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Post by littlefella on Sept 12, 2008 20:41:11 GMT -4
We went forward, and then made a left and had just started down that branch of the maze when a familiar squeaky voice called to us. "Jonathan! Thank goodness you're safe!" Patrick cried as he came out from under one of the hedge leafs. Sedgewick and I peered over Jonathan's hand. I let out a squeaky yelp of joy when I saw that Patrick's eyes were still the same color as when I first met him. They weren't red, which meant Anzana had not gotten to him.
I didn't wait for Lord Hugo to lower his hand. I leaped to his jacket and then scampered down it and along his trousers leg and over to Patrick. "You're all right, Patrick!" I squeaked as I gave him a warm hug,
Patrick hugged me back. "Yes, I'm fine, Dave, not that that witch didn't try," Patrick said, finishing with a low growl. "I'm glad to see you're safe as well, Dave. But what's been happening with you, and how did you get turned into a mouse this time, and who is this other mouse that Jonathan's holding, and what has happened to General Van Horne?"
Sgt. Sedgewick, Jonathan, and I took turns filling Patrick in on the recent events. Several times a screech came from overhead. Each time it was General Van Horne. He'd circle us and then veer off. Sedgewick stared and listened closely of the three of us. Whatever those screeches meant, apparently the former hawk, now mouse, was the only one of us to understand it. "He's fighting it, he is! It's an awful battle for him, but he's fighting it." Sedgewick squeaked, deep admiration in the tone of his voice. He then looked at Patrick and me. "It's why we three haven't been eaten yet. But I don't know how much longer he can hold out."
Patrick nodded, and I shivered as the thought of winding up in the General's belly sent a chill down my spine. "But, but couldn't Jonathan wave him off or something?" I asked.
Sgt. Sedgewick shook his head and started to answer when Jonathan spoke up. "Not against the General. He's like a bolt of lightening when he's on the attack. He'd have you in his talons and in a tree before I could make a move."
Patrick nodded. "We've got to get that antidote made and plenty of it as quickly as possible."
"But how will we get it to the hawks?" I asked. "We'll get eaten as mice, and humans couldn't move fast enough."
"No, but we might as hawks," Sedgewick replied.
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Post by Lord Hugo Prosperio on Sept 12, 2008 22:28:22 GMT -4
"Hmmm...that's a good plan...except for..um..." Patrick says, shifting his feet. "....I don't have a potion to change us into Hawks..."
"...and from the sounds of it, that machine you guys met is gone for good" Jonathan says remorsely. "I'll miss him. he was one of my first big inventions. but either way, currently, you are mice, and if you want to be hawks we've got to think of something..."
"...and fast. The General isn't going to last much longer..." Sedegwick says, translating the screeches from the sky.
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Post by littlefella on Sept 13, 2008 20:45:16 GMT -4
"Jonathan," Patrick squeaked, "What about that Metamorpho machine you've been working on? That should be able to make them into hawks."
"It would, except we might not be able to get to it. I'm not sure exactly what's going on inside the mansion, but if the odd messages I've been getting from Christopher mean anything, I think the servants are under Anzana's control. I'm sure there keeping a watch on the room where it's kept."
Patrick looked shocked. "Oh no! What if they try to use it?"
Jonathan smiled. "Don't worry, my little friend. I've some magical safeguards on it. It will take some doing before they can unlock the machine's secrets. They'll also be in for some unexpected transformations of their own if they try to to bypass any of the safeguards."
"That's well and good," squeaked an exasperated Sedgewick, "but Dave and I need some way of getting transformed into hawks!"
Jonathan was thoughtful for a moment. "There might be a way, but it's risky. I can't guarantee the results."
"I don't think we've much choice," I squeaked. "What have you thought of?"
"Well, there still is one of the early versions of the Metamorpho that I've got stashed away in one of my storage rooms. I have a bit of the pack rat in me when it comes to things electronic and what not. I thought I might be able to tinker with it later and see what else I could get it to do."
"Yes, yes, fine. Where is this storage room and can it turn it into us into hawks?" said an agitated Sgt. Sedgewick.
Jonathan ignored, or at least seemed to ignore, the edge in the former hawk's voice, and continued. "That's just it, while it can turn you into hawks, it is, well, as some of my tech friends say, wonky."
