NeoPets, a vast and fantasy world inhabited by several species of little creatures known as, well, NeoPets too. It was a fun place at first, but I guess the feeling has to die sometime... This however does not means this story will drop from being one of my personal favorites. This, being not only my first take at simple and direct- fluffy- romance (With no other genres) was also my first shot at a Shoujo-ai story.

As mentioned above, this is a shoujo-ai. That, for those of you who don't know, is a female-female relationship but nothing explicit, that is no lemons or anything. Just that simple touchy-feeling. In this case, a story of my Shoyru, Ryoulon and an Acara named Rena.

Some of the characters I introduce here, such as Alan, my human persona (Yes, same name, but different look/characterization) is pretty much my property. Ryoulon and Rena are, in a matter of speech, my own as well, but the species concept is of course property of NeoPets.

So without much ado, let me give a final warning again. This is a shoujo-ai (remember, non-explicit female/female relationship). If you can't handle that for any reason (The overall lesbian genre, or the fact that they are not humans) you'll do well to leave now.

One last thing, even though this is the 4th time I update this story, it will now be referred as "Remastered." I worked on several plot points, probably added more things, had to cut some things... All in order to make it a one shot. And now it's V2.

The Love of a Girl - Chapters 1 & 2 - The Beginning and the Meeting.
"Remastered V2"

A Shoyru- a female cyan-furred Shoyru to be precise- paced around inside a room. She took several steps in random directions, not really doing anything. She was wearing a rather simplistic white shirt and a pair of white pants, pretty much looking like an overall simple pajama, but the color contrasted nicely against her fur, and the color of the room, which was just a shade lighter than her cyan tone. The room consisted on a door on the far right, near the bottom corner. On the opposite wall rested a bed slightly longer than her size, a blanket with a several stars embedded into it rested on top of the bed while on the wall, above her bed, a Shoury Battle Sabre and a Shoyru Battle Shield rested. Adjacent to the door, on the same wall was a desk with several books open, some papers, and various pens. And next to it was a shelf with at least 30 different books. The wall that could be considered the north one had a painting of a landscape on the far right, whereas a window of about 20 inches was in the middle of the wall at the top. In the wall opposite to it, or the south one was a two door closet.

She walked to the window and rested her head on her crossed paws which found their place in the frame of the window. She looked upwards at the starry sky with a dreamy look in her eyes: She always found these nights relaxing. Life can be funny... She sighed with a slight chuckle before she took a step back and turned around, heading towards her bed. She jumped at it when in range, making her bounce a bit before the mattress got used to the added wait. After turning upside down she stared at the ceiling, blinking rather sporadically. She let out a small sigh and sat on the edge of the bed. She looked up at the desk not far away from her current position. She got up and walked towards it, sitting on the chair before pulling out a small notebook. It was her diary actually, the cover was a shade of pink and several adornments here and there, the word Ryoulon attacked to it at the top.

She opened it and flipped through several pages, until she reached the entry she had been looking for. She had just written it a few moments ago actually. She placed a finger in between the pages before closing her diary as she walked to her bed, letting herself fall on it again before reopening her diary. She started to read in her head.

Dear diary, life can indeed be funny. Right now, I'm only 287 days old and already has my life given a rather interesting turn... Why's that? Well, she sighed in comfort as she stretched in bed, holding her diary in one hand. Suffice to say I've discovered a new shade of a rather peculiar feeling. And, to say the truth, I was slightly scared at first, and for a couple of reasons. First of all, well, as I said, it was a new shade so to speak, and I have never thought about things that way, not to mention I... She blushed at her own words, feeling slightly silly about it. I thought I was the only one. God, how silly do I feel now. My father was able to help me a little, but still, I just hope things turn out well.

Oh, but what am I talking about? Allow me to explain...

It was a simple sunny day, as much as I recall, there was only a cloud here or there. A typical summer day if you ask me. Anyway, I had gone out for a walk through Neopia Central, just browsing through several stores, mainly clothing ones. As you know, I'm not one of those girls overly interested in clothing, I'm not vain at all... My closet is rather select, but it's still something to do.

Now where was I? Oh yeah, I entered a store, can't remember which one, hehe. I guess I was too busy boring myself out down there. Once inside I remember going through several rackets of clothing, just looking. Something did caught my eye, but it was not a piece of clothing for that matter.

If I remember correctly, oh, who am I kidding? I know this like the back of my paw. Anyway, two rackets away from me I saw a blue Acara, her- notice the her- clothing was pretty much like mine, rather simplistic, just different color patterns, sizes, and, well, you get the picture. For what seemed to be an eternity to me- even though in reality it was only about fifteen minutes,- she kept going through several rackets, going from one to another.

For some reason I couldn't force my sight away from her. Much as I tried, it was all for naught, as I found myself tailing her every movement, hiding, concealing my every moment as best as possible trying to act natural. It was as if my body had suddenly developed a necessity to see her, cause I couldn't find a more reasonable explanation at the time. I prayed to myself that she hadn't seen me, and I believe they were heard. How would you feel if you suddenly found out someone was following you around? I know I would feel scared somewhat.

