Calabrus, the Cloud Aisha who ruled the sky sat upon a deep cloud-formed throne right now, in his stormy palace. Lightning bolts flashed from the high gray ceiling above, and he sighed. His dark mood was afflicted on that around him, unfortunately. He had recently visited an Air Faerie, who helped him control his outbursts that could be deadly for Neopians traveling by air. He bent down and listened, and then a Floud bumbled through a pillar, and the pinkish gray of it reformed behind the confused petpet. Calabrus smiled gently now, and patted the little guy before it drifted off, humming to itself. That one had been in his little hospital for quite some time, after a sleepy nurse gave it carrots by accident. Rule one: Never feed a Floud carrots. But he seemed fine now, although a trifle more absent-minded. The lightning flickered once more, and receded. The great domed ceiling became white and puffy, and a white Faellie fluttered in, all excited over something. Calabrus lifted his stately head, and rose up from the throne, hovering face-to-face with the visitor. He listened intently, then the Faellie extended a paw and gave him a small letter. Curious, the Lord of the Skies opened it. There were three words, written in elegant, flowing script:
She has arrived.
Lucia fluttured happily around the blooming garden, accompanied by the tinkling of fountains and the songs of several Carmarillers, glad to be in such a beautiful garden. Her slim Cloud-painted form wove around tree trunks now, and she couldn't help but let out a trill of song. A tall Aisha emerged, and Lucia stopped and inclined her head respectfully.
"My lady."
The other halted at a comfortable speaking distance, and spoke in a melodious voice.
"Lucia. Do you enjoy your time here?"
The Uni was puzzled that the great Aisha Enchantress would ask her such a question.
"Of course. I love it here. It is so peaceful, but..." she trailed off, unsure of how to express that nagging feeling.
The Enchantress smiled. "You long for the skies, my dear little Uni." A bell rang in Lucia's mind.
"You were once an Aisha, were you not...?" questioned the Lady of the Wood. Her eyes probed Lucia's face, searching for answers, but she had a funny feeling that the Lady knew the what the answers were already. She took a deep breath.
"Yes, I was, but Wings morphed me into a Uni for an avatar when I was ten years old."
The Aisha nodded. "Did he ever tell you how you were adopted?" Lucia shook her head, light blue mane flying.
"No. He didn't. Whenever I asked, he just got a pained look in those brown eyes and turned away, pretending to be busy." Her voice grew bitter. "I gathered up my independence after the first time he wouldn't tell me, and I finally became ready to leave at 18- so I did. It's been two years. I'm twenty now." She had a distant look in those blue eyes, then snapped back to attention as the Lady nodded and spoke.
"Then it is I who must tell you, before you must leave." Lucia lay down in the manner of a Gathow, forelegs stretched out front and back legs streched straight out back, listening intently to the ethereal purple Aisha. The Lady sat down also, on a conveniently positioned boulder.
"Do you know of Calabrus, the Cloud Aisha?" Lucia murmured a soft 'yes'. "Well, he was married to Culariean, another Cloud Aisha, in his distant palace, far off among the clouds. They had a daughter- she had her father's eyes, a deep blue. But her slim form was like to her mother- refined and elegant. Well, when that daughter was three years old, Culariean took her for a little fly around, unknown to the Sky Lord. He had one of his moods, and a raging storm caught them, and they were seperated. The last the desperate mother ever saw of the child was a tiny light blue and white figure spiraling downwards toward Shenkuu." Wings had lived in Shenkuu all his life. "...Then one young farmer, freshly independant from his family and eager to start his own life, had taken in a little green Eyrie. He had just put the little one, Greenforest Wings, to bed, when a loud crying startled him, and he leapt up and hastened to the open doorway." Greenforest was her adopted brother. "...He saw a little Cloud Aisha, and took the child in and cared for her. However, when he went to paint Greenforest blue, for some unknown reason, the brush slipped and the Aisha got painted instead. Undetarred but shaken by this mistake, the man continued to care for this stranger and loved her as much as the other." She paused and looked directly at Lucia. "The man was Wings. And the kid was Lucia."
So here it was at last. The truth of her her childhood. Lucia stood up from the unfamiliar posture, wincing as she stepped on her long, sweeping tail by accident. She was dressed in a gardening smock, and Uni gardening boots. The green boots were new and shiny, a present from the Lady of the Wood.
