The Important Lesson

     The Neopians who would visit Cal were always very delighted to see his home. It was the cutest thing in the world for the little baby to be living in a dark cave full of bones. In the piles were the various gifts he was always given, stacked up high with no real use. But he loved them and hoarded them and wouldn't let anyone take them from him. Outside of the cave was a nice little field where he would take his Yuri and lots of Neopians would come to play with them each day. Cal loved the attention he received, but he had a very strong dream that one day he would be big and strong, and the Neopians would want to have real conversations with him and not just spout baby talk at him, and they would adore him and give him gifts because of his presence and not just because of his cute little smile. As long as they still gave him gifts, of course! He longed very much for that day.

     One day while he was out in his pretty field with Yuri, Cal came across a very interesting bottle. He tilted his head from one side to the other as he examined it. It was a mossy green colour and it had what looked to be a wing wrapped around it. As he examined it closer, he saw that it was a much stronger looking wing than the dainty ones on his back! (of course, it appeared tattered, but he chalked that up to weather damage) He had heard from some Neopians of something called a Morphing Potion that would change the drinker into a new kind of Neopet! Cal was excited. The bigger wing must have meant if he drank the weird liquid he would become a much bigger and stronger Neopet, and one that could fly! He moved to pick the bottle up. Yuri could sense something not-quite-right from that bottle and he started tugging on Cal's little onesie. The baby gently nudged him off and smiled. "Don't worry, Yuri! It'll be okay. I'll be big!"

     The Noil gave a small whine, but Cal just ignored it as he popped the top of the bottle off. He smiled real wide and picked it up, glugging the whole thing down as quickly as he could. He didn't even recognize that the taste was horrendous until after the bottle was drained. And before he knew it, his transformation was beginning. It was an awful experience. His skin stretched and his muscles ached as he twisted into a monstrous creature. Yuri yelped and ran back to the cave when he saw how horrid Cal looked, but poor Cal had no idea. He lay there in the field for a little to regain his breath...

     After a short while he pushed himself to stand and stretched his wings. He felt sick, but also amazing! Everything around him was so small compared to before! He could see over the bushes in the surrounding area, and he could easily reach the now-low branches on the trees! He smiled at his fortune. Truly, he must have been an amazing creature to see! He had to show the Neopians as soon as possible! He decided he would test out his wings to fly to them. He spread them to either side, lifted off the ground, and zoomed off to the nearest town.

     It was a child's mother who spotted him first. A monstrous creature flying right toward their quaint little town! She scooped her child up and ran, screaming for her home. The other Neopians quickly followed suit- the women ran for their homes and the men stood, waiting for the huge creature to land. Cal saw the crowd and quickly landed. He was oblivious to the screams of terror. He was just too giddy to realize what was going on! But then the men started screaming at him. He flinched back, frightened at this behavior. He'd never experienced the Neopians being angry at him before! Before they could get too close to him he took off in flight again, afraid for the first time in his life.

     He stopped at a small lake. Tears filled his eyes. Why had they been so hateful to him? This was far from the adoration he expected! His tears gently fall into the lake... and he realized he hadn't seen himself yet. He looked into the lake and let out a horrid scream! It was no wonder they had hated him! He was a freak! A monster! Something absolutely grotesque! He pulled away from the reflection and his sobs sounded out through the surrounding area. This was misery. He nearly collapsed from the grief before he remembered a way to fix this! The morphing potions! If he could just find another one, perhaps he could turn back into something beautiful. With a small sigh he took off again to start his journey to find one.

     Cal gathered all the clues he could on his search. He visited a darling lady named Kauvara, who unfortunately had just run out of potions. She explained to him that he had taken a Transmogrification Potion that had turned him into a nasty Mutant Draik! Of course, Kauvara was guilt-ridden that she couldn't help him, so she directed him to a far stretch of shore where there were rumours of potions washing up here and there. After a week waiting with nothing to find, the shadowy Neopians of the island told him rumours of a strange cave in the East where he might find what he sought. Location after location, Cal took every possible lead he could to find a new morphing potion. Unfortunately, he always came up short. After many many long months, he decided to give up hope. He returned to his little cave past his tiny field.

     His heavy footsteps broke the strong bones as he tramped into his home. He let out the smallest sigh he could as he realized this. He would never be the adorable little Shoyru again. People would never idolize him again. He was just going to be a dreaded monster in a cave that parents would warn their children about. He flopped in the middle of the pile of bones that had once been his bed and tears once again clouded his vision. Hope was lost.

     But then he felt the tiniest little lick on his cheek that wiped the tears away. When he opened his eyes his heart nearly skipped a beat! Beside him was his tiny little plushie Noil, Yuri! Yuri had missed his master very much and even though he was now very gross to look at Yuri paid it no mind. He was just so glad that he wasn't alone anymore! Cal nuzzled sweet Yuri and more tears poured down his cheek. He couldn't believe that the Noil was actually happy to see him. And then he realized... there was more to life than getting presents or being adored. There was far more than being big and strong and having people admire you. He didn't need to be beautiful or precious or anything of the sort. He had one very good friend by his side who wouldn't leave him despite what he had become. He felt very guilty for leaving Yuri behind for so long, but now he made a promise that he would always, always be there to take care of his most precious friend.

     The two rested that night, curled up by each others' sides, and Cal knew that this was the most important thing in the world. And suddenly, his appearance being monstrous escaped his mind. He was just Cal. Having one true friend had freed him and the two lived the rest of their lives very happily together.

The End