~Many thanks to Eien Aeolaro, Karma Leafbarer and karigan who reviewed my
stuff. And thanks for the reminder. I completely forgot to do so. So here
it is.~
Disclaimer: I do not own Neopets in anyway. Only Alicia, Chyora and certain elements in the story belong to me.
Chapter 2: A Mystery
It had been several months, and now Alicia sat in the comfort of her new sofa. Her pet Chyora was munching on some cookies and reading his newest book, 'Breathe'. There was a whole shelf full of books nearby, containing books like, 'The Hungry Little Caterpillar', 'Billy Blue Hat', '101 Neggs' etc.
With some advice from her pet, she had gradually built up her fortune, and now had a whooping 100,000np in her bank. She had also renovated her whole Neohome and furnished it with new furniture.
Still, Alicia had not forgotten what it was like to be poor, so every day, she went to the money tree to donate some items and np. The poorer Neopians flocked to her when she came, thanking her for her generosity and kindness.
Earlier that day, she had met some owners who had also adopted pets. On hearing she had paid 300np for her pet, they thought it strange, as they had only paid 80np for their own.
'I wonder why Chyora cost so much to adopt?' she thought, gazing at him. He had finished reading the book and it vanished in a puff of smoke. Lying down on the couch, he reached for another book.
"Hey Alicia! This week's Neopian times is here!" the newspaper blumaroo called, tossing the Neopian times through her open window. Alicia reached out, and neatly caught the paper.
Browsing through the paper, one headline caught her eye. 'Dr_Death Missing!' it said. The article outlined the fact that Dr_Death had been missing for several months. Shortly after working at the pound, he had gone out and never returned.
At this she stopped short. Slowly, she counted back how long she had kept Chyora. She had adopted him several months ago. A chill ran down her spine when she realized that she might have been the last person to see Dr_Death.
She continued to read the article:
'…Neopian Police is looking for the tips on the whereabouts of Dr_Death. The pink Uni that works there was interviewed. "I have no idea where he might be. I believe he has been kidnapped. I appeal to them to release Dr_Death, he is a much-needed person in Neopia." She pleaded. Police are appealing to anyone with information to call them at…'
Alicia stopped reading and thought hard. Was there any information she could give to the police? 'Probably not,' she thought, 'Just because I adopted Chyora around that time doesn't mean that I'm connected to the case.' At that moment, Chyora bounded up to her.
"Hey Alicia, could you take me out? I'm tired of reading books." He asked. She nodded absently, and allowed herself to be led out.
Chyora continued on, unaware that his mistress was distracted. He hummed happily and went to buy some food. A small sandwich pack was on sale, and he bought them quickly. Alicia followed behind, but her mind was not on the trip.
"Let's go to the pound." She said abruptly.
"The pound? Why? I don't want to go there!" Chyora cried.
"I want to see something. Let's go." Alicia was adamant despite repeated protests from Chyora. She had to drag him all the way to the pound, and he refused to go in, and sulked about outside. She ignored him and went in.
Inside was a scene of total mayhem. There were queues of people wanting to disown their pets and Neopets were out of cages, running about wildly in the pound. The poor pink Uni who worked there was overloaded, and almost on the verge of breaking down.
"Hey!" Alicia cried. All heads turned to look at her. "What are all of you doing here? Are you so eager to disown your pet? Are your pets that bad? Have you no love for them?" She lectured every single one of those owners, and many were shamed into leaving. Only some owners stayed behind, firm in their determination to disown their pets. She pleaded with them to no avail, and watched sadly as their owners signed them off.
The pink Uni at the desk only seemed surprised that there were no more people wanting to disown their pets. She seemed exhausted, and flopped down onto the table to rest. Alicia did not want to disturb her, and instead helped to coax all the Neopets back to their cages. She fed every single one of them with all she could.
"Oh, thank you Miss. I'm so grateful for the help." The Pink Uni had woken up. Alicia greeted her with a smile.
"It was nothing. I'm glad to help. You seemed so overworked." She replied.
"Ever since Dr_Death went missing, I've had my hooves full in the pound. It seems like he is the only one who knows where everything is…I wish he would come back." The Uni said wistfully.
"Do you know when he went missing? And why?" Alicia asked.
"Oh, he went missing on Shoyru Day. I always remember, because he told me he had managed to let a young Shoyru get adopted on that day. It was sweet of that owner. He told me that the poor Shoyru had just been dumped, and perhaps because it was Shoyru day, another owner came right along and adopted him." The Uni rambled on. Alicia froze. No doubt the Uni was talking about her.
"After that?" she ventured.
"Oh, he told me he had to go out for a while. Something important, he said. Pity I never knew what was so important. It might have helped with the case." The Uni looked as if she was about to cry. Alicia interrupted hastily.
"Why don't I come and help you. I love Neopets, and I would love to work here. I can come every day except for weekends." Alicia volunteered.
"Oh thank you so much. I could really use the help. By the way, my name is Teena. What's yours?" Teena asked, extremely grateful.
"My name is Alicia."
And so she began her work at the pound, and her quest to find out the reason behind Dr_Death's disappearance.
