No Taming the Shrew, Closed <3 Options

[Alfanora March]

_________________ HoNaRoTer Level Three _________________
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It was just a regular day visiting the extended March family in London. Alfanora and her mother Maureen were staying with Uncle Edward and Aunt Jeannie tonight, ready to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow for some school supplies, and perhaps Norie's wand. It was still fairly early in the summer, so robes would come later; Norie hadn't gone through a major growth spurt in awhile and there was no point in taking the chance too far before school. Mrs. March was counting this a sort of experimental shopping trip, as neither she nor her daughter really knew what to expect from Diagon Alley.

The wait was just too long though, especially when Norie's cousin Sarah turned out to have dress rehearsal for a play she was in, and Norie found herself alone. Well, alone here means draped sideways across Uncle Eddie's recliner, with her family's cat draped across her. Imagine her relief when her uncle (probably hoping to reclaim his throne) suggested he drive her to the park and pick her up in a couple hours when it closed at dusk?

"Yes, but a few minutes before it gets dark, and I'm taking the cat," she'd proclaimed, lifting the lean yet sturdy tom under his arms and exposing the gingery-golden stripes of his belly. He hung like a big furry ragdoll and purred; he'd go just about anywhere with Norie, who'd been the one to name him after a playing piece in one of the board games she'd played often with her brothers; there was a caramel patch on his nose that looked like a mustache, and if you squinted the right way you could imagine him wearing a monocle.

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That last part had taken some convincing. Mum hadn't really wanted Colonel Mustard to accompany Norie to the park, but she'd finally given in on the condition that he stay on the leash at all times. Aunt Jeannie had lent her cell phone in case Norie needed it, and she'd zipped it carefully into a pocket of her backpack with the hand-held game she'd played the whole ride.

The backpack, however, she stashed under a wooden bench where she could see it as she canvassed the play area; she took two plastic baggies from it though, and as they did a wide circle of the perimeter she ate Goldfish crackers from one bag and fed the occasional fish-shaped cat treat to Colonel Mustard from the other, being careful not to mix up the bags. "We should see if any of those kids want to play, Musty," she told the cat affectionately. He seemed more interested in the bushes along the path, stripey tail flicking at the tip, and only came along after she tugged his leash.

"Someone can have some Goldfish if I can get a turn on a swing!" she called out, pausing at the bench where she'd left her backpack, line of sight from the swings. She unclipped the cat's leash and fed the clasp through the handle around a bench leg before reattaching it; Colonel Mustard hunkered under the bench in the shade, and in her haste to get playing for a few minutes, Norie didn't notice the metal loop on the collar had caught in the clasp.

The cat was safe for now, but if he felt adventurous, he could probably walk right off his leash. He ate the several treats Norie had left, and watched her approach a boy with a cheerful greeting.

This post has been edited by Alfanora March: Jun 7 2012, 04:34 PM

[Ezekiel Rubensti...]

Zeke's mother was having a fit with Zeke and the other two just running around the house. Zeke of course was sitting on a hover broom and flying forward while chasing his little sister Sarah. His brother was sitting on the stairs with his arms crossed huffing. MOM Zeke won't let me ride the hover broom. MOM Zeke won't let me chase our sister. MOM... Zeke looked at his brother with a sneer while he flicked his wand yes he had gotten his wand earlier and watched the younger boy scatter.

BOYS boys I have an idea I will have our house elf Skittles take you down to the Park sound good? As for you Zeke he is your little brother so you treat him like he is your family. I don't want to hear you had done anything to your brother. Zeke groaned why did they have to come along? Skittles looked at the mistress and grinned I will make sure he is ok and treating the others like he should Mistress.

I will have Bubbles and Grumpy help here. Those were the name of the two other house elves. His family was not poor by any means. Rich was a way of life he didn't have to worry about sharing anything or whatever but when it came to the hover broom his brother broken the broom he had so he had to share with Zeke till father had gotten the younger boy another one. With that being said Zeke got off the hover broom and followed Skittles out the door. "See you mother." he said before leaving.