"Wonky? What do you mean?" I asked.
"It seems to have an...odd....personality. It means well, but, well it is a prototype version, and while it is eager to please, it doesn't always succeed when it comes to transformation spells."
"You mean we have no idea if it will be able to turn us into hawks?" squeaked Sedgewick.
"Oh, it can turn you into hawks, it just might take it a few tries." Jonathan said, looking a bit embarrassed.
"How many tries might it take?" Patrick asked.
"That's a good question, and one I can't give an answer to," Jonathan replied. "It could happen on the first try, and then again, it might be the tenth, or even the hundredth.
Before Sedgewick, Patrick, or I could ask another question there was another screech from overhead. All four of us looked skyward to see General Van Horne circle and then veer off again.
"Curse it all, we don't have any other option. The poor General's just about gone. Damn that witch!" squeaked Sedgewick. He turned to look at Jonathan. "How do we get to this storage room?"
Before Jonathan could reply, Patrick cut in. "I know where it is, it's not far from my other next and lab inside the mansion. Follow me to my nest and I'll direct you the rest of the way."
Jonathan kneeled down. "I'll catch up with you lads as soon as I can," he said as he Patrick, Sedgewick, and me a gentle finger across our muzzles. "Good luck to you."
"Good luck to you as well," Patrick responded. "Good luck to all of us."
We parted. Sedgewick and I followed Patrick under the hedge and into a small hole. Racing along we soon went from walking on dirt to soon walking on the planks inside the mansion walls. Not long after that we came to a spacious area, filled with tiny books, cushions, papers, tiny pens, a small box with shredded newspapers, among other things. The three of us stopped and stood there panting. After we'd finally caught our breath, Patrick directed us to how we could reach the storage room. I tried to follow what Patrick said as best I could, but with all the twists and turns he gave us, it was tough to keep up with what he said. Sgt. Sedgewick, though, seemed to take it all in stride.
With that, Sedgewick and I hugged Patrick, and then the former hawk and I zipped out of Patrick's nest and between the walls to one of Jonathan's storage rooms.
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Post by Lord Hugo Prosperio on Sept 14, 2008 15:12:04 GMT -4
You see a hole in the wall and you poke your head out. You see two girls running down the hall, one seeming worried, frantic, the other trying to calm her and then sends her to the "Body Room"
You then continue your trek through the walls of the mansion, the wood creaking and groaning, hoping that soon you'd find something...Sedgewick stops and points to small hole up ahead, and sure enough, Patrick's directions had lead you right to Jonathan's old room, which he used for storage now.
"Perfect." The Hawk-mouse said as he smirked. "Now, let's get moving"
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Post by littlefella on Sept 17, 2008 21:03:55 GMT -4
Jonathan wasn't exaggerating when he called himself a "pack rat" when it came to tech things. The place was jam packed with books, notes, scraps of paper, electronic parts, soldering irons, screw drivers, test equipment, and on, and on, and on! The most amazing thing about it? It was all organized! Everything had a place, a shelf, a bookcase, someplace where it belonged; everything was labeled, stocked, and dusted. It was immaculate!
Still, there was so much....stuff. Where could the machine possibly be? I stood staring up at all the equipment, the built and half-built devices, wondering just where to begin, By the time we found the gadget Anzana would surely have gained complete control of the mansion.
I started to ask Sedgewick if he had any ideas when he held up a paw. "Shush," he said curtly. Then after a few seconds he beckoned me on. "This way!" he squeaked. "It took me a minute to get my perspective sorted out, but I know where it is!" he said as he started racing toward the back of the room.
"You do? In all this stuff? How?" I asked, following right after him.
"During my off hours I'd fly down here to see what Jonathan was working on. He was usually so engrossed in his latest invention he didn't much notice me as I sat on the window sill. Ah, just as I remebered!"
We both stopped in front of another cabinet, similar to the one we'd seen back in the maze. However, one side of the cabinet was open. Wires, chips, resistors, even tubes could be seen, along with an assortment of items I had no possible idea they could be. I couldn't tell if they were some piece of mundane electronic equipment, or something that might have some kind of magical power.
