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The Avatar Pet Support Group

by Kiara

I’m not exactly sure what an avatar is. I just know that what they do is make owners create pets to get them and then dump them in the pound. I know this, for I am one of them. I am a Kacheek, and my name is 4_THE_avatarpetneo.

At my birth, the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the friendly face of a girl, around ten or eleven years old. She was smiling down at me, and I smiled back. I knew this was the human I was destined to be with for the rest of my life. And so I loved her instantly.

We did everything together. She bought me toys, food, books, and we even talked of saving money to buy me an adorable little petpet called a Faellie. I was so excited the first time I saw one in a store window. It was on a trip to Faerieland. The Faellie was so cute, looking at me with innocent curiosity, cocking its head to one side as it looked at me. I loved its big ears and fluffy tail that was so like mine. But what I loved most were its wings.

They were tiny, yet they could propel the small creature so far and so fast, much farther and faster than my feet. From then on, I dreamt of wings. I told my owner about my dream, and she said that there was a way I could get them. There was something called a Faerie Paint Brush, she told me, which, if I was painted with it, would give me wings and make me soar just like the Faellie. I begged her to go buy it now and she laughed. She said it was very expensive, but maybe, one day, if we got a lot of money, I could get it.

Did I mention we used to take lots of trips? We went to the Haunted Woods, Kiko Lake, everywhere. But there are two trips that were stuck in my mind. The first was the trip to the beach. The second, of course, was that fateful day when I was dumped in the pound.

“Four!” my owner called. That was her nickname for me. Four. “We’re going on a trip today!”

“Oh boy!” I shouted, racing down the stairs of our comfy neohome. “Where to?”

“Mystery Island,” she told me. “There’s a special place there for Kacheeks.”

I was thrilled. I put on my nicest outfit and then we were off. First, we went down to Neopia Central and got two boat tickets. Then, we began to sail towards Mystery Island. Sailing was one of the most pleasant experiences of my life. I loved the feeling of the wind against my fur, the gentle rocking of the seas, everything. When we arrived, I didn’t want to get off. But I knew there was going to be something extra special for me, so I did.

We walked along the sand, which tickled my feet. There were several places I wanted to stop, such as the Tombola and the Cooking Pot. But she said we needed to keep walking; we were nearly there. So I walked, gazing longingly at them.

We finally stepped onto a gorgeous, shimmering beach. I gaped in wonder and awe at the beauty. This really was a special place. But she had mentioned something about it being special to Kacheeks. I saw nothing. Maybe there was a story behind it? I enjoyed hearing stories.

And then, out of nowhere, words began to form above us. My owner squealed with joy. I looked up and read them. These words will stay in my head for the rest of my life.

“You are now eligible to use “Kacheek - Swim” as an avatar on the NeoBoards!”

I didn’t understand what was happening. But my owner was happy, so I should be happy. I smiled ignorantly. She turned around to look at me, a huge grin on her face.

“Isn’t this great, Four? Listen, can you go back home yourself? I want to try out my new avatar!”

‘Avatar? Isn’t that part of my name?’ I thought confusedly. But I just smiled at her and said, “Okay!” even though it wasn’t okay. I’d never traveled by myself before. Thankfully, the nice man at the harbor recognized my uncertainty and helped me out. I reached home safely.

My owner did not come back by dinnertime. I managed to find a couple of scraps of carrot and pea omelette from the other day and I ate them. I hoped she wouldn’t be mad that I ate without her.

That night, I lay in bed, sadness in my heart, and waited to hear her key in the door. Finally, I heard it. It was well past midnight, but even so, I rushed downstairs to greet her. Instead of looking pleased like I thought she would, she seemed annoyed.

“Four? You should be sleeping! It’s so late! Why did you wait up for me?”

‘Why did I wait up for you?’ I wanted to cry out. ‘Because you’re my owner! And I love you! And you love me! Don’t you?’