Finally, she moved to the counter, not carrying anything. The current attendant was a golden Aisha. I even remember their dialogues, "Couldn't find anything today either, I see," she spoke with a low, soft tone.

The Acara's expression took a hint of sadness as she slumped slightly and shrugged at the same time she shook her head, "What do you think?" She answered sarcastically. I don't think she was being rude, just... Hmm, disheartened, can't seem to think of the right word. "I just can't find that particular dress anywhere," she added, letting out another sigh. How cute she loo... "Oh yeah, I scratched out the rest for some reason..." She shook her head and continued reading.

"Oh well," the Aisha smiled, trying to cheer her up, "better luck next time Rena. See ya!" The Aisha waved her paw as the Acara, no, as Rena walked outside the store with that sad look on her face. I didn't knew why then, but part of me just wanted to run and hold her, but I couldn't... How would I?

Finally, at that moment, it hit me. The feeling I knew, sort of. Had never experienced it before, yes, but I had the general concept. Back to the main point, well, I'm female, so is she, get my drift? I was...worried, no, well, worried and slightly shocked in a sense, that's why I said life is somewhat funny and that it had given a sharp turn.

I must have looked like an idiot for a while there, because I believe I must have been hanging onto a hanger for at least two minutes staring at the exit before said hanger gave up and I went face first to the floor. I quickly brushed up after standing up and rushed to the exit, looking frantically around for her, but alas, I took a little too much time daydreaming inside because she was nowhere in sight. With a sigh, I took flight and decided to go back home, my face mirrored Rena's as when she left the store.

The flight was pretty uneventful, as usual. At the end I dived, landing in the front yard of my house. I took several steps to the door frame before opening it and stepping inside. My father was already there. As you know, his name is Alan.

He was in the living room at that time, and that would be the first room one sees when entering the house. He lowered the Neopian Times he was reading and smiled at me. Yes, Rena's image was still fresh in my mind, but I forced a smile into my face as I hovered to him and have him a small hug. "Hi sweetie," he said in his usual manner. Just like everyday, yet, even after all this time it has lost no meaning whatsoever.

"Hi dad," I greeted back. I might have put up a good impression with my trademark smile, but my voice totally gave me off. And you should know my dad, hardly anything gets past him, which is both a good and a bad thing. Long story short, the next moment was easily one of the most awkward, if not the most awkward moment in my life. Heh, or at least so far, thought I believe the incident at the store is a close second. I took a few moments to explain my dad the recent chain of events. While I'm not too fond of speaking openly about this type of subject, he hasn't given me a reason so far to doubt his words, so it always helps to speak with him.

Anyway, at that time I didn't knew if he could help me. I thought not, but he proved me wrong. Again, even though I have never experienced that feeling, that is, until that time, I had a general idea on it, then again, I never expected another female could draw my attention that way... She blushed slightly at the written words.

But yes, my father was able to help me on the subject. In short, he told me it was perfectly normal for me to... 'Like' another girl like that, and, well, I think you know the rest of this. All in all, he said he would always support and care for me whether I loved a female, a male, or none at all, go figure about the last one. She rolled her eyes to no one in particular. Turning around in her bed she looked outside the window, but not before placing her finger in between the pages. She fixed her sight on a particular star for a few seconds before continuing reading.

Unfortunately, Neopia is quite a big place. Just what chance do I have of meeting, let alone, seeing her again? Even worse, the odds that she is like me, or if you wish, the odds of her liking me back in such way can't be that high, now can they? A sigh broke the silence of the room. At least I have her name... Rena, that should help a little to find her I think... No, I hope. She got up of bed and started to walk towards the door, not bringing her diary down.

I must have spent the rest of the day daydreaming, which I seldom do. Then again, I don't think falling in love for another female is an everyday activity either. All in all, this has been a strange day. She hit the light switch while closing her diary and started to head back to bed, placing the notebook above the desk on the way. I don't regret any of it however, I just... She yawned, lying down on bed and pulling the blankets. I just hope to see her again.

And so she drifted away to sleep.

---------- (Back to third person narrator...)

Nights were rather uneventful in that particular part of Neopia, and as such most of them came and went rather uneventfully. The sun was already replacing the tired moon, giving some time to the streetlights to rest as they were replaced by the sun. Being the early riser he was, Alan was already up and in the kitchen of the house. He had decided to take the day off or, to be more precise, he just didn't felt like going out that day. That, and he was still a bit worried about her daughter. She seldom daydreamed that much, he knew that, not to mention the last set of events she had gone through.

Ryoulon however was mostly the opposite. Since her sleep was actually rather light, she ended up needing more time resting in order to feel refreshed, thus she ended up waking up late most of the time when she had no need to wake up early. Her Doglefox usually had a say in the matter however, and this was one of those days as it jumped up into her bed. She looked at the slumbering Shoyru for a few moments. She looked so peaceful, with a smile on her face. More than enough for no one to bother her, but her Doglefox wasn't just anyone as it barked once before licking her face several times before she started to stir.

