The sunlight was blinding as it streamed in through the gap in the roof of the Bori family's home. Most Bories would have rolled over and complained, but not one Bori. Not Bullieto. Bullieto loved to explore and be out of the burrow, unlike most Bories.
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. Bullieto's golden-brown eyes blinked in the sunlight's glow and he crawled out of his moss bedding. Who would have gotten him out of his bed at -he estimated six in the morning- this time? He grinned a small grin as he scraped across the room and into the cavern that lead to the entrance. The cavern widened to a cave of some sort, and water splashed on him rather lazily.
"Lite! About time you got up!" the creature at the entrance growled playfully. Bullieto -also known as Lite- padded into his line of view and he grinned cheekily as he spotted the blue Kougra.
"Ah, hello, Cyanic," Bullieto greeted his friend, wagging his lion-tailed tip tail. "It's good to see you too. How has your Mum been?"
"My Mama?" Cyanic frowned. "Ah, she's getting better, but we don't have enough NeoCoins to get her to the Doctor, see?" The blue Kougra shook his head sadly. "But anyways… I wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me to go visit Azure?"
Lite tapped his claws on his chin thoughtfully, "Azure, you say? Sure!" he smiled and withdrew further into the burrow. "First, I'll ask my Mum." The Kougra nodded simply and sat down on his haunches, peering down at his big front paws.
As the Bori dashed back down into the network of caverns, his mind was racing with how he could earn NeoCoins to help cure Cyanic's mother. He was still thinking about this when he ran into a green form. "Humph," he gasped out as he fell backwards.
"Oops, sorry little brother," he heard the familiar rasping sound of his sister's voice. He peered up into her warm amber pools and let out a small squeak as he got back up onto all fours. "I didn't see you there."
"Nah, don't be sorry, Viridity," he apologized. "It's not your fault."
"Hmm… if you say so, Lite," his green Bori sister shrugged. "Why were you dashing about in the burrow anyways?"
"I was looking for Mum or Pa," Lite responded simply, flicking his lion-tail tipped tail.
"I see," his older sister replied, blinking her amber gaze. "Well, Mum is in the kitchen, preparing some food…" Lite's golden-brown gaze lit up as he nodded eagerly.
"Thank you, Viri!" he called over his shoulder as he twisted and turned his way through the networks of tunnels. "Mum!" he called out, bounding into the kitchen. There was shelves lining the cavern walls and a huge cauldron was in the center of the room. There was a red Bori perched over the edge of the cauldron, dropping some cherries into the frothing purple liquid. "Mum?" Lite called out uncertainty.
"Yes, hun?" the red Bori cast a glance at her youngest child before plopping in marshmallows into the cauldron. She turned her mint green gaze to him. "Yes, hun, do you need anything?"
"I was wondering if I could go out and play with Cyanic."
"Of course, hun. You don't have to ask. After all, he IS one of your closest friends."
"Thanks Mum!"
As quick as a flash, he began to dart down the passageway again. He heard his mother call after him: "Be home for supper!" Little did either of them know, he won't be coming home for supper.
The yellow Bori and the Blue Kougra were padding through the forest, admiring the world's beauty when something snagged their attention.
"Lite! Cyanic!" chattered a bat-like creature as it soared towards them. The Kougra and the Bori turned to see a blue Korbat fluttering towards them.
"Ah, good morning, Azure," the blue Kougra greeted the other blue Neopet. "We were just going to visit you."
"Good morning to you, Cyanic," the Korbat screeched. "Oh, Lite, I'm happy to see that your up to see the morning's light." The Bori grinned cheekily.
"C'mon," the Kougra continued. "Let's go find Seala and Skylar."
"Okay," Azure chattered, nodding as she flew down to them and perched on Lite's back. "Sorry, Lite, but I've been flying since dawn… I need to rest."
This would have caused for both boys to stare at her but for Lite it was nearly impossible to do. "But don't you usually get up at about six - like us?" Cyanic asked.
Lite cast a glance at the sun as it rose above the horizon, painting the sky with it's brilliant colors. The bottoms of the clouds seemed to be painted as well, then it faded to white near the top.
"Yeah, but I had my chores to do," Azure shook her head sadly. "I had to take care of my younger brother and help gather the fruit from the nearby trees.." She let out a small sigh.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Cyanic shook his head defiantly. The blue Kougra quickly stopped when he spotted something flutter in front of him. His blue face paled as he let out a small yelp of surprise.
"What is it, Cyanic?" Lite asked instantly.
The Kougra sniffed the air a bit. "I smells like…" His nose crinkled up and he shook his head a bit in distaste. "Smells like-"
"Dung?" piped up an all two-familiar voice. They turned to face a prancing Uni heading towards them. Her red wings were settled upon her back, and out of the way. A leather bag was strung around her neck. She kneeled down and opened up the bag to reveal a - pile of rainbow dung. "It if it wasn't so stinky, everybody would want it."
"…I guess," Cyanic said with disgust. "I have a sensitive nose so that things smells utterly horrible to me!"
"Ah, right sorry," the red Uni apologized quickly. "I got it from the Money Tree." She grinned sheepishly, "You know, you can get pretty rare stuff there."
"I bet," Cyanic said sarcastically, causing the young Uni's face to flame up with embarrassment.
"Cyanic, would you please stop bugging Skylar?" Azure asked irritably.
"Ah, fine, sorry Skylar," he let out a sigh. He really did look apologetic as he cast a glance at the red Uni.
"Hm.. It's alright, Cyanic," she sighed a bit. She motioned towards the river that split the forest in half.