Added note:
\Communication-dialog between Monsters and spirits are like this.\
Isis, This Isn't Egypt
It was nine pm now, a couple days having passed since Cassidy met Morgan. Things had been relatively peaceful, and this evening was no different... Until Cassidy's cell phone went off.
The paper witch fumbled, fighting back a yawn as she picked up a kitten, paused, blinked, set the white fluffball aside and reached again. Hearing a happy "cruo!" and feeling a different kind of fur, Cassidy sighed and sit the mini-fiend aside as well before finally getting her cell just as the phone went to voicemail.
Of course.
Rolling her eyes, the woman glanced at her TV while starting to pull up caller ID. Only the phone started ringing again with the name 'fire-dork' on the screen. "Hello Simon, I thought you were sleeping already." she said into the cell, balancing it between her head and shoulder as she attempted to keep kitten and fiend from hurting each other.
The response was frantic and panicked sounding. "C-Cassidy, i-it's sitting o-on me a-and it won't g-get off!" What kind of mess did he just get himself into now?
"It's just a kuriboh Simon, you knew it fallowed you, riding in your pocket from the other day." Cassidy said, cuddling her own tiny monster and a white kitten, "Did it grow? Hadir said you shouldn't feed it anything with sugar or it might multiply with no control, just plants and flowers."
Simon's response was still frantic. "N-Not a Kuriboh! Blue, s-scaly... S-staring at me! C-Cassidy why is it staring at me?!"
"Did you get a lizard?" Cassidy frowned, then sighing she added, "Simon?"
"Y-you could s-say that..." The fireman replied shakily. "A-A big one... Th-that wasn't h-here b-before I went t-to bed..."
"Simon?" Cassidy asked again, calmly as she twitched her fingers to distract the kitten.
"Wh-what?" He asked nervously, sounding as though he was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
"Take a deep breath." The young woman said, making the motion of doing so, even if Simon could see in, "In deeply, and let it out slowly. In and out, calm down and breathe. If it hasn't hurt you yet, probably won't. Deep slow breath in, and let it out again." She said, having done this once before already in the last week after the incident at the coffee shop and binding Jafar. Simon had seen his first forest spirit the other day, and being so new to the magical world he of course called her.
"R-right... Breathe... In... Out... In... CassidywhattheheckdoIdo?! Th-there's a dragon sitting on me!" So much for calm, but at least he explained what the problem was.
"Are you eaten?" the paper witch asked after putting the phone back to her ear.
"No... No, I'm fine..." Simon replied quietly, trying to get himself collected a bit more. "Sorry, Cassidy... I-I'm just not sure what to do now that there's a miniature Blue Eyes perched on my chest and watching me as though it thinks I'm... Wait... No, that's not possible... C-Cass? A-any theories?"
"Are you wearing your charms?" Cassidy asked as Isis hopped up to the back of her futon and paced over to the girl as if listening in.
"Yes... I haven't taken them off since you gave me them." He replied, sounding a fair bit more controlled now. "... Um... It's purring at me... Kind of... Do dragons normally do that?"
"The one I met in Arizona did," Cassidy said as she stood, then added, "Are you sure you have all the charms on? Or just beside your bed again?"
There was faint shifting noises, followed by a playful growling sound and a sharp inhale. "...the necklace... I forgot to put the necklace on..."
"That had Clam on it, okay," Cassidy said as she was getting her shoes on. On the way over to The Kar, she picked up a can of gushy cat food, she paused long enough for Claws to leap up to her shoulders and checked to see if she had her keys. "That explains how it found you."
"Mind explaining it to me so I remember for next time?" He asked before yelping quietly. "It pounced my hand! This thing's like a freakin' cat!" He paused before adding. "Not that I have a problem with cats. It caught me off guard, that's all."
Claws snorted and then wedged his head between Cassidy's and the phone, then scowled Simon though it.
Simon made a comical noise before responding. "Hey, I said I didn't have a problem with cats... I'm just wound a bit tight right now because of this... Duel Monster..."
Cassidy saved her phone from her guardian and fitted an ear piece in under her hair, "sorry about that, do you still have one of Claws' cat food cans there"
"Yeah, I think there's one in the cupboard." He responded thoughtfully. "I take it he'll get over it if I feed him?"
"It's okay," Cassidy said as she put the tom cat into The Kar before sliding in as well, "I think you can just move the dragon, or tell him to move."
"Ehm, alright..." He could be heard asking the dragon to get off, and gave a faint 'huh' noise, sounding amused. "Well, it listened."