1 To be continued…
~Please R/R! I wouldn't mind some ideas too. ^_^ ~
Disclaimer: I do not own Neopets in anyway. Only Alicia, Chyora and certain elements in the story belong to me.
Chapter 2: A Mystery
It had been several months, and now Alicia sat in the comfort of her new sofa. Her pet Chyora was munching on some cookies and reading his newest book, 'Breathe'. There was a whole shelf full of books nearby, containing books like, 'The Hungry Little Caterpillar', 'Billy Blue Hat', '101 Neggs' etc.
With some advice from her pet, she had gradually built up her fortune, and now had a whooping 100,000np in her bank. She had also renovated her whole Neohome and furnished it with new furniture.
Still, Alicia had not forgotten what it was like to be poor, so every day, she went to the money tree to donate some items and np. The poorer Neopians flocked to her when she came, thanking her for her generosity and kindness.
Earlier that day, she had met some owners who had also adopted pets. On hearing she had paid 300np for her pet, they thought it strange, as they had only paid 80np for their own.
'I wonder why Chyora cost so much to adopt?' she thought, gazing at him. He had finished reading the book and it vanished in a puff of smoke. Lying down on the couch, he reached for another book.
"Hey Alicia! This week's Neopian times is here!" the newspaper blumaroo called, tossing the Neopian times through her open window. Alicia reached out, and neatly caught the paper.
Browsing through the paper, one headline caught her eye. 'Dr_Death Missing!' it said. The article outlined the fact that Dr_Death had been missing for several months. Shortly after working at the pound, he had gone out and never returned.
At this she stopped short. Slowly, she counted back how long she had kept Chyora. She had adopted him several months ago. A chill ran down her spine when she realized that she might have been the last person to see Dr_Death.
She continued to read the article:
'…Neopian Police is looking for the tips on the whereabouts of Dr_Death. The pink Uni that works there was interviewed. "I have no idea where he might be. I believe he has been kidnapped. I appeal to them to release Dr_Death, he is a much-needed person in Neopia." She pleaded. Police are appealing to anyone with information to call them at…'
Alicia stopped reading and thought hard. Was there any information she could give to the police? 'Probably not,' she thought, 'Just because I adopted Chyora around that time doesn't mean that I'm connected to the case.' At that moment, Chyora bounded up to her.
"Hey Alicia, could you take me out? I'm tired of reading books." He asked. She nodded absently, and allowed herself to be led out.
Chyora continued on, unaware that his mistress was distracted. He hummed happily and went to buy some food. A small sandwich pack was on sale, and he bought them quickly. Alicia followed behind, but her mind was not on the trip.
"Let's go to the pound." She said abruptly.
"The pound? Why? I don't want to go there!" Chyora cried.
"I want to see something. Let's go." Alicia was adamant despite repeated protests from Chyora. She had to drag him all the way to the pound, and he refused to go in, and sulked about outside. She ignored him and went in.
Inside was a scene of total mayhem. There were queues of people wanting to disown their pets and Neopets were out of cages, running about wildly in the pound. The poor pink Uni who worked there was overloaded, and almost on the verge of breaking down.
"Hey!" Alicia cried. All heads turned to look at her. "What are all of you doing here? Are you so eager to disown your pet? Are your pets that bad? Have you no love for them?" She lectured every single one of those owners, and many were shamed into leaving. Only some owners stayed behind, firm in their determination to disown their pets. She pleaded with them to no avail, and watched sadly as their owners signed them off.
The pink Uni at the desk only seemed surprised that there were no more people wanting to disown their pets. She seemed exhausted, and flopped down onto the table to rest. Alicia did not want to disturb her, and instead helped to coax all the Neopets back to their cages. She fed every single one of them with all she could.
"Oh, thank you Miss. I'm so grateful for the help." The Pink Uni had woken up. Alicia greeted her with a smile.
"It was nothing. I'm glad to help. You seemed so overworked." She replied.
"Ever since Dr_Death went missing, I've had my hooves full in the pound. It seems like he is the only one who knows where everything is…I wish he would come back." The Uni said wistfully.
"Do you know when he went missing? And why?" Alicia asked.
"Oh, he went missing on Shoyru Day. I always remember, because he told me he had managed to let a young Shoyru get adopted on that day. It was sweet of that owner. He told me that the poor Shoyru had just been dumped, and perhaps because it was Shoyru day, another owner came right along and adopted him." The Uni rambled on. Alicia froze. No doubt the Uni was talking about her.
"After that?" she ventured.
"Oh, he told me he had to go out for a while. Something important, he said. Pity I never knew what was so important. It might have helped with the case." The Uni looked as if she was about to cry. Alicia interrupted hastily.
"Why don't I come and help you. I love Neopets, and I would love to work here. I can come every day except for weekends." Alicia volunteered.
"Oh thank you so much. I could really use the help. By the way, my name is Teena. What's yours?" Teena asked, extremely grateful.
"My name is Alicia."
And so she began her work at the pound, and her quest to find out the reason behind Dr_Death's disappearance.
1 To be continued…
~Please R/R! I wouldn't mind some ideas too. ^_^ ~