The cyan Shoyru let out a small giggle as she opened her eyes, backing away in her bed just a little. "Hey, stop it!" She exclaimed in a soft tone, but in surprise nonetheless as she tried to catch the swift Doglefox in her paws. Normally she would have no trouble at all, but her sight was still playing tricks on her drowsy mind. Finally, succeeding at keeping the little squirming dog-fox in her paws, she sat up in the edge of her bed. "Morning, Reil," she set her pet down before stretching for a few moments, just before stifling a yawn behind her right paw. She was of course still wearing the same white shirt and pants combination, it was her pajama after all. She got up and left her room slightly drowsy with Reil trailing behind.

She walked to the kitchen more deftly now as her sight returned to normal. She found Alan already sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee as per usual. "Took the day off?" She questioned, even though she was fairly sure of the answer. All the while, she placed a slice of bread in the toaster and took out a carton of milk from the fridge.

"Yeah, I needed a small rest," he said as Ryoulon grabbed the toasted bread and placed it on a plate. With a glass of milk already to the side. She grabbed a small bag from one of the cupboard's lower shelves. "Just how long were you daydreaming yesterday?" She caught the grin on Alan's face as he asked that, making her almost trip with the bag of food for her pet.

"I-ah... Erm..." She stammered, trying to gain time as she gave the appearance of being busy pouring food on Reil's dish, even though the task was rather easy. Her answer never came though.

"Oh relax, you know I'm just teasing you," Alan let out a small chuckle before taking a sip of his coffee. "It's just that you rarely daydream."

Ryoulon grabbed her plate and glass then sat on a chair opposite of Alan's position on the table. "I know I know. You already know I'm not even sure on what to think right now..." She let out a small sigh before taking a bite from her toast.

Putting his cup down, Alan spoke, "Why don't you try doing to Neopia Central today as well?"

The Shoyru took a drink from her milk before answering, "What for..."

"You know well enough what I mean. You'd be lying to yourself if you said you weren't hoping on seeing her again."

Ryoulon felt hurt. Not for his words, but because he was right. She did tried lying to herself a bit, saying that it was only a trick of her mind, that it was nothing. But she knew her heart had never lied to her, and this time it was no different. She truly wanted to the Acara again. "Maybe..." She muttered.

"Maybe?" Alan frowned.

"Alright alright, I do want to see her! It's just that..." She suppressed a sniffle, trying not to choke on her breakfast. Alan noticed her reaction, he thought his words had been a bit harsh. Nonetheless, he left his seat and walked towards her. Losing no time, Ryoulon let go of her chair and jumped at him, hugging him and letting a few tears roll down her cheek. "I just... I-I just..."

"Shh, I know what you're thinking. But really, do you rather know the answer to that, or simply let it devour you?" He smiled looking at her, stroking her back softly to calm her.

The cyan Shoyru let out another sniffle, she looked at him. He was right. If she didn't tried to do something at all, it would just eat her up from the inside. "Th-then what can I d-do?" She spoke as well as she could.

"Well, I can't really give you a complete answer to that. I can however, advice you the next..." He started whispering into Ryoulon's ear.

----------

Neopia in its summer days had clear skies most of the time. It wasn't overly dry, but rain was a blessing in those times around those parts. None of it mattered however, as Ryoulon stood outside the very same store she had been at yesterday, holding her Doglefox in her paws. Part of her was afraid; afraid something might go wrong and it would totally ruin her chance, but the other part made her stay, it was the hope in her heart. She wasn't sure however if Rena was going to show up or not, but since the stores got a new stock of clothing every day, there was a good chance. She couldn't lose much from this, only gain at most. She must have stood out there for a good ten minutes before Reil started to get impatient on her paws, but Ryoulon never desisted.

Finally, the Acara that for her was the symbol of perfection, showed up. She started to get a lot more nervous, and her heart starting to pace faster didn't helped much the matter. As Rena got close to the store, she smiled at Ryoulon before entering. This, needless to say, left a rather perplexed Shoyru by the entrance of the store, not sure of what to think. Daydreaming again, she must have lost at the least a minute out there looking at nowhere in particular before a bark from Reil brought her feet back to the real word. She shook her head, took a deep breath to arm herself with enough courage, then finally walked in.

Most stores of Neopia had no problems with PetPets, as long as they behaved of course. And Reil rarely disobeyed Ryoulon, but this time, it would be a different story. Just like the previous day, the cyan Shoyru 'stalked' the NeoPet that sparked the will in her heart around the store. She tried to act natural as well, always inspecting any piece of clothing she could as long as Rena were in her sight. After at least half an hour, the blue Acara picked up a dress, a pink dress actually. She eyed it for a few moments, cocking her head sideways several times. She the nodded with a smile before taking the piece of fabric to the counter.

The same Aisha from yesterday was behind the counter this time as well. They exchanged a few words as Rena placed the dress atop the counter. The nice thing about almost any store, is that no matter where you lived, they would deliver your items almost instantly to your home and free of charge. Of course, they needed an address first, right? The golden Aisha handed Rena a piece of paper, standard formulary actually. Grabbing a pen, she started to write on it. Oblivious to what was about to happen.

