"I-it's-" Riverpaw let out a muffled squeak and took in a shaky breath. "T-there's too much go- going on. I-I don't know where I a-am, or any of these s-strangers…" She peeked out from under her tail and glanced toward where the others were, her ears flopped down. "And- my sister isn't here, a-and I just- I wanna go home!"
Moxie and Duchess coiled back. Looking at the direction of where they went, Duchess felt a twang of guilt for needlessly staring, a feeling shared by her friend.
'Ah well, rather predictable' comforted Moxie, 'I mean, we are strangers ourselves. Maybe they may be strangers to this forest.'
'Are we in the right one?' asked Duchess, 'those… dogs seemed rather nonthreatening, and this is meant to be a bit dangerous.'
'Well, maybe we're lucky, and we have nothing to worry about here!' she replied. But then she pondered. 'Or maybe we are in the wrong forest'. She checked her surroundings to try and find any sign that they were supposed to be here. But something else seemed to catch her eye. Was that another animal just out of line of sight?
((Me personally, i have no idea))
Sofie paused for a moment before she replied, “I feel the same way. I just want to go home and see my family again.” The large wolf sighed. She really did miss her family. She’d been away from them for too long… “Hey wait a second. Do you know if that crystal you’ve got there is like… I don’t know… a couple thousand years old and is possibly a super powerful relic made by a kitsune a long time ago?”
"W-what?" Riverpaw was caught off guard by the question for a moment, but she shook her head. "No, I… Mommy did say there was something special about it but I don't know if it's…t-that. M-my sister would know about it, but I don't. I'm sorry."
“Oh.” Sofie was a little disappointed. It could be their one chance of getting out of this forest. But maybe for now it wouldn’t be so bad to finally introduce themselves to the cats. “Do you want to come out or would you like to keep hiding here? I could hide you behind my wings if you want.” Sofie said, taking a small step away from the roots Riverpaw was hiding in.
Lia studded the two new felines from her perch, At least they weren't dogs. Lia jumped gracefully from her branch and landed softly on her paws in front of the two new cat's. "None of us know where we are, The two wolves that just ran off along myself woke up here a few minutes ago we're not sure how we ended up here. And watch out for the Nymph up there, she has a habit of assisting in curses."
Ah ha, she was correct! …This particular cat seemed odd, for she was smaller then what an adult of her breed was supposed to be, but nice nevertheless. She processed the information, and realized that they were probably all lost. Duchess returned the kindness.
'Well, ah, thank you for telling us, dear. I do believe we're probably on the wrong track here. As we told those other fine dog… fellows, we were only searching for a certain dew for spells… speaking of which, the nymph…' Duchess turned toward Moxie, asking for approval. She nodded in return.
'We're actually witches familiars. Our whole job is to assist in curses, so maybe what we can do instead, if we ARE in the wrong forest, maybe this nymph can help us out? You know, teach us a few tips and tricks of the trade. Do you know her?' Duchess looked excited, but inside she was rather worried if it was such a good idea to talk to anyone in this forest about any magic, especially dark arts. She snuggled to Moxie for comfort, simply because Moxie seemed to know what she was doing.
"I'm not sure you want Helios's help, she might stab you in the back." Lia said dryly. Helios pouted and flouted closer to the ground letting go of the orb.the sun flickered back into position over head. "Lia, darling, you shouldn't be so cruel. I would love to help you to! Though The small cat is mistaken, I did not curse her, I had nothing to do with her curse and she really needs to get over herself."
Moxie and Duchess jumped a bit at the new voice; they didn't spot another figure. They also stared greatly at the new arrival of the sun, but Moxie felt sure to not ask too many questions.
'Well, thank you most kindly. We would love to have some tutoring, or perhaps just some guidance for a replacement for Kursed dew…'
'Hang on darling', interrupted Duchess, 'so sorry to be prude and curious, but what on Earth is this talk about a "curse"? Is it a problem? Were you really cursed, my dear?' She looked back at Lia for this remark. 'You poor, pitiful thing. Curses are such an awful occurrence.'
Moxie looked at her in worry. Questions were rather the gateway to a world of trouble if you asked the wrong people too many things, and that condescending attitude? Duchess only meant the best, but Moxie instinctively stood beside her with a puffed out chest.
Lia tried not to look offended, it was clear that the white cat meant no harm,"I'm not really sure what's happened to me, I've just been calling it a curse, You see I used to be a nature sprite, Well sprite isn't really the right name for what we are but it's close enough. This used to be only one of my many many forms. Then the nymph over there used her magic to make me think this human was something he wasn't and then that human used some sort of magic and trapped me in two forms, this one and my human one. All of my magic gone, my powers, my connection with the earth was severed." Lia sighed sadly, "Once knowing what forest this is would have been as simple as lifting my paw, but such times are gone."
Duchess gawked in horror, then gasped in shock. She didn't have any other way to react.
'So… that nymph over there… sorry I forgot your name already, dear… she tricked and… you were trapped? And you used to know more but now you don't?' She tried in desperation in to process this. She was magical, but her master had only very recently put her into training with his wizard… or witch son; that was an example right there, all this witches and wizards and warlocks, it was all confusing to her. The thought of magic being used to hurt others further upset and she tried her best to comfort.
'You absolutely poor dear… I am so sorry that you feel that way and what happened to make you do so… though, still being able to turn human is still fine, I don't see much of a downside.'
'Duchess!' It was Moxie's turn to gawk at her. She nodded her head at Lia, with an apologetic mew and soon swept Duchess away.
