The sun shone brightly, but only two in their company cast shadows. As soon as they reached Sakhmet they all parted ways.
Ectoplasm drifted over to the food stall, glancing at his shopping list to see what he wanted. Tombstones and HauntedClaw hurried off before they could be drafted to carry bags. Tombstones still found it embarrassing to be seen grocery shopping. True, Reapers had to eat too, but they did not go grocery shopping.
Since this always happened, Echo the Ghost Uni wasn't entirely surprised to find himself alone. But he was a bit surprised to see that Komo had also vanished somewhere into the stalls of Sakhmet's marketplace. Usually Komo didn't run away like the other two.
The Glowing Korbat was browsing a clothing stall not too far away. Komo picked up a golden headdress and regarded his reflection in the nearby mirror.
"It suits you," the shopkeeper, a Desert Kyrii said, "Now try this." She draped a necklace around his neck, tying it in place in the back.
Komo grinned at his reflection, "I wouldn't look bad being painted Desert, would I?"
"You would look wonderful," the shop keeper agreed, "Being painted Desert would bring out your full potential as a Korbat."
"You think so?" he looked at his reflection again.
A short distance away Tombstones nearly choked on the slushie he had just bought. He had decided to keep an eye on Komo just in case the Korbat got himself into any life threatening situations. Komo painted Desert? That was completely ridiculous.
"And I bet that even Princess Amira herself would welcome such a handsome desert Korbat into her palace," the shopkeeper continued.
Komo blushed a bit at that, "Maybe, but I wouldn't want to go back and forth between the Haunted Woods and the Lost Desert all the time."
"You're from the Haunted Woods?"
Komo nodded, "My whole family is."
"That explains why you are painted glowing," she said, "It must help you to see."
"Yup!" Komo said.
HauntedClaw happened to be passing by and he snickered at that. He knew his brother had a hard enough time navigating and if he didn't have the added light.
"I guess that you'd have to move if you didn't have that extra light then," the shopkeeper commented.
Komo laughed, "I guess so. Well I'll give you six hundred neopoints for the headdress."
Neither Tombstones nor HauntedClaw were all that interested in listening to the Korbat negotiate down the asking price of eight-thousand neopoints. What if Komo really did want to move to the Lost Desert? After all, their brother was scared of his own shadow. What if he wasn't happy living with two ghosts and a Reaper?
Tombstones leaned against his scythe thoughtfully as he leaned against the wall of a nearby stall. He liked his job as a harbinger of death - who wouldn't? - and he liked scaring Komo - who wouldn't? - and he never thought twice about it but now...
"Hey! Get out of my way!" came a shout.
The Halloween Mynci sprang out of the way as a blue Kacheek shoved rudely past him. Tombstones growled and picked up his scythe. Duty calls...
Usually working left Tombstones in a good mood, but as he shouldered his scythe after Reaping his mind was else where. He looked around for his glowing brother.
"Looking for something?"
Tombstones nearly leapt out of his robe as HauntedClaw manifested right next to him.
The ghost Draik cackled, "You should have seen your face, you're as jumpy as Komo."
Tombstones growled, "You just startled me. Ghosts don't typically appear in the middle of the Sakhmet marketplace in the middle of the day."
"I know," HauntedClaw snickered, "That makes it more fun. There are so many ghosts in the Haunted Woods that it's nice to have a new venue once and awhile.'
"Yes," Tombstones said, a bit distracted, "There isn't that much that is scary here."
With the headdress in a shopping bag, having haggled the price down to where both he and the shopkeeper were happy with it, Komo went off in search of something to eat.
He wandered over to one of the food stalls where the Acara shopkeeper was making desert kabobs. He smiled and asked for one.
"Just a moment," she said, "Have a seat at the counter. It will take me a few minutes, my assistant hasn't come back from his break yet."
"it's alright," Komo said, "I'm not in a hurry."
As she made his food, the glowing Korbat watched a pair of meercas climb up to the roof of a stall on the other side of the lane. Judging from the buckets and brushes, he guessed they were painting the sign.
"Here you are," the Acara gave him his food, "Enjoy."
"Thanks," he said cheerfully and started eating.
Komo made short work of his snack and paid for it before gathering up his bag and heading off.
"Look out below!" a voice shouted.