"Come on, Dave," Sedgewick urged as he started climbing up the side of the cabinet. "We've got to see if this thing is still working!"
I watched him scamper up the side of the cabinet, looking as if he'd been a mouse all his life. Then again, I certainly took to all the different forms I'd been turned into. It must be part of the magic. Hoping that this would soon be all over and I could ask Lord Hugo or Jonathan, or somebody just how this was all possible, I started climbing up after Sedgewick.
Sedgewick had reached the top, tapping at the dials, each tap making the needles jump just a bit. I stood and watched him, wondering what to do. Finally he stood back and nodded. "Good, it seems to be at least able to start up, we can at least find out if it has any magical juice left."
"Magical juice?" I said, confused.
"Yes. Jonathan probably put a bit into a storage device when he was testing the machine out. Let's just hope there's enough to change us both into hawks." Sedgwick flicked a metal switch. At first nothing happened, then a deep, low voice boomed, "WHO DISTURBS MY SLUMBER?"
I jumped and nearly fell off the cabinet. Sedgewick grabbed hold of me before I could fall. "Can it, you mechanical goof! It's Sedgewick, and this is Dave, one of Lord Hugo's guests."
"Sedgewick, you old bird brain you! How are you? How's it flappin'? What's with the guest as a mouse? A magical moustake?'" The voice said with a giggle. It had dropped the booming quality, and in fact sounded a bit higher, and, well, goofier."
"We haven't time for this!" squeaked an exasperated Sedgewick. "Lord Hugo is in terrible danger!"
"What? Lord Hugo in danger?" the voice said, sounding shocked, though still in that silly high pitch. "How could that happen?"
Sedgewick and I quickly ran through the recent events, concluding with how he and I needed to be turned into hawks in order to get the antidote to the rest of the hawks under Anzana's magical potion. "So, are you up to it?" Sedgewick asked with a note of concern.
"Oh dear, oh dear! I don't know. There's not much magic left that's stored, and...I've never tried something as complicated as a living creature before. I...I've got all the information, and I think I know which animal goes with which picture, and I don't have all my parts, and....." The machine's voice trailed off
Sedgewick nodded. "I was afraid of that. But we don't have any other choice. Start with me, then."
"But Sedgewick," I said, putting a paw on his arm. "Why not both of us at once?"
"Because this contraption might not be able to pull it off. No telling what it'll do, or if it will have enough magic left to undo it. You're a guest of the mansion. As one the guardians, I can't allow you to take the risk."
I opened my muzzle to protest, but Sedgewick shook his head. "No arguments! Now, climb down the machine and stand well away!" Even though I wasn't one of the hawk patrol, the command in his voice got me heading to the floor of the room in an instant.
Sedgewick took a deep breath. "Okay, turn me back into a hwk," he said as he crossed his tiny pawfingers.
I could swear it sounded like the machine gulped in nervousness. Then there was a whirring sound that grew louder and louder. As I was about to cover my ears, there was a flash of light and the machine went silent. I'd shut my eyes when the light flashed. Slowly I opened them, not sure what I'd find. To my relief, Sedgewick was once again back in his rightful hawk form. "Sedgewick! You're all right? Do you feel okay?"
Sedgewick turned his head from side to side as he flapped his wings a few times. "Oh, I'm fine, Dave, wonderful. And everything seems to be in working order!" He then leaped from the machine and flew around the room a few times. "Oh yes! I'm so glad to have my wings again!" he said happily. I started toward the machine again to climb back up when Sedgewick called out to me. "Oh, no, no, let me help you up," as he flew down and grabbed me in his talons.
To say I was surprised, and not a little afraid, would be putting it mildly. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I still wasn't completely sure he wasn't still under Anzana's influence. But after I got over my initial surprise, I realized that his grip was very light, just enough to hold me so I wouldn't fall. Before I could start to enjoy it, though, he'd set me down gently on the machine.
"Ah, well done, good gadget," Sedgewick said as he took a moment to preen his feathers. "Now, turn Dave here from a mouse to a hawk."
There was no response from the machine. Sedgewick and I looked at each other. Could the machine have run out of juice? Then a rather confused sounding voice said, "Huh? Do what? Turn what into who? Ohhhhh, what hit me? Sedgewick? Is that you?"