Not far away, Ryoulon was crouching. Her petit figure partially concealed amidst the clothing articles, and most of them were blue in color to add to the camouflage. "Alright," she whispered to her Doglefox, "Wait just a sec, and... Ok, just like I told you, go!" She commanded before Reil sprung forward. Adeptly moving to the sides evading other NeoPets and racks of clothing. Ryoulon allowed her to get a head start of two seconds before sprinting as well in pursuit of her PetPet. Reaching the counter, Reil jumped up without problems and grabbed the paper from the Acara's paws thanks to the surprise factor and then jumped away, leaving two startled NeoPets.

"Reil!" Ryoulon yelled as she flew in a straight line close to the ground, but still at quite a high speed. She easily caught up to her Doglefox who had stopped at the mention of her name. The Shoyru picked her up, taking a quick look at the paper with the address. She took no more than a second to burn the words in her head before turning around with a stern look at her pet. "Bad Doglefox!" she said playfully smacking Reil on her head. She then started walking towards the Aisha who was shooting an angry glare that could kill at her, meanwhile Rena was laughing silently behind her right paw.

Ryoulon smiled apologetically, "I'm really sorry for this. I swear she had never done this before," she bowed, trying to keep her composure at check.

The Acara shook her head with a smile, "It's alright, don't worry. There was no harm done after all."

The Aisha had another idea however, "Just make sure it doesn't happens again," she said, looking sternly at the Petpet who wailed under her lingering gaze.

"Don't worry, I will." She bowed again, using this time to smile quickly before returning to her fake apologetic smile and made her way out of the store. All the while still going through the address in her mind.

----------

The rest of that day had been completely uneventful. And thus, before they knew, the next day had already come. Alan had gone out since early, leaving Ryoulon to herself. Not that she minded however. Especially today she had spent most of the morning just thinking and wouldn't want to worry her father again. Thinking on what? On what to put in the letter she was going to mail. If it worked, well, calling her overly happy would be quite an understatement. On the other hand, the feeling she would get if it failed would be shattering at most.

Then, finally, after about three hours she finished writing the letter. It wasn't long in reality, it was just a page long. What took her time was thinking on the correct words to write, to make it not sound desperate or anything, but not completely uninterested. She did her handwriting the best as possible. Not that it was bad at all originally, but she wanted every detail to look as best as possible. She re-read this particular letter, which was already the fifth draft, again before deciding everything was all right. She folded the paper thrice, leaving it as one long rectangle so it could fit inside an envelope. Sealing it, she wrote her signature on the front of the envelope. She then gazed at the paper where she had written the address of the Acara just in case. But it wasn't necessary, because it was still fresh in her mind.

Before leaving her room, she looked behind her and noticed Reil sleeping peacefully on her bed. She decided against waking her up, more so on the fact that it would be easier for her to simply fly to her destination than walking. Sporting a blue shirt and jeans of the same color, both a shade darker than her fur, she left her house. With a couple of flaps from her wings, she was able to take flight easily, making her clothing and fur sway with the summer wind. After a couple of minutes of flight she spotted the place she was headed to, and started to dive as a result. Landing softly, creating a small wind current making the grass under her feet sway, she walked to the mailbox of the house she had landed on. Opening it up, she placed the letter inside.

She lost no time however before taking flight again and heading back to her home. She tried not to think too much of the situation, as difficult as it was. She landed at her home without too much effort as well and entered her home. Just as she had closed the door and turned around, her Doglefox was already jumping at her. She caught it without problems, petting it for a moment before setting the animal on the floor. She then noticed Alan was already back home.

He looked at her. The smug face she had was all he needed to know. "So, you gave it a shot, right?"

Ryoulon nodded, walking close to him, "Yeah, I just hope my luck isn't as bad as I believe it is..." She let out a small sigh.

"Hey, don't say that," he tried comforting her, placing his hand on her head, ruffling her but a bit. "Remember that hope is last thing to fade away," he said with a smile.

The Shoyru smiled, "Yeah, you're right," she said, her usual smile returning to her. She started to walk into her room with Reil trailing behind.

----------

That same day, a few hours later, in another part of the streets of the Neopian Suburbs, an Acara wearing a long white skirt with a light-red blouse left her house. She took a quick glance at her mailbox: It's not that she expected something, and it had grown to be more of a reflex by now, but she was surprised when she saw that something was inside. Mostly due to the fact that she rarely got letters besides the normal stuff, such as bills, and it was still some time before the next set of them came in.

A slight smile grew on her face as she walked towards the mailbox, opening it and grabbing the letter inside, "Hmm..." she let out turning the letter around. "Ryoulon...?" She spoke the name softly, trying to find something in her memory, but couldn't. "I wonder..." She lifted an eyebrow as she walked back to her home, whatever she had planned for the night could wait not.

Closing the door behind her, she sat on one of her couches in the living room. She was one of those independent NeoPets, so she lived by herself. She carefully opened the letter as best as her paws allowed her, before taking out the letter, unfolding it and started to read. The further her sight went down the letter, the more her smile grew in her face, until at last she had to stifle a giggle behind her right paw. She let out a sigh of content as she gazed at the rosy-pink ceiling, already having a good idea on who the sender was.

