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Encounter
If we listened harder, what would we hear? If we looked closer, what would
we see?
Railene StarFlame
-1 month after the Lost Desert War-
"It's filthy in here."
"It's not filthy, it's fine."
"FILTHY!! Unclean, unsanitary, dirty, disgusting,
a PIGSTY!"
"You are so not bovy, Vai."
"I AM TOO! I mean, that's not even a real word,
Keagn."
"It is now."
"That's it. I'm leaving. You can read those
stupid comics until your brain turns into oatmeal for all I care."
"Whatever."
Vai grabbed a blanket, slammed the door behind
her and stormed out into the moonlit street. "Silly Keagn," she muttered venomously
as she wrapped the quilt around her shoulders, "he's going to be in so much
trouble when Mom gets home…"
The spotted Aisha continued walking until she
reached a small wood that ran near her home. Vai wandered in and settled down
near a creek running through the trees. Dipping one bare toe into the crystalline
water, she sighed. Vai's owner, Whisper (x_whisperingmoon_x) had told them a
few weeks prior she was going to "college". Vai didn't know where this place
was, but didn't much care. She had always thought Whisper would never leave
her, and now she was going away for a whole month!
Vai missed her owner already, even though she
had only left that morning. Whisper had left plenty of food and toys for Vai
and her younger Lupe brother Keagn, but even a new golden bike and archery set
wouldn't help to stem Vai's misery.
Keagn had already filled the living room with
his signature accumulation of garbage, and Vai knew that it wouldn't be long
until he trashed the rest of the house as well. She had begged not to be put
in the Neolodge (she was terrified of large buildings), but now Vai regretted
the decision. Room service, swimming pools and especially the company of other
pets besides her brother was already starting to sound very appealing.
Loneliness was not a new feeling with Vai. She
was very choosy about what kind of pets she associated with, and had only one
close friend: an Ixi down the block named IyanaClover. Vai knew Iyana was busy
lately with things like Gourmet club and the Beauty Contest, so the spotted
Aisha was always afraid to bother her. The Beauty Contest was something Vai
had never dared to trifle with; although Whisper must have told her thousands
of times how beautiful she was.
Vai refused to believe her. Whenever she thought
of who she was, Vai saw a talentless nothing; a number. The only thing that
made her feel a little better was her brother Keagn; a worthless comic book
junkie. At least she hadn't yet sunk that low to need to escape within some
make-believe world.
Vai withdrew her foot from the creek, silent
tears streaking down her face. The cold night bit at her raw cheeks, but the
tears would not stop coming. She sniffed, wiping then off with the back of her
hand.
"My life is going down the drain," she thought
bitterly. "Keagn's going to trash the house, I have no one to talk to, nothing
to do… IT'S NOT FAIR!!!"
Sobbing now, Vai stood up and ran through the
creek, deeper into the woods. The dim outlines of trees flashed past her, the
moon above her head slipping in and out of sight. Vai did not know where she
was, and didn't much care. Illusen's glade was safe; one of the safest places
in Neopia. There was nothing to be afraid of here…
Vai reached the edge of a clearing in the trees,
but before she could continue, her vision fell across something...
She stopped, taking in the sight before her.
Moonlight shone on the motionless form of some
kind of pet, huddled in the middle of the clearing. A yellow Aisha. Vai just
stood there for a moment, the cold wind pushing her hair around her astonished
face, still red from crying. Then she approached slowly, trying to stop her
hiccups. Bending down, she checked for a pulse, and to her relief found one.
It was faint though, and the little Aisha's hand was very cold. Vai knew she
couldn't have been more than 5 months old… a toddler.
"She's still alive," Vai murmured to herself,
more surprised than she felt. She took the blanket off of her shoulders, and
wrapped it around the cold creature. "I'll take her home tonight, she'll tell
us what happened in the morning…."
Vai scooped the lifeless Aisha up, and set back
into the woods as carefully as she could manage. The wood looked menacing now,
every sapling looked at her with invisible eyes. Vai's pace quickened. The Glade
had never been menacing before…
When she reached her front door, she kicked it
open for lack of a free hand, and rested the small bundle on the couch. She
looked so innocent… "GNAAARRKKKK…" Vai jumped as a dull roar echoed all around
her, reverberating off the walls. She whirled around to see what it was, and
then groaned.
Keagn had fallen asleep on the rug, his head
resting on one of his Defenders of Neopia comics. His lower jaw was covered
in drool, and he was snoring to wake the dead. Vai growled and pinched him hard
on the arm. He yelped, and jumped up. "Whadja do that for?!" Keagn whined, rubbing
the red patch on his arm.
"You fell asleep again, dummy. You know, if
you don't quit reading those dumb things, you'll grow roots."
"You're just jealous," Keagn sneered.
Vai placed her hands on her hips. "Oh really?
Tell me, what do I have to be jealous of?"
"I'm much better looking than you."
Vai clobbered him across the muzzle with a sofa
pillow.
"Shut up and listen up, twerp. I need your help
with… something," she announced. Keagn massaged his injured nose.
"What?"
"Look over there," Vai said, gesturing over
her shoulder towards the couch. Keagn looked, and raised one eyebrow.
"What about the couch?"
Vai rolled her eyes and turned to point at the
Aisha.
"You moron, that… thing?"
The blanket was lying on the floor by the couch,
with no sign of the white Aisha anywhere. Vai gasped and said in a panicky whisper;
"She must have woken up! Keagn, we have to find her!!"
Vai grabbed Keagn's paw and barked, "You check
the kitchen and the dining room, I'll go upstairs!"
"VAI!!"
The Spotted Aisha froze on the first stair.
"What IS it, Keeg?"
The Shadow Lupe looked up at her, smiling amusedly.
