Mistic Pets

Welcome to Issue 79
Created by The Mistic Pets Team

Changes - Part 1
Written By Fish

The Ricket curled up tighter under her blankets, not yet used to the bubbling of the swamp water, the creaking of trees whose shapes were all too ominous for her comfort, or the shrieks and cries of unknown and unseen creatures surrounding their new house. To her, every single noise was a ghoul seeping through the floor boards, a monster tapping on her window. Ciara felt like she hadn’t slept since they moved in, and she wasn’t sure she would sleep for a long time yet.

Morning finally came, and she bolstered up the courage to leave her house and explore the swamp around her. After all, learning what was near her house would surely boost her courage, right?

Wrong.

Despite its name, the Haunted Library started out promising, but she found herself running in fear when the shopkeeper popped out suddenly from behind a shelf, startling her into terror. Ciara couldn’t even convince herself to enter Spooky Creations or Creepy Critters, not with the disgusting and possibly living foodstuffs and the disturbing misticpals leering out at her. Food shouldn’t have eyes and pals shouldn’t be just a pile of moving bones.

The day was a bust, and it wasn’t even noon. And when something creepily beckoned her closer towards a dark hole in the ground, she got lost from blindly running in the opposite direction. Which only served to get her even further away from the safety of her home. Panting in fear, she nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice chimed up from behind her.

“Ah, Mon Chere, are you lost?” An ancient Belgaroth towered above her, and yet… Ciara was uneasy, but her fear was subsiding.

“Y-yes.”

“Now what’s une fille like you doing wandering around here? You seem much too scared to be out on your own.” All Ciara could do was nod in agreement, and move closer to the comforting figure. The Belgaroth stroked her head, and Ciara shivered.

“Now old Zulime, she knows exactly how to help you. After all, being so small is the cause of your fear, n'est-ce pas?” Ciara nodded again, and suddenly Zulime had disappeared. Instant panic bolted down her spine, and she almost ran off again until Zulime reappeared, almost as if by magic. In her claws, she held something wrapped around an orb, and on closer inspection she realized in horror that it was the tail of some unfortunate beast. The Belgaroth held it out to her.

Against every feeling in her body that this couldn’t be good, she knew whatever it was; Zulime thought it would help her. Ciara gulped and took the object carefully in her paws, a strange, tingling feeling washing over her.

Ciara wasn’t sure what happened next. Her body was stretching, past what it should, and she felt as if her entire soul was on fire. The Ricket was sure she was going to pass out, so she squeezed her eyes shut and waited. After what felt like hours, the burning stopped, and she opened two of her eyes carefully… the other two seemed to be stuck shut. Or maybe they weren’t really there; she couldn’t tell.

Zulime had shrunk, or at least, that’s what it seemed like. Ciara suddenly felt nauseous, and she bolted towards the swamp water, only to freeze at her own reflection.

She was a Kratork. Gone was her fur, her ears, replaced instead by horns and scales. Gone too, was her fear, at least for the moment.

“Now you see, you have nothing to be afraid of in this form. Nothing will mess with you know, trust old Zulime on that.” Ciara could have hugged her, but instead stammered out a thank you and wandered off, watching her reflection always in the swamp next to her.

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