Mark of the Moon (MAGIC CAT ACADEMY STORY)

Gift

Dusk was dreaming.

She was in a starlit field, green flower buds glowing around her. The sky was lined with more stars than average. Dusk noticed them shifting. The stars were moving! Six cats of many sizes, some lean and others muscular, jumped from the ranks of the stars. They bounded off the clouds and landed next to Dusk on the ground. They gave brief nods and skipped toward Dusk. Everyone but a tom with strong forepaws kept moving. He stopped when Dusk and he were almost nose to nose.

"Observe. The first rule is always to notice the damage. I had such great perception before I died, and now you will." He disappeared as he spoke. Dusk squinted, and she thought she could see everything. The nick of the bark as a squirrel leaped onto the branch, the wind slapping the leaves. Another cat was approaching as she was brought back. She had incredible power in her claws that stuck out like a twig. She couldn't sheathe and unsheathe them because she walked with them hanging out.

"Find great joy. Through the toughest time, happiness is difficult to seek. A rhythm will strengthen you to have fun, just as it did for me before I died." She nosed Dusk. Dusk returned to the moment in her life when it was raining. She and Dawn snuck out through an open window and were soaked when they returned, but it was the most blissful moment in her life. Their mother scolded them, and it took her ages to dry them. Dusk's eyes returned to the sky when the vision faded. A cat with gray fur and a tail like a peacock walked up to Dusk. She dipped her head.

"Greeting. You like my brother. I'm happy to see he has love in his life for once." She mewed. Dusk gave a curt nod guiltily. "Sort it out. You'll have many things to do and need to learn balance, just as I did before I died." Weight dropped on Dusk's shoulders. It caused her to fall. Dusk grouped the importance into equal pairs so she could stand. The peacock-like cat nodded and vanished. A cat with long, slim legs paced up to her and bopped her on the nose. He was pretty small and giggled.         

"Speed! Tireless energy will carry you farther than you think you can run. I ran for countless seasons before I died." Energy lifted Dusk's heart. She wanted to dash into the woods, bouncing over stumps and dew-covered roots. Instead, Dusk started circling the patch of grass she stood on, tearing up grass strands while she paced. A huge tom with solid back legs calmly strolled up to Dusk.

"Greetings. I am Rain Puddle and have been judged for my acts." He spoke loudly. "Be fair. Don't judge people because they are different. Fairness is how I survived before I died." Dusk felt the stares of her classmates burning into her when she trotted through the hall. They knew she was special and watched her every move because of it. Finally, the last cat, muscular from ears to tail, stepped forward.

"I give you strength. The strength to overcome tragedy and climb the tallest mountains, as I did before I died." The cat dipped his head to Dusk. "Cloudy Dawn should be here, giving you the most important trait of all through this heavy-handed time."

"What is that?"

"Bravery."

"Why are you giving me these gifts?" Dusk asked.

"To strengthen you to fight Reggie. And..." He leaned closer to Dusk until his muzzle fur brushed Dusk's ear. "There will be a cat out there with everything I gave you, including courage." Dusk pictured the cat in her head. A sturdy cat that would give tips to young athletes and whisper encouraging words to themself to help them get through tough times. Dusk awoke, curled under the shoot of a sapling. She glanced up at the darkening sky. It's time to fight.