Walking to the playground he went on one of the swings. He was one of the rich kids not snobby but still rich. And with a wand he could be invincible. He heard a girl saying something about goldfish if she could swing and he thought Please goldfish? do they swim? I think not. Now cauldron cakes called out and I would come running. Pumpkin Pasties I would come running but for gold fish eww no thanks I don't eat muggle food. Zeke thought to himself.

When the girl approached him he looked at her with an upraised brow. "Hello there name is Zeke... You must be someone." Turning he looked at the contraption under the bench. "Is that your cat?" Zeke asked looking at the cat then to the girl. The cat was cute in a disgustingly funny sort of way. Zeke got off the swing. "Would you like some candy?" he asked holding out pestilles (sp) in brownish red color. Also there was yellow candies too. "Have all you want." Now the question is if she will fall for it? he smirked while looking at the girl.

This post has been edited by Ezekiel Rubenstien: May 5 2012, 08:48 PM

[Alfanora March]

This boy sure seemed nice! He was willing to give up his swing and offer her some candy! Norie had been told over and over like most children, of course, that she should never take candy from strangers. But this wasn't some creepy old man, it was a kid about her age, and she knew his name now, after all. It started with a Z, which was one of the most unusual letters to have your name start with, unlike A. Or even N.

"I'm Norie," she said cheerfully, grasping one of the swing's chains as she reached for one of the yellow candies, thinking it must taste creamy or even lemony, and thanked him just before she bit into it. Looking in the direction of the cat, she nodded, thinking Zeke seemed just a bit more gleeful than he had a moment before. Maybe he really liked cats.

"Yeah, that's Colonel Mustard," she tried to say, but all that came out was "CHIRP-CHIRP....... AWKKK!!"

The last part came out especially startled, as she'd expected to hear her own voice, and even more than that, her fingers were no longer curled tightly around the swing chain. Instead, large yellow feathers rested there, extended from the wide, golden expanse of her.... wing?

Her first instinct was to be startled... horrified! But that would have been the boring old plain Norie. Now, though, she knew about Hogwarts and that she was subject to such magical intervention, and even though she really was still kind of shocked, it would have been a lot worse if this had just happened and she'd had no inkling of magic at all.

So, instead of panicking, she stepped away from the swing set and spread her arms. Wings. Took a good long look down the front of herself to where her pointy bird legs took the place of her usual scrawny girl legs, then opened her beak in what could only be called joy and trilled a few measures, flapping her wings hard.

Clearly, the transfiguration wasn't completely accurate, as she ended up with very tired arms and only a few centimeters' height, but Norie let out a canary'ish cackle anyway.

It was a good thing that the few mothers across the park were far too engrossed in their own conversation to notice the large canary causing their own kids' eyes to nearly bug out. Hopefully they simply wouldn't believe the stories of the girl who turned into the big yellow bird, and not even of the Sesame Street variety.

Thunnnndddderrrrr.... CLAP! Norie made a great, sweeping motion with her wings, trying to give Zeke a good, buffeting swat, and cackling with birdie laughter.

Under the bench, Colonel Mustard watched with wide eyes. This was definitely going beyond what he'd expected from today's outing.

[Ezekiel Rubensti...]

Zeke watched the girl with a smirk. Of course he would seem nice when in actuality he was a cruel little brat. No need for her knowing that is there. When she took the candy his eyes lit up knowing he had another potential victim. He listened to her say her name. Nice Norie is a unique name for a unique girl. I doubt she would even recognize me later anyway. She is just a little girl. No harm doing something that is perfect for the little girl. He thought to himself then looked the cat closer.

Zeke laughed lightly with a smirk. When she chirped and swacked he couldn't help but laugh a bit. "You look good as bird." he added then grinned Serves you right for trying one of these creams. Wonder what she would of done if her nose had been bleeding. The nose bleeding nougat. Or the puking Pastilles. Yes I do love Weasley's candies.

