Butterfly's Dream
by dogzrulyeah330
ButterflyWings the Faerie Kacheek, called Butterfly for short, opened the door and walked into her big house in Faerieland.
"Novastar? Nova? I'm home!" She called down the entrance hall. The hall was so big that her words actually echoed a few times. But Butterfly wasn't startled; she had lived in this house a year now, and was used to it. Just a few moments after the echo died out, her owner, Novastar, appeared.
"Hi Butterfly! How was the Marketplace? Did you find what you wanted?"
"Oh, yeah," said Butterfly, smiling. "Here it is." She pulled out a brand-new Ballerina Usuki.
"That's going to look great in your collection," said Novastar, grinning. "You better put it in a case before it gets messed up."
"Yeah," said Butterfly. "And I need to clean up in there a little, too. So I probably won't be down until dinner time."
Novastar nodded. "OK. I'm making all Faerie food tonight, so don't be late!"
"My favorite," replied Butterfly. "See you later!" She barely finished the sentence before dashing up the spiral staircase.
Butterfly ran inside her room and slammed the door. Then she extracted a small gold key from under her wing, where she always kept it, and locked the door. Heaving a heavy sigh, she plopped down on her four-post canopy bed and opened up the bag she had brought home.
The Ballerina Usuki was on top of the contents, but Butterfly quickly tossed that aside. Her main concern was what was underneath it.
Carefully she lifted her real prize from the Marketplace: A Mutant Kacheek Plushie. She smiled at for several minutes, then sighed and carried it to her dresser. She wrapped it in cloth, then laid it in a drawer and reluctantly pushed it shut.
Novastar had no idea that Butterfly had bought the plushie, or any of the other Mutant Kacheek merchandise she had been collecting. Because every time Butterfly bought a new piece, she also bought a Usuki to throw Novastar off. No one could know about her secret passion.
Butterfly did not clean her room. She lie down on her bed and closed her eyes. Quickly, she slipped into her favorite fantasy; being a real Mutant Kacheek. Everything would be wonderful then; she could do everything she wanted to do, instead of living a lie. She could play in the Haunted Woods; fight in the Battledome without worrying if she'd bend a wing; and get as dirty as she wanted mudsliding. But as a Faerie Kacheek, she couldn't do any of those things. No one would accept that a Faerie pet could like fighting and hanging out with monsters.
Still, Butterfly dreamed. While she was here, with her eyes closed, it was almost like she really had been Transmogrified.
It was almost like she really had everything she wanted....
"Buuuuutterflyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
Butterfly shot up. Groaning, she realized that she had fallen asleep; her fantasies had melted into dreams. Now she was late for dinner, which was suspicious for someone who was supposedly just cleaning her room.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" she yelled. As she dashed toward the door, she tried to simply push it open; but since it was locked, she slammed right into it.
"Ow..Okay, gotta get the key!" Butterfly unlocked the door as quickly as she could, then ran back down the stairs, not bothering to close the door again. She got to the kitchen in record speed, to find Novastar already sitting down in front of a big spread of Faerie foods, just as she had promised.
Novastar gave her a strange look. "Why didn't you answer me the first two times I called? I thought you were just cleaning your room."
Butterfly smiled weakly. "I must have been more tired than I thought. I just lay down for a second, and the next thing I knew, you were calling me."
"Oh. Whatever." Novastar didn't look entirely convinced, but dropped the subject. "Well, the food's still hot, so let's just enjoy it, shall we?"
Butterfly sat down and picked up a Faerie Queen Burrito. "Mmm-mmm," she said. "You made these great, Novastar!"
"Thanks," her owner replied, smilling proudly. "Try the Faerie Bubble. I made them with extra goo, just the way you like them."
The Faerie Kacheek finished her burrito, and then the bubble, as if it was the best thing she had ever eaten. She didn't really like Faerie food all that much; she preferred the Spooky things the Esophagor gave out. But just like her love of mudsliding, this had to be kept hidden as long as she was still a Faerie pet.
The pair finished the main course, both chatting about how their day had gone. Novastar was in a cheerful mood over her high scores in Destruct-o-Match II; Butterfly pretended to be in a cheerful mood over Usuki shopping. After the dishes were cleared and the dessert--Fruity Faerie Lollies--was brought out, Butterfly decided to act on an idea she'd had for a long time. She took a deep breath, and spoke.
"Novastar, how do you feel about mutants?"