All of her body was telling her it was the Shoyru she had seen the previous couple of days. She never really talked to her, just a couple of words and a smile. But the fact that she was following her around the store not once but twice, and then her Doglefox was 'stolen' from her paws coincidentally enough. There were just too many coincidences to point at anyone else but her. Still looking at the ceiling, she let out a soft giggle escape her mouth before going through the letter again. After a small introduction, she wrote that she wanted to meet her. And if she were to accept, Rena could choose the place and time. Ryoulon's address was written at the bottom of the letter as well in case she decided to answer.

She hummed to herself, placing the letter in the table in front of her. Standing up, she took a couple of steps to her kitchen, a grabbing a piece of paper as well as a pen she started to write on it. Having read what she wrote after finishing, she nodded in approval and then went to look for an envelope in a drawer from the kitchen as well. Folding the paper twice to make a rectangle she placed it inside the envelope, sealing it and signed the letter. She looked at the address written in the original letter and found that it was close to her current destination, noting that she would be a bit late already but it didn't mattered too much.

She left her home once again, with letter in paw. She walked through the streets of Neopia without problems before she found the home. There were no lights home, and since it was still a bit early, she assumed the Shoyru was not at home at the time, so she opted to leave the letter in the mailbox before resuming her pace downtown.

----------

Ryoulon swiftly jumped to her right as a Gelert dashed in a tackle directly against her. "Come on, its that all you got?" She landed softly on the floor and quickly sprung forward before losing any time. Taking flight to above four meters above land, she made an u-turn on the air and started to dive down at her opponent with a needle kick of sorts. Her black shorts swayed a little against the force of the wind, and had she not placed her right paw at the hem of the shirt, it would be up in her face already.

The Gelert had just turned around and didn't expected to see her diving at him like that. He tried as best as possible to avoid contact, but the kick nailed him in the shoulder, the force of the impact making him stumble to the side. Tough luck... Ryoulon snapped her fingers as she went past the Gelert still in flight, but less than a meter above ground. She quickly made a turn and was going to dive at him again, but was surprised to say the least at seeing the Gelert already back in his balance and charging at her as well.

She flapped her wings in an effort to gain altitude at the last minute, but couldn't avoid the direct impact as the Gelert rammed his head into her stomach, but not before kicking him in the head as well. Ryoulon was sent crashing into the floor, sliding on her back about two meters before she quickly gripped her paws on the floor, and using the impulse from the impact, she managed to flip back up to her feet. Brushing her clothes slightly to shake some of the dirt she collected, she grimaced a bit; the sliding must had probably burned a little of the skin in her back. Ah well, it'll only last a couple of hours. She thought, before being interrupted by Reil barking behind her. She dismissed the sound however.

And it's over... She thought while pressing both feet to the ground before darting forward again, flying in a straight line at the Gelert but being careful of not repeating the same mistake again. Once she was about three meters away from him, she expected him to make an attack, and sure enough, at just one meter of distance the Gelert made a back-flip kicking upwards in the process, but he only got the air as Ryoulon touched ground with her right feet and make a quick impulse to the left. Not leaving flight however, she quickly turned around behind the disoriented Gelert and delivered a fierce roundhouse kick to the back of his head using the force from the spinning she had made. This knocked him out cold instantly.

Landing a few meters away from her cold opponent, she passed a paw through her forehead, wiping a few drops of sweat that had formed during the fight. She stretched a bit, That wasn't so bad... She thought before walking towards where Alan and Reil waited. Her opponent being carried by a few other NeoPets. Ryoulon knelt besides Reil and patted her in the head softly.

"You did well," Alan complimented with a smile.

"Thanks," Ryoulon blushed partly under her cyan fur. "All that training had to pay off sometime, right?" She answered smiling at him as she grabbed the Sabre and Shield Alan had been carrying for her. She easily fastened both to her back with a strap she had made. While she normally used them for fighting, her current opponent had been unarmed, so she decided to fight like that as well.

"I noticed you were a bit..." Alan paused for a second, "Anxious. Anxious and slightly tense you could say."

"I..." Ryoulon stammered, even though it was true. Overall, this hadn't been her best fight. And the crimson color covering her cheeks only server to prove Alan's point. She tried to look down in order to hide it, but it was futile.

"I know I know, you are worried about her answer," he said. Ryoulon then nodded, "Well, no sense in staying here anymore. You want to head back?" He offered, pointing behind and over his shoulder.

Feeling less flushed by now, Ryoulon looked up at him. "Sure," she answered with a nod. She liked the Battle Dome, yes, but at this particular moment it was too difficult for her to focus on any other but one subject...

----------

The walk back from the Battle Dome to their home in the Neopian Suburbs wasn't really eventful. Alan had offered Ryoulon to carry her things, but she had refused. Other than that, they were just making small talk until their home finally came into view. Ryoulon made her way straight for the entrance as Alan checked the mailbox. Nothing out of the ordinary it seemed, bills, propagandas, Neopian Bank's Credit Cards invitations. He flipped through them until he noticed an odd one- More so in the sense that was signed by someone else and had no official stamp or whatever- he looked at the back of the envelope and read the name to himself. Ryoulon had noticed none of this and was already entering the house heaving a long sigh.

