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Lillaray was very excited. Her cousin Nillaray was coming to live with her, right in time for the Acara Aquatic Festival! She ran around her Neohome, bragging about all the fun they'd have swimming and playing together.
Finally, the big day came, and Nillaray came to Lillaray's house.
"Hi!" Lillaray said. "I'm Lillaray! And your name's Nillaray! And we look just alike too, except I'm purple and you're green. We're just like twins!"
"I suppose," Nillaray said, frowning.
"Hey, maybe we could do synchronized swimming at the Aquatic Festival! Wouldn't that be neat?"
Nillaray's eyes widened, then narrowed in disgust. "I don't fancy swimming," she said. "And call me Nil."
Lillaray's ears drooped. "Oh, okay. Nil. You don't wanna go swimming? Why not? All the other Acara will be at the festival and they'll be swimming."
"I never said I was like other Acara," Nil said, turning up her nose.
Lillaray was very disappointed. She thought her cousin would be more friendly.
But they both went to the shores of Mystery Island for the Aquatic Festival the next day, because that's what all the Acara do. There were all sorts of fun water slides set up, and water pistols to shoot, and lots of candy and fruit too.
Lillaray and Nil ate their fill (they liked everything but the Ummagine--yuck!). Then Lillaray went out into the ocean. "Come on, Nil! Let's go swimming!"
"Hmph," Nil said. "How immature do you think I am? Do I look like I've been painted with a Baby Paint Brush?"
"What, are you scared?" Lillaray asked.
Nil growled, her fur bristling, then ran into the water, past Lillaray and into the deep ocean. "Any Acara can swim! And I can swim as well as anyone!"
"Wait for me!" Lillaray yelled.
But Nil kept swimming. Or, at least, she kept waving her paws, but she didn't seem very good at it. Lillaray suddenly realized Nil was the only Acara in Neopia who couldn't swim! Nil went out a bit farther, to show off. But when she tried to come back to the shore, the current held her back.
"Help!" Nil finally yelled.
Lillaray didn't wait. She was strong enough to paddle all the way out into the ocean. She grabbed Nil's ear with her teeth. Lillaray needed all four paws to fight the current and drag her cousin back to shore. Once they got their paws onto the sand, they laid down, panting.
Finally, Lillaray got up. Nil was expecting her to be angry, but she just looked scared. "You almost got killed!" Lillaray said.
"You bit me!" Nil yelled.
"Only so I could bring you back to shore!" Lillaray said.
Nil looked away. Lillaray put her paw on Nil's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Maybe the Water Faerie can fix your ear."
Nil looked up. She had tears in her eyes. "You really care about me...even after I was so cruel to you..."
"Cruel?" Lillaray asked, laughing. "Nah. You shoulda seen how mean Twovee was when he came to live with us! You were just a little rude, is all."
Nil wiped her eyes. "Really?" This was the first time someone had cared about her.
"I like you anyway," Lillaray said, smiling. "Now what do you want to do? We can have lots of fun, even if we don't go back into the ocean."
"But you enjoy swimming, don't you?" Nil asked. "You should have fun."
"The most fun I can have is being with my friends!" Lillaray said. "Even if no one ever taught them to swim."
"Could...YOU teach me?"
Lillaray laughed. "Of course! I'm the best swimmer in all of Neopia!"
Lillaray usually exaggerated, but Nil let it slide.
"But how about we just do some wading for a while?" Lillaray said. "I'm still out of breath."
"Sure!" Nil said, pointing to her ear. "You know, since I already have a hole, perhaps I'll have an earring put in..."
She did. And Nil and Lillaray had a wonderful day. Nil became a splendid swimmer, and just two months later, she and Lillaray took second prize in a swimming competition. And they stayed friends forever.
