Wizards of Pagnoia - Chapter One, Part IV

It was a time of legends, wizards, and heroes...

Speaking of heroes, ours have been through quiet a lot in their first day and a half of being wizards. CK never really intended on being a wizard, until his friend Kitty Kubbles found two diamagics in an underground pool in a cave. By infusing them with CK's humble paintbrush the giraffe was given the power to wield paint and thinner, substances that could be used to create or erase. As for Kitty, the cat managed to infuse her own heart shaped charm with a diamagic, and she was given the awesome ability to soar through the skies. The two had gained powers!

But with this, they also gained an enemy. The Phantom Brat was both an agent and a daughter to the Phantom Blot and she had come to collect their magic staffs. But CK instead gave her a scared face full of flames. The two ran for their lives until they reached Southern Pagonia, where they met Mel. A local fox who wrote and practiced wizardry when no one was watching. She helped CK and Kitty escape the island via a flying ship. That is, after they escaped the clutches of criminal scum Captain Black Spot.

Yet no luxury comes without a hassle, and as soon as our trio of misfits think of themselves in the clear, they find themselves on a mountain peak with an unknown force trying to catch them. They end up hiding in a wooden shed and are hiding there as a new player enters the games. A rabbit who has yet to show if he is either friend or foe.

*****
The rabbit with brown hare stood there, looking his place over. It looked normal almost untouched. His log cabin wasn't fancy, in fact it was as far away from that as possible. But he didn't mind. It was good enough for him. The giant dark oak logs that made up the walls of the house kept all the snow and ice out. The floor was made of grass, the only spot on the mountain where there was such a thing. He appreciated the feel of grass and dirt on his toes, it made him feel so homey. There was a table, two chairs, a cinnamon scented candle, and a couch in which-

Something was on it?

On top of his old, dingy blue sofa was a plaid blanket with a lump under it. The rabbit stared at the lump, wondering what to do with it. Unaware that the same question was being asked towards him.

He was obliviously aware of the pale giraffe and gray cat standing behind him under his stares. CK and Kitty watched in suspense wondering what to do next. CK knew he had to do something otherwise Mel –the person under the blanked- was in big trouble. He gently elbowed his friend Kitty about ready to ask what they should do when he noticed something odd about her: her eyes were big as stones, and her mouth was so wide open that you'd mistake it to the entrance to a cave. The twinkle in her eyes danced and hungered for the rabbit heading towards their new friend.

Keeping his eye on the couch, the rabbit picked up something from underneath the table. It was two and a half feet long and as richly brown as the rabbit's fur. On the end was a wooden formation that almost looked like a leaf. CK gasped when he realized it was a magic staff. Whoever this bunny was he was a wizard like these two. The cat was still dazed.  

"Now, listen here you," the rabbit explained. Both CK and Kitty nearly bit their tongues when they heard his accent. They studied the large footed mammal as he gently made his way over to the couch. "I do not wish to harm you. Tell me why you're here and we can get this over with quickly."

"We came to borrow some sugar."

The rabbit bounced clean off the floor and grabbed onto a beam in the ceiling when he heard the giraffe's voice. When he looked down to see the two he trembled like a leaf during autumn. His teeth chattered and it had nothing to do with the temperature outside. Sweet dripped off of his head and onto the floor. By the desperate look in his eyes, both CK and Kitty could tell this bunny wasn't exactly the bravest animal in the world.

"Oh, please don't hurt me!" the bunny begged. He looked like he was nearly ready to cry. "I promise I won't hurt you, you can have anything you want! I just don't want any trouble please!"

"Wo little bunny," CK joked, trying to get the bunny to calm down. "Let's ease off the gas a bit huh?"

He still wouldn't stop shaking.

Until he met eyes with Kitty. At the first sight of her, he hinted at a smile. He seemed bewildered, enchanted, like he was transported to a whole new world. The twinkle in his eyes danced and shined like the love sick stars in the midnight sky. His chest heart from how much his heart was racing, know he was shaking over excitement.

