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While dipping one of his spotted, scaly feet into the
water below, Krawker_oth stared thoughtfully into space. The end of the summer
had quickly arrived and welcomed itself into the presence of each fellow Neopian's
life. Due to the fact that Neoschool would be starting soon, Krawker, like so
many other Neopets, was trying to savor every moment he had left of his favorite
time of the year. At the moment he was currently visiting one of the many neighborhood
pools, hoping to get a relaxing swim.
However at this point of his life, Krawker felt
overly tired for a number of reasons. Firstly, he'd been having a series of
dreams consisting of objects or areas that related to Maraqua one way or another.
After having these dreams, Krawker would snap back to reality only to find something
that he saw in the dream present within his life. Due to the effect these dreams
had on his owner, Krawker was taken to a series of doctors who were supposed
to help him with his problem. Unfortunately this plan failed, and Krawker continued
dreaming quite frequently without any solution as to what was causing it.
No, it's not every day that your "dreams", or
hallucinations, are so very real and frightening. The news of Krawker's "ability
to dream and generate an animate object" spread like wildfire through his small
neighborhood. With that followed rumors and other childish legends. No matter
how many rumors and judgments were made, the small Krawk kept dreaming. And
no one, not even himself, knew the cause.
Now becoming comfortable with the temperature
of the water below, Krawker sniffed and wiped his wet cheek with the back of
his claw. It was difficult dealing with what he was going through, mostly because
he had no one to relate with during the situation. He began to feel that he
was really the oddball and alien everyone accused him of being. For a moment,
Krawker hesitated, and then dove into the empty pool.
Ever since he was very young, Krawker_oth found
himself attached to the water like no other Neopet he had known had been. At
one stage in his life the young Krawk began cutting classes in school just to
take a dip in some pool water, or even take excessive bathroom breaks to run
his claws underneath cold water. As a matter of a fact, water is what had connected
him to the Maraquan findings in the first place.
While still swimming underwater, with his eyes
closed only to appear as black slits, Krawker began to reminisce about some
of the previous dreams he had had in the past. In one dream he'd visited the
renovated Maraqua, and in another he found a Maraquan Acara in the water as
well. In following dreams he'd been swamped with seaweed in his own household,
and in yet another he himself had become Maraquan. Other dreams just added to
the confusion that followed in trying to add up some kind of logic in the situation.
Krawker_oth tiredly flickered back up to the
surface of the water, dripping wet with the refreshing coolness. It was quite
out of the ordinary for the whole of the swimming pool to be completely empty
on such a warm day as this one. Immediately, Krawker knew something was wrong.
The sun began to radiantly shine and created a slight layer of haze in the atmosphere
above.
While blinking his eyes slowly and trying to
catch his breath, the small spotted Krawk paddled over towards the nearest ladder
on the side of the pool. He suddenly felt dizzy, and thought that maybe he should
begin to head home. The clouds in the sky began to clear up, offering no source
of shade from the suddenly hot rays of sunlight.
"I feel so old..." Krawker croaked, and then
slowly began to walk up the ladder. His skin burned while the water on its surface
began to vaporize in the humidity of the air outside. After advancing completely
outside of the pool the Krawk picked up his towel off of the concrete ground
below, wiping the water off of his forehead and cheeks, trying to ignore the
fact that his skin was burning even more than it was before. His eyes also began
to water, feeling itchy and stiff.
"I wonder what was in that water. Maybe that's
why no one was in the pool, the water is contaminated with something."
He sniffed, his nostrils feeling uncomfortably
stuffy, and began to trudge to the exit of the pool area. The walk home would
only take him a few minutes, and from there he could enjoy a cold bath.
Draping his towel over his back while walking
through the neighborhood, Krawker squinted his eyes and dragged the soles of
his feet on the surface of the ground. The sun, in his view, seemed to continue
to become larger and brighter by the moment. His skin continued to burn and
felt as if it were going to crack.
While heading down the street towards his house,
Krawker could feel the stares of the other Neopets lingering upon him. However,
he paid them no mind, as well as the jeers that were made in his general direction
as well. He simply squinted his eyes and continued ahead, barely able to pick
up his burning feet, until he had arrived in front of his NeoHome.
Opening the front door to his home greeted Krawker_oth
with a feeling of familiar comfort. Whenever he came home from anywhere in Neopia,
the Krawk could easily become relaxed just by the fact that he was somewhere
where he felt safe.
Closing the door behind him, Krawker dropped
his damp towel onto the surface of the floor. His eyes immediately adjusted
to the amount of light that was in the house, and his skin felt as if it was
drenched by a bucked of cold water, as opposed to feeling like the surface of
a hot frying pan. However, the inside of the house seemed to be empty - none
of his siblings or his owner seemed to be home.
Well, at least I'll be able to take a breather,
Krawker thought solemnly to himself, while massaging his temples with the tips
of his claws. Although he had tried not to pay very much attention to the jeering
that took place during the short period of time he was outside, the Krawk did
find the teasing very irritating.
Wanting a drink of water, Krawker_oth crawled
into the small bathroom. The tiled floor was sticky due to the hot weather outdoors,
and the presence of the towels hanging off of racks made the air considerably
humid as well. Paying no mind to the room temperature, Krawker climbed onto
the edge of the sink and sat himself there.
Then, peering into the mirror, the small Krawk
noticed a major change in his body appearance.
His skin had become a murky green color, with
black spots sprinkled here and there. The spikes atop his head changed from
a dark orange color to a aqua green color, and his eyes - oh, his eyes! They'd
changed from a handsome brown hue to a striking yellow, with black slits for
pupils. His claws had become webbed. The same thing that had happened to him
in the past had happened again, he'd morphed to the color Maraquan.
Yet, this time, things seemed different. His
mind filling with thought as to how this could have happened just from swimming
within a pool for a few minutes. Unlike past experiences, Krawker simply stared
at his reflection, not feeling scared in the least. The thought of his shade
being that of a Maraquan creature felt comforting in a rather eerie way. While
observing his new appearance, Krawker ran a webbed claw over the surface of
his skin.
"This is something new," he croaked almost lifelessly,
but began to smile nonetheless.
Nothing made sense, as always, and he highly
doubted it ever would. But now, being Maraquan felt as if it were what he was
supposed to do all along.
And hopefully, no more dreams would persist.
The End
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