"Yes, it's me, you crazed contraption. What's the matter with you?"
"Oh...turning you into a hawk took a lot out of me. But don't worry, I think I've got enough magic to turn your friend into a rocking chair."
Sedgewick screeched. "Rocking chair? No, no, no! You need to turn him into a hawk! How is a rocking chair going to be of any help to Lord Hugo. Use some horse sense!"
"A horse? Oh, all right. A horse it is then."
Sedgewick started to screech no, I likewise held up my paws and was squeaking in protest. But the last magic must have gotten the machine warmed up. There was no whirr, just a flash of light that hit me square in the chest. I instantly felt a tingle, and realized I was starting to change, both in form and in size. The next thing I realized was that Sedgewick had his talons around me again. He let out a grunt as he lifted me off the machine and made his way for the window on the far wall. By one of those amazing coincidences it was open. Sedgewick made it through, and then made a dive for the ground. Also fortunately, the room was on the first floor, so he didn't have too far to dive. Opening his talons, I tumbled to the ground. I was already a foot tall and growing rapidly. Sedgewick flew around me, cursing and squealing. I soon found it difficult to stand as my back lengthened, as did my arms, my paws quickly turning into hooves. A few seconds later I was 4 feet tall at the shoulder and still growing, and a few seconds after that, I'd stopped growing. I turned my head back to see the results. "What the hell do we do now?" I asked as I checked out my now horse self.
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Post by Lord Hugo Prosperio on Sept 18, 2008 21:27:37 GMT -4
"I knew using a prototype would be foolish. Now look at this...how are we supposed to get to..." but the hawk was interupted by a cough and a squawk behind him. There, standing on his talons, looking regal as any hawk does, was General Van Horne.
"Captain Sedegwick...what have you to report?"
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Post by littlefella on Sept 22, 2008 20:52:56 GMT -4
I froze, nothing moving by my ears flicking back and forth as I stared at the the General. He was sitting on a nearby tree, one of the lower branches. Even from a few feet away, I could see his piercing amber eyes....wait, amber? They weren't red! Then had the General been able to fight off Anzana's magic? Had Jonathan been able to get something to remove the spell? Or was this another aspect of the spell, that the red glow would vanish so you couldn't know who was under that witch's control? Could that have something to do with why General Van Horne called Sergeant Sedgewick a captain?
I started to say something when Sedgewick landed on my back and gripped me with his talons. While it wasn't enough to draw blood, it did get my attention and stopped me. "Say nothing," he said softly, his beak against my ear. Then leaning back he bobbed his head toward the General. "Nothing to report, sir! The guests have all scattered. The squirrel that Mistress Anzana ordered me to catch and devour escaped."
My blood ran cold at Sedgewick's words. I had been that squirrel he had been ordered to devour. The General said nothing, but his eyes were cold, threatening as he sat on the branch and stared at us. Even though I outweighed the bird by over a thousand pounds, I felt as vulnerable as if I was still a squirrel.
Another moment passed before Sedgewick finally spoke. "Permission to speak, sir!"
General Van Horne said nothing. He just nodded his head slightly.
Sedgewick took a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking. "General, sir, I have to correct you, sir, I'm still a sergeant in the patrol, not a captain. I still have another year to go before I can be considered for advancement."
"Damn, boy, you are all right!" the general shouted as he took off from the branch, and flew down to land on my back and stand next to Sedgewick. "Praise to the great egg! I should have had more faith in Jonathan when he said you had been cured of that damnable witch's potion."
Sedgewick breathed a great sigh of relief. I looked over my shoulder at the two hawks ans saw him and the general rubbed beaks together. "Praise, indeed, Sir. But what happened to you? You're last words were so mournful. It nearly broke my heart as I heard you losing the battle over that potion yourself!"
"Aye, lad, I nearly did. But thankfully Patrick managed to find another vial of the antidote. He managed to get it to Jonathan who managed to douse me with it. Oh, but it was so close, lad, so very, very close."
The two were silent a moment, there was no sound from them other than the beaks lightly clacking together. Finally ghe general spoke. "But now who is this horse then?"