"Oh? Hey, Ryoulon." She turned around at the mention of her name and looked at the letter Alan was holding between his fingers. The Shoyru eagerly grabbed the letter and turned it around. Seeing the name in the back made her face's expression become totally overridden by a smile, and a wide one at it. She could even swear a tear dwelled in her eye. A long time ago she had said she wouldn't fly in the house to avoid any accidents, but it seemed to totally pass over her as she made a sprint-step and threw herself in a straight line to her room, while Reil trying to keep up. In one display of skill and coordination, the cyan-furred Shoyru spun her body while flying in order to close her door but not slowing down at all. She was so distraught by the letter that she had forgotten about Reil, who had run heads-on into the door. She wailed at the door, scratching at the base of it for a few seconds before the door opened, allowing her in, then closed again. Alan chuckled at the whole ordeal before sitting on the coach to go through all the correspondence.

Ryoulon was already sitting on her bed. Needless to say, she was overjoyed. She kept eyeing the letter before opening, then she froze cold. What if... What if she doesn't want to meet me... And... No! She shook her head. I was taught better than to not be pessimistic... I just have to... She took a couple of slow breaths. There. Then she tore the upper part of the envelope, took the paper out and unfolded it before starting to read. With each passing second, her smile grew wider, as well as a tear dwelling in her eyes.

----------

Alan had already finished going through the letters that had arrived. Not that one of them required his attention for too much, as it turned out to be none of them were important at all. He was just lying against the couch he was sitting on before a sudden, and quite loud "YES!" took by him surprise, startling him a bit and sending him into an upright position. He expected this to get the whole block as well... One way or another.

Ryoulon left her room and dashed over to Alan. "I assume she said yes," he tried. With a grin across her face, the Shoyru only nodded, even though he clearly knew the answer. "Yeah," Alan pointed at the back of the Shoyru, "I kinda figured so, considering you are still carrying around your gear." He grinned.

She looked behind her, and sure enough, both her Sabre and her Shield were still fastened to her back. She smiled sheepishly with a very slight crimson tone on her cheeks all the while she scratched the back of her neck nervously. She then left for the room and after a few seconds came back without them. She stared at Alan, who did nothing but state back like this were some sort of eye-spy contest. Reil just kept switching her sight between one and the other as silence reigned over the place.

"Well," Ryoulon was the first to break the silence, "Aren't you going to ask?"

Alan shrugged, "Well, it's not really any of my business, but since you insist..." He made a slight pause to tease her, after she frowned he continued with a smile "What did she said?"

"She wants to meet me tomorrow ar around four PM by the Rainbow Pool," she answered back with her usual smile.

"Good for you," Alan nodded.

Ryoulon stared at him for a second before sighing theatrically at him. "Is that it?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"Well, you still have... Let's see... About eighteen hours before that happens, so you might want to start getting ready." He chuckled. Ryoulon made a step backwards, mocking being pushed by the words, placing one paw on the table that was behind her. "Well?"

The Shoyru shook her head incredulously, "That was a cheap shot and you know it!"

Alan grinned, "I'm the one who takes hours to get ready after all."

"Hmm..." Ryoulon said, "Meh, you are right on that, but it was still a cheap shot! Anyway, I'm going to bed, I'm a bit tired already." She waved her left paw as she left to her room.

"Good night."

"Night," she answered back closing the door behind her after Reil had gone in.

"Women," he shrugged in his seat.

----------

And so the next day in Neopia came. And Ryoulon was, well, just a bit above her preferred stress level. The clock only marked 1 PM and she was already leveling her closet to find what she would wear for the occasion. Then again, that was pretty much the general time frame for most females to get ready. It took her just an hour to figure on the actual clothing, but then other things came... In the end, a big pile of clothing was over her bed by the time she had finished and she only head about thirty minutes left before four o'clock. She had ended up wearing a pair of khaki shorts, and a white sleeveless shirt, all making a great fit with her petit figure. She looked at herself in the mirror for a couple of minutes before she felt she was ready.

Feeling good about her current attire, she was going to leave her room but grabbed a black, small purse from her desk before actually leaving her room.

Having left in the early morning, Alan had just returned moments ago. He saw Ryoulon walk towards the door with a determined look, "Good luck," he said to her with a smile.

Ryoulon almost choke in her spot, looking at him, "When did you get here?" She asked in surprise with wide-eyes.

Alan chuckled, "I've been here for at least thirty minutes, dear..." He added a peculiar accent to the last word to tease her.

"Anyway, thanks for the support," she said as she was going to leave the house.

"Go get 'em tiger!" He said grinning widely, making her almost choke in her spot again.

She gave him a stern look that only served to make him laugh openly, "You know, you could get me a tiger paintbrush as well to go with the joke."

"Eh, no thanks, we both know you prefer cyan overall. No really, have a nice day," he said.

"Thank you," she made a small bow rolling her eyes as she left the house. She took a deep breath once she was out, then a step, another, a flap of her wings, and she was on the air, taking up into the sky. Flying at a somewhat slow speed she headed to the assigned meeting point, she would prefer flying faster, but she didn't wanted to mess up her looks, so she had little choice in the matter.