"What's your name?" the twinkle in his eye asked.

He gulped than answered, "Danny Hare."

"Well Danny," Kitty chirped happily. "We are not here to harm you. Could you please come down?"

Not daring to take his eyes off Kitty the rabbit jumped down. But when he got down he still couldn't stop staring at the beautiful creature standing in front of him. And what was better was the fact that she couldn't stop staring at him. They dared not look away from each other, thinking that if they did this oh so magical spell would end. It was like finding leprechaun's gold. Something this great never happened unless you were really lucky.

"And, uh," Danny tried to talk but his mouth was attempting to work against him. His whole body went numb when he tried to talk to her. It was as if her beauty was so enchanting that if he stared too long he'd go blind. And he wouldn't even mind it. Finally he spat out, "And what is your name?"

"Kitty Bubbles," Kitty said. Her mouth didn't want to agree with her either. He was so gorgeous and handsome that she just wanted to hug him right there. He was entrancing! When she realized her mistake, she blushed and quickly corrected herself. "I mean, Kubbles! Kitty Kubbles, t-t-that's my name. Kitty Kubbles."

"And my name is CK," the giraffe stated.

"Kitty," Danny sang. CK rolled his eyes when this name came out of his mouth. The two were ignoring him now. He had seen this kind of stuff back in art school, and he could already tell where this was heading. "What a beautiful name."

"What, CK isn't?" CK tried to joke his way back into their reality.

They sighed. The two seemed completely focused on each other, not even bothering with reality anymore. The weight of the entire world had been lifted off their shoulders! And they didn't want it to end. CK was usually a hopeless romantic, but he needed Kitty to focus on the task at hand. If they couldn't get back to the ship it would be only seconds until whatever had chased them back outside caught up to him. Luckily, CK had a method for dealing with stuff like that.

"My water broke!" he yelled.

"What?" both of them asked.

"Who's the daddy?"

Everyone looked over to the fox on the couch, Mel, who had finally woken up. She had knocked unconscious just as her flying boat crashed into the mountain. She asked, "Ugh, I assume we didn't drown."

"No, just crashed," CK admitted.

"What?" Mel gasped. She fell back onto the couch, annoyed by the fact that her boat had crashed. Now they were stuck in... When she realized she had no idea where they were lost she asked, "Uhm, where are we anyway?"

"Mount Fang," Danny said. Already the bunny and the cat seemed to miss the time they stared into each other's eyes. They wanted to do it some more, but Danny had guests to attend to. "You're in my home. I built it here when the villagers told me the soil here was good for cropping."

"Really?" Mel asked. "So, why isn't everyone living up here?"

"The Abominable Snow Beast." The name alone was able to send shivers down the spines of the foursome. No pun intended. Danny explained: "He hates visitors and travelers, and when I first got here I barely escaped with my life. He is a vicious monster with black skin covered with white fur. He uses his camouflage to jump trespassers on his home turf."

"So that's what chased us," CK said to Kitty. He then asked Danny, "But if he doesn't like trespassers, why hasn't he gotten you yet? How are you allowed to live here in peace with him?"

"Compost. He hates the stuff. He doesn't come near this place thanks to all the compost I make. That also means I can't go outside. I haven't seen the outside world in exactly one year now. And of course, no messenger is crazy enough to come here and deliver letters to and from me. But, it gives me plenty of time to practice gardening."

"You garden?" Kitty chirped.

When he turned around to answer, the two locked onto each other again. They smiled and blushed as their eyes met once again.

"What about the ship?" Mel asked.

"It's crashed some feet away from here," CK explained. "It's in fair shape, but there are some parts that are missing, broken, and just plain gone. If I could get to it, I could easily fix it with some good ol' paint."

CK held up his magic paintbrush as if to prove it. The veins currently pulsed an uplifting sky blue as the autistic giraffe held the brush in his right hand. Mel nodded in agreement. It was a solid plan and a good one. She got off from the couch, dusted her old N.A.V.Y. outfit off and walked up to the two eye gazers. She then told Danny very firmly, "Well, it was nice to meet you sir. But we must be leaving now."