Zeke was chuckling so hard in his thoughts he looked at the startled girl. He watched as she stepped away from the swing spreading her wings then flapping her wings hard in front of him. He felt a gush of air each time they kept being flapped. He listened to her cackle on in a canary voice. He looked around him noticing the children's eyes being as big as saucers. Seriously it was funny to see their little faces. Zeke then looked back at the victim of a girl and heard a clap with her wings. He didn't look taken back though.

Then he looked at the cat and chuckled loudly poor feline his eyes was bugging out of his head. Seriously if he had a wizarding camera he would of took the pic and sold it to the people of the wizarding world. He had done a good practical joke wizarding style. But then the feathers were starting to fall off... Le sigh.

[Alfanora March]

By the time the feathers were falling off, Alfanora was in tears. But it wasn't the bad kind like she was embarrassed: instead, tears of laughter, and she clutched her stomach as she shook in the throes of a giggle fit. Never had she been turned into a giant canary, and as it had worn off fairly quickly with no apparent side effects... if one didn't count the yellow feather that had gotten caught in her hair, and those scattered on the ground. One wafted in Colonel Mustard's direction and he spat a quick hiss, tail bushy, before he gave it a mighty swat with his sharp-taloned paw and began shredding it. A good roll and the leash fell useless to the ground, but both he and Norie were far too interested in the handful of golden feathers she'd tossed under the bench to notice.

"Oh, that was funny!" Norie managed when she could finally stop laughing enough to breathe. Fortunately, she had four brothers, all of whom had a mischievous streak at times, and could take a joke when no one got hurt. Even when the joke was on her. Hoping to reciprocate, even though she didn't have much to work with, she collected her dropped items and palmed the bag with the bright orange crackers before holding out the other one with the fish-shaped Captain Sam's Salmon Bites (a healthy treat for kittens and adult cats). He probably wouldn't fall for it, but it was worth a try. "Are you sure you didn't want any fishies?"

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the park (elsewhere, here, actually means beneath a hedgerow rather close to where the kids were standing), a common shrew had grown tired of being unable to find its favorite meal--woodlice--in number. There were other insects, sure, but grubs and ants were boring and bland in comparison to the crisp, tart, wiggly woodlice that the shrew so favored. A weird new predator--or maybe a few of them, the shrew had a hard time differentiating outside its own species--had taken up residence in one of the big, old trees and begun decimating the woodlouse population.

This concerned the shrew, at least as much as such a simple creature could be concerned, and it was much less vigilant of its surroundings as it might have been when it was easy to find a whole trove of woodlice under some mulch and bushes. Now, the shrew found itself venturing carefully into the park proper, giving the children a wide berth as it investigated a fallen, rotting tree branch that had been carelessly disregarded since a spring storm had knocked it down. To the shrew's utter shrewy delight, the weird predator(s) had not yet discovered the yummies under the bark. It attacked the woodlice greedily, and the bugs began to scatter and roll for their lives.

A much more vigilant Colonel Mustard had noticed the shrew during its winding path across the way, and dropped the feathers. Watched. Crouched. Slinked sideways into the bushes and disappeared. The leash, still attached to the leg of the bench, lay useless. The shrew had no idea it was being stalked, as of yet, and Musty intended to have a squirmy snack.

Norie, too distracted by her new acquaintance, still had not noticed that the family's beloved cat was moving farther and farther away, doing cat things. It's not like this was his first rodeo. Or, visit to the park. He'd have been otherwise perfectly content to stay in the shade with the canary feathers that smelled like Norie, if it hadn't been for that darn lack of woodlice causing shrews to get crazy ideas.

This post has been edited by Alfanora March: May 12 2012, 03:41 PM

[Twila Wilde]

Granddad had taken Twila shopping. At least, he’d called it ‘shopping’ when really it had involved running a few errands and sitting down over lunch to discuss her future. A future that Twila didn’t know anything about. Was she still interested in going back to Hogwarts? Yes. How was she feeling about this year’s season of winged horse racing? Excited of course. What was she taking for courses next year? All the electives! Their conversation had been of a serious nature but the Gryffindor had somehow given all the right answers. Even the lies to cover up her involvement with dueling and Quidditch.