"One of the guests, General, in fact the very squirrel I almost devoured. Dave, allow me to introduce you to General Van Horne. General, Dave, one of the guests of Lord Hugo."
I turned my head around and nodded it to him as best I could. "General, a pleasure and welcome back."
The General nodded. "Likewise, always a pleasure to meet one of Lord Hugo's guests. I'm just sorry you're here during such dire times. We'll sort them out, though, you can trust in Lord Hugo's family, and especially in Lord Hugo, have no fear. He will be rescued."
I nodded again. "I hope so, General, but Anzana sounds like she's going to be tough to beat."
"Oh she'll be difficult to deal with, no doubt, but she's no match for Lord Hugo and his family."
I nodded, feeling better with the General's reassurances. "General, if I may, just how did you and Sedgewick determine that you were both all right?"
"Well, it has to do with his response to my 'mistake' of calling him Captain. Hawk policie and ranks is rather complicated, at least as far as you humans consider them. But I can assure you, that because of that, if Sedgewick hadn't corrected me, I'd have known he was still under Anzana's influence."
"But shouldn't just looking at his eyes and seeing they weren't red be enough.?" I asked.
"Yes, but as a precaution that he really was free of her potion, I had to ask anyway." the general replied, pausing a moment to preen his feathers.
Frankly, I couldn't imagine just how they could have told all that much from just a simple question like that, but then I wasn't a hawk, at least not yet. I was about to bring this up when Sedgewick finally spoke. "General, what of Patrick? He was going to make some more antidote for the reat of the hawks. Where did he go? We've got to get Dave here turned into a hawk so he can help us save any of the rest of the patrol who've come under Anzana's control."
General Van Horne just shook his head. "I don't know, Sergeant. I managed to just see him zip back under the hedges after he gave Jonathan the potion. I was just about to dive after Patrick, when Jonathan doused me with the potion. I was surprised and left sputtering as I gradually came out from under the spell. By the time I was back to myself again, Patrick was gone. Jonathan told me where you'd gone to and to find you two. As I said, he told me you were all right, but the way that potion gripped and sucked my will away, I had to be sure of things."
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Post by Lord Hugo Prosperio on Sept 30, 2008 14:48:23 GMT -4
You look around, swishing your tail as you see a flash of orange run past the two hawks. They say it too, but they paid it no mind, but you recognized that color...it was the same color as the fur of...
"Giaovanni!" you whinnie as the hawks look at you, wondering what on earth you are talking about.
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Post by littlefella on Oct 3, 2008 20:02:00 GMT -4
"General, Sgt., keep that feline bastard in view!" I whinnied as I started galloping down the length of the maze after that damn cat. General Van Horne and Sgt. Sedgewick took wing and followed after me.
"What's got you spooked about that cat," General Van Horne cried as I veered down the left branch of the maze. I just made the turn only in time to see Giovanni veer to the right and slip under the gap to one of the other branches of the maze. Cursing under my breath I galloped down to the end of the maze and took the right branch. The next branch was some 50 yards away. "That cat has twice tried to eat me!"
"What?! Tried to eat you?" General Van Horne screeched. "Where'd this cat come from? It can't be one of the guests.
"Hold on, Giovanni, you said, Dave?" Sedgewick asked as he glided overhead. "Not Mistress Cindy's Giovanni?"
"Oh, bloody hell, that's it. I thought she was keeping better track of him." General Van Horne said.
I'd reached the end of that length of the maze and made a right turn, doubling back down the new length of the maze, hoping that Giovanni was down this way. I'd no more gone down a third of the way when that wretched ball of orange fur popped out from under the hedge to my right, when I was nearly on top of him. Hissing and howling, he leaped practically right in front of me. I reared back on my hind legs, whinnying. Giovanni landed lightly on all four feet, snickered, and ducked under the left hedge.
I cursed some more as I went down the length of the maze, passing several openings to other segments of the maze, but they all went to the right. The maze itself while wide enough for me, was not wide enough for me to get a good running jump so I could follow that cat more easily. Suddenly I heard from overhead much screeching and crying. I came to a stop and looked upward. Above me there were some 10 hawks all diving toward General Van Horne and Sgt Sedgewick, with several more hawks flying in. Sedgewick and the general were doing well avoiding the attacking hawks, but they couldn't fight so many. "Dave," General Van Horne called out to me, "there's too many of the squad for Sedgewick and me to fight! We have to fly!"
