Harvey the green Chia stood out on his front porch one morning, breathing in the fresh morning air. It was cool, but the sunshine on his face was warm. It was going to be a lovely day.
He lived with his sister on the outskirts of Neopia Central in a small, modest house with a large garden surrounded by trees. A stream ran alongside the left side of the garden which couldn't be seen unless you looked out of an upstairs window, but that could be heard. The sound was almost melodious.
As he was drifting away with his thoughts, his sister Kala walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Kala!" he yelled, turning around suddenly. "How many times have I told you not to do that? It scares me!"
"I only wanted to ask you what you wanted for breakfast!" she said defensively.
"Oh, well in that case I'll have a bowl of Neo-Crunchies please, and remember to pour me loads of milk too. Oh, and sprinkle loads of sugar on top! Thanks sis!"
Kala the red Chia walked away, shaking her head and muttering words, one of them 'greedy chops' under her breath. Harvey, breathing in the fresh air one more time, turned and followed. As they sat eating breakfast, they were discussing places to visit.
"Any suggestions, Harvey? Where haven't we been in a while?"
"Dunno," he replied as he shoved a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "How about Meridell? We haven't been there since the war between them and Darigan broke out a couple of months back."
"There's a reason we haven't been there since then, Harvey," Kala replied, her head shaking from side to side in annoyance.
"Because of the war?" Harvey asked, an inquisitive look on his face.
"Yes! My, you're just so naïve, aren't you?"
"Hey! I'm so not!"
The bickering went on for a couple of more minutes, both siblings intent on getting the last word. When they had finished arguing, Harvey and Kala decided to visit their friends at Kiko Lake. They hadn't seen Rollo, Benji and Freya for a couple of months now and they figured now was a perfect time to spring a surprise visit on them.
They decided to wander downstream; it was the quickest route to Kiko Lake that they knew of. Besides, it was also the most peaceful.
Half way downstream, Harvey stopped abruptly and cocked his head to one side. He could hear something in the reeds. It sounded like whimpering, maybe an injured child. He told Kala, but she immediately dismissed it.
"It's the reeds, Harvey, that's all," she told him.
"Well I'm sure it's something else!" snapped Harvey, Kala's ignorance angering him. "Go on ahead if you want to, but I'm staying here to find out what that noise is."
Kala shook her head and sighed. There was just no way of getting through to him. As Kala continued straight ahead, Harvey knelt down and pulled back the reeds. A baby Lupe was lying there, licking a wound on his leg. His fur was raggedy and his eyes were tearful.
"Please find my mummy and daddy," he said. "I don't know where they are."
"But y-you're a Lupe," Harvey gasped, not taking his eyes from the Lupe's. "You do know that Chias and Lupes are-" He stopped in mid sentence realising that a small child most likely wouldn't know the gruelling details between the two species. "Would you like to come back to my house for a while?"
The Lupe nodded his head, smiling for the first time.
"Oh, please!" he yelled excitedly.
He followed Harvey down the stream as the Chia met up with his sister just around the corner. She let out a yelp and clutched her gaping mouth with her hands.
"Harvey, there's a Lupe following you!" she shrieked.
"I know there's a Lupe following me. He's injured and he's lost his parents. I said he could come back to our house for a while."
"You said WHAT?"
Ignoring his saner sister, Harvey turned towards the little Lupe and asked, "What's your name?"
"Jame," the Lupe answered, timidly. Perhaps he could sense Kala's fear.
"Why are you injured Jame?"
"Oh, it was awful!" Jame suddenly blurted. "I was playing hide-and-seek with mummy and daddy and all of a sudden a huge evil-looking Pteri swooped down and attacked me! She accused me of trying to harm her babies! I ran away as far as I could but I ended up lost. Now I can't find my parents…"
Harvey patted Jame gently on the shoulder. He glanced towards Kala, who was half hidden behind a tree, and beckoned her over.
"What's there to be scared of?" he whispered to her. "He's an innocent child. He won't do anything."
"He might be harmless," Kala replied, "but what about his parents? They're bound to come looking for him!"
Harvey's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. If they found out that Chias were looking after their child, he and Kala would surely be doomed. He looked back at Jame. He couldn't let the poor child down. They had to look after him, even if it did put their lives at risk.
"Let's take you to our house Jame," said Harvey lightly. "We'll get you all cleaned up and warm."
The three Neopets began to make their way back upstream. Jame was in front so that Harvey could keep an eye on him, while Kala kept her distance behind. As they rounded a corner, they came face to face with two very angry looking Lupes.
"Well what do we have here?" snarled the male, his eyes afire and his pearly white teeth showing.
"H-H-Harvey!" yelled Kala, fear spreading in her voice. "I think it's Jame's parents!"
"You took Jame!" spat the child's mother. "Get them Davon!"
Davon descended low to the ground, his raging eyes locked on to Kala. He turned his gaze towards Harvey and then back to Kala. He lowered himself down, adopting a pouncing stance when suddenly…
"Daddy! Please don't hurt her!"
Jame bravely stood between Kala and his father, his chest puffed out and his eyes bright.
"Mummy! Daddy! These Chias are my friends! They were going to help me! Don't hurt them! Please!"
Davon shook his head and growled angrily, refusing to listen to his son. He grabbed Jame's fur, pulling him closer to him.
"Lucille, take Jame back home right now. I'll deal with these two!"
He pushed his son towards Lucille's arms and then faced the two Chias.
"It's time for lunch!"
He pounced on Kala so fast that she had no chance to protect herself. Hitting the ground with an almighty thud, she shrieked with fright and held up her hands feebly.
"Lay off her!" bellowed Harvey with enough gusto in his voice to shake all of Neopia Central. With all the speed and energy he could muster, he charged at the Lupe, knocking him to the ground. Dust and debris lifted off the ground and littered the air. He groaned in pain as he looked up at Harvey's eyes. Kala upturned herself and took shelter behind her brother, whimpering.
"Please stop fighting!" she begged.
"That'll teach you to mess with my sister!" he yelled, ignoring her. "All we were trying to do was help your son! He was injured! He needed looking after! Why do we have to be enemies? Why do Lupe's hate Chias? Why? What have we ever done to you? Are we tasty, is that it? We shouldn't be fighting like this! This stupid war has gone on long enough!"
Davon suddenly could not look Harvey in the eyes. He pawed the ground nervously and pursed his lips in awkwardness. He looked ashamed. Harvey hoped he wasn't feigning it.
"Daddy?" called Jame from behind him. He and his mother had never left the area. "What is it? Are you guys okay now? I hope so!"
"Yes, I hope so son," Davon replied in a voice that was immensely calm. He turned to the Chia siblings and held his head up high.
"We are truly sorry about our actions young Chia," spoke Davon, still pawing at the ground nervously. "Please forgive us."
Harvey glanced at Kala. After all, she was the one that was attacked. She nodded her approval.
"We forgive you," spoke Harvey.
"Your words," began Davon. "They were truly amazing. You've taught us many things today. You've taught us not to dislike other species just for the sake of it. You've taught us about compassion, you've taught us of friendship. Thank you. We hope that you will become our friends. I am sure that Jame would appreciate it."
"Cool!" shouted Jame happily, a huge grin spread across his mischievous face. "Let's play hide-and-seek!"
All the adults winced in unison. Hide-and-seek was what started this whole thing in the first place.
"Ah… maybe not then!"
From that day forward, the two warring species were able to live side by side. There was no more anger and hatred. There was no more bullying and no more hurt feelings. There was just friendship and companionship.
The End