"Its a Monster, I noticed when I tell Jafar, or one of my Kuriboh's, to do something he does, but asking he has the ability not to. I think its something to do with being a 'monster'." The girl turned in her seat, backing up, "I'm on my way, try feeding the dragon the cat food, they seem to like that but not the cheap stuff out of the can."
Simon took a second or two to respond, but soon replied. "Alright, I'll see if it's hungry. Thanks for coming to help... A-and I'm sorry about the disturbance. I didn't know who else I could call for help."
"You don't know any other witches," Cassidy yawned switching to speaker phone, as she backed up, and once on the road her grip on the steering wheel loosened, trysting The Kar. "I'll be there soon."
"Yeah, that is true." He responded, though she'd have heard him give a sharp little inhale afterwards, followed by him quietly-yet-frantically telling something on his end not to attack his slippers while his feet were in them. The chattering noise that followed his comment certainly wasn't normal by any stretch, though there would be no missing the amused tones in the unusual noise.
"...remind me to invest in something for this thing to chase if it sticks around very long." Simon said awkwardly. "Because it likes my slippers."
"They are fuzzy and have ears," Cassidy pointed out, remembering the bunny slippers in question and thinking they may look like prey. Or just toys to the dragon.
Simon sputtered a moment before asking sheepishly. "Remind me when you saw them before? ... but yeah, you have a good-"
The sound of the phone dropping came next, as well as a loud scuffle before, sounding flustered, Simon commented awkwardly. "Sorry about that. It pounced my foot, I dropped the phone, and we played unintentional floor hockey with it to try and see who could get a good grip on it first."
"Try feeding it cat food," Cassidy said again, scrubbing her face to wake up.
"I'm working on that." Simon responded with an awkward laugh. "I'm almost in the kitchen now... Ouch!" There was another pause, followed by a bit of scuffling, and Simon spoke again. "Sorry about that."
"Stop saying sorry, its a dragon," The paper witch said as The Kar pulled into a driveway. Cassidy took over to pull out and then into the right driveway before getting out. Claws hopped up onto her shoulder as she added, "I'm here."
"Yeah, but I keep making loud noises." Simon protested, pausing a moment before adding. "Alright, just unlocked the door for you. The dragon's in the kitchen right now. That cat food idea worked... well, mostly. Anyway, come on in."
"I have a key you know, and know how to unlock doors," Cassidy rolled her eyes as she closed her phone and did just that. She closed the door behind her and fallowed the voice of her friend and put her hands on her hips, "Simon, just because I told you I know a few lock picking spells, it does not mean I will use them willy nilly."
She'd have found Simon in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and watching the small Blue Eyes by his bare feet with intrigue. It was presently curled up on top of his now unoccupied bunny slippers, and happily chowing down on the cat food it'd been given.
When Simon heard Cassidy, he looked over and gave an awkward laugh. "I forgot you had a key, actually... and lock-picking spells... I forget a lot of things, don't I?"
The girl came in and grasping wings at the base so not to hurt and lifted it up. "Excuse me. But that is a no-no." She said firmly, but gently, respectful that this was a dragon that was just in a small form. However, they were both of the white magic element, the light. Cassidy was also if this world and an active spell caster. "You do not chew on other people's things. It's rude. If you need to chew on something then have this." She put the white scaled dragon on the counter with a thick, clean, doggy chew toy in the shape of a bone that squeaked softly.
The dragon just blinked several times when Cassidy picked it up, and then chattered as though trying to argue with her, though it stopped arguing and shivered a little as it curled up on the counter, blinking and tilting its head at the noise the toy made, now seeming incredibly interested, and soon it was chewing on the toy, seeming thrilled every time it squeaked.
Simon seemed rather amused as he watched this. "I'm glad you know how to handle this critter, because I haven't got a clue."
"I'm a white-magic witch," Cassidy pointed out, "I took a chance. But I'm also and active witch Simon, and this is a Monster. You haven't claimed him so I think he's listening to me as default."
That, however, was when the Blue Eyes seemed to lose interest in the toy, dropping it as it stood up on the counter, snorted at Cassidy, and then stared at Simon with near-adoration again. Simon seemed a little weirded out. "Um... I think that might not quite be how it is..."
"It was only a guess," Cassidy pointed out, and tapped the dragon on the end of the muzzle, "No jumping either, he's very, very new to magic, and I will put a sleep spell on you young man."
Again, the Blue Eyes seemed mildly insulted, snorting and pulling its head back away from Cassidy's finger. There was something particular about Cassidy's comment that seemed to bother it, though just what it was, couldn't be figured out.
