Pony: Hooray! Here be chapter twenty-six!
Disclaimer Dude: Pony doesn't own Neopets.
The Tale of a Lupe and a Faerie
Chapter Twenty-Six: Acceptance
They were almost to the door of Shrie's hut when there was a loud crash from the well-lit interior, followed by a small child's laugh. The Soup Faerie glanced at Blaze, then reached up an knocked.
Blaze couldn't help but snort and the noise that came from the hut. "Sounds like someone is having fun." There was a loud squawking of another bird that followed the knocking, then a couple of voices that sounded like they belonged to adults. Soon the door was answered by a rainbow lenny holding a baby kau. "Hello," he greeted in a friendly voice.
"Hi," said the faerie, "We're looking for Shrie. We just picked up a baby katiel, and we heard she knows how to take care of them."
"Ah, certainly. Do come in." The lenny stepped aside, motioning with a free wing for his guests to enter.
"Thank you, sir," said Blaze as he and the faerie let themselves into the hut.
"We also heard that Shrie's husband is a priest," the faerie added hesitantly, giving the lenny a questioning look.
"That would be me, madam," the lenny responded, setting the baby down on the floor. "I am Kwooren. Some refer to me as Paster Kwooren." He led the lupe and faerie to the living room which contained furniture fabricated with palm branches. Other furnishings were finished off and decorated with tree trunks, branches, large sea shells, and colorful feathers. "Have a seat and I shall get Shrie."
The faerie smiled gratefully and sat, setting the little katiel on the all-natural bench beside her in order to reach over and take Blaze's paw. "Think he'll marry us?" she asked quietly.
Blaze sat down beside the faerie, his fingers closing on her hand as she took it. "I have a good feeling about him." The baby kau had wandered over to the bench where the visitors were seated. She reached up and took a hold of the downy tip of the lupe's tail. Babbling and cooing, she held the fluffy extremity and rubbed her face into it. Blaze glanced down at the infant pet, smiling softly. "Aw."
The Soup Faerie giggled and reached down to touch the baby's nose with a finger. She opened her eyes wide, and then smiled and raised her arms, letting go of Blaze's tail. Taking the hint, the faerie picked her up and set her on her lap.
The baby kateil squawked for attention, and Blaze picked up the little creature. "Hey, there, there's no need to be jealous, Everett," said the lupe, and he stroked the soft down.
The baby kau tilted her head back to look up at the Soup Faerie and said, "Baba beh blah."
She tickled the baby's stomach, making her squirm and giggle. "Blah, right back at you."
Footsteps called the faerie's attention to the doorway, where Shrie appeared. She saw them and smiled maternally. "Oh, you two'll make wonderful parents."
"Baba beh blah," the baby bird repeated in the baby kau's voice. Blaze burst with laughter, scratching the petpet's neck lightly. "You really think so, ma'am?"
"Darn right, I do," the rainbow kau chuckled, approaching her guests with a tray of small cakes and two cups of hot tea, setting it down on the coffee table in front of them.
The Soup Faerie set the little kau on the floor, and the baby immediately started crawling across the floor toward her mother. Shrie set picked the baby up and cooed at her. The baby squealed, so loudly the Soup Faerie winced. Shrie set the baby on her hip and sat on a chair opposite them. "So, y'all want some help taking care o' that little katiel?"
"Yes, ma'am. I don't think either of us know how to take care of one. We would appreciate some advice," said Blaze, stroking the bird.
"For a baby katiel, all ya'll really need is a warm place to sleep, food, water, and attention. He should be able to eat seeds in a few weeks, but in the meantime, mix up some baby food for him every two hours. I still have the feeders I used when mine was a baby. Ya'll can use those."
The Soup Faerie was mildly surprised at how easy it was. "That's all? I thought baby animals were hard to take care of."
"The lil rascal will for sure make a racket and get into mischief," Shrie added, "Help yourselves to tea and cakes."
"Oh, thank you." The lupe reached down to take a small square cake from the neat stack. Everett screeched repeatedly, snapping at the lupe's cake. "Hey, no."
"He hasn't eaten in a while. Aren't baby birds supposed to eat a lot? Maybe he needs to eat now. We could soak the cake in tea or something..." The Soup Faerie reached for a cake and took a sip of the tea.
"Oh, no, no, no. That cake and tea is horrible for a growing baby bird. You need to mix a couple of egg yolks for protein, milk for calcium, liquid vitamins, water for a little extra hydration, and enough baby cereal to thicken the mixture," said the kau as she turned her head into the direction of the kitchen, "Kwooren, dear, can you get the feeders and write down the recipe for the baby bird food?" she called out, receiving a "Yes, dear," in reply.