Twila still wasn’t sure how she was managing to do it. The subjects didn’t come up often. But each time she had to lie, or even cover something up – such as what she did with her weekends at school, because much of the time it involved playing Quidditch, watching two of the other houses play Quidditch, or even practicing Quidditch. Or, if none of those were on the weekly menu, it was dueling instead. Every time Twila had to even conceal something, her heart would beat faster and harder in her chest, and she’d feel her palms start to sweat.

She was convinced that it was only a matter of time before they found out what she was doing. And then it wasn’t going to be pretty and she didn’t know what was going to happen and she didn’t want to know.

So, Twila had been on her best behavior at lunch, even using ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ far more than normal, and it seemed that her grandfather had noticed. “The park?” she repeated, when he mentioned an excursion that didn’t sound like shopping at all. “Okay!” she agreed easily.

But when they got there, Twila saw a sight that she’d never hoped to see before. It was a bit similar to one of the ones she’d witnessed in the dueling chamber before – a person-bird. Twila stared, jaw dropped in horror, and tried to entertain her grandfather with comments about other things. By the time she’d returned her gaze, the girl had molted – Twila rushed over to the pair. “Either that was a very good costume, or … what are you thinking you’re going to get yourselves arrested!” Twila wasn’t usually such a law-abiding type but this was serious and seriously scary.

((Have permission. <3))

This post has been edited by Twila Wilde: Jun 7 2012, 05:30 AM

[Alfanora March]

Turning to the sound of the new voice, Norie sized up the girl rushing up to them then smiled even wider. "It was a great costume, huh?" This was delivered with a slight rolling of the eyes, as it was all for the benefit of the other park attendees, then she dropped her voice. "It's okay, nobody saw," she replied, waving her hand flippantly in the direction of all the wide-eyed kids staring from the jungle gym, all of whom had seen most of what had just occurred. But Alfanora knew imagination. Either the kids would think they'd been seeing things, or their parents would think they were lying. Or seeing things, and in either case, it would be more concerning than a giant canary. There was rarely a middle ground, there, so they were unlikely to be approached. Adults couldn't imagine their way out of a wet Kleenex.

"Well, nobody saw but you, I guess... you're not going to tell, though, right? I don't want Zeke to get in trouble." It wouldn't be her, after all, the innocent bystander of a boy's prank. "But it was brilliant, wasn't it? I wish I could have seen it from your point of view, though," she confided in a hushed voice. "All I got to really see were the feathers on my wings and lots of yellow. Just act natural, a bug's going to fly into your mouth if you keep gaping like that, and then you'll start choking and attracting attention, and then where would we all be?" Her tone was politely interested, as though they were chatting about the weather.

Just act natural. Wasn't that always the first rule of evading trouble? Well, one of the first, she supposed "Run like the wind" was another. Like her Dad, Norie was a little shorter than average, and she weighed about as much as a soggy piece of bread, according to her brothers. Almost never had she had the menacing edge over anything she was facing, so she could resort to international spy-like subtlety in a situation that called for it.

"That's Alfa-Hari, daaahhhling."

"I'm Norie, by the way. That's Zeke. Hogwarts?" That last word, she coughed into her fist like a code, raising an eyebrow inquiringly. Then she smiled brightly and waved to the older gentleman the girl had dashed away from. He looked a little frowny from here, but maybe that was just the distance. Or the sunlight. Not the fact that Norie had just been a canary.

She wasn't really as discreet as she thought, but how could she be? Norie's imagination had taken her to this dim little room in the back of some foreign bar, where she sat in a bright red dress and matching lipstick, her hair curled and pinned in a feminine style that wisped around her face as she sipped from a martini glass filled with Berry Blue Kool-Aid, a maraschino cherry, and one of those frilly pink umbrellas.

