Gala floated through the air around her neighborhood when suddenly, it seemed like the world had lurched to a sudden stop. She had easily gotten used to the constant momentum that was inside Caratown, but when it stopped, she felt oddly still. She forgot to flap her wings to regain balance and fell to the ground, but luckily the winds cushioned her fall and she landed on the ground with a low "thump."
"Ouch. Gotta remember those landings." Gala shook her head and walked to the neon green townhouse, through the jungle of plants in the front yard, and knocked on the door. After a moment, the earth elemental wocky opened the door, rubbing a quickly darkening bruise on the side of his face. Gala blinked. "What happened?"
"Caravan stopped. I hate it when it happens so suddenly. I was taking a quick nap and I fell out of my hammock. And now a bunch of my plants are going to be tense. Why didn't Ren slow down first like she usually does?" He shook his head. "You ok? My plants seem to think you took quite a fall out there. Need any ice?" He was pulling an icepack of his own out a small fridge. Gala shook her head no. "Alright. I'm gonna go talk to Ren, see what the cause of this was. Want to come?" Gala nodded. "'K"
They went outside and found Dewdrop grabbing fish that had been thrown out of her pond and tossing them back in the water. She stuck a paw in the water. "Everyone there? Oh no..." The Acara frowned worriedly and looked in the bushes. She glanced up and saw Gala and Bramble. "Well, what are you waiting for? Help me find a red Ghoti. I can't call her out of water, so I can't find her." Dew looked around worriedly. Gala crouched on the ground, looking around.
"After you've found them all, I'll plant some vines around your pond to act as a sort of living fence. You fish can eat the nutrients left on the roots that immerge in the water and the vines will live off the water and the wastes of your friends." Bramble touched the soil, which glowed green for a moment. "Nice and fertile."
"Sure. But help me find my Ghoti first!" Dew stamped her foot impatiently. Gala dove into the pond in front of Dew's yard. Dew jumped at the sound. "What on earth is that kougra doing?!"
'Wow, it's alot deeper than I thought,' Gala thought to herself as she swam through the water. She had drawn a faerie rune on herself that had grown her a pair of gills, and she shivered with a strange pleasure as she swallowed the water and it immerged through her gills. Indeed, the pond was deeper and wider than physically possible - but then, so was CaraTown itself. Deciding the pond must have the same sort of spell on it (correctly so), she dove deeper down. A Tanizard nuzzled her as she swam. A Filamen glowed and nestled in the small valley between her wings and her back, glowing with a soft yellow light. A Bowla tied her hair back from her face A small school of Primellas and Catamaras seemed to smile at her as one. Gala almost forgot why she had dove into the water in the first place, until a Ramosan touched her, shocking her slightly and giving her a somewhat chiding look. Gala gave a curt nod and swam lower down. So far from the surface, it was dark, but the Filamen that was resting between her wings gave her light. She came upon a dark cave. She looked around warily. The Tanizard nudged her with her tail. A softly glowing school of Pookas arrived, in large amounts. Gala went in, worried, and the Pookas marked her trail as she went forward, each one staying to show the way back. Gala quickly made turns, and soon, there were no more fish left. The last Pooka looked at Gala with a look as though to say "It's ok, you can give up now. We're sorry." Gala shook her head. She swam forward, leaving the Filamen as one last marker and went forward into the darkness. She nimbly swam through the darkness in the tunnels, blindly going forward. 'Stupid! I should have brought that Filamen, at least then I'd be able to see better.' She shook her head at her own stupidity and turned around, giving up. She tried to go back, but could not remember which turns to make. Quickly, she got farther and farther from where she had left the trail of Pookas. 'Oh no... I'm lost!' In her panic, she swam around even more blindly.
Suddenly, she immerged into bright light. She blinked, her golden eyes adjusting. She was in a cavern, and the walls were glowing. She looked around, entranced. Others were with her, just as hypnotized by the room and the shifting colors of light as she. One, though, was not. A small creature danced in the light, laughing with glee. As it danced, it sang liltingly:
"My sweet pretty pets,
"You will stay with me,
"Never to roam,
"Never again free.
"Your home is now here,
"And here you will stay,
"For you are now mine
"For fun and for play."
