Koilembala could feel the crunching of the wet sand between his icy toes,as the cool tingling sensation of the slight breeze came down upon his body and lifted some of the fur on his neck up and sailed down rest of his frozen back,making him shudder just enough to want to get away from it.So he quickly hopped onto a rock and sat down to escape the low flow of the wind and think.It had been a day to remember on Mystery Island that day for the year-old Ice Bori with all of his family here and some of his close friends as well.
Normally he would have been sarcastic and completely againist the thought of taking into too much consideration to this kind of thing.But only when his owner,a cheerful teenager girl named Ripplerazberry or Raz for short,suggested that they were going to hold it on the Island of his dreams,did he cave in.But now the sun was setting and he had done everything imaginable on the Island expect for one thing,swimming.
"Happy first birthday,"came a familiar voice from behind him,he turned on the small,jagged rock he was sitting on to see a smiling Maui020304 or Maui his older and only sister,a tomboy-ish Desert Kougra who was completely against all forms of girlish-ness.But for some reason,was acting differently.
"Have to admitt,it was fairly interesting."Koi nodded at her with a sort of forced nod,trying to seem a little enthusastic on her behalf as to not make her suspect something.
"But you know,there is one thing I did notice..."she smiled at him strangely,pawing up beside the rock on which her younger but oldest brother sat on.There,she took a moment to pause and look out at the orange-red ball setting in the deep azure sky with a bright splash of pink he had gazing upon before she started in with what she was saying,
"You didn't go in the water at all,"she turned to him observantly.Noting he was very well aware of what she was getting at,"Not that I care or anything...but,you look like you wanted to."
It took him a moment to relieve himself of the startling fact that for once his older sister,the sister he had always known would never even so much as touch a Usuki doll,was somehow bringing up such an important aspect of Koi's past and for which he wasn't quite ready for yet.
"Well,maybe."he shrugged nonchalantly,crounching down on his hunches to dip one ice-capped paw in the cool ripples and then whispered quietly,"It doesn't really matter to me."
"Oh,come on!"Maui laughed in her normal,deep voice,"You know that you really want to and as soon as I found out how to...I'm going to do it,"her ears perked up to the sound of the rest of thier family starting to pack and leave,"Well,time to go then."
Koi watched his sister start to hurry back towards thier owner and other two brothers,so sure of she'd find a solution.He had had so many memmories with them.But one memmory in particular always played in his mind more often,it was very vague because it had occured when he was very young,but the memmory that stuck with him the most was that of being a Red Koi.
Thoughts of here and now continuously pulsated through his mind that entire night as he slept with a completey uncomfortable,unsettling feeling within him.It started out as just being a bad thought,but slowly had morphed into something that he just couldn't seem to get out of his head.But that's when the sun started to glare through his window,making the new morning apparent.
"Hey,Koi!"Came an overly-eager voice from on top of him,he glanced up only to see his youngest brother,an energetic yet often forgetful Brown Lupe,staring down at Koi with his eyes burning with excitement and enthusiasm.Koi just glowered miserabley.
"What is it,Canislupes84?"
Canis frowned down at his older brother's lack of energy or cheeriness for the new day and instead on just scampering out and into the next room like he usually did,he took a large,chocolate over-sized paw and grabbing Koi by the tail,made a quick dash out the door and down the stairs at an almost breakneck and thoughtless pace.However,Koi didn't take kindly to it.
"Let me go!"he shrieked angrily,fighting off the big Lupe once they were inside the kitchen and while he got up to dust of his ice pelt and murmur a few disgusted things under his breath about Lupes,only then did he notice Maui,his first younger brother BoredSpic or Spic,a very insightful and well-spoken Blue Pteri and then of course Canis,as they all stood in one big huddle in front of the Kitchen table with thier backs to something that was obviously hidden behind them,
"Alright,"he spat semi-satirically,humoring them,"What did you get me that you couldn't possibley afford the other day?"
"Well,it was my idea until I let these two boneheads go out and acutally purchase it from the Gift Store..."Maui began to say with a hint of annoyance herself towards her two younger and sometimes naive brothers,as she urshed them to one side,"So here it is,you're offical Birthday gift from us to you."
As soon they had all shifted to one side of the room,Koi couldn't help but let his jaw hang wide open.He was too stunned out of his wits to comment or say anything sarcastic or joyful at that moment,because it probabley would have come out the wrong way.Because there in front of him,was the most hideously,horrendous neon and lime-green scubba-diving outfit he had ever laid his ice-encased eyes on.
"Well,it's..."he began uneasily,edging back a few steps as he gave it a queasy sort ot glance and just kept backing away from it,"Really something alright,that's for sure."
"You don't like it?"Canis sniffed dejectedly,"I picked it out."
"Um,it's very thoughtful,"Koi told him modestly,racketing his brain for something to say that wouldn't hurt thier feelings,"But you see,it's not really what I had in mi..."
"Good morning everyone!How are you all today?"he was abscinded by a blithsome voice,that made thier attention advert to it's source.
Raz came bustling into the room with a grin on her face and ready to see all her pets off for school.Grateful for the interruption,Koi took that time to slip by without being noticed and go back up stairs to grab his things and make a clean getaway for School only two blocks away,but little did he know it would take more then just that to allow him to ignore his past and focus on the day ahead of him.
Koi hadn't been able to concentrate at all on his work that day,his mind had wandered too far to give much thought to long divison and Neo Literature,normally he was somewhat laid-back when it camet to things that didn't involve him and stubbornly snappish when it did.But today he didn't even begin to feel like himself and that's when he began to wonder.