"Save yourselves," I called back. "I'll do what I can with this cat." I barely noticed Sedgewick and Van Horne call out their farewells as I continued down the length of the maze. Finally I found a left turn. Taking it I galloped down the length, wondering how the hell I was going to find Giovanni. I'd been hoping that the two hawks would be able to spot him from the air. Now, without them, all I could hope for was just pure luck.
There was no sign of him as I raced down this length of the maze, passing more openings on my left and right. Then, my ears flicked as I caught just the tiniest of "mews" just off to my left. I could see an opening just ahead. I pounded down toward it. Throwing up great clods of earth as I leaned into the turn, I found myself doing what I could to stop myself just as quickly. There at this short length of the maze stood Giovanni. He looked at me with a cold glint in his yellow eyes. I snorted and stamped the ground, waiting, wondering just what he was going to do. As he stared at me, though, I couldn't help but feel that a second pair of eyes were watching. They seemed near, but then again, they seemed to be watching from a distance. My ears flicked, as my tail swished. I was getting more and more nervous. My horse instincts were kicking in and I started missing having the security of a herd with me. A low chuckle brought my attention back to Giovanni
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Post by Lord Hugo Prosperio on Oct 6, 2008 23:52:00 GMT -4
"Why the long face, my friend" The cat purrs as he smiles from the arms of a beautiful but striking woman.
"Hello, Dave." she says.
You attempt to turn and run, but the hedges have risen up locking you in with her and that infernal feline.
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Post by littlefella on Oct 14, 2008 20:57:28 GMT -4
I turned back to face the woman and Giovanni, my nostrils flaring, my ears back, and my tail swishing in agitation. She was indeed a striking beauty, from her long, flowing auburn hair, to her ruby lips, and on down her curvaceous figure. Her eyes were deep green, cold and deadly. She looked at me with both a sense of amusement and contempt. I could almost hear her thinking about the twisted, cruel things that she'd like to do to me.
Her cold gaze was equaled by Giovanni's as he rested in her arms. I had no doubt he was having visions of reducing me to the size of a mouse again and completing his interrupted meal.
I won't deny that I was scared, terrified even. What could I possibly do to either of them, or save myself. With but a single snap of her fingers Anzana could do anything that would cause me to cease to exist in any number of painful ways, orn the blink of an eye, in
We stared at each other like this for several seconds, nothing but the distant screech of the hawks. A shrill wind fluttered the leaves on the hedges. Finally I broke the silence. "Anzana, I assume."
"Oh bravo, right on the first try." she said, her lips curled in a slight smirk. "You are a clever boy, aren't you?"
Giovanni snorted. "Hmmph, obvious guess. He's only human, after all, even if he does look like a horse right now," he said as he hopped out of Anzana's arms.
"Oh, of course, sweet Giovanni, I'm well aware of that," she said with a touch of amusement in her voice. She started walking around me, looking me over, keeping her distance, especially as she walked behind me. I turned my head and could see she was just outside of kicking range. She smiled. "Now, now, Dave, you honestly don't think I'd be that foolish now, do you?" Truthfully, I didn't think she would be, but if even there was a slim chance that she was close enough that I could give her one swift kick before she could do anything, I just couldn't let that opportunity slip.
Unfortunately though , she kept her distance. She started walking back toward my head, smiling and nodding. "You do make a fine stallion. I might find a use for you, once I dull your brain and take away your ability to speak. Yes, perhaps a plow horse, or perhaps I could see if I can make something off of you by hiring you out for stud.
Giovanni had walked under me. "Oh, I don't know if you'll make anything by trying to have him do that, considering he prefers his own gender. Personally, I think you ought to have him gelded."
To say I was pissed with Giovanni's comment would be putting it mildly. Then I realized since my bladder was feeling full, why shouldn't I show him how pissed I was? I relaxed and let loose a warm yellow stream onto that damn cat. Immediately Giovanni howled and spat and took off for one of the hedge walls. He then glowered at me, meowing and growling low, his fur sodden. I let out a loud horse laugh, whinnying like I was born to it.
