Chapter 2 - The Shoes

After a few weeks in her new home, Gypsy had felt like she really was a part of this family, and all because of Sylvia. The blue sassy young Zbornak, who they discovered was about the same age as Gypsy, quickly became best friends with the new member of the family.

But it also wasn't long before Gypsy tried to adjust to her new home by thinking she too was a Zbornak, considering no one knew what she really was…and that proved to be a problem.

Because Gypsy wasn't as big or strong as most of the other Zbornak children, she usually got bullied for being small, weak and too hairy, but again, that's where Sylvia really pulled through for her. Whenever someone would pick on Gypsy, they would soon regret if Sylvia was near, which was always, and they would end up with a black eye or bloody nose if they didn't back down immediately. Gypsy honestly couldn't wish for a better friend, and Sylvia was just happy she had someone to call a sister.

But today, Gypsy finally wanted to go out and try to prove herself as a real Zbornak to everyone; she was going to test her strength, something commonly praised on this planet.

"How much milk do we have left, Mama?" Gypsy asked as she chugged down a glass a glass of milk.

"Goodness, girl, that's your third glass of milk this morning! How much do you need?" Dorothy chuckled while grabbing out a milk jug from the fridge, and brought it to Gypsy, who was sitting at the dining table.

"At least two more cups…but I guess I could settle for one," Gypsy replied and rubbed her stomach when she finally realized how achy it was from all the milk.

"Why so much milk, though?" Dorothy asked and hesitated to pour any milk.

"I want to get big and strong enough, so that I can prove to everyone that I'm a Zbornak!"

"You…you're going to what?" Dorothy asked with shock while slamming the jug down on the table, "Honey, you're going to get hurt!"

"But how will I prove that I'm a good Zbornak?"

"A good Zb-? Aww, is that what this is about? You feel like you don't fit in?"

"Mm-mm," Gypsy sadly replied while shaking her head and staring down.

"Gypsy," Dorothy began while cupping Gypsy's face, making her stare sadly up at her, and it made her hard to find the right words, "Gypsy…brawn may be special to a Zbornak, but that doesn't always make them the best."

"I-it doesn't?"

"No."

"Well…then what DOES make me a Zbornak?"

"Honey, whether you're a Zbornak, a giant Doom Dragon, or even an eyeball, I'll still love you. Besides, I think you're perfect JUST the way you are," Dorothy explained with a smile, and Gypsy soon stood up in her seat and jumped into her adopted mom's arms in a big hug.

"Just promise me you won't get hurt, ok?"

"Ok, Momma."

"Hey, you saps, enough hugging! C'mon, Gigi, let's go play!" Sylvia suddenly screamed, and Dorothy chuckled and rolled her eyes while setting Gypsy down, and the little furry thing soon caught up with her sister.

"So, what are we gonna do today?" Gypsy questioned after she and Sylvia left the house.

"Today—we're gonna climb THAT!" Sylvia replied with excitement, and she pointed at this large pile just outside of town; it was made of rocks and boulders that was probably piled up a mile or two high. Everyone knew that as Thor's Pile, a pile with rocks they say are so heavy and accident prone, that only the bravest and strongest Zbornaks could reach the top and throw down the rock at the top.

"But that's Thor's Pile," Gypsy pointed out with fear.

"I know," Sylvia said with lust and continued to stare up at the top of the mountain of rocks.

"No one's ever reached the top."

"I know, and that's just it. We'll be the first to tip the scale."

"What scale?"

"It's a metaphor, Gigi," Sylvia grumbled in disappointment and finally took her eyes off the giant pile to look at her adopted sister, "listen, we're gonna make a difference, and maybe, just maybe—you won't even get picked on ever again."

"You really think that'll work?" Gypsy asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Of course it will! Who better to climb to mountain and knock the top rock from its place than me and you, anyway? We deserve the praise, don't'cha think?" Sylvia replied with confidence and wrapped an arm around Gypsy's shoulders, suddenly pulling her in closer, and then they stared up at Thor's Pile again.

And Gypsy soon thought this might as well be the perfect chance to prove that she was a Zbornak, so a grin crept up onto her face.

"So…the last one up there is a rotten Doom Dragon egg!" Gypsy shouted and pushed Sylvia away to get a head start.

"Hey, no fair!" Sylvia laughed and sprinted after her, "you're gonna be sorry when I get'cha!"

"IF you can get me!"

It wasn't long before the two girls gave up on their chase, and they headed for Thor's Pile all tired out, wishing they hadn't wasted their energy on running around.

"So*huff huff*...still think this was a good idea?" Gypsy huffed while flopping onto her back on a rock.

"Yeah*huff*…you wanna be a Zbornak, right?"

"Yes, I do!"

"Then we gotta prove ourselves."

"Actually, why do YOU have to prove yourself? I'm the one who needs this," Gypsy pointed out and sat up on the rock.