"Oh you can't leave," Danny gushed, still not taking his eyes off Kitty. This sent CK and Mel trembling. The tall mammal shifted the paintbrush to his left hand in case pretty boy tried anything funny. The veins now pulsed with the liquid eraser known as thinner, which could easily destroy the bunny right now. But that was when the rabbit said, "Not with the Beast on the loose. Plus, it's storming outside. Storms last four days around here."

"Oh of course," CK said as he slammed down onto the couch.

"What now?" Mel asked CK.

Danny answered happily for him. "You are welcome to stay here. I can grow you guys food to eat until you can leave, and I can let you guys borrow some blankets. There's a working bathroom and warm water to bathe in. I'm sure you'll feel right at home here."

"Well we wouldn't want to be a bother," Kitty smiled.

"It's no trouble," Danny said dreamily to her.

The giraffe and fox gave each other a look that meant: So, you wanna make a bet on how long it's gonna be before they kiss?

For the next four days the trio got to learn more and more about their new friend Danny Hare. Especially Kitty. The two followed each other constantly, the only place they didn't follow each other into was the bathroom. They hardly ever went to sleep since they stayed up all night talking to each other. And since CK was sleeping on the couch, he couldn't help but smile as he 'accidently' eased dropped on their conversations. Both he and Mel were hopeless romantics, and they both agreed that Kitty and Danny made a pretty dang good one so far.

But Danny also gave attention to both Mel and CK, earning their trust and respect. He showed them all his greenroom in the back of his house where he grew everything from acorns to apples to carrots to even the more rare fruit like guava. He tried to teach them how to garden, but only the ladies took up an interest in it. CK didn't enjoy any activities outside. So, he just manned the barrel as he ate apples and bananas.

And as Mel and CK discussed a plan for fixing the boat, Danny and Kitty really got to know each other. On the night of the fourth day of the storm, the two were picking some grapes off a vine and talking.

"Wait, you did what?" Kitty laughed.

"It's true," Danny chuckled back. "I taught my mother how to ski. And she was lousy at it. I sweat I heard more cussing from her than I ever heard in my life."

The two laughed. If they could, they'd laugh all night long just to hear each other. Kitty's laugh was melodious, and Danny's pitch seemed to match hers. It was like nature was telling them they were two singers destined to sing with each other forever. But the laughter slowly died down as the two got back to picking grapes. And after they were all picked, they sat down and had another conversation. As they enjoyed some nice watermelon.

"So, you and CK really think you have a chance competing in the Great Wizarding Tournament?" Danny asked.

"Why sure," Kitty replied. "I mean, CK has the paint and thinner, I can fly, and now we've got Mel who can create storms and control people's minds." She bit off a big, bright pink chunk of watermelon, trying to be lady like as she spat out the seeds. It was then she remembered something. "So, do you have any powers?"

Danny claimed, "Yeah, but I'm no good to compete."

"I'm sure you are," Kitty grinned. That grin almost made Danny believe her. But his ears sank when he told himself he couldn't. He was no good compared to her and her friends. When Kitty saw this negative look in his eyes she said, "Come with us."

"What?"

"Yeah, come with us. Compete with us, I'm sure you can help us win. You can be a part of our team Danny, I'm sure you'll do great."

The rabbit through about it for a second. But then he frowned, "No, I'd slow you down. I'm nothing but a farmer, and that's all I'm good at. Besides, I'm no fighter. I mean with that kind of height, CK scares me. No, I just can't. I can't."

Kitty frowned. The two looked at each other sympathetically.  But their looks of sympathy quickly changed to looks of passion. Their eyes sparkled as their heads came closer to each other. They could feel the warmth of each other as their faces drew nearer. Their eyes blurred as they got real close to each other. It was if dreams were coming true. Than, ever so passionately they kissed. And boy what a kiss it was. It was warm, it was tender, it was caring. It was beyond a normal kiss, it was the kiss that would seem to go on forever. In fact, the two wouldn't pull each other apart from each other. They were enjoying it way too much.