----------

An Acara was already standing by the Rainbow Pool in Neopia Central. She had said that by 4 PM, but decided to get there just a few minutes early. She was wearing a long pinkish dress- Not exactly a dress, as it wasn't too formal at all, but it was a full body-piece clothing. It wasn't tight at all, and the fabric looked relaxed as par se as it swayed slightly with the wind. Standing in two legs against a nearby tree she kept scanning through all the NeoPets walking by. (I do believe they can stand in two without problems, much like Fernypoo...)

She then remembered her 'date' was a Shoyru, and would probably have more luck scouting the air. She lifted her head and looked around the several NeoPets flying by. She then spotted a cyan Shoyru hovering around motionless in mid-air, looking down. Rena thought she had seen her, and it appeared to be correct because just a few moments later the Shoyru started to fly down in a straight line. She gracefully landed about two meters away from here, creating a small gust of wind from the flapping of her winds that the Acara was thankful, as the day was rather hot, being in the peak times of summer and all.

The cyan-furred Shoyru started to walk closer to her, but she was actually heading towards the pool. "Ryoulon?" The Acara asked, making the Shoyru freeze in her spot.

She turned around, looking at her with a small gasp, "How did... No... Could you?" She stammered, not being able to say anything coherent at the time.

Rena giggled softly behind her paw, "Yeah, I was pretty sure it was you who had sent that letter," she paused. "People normally don't stare at someone for about twenty minutes or so and stalk them without a reason at all," she grinned looking at her expression.

"Don't tell me, you noticed!" Ryoulon asked in surprise, not that she cared, but mostly on the fact that she thought she had done a good job at playing her own espionage mission.

The Acara shook her head, "Barely," she smiled, "You know, you are really good at hiding. But the whole Doglefox act seemed a little bit too prepared to say the truth."

Ryoulon let out a small sigh, shaking her head slightly, "That I admit, I couldn't think of something else to do besides simply approaching you and talking..."

"Never said I minded," she smiled. "But what didn't you just simply do the latter?"

Ryoulon frowned, "What? Simply talking to you?" Rena nodded in response. With a shrug, the Shoyru answered, "I don't know, I guess I was too scared."

"I see," Rena nodded. "Come on, let us go somewhere else. I was never too much of a fan for such crowded places, though if you wish to go somewhere, then by all means..."

"Oh no, I don't have any ideas. I'll just follow you."

"Alright then, please follow me," she said as she started to walk northwest from the well. Ryoulon wasn't really sure where she was taking her, but she just followed her.

The silence was getting to Ryoulon. It had been already several minutes and they hadn't said a word at all, and the only things that broke the dull atmosphere were the sounds of leaves crumbling under their feet. "Oh, I suppose I should tell you this," she started.

"What's that?" Ryoulon asked in return, thankful for breaking the silence.

"I do swing that way too," the Acara answered back with a giggle, and placing a particular emphasis on 'that'.

This, needless to say, caught Ryoulon completely by surprise, flushing her cheeks a little. She coughed into her paw trying to regain her cool composure, but it only server to make Rena laugh more openly at the situation.

Ryoulon had started to think she was taking her to the Wishing Well, but they had gone past it already. Entering the nearby woods, the path suddenly disappeared and they were in the wilderness of the forest, not too far from civilization actually, but there was no one at all in this place. After a few moments, they finally reached a clearing. A secluded spot with a lake in the middle in which the sun's rays reflected on, creating quite a marvelous sight.

"Woah... Beautiful..." Ryoulon muttered, partly out of breath. The place was indeed completely empty, which more than went along with Rena's taste to less public places.

The Acara approached the astonished Shoyru, waving her paw in front of her eyes to make her react, letting out a small giggle. "I like this place. Whenever I feel like being alone, or need to think about something, I usually come here. It always eases my mind." She held up a finger, "Oh, hold on a minute," she said before walking behind a nearby tree. Ryoulon looked at her partly confused as the Acara looked as if she were pulling something out of the tree. A couple of seconds later she had taken a red blanket out.

With the help of Ryoulon, they laid the blanket on the grass, just a meter or so away from the lake. Once fully extended, both sat down on it and started to talk.

They had spent most of the day just talking. At the very least, four hours or so had gone by already, as the sun was leaving the skies and was almost completely hidden from sight by now. Their topics of conversation kept changing constantly; so in short, either it was small talk, or getting to know each other. As time kept passing however, so did the temperature. Though it didn't looked like, Neopia could be classified as a desert, since at nights the temperatures often drop to the partly cold climates. So with each passing moment, they kept getting closer, until at the end they ended up snuggling together. Not that they minded though.

Some time passed, and both guessed it would be about 9 PM by now, since it was pretty much pitch dark by now, and the air was growing colder, not to mention that the sun was now completely hidden. Both got up, reluctantly at that, and folded the blanket before tucking it away in the same place where Rena had pulled it off from. Then they started to walk back though the trees into Neopia Central.

After clearing the forest, which wasn't easy at all considering they couldn't see too well, they arrived at the Wishing Well, where they stopped. "How about we meet tomorrow as well?" Rena offered.

"I'll be glad to," Ryoulon nodded with a smile. "Same time?"

"Same time," the Acara nodded, "Same place as well? If it's ok with you of course."

"Yeah, it's fine with me. You fine with dressing a little more casually next time though?" Ryoulon commented in a teasing tone as she looked at the Acara's dress.

