stream, she was parched and weary. She welcomed the fresh soothing water to run across her tiny feet as she drank from a large folded leaf. From her perch she could look out upon the grassy countryside dappled in the most colorful of wildflowers. Carmarillers flocked to them joyously, drinking from their sweet nectar. It was so peaceful, so perfect.

     The gentle lull of moach chirps calmed her, making her eyelids feel heavy. Lightly she kicked her feet in the shallows of the creek, the coolness swirling around her toes. The sun shone warm upon her face, a golden aura, still and beautiful. Letting out a delighted sigh she gave herself over to the sleepiness of being so comfortable, slipping deep into the realm of elsewheres, where reality lay unbounded.

     So deep in sleep was the little pea, that it was impossible to recall how the next series of events came to be. She awoke with water around her sputtering and gasping for air. Her feet kicked, flailing for something beneath her but found only the raging current instead. Almost instantly she was certain that the bank was quite out of reach. She must have dozed for hours! It was dark now, which only fueled her panic. How did she get into the middle of the creek without waking? She knew it had been moving fast, but not nearly as swift as this. Now caught in its icy flows, she could see swimming out would be quite the impossible feat.

     Water flowed into her mouth mercilessly as she struggled to stay on the surface. Though her body was fairly buoyant, it was quite round, making keeping her face above the waves very much of a challenge. Ivey yelled as she bashed into a rather large rock. She tried to cling to the side of it so she could recover from the great bruise she knew it was to leave on her - but it proved impossible and she was torn further downstream. She cried out again, hoping perhaps some wandering Faerie might hear her pleas and come to her aid. The speed of the current was picking up greatly. Ivey had a feeling it was only to get worse before it got better.

     Never before had she been so scared. Jagged edges of rocks now sprung sporadically up around her from beneath the river. She tried to grasp them as she passed but always her fingers didn't quite stick. And although the channel appeared to be narrowing, Ivey could not muster the power to pull herself toward either of the river banks. She began to think that perishing was inevitable. And poor Fyora, wouldn't even know what had become of her. Ivey thought of her home with dismay. If only she had asked someone to accompany her this never would have happened.

     Chastising herself for her own carelessness, Ivey realized a moment too late that there was a tiny little fawn like petpet eating from the leaves of a nearby bush. She yelled out, trying to raise herself out of the water enough to be seen, but just as the little petpet's eyes met her own, she was pushed around the bend and out of view altogether. She heard the little creature give a loud bleat before her head was forced underneath the waves once more.

     Ivey came up gasping, trying not to get sucked underneath again. She reached for a nearby boulder, catching herself long enough to swing herself a little bit closer to the shore. In doing so she realized the petpet had in fact seen her plight, and raced to keep alongside her as she plummeted downstream. The pea tried to call out to her potential friend, but the fawn went on, pushing ahead of her, racing faster than the river could sweep. Another rock passed nearby, allowing Ivey to inch even further toward the rescuer. Just when the little fawn was nearly so far ahead Ivey could barely see her, she noticed her cut inwards, perching herself atop a cliff jutting out of the riverbank. The petpet had hold of a thick nearby vine in it's mouth, watching for her expectantly while lowering it so it hovered above the water's surface.

     Just as her outstretched hand was inches from it, Ivey could feel the current start to pull her under once more. With one last summon of strength Ivey kicked upward with force, pushing herself from the water to grasp the vine within both of her little hands. The fawn immediately started to pull, winding it around a stump nearby for leverage until the little pea was so close to shore she could stand once again. Ivey nearly ran from the stream, tears streaming down her face.

     The petpet rushed over, lowering its face to nuzzle the pea encouragingly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ivey gasped, hiccuping from her little sobs. "I thought I was done for! I don't know how much longer I could have kept going." Ivey reached over to wrap her arms around the petpet's neck, hugging her new friend in relief. "And now I've lost the path! I shall never get the beetroot to Fyora at this rate."

     In a simple swoop the little Fawn got behind her and pushed Ivey's back with her head to get her to start walking upstream.

     Ivey giggled, turning to smile at her little companion. "Are you going to come with me?"

     The petpet kicked up its heels, running ahead to signal her to follow.

     "I suppose if I fall in again it will surely be better if you do."

     Ivey didn't fall in again, but the courage of the little Nuk touched her deeply. From that day on when the pea found herself hankering for a quiet adventure in the woods, her fawn was forever by her side, happy to have a home at long last.

The End