Either way though, the Blue Eyes looked down off the counter now, at the bunny slippers, and chittered at them hopefully, as though wanting one for something.
"Those are Simon's, not yours." The witch said firmly, than glanced to the side as Claws gave a warning growl.
The Guardian beast eyed the dragon, \What do you want here lizard, these human's are under my protection.\ Claws said, in cat but most all dragons could speak nearly anything, so he was sure he would be understood.
The Blue Eyes seemed almost to pout at Cassidy, though its gaze quickly turned to Claws, and it readied itself to fight back if Claws made the first move. \Excuse me, but that one there,\ the dragon looked briefly at Simon. \Is MINE to protect. Not yours.\
Funny thing about starting conversations; one can learn the gender of a dragon just by their voice, and this one was definitely female. Her voice may have been a bit deep, but no two-ways about it, she still sounded feminine.
Simon just watched in silent confusion before glancing at Cassidy with curiosity, though his gaze soon returned to the dragon and Claws.
Claws jumped from shoulder to counter, rumbling, \He is a friend to my charge so under my protection. I have looked out for him as much my clean witch. You are not of this world, I can smell those dark shadows on your scales, I am.\ His fur rippled as for a moment there was a flash of what he really was, a very big feline spirit. Then he was back to being a normal cat.
The dragon was undaunted by Claws' reaction. \I don't care who you are, wingless one. I will not be pushed around by you, no matter how much you wish it to be so.\ She stretched her wings a bit before folding them up again, her eyes narrowing. \I'm not afraid of you.\
Simon decided this would probably be a good point to try and end the problem. Sure, he didn't know what was being said, but he could tell it wasn't a good conversation. "Okay you two, back off and let's do things without starting a fight. It's a little late in the day for that sort of thing anyway."
The Blue Eyes looked up at Simon briefly and gave a faint nod, moving back a bit and losing the aggressive stance, though she still seemed ready to react if Claws tried to take action against her.
The big cat though licked a paw and swiped it over his muzzle, \You should learn about this world old one, you've been in darkness long enough for everything to change thrice over.\
"Claws is right," Cassidy said, she did know cat, more or less, enough to catch on, "Dragons are as invincible as they used to be. And, like I said before, Simon's not used to magic."
The Blue Eyes just snorted faintly, as though she thought she was still strong enough to deal damage if she was provoked into it.
Simon sighed. "Figures this one would be a little snippy..." He mumbled awkwardly. "Oh well though. She seems decent enough..." He then looked at Cassidy. "What was the conversation even about? Do you know?"
"How did you know its female?" Cassidy asked back, frowning at the young man as she paused mid petting of Claws.
The firefighter thought about it a bit before blinking with awkward surprise. "I... don't know." He confessed awkwardly, glancing at the Blue Eyes that was now staring happily at him. "...I just ...do I guess?" He turned his gaze back to Cassidy. "Is that even possible?"
Cassidy pointed to the stool beside the counter where the dragon was, "You. Sit." She was frowning.
Simon blinked at the demand, but gave a small nod and sat down on the stool. "I didn't do anything, I swear." He sputtered out awkwardly. "It's not my fault the dragon showed up... i-is it?"
The Blue Eyes just chattered a noise that very well could have been a laugh. Clearly she thought Simon was entertaining.
"You're not in trouble Simon," Cassidy said, rolling her eyes as she stepped behind him and put her hands on his head. "Calm down so I can see... don't fall asleep."
The pale one nodded slightly, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly to calm himself down. "In all honesty, I don't think I'll be going to sleep again anytime soon after all this."
Cassidy didn't say anything, but she was, just not anything he could understand as she spoke a few Old Words. The magic was soft, warm against his scalp as the witch sorted out what connection threads he had. One glittered in a twine of three threads, the same color as dragon scales... She traced it lightly back to the well of power that was in a draggonet form, but far from being a true hatchling.
"Oh..."
Shivers crawled down Simon's spine as the sensation of warmth against his skin, but sat still as he glanced at the Blue Eyes that was peering at him, and Cassidy, with curious amusement. When he heard Cassidy speak something he understood, however, he blinked. "What is it, Cass?"
"This thread is three months old." She traced the unseen thread with her magic, "It took that ounce of magic you have to make a...a beacon for her to find you."
"Wait, so..." He frowned a little, biting his lip as he thought it over. "So something I did three months ago, brought her here now? Or am I just really confused?"
