Marvela Mystic | ✔️

Chapter 1 ✨ Familiar

Dedicated to my floofy cats, Moki & Willow.

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Grudgewood Forest wasn't as ghastly of a place as its name implied. Yet very few people bothered to venture into the old forest anymore, and so the marvelous, mystical wonders within went undiscovered.

Golden beams of evening light poured forth through the pale boughs of the aspen trees, splashing across fluttering yellow leaves that littered the forest floor. In the fading light, dew sparkled on speckled toadstools and silken spiderwebs. The symphony of the songbirds was reaching its climax as the shadows lengthened. From those shadows rose the fireflies. Scores of flashing lights filled the darkening woods like stars in a galaxy-swirling and spinning, converging and scattering.

A tiny black paw reached out from beneath the fallen leaves on the ground to stir up all the dancing lights. Soon the furry form of a kitten launched into the air, a cascade of golden leaves rising with her. Her orange eyes were alight like two candle flames as she batted at her luminous friends. Her fur was sleek and black, like a moonless night. Only a single white spot on her chest curiously shaped like a star marked her pelt.

Grinning and giggling, the kitten crashed back into the cushiony leaves in an explosion of fluttering gold. The fireflies paid her no mind, orbiting around her as their dance continued.

The chirping of a nearby cricket made the kitten's ears perk up. Bolting upright, she scanned her surroundings with wide eyes and twitching whiskers. The insect chirped again. It was close-underneath the leaves somewhere. A sly grin stretched across the kitten's muzzle. Sitting back on her haunches, she rubbed her forepaws together. Orange sparks, matching the hue of her eyes, flickered forth from her paws. With a mew of victory, the tiny cat slapped her paws to the ground and laughed with glee as a wave of sparkling, shimmering orange light burst forth from her, throwing every single fallen leaf into the air. Her crafty cricket friend revealed himself, airborne amongst the confetti of aspen leaves.

...And so did hundreds of his musically inclined little friends.

Suspended in the air like the fireflies, the crickets all belted a ballad to bring the day to a close. Above, a chilly Fall breeze made the leaves and branches sway, casting dancing shadows between the dwindling splotches of sunlight on the ground. The black eyes that dappled the trunks of the aspens watched the spectacle unfold.

There was nothing ghoulish to be found in Grudgewood. Only magic.

Still grinning from ear to furry ear, the kitten let her magic dissipate. The leaves and the crickets floated back to the earth. One of the crickets bounced against the kitten's black button nose with a chirp before following the others back into hiding. She swished her tail at the crickets in farewell. There would be much more time to play with them tomorrow.

"Hello down there, Marvela!" sang a twittering voice from the treetops.

The kitten flicked her gaze upward to spy a rather plump eastern bluebird watching her from a hollow in one of the aspens. "Good evening, Sunshine!" Marvela sang back.

Sunshine preened at the feathers of his proud red chest that contrasted with the sky-blue plumage along his back. "How was the hunting today?" the round bird chirped.

Marvela licked at her forepaw and rubbed it across her face to smooth her ruffled fur. "It's going quite well!" she said, casting a glance at the pouch she had tucked away against the roots of a nearby tree. She couldn't help but puff out her star-spotted chest at the sight. The button that held the pouch shut was nearly bursting off from all the materials the kitten had gathered. Marvela lowered her paw from her face, and her orange eyes returned to her feathered friend above. "I just need one more thing..."