No Heart was thumbing through The Tome of Spells . He was quickly distracted by the sound of arguing. He glared in the direction of Shreeky and Beastly. "Will you two stop it" he roared. "You are worse than a brother and sister!" "Oh that's gross" said Shreeky. "I would have to be part Cursed Wild Boar to be his sister!" "Yeah" Beastly said. "I would have to be a half human boy Wizard to be her brother. Yuck!"
No Heart glared with blazing red eyes. "Well you are both going to get a Zap on the butt if you distract me again. Go outside and argue there!" Beastly and Shreeky made a quick exit. They knew full well No Heart had a bad temper. They would have been surprised to hear him after they had left. He chuckled and muttered to himself "oh those two!"
It was a cool gloomy day outside the Castle. Beastly warily followed Shreeky down a path. She suddenly turned and let out one of her infamous shrieks. "Why are you following me!?" Beastly stammered "I don't want to be alone. I want you to play a game of hide and seek with me." Shreeky shrewdly smiled. She thought of having Beastly hide then just sitting by herself. "I wonder how long he would hide before he caught on that I wasn't coming to look" she thought to herself.
As she glared at Beastly he visibly shook. She suddenly thought of what her Uncle had said. She and Beastly had grown up together since the day No Heart had taken in his orphaned niece. Shreeky knew that Beastly had been a very young boar when No Heart had captured him. He had planned on raising the Care Cousin Wild Boar to be evil. He thought it may help in his plans to hinder The Care Bears and Care Cousins as they tried to spread goodness every where. Beastly turned out to be not exactly what No Heart wanted in a henchman. He was well known to screw things up. Shreeky often wondered why her uncle put up with Beastly.
"Beastly, do you remember anything about your family?" Beastly sighed. "Not too much. I was so little when No Heart took me in." A wry smile played on Beastly's lips. "You and No Heart are my family now, even though you don't like me very much." Shreeky felt a tug at her heart. She could not believe she could have feelings toward a creature like Beastly. He could be a real pain in the butt sometimes, but sometimes he was nice to have around.
"Hey, we both put up with your shortcomings. That must count for something." As she looked at Beastly she remembered an incident at The School of Wizardry. Matilda Mage was always complaining about her big brother. Then one day several boy Wizards gained up on him. "That's not fair!" Matilda had yelled. She then zapped two of the boys stunning them. Her brother then pinned the last boy down and made the boy swear to never bother him or his sister again.
Shreeky had been puzzled by this. She thought the boy and his sister disliked each other, yet they both now seemed willing to fight to help the other. In fact Matilda had gotten detention for helping her brother. When Shreeky asked her why she was willing to get in trouble for helping her brother Matilda replied "because that is what brothers and sisters do. We fight with each other sometimes, but we also fight for one another".
Beastly had stopped his trembling. He was always unsure as to what to expect from Shreeky. As he looked up at her he hoped it would not be another tirade or scream. "I just wish she would want to play a nice game" he thought to himself. As Beastly looked up at her there was a hurt look in his eyes. Shreeky suddenly felt some sympathy for the cursed boar. The look in his eyes and on his face stirred up maternal instincts in Shreeky. She suddenly imagined him as a frightened little boy. Now why would she think of that?
"Beastly, why do you put up with me? No matter how mean I am you always forgive me." Beastly looked at her with a strange look in his eyes. He didn't want to anger her. "Remember what happened at The Songfellow Strum Concert? As you puckered up to kiss him he magically transported you back to your seat by mine. You ended up kissing me. We both ended up spluttering and saying yuck. I think I know how a brother would feel by getting a kiss from a sister. It's just not the same as getting kissed by a girl friend."
Beastly cringed as he got ready for her next move. He may have said too much. Shreeky found herself at a loss for words. So the little fur ball did have feelings for her! He actually thought of her like a sibling. She thought of Matilda and her brother. "Beastly, if a mean boy started picking on me would you try to stop him? Even if it meant you might get a punch in the snout?"