"Wings knows. He does not expect you back anytime soon. Calabrus and Culariean do, however. I have sent word to them when one of their messenger Faellies stopped by on the way to Faerieland. She smiled slightly at the memory, then started walking away. "I left some supplies for you. Farewell." Then the Aisha Enchantress vanished into the waiting trees. Lucia stared after her for a moment. The silent air filled once again with song, now accompanied by the buzzing of Buzzits. She looked down at the lush grass and tiny pale orange flowers with a delicate scent. She inhaled the smells of the Earth, then turned her face to the Sky, and admired the flawless blue, studded with white clouds. She grabbed a pack leaning against a brown trunk, and put it on. Then the Uni put her face toward the sky, her home, and her destiny. She launched herself into the air with giant beating wings, and now an expectant wind pulled her onward in the direction of the Cloud Palace where her father and mother lived.
It had been three day's journey through clouds that Lucia could pass through, albeit ending up getting damp or plain, soaking wet. Luckily the weather had been favorable, and the whole journey was pleasant, at least until Lucia bonked her head on what appeared to be a solid cloud. She flew back slightly, astonished, and massaged her horn ruefully with a free hoof. Of course, this must be the edge of the domain. She flew up, and began to literally walk on these odd clouds. Perhaps a a few minutes underway, Lucia saw something that was totally out of place, yet seemed to fit: Grass. She sighed with relief as her hooves sank into the luscious, springy, dark green plants. Each blade seemed to be outlined with a faint greenish light. Then she saw another thing, or rather felt. Her hooves were not sinking into the grass. They were just brushing the very tops, yet she felt no strain as if something was not pulling her up, just letting her walk in such a manner. Trees appeared later on, strange trees whose roots were buried in cloud. The wind was insistent up here, still nudging the Uni West. Then she crested a rise, and gasped. Right there, in a valley of stormy grey clouds, was a huge, white and slightly pinkish palace. It rose up many stories, topped with turrets and edged walls and she could just make out a gigantic doorway. She swallowed down her nervousness and...was that fear? Then with slow, deliberate steps Lucia proceeded down into the gentle ravine.
It was deeper than she thought, and took her about five minutes going down. Flying down, actually, for the rest of the way, over treetops. The door opened inwards, silently, apperently no one in sight. Then she tossed her mane proudly, adjusted her smock, and strode foward, boots squeaking pleasantly on the hard tiles. She passed many great halls held up by pillars, and then two smaller doors opened inwards to a smaller hall. There was a throne at the far end, with a majestic figure sitting upon it. The figure straightened in shock. Lucia walked toward him, then stopped and inclined her head respectfully.
"My lord Calabrus." She looked into her father's eyes, those dark blue Aisha eyes.
He spoke, slightly wavering at first, but then the voice became stronger as he progressed.
"My daughter, Lucia. It has been too long...I am sorry that you ever left. Got lost. It was my fault there was a storm that day. Forgive me." He got off that throne and knelt, then stood up. Lucia saw a tear in the corner of Calabrus's eye, then she embraced her father once again, for the first time in fifteen years. They hugged for a lnog time, happy to be family again, happy to be reunited. Then a tall Aisha, robes long and sweeping, ran in. She practically tackled Lucia.
"Lucia! It is I, Culariean. Your mother." Lucia cried out in joy and gave her a hug too.
"How could you think that I would ever forget your name, Mother?" A small Floud floated down from the ceiling. It is said and commonly thought that Flouds do not have, or very rarely have feelings, being so absent-minded and blank, but right now this one...This one was filled to the brim with the joyous revels below him. Such a family reunited could stir even the emptiest of hearts. Next, Culariean backed off, and appraised her daghter critically.
"First of all, we need to get you a proper robe. Oh dear, how I wish you weren't a Uni." Lucia's smile faded. She murmured sadly,
"It was not my choice to be so. I was given the potion against my will and better judgement; alas, someone had to be morphed for the avatar." Both of the parent's eyes filled with horror. They placed trust and honor above much else in virtues, and for a guardian to morph their Neopet, their charge without the other's consent was unthinkable. "...He poured the green Uni potion into my drink when I wasn't looking..." Lucia sighed again.
