Episode 15 - The Fungus Milkbar
Even from outside the Fungus Milkbar we can hear the loud chattering of a crowded room.
“Do you want us to wait outside?”
The Wolves ask, ears twitching at the volume of the noises. I glance at them then point to a sign stating that the bar welcomes all creatures. As they prepare themselves, I take care to hide my tail in my cape, where it won’t gather attention. We take our first step into the bar with a sense of curiosity. It is different from any other milkbar I have been to. Each table takes the form of a fungus mushroom, with red mushroom seats around it. A big fungus is in the centre of the bar, two and a half floors tall. Under the roof is a platform, and I idly wonder why someone would jump up there. The thick stem leads to a large cap, which grows over the bar like a roof, with colourful gills spread across the bottom. Hoses with different milks come out from the stem, similarly colourful. I chuckle.
“What’s funny?”
Trolling shuffles on my shoulder as my laughing almost knocks him off.
“The Milkbar… it’s, it’s just a big mushroom!”
“But... the milk comes from the mushroom, right?”
“Ya, but it’s still funny!”
How odd for Trolling not to be laughing. But, I suppose, he hasn’t been laughing as much recently… is something happening to him?
I suddenly freeze as a Catmen in front of me yells…
“Stop! Don’t enter my square!”
He standing within one of the many squares on the ground, implores me to walk around the markings, my Wolves being stared at as they do so themselves. It almost looks like he is attempting to run from the Wolves, but cannot leave the square. While we continue into the bar, the Wolf Mason almost bumps into another Catmale. He is wearing a Rabbit-Skvader costume. I hear him whisper to another…
"It is true, I won, in the Crazy-Cat Catch, the Red Mousley is mine now, I do hope I can win her heart."
As always in a Milkbar, there are many strange Cats, something that makes me chuckle as I watch the Catmale fight over a square - while eating a carrot.
Sitting at the bar, I notice some other Fairies carrying the hoses to bowls, making sure the Milk flowing from the fungus reaches the Cats. I turn to Trolling,
“Are they friends to you?”
I watch as one flies down to him, the two staring at one another. Beautiful wings, bigger eyes than the forest Fairies, looking like a sweet little teddy bear as its body is a slightly bigger.
Trolling asks the Fairy "What are you?"
"What am I… Fairy, I am… what are you?"
"Fairy too"
Then they both laugh.
I move my eyes, looking out into the bar and noticing a shouting Ligor-female. A small group is seated around one of the tables, who appear to be attempting to calm her.
“It must be yellow.”
“... Yellow!”
She screeches, jumping to the next table, spilling milk everywhere. I begin to scan the rest of the room, but before long I am drawn back to the scene by Trolling’s chuckles. The Ligor-female is sliding across the table on the spilt milk, and I hide a laugh with my paw as she flies off onto the floor. Another Ligormen, a male next to me, laughs at her and says to me that they will still be able to hear my hidden chuckles.
"Catmen go crazy from the Red milk, but us Ligormen get obsessioned."
My eyes shift to the table next to it as I notice some familiar fur. The four young Cat-females from the street! They’re surrounding another person at the table, who is hidden by a cape. I unfold my ears, just to pick up their voices across the bar.
“We believe you can do it!”
“You have to do it!”
“We’d love to see if you can do it!”
“Do it for us please!”
Perhaps they’re trying to set them up for some kind of crazy game? Maybe the one they all call Crazy-Cat Catch, though I never heard about that game nor do I remember it. A creature coming over to me grabs my attention. I believe it is the Barkeeper. I have never seen one like him. He is tall, a head above me, with pointy ears like my KenTaurs. He’s covered in fur like me, but has no tail. I look more thoroughly, but still, no tail. On his clothes he is wearing the same symbol as Ken's shield. I do wonder how he came to Obbisia, but before I can speak, he directs his gaze at Trolling.
“Don’t touch that.”
The Fairy flies up to him,
"It is a fairy,” he says.
"Really? Maybe one of these cave fairies?"
He looks back at me,
"Uh, new face in town I hear, what can I get you? Princess."
Fascinating, this creature knows what I am. Suddenly he turns to the wolves.
"Do you know your Mously just ran"
Right behind the wolf the Mously has jumped down, but Mason already caught it while Vapor answered him,
"Did you know wolves are quick and always watching?"
"Very good, Wolf, yes, very good… Bib, Bob, Bub and Bab give them some blue milk."
He turns to me again and quickly I nod to get one blue milk also. The four fairies fly around with bowls and all the streams to make us my favourite.
“So who are you?”
He asked me, but did he not know that answer?
“Princess Meow.”
Looking at me with an indescribable mix of shock and confusion, he emits a nervous chuckle and nods his leave. I watch as he goes to serve another Catmen, while he speaks to himself,
"A Princess, what have I done now?"
I whisper down to my milk, and I believe that with his ears he can hear me.
"I am not here for you I’m looking for another wolf."
I see he is smiling, winking his Fairies over to serve the cats and looking very interested at the four cat females and the one under the cape. I thanked him with my eyes.
Then, a loud noise echoes in the bar. A new group of males circles two normal Mously, the ones you can buy in the pet shop.
“One… two… go!”
Two of the males looking into the big eyes of the Mously, the remaining group cheering,
“Stare, stare, stare!”
Vapor ask me,
“What are they doing?”