'Darling Duchess' she started, 'I love how you're trying to comfort her, just the same way as you comfort me… but some people don't really appreciate it. It may sound weird, but sometimes it happens.'
Duchess looked back with a twang of guilt. 'I see… but surely I'm right. I mean, a cat, turning human? We couldn't possibly do that! I sympathize with that poor kittys sorrow, but I can't… empathize, is that the word? You know, see myself in her place? She could use that power to so many advantages!'
'Duchess… Oh Duchess, I know, but it's probably very insensitive to say so to her…' Moxie looked back at Lia with a bit of alarm.
“Oh.” Sofie was a little disappointed. It could be their one chance of getting out of this forest. But maybe for now it wouldn’t be so bad to finally introduce themselves to the cats. “Do you want to come out or would you like to keep hiding here? I could hide you behind my wings if you want.” Sofie said, taking a small step away from the roots Riverpaw was hiding in.
Watching the scene in the clearing, Riverpaw shifted nervously. But, slowly, she unfurled herself and crawled out from under the roots, staying low on the ground. Then she looked up at Sofie and gave a small nod. "T-thanks."
Sofie nodded and turned back to the felines. The silver wolf had not been listening while the cats talked, but she didn’t ask any questions. Sofie was a little confused, though, as to why Dk and Haze were so silent.
Lia sighed, It wasn't something a cat could understand. "Duchess, I used to be a magical being, I could make plants grow just by looking at them, I could be a human, cat, deer, anything I wanted to be. Do you and your owner have a special bond? I used to have something like that but with the earth." Lia tried to explain.
Moxie sighed with relief. She knew what a hard thing patience was to practice. Duchess blushed a bit.
'O-oh… is… is it anything like… did you use to have a bond with Earth like I have a bond Moxie? I mean, I certainly feel less able whenever she's not around.' Moxie nuzzled Duchess, and then interrupted.
'Well, we understand the loss of magic, and I'm sorry.' Moxie then noticed the arrival of the wolves she met a moment ago. 'Ah, hello there. Sorry if we seem threatening in anyway, but I believe, we're all strangers, correct?'
Sofie nodded and decided she should introduce herself, “I’m Sofie. It’s Moxie and Duchess right?” Sofie replied, accidentally pointing to Moxie when she said Duchess an Duchess when she said Moxie.
Riverpaw followed Sofie closely, staying underneath her much larger body and avoiding eye contact with everyone. Her ears twitched when she noticed her guess the felines' names incorrectly - she may not like socializing but it's not like she doesn't pay attention - but she couldn't bring herself to comment.
Moxie simply chuckled. 'Well, I am as important AS a Duchess…'
'And I'm as amazing as Moxie… but no, I'm Duchess, she's Moxie, and we were looking for some magic dew… but, if we're all strangers to this forest, then I don't believe we'll be able to find the exact kind we're looking for, or even a substitute.'
Moxie nodded. 'Now we have to tell our masters… unless, if you know any spells you could teach us to make up for it?'
“Oh, oops! My bad! Sorry ‘bout that… but I think I could help you with that dew. Does it just have to have some magic in it?” Sofie said, tilting her head.
'I mean… we were supposed to find it in a centre of a magical forest, and you can tell when you're there, because it's a clearing that glows in the moonlight, even if there's trees in the way.'
'I'm not exactly sure what magic spell it helps us make' admitted Duchess, 'and I believe harvesting it would be rather tricky. Often, the dew is founding dangerous forests… have you been in any danger yet? Is there anything we should know about this place?'
“Ummmmm, I mean there’s Helios but otherwise…. no, nothing dangerous. I hope…” Sofie said thoughtfully. “Honestly though, I have no idea where I am. Can’t help you find any… magical dew… Also honestly didn’t know magical dew was a thing. Isn’t all dew technically magical if magic is everywhere?”
'Magic? Everywhere?' Duchess looked at Moxie for confirmation.
'Well, yes, technically everything in the world is magical to some degree, but very specific objects formed in the right place at the right time possesses rather powerful magic, like a large concentration of the kind that witches need. But the magic can't accessed unless brewed or chopped or boiled alongside other ingredients and using certain other magic. We can't simply pick up a leaf and wave it around to make hundreds of dollars, same as we can't pick up any old dew, they are simply too weak.'
'I never knew…' Duchess looked back up at the wolf, 'Surely you must know, right? You're magical, I believe?'
'Not necessarily, Duchess' explained Moxie, 'besides, we have no good reason t assume…' but then something caught her eye. Why she didn't notice before was a mystery, but around the wolf's neck was a shining pendant that seemed to glow a blue haze. 'My gosh… sorry for staring, but mind telling me about your necklace? It looks rather spectacular.'
(She doesn’t have the blue necklace anymore :) sorry I forgot to mention that… she broke it in my main story a while ago. She now wears a necklace given to her by her mate that is a crescent black moon with a purple crystal placed between the tips)
“Oh. Yeah, I’m magical. Wait. Can witches use magic or just manipulate it?” Sofie asked suddenly. (Do you still want her to tell about her necklace? It still has magical properties.)
(oh right, haha just pretend I said purple, and yeah I wanna hear the story, sounds cool)
'…Moxie?'
'Yeah, witches can only manipulate magic. To their own ends, no doubt, but they only have the powers to harness magic from ingredients, and it's easier to do with certain technology. Witches and wizards are the biggest part in the potions industry, and can make recipes for new spells if they're particularly skilled.'
'Do you have a master? A magical one, like our witches? Did they give you that beautiful necklace?'