Gala and the other pets nodded and swayed to the song. The music echoed from the walls. In the back of Gala's mind, she knew something was not right. 'I want to be free... I don't belong to anyone...' A voice in the back of her mind spoke up. Gala blinked, the trance broken for a moment, but the song simply grew fiercer, more encompassing.
"My sweet pretty pets,
"You will stay with me,
"Never to roam,
"Never again free.
"Your home is now here,
"And here you will stay,
"For you are now mine
"For fun and for play.
"The world is unfair,
"Without beauty or love,
"If you stay with me,
"You'll have all the above."
The pets barely noticed the new addition to the song. But once again, Gala felt herself grow rebellious. 'I belong to myself, and myself alone. I have seen beauty in the world too, and I'm sure there is love.'
"Please stay near,
"So lonely am I,
"For here I am alone,
"So alone I could cry."
The complete change in the song broke it's spell on Gala completely. She blinked as she looked around. The walls that had held her gaze for so long were merely mirrors, of no interest at all. The other pets... they disappeared completely. Merely imaginary playmates, set up to keep her happy. Gala looked up at the creature that had been singing. A little faerie frowned at her. It was albino in appearance: white-blond hair, ivory skin, and bright pink eyes with dark red pupils. Oddly enough, the faerie was wearing a deep purple dress.
"What kind of fae are you? I'm sure I've never seen your type before."
The faerie sniffed haughtily in response. "I'm a dark faerie."
Gala nearly choked on the water she was breathing. "A dark faerie? But you look more like a light faerie!" After she said the words, Gala knew she shouldn't have. The albino faerie got such a look of anger and rage that any doubts that she was a dark fae were immediately dispersed.
"As if I didn't know?! They kicked me out of the Dark Fae caverns. First I got stuck with that senile fae, Demona. The sweet, kind dark Fae!" The albino fae's face turned pink with anger. "And then, Demona said I was too disagreeable and sent me to the Renegade Faerie! Pah! Naturally, the first thing I did when I got here was build this little lake of my own and keep everyone away from me. Idiots, all of them." But then the faerie's face softened. "But I got lonely. I know all these caves like the back of my hand, and when I decided to immerge and see what was going on in CaraTown, they had built a house behind my pond. Petpets colonized its waters, but they stayed far from my caves, fearing its depths and turns. And today, two possible friends stumble into my home. But one has broken the spell, and the other cannot speak. Please stay." The albino faerie looked at Gala imploringly. "My name's Alabaster," the fae added as an afterthought.
"I'm Gala. Would that other pet you spoke of... is it a red Ghoti?" Gala looked around the room, but saw nothing.
"Why do you ask?" Alabaster said suspiciously, eyeing the kougra. Gala's fur turned pink with embarassment.
"No reason! None at all, really." Gala said quickly. Alabaster noticed Gala's color change and smiled with delight.
"You're a freak too! You'd be the perfect pet for me!" Alabaster grinned. A red Ghoti immerged from a mirror and disappeared. "Back into the open waters for you, I no longer need you." Alabaster smiled sinisterly. "I've got the perfect pet right here."
"No! I belong to myself, and myself alone!"
"Every pet needs an owner to take care of it and dote upon it," Alabaster chanted softly, her voice taking on the same soothing tone as it had when she was singing before. Gala shook her head, but she felt like there was a blanket muffling her thoughts. "That's it... give in... you don't really want to go back..." Gala nodded lazily. "I'm the only one who cares about you..." Gala closed her eyes. She felt a collar snap around her neck and suddenly felt wide awake. "That was too easy." Alabaster smiled triumphantly. "Well, my little pet. You now belong to me." Gala felt her fur drain of color with fear. Alabaster laughed ecstatically. "We look alike now, you and I. And here you and I both will stay, forever and ever. That rune that lets you breath underwater is easy to renew. I should know, I've been using it for quite a while." Gala clawed at the collar, but to no avail. It was enchanted, and bound her to its owner as long as she wore it. Alabaster attached a leash to the collar, and the other end of the leash she tied to a wall. "I'll call you Rainbow."
Gala frowned with disgust at the name. "I've already got my own name, for your information. It's..." Gala choked. She couldn't say her own name. Her tongue twisted around, and forced the next word. "Rainbow."