"Yes, Hogwarts," said Alfa-Hari, biting the cherry from the stem and chewing it coolly as she addressed the girl-spy across from her, her trusty sidekicks Zeke and Colonel Mustard at her back. "I know all about Hogwarts."

This post has been edited by Alfanora March: Jun 7 2012, 12:47 PM

[Twila Wilde]

Nobody saw. The words were said so simply, so carelessly, so easily. So innocently. Like it was no big deal. Like nothing bad could happen, not to them. But Twila knew better. Knew, with a sick, twisting feeling in her stomach that things could happen. That things did happen. The smile that she nearly always wore had faded, her face hardening into a serious expression and the ease gone from her posture as she stiffened.

If they’d seemed apologetic, or at the very least concerned by her outburst, things might’ve been okay. But they hadn’t. So things weren’t.

She didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know how to explain, not even where to start. Didn’t know what to do. Twila raised her eyebrows when the girl asked if she’d tell and explained that she was worried about the boy getting into trouble. Twila had a feeling that neither of the kids understood what real trouble was – that they had no idea what they should really have been worried about. In that moment, Twila felt old – there were only two years, maybe not even that, separating her from the kids but yet she felt as though a world separated them. A world where bad things happened and one morning you could wake up and your best friend wasn’t there anymore.

And then, the girl referred to what had just happened as brilliant and Twila nearly snapped. Nearly did something, anything. Nearly reached for the wand that she no longer felt comfortable without. Nearly gave up on the wand to instead throw a punch. But she didn’t. Her hand twitched at her side and she just stood there in a sort of sad shock. Brilliant. It hadn’t been brilliant at all; it had been horrible, terrifying. Twila threw a glance over each shoulder. Was the girl joking? Was this all just some sad little façade meant to mess with her mind?

But no. They’d moved onto introductions and subtle references and Twila nearly wanted to cry. “’Course,” Twila coughed in return. “If you knew anything about the place, though, you wouldn’t do stuff like that,” she said sadly. She didn’t care if she probably didn’t look older than the kids – she’d been short for a first year and hadn’t grown much since then so she probably could still pass for one. Because that’s what these kids had to be, otherwise they’d know. Otherwise they’d be smarter, be more careful.

“I’m Twila,” she added, almost as an afterthought, as she tried to piece together her thoughts. “And that wasn’t brilliant at all,” she muttered. “D’you know how dangerous it is, to do that out here?” she asked, very solemnly, her voice lowered and her head moved closer to the girl’s.

After all, it was practically like holding a sign up for all to see, or at least all who knew enough, one that said, ‘here I am, I’m magical, come and get me’. Because Twila hadn’t heard anything about groups of muggle children being kidnapped. Only her friends. Which meant being magical was a threat to one’s self. And advertising it? Well, that was as bad as asking for something bad to happen.

“If something happens, I’m not saving you,” the Gryffindor added coldly, crossing her arms over her chest. It wasn’t like she’d be any good to save anybody – not even herself, not if the others hadn’t been able to do anything – but it was the thought that counted, right?

[Alfanora March]

The Alfa-Hari scenario had been a good one, and kept Norie smiling long after she probably should have stopped. When she did stop, she realized that the girl had been getting more and more unfriendly as the conversation went on. Twila--which was a pretty name, Norie thought--had paused to introduce herself, though, and it occurred to Norie that she seemed a lot more scared and worried than unfriendly.

She'd always been a somewhat empathic child, and a frown started between her eyebrows and worked its way down her face. Sufficiently chastened, though she certainly didn't know why Twila was being so uptight about things--what was it about ignorance being bliss? The middle child and only witch of a Muggle family, she'd not yet heard news of the events of the winter. Perhaps later, she would wonder at the enormity of the whole cover-up; now, her biggest worries were the dark, getting caught breaking a rule, and being sure not to talk to adult strangers. Kids were fine, right? She was even second guessing that now.