Anzana joined in with my laughter. "Oh Giovanni, have you forgotten the old saying, 'You can lead a horse to water, but a cat will make him tinkle." She continued laughing while a Giovanni just glared at the both of us.
As our laughter died down, Anzana again returned her attention toward me again. Her gaze was just as cold and deadly as before. Apparently the joke had not changed her opinion of me. "It's a pity, really. You almost could be amusing left as you are. But after all, you are only a wretched, mundane human."
Again the sound of the screeching hawks sounded distantly overhead. She looked upward, smiling, enjoying the cries of pain and screeching as they echoed off the walls of the mansion. My fury was growing. All that Lord Hugo and his family had built up, the wonders he'd shown, the transformations he'd brought about, changing peoples' lives in such incredible ways, granting them changes that they'd never suspected that they truly wanted, she was eagerly destroying. I started to walk toward her. She returned her attention toward me, and held up her hand. Instantly I stopped. Much as I tried, I could not get myself to lift my legs. I snorted and shook my head. Anzana just gave me another smirk. "Oh no, Dave, you'll go no further. You're not about to trample me under your hooves, as if you ever could."
"What is this all about?" I asked, my voice seething in anger. "Why are you doing this? What has Lord Hugo or any of his guests done to you?"
Anzana tilted her head back. She looked regal as she stood there, but not as a queen of her people, but a tyrant, a despot, one who considers all to be not her subjects, but her slaves. She was haughty and proud. "It's very simple, my simple minded human. I come from a long line of one of the most powerful wizards, witches, and mages. There were few other families that would equal our abilities. Many years ago, Lord Hugo's mother and my family had talked about my marrying Hugo. Oh, what a team we would have made. With our powers, nothing would stop us. Our children would be like gods! And then that wretch, that fool, that stupid bastard went and married a human! That idiot even tried to give her magical powers." She stopped there, shaking in rage, then she grew a cold, wicked smile. "Ah, but the poor boy didn't succeed, and his poor little human died. Such a pity. I do wonder just what might have gone wrong with his spells." She had a look on her face like she knew full well what had gone wrong. She said nothing, and so I could only guess, but the possibility just added to my fury. "You damn bitch," I growled at her.
She didn't seem at all bothered by the term. "That's witch, dear," she said, tossing her head to one side. "And to be sure, I do live up to the name as you humans have defined it. Since I can't have Hugo as my husband, I will have him as the next best thing, my slave, my magical channel. I shall have his powers, even if I have to drain them out of him, and leave him a dry husk. Oh, and then, and then, I will make his stupid dream of having this mansion being a place of wonder into a place of nightmares. Oh, I'll still welcome guests, and I will give them their hearts' desires, and not just in small little doses, but in gigantic portions, drowning them in their wishes. They want to be fat, they'll be so fat, they'll be flattened by their weight, they want to be young, they will be, they'll regress right to the moment of conception, all the while aware that they will soon disappear forever! If they want to be animals, they shall be, I might even be so kind as to let them keep their minds. Ah, but I'll take away their speech, and drive up their instincts. I'll set the transformed cats on the mice, let them have a bit of a chase, all the while their minds will be screaming at them to stop what they're doing, but unable to. And then the transformed cat will eat the transformed mouse, all the while they'll be screaming inside and unable to stop. It will be wonderful," she said, her face glowing at the thought of the horrors she would cause.
Anzana again directed her gaze at me. I didn't think it would be possible for her to give me a colder look than she had before. There was no humor, no warmth, not sense of anything other than I was just some bug, a disgusting, rank piece of slime, a worm in her eyes. She held out her hand. There was a twinkling of light about it, and suddenly an apple appeared. She slowly walked toward me, the apple in her outstretched palm. "I grow bored with you, Dave. It's time to take care of you, 'dobbin.' It's time to start taking care of you...guests....you worms. Have an apple?"
She held it in her palm, right under my mouth. I tried pulling my head back, but as much as I tried I couldn't. I strained with the effort, but I couldn't stop myself. I tried to keep my mouth closed, but my lips slowly opened, bit by bit. "Don't waste the effort, Dave," Anzana said softly as she leaned her head near my ear. "You're under my spell. You have to eat. Go on, horsey, you know you want it."