"That's right, Rainbow. Very good. You learn your lesson well. Who is your owner now?"
Gala tried to say she didn't have one, but once again her tongue refused to obey her. "You are, Alabaster."
"Ouch. Gotta remember those landings." Gala shook her head and walked to the neon green townhouse, through the jungle of plants in the front yard, and knocked on the door. After a moment, the earth elemental wocky opened the door, rubbing a quickly darkening bruise on the side of his face. Gala blinked. "What happened?"
"Caravan stopped. I hate it when it happens so suddenly. I was taking a quick nap and I fell out of my hammock. And now a bunch of my plants are going to be tense. Why didn't Ren slow down first like she usually does?" He shook his head. "You ok? My plants seem to think you took quite a fall out there. Need any ice?" He was pulling an icepack of his own out a small fridge. Gala shook her head no. "Alright. I'm gonna go talk to Ren, see what the cause of this was. Want to come?" Gala nodded. "'K"
They went outside and found Dewdrop grabbing fish that had been thrown out of her pond and tossing them back in the water. She stuck a paw in the water. "Everyone there? Oh no..." The Acara frowned worriedly and looked in the bushes. She glanced up and saw Gala and Bramble. "Well, what are you waiting for? Help me find a red Ghoti. I can't call her out of water, so I can't find her." Dew looked around worriedly. Gala crouched on the ground, looking around.
"After you've found them all, I'll plant some vines around your pond to act as a sort of living fence. You fish can eat the nutrients left on the roots that immerge in the water and the vines will live off the water and the wastes of your friends." Bramble touched the soil, which glowed green for a moment. "Nice and fertile."
"Sure. But help me find my Ghoti first!" Dew stamped her foot impatiently. Gala dove into the pond in front of Dew's yard. Dew jumped at the sound. "What on earth is that kougra doing?!"
'Wow, it's alot deeper than I thought,' Gala thought to herself as she swam through the water. She had drawn a faerie rune on herself that had grown her a pair of gills, and she shivered with a strange pleasure as she swallowed the water and it immerged through her gills. Indeed, the pond was deeper and wider than physically possible - but then, so was CaraTown itself. Deciding the pond must have the same sort of spell on it (correctly so), she dove deeper down. A Tanizard nuzzled her as she swam. A Filamen glowed and nestled in the small valley between her wings and her back, glowing with a soft yellow light. A Bowla tied her hair back from her face A small school of Primellas and Catamaras seemed to smile at her as one. Gala almost forgot why she had dove into the water in the first place, until a Ramosan touched her, shocking her slightly and giving her a somewhat chiding look. Gala gave a curt nod and swam lower down. So far from the surface, it was dark, but the Filamen that was resting between her wings gave her light. She came upon a dark cave. She looked around warily. The Tanizard nudged her with her tail. A softly glowing school of Pookas arrived, in large amounts. Gala went in, worried, and the Pookas marked her trail as she went forward, each one staying to show the way back. Gala quickly made turns, and soon, there were no more fish left. The last Pooka looked at Gala with a look as though to say "It's ok, you can give up now. We're sorry." Gala shook her head. She swam forward, leaving the Filamen as one last marker and went forward into the darkness. She nimbly swam through the darkness in the tunnels, blindly going forward. 'Stupid! I should have brought that Filamen, at least then I'd be able to see better.' She shook her head at her own stupidity and turned around, giving up. She tried to go back, but could not remember which turns to make. Quickly, she got farther and farther from where she had left the trail of Pookas. 'Oh no... I'm lost!' In her panic, she swam around even more blindly.
Suddenly, she immerged into bright light. She blinked, her golden eyes adjusting. She was in a cavern, and the walls were glowing. She looked around, entranced. Others were with her, just as hypnotized by the room and the shifting colors of light as she. One, though, was not. A small creature danced in the light, laughing with glee. As it danced, it sang liltingly:
"My sweet pretty pets,
"You will stay with me,
"Never to roam,
"Never again free.
"Your home is now here,
"And here you will stay,
"For you are now mine
"For fun and for play."
Gala and the other pets nodded and swayed to the song. The music echoed from the walls. In the back of Gala's mind, she knew something was not right. 'I want to be free... I don't belong to anyone...' A voice in the back of her mind spoke up. Gala blinked, the trance broken for a moment, but the song simply grew fiercer, more encompassing.
