Hello everyone, FourthFictions here with a story that- believe me- none of us were expecting. I recently got back into Neopets and had the opportunity to create the most amazing team. As I did, for some reason, their stories just came to me. And when they did, they turned into... well, they turned into this.
My current account is blue_eyed_cutiee and you can add me there. I am moving to a new account, ammehsuor, in March 2013.
All of the pet names in here are actually pets of mine. ^^
Please enjoy, and please comment with your thoughts and opinions if you like it!

x

Night had cast over the thick forests around Neovia long ago. The rapid sound of hooves scraping into the dirt could be heard from just by the outskirts of a faerie ring, south of the heaviest trees. He kept his head low, dodging the sharp branches that stuck into the path where he moved so swiftly, and finally caught the clearing in sight. Pausing for only a second to calm his breathing, he made a sprint out into the open, through the thin skirt of mushrooms, and slammed his hoof next to the deep hole where the prize rested…

Until he found another hand just across from him. A human hand.

He looked up disbelievingly; there, crouched much the same way he was, was a girl- probably well off, too, judging by her attire- with short white curls and hard blue eyes. They flicked at his curiously as she panted.

She finally licked her lips and raised her eyebrows, taking a deep breath. "Well then. I thought I was the only one who knew about this little secret."

He felt his face contort slightly. She huffed.

"I guess you thought the same."

"What's it to you?" He scraped his hoof in further, lowering his head. "Just keep moving. You've got no business here."

She ignored that as she studied him. "A jelly-colored Ixi, huh? Pretty rare."

"Shut up. And take your mitts off of my property."

"Yours? I'm here too, aren't I?" She curled her fingers around the edge of the hole, leaning in a little. "What would you need this for, anyway?"

He didn't break his stare, but also didn't answer.

"I'm guessing for food."

"You have a problem with that?"

"…No."

Much to the Ixi's surprise, she removed her hand and stood up straight, balling her fists and looking down at him. The wind swayed the leaves around them.

"Interesting attire, to say the least," she mumbled.

Of course he knew what she meant. It's already strange for a neon-green pet like him to be wandering around, hunting for whatever he can find in such stealth- but he wore a damaged collar, a worn sling bag that dragged behind him and sometimes tripped him up, and a rough woven tunic. He had never been the slightest bit embarrassed about any of it- until now.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Vamyn." He placed his hooves on a nearby rock and crawled up on top to be at eye level with this girl. "And you are?"

"Cria. And this is Sun."

She wasn't pointing anywhere. Vamyn looked at her with sarcastic expectancy. "Well?"

Now she pointed- and when he looked, he couldn't help but jump. Over in the corner- not five feet from him- a white Kougra sat, well-hidden in the foliage, with its shoulders high. She arched her back and stood up slowly, carefully watching him.

"Are you a treasure hunter?" Cria asked, and Vamyn snapped back to attention. "Hunting for food is so un-glamorous, though. I'm guessing you have no owner."

"You don't know anything about it." He smirked. "You're an owner, obviously. You'd be hunting for food, too, if you were abandoned by someone of your caliber. You do whatever you please with us pets, even if it means leaving us to fend for ourselves this way."

"This isn't about me, though. I've never abandoned a pet. Sun was my first and only."

Vamyn was quiet.
"Why did they leave you?"

"Can't you tell?" He snorted. "I'm not the most pleasant, and we didn't get along. You would have expected it though. They couldn't keep up with me. I'm better off on my own. They never wanted to get up, or go do anything. Just a rich, lazy kid who wanted to zap me 'til I looked nice. And I don't care what you say about my color being 'rare'. It's nothing but trouble to me."

"Because you're a hunter."

"That's right."

"For food, though."

"That's right. Your point?"

She crossed her arms. "What if I told you that you don't need to do that anymore?"

Vamyn frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Cria looked over to the bushes; Sun lifted herself and began patting over quietly, staring at the Ixi with cold grey eyes.

"We're going on an adventure. I'm saying I want you to come."

He looked at them both, a few times over- and then chuckled. He shook his head sadly. "You have no idea what you're asking."

"And if you don't take the offer, you have no idea what you're giving up." She crouched down so that he could look down on her, instead. "You might not like the idea of having an owner, and think it's easier the way you are now, but I'm sure you're aware of the benefits of having an owner. Working together brings in a lot of pay. All I have, I have from working with Sun-" She gestured; the Kougra nodded once. "-and food is free to you, and every common thing is easy to obtain. We'd be doing nothing but hunting, and you'd be great at that; no worrying about those silly little things anymore. There's nothing wrong with taking advantage of such a system."

Nothing wrong with it… Vamyn studied her outfit. She wore a nice black dress, padded shoes and a hairpiece. Sun had a flowered headband resting behind her ear. Still, their hard-set expressions said nothing of being too aware of such an appearance. They seemed to be focused on other things- a very strange team indeed.

"You can have the treasure and leave," she said, "if you want to. Go buy some food and find somewhere to sleep. But I suggest you come with us. It's just a thought."

She stood again, and Sun started pacing around her legs, almost comically, like a duo of weird heroes. Vamyn couldn't help laughing, making Cria smile down at him.

He jumped from the rock and looked up, donning an amused smile. "Fine. I'll come and try your little theory. I can't guarantee we'll get along, and I can't guarantee you'll like me. But if you're aware of the consequences…"

"Sure."

Apparently the case was closed, because Cria slumped to her knees suddenly and lowered her hand into the hole, removing its contents. She inspected her findings. "Great, there's about a hundred grand's worth here."

"A hundred and twenty-five, to be precise," Vamyn said. "What do you plan on doing with that, anyway?"

She thought for a moment. "Well, we are planning to get some supplies this week, but I think this should be spent on our new honorary member."

"Uh… you mean me?"

"That's right."

"But that's over a hundred grand."

"We'll get you something really nice to wear, how about that?" Sun smiled brightly from her side, shocking Vamyn rather badly. "I don't mean to pry, but what's in your bag there?"

He looked back at it, and sighed. The bag was pulled over and opened, shaken a little, and patted, until a colorful reptile-like creature crawled out. It made a dull croaking noise.

"A rainbow Snowickle?"

"Zapped, of course," Vamyn said. "You can't sell it if you take it away, so don't even bother. It's good for getting into small places, anyway, even if it's not all that inconspicuous." The Snowickle crawled about on the grass until he put it back in the bag. "So that's that. I'm ready to go."

"Sweet." Cria grinned, turning and heading off. "We only need two more members now…" The two pets followed.

Sun looked at him. "By the way, I'm real sorry for being so fierce earlier. Got to be careful in unknown places, you know."

"Nah, I understand." Vamyn stared at the ground.

"I hope we can get along. I'll tell you my real name."

"Sun isn't your name?"

She laughed. "No, of course not. Cria wasn't present for the purge. I was named a long, long time ago. I ask to be called Sun, but my real name is SunshineTigerr… with two 'r's."

"It's a little tacky," he said matter-of-factly.

Sun huffed. "Yeah, I know, but she was just a kid when I came around. Things were booming way back then. She couldn't even get the name with a single 'R', if that tells you anything. Your name is cool though."

"You think?"

"Yeah! And hey. I hope we can get along."

He saw her smile out of the corner of his eye.

Letting out a breath, he looked up at the full moon just behind him, and then at the forest he would never again travel on his own.

If anything, it was truly a new beginning…