[kiwipen]

[bakuraas.]

Prompt; Crisis
Cats used in Prompt; Amatoxis and Dyer
Magic Selections; Fire, Love, Shadow
Word Count; 763

The door had been locked up tight, pieces of furniture shoved in front of the door as well as the windows, not letting any light in or out of the wooden home. The house creaked and cracked as furniture was adusted from their usual placements, as if the home itself was panicking alongside the cat inside.The sounds outside weren't exactly encouraging, from the mixture of wind to the harsh, loud footsteps that were nothing like a storkie's walk. In fact, the footsteps were not comparable to any animal that Amatoxis had heard before, which only made it more unnerving. The young cat in the room was terrified, shaking from the top of his ears to the tip of his tail. This wasn't supposed to happen like this.

The young Amatoxis had been told to visit the distant home of the local Absent Magician and secondary-leader, Dyer. It was supposed to be a simple task, drop off some herbs, make sure that the old man hadn't gotten himself injured, and then return home and continue trying to figure out how to prove himself and earn his hat. Unfortunately, something started happening outside, causing Dyer to keep Amatoxis indoors and start boarding up the house, sending out a message to the main township on the back of his frog familiar. He seemed to be calm through it all, almost as if it was routine.

"Mister Dyer, what's happening-?" Before he could properly finish his question, a large paw was placed over his mouth, muffling him. "Keep your voice down, child. You keep talking that loud and they might hear us." He whispered, his tone still harsh and angry despite the lack of volume. Amatoxis just nodded, hoping that his question would still be answered anyways- and it was. "There's creatures out there, searching, hunting. None of us are exactly sure what they are, only that they're powerful enough to destroy any number of cats if not taken seriously. They're not much for trying to destroy houses though, perhaps a bit too much work for their meals. So as long as we stay inside and not make a sound, they will move on and leave us be. This only ever happens about once every year, perhaps they need more energy during the season, it's hard to understand them with such little information."

Amatoxis was unnerved, safe to say. He hadn't heard about this before despite being raised here, or perhaps his parents had just pretended it was a storm as to not make the young cat afraid of the monsters that lived in the forest. And for the oldest member of the magewatchers to not know what they were either, that was somehow the most terrifying bit about it all. There was good in it though, knowing that if he stayed here he would be safe, and thanking the paragons themselves that he didn't end up wandering around the forest today like he had originally planned. Dyer seemed to be staring at him, almost as if searching the younger cat's face for any discomfort or worry regarding their current situation- it had faded from his face, now knowing that as long as he stayed relatively still and quiet, they'd be fine.

"Everyone else is going to be okay, right?" Amatoxis whispered, keeping his volume in mind after the last attempt at speaking. Dyer nodded. "As long as they also lock themselves up in their homes and stores, they should be alright. Potion has already gone to tell everyone that it's coming towards them, so they should all be aware." Amatoxis nodded, but seemed to be confused about one bit. "Potion, your frog, right? Isn't it dangerous to send out a tiny creature in situations like this?" Dyer didn't seem to have any emotional reaction to the question, but he seemed to hold back a sigh. "In theory yes, but it seems that the creatures don't see anything smaller than a cat as an adequate target, making him safe enough to run to the town and back, even with the letter on his back." "Must not be very smart monsters, then huh?" Amatoxis commented, and Dyer laughed quietly. "Suppose not, we can thank the stars for that one."

Once the monsters had passed and the crisis had been averted, Dyer sent Amatoxis on his way. Amatoxis never talked about the interaction again, even when asked about it directly, partially because he had been requested into silence by Dyer, and because he'd rather not think about the monsters wandering around the forest. At least, not until next year.

[kiwipen]

revealed - love