"Stay here child," A large Lupe said to a much younger one. "I will be back."

"But Daddy," the small Lupe protested, "The monster killed Mommy..."

The large Lupe looked down at his daughter with sorrow. She was more or less three years old now, but she had seen her own mother die in front of her not long ago. Some children would have shrunk from experiencing such a thing before coming to age, but the young Lupe grew. She seemed wiser than most her age, and far more observant of others around her and of things to come.

"I will be back." The large Lupe assured once more. The little Lupe looked up at her father unsure, so he bent down to her height and gave her a small kiss on the forehead. He then looked her in the eye. It was hard not to cry in front of the other. They were both aware of how deadly the beast was.

"What if you..." the young Lupe started to say, but she was silenced by her father.

"Never lose your faith, my daughter. And never doubt your trust in someone. Never think, for one ounce in your life, that you are not as strong as you feel. And let no one tell you that you are not wise. Always, always, know that someone loves you, and your heart will be an imprint of yourself for years to come long after. Understand?"

The young Lupe nodded, and with that, the older Lupe got up and made his leave. The young Lupe waited a while after she could no longer see her father. In an hour, she'd go after him; whether he wanted her to or not.

. . . . . . . . . . .

The young Lupe began her journey an hour after she couldn't see her father down the road. And since his footsteps were naturally larger than hers, it wouldn't be that much of an effort to stay behind him. She slipped out of the house without her Cybunny nanny knowing, and took to the path she saw her father go down.

At first the trip went on well; The ground was wet from a two day rain spell they had a few days before that still had yet to dry, so the young Lupe was able to follow her father's footprints no matter where they went. But it seemed, the further along she got, that the ground was either getting more dry or there had been no rain there at all over the last few days. Finally, the young Lupe had to stop. She was officially lost now.

All too suddenly, she felt the burden of still being a small child weight on her and started to cry. She was lost, and she had told no one where she was or had gone. When you father would return home, he'd return to not find her there and he would more than likely worry himself to death over her disappearance. She would be dead by then, from lack of food or water, or she would still be lost with no way out. She was scared, and lost, and afraid.

"What's wrong?" a voice said from behind her. It was in a near monotone, but female. It was uncaring, but still concerned in some degree. The young Lupe turned around and saw a faerie. A dark faerie. The little Lupe cowered a little at her (she had heard what dark faeries liked to do with Neopets) but still remembered her manners.

"My Daddy went after a Ragnarok beast that had been hurting people in our village, and killed my Mommy. I... I went to go after him although he told me not to, and now I'm lost..."

The dark faerie looked at the young Lupe for a moment, as if decided what to do next, then she said;

"Do you have a name?"

"Alixandrea of the Lupard village."

"And your father's name?"

"Altador, the hunter of the Lupard village."

The dark faerie was silent again, thinking over this.

"What's your name?" the young Lupe asked.

"I don't have a name." the dark faerie told her. "My sisters have exiled me and took my name with them."

"Everyone has a name though." the young Lupe then told the dark faerie. The dark faerie was silent for a moment, but she gave the young Lupe answer nonetheless.

"Mera." the dark faerie told the young Lupe. "But if you tell anyone, never expect to see another sunrise."