Blinking at the list of ingredients, the Soup Faerie looked down at the little bird, befuddled. "All that for that little thing? How many times a day?" She had known taking care of a baby was hard, but this sounded... complicated indeed.
"Every two hours," Shrie replied, "Including during the night."
The lupe's eyes widened, and blinked a few times. He turned to the Soup Faerie, placing a paw on her arm, "I'm sure we'll be fine if we take turns."
"Oh boy," she said simply, eyebrows raised. "It's going to be a long... how long do we have to keep this up, anyway?" she asked, worrying about her sleep schedule if they were going to reopen the Soup Kitchen.
"Two weeks at the most," said Shrie with an assuring and encouraging smile. "Once that is over, he can feed himself if you set out a bowl of nuts, seeds, and fruit."
Just then, Kwooren emerged from the kitchen with five feeders with tubes that were almost as tall as Everett, and a piece of paper with instructions on preparing the baby bird food. "Fill up one to the brim and that'll be enough for him."
"The whole tube? I-it's almost as big as Everett, does he really need that much every time?" Blaze asked incredulously, receiving a nod from both kau and lenny.
The Soup Faerie's mouth fell open, and she forgot to breath for a second. 'Is this really worth it?' she wondered. Then she remembered the expression on Blaze's face when she'd said they'd found their first child. Yes, it most certainly was worth it. "Well. Two weeks isn't so bad." She patted Everett resignedly, then turned to Kwooren. "We have a request for you, Kwooren," she said, leaning into Blaze.
"What is your request, my friends?" the lenny tilted his head slightly, waiting for the response from the lupe and faerie.
Blaze gave the Soup Faerie's head a slight nuzzle, his eyes meeting the rainbow lenny's, "Kwooren... would you marry the Soup Faerie to me?"
Kwooren stared for a moment, then started chuckling that soon erupted into hearty laughter. "Me? You want me to marry you two? A lupe and a faerie?" The lenny sighed heavily with a wide grin. "Well, I suppose that makes me the first priest to wed a neopet and a faerie. Haha!"
The Soup Faerie let out a little tense breath, relaxing. She smiled and hugged Blaze around the waist. "Oh good. We hoped it wouldn't be too hard to find someone who would do it."
"We're pretty tolerant folks compared to the rest of Neopia," said Shrie, lifting up her baby and nuzzling her.
"Do the both of you know when you want the wedding to be or do you need to talk about it?" asked the lenny, taking a cake from the stack.
The Soup Faerie glanced up at Blaze, then back at the lenny. "I don't know about Blaze, but... we're already together, living together. We should probably just get married already," she said, smiling ruefully.
"I agree, I want to get married as soon as possible," Blaze said immediately.
Shrie laughed, "My goodness, eager aren't you? Kwooren can watch your little Everett while y'all go on your honeymoon," she offered, "We usually do for the newlyweds."
The Soup Faerie was starting to get used to the blunt way the people on this island spoke. She only blushed a little this time. "Really? I think we need a two week honeymoon, Blaze," she said jokingly.
The couple in front of them burst with laughter at the faerie's joke, nearly doubling over. The baby started to laugh because her parents were. Once they finally stopped, Kwooren was the first to speak, "Oh, you are a delight."
"She is, isn't she?" Blaze gazed endearingly at the Soup Faerie. "I think I couple of days is good enough. After all, we really should bond with the little guy so he knows who mommy and daddy is."
The faerie held a semi-serious expression for a moment, then laughed along with them. It warmed her heart. They were already making good friends here. They could be happy here, she thought. "I suppose we'll bond, then. I reserve the right to come back for a babysitter if I start going crazy from sleep deprivation."
"Fine with me, honey," Blaze laughed, nuzzling the faerie's temple.
"Anything specific you want for your wedding?" Shrie asked, picking up a cake for the baby, who happily gobbled it down.
"Uhm." The Soup Faerie looked taken aback at the question. She hadn't been thinking of wedding presents. She was still reconciling with the fact that she was getting married at all, and without the possibility of a mob gate-crashing them. "I don't know... do we need anything, Blaze?"
"How about a wedding dress?" the lupe smirked, winking at her.
She turned to stare at him, and then flushed, looking back to Shrie. "I don't... I mean, it would be lovely, but this is just an informal thing, right?"
"Oh, nonsense, dear. Every bride needs a wedding dress," the kau smiled softly. "Just imagine how awed your man will be when he sees you in one."
