To Hatch a Sibling

      "Did you actually LAY that egg?!” Yottir exclaimed in amazement.

      “No, of course not. I just found it lying on a beach one day, eye patch and all,” Nyx stated, hugging the Pirate Draik egg close to her chest.

      “And there’s a NEOPET in there?!” the blue Xweetok continued on while Schyff, the magma Hissi, eyed the egg with a strange sense of curiosity and investigation.

      “I suppose there is. I believe this may be a Draik egg,” Nyx explained, looking down at it once more. “A pirate Draik egg at that,” she continued, poking the eye patch. “I just don’t understand why it would just be lying there in the sand like that. Like someone just upped and abandoned the poor thing.”

      The three of them stared at the egg for what felt like a long time, the only sounds being their steady breathing. At one point, the egg jiggled a little bit as the Draik inside it moved around. At least, that was probably the explanation for it.

      “So what are you going to do with it?” Schyff finally asked, unable to take his eyes off the egg.

      Nyx only grinned and said, “You’ll find out. You’re both coming with me.”

      The two Neopets looked at each other in excitement before scrambling to get ready for what was clearly going to be a bit of a trip.

      The heat was blistering, and the trek was a long one. When they finally got to Meridell, it only led to more walking. The farmers of the area greeted them warmly as they passed, but there was one point where a crazy wocky in sunglasses came charging at them out of some bushes.

      “Do you guys want to try some EXTREME potato counting?!” he asked, much too excitedly.

      “Extreme potato counting?” Schyff asked, unconvinced potato counting could ever be extreme.

      “EXTREMELY!” the wocky yelled in a way that somehow sounded like growing excitement.

      Nyx, ignoring the crazy Wocky completely, continued on her way. Schyff and Yottir, however, had to figure out this deal with the potatoes and the counting. And why it could ever be considered extreme. However, when asked again, the Wocky ran back into the bushes and came back with his arms full of as many potatoes as his paws would carry.

      “Are you guys READY?” he asked.

      “This guy has had way too much Neocola,” Yottir said, staring at the Wocky in disbelief.

      “I’ll take that as a YES. HERE WE GO!!” and suddenly, the Wocky began throwing the potatoes in all directions. One unfortunate potato glided right in the direction of poor Yottir’s head.

      Bonk.

      Yottir was knocked off his feet and fell back onto his rear. After a momentary daze, he rubbed at the point of contact right above his forehead. “Ow! Really? Did we even agree to this?” he complained. However, Schyff was being guided by his competitive nature and watching each and every potato that launched from the Wocky’s hands. Both Neopets had ignored Yottir.

      It had all been in the span of seconds. The Wocky suddenly yelled out, “Did ya COUNT ‘EM?”

      “There were eighteen potatoes,” Schyff said simply. For the first time, the crazy Wocky guy was silent, and his eyebrows popped up from behind his dark sunglasses.

      “It’s not even sunny out…” Yottir muttered to himself about the glasses, though this may have been partially due to the recent hit he took to the head.

      “Alright, alright, you’re right,” the Wocky hung his head, handed Schyff a small bag of Neopoints, and sulked back into the bushes from whence he came.

      For a minute Schyff stared blankly at the bushes before turning his attention to the Xweetok.

      “Are you ready?! Let’s go catch up!” Schyff said before turning and walking off. “Why are you sitting? You can’t be that tired already.”

      “Uuuuugh…” Yottir groaned and, very slowly, began to stand up. Once standing he gave the still-tender spot on his head a light touch, as though that would magically make the pain disappear, before looking up at where Schyff had gone. He was already a ways ahead. “Uuuuuuuuuuuugh,” Yottir groaned again, this time with more feeling, before walking to catch up. There was no way in Moltara that he was about to try running.

      “You better hurry up before mom gets mad,” Schyff yelled over his shoulder. “I thought Xweetoks were fast, anyways!”

      Yottir groaned again before calling out, “He hit me with a potato!” This gained the perplexed expression of a few other Neopets in the vicinity. A younger Acara released a titter at such an odd statement. Yottir felt his face heat up a little and, even to his own surprise, his pace quickened up a little bit. The world swam around him but he was sure this would pass. For now, he ignored it, so much so that he didn’t even realize he was unable to walk in a straight line for a few minutes. The blue Xweetok staggered here and there, but when closer to Schyff managed to straighten his path little by little.

      The two Neopets eventually caught up to Nyx who, somehow unaware they were even missing for a period of time, carried on while cradling the egg in merry spirits. Or, perhaps she was aware, but she was sure that Schyff and Xweetok could handle themselves. At least, mostly.

      Gradually the path had grown to be very steep and their trek became more of a hike than a walk. Schyff didn’t appear to have too much trouble, but Yottir had to stop a couple of times to give his poor little legs a break.