"Hey, I'm ALWAYS gonna be there ta support ya; you're my sister," Sylvia added while crossing her arms.

"Well…you know I'm not ACTUALLY your sister, right?" Gypsy asked sadly.

"That may be true, but I don't care. I still think of you as my best friend. Plus, if you're gonna be the one to climb this thing, I wanna live that story too."

"Thanks, Syl."

"No problem, Gigi. Now, are we gonna stand her and keep talkin' Kumbaya, or are we gonna make history?" Sylvia asked with a grin and started climbing the base of Thor's Pile, and Gypsy rolled her eyes and chuckled while following close behind.

And surprisingly, the rocks weren't as difficult to climb as they thought; they were nice and dry, perfect for getting a good grip, and the slant may be steep, but it's no vertical rock climbing wall.

"Hey, Sylvia!" Gypsy called up to the Zbornak when she realized how weird it was that they've already climbed up halfway this easily.

"Yeah?" Sylvia called back down without stopping.

"Do you feel like something's off?"

"No! Why?"

"I don't know…I just feel like this shouldn't be that easy!"

"You're being paranoid! Get over it!"

But just as Sylvia said that, Gypsy started to notice a few pebbles trickle down passed her, followed by the dying echo of Sylvia's voice. Gypsy started to worry about the fact that the reaction of Sylvia's voice was some falling pebbles…what it she had shouted any louder?

And then it hit her.

"Sylvia!" Gypsy whisper-shouted and stopped climbing.

"What now?!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down."

"What?! Why?"

"You're gonna cause an avalanche."

"I can't hear you!"

Gypsy started to panic when she heard a rumbling.

"You're going to cause an avalanche," Gypsy repeated with a slightly raised voice, but still kept it to a whisper.

"WHAT?!"

"AN AVALANCHE!" Gypsy finally snapped, but she immediately regretted it.

Gypsy's shouting didn't stop Sylvia, but the sudden rumbling and shaking of Thor's Pile certainly did, and she and Gypsy stared at each other with fearful eyes.

"Uh-oh…" Gypsy whimpered.

The girls heard a crash, and they looked up to see the rocks supporting the boulder at the top gave way, and it just so happened to starting tumbling down in Gypsy and Sylvia's direction.

"Oh, no! GO!" Sylvia demanded, and she and Gypsy started climbing down as fast as they could, but it didn't prove to be easy. Most of the rocks they used to keep themselves from slipping finally fell from their places, making Sylvia and Gypsy slide down farther at a time than they'd like.

And it wasn't long until their luck ran out when Gypsy slipped, and she cut her feet on a sharp rock. The pain was just too much for Gypsy to keep going, and the boulder was getting closer!

"Gypsy! C'mon!" Sylvia called.

"I can't!"

Sylvia had to act fast with gravity continuing to work on that boulder, so when she knew she had no other options, she put on a game face and climbed back up to her sister.

"What are you doing?!" Gypsy asked when she didn't want to risk Sylvia getting hurt all because of her. But before she had time to process it, Sylvia suddenly scooped her head down, and she threw Gypsy up into the air until she landed on her back.

"Hang on!" Sylvia demanded, and Gypsy clasped her arms around her neck, and it wasn't long before Sylvia literally started sprinting down the slant. Gypsy had never seen Sylvia run this fast; she didn't know she COULD run this fast.

But just when they were getting to the base of the rock pile, the boulder was starting to bounce from the momentum, and it was getting dangerously closer.

"Uh, Sylvia…!"

Sylvia looked back at the call of her best friend, and she gasped when she saw the boulder as its bouncing got higher; Sylvia figured that if she kept going at this speed, she would meet the rock at the bottom…in a splat…so to make sure they wouldn't get hurt, or worse, Sylvia got down on all fours, like she were a steed, and she scraped her limbs on the rocks to try and stop herself.

"SYLVIA!"

The boulder seemed like it was definitely going to crush them, which made Gypsy cry out in fear, and she squeezed Sylvia's neck to the point of choking her. But Sylvia's plan was perfectly laid out when the boulder just barely missed them and actually landed a couple feet in front of them, but the rock also landed on a rock that was pointed up, so when the rock landed on one end of the rock while Sylvia and Gypsy landed on the other end, they were literally catapulted into the air from the saw-saw-like rock.

The Zbornak and the furry creature both flew through the air before coming in for a rough landing a few yards away. But other than Sylvia's scraped hands and feet and the cuts on Gypsy's feet, no real damage was done.

"You*cough cough*…you ok?" Sylvia asked while coughing away at the clearing dust.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine…but that was really dangerous, Sylvia. You could've gotten killed trying to save me," Gypsy pointed out with shock.

"Yeah, well, that's what ya do in a family—even crazy families with crazy ideas," Sylvia chuckled with a grin.

