DragonBonds

The Beginning

Beep-Beep-Beep

Beep-Beep-Beep

Cloud's alarm clock sounded right next to his face, and he cracked open an eye to pick his phone up.

9:00. Great.

The dilute calico sat up in his bed, blankets strewn about and his stuffed animals pressed to the wall. The bleary-eyed cat looked towards his door and expected his mom or step-dad to bust through any moment now. He looked around and grabbed his binder, slipping it over his head, and then threw his favorite baggy tee on. With a sigh, he pulled his only good comfy shorts from his drawer and put those on too, sitting at his desk and playing on his phone for a little while until someone eventually came to get him.

Minutes passed. He figured his mom would get him from his room already, or something. What was the hold up? Cloud figured he would just... go upstairs himself this time, so he spun his chair around, placed his phone on his desk and walked upstairs to greet his family. Maybe they were busy playing with Mittens? She was always the kind of kid to wanna play all the time. He'd play with her tomorrow, when he could.

When he reached the top stair and looked into the kitchen, he couldn't place what the weirdest thing was.

The fact that his whole immediate family was standing right there, next to the hallway up to the kitchen, or the fact that they were holding a birthday cake.

"Happy birthday, Cloud!" His mom said softly, a purr rumbling comfortably in her chest. "We made you your favorite; vanilla with chocolate shavings on the top."

He looked down at the cake. It certainly didn't look handmade, but that's just because his mother was a really good cake decorator. His dad must've been the one who baked it. He gave his parents and his brother a smile and swished his tail side to side.

"Thanks, guys, I appreciate it a lot." The small cat wrapped his arms around his family, and looked down when he heard a little squeak.

"Oh, hey there Mitsy! How's my baby sister doing?" He cooed softly, wrapping his arms around the kitten and picking her up. She put her paw on his nose, making him giggle, and he looked at his family.

"So, what's the plan after the ceremony, eh?" he smirked, Mittens pulling softly on his ear.

"Well," Heathcliff, his stepdad, started. "We were thinking of going out to the movies, the five of us. Your choice, of course, but we imagine something low energy for this one. Your mother's been working hard to set the room up outside, and I've been up for too long trying to get everything set up for dinner tonight."

His mom, Merlot, nodded and took Mittens from Cloud's arms, cradling the kitten to her chest. "Pebbles is gonna get you set up to prepared. Remember, you've got about 45 minutes till we need to start, to be on time. But have fun, boys, I love you both very much." The black and white bicolor planted a kiss on both of her sons' cheeks, pulling back and taking Heathcliff's paw. His parents walked out of the kitchen into the living room, leaving Cloud with Pebbles.

"The big one-eight." The grey cat mused. "I remember when I turned 18 and Tempest came to me."

"What was it like?" Cloud asked him, going back downstairs with his brother.

"Truth or lie?"

"Uh... Truth? Please?"

"Painful. The biggest thing you feel is the presense of something foreign yet familiar. You know the magic, you just don't know it personally. That can mess with you. Also any pressure you feel, you feel it all over your body. You always get wings, but sometimes you get something extra. Dad got horns, I got these big ol' claws. Who know what you might get!"