"Oh hush," she waved her paw in front of her. "I like this kind of clothing actually," she said, making Ryoulon giggle.

They walked together through the streets of Neopia, paw in paw for a few minutes. They both stopped at the same time.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Ryoulon smiled, holding both of Rena's paws.

"Yeah, same," she said, looking at her. They gave each other a quick kiss on the cheeks before parting ways. As they separated, Ryoulon made a small jump backwards, and just as she touched land, she made a small impulse upwards, taking flight with a flap of her winds. Doing a quick spin in the air, she waved at Rena one last time before finally heading off in the direction of her house. Waving back, Rena had a small touch of jealously for not being able to do something like that. She didn't minded though, as she was more than used to walking.

----------

Rena was walking at a slow pace through the streets. The dress she was currently wearing wouldn't let her run anyway, be it down on four, or just on her hind legs. She didn't had any reason to rush back home though.

That went pretty well if I do say so myself. We do get along rather nicely, and she is so sweet. She blushed partly under her soft-blue fur. She kept reliving the moments of the afternoon, filling her mind with such thoughts about how sweet her 'date' was. All the while the smile in her face never faded or wavered.

She then reached her house. She grabbed the key she had stored in a pocket rather hidden from sight on the dress and unlocked the door, taking a step inside, locking the door back. She was already waiting for the next day eagerly.

----------

Ryoulon was flapping her wings slowly in the sky. She wasn't going fast at all, in fact, she was going even slower than she had done so in the afternoon. Her mind, much like Rena's at the time was racing through the previous events. She heaved a sigh, but one of content. I thought things were going to go slightly worse... Oh, who am I kidding, the worst was just waiting for her answer, as today was truly magnificent! And what do you know, I could have gotten cold feet at any moment and fly away! I'm thankful that I didn't, cause I think I've found a very special someone know. But there's no point in worrying on what I could have done or not, it's over, it was perfect, and I can't complain. She looked downwards and realized she had already passed her house by about twenty meters or so already.

She lightly slapped herself in the forehead to wake up before turning and starting to dive. Silly me. With a graceful motion as usual she landed on the front yard of her home and walked towards the door of the house. The door wasn't locked, as expected since Alan would still be up, so she had no trouble entering. She found Alan leaving his room, and as they greeted each other, they sat in the living room, where Reil lost no time in accommodating on her owner's lap.

They both talked for quite a while, until eventually Ryoulon was fighting against her yawns in a sheer attempt to remain awake. She was tired, quite tired even though it was still very early. She couldn't explain why though.

"It must be for all the time you spent worrying over today," Alan suggested.

"Yeah, you might be right," she looked down, stifling a yawn behind her paw and finding that her Doglefox was already asleep.

"You better go to bed. You don't want to be late for your meeting tomorrow, now do you?"

"I think I might just do that. Good night," she said, carefully getting up with Reil in her paws and walking towards her room.

"Night tiger!" He grinned.

"Ah! Quit it," she made a strange mix of a pout-like face at him, making him chuckle.

"Alright alright, sleep well."

"Thanks," she said as she entered her room. She placed Reil on her own bed in the floor before changing into her pajamas and jumping into bed, eagerly waiting for the next day as well.

----------

The next day Ryoulon was already ready to leave, but she was sitting at her desk, with her diary and pen in paw.

It's been a while, but I feel I need to say something on that other entry... Life is indeed funny. At one point it'll scare you to death, or at least the anxiousness could almost kill you. Yet, the next moment you can have one of the happiest times of your life. You've got to hate that... But look at me, already one month later and I, or Rena for that matter, couldn't be happier, and nothing wrong has happened so far.

In short, I believe life is all about taking risks. You can't just always hope to play it safe, otherwise who knows how many of the good things life can offer you'll miss. Not to mention never getting where you want to. You shouldn't be swayed away by the thoughts of other persons, or letting their judgment get in the way of what you feel is right, within standards of course. Just give it a shot and hope for the best.

I took a chance at love and succeeded, and well, you see the results. I have never been happier in my life. It's one of those things you can't simply not take chances with. Should you fail, well, tough luck but never give up! The pain won't last forever, you know? It's just letting it subside and you are back on track!

I bid you farewell for now, and best of luck. She signed the entry with the current date and closed the diary, placing it and the pen at the top of the desk before turning around, looking at Rena who was waiting at the frame of the door. "Sorry for making you wait."

"Oh, don't worry," she waved her paw, "You looked quite cute writing," she said making Ryoulon visibly blushed as they left the room and the house, paws interlocked in an embrace.

One "remastered" project down. I really love this story, which is why I chose it to be my first remastered work. Now "Remastered" Version 2...

There's a real reasoning as to why I wrote this story, but that's another story for another tale (and no, it won't be told...).

After-words, there is a sequel to this called "What Stands Between..." and I might change the title slightly to perhaps "What Stands Between Love..." but you never know. I should get to "remaster" that one one of these days. And as for the reason I chose an Acara as Ryoulon's lover... Well, you gotta ask her that, not me, heh.

Without further ado, I bid you farewell. Hope you liked this story!

Alan "Gray Fox" Quirino - grayfox2510 (at) gmail (dot) com