"Do what with you may do, Lucia. Do what with you have. Such is life." Calabrus consoled her; then stepped away. "I have much work and jobs to do. Being the Lord of the Sky is difficult. The Cyodrake's Gaze is sailing today, soon, and I must calm the storm that would otherwise smash their ship to smithereens. I am just afraid it might be The Drenched again...my apologies." He walked off, hurrying to an open window, then he launched himself out of it and winged away. Culariean turned back to Lucia, a smile on her face, but she thought it was a little wistful.
"Your father is terribly busy, I'm sorry that it had to be this way. Come, let me show you to your room." She beckoned to her, then glided to yet another door. The Uni sighed, and followed the Lady of the Sky.
Her new room was beautiful, and simple. A window large enough for her to fly through was thrown open, letting the sunset sunlight stream in and the scent of cherry blossoms wafted through the air. The bed was a simple white, and the ceiling was pale blue, painted with artistic clouds, frolicking Faellies, Faerie Harrises, Cirruces, and Flouds. She also had a natural wood dresser and a tall mirror framed with heatless fire. She accidentaly hit a little indent on the back of the mirror, and the odd little flames flickered off. She tried it again, satisfied when it proved to be a switch. The rug was obviously a cloud substance; her hooves sank into it, unlike how they hovered above the grass. It was irrisistably soft. Lucia looked through the drawers, and changed into a Leaf vest and comfortable wrap trousers. She went barehoofed.
Finally, she improvised a desk by moving the short drawers by the bed, and sitting on the covers, then putting a well-worn, striped notebook on the top of the drawers. She stook out an air faerie pen and wrote in the shimmery blue ink.
Today is the first of June. I have arrived at my home, the palace in the Sky. My parents are very busy, but I love them very much and they love me. I am glad to be with them again after fifteen years. They are Calabrus, the Lord of the Sky, and Culariean, the Lady of the Sky. Both are Cloud Aishas. I was born a Cloud Aisha but, you know, I was morphed at ten years old. Ah well. Such is life.
She was done. She closed the notebook and carefully packed it away in her hiking pack, then laid out a fresh new gown for the next day. Tired, Lucia fell onto the bed and soon was fast asleep. The stars glimmered, much closer than before, and one shot across the night sky, not hidden by clouds. The moon was bright and clear, a thin waxing sliver that shined brighter than any other.
The next day dawned pale and fresh with the smells of mint and lemon swiftly dressed, but a tired Culariean met her at the doorway. "Calabrus is having more than a spot of trouble with The Drenched. He won't be back for some time."
"Wait...Why don't you play with me instead? I brought a Faerieland kite!" cried Lucia desperately. She saw her mother hesitate, then she replied slowly, eyes downcast,
"I'm sorry, but I must visit the outer edges of the clouds for a while..." Culariean left as quickly as she had come.
Lucia stared at the empty doorway. 'Why are they ignoring me? I thought they were glad i was back!' Sad, she changed into a silky grey gown that more befitted her mood. She passed the day strolling around the inner gardens and exploring the nearly empty castle. She made friends with a Faerie Seti, and they raced the day away. Her new friend, Seli, was remarkably fast. She could sometimes beat Lucia in a race, and Lucia was extremely fast too. They finally stopped panting, and drank water in a garden. But despite this, her mood went downhill. Her parents were ignoring her, after a fifteen-year absence. She had thought they would be nicer. Perhaps she had done something wrong? Then an idea came to her frenzied mind, She would go help Calabrus defeat The Drenched, save The Cyodrake's Gaze and save the day. Then they couldn't ignore her. She dashed to her small room, Seli following curiously. She threw on better traveling clothes: Namely, a tennis shirt and gypsy boy trousers. Both were sturdy and of well-make, and she also packed a fanciful seaweed dress, and Meridillian chainmail for extra protection. She wore a Lucky gold Uni Horseshoe necklace, and tucked its gleaming chain and symbol bown the front of her shirt so the sparkle wouldn't show when she needed to be "Sneaky". She hesitated, grabbed her pack and put it on, and flew out the window before common sense could catch her. Seli followed, eager to accompany her new friend.
-Disclaimer- Calabrus is NOT mine, though Lucia and Culariean are. Seli is going to come by soon. LOL!
Good thing I fed the plot bunnies already. You could give them some dessert though! ;)