Magic Tricks

Milo, Amber, Pepper, Forest, and Loong flop onto the ground suddenly as they come shooting out of the portal. As long as I keep the portal open, perhaps we can go through it again without having to make another one. They don't know where I am yet, but someone will figure it out eventually.

It's fun watching others from high up in a tree. I just hang onto a thick branch and watch them down below. When the wind blows, the branches sway, which makes me tense up with the thought of falling off.

Down below, Milo sniffs the grassy ground, and I'd assume she's trying to pick up my scent. Then, she stares up at me, golden eyes glowing with curiosity. I flick my tail, amused.

I can hear Loong speaking, but I'm up far enough that I am unable to tell what he's saying. Once Loong finishes speaking, Forest begins talking too. I lower my head carefully, trying to hear what they are saying.

"Sorry to interrupt, but," I hear Pepper ask, "Where is Gingercat?" Why would they leave her alone in the tunnels? That's really risky. Usually, others can't stay in there alone without getting lost, hurt, or even killed. But I'm sure Gingercat's fine.

Amber replies, "She's still with Leona." Pepper nods. She's next to a corpse. Wow.

Milo's paws shift, her face showing obvious discomfort. The tabby takes a deep breath before jumping at the tree I'm in, sinking her claws into the stiff bark. I watch as Milo climbs up the tree without much difficulty, soon making it up to the branch I'm on. She cautiously walks along the branch, watching her footing.

"Dark--" Milo starts to say, glancing up at me shyly.

There's a 'trick' I want to show. It may make Milo upset, but only due to the way I'll show.

I meow sadly, "You wanted me to leave your life." There. Now let's begin. Focus.

"Honey, I'm--" I hear Milo gasp as I jump off the branch. A pair of giant, furry black wings grow on my back, catching me mid-air. After I regain balance, I flap hard, flying up gracefully onto the branch of another nearby tree. I stand carefully on the thick branch, turning my head to see what Milo is doing. Her orange fur is shining as bright as flames in the sunlight, waving slightly in the gentle gusts of wind. Her golden eyes are full of shock and her jaw is hanging open, showing the ends of her fangs.

"How did you fly?" Milo asks, blinky slowly with wonder, tail swaying behind her.

I hear Pepper shout from below, "Don't forget, she somehow made a portal too!" Looking down at the rest of the cats and dragons, I see Amber nod with agreement. Loong and Forest look up at me, then at Milo.

"Be careful up there!" The orange dragon shouts.

"Especially you, Milo," Forest adds on. Milo's legs are starting to get shaky, and I'm afraid she's going to lose her balance any minute. She moves her front paw to try stabilizing herself, but that doesn't help at all. The tabby places her paw too close to the end of the branch, sliding downward. Milo gasps as her back leg slides in the same direction.

Before I watch what happens next, I outstretch my furry wings feeling the wind catching in them already. I jump quickly, flapping hard as I balance myself in the air. I fly towards Milo, and she already lost grip on the branch completely. She screeches with horror when she begins to fly down to the ground, legs and tail flailing helplessly.

I know cats have a reflex of spinning to be right-side up while they're in mid-air, but that won't save her from this fall. Only I can if I'm fast enough.

Milo's falling very quickly, getting dangerously close to the ground. I don't have the chance to fly under her, as that's what I would usually do. I can't grab her by the scruff either, since she'd be too heavy for me to hang onto. I make up my mind, diving into her direction, tucking my wings to my side, outstretching my front paws with my silver claws sheathed.

The world seems to be in slow motion once I am right up to Milo. My paws stay on her sides and my wings wrap around her for protection. This could be a painful crash. My body crashes into the tabby's, causing me to be tense, preparing to hit the ground.

Milo and I tumble together into the grass, trying our hardest to hang onto each other. Finally, our bodies still on the soft grass. I open up my wings so that Milo can get up. Surprisingly, I don't feel any pain from the speedy tumble. Milo stands up, careful not to step on my big, black wings. I stand as well, my wings slowly fading away as the magic wears off.

"Are you okay?" I ask Milo. I think she's fine, just surprised.

"Yes, I'm alright," Milo meows, golden eyes meeting mine. I'm glad she's not hurt.

"Well, we must be getting back," Amber says, glancing over at the purple portal.

"I guess you're right," I reply. "My magic will be wearing off any minute."

"And that makes the portal vanish, right?" Pepper asks, raising a brow.

"Exactly." I look back at Loong and Forest.

"Since you have magic," Amber asks, her amber eyes full of question and worry, "Do you think you could bring Leona back?"

"I think so," I answer, walking over to my purple portal. "Come along."

After everyone jumps through the swirl of purple, the portal fades until there's nothing left of it. Amber, Pepper, Loong, Forest, and Milo run at a steady pace to the furthest wall where Leona and Gingercat lay.

"Dark!" Gingercat mews, her green eyes bright. "You're back! Now save Leona, or else!"

I shake my head. 'Or else'. I haven't heard anyone say that for quite a while.

"Okay, but you're gonna have to back up first." Gingercat obeys, settling next to Milo. I crouch down on the cool stones next to Leona, pressing my pink nose against my sister's shoulder. I need to focus. If I do this wrong, Leona may never come back. Concentrating, I feel a tiny zap go through my big tail. Next, that feeling goes through the tips of my ears, my paws, along my spine, and of my whiskers. Glancing up at Leona without moving my head.

My magic is definitely working, luckily. Hopefully it works completely. Tiny purple lightning-like bolts run through her fur, from her shoulder all the way to the end of her striped tail.

After a moment, I relax and the bolts vanish. I slowly back away from Leona, watching for any sign of life. Eventually, her chest begins to rise and fall gently, and she flicks her tail from side to side. Grunting, the bengal cat pushes herself up, blinking sleepily.

"Dark?" She meows softly, turning her head in my direction. "What happened?"

"I'm not totally sure," I reply, giggling awkwardly. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," Leona sighs, ears flat. "I feel a bit weird, but fine."

"Well, I'm glad you're back." A purr rumbles in my throat and a smile tugs at Leona's mouth. "We're glad you're back." Everyone nods, getting up and walking up to join us.

"What should we do now?" Pepper asks, tilting his head with question.

"Can we explore?" Gingercat mews in her small voice. "Please?"

"Of course we can," Leona replies, giving her younger sister's forehead a tender lick.

"Dark," Milo says, walking up to me. She stops ahead of me, whiskers twitching.

"Yes?"

"Lead the way." Wow, that's different. I almost never get to be in the lead. I guess that makes sense to me. I used to be very secretive. But, not so much anymore. I walk down a dark tunnel, which only gets darker as we continue walking further into it. Loong lights his horns, the orange flames giving off both heat and a great amount of glow.

After a while of going through a series of winding tunnels, I see one that is strangely lit up. The light doesn't seem natural. The stones look blue instead of gray. I'm almost afraid of turning down that corner, but I think I remember what's there. If it is, I could be putting my family and friends in more danger. But also, they will learn what I've known my whole life. This is where I was first taken in, but I had to leave after the peace was fractured. After evil took over.

Well, here we go. I turn around, facing everyone behind me.

"What's glowing over there, Dark?" Amber whispers, stretching her neck in attempt to see what's behind me.

"You all must be very careful. Except for you, Loong and Forest." Loong and Forest step forward, meeting my side.

"Do what Dark says," Loong mutters, his flames now gone. "You can only experience this once, so enjoy it while you can."