"Hey, don't look at me, this was YOUR idea," Gypsy protested and grinned back.

"Yeah, but you supported it."

"Ok, ok, ya got my th-ouch!"

"What's wrong?"

Sylvia's questioned was soon answered when Gypsy was struggling to stand up and grunted every time she tried; that was when Sylvia remember how she cut her feet pretty badly on a sharp rock. And then she suddenly realized her own pain, and she stared down at her blazing palms.

"Aw, man…how are we gonna explain THIS ta Mom?" Sylvia asked with worry.

"Let's just don't, and say we didn't," Gypsy simply replied while rubbing her feet.

"No, she's gonna notice that you can't walk and that I can't hold stuff anymore."

"Ok, no, you're right…but she's gonna be so mad."

"Most likely, but don't worry. We'll face her together," Sylvia reassured while wrapping an arm over Gypsy's shoulders.

"YOU WHAT?!"

Sylvia seemed to jinx it when she and Gypsy waited until later that night to tell their mom what happened on Thor's Pile; the two girls were now cowering on the couch as Momzilla towered over them.

"You KNEW you both could've gotten hurt up there, and yet you did it anyway?! What kind of parent would I be if something had happened to either of you?!"

"We're sorry, Momma…w-we were only having fun," Gypsy protested in a quiver.

"But Gypsy, I told you not to hurt yourself, and you deliberately disobeyed me!" Dorothy snapped, making the girls shake even more, and so she slapped a hand to her face while groaning.

"You two are grounded for a week, which means no treats, no playing too far from the house, and…for the next week, you'll be sleeping on the couch, Gypsy," Dorothy explained firmly.

And of course their punishment didn't seem fair to them, but Sylvia and Gypsy knew not to argue with their mom, especially not now…so they didn't argue back.

"Ok, Momma," Gypsy sighed.

"Sylvia?" Dorothy asked when her other daughter never answered.

"Yeah, whatever," Sylvia growled and glared down at the floor while she stomped off to her room without another word. And in the silence, Gypsy gave up and lied down on the couch and turned away from her mother, who sighed in return.

"I'm only doing this because I love you girls."

Gypsy didn't say anything.

"Goodnight, honey."

The next night, Gypsy tried to talk her mom out of letting her sleep in the room she and Sylvia always shared, but it never worked. And on this night, it was colder than usual, and despite having fur, the breeze that flew in from the window above the couch really didn't help.

But when Gypsy became cold enough for her teeth to start clattering, she suddenly felt something soft and worm drape over her; she then sat up and gasped in fright of not knowing who was there, only to discover it was only Sylvia, who had draped a soft purple blanket over her.

"Hey," Sylvia greeted with a smile.

"Hey…w-what are you doing up? It's nearly two in the morning," Gypsy pointed out in a whisper, worried she might wake Dorothy up.

"I know, and that's why it was the perfect time to sneak out and buy this," Sylvia whispered back while revealing a small black box in her hands, and she handed it to Gypsy. The furry creature looked at the box and back at Zbornak with surprise and curiosity.

"Well, go on and open it."

Gypsy looked down and carefully lifted the lid up, and she then pushed away some crumpled up packing paper…and what she saw in the box made her smile; it was a pair of black, purple and white sneakers, and they looked like they'd fit perfectly.

"You bought these for me?" Gypsy asked with a smile.

"Yup. I spent all my money on them," Sylvia replied with a smirk, "they're SUPER comfortable, and the best part is they grow with you, so you can where 'em any time you want."

"Aww, Sylvia…" Gypsy tried to search for the right words.

"Ok, I lied. I didn't waste all my allowance money on JUST those. I bought bandages for my hands too."

The girls couldn't help but giggle when Sylvia brought up her hands to reveal that they were wrapped in bandages.

"Yeah…we may have a crazy story ta tell in the future, but it's too bad we didn't actually reach the top of Thor's Pile, huh?" Sylvia pointed out with disappointment and hopped up onto the couch.

But when Sylvia said brought that up, something struck Gypsy, something wonderful.

"No…but we STILL did something no one else has."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"We finally knocked the top rock off!" Gypsy squealed.

"Hey, you're right! Huh, guess it wasn't all for nothin' after all," Sylvia added with a smile.

"Nope, and neither are these," Gypsy said while grabbing the shoes out of their box, and she then slipped them on and tied their laces.

"Wow, you were right. These really ARE nice. Thanks, Syl."

"No problem, Gigi."

Basically, Gypsy's shoes look just like Wander's, just black, purple and white, in case you were wondering. Also, the next chapter will most likely take place WAY later in the future, and if you have trouble imagining what Gypsy actually looks like, again, she looks a lot like Wander, just dark purple different hair style,(obviously) a more feminine body and last-but-not-least girly eyelashes.

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!