      “Yottir what are you doing? Quit slowing down, you never know when a—“

      “You just be quiet, Schyff,” Yottir gasped through trying to catch his breath. “You don’t even have legs,” he complained. “You don’t know what this is like.”

      Schyff stared back at him for a moment. “A valid point,” he said, and then paused again before continuing with, “I just think you need to exercise more.”

      Offended, the Xweetok shot a glare up at him. “I do not! I’m as fit as a fiddle!”

      “Sure looks like it,” Schyff retorted before continuing to slither along the path.

      “You… Legless…” Yottir huffed after the Hissi as he continued his way up the steep hill. Or, mountain. Whatever it was. “That Nimmo scares the dung out of me, anyways!!” Yottir yelled out through his panting breath.

      At this, not only did Schyff burst out laughing, but Nyx heard it from way up the path as well and whipped around. “You think he’s scary?” Nyx called down. “You should meet the Techo Master. I mean, why so serious?” In thinking about that Techo, Nyx shook her head before continuing up the path. “I think Schyff is right, I should probably enrol you in more of that nice Nimmo’s training classes. I think it would do you good,” she called back to Yottir.

      Yottir only groaned, unsure of how to retaliate. He contemplated the likelihood of her forgetting what she had just said, and his own capabilities of getting Schyff to not remind her about it.

      His chances were almost devastatingly slim.

      “I think we’ve found it, boys!” Nyx called back to the Hissi and Xweetok. Both were relatively close to her now and, as she pointed, they simultaNeously looked to the area she indicated. Both of them stared blankly.

      “A cave?” Schyff finally asked. “What are we supposed to do with a cave?”

      Without responding, Nyx continued on over to the mouth of the cave in almost a frolicking way. Confused, the Neopets followed, and the three of them walked in together.

      They were all immediately set with a slight unease. It was quite stuffy but warm, and there appeared to be a leafy sort of nest upon a stone pedestal. Vines entangled it from top to bottom, and a single, sharp beam of sunlight broke through a crack in the stone above to shine down upon it.

      Nyx beamed an excitable grin and glanced to Yottir and Schyff. “We found it!” she said before quickly walking forward and, very gently, placing the egg into the nest. She stepped back and, very patiently, watched the egg and waited. For a few moments Schyff and Yottir watched as well, but soon grew bored.

      “So, now what?” Schyff asked.

      “We wait, of course!” Nyx said in a giddy manner.

      Yottir stared at the egg for a few moments longer before looking at Nyx. “How long is this supposed to take?”

      “I’m not sure, but we’re about to find out!” she said, still watching the egg with a big grin.

      Both Neopets stared at Nyx with growing unease. Had she gone nuts? How much patience did she have? Then again, she put up with the two of them…

      Suddenly, the egg twitched. Then twitched again.

      In wild excitement, Nyx’s grin somehow managed to grow even larger as she leaned forward, watching the egg’s movements. The Hissi and Xweetok mirrored her movements, but their faces held concern and curiosity more than excitement. The egg’s movements grew more and more dramatic before—

      Crack!

      Nyx began to make small jumps in her excitement, unable to contain herself.

      Crack, crack!

      “Here it comes!” Nyx said in an excited whisper.

      CRACK.

      A tiny, eye patched Draik’s head popped out of the small hole it created and, in a confused sort of daze, glanced up at the ones watching her.

      “What in all of Neopia…” Schyff said in confusion. Yottir simply stared in amazement.

      The Draik blinked a couple of times before realizing it was still mostly in an egg. With a small, frustrated frown, it continued to attempted breaking out of the rest of the shell. First an arm came popping out, then a leg. The Draik tried standing up but very quickly fell back down on its behind, shattering the bottom of the shell and freeing itself. In another bout of confusion it looked back at the remains of the shell it had been in.

      “Look at her!” Nyx said excitedly before picking up the Draik.

      “Her?” Schyff asked, nose crinkling a little in what must have been disgust.

      “I’m going to name you Zarstun.” Nyx continued on.

      “It’s a girl?” Yottir asked, disgust matching Schyff’s.

      “She is a girl!” Nyx said excitedly and looked back to Schyff and Yottir, noticing both of their disappointed, if not disgusted, facial expressions. Nyx frowned a little. “You have a sister! Be happy about it!”

      “But… Girls…” Schyff began, then held his tongue. That was fine, because Yottir finished for him.

      “Girls carry things like a Cooty or Skidgets,” Yottir complained, looking back at the small draik.

      Nyx rolled her eyes. “They do not,” she said before taking a closer look at Yottir. She noticed the bump just above Yottir’s face. “What happened to your head?” she asked, suddenly a little concerned.

      “I got hit by a flying potato…”

      Nyx stared at Yottir blankly ad Schyff burst into laughter. Zarstun, looking from Yottir, to Nyx, to Schyff, suddenly began to giggle as well. She didn’t exactly know what was so funny, but she was definitely happy to be out of that egg and with a family.

      The End.