Grundioy's Painting

     You see, Grundioy was not like many pets that were talkative and basked in attention. No, the Aisha preferred to keep to herself, and rarely spoke to anyone but her White Weewoo, Tewhit, and sometimes her family members. Joey worried about her when she had first realized this. After all, what other things could the Aisha do to entertain herself if not play and talk with other pets like her brother and sisters? But then, she discovered how vastly creative and smart her Grundioy was, and ever since she had given her art supplies and books on a regular basis.

     Now the Aisha stared at the canvas, wondering what to do with it. She had painted many wonderful pictures before, many of her Weewoo and famous places around Neopia, and those ideas had come quickly to her, but now she was blank. Grundioy started to dip her fine brush into a dab of blue on her pallet, but stopped. The idea of painting the sky was no good; anyway, she had done that before.

     Suddenly, thunderous footsteps were heard, and Grundioy turned around to see where they were coming from. Would it be something to inspire her? The Aisha turned to see what it would be, hope rising in her heart, but gasped with sorrow when she only saw her brother Rofal. He must have seen her forlorn face, for the Silver Shoyru trotted into her room with a face full of concern.

     "What's the matter sis?" he inquired. "You look bummed."

     Grundioy rolled her eyes, and gestured to the blank canvas. "I can't think of anything," she said in a barely audible voice.

     "Aaah!" Rofal said understandingly. "Out of ideas? How about I help? Rover could help too!" A bark emitted from nowhere and the Aisha realized that her brother's Invisible Doglefox was in there too.

     Grundioy bit her lip; she loved her brother, but he wasn't much when it came to the artistic point of view. Nonetheless, she couldn't think of anything, so she decided to give him a try, and nodded for him to add his input.

     "All right! Well, I say you do a picture of Magax blowing up Hubrid Nox! And then, and then you put a Silver Shoyru negging houses in the back! Negging houses is so cool! Yeah, that would be a wonderful picture! And maybe you could put giant robots from the Space Station in there too!" Rofal cried, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Then a yip emitted from thin air and he added, "Oh, and an invisible Doglefox biting one's leg--"

     The Aisha placed her paw over her brother's mouth, and held up her paw in a gesture for him to stop.

     "I don't think so," Grundioy whispered in a tiny voice. "But thanks for trying."

     The Shoyru shrugged, and said cheerfully, "Your loss!" then went to play with his Chet Flash and Neoquest Plushies.

     Grundioy then decided to go and seek inspiration from somewhere else in her house, so she took her canvas and pallet and headed into her studio which was right next to her room. There she found her little sister, Annalisaca (nicknamed Anna), drawing a picture of flowers and Kadoaties on a sketchpad. The Cybunny looked up at her with innocent eyes, and the Aisha gently waved.

     "Hewo, Grundioy! I was drawin' a picture; it's weal pwetty, too! Watcha doin' with tat can...can..." Anna started.

     "It's a canvas, what I do paintings on," Grundioy replied quietly.

     "Oh yeah! You sure do some pwetty paintings! But why is this one bwank?" Anna inquired, her young face full of concern.

     "I'm having trouble thinking of something to do."

     "I could help!" the Cybunny cried excitedly. "I have pwenty of ideas!"

     The Aisha was about to tell her little sister not to bother, but then she thought about it. Sure, Anna was young, but her youth might provide her with good ideas.

     "Go ahead," Grundioy said.

     Annalisaca beamed, and quickly started to spew ideas. "You could paint fwowers and buzzers, or Puppybwews! And maybe you could paint a Baby Cybunny with a Plushie Poogle Plushie, or just maybe a pwetty Alkenore fwying in the sky! Ooh, that would be so pwetty--"

     Grundioy interrupted, "Er, Anna, those are lovely ideas, truly they are, but I think they would look better if you drew them. Do you want to start drawing them now?"

     The Cybunny beamed, and speedily nodded her head. Then she flipped to another page in the sketchpad and started to draw what she had just said with much enthusiasm.

     Grundioy smiled, and then tip-toed out of the room so she wouldn't disturb her sister. She headed down the stairs and sat down in living room, hoping that maybe her owner Joey might've gotten a new lamp or vase or something that she could do a still life of. Well, the living room was the same as always, much to the Aisha's dismay. She plopped down on the sofa, set her paint pallet on a side table, placed the blank canvas in front of her to try to force her to think, and moaned with annoyance at her lack of good ideas. That was the point when her Skunk Usul sister, Flowal, walked in.

     "Hey Grundioy!" she exclaimed.

     Grundioy waved her paw unenthusiastically at her sister, whom she always got a little annoyed with. It wasn't that she didn't like her, she did, but she always felt Flowal was unnecessarily loud.

     The Usul went and sat on the couch next to her, with a smile on her face. "Rofal told me that you were having trouble thinking of something to paint," she said matter-of-factly.

     The Aisha nodded her head, and continued staring at the canvas.

     "I could help, I am perfect when it comes to coming up with ideas!" Flowal cried with a smile. Then, without even waiting for her sister's approval, she started to poor out her opinions on what would make a good painting. "Well you have to have a pretty Usul in it, and she should be Skunk seeing as that is the only decent Usul color. And you also have to have her all dolled up with make-up and bows and stuff... Oh! She should be in the Beauty Contest, too! And she should have the gold-- Hey! Grundioy, where are you going?"

     However, the Aisha, shaking her head, didn't even bother to reply and exited the room with her canvas and pallet in hand.

     Grundioy strolled into the kitchen and banged her head on the table. She could think of nothing, and her brother and sisters weren't any help at all! She gave the canvas a dirty look as if it had done her some great wrong, and then continued to bang her head.

     "Err, bad day?" asked a voice from behind.

     The Aisha turned her bruised head around, to see her owner Joey standing in the doorway.

     "Yes," Grundioy mumbled to the girl, who joined her at the table. "I can't think of anything to paint! I am completely dry on ideas, and it's terrible!"

     "Have you tried asking your brother and sisters?" Joey asked with a frown.

     "I might as well not have..."

     "Pardon?"

     "Well, they tried to help me, but they only told me about things that they liked!" Grundioy exclaimed, for once raising her voice.

     The girl sat and stared at her with concern, then finally muttered, "Well maybe you could relate the things they like into something you like."

     The Aisha rolled her eyes, and was about to retort when an idea sprang into her head. A wide smile spread across her lips and she hugged her owner with glee. Then, pallet and canvas in hand, she rushed up to her room.

***

Two hours later...

"Mom, why are we sitting here?" asked a very discontent Rofal as he leaned his chair back and promptly fell backwards.

     "I don't know," Joey replied as she got up to help him. "Grundioy just told me to get you all up in her Studio. She said she had a surprise for you all."

     "Surprise, surprise, I'm getting bored," Rofal mumbled.

     "Shut it! Tat's mean!" Anna snapped.

     Then Grundioy's voice broke through their conversation as she waltzed into the room with a blanket over a canvas.

     "Everyone, as you all know I was having trouble with coming up with something to paint today, and you all tried to give me ideas out of the kindness of your hearts. Everyone, this painting is for you." She then tossed off the blanket and revealed what the once-plain canvas had become.

     The pets and the teen girl gasped, for on the canvas was a meadow that contained pretty Skunk Usul with a trophy, a Baby Cybunny holding a Puppyblew, a Silver Shoyru in front of a very negged house with a jaunty smile, a Spotted Aisha with a paintbrush in hand and a sly smile on her face, and a girl hugging all of them with love.

     "I call it, 'My Family.'"

The End.

Author's Note: All pets in the story are owned by joey200010. Happy 150th Neopian Times!