Watching from the doorway, CK whispered to Mel, "You owe me five coins!"

By morning, Kitty was fast asleep in the guest room. She smiled in her sleeps, having more dreams about her Danny. She could steal feel the kiss from the other night, and demanded that her fantasy became reality. She wanted to kiss her love over and over and over again. She'd probably die from running out of air from kissing Danny so long. What she wouldn't give to have that moment at least one more times.

When she woke up, she found Danny kissing her again. She beamed dreamily with glee as she kissed him back. When finally they had the strength to pull each other away, Danny explained, "I'm coming with you."

A few minutes later and everyone was outside in the snow. The sun was shinning so brightly that it bounced off the sun and nearly blinded everyone had Danny not applied everyone with safety goggles. Along with that he had also given them warm coats and mittens. CK's was a bit too snug, but he wasn't complaining. At least he kept him warm.

"So, what's the plan CK?" Mel asked.

"We make our way back to the ship," CK replied as he gazed the horizon. By the looks of it, the pathway down to the ship was a very steep hill, and the walk there was going to be a pain in the butt considering all the snow. But as he saw it, the sooner they got to the ship the sooner they could blow this popsicle stand. He addressed their new friend, "Danny, you take the lead and guide us down the right path."

"Okay," Danny said. He then delicately pecked Kitty on the cheek before making his way up towards the front.

But suddenly, something huge came out from behind the shake and jumped onto the roof. It roared aggressively, shaking the mountain like some freakish force of nature. It was nine feet tall and had winkly back skin. It's nails were even a darker shade than his skin, if that even was possible. His fur was white and shaggy with ice blue spots popping up here and there. From his mouth, sharp, pointy, yellow fans sprung out. And his eyes- his eyes were the worst part. His piercing red eyes seemed to cut through the group's soul like knives.

This was the Abominable Snow Beast. He roared once again as if to signify that.

"Nobody make any sudden movements…" CK commanded.

"No time for that," Danny said, immediately reaching out for Kitty's hands and squeezing it hard. When he was sure the two were connected, he shot straight forward and the two began to run. He hollered back to the fox and giraffe. "RUN!"

Neither of them needed to be told that twice. They followed the rabbit's instructions and began to run like bunnies themselves. They wanted to gain some distance between themselves and this monster.

But the monster was smarter than they anticipated. He jumped off the ceiling and piled his grisly hands into the snow. He yanked out a huge chunk of it and then patted it down into a nice little snow ball. Then, ever so forcefully, he threw it out towards the group. The ball made contact with the snowy surface and began to roll down. As it did though, snow began to cling onto it. And it grew bigger and bigger as it made it's way down. By the time it zipped past CK and Mel it was about the size of a dragon's egg.

By the time it hit Kitty and pulled her out of Danny's hand and towards the icey cliffs below, it was the size of a young dragon.

"Kitty!" Danny yelled.

"Kitty!" CK yelled.

"Kitty!" Mel yelled.

"Hey, Mel yelled," CK joked. "That rhymes!"

Kitty screamed as her head stuck out of the mammoth snowball: "HELP ME!"

Danny knew he had to act fast. At that speed, Kitty was heading for trouble. As he ran towards her, he turned his head to CK and barked: "CK, PAINT ME A SNOWBOARD!"

"Specific color?" CK asked, yanking out a notepad.

"Ugh," Danny exclaimed. "Blue!"

Quickly, CK pulled out his paintbrush from the holder on his back and shot out some paint at Danny's feet. The two squirts ejected and clinged onto the rabbit's paws as they connected and formed into a long, slender, sleek blue snowboard. Danny wasted no time in rushing forward to save Kitty.

"Go Danny go!" Mel yelled.

Then the Snow Beast roared, and Mel and CK turned around to see him surfing on a huge block of ice.