I grunted, still trying to resist, but I couldn't. My mouth opened just wide enough. I whinnied in terror as my teeth closed around the apple. I bit down on it. There was the sharp, crunch from the apple, and then my world went black.
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Post by Lord Hugo Prosperio on Oct 15, 2008 20:02:21 GMT -4
Your eyes being to open...you have no idea how long you were out. You feel odd, not nearly as big as you were when you were a horse, and when you look down, you see yourself, human, and around the age of 12 (the age you were before you changed into a mouse with Sedegwick)
"Where am I?" you muster as a familiar hissing sound alerts you to the orange cat perches above you.
"Well, Well. Seems the apple didn't work as she planned, but still...you can't move, am I correct?" Giovanni laughs like the cat from Inspector Gadget.
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Post by littlefella on Oct 15, 2008 20:26:14 GMT -4
Giovanni sneered at me as he sat just above where I was lying on the cold ground. I automatically tried to move my arms and legs and found they wouldn't respond. Giovanni didn't wait for me to answer, he could tell from my efforts that he was right, I couldn't move. He gave that hissing laugh again. "This might be even better. Oh, the horse screams you gave when Anzana fed you that apple. I shall enjoy hearing those again when she returns. She's got something in store for you, you little bastard, just you wait and see.
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Post by Lord Hugo Prosperio on Oct 15, 2008 21:42:27 GMT -4
As you sit there, bound by magic...your anger bubbles inside you. Suddenly a nearby rock flies at the cat, hitting him square in the face.
He shrieks as he lands in front of you. You can move your hands, so you make a quick move to grab the little furball of terror.
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Post by littlefella on Oct 16, 2008 22:34:24 GMT -4
Giovanni twisted and howled as he tried to escape from my grip, as I held him at arm's length. He was a spitting terror, his ears back and his mouth wide open as he shrieked and howled at me. "Put me down, damn it! You little bastard, put me down, now!"
My fury was still raging. My anger drove any question as to where that rock had come from, all I could think of was what that witch was doing to Lord Hugo and his guests, and that this cat was deep in league with her. "Shut up!" I yelled at him. Instantly his howling and screaching ceased. He stopped twisting in my grip and just stared wide-eyed at me. Frankly, I was just as wide-eyed. Both of us were surprised at what had just happened. I began to wonder just that rock and where it came from. There was no one here but the two of us. Before I could wonder any more Giovanni had recovered and was trying even harder to twist himself out of my grasp. My anger, which had been starting to slip, returned. "Hold it right there, cat!" I shouted.
Giovanni stopped in mid-twist, only his eyes blinking at me in amazement. Likewise, I was again just as amazed. It was like....magic? But that wasn't possible! I had no magical powers, I was as ordinary as any other human guest of Lord Hugo's. There's no way I could have done this. Unless, all that anger, that rage that had been building in me and all the magic that swirled about this place combined and for a brief moment I was able to tap into that magic? It wasn't possible! Or was it?
I tried to hold on to that anger, but with the surprise of what had just happened, with Giovanni helpless as he dangled from my grip, and no sign, at the moment, of Anzana, my fury was slipping away. Did I have enough left for one final test? But what to do? Then I thought of it, something that just seemed like the perfect revenge for this feline devil, the most perfect disgrace and come-down. I grinned at Giovanni. "You know, Giovanni, for all that you've done, for trying to eat me, wanting me gelded, for joining forces with Anzana, I'm thinking that maybe you were born the wrong species." Giovanni stared at me, wondering where I was going with this.
"You're not really a cat," I continued. "No, I think you're truly a rat....a very, very small rat!" Giovanni's eyes went even wider. Apparently he was coming to the same conclusion as I was about how this magic had happened. I tried concentrating, trying to see Giovanni get smaller, his form change, morph into a rodent shape. Seconds went by and----nothing. It seemed it was over, whatever magic I might have had seemed to have gone as quickly as it had come. I felt a twitch from Giovanni. Was the magic spell on him slipping away too? "Oh man, what I wouldn't give to feed you one of Patrick's special cheese," I muttered, wondering what to do next.
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