"Huh?" Novastar looked startled.
"Mutants. Do you like them?"
Butterfly noticed that Novastar's face shifted from relaxed to slightly guarded. "Why do you want to know?"
"I don't know," Butterfly lied. "I was just wondering."
"Well, to be truthful, I think they're pretty ugly. And I don't entirely trust them either. Some of them work for Dr. Sloth."
Butterfly's heart sank in her chest. Her dream would never come true. "Oh." She looked down at her dessert and realized she couldn't eat one more Faerie food. "I'm feeling kind of full. Can I just go and watch some TV before bed?"
"OK," said Novastar. "I have some work to do around the house, so go ahead. You've got about two hours until bedtime."
Butterfly slunk into the den and turned on NTV. There was a movie on that she'd seen before; it was about a Mutant Kacheek who lived alone, until a kind girl adopted her and painted her Faerie. The movie was almost over, and the newly Faerie Kacheek was joyfully fluttering around.
Butterfly felt like crying. No one understood. Everyone thought that it was every pet's dream to be like her. But nobody believed that a beautiful, flying pet would want to be a mutant. Nobody.
After the movie ended, some other show came on. Butterfly wasn't really paying attention; everything blurred into one. She was vaguely aware of Novastar shuffling around upstairs, but didn't think about what she might be doing up there. Somewhere outside, thunder was rumbling. An hour passed; Butterfly couldn't hear Novastar anymore. Then, suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her.
"Butterfly." Novastar's voice was strained.
"What is it? It's not bedtime yet." Butterfly had hardly gotten these words out, when she turned around and saw her owner. Novastar's eyes were red from tears; her mouth was set in a thin line. But these details were not what Butterfly concentrated on. She was staring straight at her owner's hands; they were holding the Mutant Kacheek Plushie.
"Novastar, I--I--I can explain!" she cried, jumping to her feet.
"Butterfly, I don't want an excuse. I want to know the truth. Why do you have so much Mutant Kacheek stuff?"
Butterfly stared at her feet. There was no use hiding it anymore. Outside, the rain that had been looming all day began to hit the windows.
"I don't want to lie to you any more. I want to be a mutant."
The Kacheek tensed, waiting for what was to come. Would Novastar yell at her? Would she cry? Would she, by some miracle, understand? But what happened was far worse than anything Butterfly could have imagined.
"That's impossible," said Novastar, snorting. "You can't want to be a mutant. You love your wings! You love Faerieland! You love to eat Faerie foods and play Faerie Bubbles and do Faerie Quests! It can't be true. This must be some weird phase. Besides, after all I spent on your paint brush, there's no way I'm going to Transmogrify you."
Butterfly froze. She hadn't been expecting Novastar to understand. But she had at least expected her to believe it. The little Kacheek couldn't hold it in any longer. All of her longing, sadness, anger and frustration poured out at once.
"It's NOT a phase! Don't you see? I've lived a lie from the start! I don't like ANY of the things you mentioned! I like to fight and mudslide and play in the Haunted Woods! I dream every night about being a mutant! I hate being Faerie, and until you can accept me for what I am, I hate you, too!"
Before she could even see the stricken look on Novastar's face, Butterfly fled up to her room. Hating herself for leaving the stupid door open, she slammed it and locked it, threw herself on her bed, and sobbed. She cried and cried, cried because she hated being Faerie, cried because Novastar hated mutants, cried because the rest of the world hated them, too. It was like deja vu as, just like earlier that day, she fell asleep without even trying.
The next morning, Butterfly crept downstairs. The house was quiet. Through the windows, she could see the puddles that the last night's weather had caused.
"If I wasn't in this dumb Faerie body, I could splash around in them," she thought bitterly.
It soon became evident that Novastar wasn't home; she had left a hastily-written note on the table. It was only a few words long, reading: "Have gone shopping. Please wait for me." Butterfly sighed. She pushed the note into the garbage, and since no one was there to see her, she happily made a Cheese and Eel Burger.
Shortly after finishing her favorite meal, Butterfly heard the door creak open. Novastar was home. Time to face the music.
Butterfly strode into the entrance hall. There, at the other end, was Novastar. And once again, a wave of deja vu passed over Butterfly when she saw her owner. Novastar had a big smile, and her eyes were clear of last night's tears. But Butterfly was staring at her hands.
There, in Novastar's anxious grip, was a Kacheek Transmogrification Potion.
The End.