"I'm sorry," she finally said hesitantly, fretting a little at Twila's stance. The girl was clearly trying to project indifference, but why would she even bring it up if she cared as little as she implied? "I didn't mean to upset you. If I did. I mean, I'm sorry, I don't think Zeke meant anything by it either." The boy had just been playing a joke, and it probably would have been an innocent one somewhere else. "I thought it was funny." She rubbed a hand up her arm, declining to mention that she would try to save Twila if something happened, but since the extent of her "something" was running to get an adult if the girl fell out of a tree and hurt herself, it didn't seem that large of a gesture at the moment.

Trying to make amends, and now a little worried, she moved a little closer to the other girl. "Do... do a lot of bad things happen around here to kids who make a scene?" Her eyes were wide behind her glasses as she fretted over what might cause such a response, and her voice was unusually small for someone who typically got her point across in at least a soft shout. "My cousin lives around here... I'm from Beeston, and it's okay there. But it's my uncle who said maybe I should come here to play. He wouldn't have left me alone if it wasn't safe."

Something awful occurred to her then, something that could never be true about Uncle Eddie, but she gasped at the thought anyway.

"What if... he was trying to leave me here on purpose? Like that girl in the story whose dad wished her away to a troll so he could get a fishing boat and left her in the woods when it was time to collect?"

Surely that wasn't how the story went... but Norie tended to exaggerate, even in her mind.

[Twila Wilde]

And then the girl apologized. Finally. Twila didn’t know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. It was nice that the girl had feelings – but Twila assumed that if the girl didn’t really understand. Her remarks earlier had been so frivolous that the blonde just couldn’t help but judge Norie as a hopeless case. Sure, there were things Twila still laughed about, but they were different things. And once, what seemed like a very long time ago, she might’ve laughed about the same things.

But not anymore. And it was because Norie had just been laughing about them that Twila didn’t know how to understand the girl’s apology. She wasn’t sorry for being involved in something that could’ve compromised her safety. She was sorry because it bothered Twila.

Well, at least that was something. A flicker of a smile ran across Twila’s face and vanished. “It’s not funny. Not here,” she whispered seriously. If the prank or the joke had been somewhere else – in Diagon Alley, maybe, or in someone’s home, or at Hogwarts, even – Twila would’ve laughed. She would’ve thought becoming a canary was funny, because she’d seen the same exact thing in the dueling chamber.

But this wasn’t the place, and it was exposing their identities and it scared Twila. Twila, who normally tried so hard to be the brave Gryffindor who didn’t let anything get toher was afraid of something that other kids were laughing at. She’d thought it would never have happened. She’d always been smiling and giggling and now … now it was all gone.

“Not really around here, specifically,” Twila said, biting her lip, unsure how to explain. “Could happen anywhere really. If people know who you are.”

After all, if it could happen at Hogwarts, what was to stop it from happening here? Twila glanced over her shoulder once more, becoming worried. “It’s not where you are … but what you are. What you can do. Where you’re going,” Twila tried to explain, without flat-out coming out and saying what she wanted to. Because she couldn’t mention it. Magic. She wouldn’t. This wasn’t the place.

“Nobody’s trying to leave you,” she added with a sigh, hoping to reassure the girl. “Here’s no different than any other place.” And it wasn’t. Twila didn’t even know where they were – just that Granddad had brought her here after shopping and was lingering a distance away, reading the paper.

[Alfanora March]

Norie wanted to argue. Really, she did. Twila clearly didn’t know funny when she saw it! But the other girl’s tone had left her feeling a bit at a loss. It had started to make a little more sense when the conversation turned more serious. There wasn’t much that could be said without the utmost discretion here, but luckily Alfanora was not so oblivious to the significance of Twila’s carefully chosen words.

Now that she had learned about Hogwarts, she’d become a little more attuned to the delicate nuances attached to certain phrases. Who you are. Where you’re going. What you can do. These were all things that the Ministry official had said to her during the visit around her birthday, and—just in case she hadn’t understood, the woman had reiterated the importance of discretion.

