Chapter Twenty-one.
I don't own Neopets. Tamara and all them are mine.
"You're Far Too Young"
Chapter Twenty-One
Needless to say that I saw little of Zion and Christin. What I did see of the starry-green Blumaroo relieved all feeling of dread I had felt. He was quite fit and healthy. His fur shining and his eyes sparkled with radiance. He was even able to stand on his tail; a sign that he could now eat real food and not powdered cream and milk.
Bluehopper, herself, had risen to standing on her tail. Though, she preferred to hang from my shoulders or take a nap in my lap while I studied for the upcoming school year or trained Fangore and Dilasca.
Dilasca was soon allowed free-range movement, though I had prompted her to continue the exercises regardless of having the cast and brace removed. She was greatly relieved when Mom announced she no longer needed the pills.
Admiration at how well I had trained Fangore and Dilasca brought more requests from other Masters. But, Mom was not at all pleased when I agreed to take on a special case. A Grundo named Arco was brought to my attention.
From Professor Neilson's description, Grundos were very easy to train. But, no sooner had the Master signed a contract with me than I could feel guilt creeping up on me. I hadn't passed my second year of school and already I was doing business with people.
What if I messed up? What if he doesn't train well? What if I'm wrong to take him?
"You're far too young, Tam." Mom said, that night over supper.
It didn't surprise me that Mom would say that. I was her baby after all. I was still only thirteen and a half.
"You need to know how to say no." Mom told me. "What ever gave you the idea to accept taking Arco? You have three already."
"Bluehopper is house-trained." I pointed out. "I can train Arco just as well as I trained Fangore and Dilasca."
"I think Dilasca already had some training." Mom said, looking over the table at the Ixi who was curled up in the curve of Fangore's belly.
"No, she was abused. I'm actually training her." I pointed out.
Mom sighed something that sounded like "Teenaged rebellion". I thought about this. Had I really become a rebel? The Masters had all consulted with me while Mom was present in the ER. She had hissed at me not to accept any offers of money for any training I could provide; reminding me that I was an undergraduate. I had deftly dismissed all; explaining that my vest was green, not red. Mom had even been present when Arco and his Master had entered. Even with Mom's hissing reminder of my lowly position, I accepted the Master's offer of eight gold fro every hour of training. Though, I couldn't explain what made me do it.
Arco proved to be an apt learner. He followed my instructions without much complaint (at least I don't think he complained; it didn't help I was forbidden from communing with him). He was also quite strong which was normal for a Grundo. And friendly, too.
I trained him to fight against most opponents. Fangore, himself, volunteered to be Arco's punching bag a few times. Dilasca did, too. Though, there would be some time before she could even think about being ready to go back to the dome fights (I highly doubted she wanted to go back to that life).
I drew up a schedule. In the morning, Arco, Dilasca, and Fangore would exercise half and hour before breakfast (I kept plenty of water nearby to keep them hydrated).
Fangore did barrel-racing between tree stumps, jumps over high-raised rods, and some punching-bag routines (mostly using the bark-filled burlap sack as a chew toy).
Dilasca also did barrel-racing and high jumps (not quite as high as Fangore's jumping but high enough that she barely cleared). But, she rammed her horns into the punching bag. I added a few target ramming by using cushioned punching pads over my hands and dancing around her (on my knees) while making her plow into the targets when I showed it to her. Luckily, she didn't hit me quite as hard. The torque of her blows could've dislocated my shoulder. Not that I couldn't reset it myself if she did.
Arco did mostly jumping and punching. He was stronger than I expected. Considering he was a Grundo, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. But, what caught my attention most was when He would jump and twist in mid-air; kicking the punching-bag. A few of those caused the bindertwine rope to snap. Arco seemed mortified as he dove beneath Fangore; squeaking in fear as I cut the broken twine from both tree and bag.
"He's apologizing, Mistress." Fangore said, calmly.
I looked at the frightened Grundo's red eyes and spoke softly to him. "It's okay, Arco. There's plenty more where these came from." I showed him the broken twine, then reached out and patted his head. He relaxed then squeaked at me.
"He says, 'How can I help?' " Fangore translated.
I looked at the frayed ends of the broken twine. It was a single strip made of tiny fibers of long grass. Each blade was twisted into a into a strip which was then braided. The bindertwine was normally used in holding haybales together. Two ropes were used.
This gave me an idea. "Dilasca, I need you go go on an errand for me."
Dilasca yawned and rose onto her hooves. "What kind of errand, Tam?" Dilasca asked. She always used my nickname instead of the title Fangore always called me by. I ignored this.
"In the garden shed, there's a box of bindertwine. Bring me three strands, please." I said, politely.
To my surprise, Dilasca sped off in the direction of the garden shed. She returned holding three ropes in her mouth. She spat them out onto the grass next to me. I took them, tied a knot in one end and started braiding. When I finished, I held the bag and let Arco tie the braided rope around the mouth of the bag. Then, he stood on my shoulders and tied the other end of the rope to a low hanging branch while I supported the bag.
"Try it out, Arco." I said, helping the Grundo off my shoulders.
At first, he hesitated, then jabbed at the bag. To his delight, it stayed tied to the tree. He performed some acrobatics—jumping, punching, twisting, and kicking—only to fall, laughing in my lap. I rubbed his head right between the lobed antenna; hugging his potato-shaped body to mine. It was easy to make a Grundo happy.
"Tamara." Mom called from her bedroom window. "You're not going to let those neopets starve, are you?"
"No." I called back. I hadn't realized that it was an hour after sunrise. I hadn't even noticed that my stomach was rumbling. I was having so much fun training. I held Dilasca under one arm and Arco in the other while Fangore carried Bluehopper across his back. Once inside, I poured three bowls of food and cut a slab of jelly for Arco. I cooked my own breakfast (of eggs and toast) and sat down to eat.
Mom sat nearby, shuffling through the mail; opening envelopes and reading letters.
"Any postcards from Dad?" I asked, I kept from being excited because I knew precisely what my mother's answer would be.
"No, hunny." She said. "Nothing from your father. But . . . oh! This is interesting." She held up a peculiar envelope marked with the seal from NEO.
My heart pounded in my chest. "What is it? Is it about Dad? Read it, Mom!"
She slit the letter flap with the pocket knife I had anxiously slid across the table to her, unfolded it, and read it.
Dear Mrs. Timon,
We regret to inform you that your husband has gone missing since last June. He was last seen climbing the First Mount Eyre in Morrowville. Search and Rescue parties are attempting to locate him.
We hope to find you well.
Signed
Brenda Glendale.
Head of the Neopian Exploration