Komo looked up to see a bucket of yellow paint hurtling down towards him. He was shoved hard from behind. The Korbat flew right over the counter of the food stand and landed in a pile of tchea fruits with an unpleasant squish.
"Hey!" the Acara protested.
Komo rubbed his head and got up, shaking some blue banana flavored bits of tchea fruit out of his fur.
A yellow splattered Tombstones hurried over, "Are you alright Komo?"
"I'm fine," Komo said.
"Good," Tombstones said, "I didn't want that bucket to fall on you. You could have been hurt."
Komo blinked at him. Then he blinked again. Tombstones... who had been trying to turn him into a ghost ever since he had met the Mynci was worried about a paint can falling on him?
"I'm fine," the rather confused glowing Korbat said, leaving the stall.
Tombstones gave him a smile that Komo did not find comforting.
"Well... thanks," Komo decided to hightail it out of there before things got even more confusing.
Tombstones let out a breath and started to follow Komo.
"Hey!" the Acara called after him, "And just where do you think you're going? You have to pay for this!"
"What?" he drew himself up.
"Now that they've been squashed I have to sell them at half price," she said, "And you are going to make up the difference."
"But I didn't squash them!" Tombstones protested.
"No, but you pushed that sweet Korbat into them," she said, "So you are responsible"
Tombstones sighed and forked over some neopoints.
"Thank you," she snapped, "I've been having a hard enough time since my lazy blue Kacheek helper never came back from lunch and now having half my wares squashed..."
"Here," Tombstones hastily tossed down a few more neopoints and hurried off.
"What was that all about?" HauntedClaw drifted over to Tombstones, "Why did you push Komo like that?"
"I didn't want him to get painted," Tombstones replied
"Getting a bucket dropped on his head wouldn't be that painful," HauntedClaw said, "Besides, aren't you trying to Reap him?"
"Can't a guy take a day off?" Tombstones grumbled, "I just didn't want Komo to be painted in the Lost Desert."
"You -" HauntedClaw trailed off.
The ghost Draik and Halloween mynchi shared a long look before turning away.
"That's stupid," HauntedClaw declared, fading out of view.
Komo wandered the market place a bit more, looking for the petpet supply store to see if he could find any treats for Nebulae, his petpet. But when he reached the stall he frowned at the sight of all of the pets already lined up. Some new items must have just restocked. They had left home so early this morning that he hadn't had time to see the news.
Oh well. He turned around, deciding to go see if Echo was done shopping yet. He had only taken two steps forward when he walked right through HauntedClaw.
The Korbat squeaked in surprise and went a shade lighter. He really did not like it when HauntedClaw did that. It didn't bother the ghost Draik at all to have Komo walk through him, but it gave Komo the creeps.
"Sorry Komo," HauntedClaw said, "I didn't mean to scare you."
Komo had no idea what to say in response to that. First Tombstones 'saving' him and now 'Claw apologizing for scaring him. This was turning out to be a very weird day...
Just what were those two plotting anyway? Well if they were trying to lull him into a false sense of security so that he'd fall for their next big prank they were wrong.
"Hey Komo!"
The Lupe and Gelert puppies gazed up the sign post at where Komo had landed after leaping a good ten feet in the air.
"... So I just know that those two are plotting something," Komo finished recounting his adventures to the two neo-pups, "But I don't know what."
"So that's why you've been so jumpy," the little Lupe said, "I didn't think that it was me that scared you."
"They've been following me around ever since I left the clothing shop," Komo said.
"Well we'll just have to protect you!" the little Lupe declared.
Komo laughed, "Alright, let's go find Echo."
Tombstones and HauntedClaw watched Komo and the pups head back over towards the food stalls.
"We scared him," the mynchi said softly.
"What else is new?" HauntedClaw muttered, "Komo is such a scardy-aisha that he can't tell when we're not scaring him."
"Come on," Tombstones said.
Echo was not hard to find, deep in debate about the benefits of substituting grackle bugs for spectral shrimp in some of the recipes that the ghost Uni had been trading with a fellow cook.
"Did you try adding some queela fruit?" the spotted zafara said, "it has an interesting flavor and Qasalan cooks put it in everything, and now that they trade with the rest of Neopia its turning up all over the place."
"I'll have to try that," Echo said.