The fun stuff was fading and Norie’s expression became unusually grave. Had she—and the boy Zeke—really been so indiscreet? What if someone really did see them? What if someone told? And what if, after everything, they didn’t care that she’d accidentally eaten something that had caused that effect, and locked her up anyway?

And if Twila’s concern was anything to go on, there might be more to worry about than just being locked up and kept from going to Hogwarts. She shivered a little, even though it was far from cold—and finally looked Twila right in the eye. “I understand. I have to think about what I’m doing now before I go where I’m going.”

Maybe she still didn’t completely understand everything behind the fretful girl’s concern, but she was anxious to reassure her that she’d do everything she could to not let something so silly happen again. “I’ll just play with… plain sticks,” she pointed to the things lying under the tree, and one that seemed to be caught at an awkward angle in the vee of a bough (and turned it’s insecty head to look right back at her, though she didn’t see that part). “And I’ll be careful what I eat. And where I go, and who I’m with.”

She wanted to throw her arms around Twila in gratitude then, when Uncle Eddie was redeemed. Of course he’d never leave her somewhere, he loved her. And so did Mum and Dad. And so did her brothers and her cousins and Sparrow and Colonel Must-…

Norie then saw the useless leash still attached to the leg of the bench. With a high shriek, she dove forward and undid the leash, trying to decide which way to run. Any plan to hug the girl she’d just met dissolved as this new problem had presented itself.

“My cat! My cat’s trying to leave me!” she shrieked, trying to get a glimpse of where he might have gone. “Colonel Mustard! Oh, did you see him? I can’t go home without him…. Colonel Mustard! MUSTY!!” It was all she could do not to cry, not to panic, not to think about the busy street on the other side of the park…. “Did he go under those bushes? Oh, this is all my fault, I should have been watching….. Musty!!!”

Perhaps now the little witch had a better understanding of how easily you could turn around and find that something you loved and counted on being there to love you back was suddenly gone.

[Twila Wilde]

Twila didn’t know how it happened but it did. The girl seemed to understand – maybe not entirely, but at least a little. She could tell. The girl was looking at her, not just glancing but really looking, and her voice seemed more serious too. Twila had no idea if the girl was only doing it to placate her or if Norie actually saw her side of things. She suspected the latter, which was somewhat comforting. If the girl hadn’t known before, at least maybe she did now. And would be more careful. And wouldn’t do something silly and get herself kidnapped or worse.

Even though Twila had said things, things that weren’t necessarily the nicest, that didn’t mean that she didn’t care. She did. She couldn’t help but care. And now that it seemed like the girl, at least, cared too – Twila felt a rush of affection welling up inside her. It was strange. A few moments ago she’d judged the girl for being too young to know anything, for being too silly, for being too reckless. And now, now Twila felt like hugging her. Because even if she doubted that the younger girl really comprehended the gravity of the situation, she was already seeming to take things more seriously. Which was enough.

“Just don’t go waving sticks about, alright?” Twila teased, her mood lightening now that Norie seemed to be coming around to her way of thinking. She nodded approvingly, relaxing up her posture a little bit to stand with a bit of a slouch.

And then the girl let out a shriek and Twila jumped. What was going on?

Twila saw the leash. It was empty. Leashes were not supposed to be empty. That was probably why the girl was shrieking about a cat. Twila frowned, crestfallen that something was going wrong now that she’d just succeeded in making Norie understand. “I … I didn’t see him!” she answered, flustered. “Don’t worry. He’s somewhere. He’s got to be!” After all, who would kidnap a cat? Hopefully nobody. Twila figured there were less catnappers in the world than there were kidnappers so this Colonel Mustard must’ve been alright. Wherever he was.

“I’ll help you,” Twila volunteered, before she’d had time to think about it. “Let’s stick together,” she added as she charged forwards toward the bushes Norie had mentioned. After all, things would go from bad to worse if Norie herself got lost. “Musty?” Twila called hesitantly, repeating the nickname she’d heard the girl use. “Come here kitty!” she tried, glancing frantically around for any signs of a feline.