"Of course I would" he said without hesitation. "No one picks on my Shreeky!" An awkward moment of silence issued, neither knew what to say. Shreeky sighed. "Okay, enough with the mushy stuff, go hide and I'll try to find you." "Sure thing Shreeky" Beastly yelled as he ran down the path. Shreeky put her hands on her hips and sighed. "The things I have to put up with, no wonder I have a bad temper!"
As Shreeky headed down the path she laughed to herself. Didn't Beastly realize she could do a Spell to find him? She was paying no attention to where she was stepping. An uplifted root suddenly caught her by her right ankle. "Ooof!" She exclaimed as she landed in a heap. As she went to stand back up a searing pain shot through her ankle. She collapsed on the ground and grabbed her ankle. She let out a blood curdling scream of pain.
Beastly was chuckling to himself inside an old hollowed out tree. "Shreeky will never find me in here without cheating!" His little piggy like ears suddenly picked up the sound of a scream. From the sound of it he knew Shreeky was in trouble. He shot out of his hiding place and ran up the path. As he ran as fast as his hooves could move he yelled "I'm coming Shreeky!"
Meanwhile Shreeky gingerly took off her right boot and stocking. Her ankle was already starting to swell and turn dark purple. As she sat there she cried in spite of herself. Witches her age weren't supposed to cry. But darn it, her ankle hurt! How was she going to get back home? She was in too much pain to concentrate on a transportation spell. Healing spells were very difficult and could be dangerous if done improperly. Even her uncle preferred using a Witch Doctor instead of using magic to heal himself.
Her tear streaked eyes suddenly picked up the sight of Beastly. The plump half hog of a Beast was huffing and puffing from his run up the path. "Oh Shreeky! What's the matter?!" There was genuine concern in his voice. Something was definitely not right if Shreeky was crying. Beastly could not remember ever seeing her cry. Usually she just let out her irritating shriek when something was wrong.
"It's my right ankle, (sniff). I think it's either sprained or broken. I can't do a spell to heal myself. I can't concentrate hard enough to do a transportation spell. It hurts really bad,(sniff). What am I going to do?"
Beastly knelt by her foot. "Oh yucky" he said as he gently examined her foot. "Hey, I do wash my feet, sometimes" said Shreeky. She suddenly winced. "Ow! Be careful!" Beastly gently felt around her ankle. "I don't think it's broken, I think it may be a bad sprain. But I am a dumb piggy so what would I know." The way Beastly spoke the words made Shreeky wince again. "Oh Beastly, you are not dumb. You're just Beastly. Sometimes you are nice to have around. I need you right now. I do like you a little bit. Oh! It's hurting again!"
Beastly looked around. He gathered up some thin vines and strong leaves. He wrapped the leaves around her ankle and bound them with the vines. "Does that help any?" Shreeky's tears had now dried. She looked dubiously at Beastly's work. Suddenly a wisp of a smile played upon her lips. "You know what, that really does help to make it feel a bit better. But there is no way I can walk home."
Beastly smiled. "Hey, I am part Wild Boar. That makes me a strong little piggy. While spying I heard one of those do gooder Care Bears explain something called the firemen's carry. It is how one carries an injured person or an injured Care Bear. Let's see if it works." He handed her a large stick and bent over. "Use the stick as a crutch to stand. Then climb up on my back. Wrap your arms around my chest. I'll then stand up hunched over a bit and walk with you clinging to my back. I'll get you home no matter what!"
Shreeky was able to stand using the stick. She felt unsteady and could feel her ankle start to throb. She carefully climbed onto Beastly's back. As he walked stooped over Shreeky clung onto him. A strange feeling came over her. She sighed and put her face into his pig like hair. He may not be human, but he wasn't all beast either. He was her Beastly. For the first time since her ordeal had begun she felt a sense of calm. Everything would be alright. She smiled as she thought to herself "I'm not sure if I am in good hands or good hooves".