"My sweet pretty pets,
"You will stay with me,
"Never to roam,
"Never again free.
"Your home is now here,
"And here you will stay,
"For you are now mine
"For fun and for play.
"The world is unfair,
"Without beauty or love,
"If you stay with me,
"You'll have all the above."
The pets barely noticed the new addition to the song. But once again, Gala felt herself grow rebellious. 'I belong to myself, and myself alone. I have seen beauty in the world too, and I'm sure there is love.'
"Please stay near,
"So lonely am I,
"For here I am alone,
"So alone I could cry."
The complete change in the song broke it's spell on Gala completely. She blinked as she looked around. The walls that had held her gaze for so long were merely mirrors, of no interest at all. The other pets... they disappeared completely. Merely imaginary playmates, set up to keep her happy. Gala looked up at the creature that had been singing. A little faerie frowned at her. It was albino in appearance: white-blond hair, ivory skin, and bright pink eyes with dark red pupils. Oddly enough, the faerie was wearing a deep purple dress.
"What kind of fae are you? I'm sure I've never seen your type before."
The faerie sniffed haughtily in response. "I'm a dark faerie."
Gala nearly choked on the water she was breathing. "A dark faerie? But you look more like a light faerie!" After she said the words, Gala knew she shouldn't have. The albino faerie got such a look of anger and rage that any doubts that she was a dark fae were immediately dispersed.
"As if I didn't know?! They kicked me out of the Dark Fae caverns. First I got stuck with that senile fae, Demona. The sweet, kind dark Fae!" The albino fae's face turned pink with anger. "And then, Demona said I was too disagreeable and sent me to the Renegade Faerie! Pah! Naturally, the first thing I did when I got here was build this little lake of my own and keep everyone away from me. Idiots, all of them." But then the faerie's face softened. "But I got lonely. I know all these caves like the back of my hand, and when I decided to immerge and see what was going on in CaraTown, they had built a house behind my pond. Petpets colonized its waters, but they stayed far from my caves, fearing its depths and turns. And today, two possible friends stumble into my home. But one has broken the spell, and the other cannot speak. Please stay." The albino faerie looked at Gala imploringly. "My name's Alabaster," the fae added as an afterthought.
"I'm Gala. Would that other pet you spoke of... is it a red Ghoti?" Gala looked around the room, but saw nothing.
"Why do you ask?" Alabaster said suspiciously, eyeing the kougra. Gala's fur turned pink with embarassment.
"No reason! None at all, really." Gala said quickly. Alabaster noticed Gala's color change and smiled with delight.
"You're a freak too! You'd be the perfect pet for me!" Alabaster grinned. A red Ghoti immerged from a mirror and disappeared. "Back into the open waters for you, I no longer need you." Alabaster smiled sinisterly. "I've got the perfect pet right here."
"No! I belong to myself, and myself alone!"
"Every pet needs an owner to take care of it and dote upon it," Alabaster chanted softly, her voice taking on the same soothing tone as it had when she was singing before. Gala shook her head, but she felt like there was a blanket muffling her thoughts. "That's it... give in... you don't really want to go back..." Gala nodded lazily. "I'm the only one who cares about you..." Gala closed her eyes. She felt a collar snap around her neck and suddenly felt wide awake. "That was too easy." Alabaster smiled triumphantly. "Well, my little pet. You now belong to me." Gala felt her fur drain of color with fear. Alabaster laughed ecstatically. "We look alike now, you and I. And here you and I both will stay, forever and ever. That rune that lets you breath underwater is easy to renew. I should know, I've been using it for quite a while." Gala clawed at the collar, but to no avail. It was enchanted, and bound her to its owner as long as she wore it. Alabaster attached a leash to the collar, and the other end of the leash she tied to a wall. "I'll call you Rainbow."
Gala frowned with disgust at the name. "I've already got my own name, for your information. It's..." Gala choked. She couldn't say her own name. Her tongue twisted around, and forced the next word. "Rainbow."
"That's right, Rainbow. Very good. You learn your lesson well. Who is your owner now?"
Gala tried to say she didn't have one, but once again her tongue refused to obey her. "You are, Alabaster."