"There was a connection that was made, and she started forming a thread between you," Cassidy tried to explain, slowly easing back the spell so not to hurt her friend, "You... no offence, you have enough magic to fit in an acorn with room to spare Simon. Even after being exposed to me in 'combat' that night, or Jafar for that matter. Its taken to the point where you filled that 'acorn' that the dragon could find you again."
"No offense taken." Simon responded, thinking over Cassidy's words carefully so he got as much out of them as possible. "That's actually magic I didn't even know I had... and she was able to find it? Even though there was that small of an amount? That's..." He paused, laughing very faintly. "That's pretty incredible..."
The Blue Eyes chittered with pride, as though pleased with what he said. Of course, flattery and dragons presumably went well together, so her delight in his unintentional praise was understandable.
"It's still magic though, and you became aware of it after seeing a Monster for the first time..." The paper witch considered and sighed as the seeing spell faded so she could pull back, rubbing her hands.
"That is true I suppose... will it grow stronger the more I'm exposed to it?" He seemed curious, excited perhaps, but at the same time a little nervous. Sure, he had a Blue Eyes that blatantly adored being with him, but at the same time, he had very little experience, and that made him an easy target for anyone who wanted to try and get rid of him.
"Think of it like a baby," Cassidy said, after a looking thoughtfully at the dragon and the chew toy. "Babies are helpless right? Can't even sit up on their own, but as time goes by, they grow and get stronger. In little stages. First moving their eyes, seeing more than six inches, then head can start supporting itself, learning to roll over and slowly able to sit up. And so on."
The paper witch looked at her friend seriously, making sure he was paying attention to her full.
"First, you've become aware of magic in general Simon." She said, tone a little stern as she lectured on her subject. "Magic isn't just energy or spirits, but a way of life. Its like I told you before: Once you truly see it, believe in it, there's no going back. You've subconsciously forged a link with a dragon of another realm. What magics you have are growing, the rate of that growth I can't say, but you do have white-magics like I do." She added to reassure.
Simon's expression showed plainly that he was focused and taking in every word she was saying. "White magic... okay... baby steps... okay, I think I got it."
"And keep your charms on you, there's a trick though when sleeping," Cassidy smiled as she walked around the kitchen, rummaging around with the air of a friend used to looking for things, and used to the place. "You don't have to have them on all the time but near you. Here," She pulled the semi hidden colonel bottle out of not only the date draw, but out of its dark red fabric bag. She held it up by the strings, "Put them in this and have the charms under your pillow or something. You don't live on a protected property... maybe you should have one of Isis' kittens too."
He smiled a little as he accepted the bag and nodded. "I'll make sure I remember that." He paused when he heard the suggestion about having a kitten. "Well... maybe, but they're probably too young for a while yet, aren't they? I'm not sure how old they are..."
"They'll be ready here soon," Cassidy said, letting Claws jump up onto her shoulders and rubbed the side of her head against him. Claws purred as he groomed his person's hair for a moment, "Their not like Claws here, not really, but they're of a line that protects. This pretty little dragon can't be here all the time, and a cat would know what spirits to chance off now adays."
Simon gave an understanding nod. "Alright." He absentmindedly stroked the small Blue Eyes on the counter beside him while he thought things over. "Of course, we'd also need to make sure Isis was okay with it. I'm not about to try anything that could make her upset."
"She had her kittens to help others, Isis is a shrine queen," Cassidy grinned, and rolled her eyes as Claws purr took a deeper edge. "And there might be more kittens. Two are already spoken for, and I know five witches that would spazz at having a kitten from Isis and Claws."
Simon blinked before laughing faintly. "Well, as long as it wouldn't cause trouble, I wouldn't mind it. I had cats when I was little, so at least I'd know what I was doing, and if this is something you recommend, I'm willing to give it a try."
Cassidy nodded, "Yeah, you'll have to kitten and dragon proof your horse though if this white one comes again without being summoned." she reached out to touch a white curve of a wing.
"My house and my slippers." Simon said with a faint laugh of sorts, smiling as he watched the Blue Eyes lean into Cassidy's touch, clearly appreciating the affection she was being shown.
"You're very pretty," Cassidy told the blue eyes. Looking up as she yawned and added, "Okay, I demand cuddles for making me get up- and lunch later."
The Blue Eyes chattered and stood up as proud as she could, quite happy about the compliment. Clearly she liked being showered with good words.
Simon gave an awkward chuckle. "Yeah, I'll make sure that happens. And I'm sorry again for causing all of this fuss."
The girl pointed to the living room, "Cuddles."