"When do you think she'll wake up?"
"Who cares? It would be better for us if she didn't." Smack!
"Ow!! You stupid feline."
"Stupid! Says the person who called a bird a cat!"
"You are NOT a bird!"
"Says who? I have wings!"
"Yeah, but you are a cat everywhere else!"
"Jerk!"
"Stupid head!"
Misty opened her eyes to absolute darkness. She could hear someone scuffling across the room and let out a groan. She couldn't believe that she passed out again.
She thought back to the ships and pirates and gave herself a bit of slack. There were a lot of really stressful events that had come up. She went on vacation, got attacked by pirates, fell overboard, got stranded in the middle of who knows where, saved a jaguar man person, and accidently gotten a mate. That was like the last 24 hours!
After mulling over how random everything was she realized that the room had gotten quiet. She searched the darkness for the source of the previous voices.
A pale glow began to illuminate the room. Misty looked around at the grass walls and furs that surrounded her before coming to rest on something she had never seen before.
The light was radiating from the horn of a small creature with light blue fur that stood barely 2 feet tall. It was standing upright using its long tail to help stay balanced on stubby legs. The tiny arms and paws reminded her of a tyrannosaurus except the paws looked very much like human hands.
Not too far from the blue creature stood something that looked like a red cat with wings, but instead of fur, scales and feathers covered its body. It stuck its small tongue out at the blue animal before looking at her.
"Finally! Now we can deal with you!" The winged cat slunk over to the bed that Misty lay on. Misty pushed up getting tangled in the blanket. Misty caught her breath, and she could feel that tendril of panic trying to drain her. She focused on breathing but couldn't help but scoot across the bed until she could feel the wall.
There was one thing she was sure of, and it was that she was no longer in her world. Aside from the fact that these two creatures only existed in myth and imagination, the moment she realized they could talk was when she started to feel the onslaught of apprehension. Had she really died? Was this heaven?
"Did I die?" Misty cringed at the quivering in her voice. Of course, she was afraid of that answer, but couldn't help but feel she could have at least sounded braver.
"Nope!" said the blue animal. "Since you are awake, let us get started. You may call me Melcar." Melcar bowed to Misty, his horn still radiating the gentle glow. The winged cat jumped on the bed and walked up to Misty, pushing its nose into her face.
"And I'm Astara." Green cat eyes stared intently into her own brown ones. Misty shifted in the awkward silence as Astara seemed to be looking into her soul.
"Well?" Melcar questioned.
"This is her original body, but the passage through made some changes." Astara sniffed and the wings on her back fluttered a bit before she folded them away. "I understand why the Goddess was unhappy. She's like a stow away!"
"Accidental migration?" Melcar scowled. "Those idiots in the In-between must have messed up. I can't believe we have to reset the safety timer! Almost seven thousand years! I was looking forward to the prize this time too!"
"Yeah, even I was looking forward to it," Astara sighed. "It's too late to send her back now, though."
"What do you mean? There is no way she can stay!"
"She has a mate." Melcar looked startled. He bent down and slinked across the floor on all fours and onto the bed. His eyes took on an intense blue glow as he stared at Misty.
"I see."
Misty couldn't help but feel like she was an animal in a zoo from the intensity of their gazes. While the two were talking, she had taken the opportunity to calm herself. The overwhelming panic had started to fade.
"Can you please explain to me what is going on." Melcar and Astara looked at each other and nodded as if they had come to some kind of agreement.
"It was accidental, but you are stuck here," said Melcar. "It is a pity, but if you leave, your mate will die, and we can't break the balance of the universe any further to right things."
"Don't I get a choice?" Misty was getting tired of being thrust into crisis after crisis. She pushed herself away from the wall. Melcar and Astara jumped off the bed. Astara padded over to a chair in the corner and started licking her paw. Melcar settled on the rug on the floor and waved a hand.
"Let me explain. You are in the realm of Tamult. It has only been around for a few thousand years and is still in the beginning stages of magical creation. For lack of a better word, it is still young."
"Young and foolish! Letting you in here almost destroyed everything!" Astara sneered, "this realm is such a baby." Melcar gave Astara a sharp glance.
"And you're not, Astara?" Melcar chided. Astara ignored him and went back to her grooming with a soft humph. Melcar looked at Misty with a gentle smile. "Be that as it may, we will help you get settled in." He lifted his hands and a set of glowing runes and circles appeared. Misty could feel a warm rush in her mind that was unpleasant but didn't hurt. She laid back in the bed as dizziness threatened to overcome her again, but Misty determinedly held onto consciousness. She didn't know how long had gone by when the runes faded, and her head stopped spinning.
"There," said a satisfied Melcar. "You have the basics now. We'll check in from time to time. Astara, let's go!" The glowing light faded, and the two creatures disappeared into the darkness.