The Neocola Faerie

     The kind that cast hexes, and rehearsed curses, and definitely needed that Fuzzie Bear for target practice- and stop making that face or I'll turn you into a Mortog! You know, that kind of dark faerie. A normal one. Perfectly perfect at being dark and evil and brooding and such.

     And then there was the kind that Delina, the Crafting Faerie was. The kind that always had a grin plastered to her face that didn't send Neopians running for the hills, and was always more than happy to share what she'd made, and always carried around the burnt rubbery smell of hot glue. You know, the total opposite of what any self-respecting dark faerie should be. Honestly, the most 'evil' Delina could do was accidentally deposit some of that ever-present craft glitter on a freshly-cleaned carpet. But that was the sort of thing you'd expect a light faerie to do, so it technically didn't count towards dark faerie evil. Blech.

     Absolutely, definitely, positively baffling. Especially to Caprisca. The picture-perfect proper type of dark faerie, if she did say so herself. She was admittedly average in every dark and despicable deed she dared do, but it wasn't like there was a shortage of dark faeries going around spreading malign influence! Some faerie out there would be able to pick up her slack. Ooh, slack. Laziness, what a perfect evil to be perfect at.

     Yup, Caprisca was perfectly lazy. Technically she had to give out quests today, but instead she opted to 'quest' some checkered Blumaroo to run and grab her a Can of Neocola, cast the little vitality-boosting spell, and retired to lounge in the shade of the rocky overhang of Jhudora's Bluff. Like all good things that little can of processed 'beverage, probably' didn't last long, and she was left toying with the empty aluminum. She could, in theory, just ditch it, as littering was a very evil thing to do, but if Jhudora caught her littering in her bluff that was a one-way ticket to living out the rest of her life as a mutant Slorg. So, hard pass. Choosing to continue living fabulously as faerie didn't relieve Caprisca of her boredom however. Neither did twisting the tab of her Neocola can around, so she plucked it off to hear that satisfying little 'plink' sound.

     "That's good luck, you know." Someone mentioned, totally not startling her. It was only Delina, arms full of bits and pieces and things that Caprisca frankly did not have the patience for. She probably just made a normal supply run for all the things that she didn't usually ask her quest-takers for, things that were a little too precise for the common Neopet.

     "Ugh, Delina. Like, what are you even talking about?" Caprisca scoffed. Of course she was familiar with the Crafting Faerie, who wasn't? Faeries that get titles like that meant business. Meant fanclubs. Meant fancy expensive toys sold in their image. Not that Caprisca was jealous, or anything, because she totally wasn't.

     "Pulling off a Neocola tab without breaking it," Delina smiled, pointing to the unharmed ring in the middle of the tab, "That's good luck!"

     "Oh. Okay then..." Caprisca hummed. She wasn't sure what to do. Delina was weird, everybody knew this, but Caprisca wasn't part of the groups of dark faeries that talked about her behind her back. She just... Thought the things everybody else was saying. On occasion. "Do you, like... Want it?" She offered the tiny metal bit to Delina.

     "Really? Thanks so much!" The Crafting Faerie happily accepted it, adding it to her collection of doodads and whatnots and thingamabobs. "I've gotta get going, things to make, but I'll see you around!" She flew off towards Faerie City. She probably had a whole backlog of Neopians waiting for something she'd hand-made specially, just for them. Was it weird that Caprisca felt jealous? Was it jealousy? Maybe-jealous?

     "Yeah... See you." Caprisca waved her off, halfheartedly and more than a little confused. Yeah, she was just confused by the weirdest type of dark faerie ever, that's all. She spent the rest of her day lazing about, trying to not think about it. She wasn't gonna think about Delina, she wasn't gonna think about, gag, getting up and giving quests, she wasn't gonna think about anything.

     And she didn't think about anything the whole way home.