Blaze blushed under his fur, "Yeah... a-and it's a once in a lifetime event too."
The faerie decided that discretion was the better part of valor and ducked her head, nodding. "You're right. This is very important. I can help make it, of course. You'll need to measure me and stuff."
"Just let me measure you and leave the rest to us, deary," smiled the kau, holding the child close. "Save your energy for the chick... and the honeymoon," she snickered. The lupe hunkered down in embarrassment, slightly hiding his face in the side of the Soup Faerie's head.
Okay, so she wasn't quite used to it yet. She was beet red all over again. Blaze was even more embarrassed, and she reached up to pat his cheek with an affectionate chuckle. "Do you want to do measurements tonight? I don't know how soon you'll be able to work on the dress..."
"Sure. I can get the materials tomorrow. Be right back, hun." Shrie set down the baby kau and disappeared down a hallway to fetch the measuring tape.
Kwooren smiled and set the feeders and instructions down on the coffee table next to the tray. "I'm sorry about Shrie. She's such a tease."
The Soup Faerie smiled and nodded. "She is. But she's got charm. I can handle a little good natured jibing. And Blaze will recover." She patted him on the arm lightly.
"Yeah, I'm not too traumatized," Blaze smiled, still a little embarrassed. "A few cuddles and I'll be fine." he said, and gave the faerie's cheek a lick.
"Now, now, you two," the lenny said with friendly sternness, wagging a wing at them. "No more of that until the wedding!"
Blaze turned to the lenny, putting on his saddest puppy face and released a few whines. "Aww... do we have to wait?" The baby kau giggled and went for Blaze's tail again, snuggling it.
"Blaze!" the faerie said, eyes wide. "You're talking to a priest. At least pretend we're innocent," she said with a little smothered giggled.
The lenny shook his head, but he was smiling. "It won't be much longer."
"I was referring to cuddling, not... the other thing," the lupe ducked his head again.
"Oh, you poor young man," Kwooren chuckled, plucking the baby from the floor.
"Well," the lenny continued, clearing his throat, "just keep in mind that cuddling can lead to other things."
The Soup Faerie put her arms around Blaze and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, sir. I'll keep him in check."
"She always does." Blaze licked the faerie's cheek again, and nuzzled her.
Soon, Shrie returned with her measuring tape. Eying the lupe licking the faerie, she smirked. "Your man giving you a little bath?"
"Usually," the faerie responded wryly. "I'll be the cleanest faerie on the planet for the rest of my life." She squeezed Blaze tighter, then let go and stood. "All right." She held her hands away from her sides. "Do your worst."
Shrie chuckled, and approached the faerie, "I intend to, hun." The kau stretched and wrapped the measuring tape along her arm, legs, torso, and hips, noting the measurements. She took the measuring tape away and nodded to her, "All done, dear."
"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Blaze grinned, stroking Everett, who chirped happily.
"It was awful. All right, we need to head home. It's getting late." She offered her hands to take Everett and help Blaze up.
Blaze handed the little bird to the faerie before picking up the feeders and instructions. Turning to the rainbow couple, he nodded curtly and said, "Thank you very much. We really appreciate your help."
"Yes, thank you so much. We weren't expecting anything when we were exiled here. It was such a wonderful surprise to find such friendly, supportive pets here." The Soup Faerie hugged Shrie impulsively, making Everett squawk at the sudden movement. Moving on to embrace Kwooren as well, then stood back.
"It's no trouble, young lady. That is what we do: we help out our neighbors," the lenny said, patting the faerie's shoulder with a wing.
"That's right. Now ya'll get back home and feed that little fuzzball," Shrie smiled in a commanding tone.
"You mean featherball?" the faerie said, smiling and holding the bird up. "Well, for whatever reason, thank you for being so kind." She slipped her hand into the crook of Blaze's arm. "Good night then!"
"Good night!" the couple waved with friendly smiles. The baby kau lifted her arm, imitating her parents, waving to the faerie and kau as well.
Blaze sighed deeply, touching his head to the faerie's as they strolled down the path to the Soup Kitchen, his eyes dropping to the little petpet in the faerie's free hand. "He sure is a cute little guy."
The faerie leaned her head against Blaze's shoulder as they left. Even though it was bumpy, cushioned by his fur, she enjoyed the quiet walk back. Once the pair arrived back at home, Everett was tucked away, and they slept peacefully next to each other, happy that the world wasn't as bad a place as it had seemed the day before. They were free from a prejudice civilization, and they could live their lives in peace with a unity that accepted their relationship with open hearts.