The Return to Neopia

Chapter 1

I DO NOT OWN NEOPETS THE DARKEST FAERIE!!! This has been a pleasure to write, I hope you guys like it. :) 

       A slight breeze ruffled Andava’s ears as she sat in waiting. Her Drakonack tooth knife was in her blue paw. There wasn’t much to hide behind when hunting in Drakon Ridge aside from a few sparse trees. She was between one of these trees and a small boulder, struggling to keep her breathing steady. She tended to pant from the exhilaration that the thought of fresh meat brought her. It wasn’t normal for an Acara to feel this way, but she wasn’t just an Acara. She was more of a mutt when it came to actual breeds. Her fangs and ice blue eyes seemed to glint in the sunlight as she heard the familiar sniffling noise that Drakonacks made. A moment later she could see the tiniest sliver of black and purple scales. Her tongue briefly whisked over her lips as she leapt out from her cover. Facing her was not one, but two Drakonacks whom stormed her with ferocious snarls. She took the first one out swiftly with her knife through its heart. The second’s long claws lightly grazed her boot before she butted its head with the blunt end of her blade. The two Drackonacks both lay in small puddles of blue blood at her feet. They were small and young, barely enough for two families; however, Andava had to take what she could get. She brushed her bleach blonde hair out of her face a she knelt to tie the creatures’ legs together. She would then have to find a stick to carry them on as she always did.

                Just as she had finished tying a mighty clomping so great that is shook the ground sounded behind her. Her pupils narrowed to slits as she realized what it was. She whipped around to face a huge, adult Drakonack that she had not been expecting.

                “Damn,” she breathed as its mighty feet threatened to come down on her head.

She rolled swiftly out of its way and whipped around to face it. It stood over its now deceased offspring and snarled at a much deeper, rumbling octave than the younger Drakonacks. Andava circled it slowly, attempting to find where to hit it before it hit her first. She moved in at a speed the bordered Kelland’s  as soon as she found an opening to stab its chest. Her plan worked, but it was much harder to kill such a monstrosity as this one. It screamed and knocked her back with a massive foot to her chest. She crashed against the wall of the small outcrop that they were fighting in. The blow was so powerful that it left the stone cracked. One of Andava’s violet antennas fell into her face, but she quickly brushed it away. She couldn’t flee now, she was so close. 

                She came at the beast again and this time managed to rip open the first wound that she had formed. Drakonack blood spattered the grass and walls of the outcrop that surrounded it. With one final growl the Drakonack fell to the ground. This hunting operation had been a total success. Andava quickly tied the Drakonack’s feet together and then tied each of them to different sticks. She didn’t bother to swing them over her shoulder, she simply drug them out of the outcrop and down the stony hill that led to Cogham Village. She struggled the most as she stepped onto the bridge that connected Cogham to the rest of Neopia. It swung a lot more than usual under the weight of the three Drakonacks. Once she finally managed to get them through the cave entrance bordered by trees she knew she was home free. Picking up the pace, she pulled them up the two small drop offs and through the winding turns until she reached the hill that led into her village. At that point she simply tossed them and allowed them to roll.The familiar form of Rose appeared with a squeal when she saw the huge hoard of meat.

                “Andava, wherever did you find all of this?” she asked with delight.

Even though Rose was a Kau and thus a vegetarian, she still seemed to be excited that the others could be fed. She was always a very selfless woman. She was a pale white with long blue hair that would make anyone think that she too was a mutt. Rose was actually pure bred and could have lived in Meridell anytime she wanted to. Her friends and family were what bound her to Cogham.

                “Oh, they just happened to pass by the outcropping that I like to wait in,” she replied with a grin.

Her sharp teeth that were uncharacteristic of an Acara gleamed, causing Rose to flinch. It always seemed to startle people how obvious it was that Andava did, in fact, eat meat.

                “Fetch Elsbeth, fetch Giovanni, fetch everyone! We must allow them to see what a glorious feast you have brought us!”

Andava ran to fetch the town, but was intercepted by her father. He was a tiny man, quite tiny for a mayor. He was a yellow Kacheek with patched up clothes and a little feathered hat. Most would refer to him as cute, but Andava saw nothing but an annoyance whenever he was around.

                “Andava, have you been out again?” he asked in a scornful tone.

Andava rolled her eyes and blew a strand of hair out of her face.

                “Yes, in fact I just brought back a huge feast for us tear into. If you are so against me hunting then why did you get me hunting boots?”

She glanced down at the tall black boots that came up to her knees. They seemed to make her tattered trousers and shirt seem a little less poor. Her father was shaking his head and tapping his foot like he usually did whenever he was worried or angry.

                “You know that you need to start acting a little more like a lady,” he protested. “You knew that your hunting occupation was going to be short lived. You are coming of age to be married now, and I would hate for your fiancé to see you like this if he just so happened to drop by.”

Andava couldn’t believe her ears. Was he really going to bother her about this again, after all that she had done?

                “Mother of Fyora, Jergin, would you leave the poor girl alone?” Giovanni called from his house.

He lived just north of the sacred tree where Cogham gathered to leave offerings for King Altador. Having exited his home, the yellow Skeith picked up a hasty walk.

                “She makes many contributions to this village that we are all thankful for. With her and Elsbeth around we never have a day of hunger!”

Andava’s father rolled his eyes and turned, taking a few small steps away from them. His paws were clasped behind his back and he seemed to be thinking. Andava hated it when he did this, it always made her uneasy.

                “Just give him some time,” Giovanni reassured her “He’ll be fine.”

Giovanni was Andava’s idol. He had been an explorer in his early days and had made quite a wad of money. Sadly, he was forced to give it all away in order to found Cogham as he and her father had. Rose had filled in for Andava’s absence and had managed to gather the rest of the village around the carcasses. Elsbeth was loading up with as much as she could to take to her shop, while Stanley nervously cut off small pieces for the youngsters, Tadd and Ruffie. Andava smiled; if she wasn’t engaged then she probably would have fallen in love with Stanley.

                Then again, Stanley had been married to Elsbeth since she had arrived in the village and Andava couldn’t imagine splitting them up. They were two of the happiest neopets she knew, and she secretly hoped that her marriage would turn out in the same way that theirs had. However, that didn’t change the fact that Andava was far from being ready to be married. After the village had shared the meat amongst themselves, Andava finally got her share. There was a large portion left on the adult Draknoack that she knew the other villagers had saved just for her. Finishing her meal, she hurried off to her house where she was sure to be lectured by Mayor Jergin. Her suspicions were surprisingly proven wrong. Upon entering the hut, Andava saw her father sitting at his desk. He seemed to be writing a letter which was an actually normal and reasonable thing to do. Andava sighed with relief; either the old man had finally gone senile, or had finally seen logic. Putting the odd occurrence out of her head, she fell asleep wrapped in the blankets of Ixi fur that she called her bed.

                The moment that the sun was up, Andava was out of her hut. She had huge plans of exploration, and nothing was going to slow her down. None of the other villagers were awake at this hour, making it the perfect time to sneak out. If her father awoke then she was sure he would get over it sooner or later. Her boots thumped against the hard stone as she jumped over the two drop offs and raced as quickly as her legs would carry her over the bridge. The slight warmth of the rising sun promised a beautiful day, and Andava wasn’t going to waste it because of some old man.