[Alfanora March]

It was nice to laugh again after being so serious for what had seemed like forever. Surely it had only been three or four minutes altogether since they’d started the conversation, but to Norie it seemed like an eternity. But then when she’d noticed her missing cat, they were right back to the serious stuff. Grateful for Twila’s help, she pushed through the bushes herself. “He’s big and orange and stripey! Like Garfield!” She had no idea whether the other girl would know Garfield, but it didn’t occur to her to wonder, because didn’t everyone know who Garfield was?

Definitely out of its element, the hungry shrew had started a circuitous path around the park, crossing sidewalks and mulch pits, causing some women to scream and lift their feet as the shrew (with the cat hot on its heels) streaked out from under a bush and into someone’s purse before it headed for the far edge of the park. “There he is! Colonel Mustard! Come on, Musty, seriously, dude! Quick, head him off by the slide, I’ll go around the other way!”

Chasing ensued, with the cat blissfully enraptured by the panicked shrew. He’d gotten right by Twila somehow, but Norie saw an opening. “Twila!” she bellowed, pausing as Musty and his prey had barreled into a set of bushes by a shop just outside the park. “I see him! I’ll be right back, just make sure no one steals my backpack!”

And without waiting for an answer, she plunged headlong into the bushes and around the corner of the building to a sort of warren of alleys behind the shop. With all her focus on the cat, it took no time at all for her to misplace the park.

She really hadn't expected to get turned around at all, let alone so quickly, but as she chased the lanky, golden-ginger tabby down a side street or two, it just sort of happened. The cat's leash dangled from Norie's hand, her nails still bright in spots with chipped nail polish, and she paused on a corner to look around.

"Colonel Mustard!" she called, wiping her glasses on the edge of her T-shirt before resettling them on her nose. Dumb cat had sure picked a hot afternoon to take off, didn't he realize they could be riding back in Uncle Edward's nice, air-conditioned car any minute? "Come on, Musty! Musty-Musty-Musty!"

She spotted him again, and a few rapid direction-changes later--Colonel Mustard was apparently enjoying his freedom--Norie was rather thoroughly lost in the only-vaguely familiar environment, with no idea where her family's cat was.

Until she had one. An idea, that was, really more of a reality of the cat crossing the road and freezing right in the path of a rattly maroon car. Norie screamed and covered her eyes.

Fortunately, the car was driven by an elderly gentleman with particularly good eyesight named Mr. Bailey, who saw the cat in plenty of time to slam on the brakes and yell some bad words out the window. Hearing a familiar yowl, Norie peered through her fingers and gasped in relief as a wholly unhurt Colonel Mustard streaked toward her. He appeared to be quite done with freedom for the moment and allowed Norie to clip the leash on his collar and scoop him up in her arms.

"Awww, Musshhtyyy," she crooned, nuzzling her nose against his, then cuddled him against her chest. The cat was content to clunk his head into her chin. "Hmm."

She turned and faced the way she thought she'd just been going, then turned the opposite. That was right, wasn't it? But she'd crossed the road before the cat, so it must have been to the right. But there was a building there, so she turned around and saw another long stretch of sidewalk that looked like the first, which she faced again. Then turned left. Then pivoted in a full circle, toppling rather comically with the cat atop her.

"Oh, mousefeathers."

After collecting herself, she began walking around again to try to find the park, but went completely in the wrong direction after becoming certain she’d passed that bakery already. Then she realized she was pretty near where she’d heard she could find people of the magical variety, and set out to find her way. Most of the adults walking by ignored the small girl with the cat who kept piping up with a mysterious “Excuse me, diagonally?”

One witch, however, caught on and was kind enough to take Norie directly to the entrance. Too eager to get a look around, she didn’t bother to simply ask for directions back to the park. She had decided already to find a bookshop which might sell a magical map that would lead her anywhere she wanted to go!