"You forgot to tell me what I'm looking for."
"A white Aisha, real little. Now get!"
Vai rushed up the stairs and began searching
everywhere. After the linen closet, shower stall, toilet, and under the stairs,
however…
"I don't believe it," she thought, "how far
can one little Aisha go? I just turned my head for a minute… why didn't I see
her?"
Vai was digging through her closet when she heard
a soft thud from behind her. Or rather, she thought she heard. It was so faint,
Vai could have mistaken it for her imagination. Nevertheless, she whirled around,
face to face with…
An empty room. No one in sight.
Vai blinked, and resumed digging through the
closet. First she was seeing things, now her ears were going. She didn't even
notice a slight glow coming from under a mountain of socks in the corner of
the closet…
"ik barak noo livip?"
Vai screamed and fell backwards onto the carpet.
When she opened her eyes again, she was looking up into the clear blue ones
of the white Aisha.
"ik barak noo livip?" she said again.
Vai tried to smile, but ended up with a sort
of frightened grimace instead.
"Hehe, well… I'm actually fresh out of livip
at the moment, but I can make you a sandwich…"
The Aisha cocked her head, momentarily confused,
and then bounded off to Vai's bed, which she promptly scrambled onto.
"What on earth…?" Vai whispered as the little
Aisha began jumping up and down in obvious joy.
"Oobikaka linglix ip nama?" she chirped, her
childish voice distorted from jumping on Vai's mattress
Vai thought hard. "A different language, she
must be foreign. Nama… um, NAME! I'm Anevai, but everyone calls me Vai. And
what's your… oh, I mean oobikaka linglix ip nama?" Vai stuttered, knowing her
accent must have sounded terrible.
The little Aisha squealed, ecstatic at hearing
her language spoken. She jumped harder, her six ears bobbing… six?
"Neep ixsnip Katanya!" she chimed.
"Katanya, that's such a pretty… alien Aisha?"
Vai whispered in astonishment. At that moment, Vai was aware of a heavy pounding
on the door behind her. It was Keagn. Her ears ringing, she stood up slowly
and unlocked the door. Her younger brother paused a moment to catch his breath,
and then;
"Vai, I heard you scream, I thought… whoa."
Keagn had spotted the Aisha on the bed, and a
bemused smile was playing on his lips.
"Is that who we've been looking for? But… she
couldn't have."
Vai's wonderment changed to annoyance. She hated
when people kept secrets from her. "Couldn't have what? Tell me!"
Keagn shook his head in amazement.
"TELL ME!!"
"There were exactly 5 glowing jellies, a Kau
cream cake, and a whole pudding in the refrigerator at 8:52 pm. 3 minutes later,
right after you told me to go look for her, they were gone." Keagn jabbed a
thumb at the Aisha, and looked back at Vai. Vai rolled her eyes.
"You're imagining things. And you shouldn't
have been in the refrigerator anyw…"
"I am not. They were in there."
Vai couldn't resist a snigger.
"Are you saying that in a space of less than
a minute, this little tiny Aisha got up from the couch, raided the fridge, and
then came all the way up here without being seen?"
"I dunno. I didn't eat that stuff."
Vai turned her head towards Katanya, who was
now shuffling through her closet. "Hey! You aren't allowed in there!" Vai shouted,
and rushed to pick Katanya up. However, the little Aisha had been faster…
"That's my glowing jelly! GIVE IT!!"
Keagn dove for the jelly, but Katanya was too
quick for him. She struggled out of Vai's arms and shoved the whole thing into
her mouth, the plate dropping to the floor with a clatter. She grinned at Keagn's
astonished muzzle, and hiccupped.
"I think we might be in trouble, Keegs."
"That goes without saying. Where did you find
this kid?"
Vai scowled.
"This isn't a normal Aisha we're dealing with."
Keagn gaped at her in mock astonishment. "No, I haven't noticed!"
Vai ignored him. "I found her near in the Glade,
about a mile north of the lake. I put her on the couch, I woke you up, and then
she just went off. She doesn't even speak English, it's some alien thing. Look
at her ears."
Keagn's jaw dropped.
"An alien Aisha? But they don't exist…"
"Well that's the healthiest appetite I've ever
seen for a mirage. What are we gonna do?"
Keagn's eyes glittered as he turned to Vai. "Do?
What do you mean, do? We're keeping her!"
The spotted Aisha gave him a look.
"We can't keep her HERE! She'll cause trouble,
eat everything in the house… and what's gonna happen when Mom gets home?"
Keagn waved an apathetic paw. "Mom won't mind.
You know how she's always bugging us about wanting another pet. This is too
bovy…"
"That's not a word, Keagn," Vai snapped. She
looked at the little Aisha, who waved complacently back. Vai sighed heavily.
"I guess you're right, though. Now that we've
found her, we can't exactly toss her back out into the streets again?"
The Aisha squealed with delight, and hugged Vai's
waist.
"Heh, okay. At least one of us is happy…"
"She can use my room tonight, I can set up a
petpet bed," Keagn announced, his Lupe fangs glittering in a doggy sort of grin.
"Katanya is NOT one of your petpets!"
"Katanya?"
"Yeah, it's her name," Vai snapped, in case
he was going to say something obnoxious, which was typical of him.
Keagn shrugged. "Well, I'm sure Katanya
won't mind using a petpet bed. Considering where she's probably been sleeping,
any bed will seem like a luxury."
Vai didn't argue. Even though she wouldn't admit
it, she knew Keagn was probably right. And admitting she was wrong was something
that Vai would never do.
Ever.
To be continued...
Authors note: Since this is my first story ever, please, please, PLEASE
send me feedback, of any kind. Even if it says that I smell like a dung heap,
I will still be honored you went through the trouble to send it^^.
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