Beastly often felt like a "beastly beast of burden" when he toiled for No Heart and Shreeky. If only he had a piece of gold for each time he had been ridiculed for doing things the wrong way. Many a time he had been called a dumb piggy. But sometimes No Heart and Shreeky showed a different side. Sometimes he was given a special treat to eat or even a simple gift. He always had a warm dry place to sleep and never went hungry. Whenever Beastly felt lonely he had Shreeky to talk to. As fearsome as No Heart and Shreeky seemed to some, their very presence brought a sense of stability and normalcy to his life.
Beastly paused to shift Shreeky's weight and then resumed his arduous task. He could feel Shreeky tighten her grip. He felt her bury her face in his fur. Her breathing sounded more relaxed. Beastly felt a sense of pride and purpose. Perhaps there was some meaning to his life after all. As he labored up the path the weight on his back and his legs suddenly seemed trivial. He would get Shreeky home no matter how hard or how long it would take. As Shreeky clung tight she could hear his labored breathing.
"You can put me down and take a break if you need to" she said. Beastly sensed something different in her voice. There was a softness, a gentleness he seldom heard. Maybe she did like him after all. "I'm okay" he said. "I am afraid that if I stop now it will be hard to get going again. Hold on tight! The Castle should soon be in sight."
The ever wary No Heart looked out from a battlement to make sure no Care Bear or Care Cousin was trampling on his domain. He grabbed his spy glass and looked at something moving slowly up the steep pathway that led to the Castle Gates. As his eyes beheld Beastly stooped over with Shreeky clinging to his back No Heart exclaimed "what the heck!" He muttered a Transportation Spell and suddenly Beastly and his burden were standing before him.
Beastly knelt and Shreeky climbed off his back. Tears came to her eyes as she tried to stand on one foot. Beastly stayed on his knees panting. "Oh Uncle No Heart, I'm hurt!" No Heart reached out and picked her up as if she were a baby. He gently carried her to her bed. Then he summoned the Witch Doctor. Shreeky lay on her bed and tried not to cry.
The Witch Doctor had gone. He had bound Shreeky's ankle and prepared an herbal brew for her to drink. Then he chanted a healing Motet. He said Shreeky should be able to walk in two days and then he was gone in a puff of smoke. No Heart quietly peeked into Shreeky's room. She was sleeping peacefully. She was clutching a piggy plushy her uncle had given her when he had first taken her in. To the young Shreeky it had resembled Beastly. The little girl called it "my Beasty". Now that little girl was little no more, but that mattered not. Her Beasty was still special. No Heart had a rare smile on his face as he thought about the little girl and the little piggy of a Beast he had raised.
Beastly had quickly fallen asleep. He had been exhausted by his trek with Shreeky clinging to him. His rickety bed had actually felt comfortable for once. To his surprise he had awakened to the smell of good food. No Heart then served him a feast for breakfast. "You did a good job helping Shreeky yesterday" No Heart said. "I guess it was worth keeping you around." "Thanks Boss!" Beastly said as he tore into a stack of pancakes.
That evening as Shreeky lay in her bed No Heart had checked up on her. "Can we talk Uncle No Heart?" "Sure" he said in a voice that was less gruff than usual. Shreeky then told No Heart the whole story of her misadventure. As she finished she said "I've always wondered why you put up with Beastly's shortcomings. I'll wonder no more. He may not be perfect, but he's fine by me. I may not have a brother or a sister, but I do have Beastly. I can't imagine life without him. I hope you don't get mad at me for sounding mushy."
No Heart's eyes suddenly seemed to have a softer glow. "Family members sometimes fight and argue. They don't always get along.
Yet they will always stand together and help each other when things go wrong. You are my imperfect niece and Beastly is like an imperfect nephew. Together we are an imperfect extended family. That is perfectly fine by me."