And he wasn't the only one,Maui had been out chasing some of the younger chias with a few Lupes when it was Recess and she noticed him under the School's large heart tree by himself.She would have gone over to talk to him,if the bell hadn't of rang and she still had time to.But as she thought of it some herself,she started to come to the realization of what would really make her always so quiet and reserved brother the most happiest in life.
"Catch!"Canis called to Spic as they exited the Fourth Grade wing,tossing a Blue Chia Plushie with a popped eye and ripped arm back and forth,"This thing makes an awesome Neo Football replacement.Too bad Maui's not here,she'd love it.Spic,go long!"
"Speaking of which;where is she?"Koi questioned his younger Brother,as he padded out of the Fifth Grade wing just about six feet from the Fourth,"I haven't seen her since Recess."
"I think she said she was going over to a friend's house,"Spic flew up to them and handed Canis the worn-out plushie as he pulled out his After-school planner,"Hmm,"he mused as he began thumbing through,"I think it's a Seventh Grader,but I'm not really for sure."
"Man,she always hangs out with pets a year older then she is."Canis moaned in a low growl,but then he caught the look on Koi's frosted face,"Hey,why do you care so much?"he sneered curiously,"I thought you and her fought all the time,at least when no one is looking."
"What...you mean last week when she accidently referred to me as an Ice cube?"Koi gritted his teeth as his Brother's ignorance,starting to turn to leave,"Forget about it,will you."
"Yeah,that was funny."Canis tried to stifle a chuckle,but broke out as soon as his older Brother was out of sight into a loud,barking laugh,"An Ice cube!Tee...Hahaha!"
"It's not really that funny,"Spic told him flatly,jotting down some things with a blue pen.
"Hey,"Maui suddenly appeared by thier side,breathless and resolute flashing in her amber eyes,"Where has Koi gone to?I need to see him before he goes anywhere."
Canis and Spic looked at each other and then back at her,with nothing to really say or exclaim,they both just pointed in the direction that he had headed off to.She turned her head to look that way,then once back to smile at them vaguely and then back again to start off after him.
Koi wandered for a long time by himself,as he watched pets and thier owners go by from wherever they were going.That's when his mind went back to the subject of whether or not he was more happy as a Koi or as a Bori.Of course,Bori's were rare and being painted Ice was special,but the memmories of what it had been like for him as a Koi kept surfacing.
"Arr!"a rough voice said from beside him,as a long,woodend-peg leg came down just beside his tail,"Watch it there,Bori!Dont wanna be de-tailed now,do ya?"
That's when Koi noticed for the first time that he had came upon the dock that led from Neopia Central all the way to the rest of Neopia.And if Koi knew Pirate's as well as he thought he did,he knew they would most likely be heading for Mystery Island fairly often.
"Sorry,"he apologized automatically,blinking with some confusion as more gruff-looking Pirates moved passed him to board the ship that was on the end of the dock.But as the one that had spoken to him began to head towards it,Koi found himself asking him,"Uhh,sir?Where exactly are you...?"
"Going?"The pirate awnsered for him and turned to examine Koi with a snaggle-tooth grin,"Well,land lover.We be a headin' back to Mystery Isle to claim us some treasure."his grin widened,"Why you be asking some obvious things,meh lad?"
"Well..."Koi shallowed hard as he tried to hold down the next thing that was coming into mind,"Do you travel alot?I mean,are you on the Ocean more or less of the time."
The pirate only looked at him for a moment,before breaking out in a hearty guffaw and nodding.But as he turned away,he noticed Koi's ears start to droop as he turned to walk away himself.With an idea coming to mind,the Pirate cleared his throat just enough to get the retreating Ice Bori to listen,
"You seem like you'd be the kind of pet that would go outta his way much for others,"his voice became more serious as he continued,"Furthermore,you seem like you'd be the kind of land lover ackin' for some water lovin',ah-heh.If you know what I mean,laddie.So,what'd you think?"
It took Koi a moment to gather up all the things that he was being told.On the one hand,he would have loved to go back to where he thought he belonged at sea.But then on the other,he had his whole entire family to think about.He was about ready to decline,when he heard a voice say from behind him,
"I think you should go."
He turned so rapidly to see his sister standing behind him smiling,that he nearly bumped a rather large Pirate going by.The next thing he knew,he was staring at her with astonishment as she stared back at him with a very knowing look.He was so dumbfounded by it all,that he faltered unexpectively,
"Wha-What did you say I should d-d-do?"
"I think you should go find you're destiney at sea,Koi,"she told him calmly,ignoring his befuddled stammering,"Ever since you where born,you've always loved the water.The joy that would light up in you're eyes,was amazing.That was the one thing that really made you happy and up until about eight months ago when Raz turned you into a Koi,did I ever see you so happy and lively.And even though will all miss you,I think it's best you follow you're own path.But I'm sorry to say,I really don't think it's here on land."
He just stood thier with ever-growing puzzlement,but as the ship was about ready to leave and the Pirate told him to make up his mind and quickly,Koi did what he'd never done before.He went over and threw his arms around her back and held on tightly,whispering just before running off,
"Thank you Maui,you're right...maybe I need to find out who I really am and the only way to do that is to go with them."he paused to look over one iced-shoulder and then at her,"I don't know what I'll find or even what it is I'm looking for,but when I do.I'll come back,I promise and tell everyone I said good-bye.Because I know they'll all miss me and,um,stuff."
She watched as the once carefree,then hardened but now elated again Brother she had come to know and love,as climbed aboard the ship and waved at her with a real smile creasing his icy muzzle.And as she waved back and watched him go,she knew that fate was calling him.That his real destiney was at sea.
The End.