Title: Conjuring Pain

Author: Ailendolin

Rating: T (PG-13) … just to be sure.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cats and do not make any money with this story. I only own the little plot bunny.

Summary: Everyone thinks to be able to conjure would be great, but Quaxo cannot confirm that. To him magic only means pain, loss and loneliness. It started ruining his life since he was a kitten. Will his broken spirit be mended when Tugger and Munk stumble upon him?

Word Count: 1625

Warning: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, but mainly Fluff – a lot of it.

Author's Notes: Sorry again for taking so long to update. Life has been really crazy. I have three deadlines coming up this week and got the offer to go on a dig in Siberia in July (meaning I'm flying there next Sunday), so there was a lot of organizing to do for that and the preparations took up a lot of my time. But here is another update. It's not very long, I'm afraid, but it gives a bit of background I think some people will like and it moves the story forward. I hope it doesn't feel too rushed or out of place. Anyways, have fun reading and thanks again to everyone who still follows this story and reviews and favourites!

Chapter 16: Pied Piper

Giving Quaxo a bath, Munkustrap had learned, meant dealing with a squirming and grumbling kitten that tried to get away the moment Munkustrap turned around, which then resulted in him chasing said kitten around the den until Quaxo collapsed in a fit of giggles. It seemed to be a universal law that kittens did not like getting bathed. He remembered his own childhood very well, after all, and could still hear Tugger's high-pitched screams whenever someone tried to bathe him. Being a good brother, Munkustrap still rubbed the girly screams in Tugger's face whenever the opportunity presented itself.

The good thing about baths, however, was that kittens were very tired after all their grand escape plans and Quaxo was no exception. After a brief dinner the little tom lay sleepily on the blankets and tried to keep his eyes open.

"I think it's time for bed, little one," Munkustrap said.

Quaxo's eyes were suddenly very much open. "I'm not tired." He tried his best to appear wide awake and Munkustrap chuckled. "Really, not the least bit tired."

"Sure you are. Come one, snuggle down into the blankets and just close your eyes. The sooner you're asleep the sooner morning will be here."

Quaxo looked for a moment like he wanted to argue, then he gave a little huff that Munkustrap found adorable and burrowed down into the blankets. "Will you tell me a story?" Quaxo asked, blinking up at him.

Munkustrap sighed and settled down next to his charge. "What kind of story would you like to hear?" Quaxo shrugged. "Mhm," Munkustrap pretended to think, "how about a love story?" He couldn't help but laugh when Quaxo's white face wrinkled in disgust. "Okay, no love story. Got it. How about something magical?"

At that Quaxo's ears perked up. "Magical? What does that mean?"

Munkustrap smiled at him. "Have you never heard of magical cats?" Quaxo shook his head. "Well," Munkustrap began, "magic has been in this world since the dawn of time. It can be many things and is rarely visible, but there have been some cats who have had magic in its purest form. It's a power, Quaxo, a talent and as such it has to be wisely used."

"Why?" Quaxo asked, no longer looking sleepy. Munkustrap wondered if talking about magic had been such a good idea after all. There was no going back now, however.

"Because," the tabby explained, "magic can be used as a weapon. It's up to the magician to decide whether to use magic for good, or for evil. Now, today, there's only one magical cat known. His name is Macavity, and he chose to use his talents for evil purposes. Some magic cats that were known before him did the same, and it's because of them that cats today fear magic and think it's evil."

Quaxo looked down at his paws. "But it's not," he said, looking back up. "Right?"

Munkustrap smiled. "You're right, it's not. What cats today forget is that there have been a lot of great magicians before Macavity that used their magic for good. They protected their tribes, helped them through hard times and sometimes performed little tricks just to make their friends laugh."

"What kind of tricks?" Quaxo asked.

"Anything you can imagine, little one." He gestured at their den. "They could make blankets dance in the air, create sparks that would light up this room or disappear and reappear in the blink of an eye."

Quaxo smiled brightly at him. "That sound's amazing. Do you know a story about a magic cat? I'd very much like to hear one. It's not too late for a story, is it?"

"Well," Munkustrap said, "it is, actually. You should be asleep by now, little one. But I think we can make an exception today. Now, let me see. Which story could I tell? Ah, yes. Have you ever heard about the Pied Piper?"

Quaxo shook his head. "Who is he?"

"He was a man, living in another land," Munkustrap explained. "He came into a town that had a rat problem and promised the people help if they paid him. They agreed and he played a beautiful melody on his musical pipe and led the rats out of town to a river where they drowned. The townspeople, however, refused to pay him and the Pied Piper got angry and swore he would take revenge. He did, eventually, using the same trick to lure the children out of the town and only gave them back once he got his payment."