     The next day, she didn't run into Delina again. But she did have a red Vandagyre grab her another Neocola. Blah blah blah, spell spell spell, plus three maximum health points to the Neopet. Woo, good job sport, run along now. She waited underneath the bluff, Neocola tab in hand. Good luck, supposedly, once again. But Delina didn't pass by. She kept the tab anyway, sticking it into an empty vase that once held withered flowers. It hit the bottom with a 'plink'. As did the next one. And the one after that. And also the one after that one. The one after that eventually turned into half of the vase full of Neocola tabs, each one perfectly pulled off without tearing the little ring that once kept it connected to the can. Plink plink plink.

     "Are you the Neocola Faerie?" A purple Cybunny asked her one day, a cold can outstretched in paw. "The dark faerie with the cola-coloured hair that always asks for a Can of Neocola?" It took her a moment to realize, sweet Fyora she's gotten a reputation for this of all things, but she refused to let it show. She painted a look of bored annoyance onto her face.

     "Like, don't call me that, I'm gonna get a copyright problem on my hands or something. But yeah sure, whatever." Caprisca took the soft drink anyway, casting her vitality spell on the smiling Cybunny. "Don't spread that name around, or I'll turn your ears into Neggs."

     "Yes ma'am!" The Cybunny laughed, hopping away. The 'Neocola Faerie' huffed, a hand on her hip. That better not spread.

     It spread.

     She still only took one can a day, had to keep that figure in check somehow, but it became a passing fad that visitors to Faerieland would bring coolers absolutely full of Neocola all in hopes of seeing Caprisca and getting the same old three health points that any other dark faerie would give. But this time it was novel. A faerie that only asked for Neocola? Ha! What an idea! On occasion, just to mess with them, Caprisca would demand a different flavour. It was especially funny watching the looks on their faces drop when she asked for Cinnamon Neocola. Priceless. But still no Delina, no matter how many Neocola tabs Caprisca collected.

     'Good luck', that's what they were supposed to be. Caprisca had done what only a handful of other faeries had managed to do, make a name for herself, even if it was all just a joke of sorts. But still when she heard that 'plink' she felt a little more of that maybe-jealous feeling. It made her go from a little confused to absolutely confused. She didn't understand. She had what Delina had now. A little fanbase, just like hers. Okay maybe not 'just' like hers, Caprisca still didn't have any dolls with her face on them, but she was working on that. She pulled the tab off of the Can of Neocola. Plink. It wasn't satisfying anymore, for some reason. She put it in the vase, carefully placing it inside so she wouldn't have to hear it 'plink'. One more tab, and it'd be full. She did what she does best when faced with confusing feelings, and didn't think about them.

     She was thankful her little shady spot underneath Jhudora's Bluff was never found. It was nice, having someplace private to abscond to and enjoy the drink she'd become so well-known for. Nobody told her that being sought after was so exhausting. You'd think she was giving out solid gold trophies instead of just being an average dark faerie with a taste for carbonation. She pulled the tab off, awaiting the 'plink'. It didn't happen.

     'Twang'. Twang? For the first time since that day she met Delina under the bluff, the Neocola tab did not come off perfectly. The ring was still stuck to the can, leaving a jagged sharp edge on the tab. She sat there, staring at it. So shocked that she wound up completely missing the sound of beating wings descending next to her.

     "Hey there, 'Neocola Faerie'!" Delina joked, totally not startling Caprisca again. "What'cha got there?"

     "Oh, Delina. Hi. Um," Caprisca stammered. She turned the Neocola tab over in her hand. "It's, um. It's not- It isn't good luck." Delina only shrugged.

     "Oh well. It isn't bad luck either, at least." She hummed. Caprisca blinked.

     "Yeah. Just 'luck'." She stood up, dropping the tab into the empty Can of Neocola. It rattled inside. Not a 'plink' or a 'twang'. "Wanna hang out? I have a bunch of Neocola tabs at my place. You could make something out of them." She offered, hand outstretched to the Crafting Faerie. Delina took it.

     "That sounds like fun."

     Delina showed Caprisca how to weave yarn in-between the tabs to make a bracelet. They made matching ones, picking colours of yarn that matched their hair. Hot pink and cola-coloured. Delina called them 'friendship bracelets'. Caprisca liked that.