A loud and thunderous explosion blew away the bandits, as well as a piece of their camp.
"Ha-HA!" Blair exclaimed, readying another Fireball. "You jerks have been tormenting innocent people long enough!" The flame errupted from Blair's fingertips...scorching about 4 square inches worth of earth.It was enough to send bits and pieces of dirt flying around her makeshift model of a bandit camp, composed of rocks and chunks of wood. She sent a tiny Diem Wing around her little model, knocking down little straw-and-stick figures representing bandits. Her favorite doll, an SD image of herself, hopped down from its dramatic stand upon one of the chunks of wood. The doll leap from the "roof" of one of the "bandits' huts", and surrveyed her handiwork. The doll bounded over to a pile of beads behind one of the chunks of wood.
"Alright! Treasure!" The doll squeaked, jumping up and down. The doll swept passed all the injured bandits and blew away the chunk of wood, reavealing only air between the treasure and the SD-Blair.
"Why you - !" A straw-and-stick figure carrying a twig appeared out of nowhere. "You're not getting our treasure!"
"And you're going to stop me?" Blair shook her SD doll as she gave it voice.
"Yeah!" The "sword"-wielding "bandit" wobbled between Blair's fingers as it spoke.
SD-Blair only laughed and quickly dispatched the "bandit" with her own twig/sword. SD-Blair jumped into the pile of beads, as the real Blair sat, imagining all her favorite treasure.
"Oh! This talisman will make me 10-times more powerful! Those bandits probably didn't even know what it was!" Blair huffed. Blair's hand grabbed hold of her doll's arm. Her fingers picked up another bead, making it seem as if the doll was preforming the act. "Wow! This jewelry is priceless! I could make enough money to get chocolate for a lifetime!" Blair giggled. "What!?" She turned.
A dragonfly alighted atop a fern on the outskirts of the forest - right behind SD-Blair!
"What in the world?!" Blair feigned a surprised expression for her doll which could not. "Oh, no! The bandits' evil pet dragon is here! Take that!" Both Blairs outstreached an arm, casting a small spell.
The dragonfly buzzed away.
"Not so fast!"
The dragonfly noticed the spell this time, trying to make a hasty retreat.
"Take this!"
The dragonfly dodged the spell, and buzzed away. The mini-Flare Arrow exploded by a patch of earth beside the foundation of a neighboring village home.
"Oops!" Blair yelped, cringing.
A loud but high-pitched snarling came from the house.
Blair stared more closely, holding still and focused.
A cat jumped out of the side of the house. In it's mouth, it carried a kitten from under the foundation. Several other kittens followed, escaping the previous explosion.
"Ooh! Kitties!" Blair got up and ran across the dirt to the side of the house. She bent down, peaking into the hallow foundation. Seeing only darkness, she turned to the fern-laden forest. "Come back! I didn't mean it!"
But the cats were long gone.
Meu
"Huh?"
Meu
Blair looked into the darkness under the house again. "Hello?" She called softly, crawling into the space.
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When she came back out into the light, she held a tiny kitten.
"Why didn't you go with your mommy, Kitty?" Blair juggled the limp, wriggling thing between her palms. It's limbs thin and dellicate, and its fur seemingly standing on end. "Oh, I see. You're not strong enough." She hugged the pale cream and orange kitten to her chest and brought it over to her "bandit camp". "Well, since your mommy's gone, I'll take care of you kitty." She smiled, kissing it atop its furry head. "Here. You can meet my favorite doll." Blair grinned, setting the kitty down on wobbly limbs. The doll greeted the kitten, in a modified version of Blair's voice, and patted it on the head. The kitten looked around unknowingly. But seeing the movements of the little doll, the kitten became entranced and suddenly focused. It began batting at SD-Blair with unclawed paws. "Well, it's nice meeting you too!" Blair took the kitten's paw and had it shake hands with her doll.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Blair ran into the magic shop. "Look what I got!" Blair stopped when she saw the man at the counter.
It wasn't very often that she saw a real mercenary. Most people who came into the shop were simple folk, looking for little charms or mystic aids to make their lives easier. But every once in a while, there was the serious sorcerer or mercenary who had the fortune to hear of Lina Greywiers's fully stocked magic shop, hidden within a remote village. Quite often, they would come stumbling in, from some battle or another with the reclusive monsters in the surrounding forest. They'd pick up the more expensive items in Lina's shop, to help them on their quest. They loved her self-made charms and enchanted weapons, it was her haggling they couldn't stand.