Quaxo frowned at him. "But what does this have to do with magic?"

Munkustrap grinned. "The Pied Piper had an assistant. A little cat, black like you, with one white paw. Her name was Eris and she was a powerful magician and the Pied Piper's best friend. He probably did not know it but he owed it all to her, for it was her magic that gave his instrument the power to ensnare any living thing he wanted to. She liked to cause a little trouble now and then but never used her gift for evil purposes. Eris was a clever cat and only allowed the Pied Piper to use the power of his instrument those two times before she took it from him because she knew that with power came corruption and temptation."

"And magic means to have power?" Quaxo asked.

"Yes, little one." Munkustrap nodded. "To have magic means to be more powerful than any other cat. Eris used her power to help a town get rid of its rat problem and with that she saved countless of cats from starvation when the rats drowned in the river because since the rats hid in the town there was nothing around they could hunt anymore. That was the way she was and cats all over the land cherished her for her goodness."

Quaxo sighed wistfully. "I wish I could meet a magical cat like Eris. Or be one!"

Munkustrap laughed. "You would make a fine magician, I am sure, little one." He was surprised when Quaxo frowned.

"But what if I was not good enough? I don't want to do bad things."

Munkustrap nuzzled Quaxo's head gently. "Don't worry about that, Quaxo. I don't believe you could do bad things even if you wanted to. It's not in your nature."

Quaxo smiled up at him. "Do you know what I'd do if I could do magic?"

Munkustrap shook his head, amused. "No, what?"

"I'd like to have stars in my fur that sparkle in the dark," Quaxo grinned. "Tugger would be so jealous."

The tabby laughed even when an image of glimmering dark fur flashed in his mind. "I'm not so sure about that one, but you'd be quite the sight, that's for sure."

Quaxo nodded and moved around for a moment before settling down again with his side pressed into Munkustrap's grey fur. "What would you do if you had magic?" Quaxo asked, yawning widely.

Munkustrap watched the little kitten's eyes droop and gave one of his white-tipped ears an affectionate lick. "I'd make sure that no one in our tribe had to be afraid of anyone or anything anymore."

"That sounds nice," Quaxo mumbled and soon after fell asleep with his head tucked under Munkustrap's paw. Munkustrap smiled down on his charge affectionately. He thought back to the night not so long ago when he thought he had seen Quaxo's fur glitter, a sight that had burned itself into his mind. His eyes widened when he realized what that could mean. He stared down at Quaxo's burned paws and tried to remember if Macavity's paws were hurt when he met him the first time but the memories were fuzzy. Munkustrap sighed. Even though he still was not sure whether his eyes had played a trick on him or not when he saw Quaxo's fur glitter, he knew that if there was the slightest chance that Quaxo could have magical abilities he wanted the little tom to know the goodness magic could do before anyone poisoned his ears with talk of evil magical cats like Macavity.

Munkustrap still mourned the loss of Macavity. They both had been very young when Old Deuteronomy had introduced Macavity to him and Tugger, saying he had found him abandoned on the streets. Together, the three of them had grown up like brothers, happy, until Macavity's powers had revealed themselves and the other cats started talking about him. Things got worse over time, and Macavity got quieter and neither Munkustrap nor Tugger had known how to reach their foster brother. It did not take long for Macavity to break under the disguised fear and hatred of the tribe and he ran away, following a dark road and forgetting all about the happiness they had shared until only hate remained.

That was a fate that Munkustrap hoped Quaxo would not share. His family had made many mistakes regarding Macavity; mistakes that could not be made undone now. Munkustrap had always felt that he failed his brother somehow and vowed that he would not repeat the same mistakes with the little kitten sleeping in his arms, should Quaxo turn out to be a magician. He would protect him, make the others see how good Quaxo was and if need be he would even go with him into exile.

"For your sake," he whispered, "I hope you do not have magic, little one. For it is a valuable gift, but also a very burden and you carry enough of those already."

Quaxo did not hear his words and slept on, and Munkustrap closed his eyes with a sigh, feeling old all of a sudden. That night he dreamt of lightning and evil laughter.

TBC

A/N 2: I hope you liked all that talk about magic and Munkustrap's realization – or suspicion, more like. I felt it was time for something like that, though I'm not sure if it's not a bit too hurried. Well, too late for that now *lol* At least we're getting somewhere with the story. The next update won't be until August or September since I'm in Siberia for the whole of July with no internet access or even a laptop and after that I'm on vacation in Austria.