Varanna

     Varanna

     Varanna Finds an Owner (Part One)

     A tiny babith born just two months ago was making her way to Shenkuu. Ever since the day after she was born she had felt a pull in her heart. Her mother and siblings didn’t seem to know what she was feeling and she stopped trying to explain when she began getting strange looks. Her mother explained the world around them and told them getting painted was one of the best rewards an owner could bestow upon a petpet. Mother was painted Christmas which was nice, the lights twinkled when she smiled and the warmth they gave off was soothing.

     Percet, a fiery Scorchio, was flying toward Shenkuu. A backpack filled with all his belongings was strapped to his back. He let out a breath of steamy air before descending. He had an appointment to meet with the shop owner of Fanciful Fauna and perhaps obtain employment there.

     Percet had always been a dreamer, coming up with dozens of ways to earn neopoints but somehow through no fault of his own, his plans always fizzled and he remained broke; usually hungry and broke. Why was it so hard to make a few neopoints?

     Entering the shop, Percet smiled as he gazed at the various petpets. There were plenty of Dandans, Biyakos, and Jumas frolicking around. He even glimpsed a majestic looking Quilin. He would love working here. After filling out an application and a short interview, he was offered part time work for two weeks to see if he had the right temperament for the job.

     His first day at work was a disaster. He wasn’t able to clean all the cages, some of the petpets wouldn’t eat, and several customers left unhappy when he couldn’t even capture the petpets. The shopkeeper wasn’t looking happy either.

     Percet pitched a tent behind the shop and fell into an uneasy sleep. His skimpy dinner didn’t do much to settle the grumblings in his stomach and if he didn’t quickly improve he would be out of another job.

     The following days were almost as disastrous as the first day. Fortunately he was a very hard worker and the shopkeeper was encouraging. “Percet,” he would say, “You are one of the hardest working employees I’ve ever had.” After his first week he received his pay. He deposited half in the bank and purchased a few items from the general store in Neopia Central before returning to Shenkuu.

     At the beginning of his second week Percet noticed the shopkeeper was looking at him speculatively and knew he was being assessed. Would he be fired? He had improved immensely. All the petpets were eating now, he could capture most within ten minutes or so and he was keeping the shop meticulously clean since he could use his ability to fly to speed things up.

     At the end of the week he followed the shopkeeper to his office in the back of the store. “Percet, you’re a very hard worker but I don’t think this is the best job for you.”

     Percet lowered his head. Once again he would have to search for employment. The shopkeeper continued. “I can’t get around like I did when I was younger. It is getting hard for me to search for more petpets and I do better here at the shop. So why don’t you go out and capture the petpets we need and I’ll tend to things here?”

     Percet lifted his head in wonder. He wasn’t losing his job! This new responsibility was a great opportunity.

     “Here’s a list of the petpets we need, mostly sandans, gikerots, and the occasional razumi. Oh, and if you see a hegelob, we need a couple of those too.”

     Percet took the list and stood. He had improved at capturing petpets but it wasn’t easy. “Should I bring in any other pets like Pandaphants and Quilins?”

     The shopkeeper laughed heartily, “If you can catch them, bring them in. I pay extra for those.” He slapped Percet on the back and wished him luck. “I can pay 10 million neopoints for every Pygui you find,” he called out in jest to Percet as his employee headed toward the jungles of Shenkuu.

     Percent spent two days chasing after petpets but failed to capture any. He hadn’t realized that petpets in the wild were much harder to catch and they always seemed to hear him approaching. He was due back at the shop on Friday and didn’t want to return with an empty sack.

     He decided to get to bed early. If he was up at dawn perhaps he could find a few petpets searching for food. During the night he had an incredible dream that filled him with wonder and hope. Awakening he couldn’t remember the contents of the dream but he was still filled with awe. Perhaps this would be a good day after all.

     Stepping out of his tent he saw a small creature sleeping just outside the tent flap. Percet was very familiar with many types of petpets since beginning work at Fanciful Fauna but he was looking at a babith and they weren’t native to Shenkuu. In fact, no one knew where they lived. He felt a tugging on his heart strings and patted the babith. Its eyes opened and Percet stared in wonder as what could possibly be described as an energy of sorts left the petpet and entered him. He was warm all over and the finger on his left hand glowed briefly.

     “Well aren’t you a cutie-pie. What’s your name?” Images filtered through his mind and Percent watched the babith stretch and then stand.

     “Your name is Varanna?” Not understanding how he could now comprehend the images, he picked up the babith and cuddled it. “I would love to take time to get to know you better but I need to find some petpets to take to my boss or I’ll be out of a job again.

     Varanna nodded with understanding and took his hand as they headed toward the stream. They spent a few hours petpet hunting and Varanna showed talent in talking to petpets and urging them into the crates. Percet was happy he wouldn’t return empty-handed and told Varanna it was time to go but his otherwise so far obedient petpet just grabbed his hand and headed in the opposite direction of where he intended to go.

     Varanna led him toward a cluster of huge boulders and began to struggle to climb so Percet lifted her up and flew upward. Varanna pulled at his wing to signal him to land near the top. Catching his breath, Percet gazed out over Shenkuu. The view was gorgeous! He was about to comment to Varanna when he noticed her pulling at a bush.

     “What did you find there, girl?” asked Percet. He pulled on the bush and brushed aside a branch and noticed an opening. As soon as he discovered the opening, Varanna leapt through the opening and disappeared. Panicking Percent struggled to follow. He was barely able to squeeze through and had to remain on his hands and knees since the ceiling was so low. Crawling for several yards was painful but he finally reached a larger area where he was able to stand. He was about to call out to Varanna when she returned followed by six pygui babies.

     Varanna reached out and grabbed his left hand and again Percet was filled with images of six orphaned pygui babies, hungry and unhappy. Pygui were so rare and he had six of them! 60 million neopoints worth! Exclaiming in delight, he reached into his pockets for some feed. The squealing pyguis raced over to him and began eating.

     “Varanna! You’ve made us rich!” Again images raced through his mind and he felt humbled by his pet’s disappointment. “You’re right, my little friend, they are more important than a few neopoints. We’ll only let them go to happy homes and I’m going to set aside neopoints to make sure any other’s we find are cared for properly. Earning neopoints is important but not the most important thing in life.”

     Percet blushed as images from Varanna filled him with warmth. He watched in contentment as the baby pyguis ate and ate. He left Varanna with them while he flew out and brought back water from the stream. Finally the squealing petpets were sated and Percet packed them up to take to the shop. It was with a light heart that he returned to Fanciful Fauna. It goes without saying that the shopkeeper was elated beyond reason. His shock and disbelief was comical and Percet sadly told him he needed to find a stable home for his new friend, Varana. The shopkeeper was disappointed that Percet was no longer going to work for him due to his acquisition of many million neopoints but it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

     Percet was whistling jauntily as he left Fanciful Fauna. He was off to deposit his millions in the bank and with Varanna riding on his shoulder he set off to discover a bit more of the world of Neopia.

To be continued…