She acted oddly for the rest of the week. She was at home less and less, making me have to fetch my own food and things. I also became more and more lonely. My best friend became the Blue Poogle Plushie that she had bought for me our first day together. She was the center of my universe. Was I still the center of hers?

I never went downstairs to greet her again, and she seemed content with that. She didn’t know it, but although I never actually went to greet her, I stayed up until I heard her key in the lock. There was no way I could sleep without knowing if she was safe at home or not. I was too worried.

And then the day came. THE DAY.

“Four! Sweetie, wake up!” my owner said. She was standing above me smiling. “I have a surprise downstairs.”

I was euphoric. It was all going to be like it used to. Maybe the surprise was that Faellie or that Faerie Paint Brush we always talked about. I was so happy that I practically floated down the stairs, only to find out that I was wrong. One hundred percent wrong.

My surprise had wings all right, but it was no petpet or paintbrush. It was a blue shoyru, standing there, smiling sweetly at me. “This is Blessed__avatar, Four. She’s my new pet.”

“Hello,” Blessed__avatar said to me, still smiling in the same way. I hated her immediately, but I would have to get used to her. She was my new sister, after all.


“We’re going to take another trip, Four,” my owner said softly.

“Where?” I inquired.

“It’s here, in Neopia Central. We’re going to walk. It’s not far.”

We walked in silence. I don’t know why, since at the time, I had no idea where we were going. But my owner was silent, so we all were. A few minutes later, we arrived at a large building. A sign over it said, “POUND”. I wondered what that meant.


“We’re here,” she said weakly. I glanced at Blessed__avatar. She seemed just as confused as I. As we entered, I saw two pets, a pink Uni and a red Techo standing by the desk. Behind them were a bunch of pets in cages, looking forlorn. I gasped and felt thankful that it wasn’t happening to me.

My owner went up to the Techo. “I’d like to abandon my Kacheek.”

I stared up at her. ‘What?’ I thought. ‘Did she just say…she wanted to abandon me?’

“Four…I’m so sorry.” There seemed to be small tears in her eyes. “I only created you so I could get an avatar to use on the NeoBoards. Now…I can’t take care of you any more. This is going to be your home for a while. Okay?”

Just like last time, it wasn’t okay. But again, I murmured, “Okay,” my voice cracking. She handed me over to the Techo, filled out a form, and then she and Blessed__avatar were gone. Just like that.

The Uni smiled kindly at me and showed me to a cage. I went in and slumped against the bars, miserable. I couldn’t believe that my owner, whom I loved so much, would do this to me. I had brought my plushie, so I hugged it against me. At least I had it.

There was an Elephante in the cage next to me. “You’re new,” he said bluntly.
“Yeah,” I said.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m…4_THE_avatarpetneo. But my owner used to call me Four.”

“You’re an avatar pet, too, huh?” The Elephante looked at me forlornly. “My name is Peanutavvie. Call me Peanut. The guy in the cage next to me is also an avatar pet. Just like us. He’s Onlyforavter5.”

I looked in the cage and saw a Lenny. He waved weakly and I waved back. “Only and I help out the new avatar pets when they come in. You can help us.”

“Like the avatar pet support group,” I supplied.

Only and Peanut laughed. I laughed too. I didn’t expect to be laughing in this horrible place. But I was laughing, and I now had two new friends, who I knew, unlike my owner, would not leave me for an avatar.

We played together for another week and became closer. None of us were exactly sure what avatars were, but we all agreed they were awful. We kept an eye out for new avatar pets. Some other pets came in, but there were no new avatar pets in our section.

A few days later, I saw my old owner again. She had Blessed__avatar and another pet, a Skeith, next to her. Blessed__avatar was crying. I glared coldly at my owner, but she didn’t notice. She just filled out a form. Blessed was hysterical now. She knew what was happening.

“Guys,” I whispered to my friends. “I think we found our new member.”

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Content was created by members of The Neopian Orphanage.
Site design (c) 2005 wtrswoopes. Site graphics (c) 2005 vegetarewlz.