Komo waited patiently until Echo had finished. There was no stopping Echo when he got into a debate about food.
Eventually the dark furred Lupe who had come with the zafara informed his brother that it was time to go home now. Ten minutes later, they finally left.
"Did you get everything you wanted?" Komo asked Echo.
The ghost Uni nodded and indicated the bags that were hovering next to him. "I have some new ideas for dinner, and I got a great deal on tchea fruit. They were half priced because they were squashed but I was going to mash them anyway. Did you find everything that you were looking for?"
"Yes," Komo showed his older brother his purchases, "And I found this." He showed him the head dress he had bought, "it will be perfect."
Echo nodded.
"But... things have been interesting," Komo said, "I think that Tombstones and 'Claw are up to something."
Echo sighed, "Now what are those two up to?"
"They were... being nice."
Echo blinked a few times, "But... isn't that good?"
Komo shook his head, "No, they're up to something, I'm sure of it. I don't know what it is, but they have left me Really Confused."
A tyrannian Meerca looked up at that and started drifting over towards the pair.
"He ain't talkin' about you mate," a pirate krawk grabbed the Meerca by the collar and dragged him off.
The ghost Uni blinked, "That was really confusing."
Meanwhile a red Gelert came out of a nearby clothing stall where he was admiring a royal purple cloak. He gave a gasp and darted back into the tent, pulling out a green Ruki.
"Riku, is that who I think it is?"
The Ruki followed the gelet's paw. "I think so..."
The two neopets slowly approached Komo and Echo.
"Excuse me," said the red Gelert, "But... KomoriSpirit?"
Komo nodded, "Yes?" he looked confused.
"I'm Foxfire and this is my cousin Riku," the Gelert said, "And... well... "
"Do you read the Times?" Komo asked helpfully.
Foxfire nodded eagerly.
"Nice to meet you," Echo said.
"I was going to mail these," Riku said, taking out a bag, "But since you are here..." He gave Komo the bag.
The Korbat peered into the bag and held back a giggle at the ten bat cookies.
"What's that?" HauntedClaw asked, coming over.
"Bat cookies from some new friends," Echo said cheerfully, "I'd don't know how everyone knows that we like them so much."
"Ah," HauntedClaw regarded the two new neopets. But they didn't seem that scared of him, which was disappointing. He understood Tombstones' logic behind being nice to Komo today, but that made for a very boring day. He wandered off to see if he could find some other pet to scare.
He hadn't gone far when he spotted a likely target, an usul in a red cape.
"Boo!" the ghost Draik popped out in front of her.
"Eeek!" she threw her basket of sand fruit into the air.
HauntedClaw cackled as the sand fruit passed right through him, but he did let out a soft "oof" as the basket landed hard on his head.
The usul snatched her basket back and smacked him with it again.
"I left the Haunted Woods because I'd had enough of ghosts!" (HauntedClaw ducked as she swung her basket at him again) "Especially ones that live in haunted houses!"
He ducked again, "What haunted house?"
"Well I'm not solving any more stupid puzzles!"
He dodged her basket once more and then flew out of reach and away. This was not a very good day.
By now the spooky family was ready to head home. Echo drafted the others to help him carry the bags. They made their way to where the sand of the desert gave way to the dark soil and twisted trees of the Haunted Woods, and from there it was a quick walk home.
Echo put the food away, mumbling to himself about what he was going to make next.
"Do you know where we put the wrapping paper?" Komo asked Echo.
"I'm sure that there is some in the safety deposit box," Echo said absently
Tombstones and HauntedClaw looked at each other.
"What does he need wrapping paper for?"
They went up to Komo's room and watched the Korbat put the headdress he had bought into a gift box and wrap it up neatly. Then the Korbat wrote a note in a card and taped it to the box.
"Wait a minute..." HauntedClaw turned to Tombstones, "I thought that you said Komo was going to paint himself Lost Desert and move there."
"I thought he was!"
"So I spent a whole day being nice to him for no reason?" the ghost Draik rounded on Tombstones.
"Well..." Tombstones shrugged sheepishly.
Komo came down a bit later for dinner to see what Echo had cooked up.
"Where are the other two?" Komo asked as he sampled some of the stew
"Out in the garden," Echo said, unconcerned, "Claw has been chasing Tombstones around the garden for the past half an hour."