Behind the counter, Lina only smiled innocently. The swordsman reluctantly tossed a large bag of coins on the counter, in exchange for a dagger with a bolt spell attatched to it, and left the shop, grummbling. The door chimed again with his exit.
"Blair?" Lina pocketed the money.
The child streched out both arms, trying to give the bewildered kitten a glimpse over the counter top. Lina bent down to make sure what she was seeing. A set of fuzzy ears.
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"Blair??"
"It's a kitty I found, Mommy." The cat ears were replaced by the top of Blair's eyes, as she stood on her tip toes. She fell back on her heels and came behind the counter. "Can I keep it, Mommy?"
"Well..." Lina scratched the kitten around the neck. She smiled as she saw Blair stare astonished, at the kitten in her hands as it vibrated and purred. "Heh. Sure." She grinned. "Why not?"
"Yay!" Blair hugged the kitten. "I bet you're hungry!"
Lina watched as Blair set down the kitty and fetched their white pitcher with both hands. She poured into a saucer, splashing and spilling a bit, but Blair too excited to notice. Lina leaned on the counter, smiling, as the kitten sipped and Blair crouched down, petting it softly.
"Daddy!"
"Now, raise your elbow a little more." Zel instructed, then turned. "Blair?"
"Daddy, I can't find my kitty!"
"I'm sorry, Blair." He bent down, wearing a sympathetic expression. "I didn't see your kitty today."
"But I've had it for a long time now! I can't lose it!" She looked up at her father. "Daddy, can I use your magic compass?"
"Blair, that won't find your kitty." Zel shook his head.
"I'll put a spell on it. Please, Daddy? Can I, pleeeazze?!"
Zel smiled slightly. Blair was so excited when the kitten had just recently gotten enough strength to wander around distances on its own. "Go ahead, Blair."
"Thanks, Daddy!" The 6-year-old hugged his neck and gave her daddy a kiss on the cheek. She ran off for home.
Zel quietly wished her luck and returned to his instructing. "Wait a minute... Blair can make her own custom spells now?"
"Wait! Wait, Kitty!" Blair ran into the forest, following after a furry tail. The compass had lead her up to this point, deep into thicker trees and ferns. Suddenly, both Blair and the kitty stopped.
A huge monster jumped out from behind the trees. It began to menace the kitten. Blair began to clentc her teeth, as the monster's jaws opened and it picked up her cat.
"FIREBALL!!!" Blair ran up and caught the cat, as monster ashes rained down. "Are you alright, Kitty?" Blair snuggled her cheek to the kitten.
Meow
Blair looked up. "Huh?"
A second cat tail dashed behind a tree.
"Come out." Blair emphasized her plea with a submissive crouch. "I won't hurt you."
The cat came out and slowly approached.
"Oh! You're the Mommy Cat!" Blair looked down at the scared ball of fur in her arms. And her smile disappeared. "I guess you want your kitty back." Reluctantly, Blair set the kitten on the ground, and watched for what the mother cat would do.
A few catious steps, and the cat grabbed Blair's kitten by the neck and ran off.
Blair stood up, watching and frozen. "Kitty?... My chest hurts..." She sniffed.
Lina tucked Blair into bed. The child's eyes red, and her body exhausted, she was now easily asleep. Lina ran a hand through her daughter's short hair. "It's OK." She whispered. "Your kitty will come back to visit. And it'll be happy you left that saucer of milk out for it." Lina kissed Blair atop her head. "Sweet dreams, Blair." Lina hoped.
There was a scratch on the window pane. "Huh? This is the second floor..." After a moment of hesitation, Lina walked over and pulled back the curtain slightly.
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"Kitty!" Lina exclaimed softly. "Where have you been?! Blair's been crying because of you!" She got to work unlocking the window.
As soon as the crack was wide enough, the kitten slipped through and dashed for the bed. The creamy ball of orange-striped fuz curled up by Blair's side and yawned.
"...kitty..." Blair smiled in dreamland, as her arm came around her sleeping kitty kat.
Lina smiled, then blew out the candle light.