Found

"Luke, wait up! "
"I told you to call me Charmer! "

Malati caught up with her stepbrother and sighed.
"I refuse to call you something so stupid. "

Luke just laughed. Malati always acted all high and mighty. He understood why she did though. Her human form was only nine years old, yet everyone expected her to come up with a war strategy that could get all the animals their freedom back.

She didn't like the nickname that the other girls at school gave him. They only saw him as a cute jock. Luke liked it though.

They lived with Luke's aunt and grandmother. They were the third family Malati had lived with that year.

Malati was really quiet at school, but home was a different story. She would talk with Luke's aunt for hours.

When they arrived home, Luke's grandmother was outside gardening. They waved at her before going into the kitchen for a snack.

"Hello there! Did school go well today? ", Luke's aunt asked.
"Yes'm," they both replied.

His aunt smiled before handing them some apple slices. Malati scrunched up her nose in disgust. She knew she would never get used to eating plants. They threw their bags onto the floor, and ran into their room. Luke turned on the radio, and danced around before sitting on his bed to eat. Malati rolled her eyes. She ate slowly, wincing when the taste of the apple hit her tongue. Everything was normal. Suddenly, Malati transformed her ears and dropped her snack. Luke looked up in surprise.

"What's wrong? ", Luke asked her.
Malati was shaking uncontrollably and whispered, "No...no...no! "

Luke heard it a moment later. The loud shouts of soldiers came from outside. Luke's aunt came crashing into the room.

She grabbed Malati and Luke by their shoulders and said, "Get to the safe room! Your grandmother is making room for you right now. I'll join you after I grab us some food, understood? "

They both nodded, too scared to speak. His aunt guided them into the hallway before disappearing into the kitchen. Malati was still paralyzed with fear. Luke took hold of her hand and dragged her to the safe room. The safe room had a small door that blended into the wall. Inside, there was only five people to squeeze in. Luke's grandmother pushed a small first aid kit to the far corner of the safe room before pushing the children inside. The soldiers began pounding on the front door of the house. Malati had a tight grip on Luke's arm. His grandmother climbed in and held the door slightly ajar. The front door could be heard as it hit the floor. Luke's grandmother closed the safe room's door quickly.

"Aunt Lidia!", the children screamed at the same time. Their grandmother covered their mouths with her hands, and waited for the world outside the safe room to quiet down.

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It was hours before the soldiers finally left the small house. The family slowly climbed out of the safe room. The house was deathly silent. Everything was thrown around and out of place. Malati sniffed the air, her eyes wide with despair. She fell to her knees and began to cry.

"Malati, what's wrong? Malati! Malati!", Luke screamed as he shook her shoulders.

Malati pointed to the kitchen workout a word. Luke left his grandmother to comfort Malati as he made his way to the kitchen. He slowed as he saw blood smears on the walls. He froze completely as he rounded the corner. His aunt was lieing in a pool of blood, her wings broken and torn. Luke screamed at the top of his lungs before collapsing in a heap beside her. He looked up and saw Malati watching. Before he could say a word, Malati ran out of the house.

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It had been two weeks since Malati had run away. No one had seen her. Luke was skipping school to look for her. Again. He was about to give up when he spotted something in a nearby alley. It was a flash of black and white stripes. Luke quietly walked into the alley.

"Malati! "

Malati looked up at him. She was in her animal form. Luke knelt down and hugged her.
"Thank goodness you're okay. ", he whispered.

Malati transformed into her human form and hugged him back.
"I'm sorry I made you worry, but I can't stay here anymore. "

Luke nodded. They had all agreed that if something bad happened, Malati would leave to find a safer home.

"Why did you come looking for me?", she asked.
"I wanted to say goodbye. "

The two stood up. Luke spoke first.
"Goodbye Malati, and good luck to you. "

They shook hands. Malati ran past Luke, but before she was out of sight, she yelled, "Bye Charmer! "

Luke smiled as he watched Malati leave, knowing that they would meet again someday.

So that's the story of Malati's connections with Charmer. I hope you all enjoyed it, and if you did, don't forget to vote!