“The first to go crazy from the Mously’s eyes loses. Do you Wolves not have a bar game?”
“Stupid cats.”
Both wolves answered, neither answering my question. I raise my bowl of milk and take my time smelling it, and inviting my friends to join in.
“Chmemers!”
I am still drinking when a scratching noise alerts us to the loser of the competition. The big Catmale chases his tail while the others laugh.
A Tigor-lady next to me orders a special milk, drinking it out of a glass. As her fur rises on end, she slams the empty glass back down.
“Wow! What a trip! Two more!”
I take another sip of milk, not noticing the chanting in the bar until Trolling asks what’s happening. Looking up, my ears twitch at the shouting.
“Jump! Jump! Jump!”
The lady beside me answers for me.
“A young Wolfmen will try the impossible jumps.”
It is him, him from the corner, the four females have convinced him to do this.
“What are the impossible jumps?” I smile at Trolling’s wide eyes.
The Fairy from before flying to Trolling,
“Only the best jumpers can make it. First, the long jump from the table in the corner to this fungus roof we are under. And finally, a backflip straight onto the platform under the roof.”
Intrigued, I ask a question of my own,
“What do you get if you make the jumps?”
“Free bowls of milk all day for you and your friends.” I hear the keeper reply behind us.
Trolling’s wonder is clear in his voice as he shouts, alerting me to this Wolfmales attempt.
“He’s jumping!”
As he jumps, I notice that the trajectory is off. He won’t make it. Then I realised. His trajectory? Right towards me. I hear my wolf begin to warn me. But my Sorceress Reflex is already at work.
With a command so silent no one can hear it, I whisper a spell to protect myself…
“Wind.”
Little sparks of green light up around my paws, blowing a gust up to the Wolfmale and pushing him up onto the fungus roof. The force of the magic sends me toppling off my chair and onto all fours. Not so lucky, my Wolves find their milk spilt all over.
Mason mumbles out to look into my eyes.
"Stupid cat"
From the top of the fungus the wolfmale shout…
“I did it! I did it!”
No one in the bar noticed what I did. All the nearby Catmale have jumped from their chairs to look up at the Wolfmale. Although… he is a Wolfmen? How can that be? Is it a Wing Wolf that has lost its wings, perhaps? Can the soul of a wolf be turned into a Wolf-men now, what is happening to this world? Then, it occurs to me.
“Is that the Wolf who shall help me?”
“Yes.” answer Vapor quickly.
This Wolfmale might know I just helped him… so if I help him again, maybe he will offer his own assistance more readily. Immersed in their chanting, the others in the bar don’t seem to notice as I slip into hiding and crawl under each tall bar stool. I encounter trouble at the last stool, the Monkeymens biggest male proving harder to pass. I try to squish myself by, but quickly regret it when, with his supporting shout to the Wolfmale, he kicks his feet out. And right into me. His chair begins tipping back with his very deep voice…
“He jumps!”
The bar is quiet.
I need to help them both. A falling Monkeymale and a jumping Wolfmale… great.
Suddenly…
Yellow light washes over the bar. Everything is still…
But…
I can still move?
I climb to my pads, looking around at the frozen world. Trolling’s excited face is of great contrast to the wary stares of my Wolves, who seem to have seen something outside. I follow their eyes, walking towards the outdoors. Then, I hear a voice.
“I’ve only got a little time…”
The Furless appears as a Princess ghost. Is it her magic? The Yellow magic surrounding us, like before, walls of other times. We are together in a bubble of magic.
"... You will see the future of the four Catmen."
From a square they run out to a big place where a fountain stands. It is on fire.
"Our fountain!"
"Quickly now!"
The Furless look to me,
"I have seen the whole future and it does not end well for them"
I feel I need to question her this time, just to get some answers…
"What can I do?
"The white elixir I have given to you is white magic. Thunder needs that, so he can save them."
"Thunder?"
"oh right… the Wolfmale"
"What curses the fire?"
“You’ll understand soon.”
“Do you know anything about the Black Scroll?”
"Find house number 4 to get your answer."
“Go save the sisters.”
Her magic fades out. I quickly ran inside to save the Monkeymale and the Wolfmale. It occurs to me for a moment that the Furless has acquired new clothing - red and black; fitting more of her body.
“Root!... Wind!”
From my right paw, a tree root sprouts, going through the floor and tipping the Monkeymen’s chair into place. Wind magic flows from my left paw, sending the Wolfmen flying upwards to land on the platform. Because of the Yellow magic, no one sees my own. Clever Furless. Across the Milkbar, cheers erupt.
“Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!”
Trolling flies up and soars around him. The barkeeper comes over to me.
“You’re the first to do that. You're not just a Princess right?”
“I am the White Sorceress and the Princess of the wood.”
"A Sorceress… listen to me."
The keeper moves very close to me so no one else can hear.
"This world needs to fight the evil magic… the Yellow one."
"The Yellow magic is evil?"
"That magic can absorb others' magic, and in the wrong claw it can destroy worlds. When you have mastered your profession, come and see me. Remember you cannot kill it until then."
He is leaving me to whisper and serve others.
The Furless has that magic, and I hope she knows what she is doing. I need to master my white magic, how can he know my white scroll does not appear to me yet?
I look across the room and see that the Wolfmale has come down to sit with his four young female fans. I unpack my tail and travel myself over to the group. I need help from the Wolfmen. I have to save them.
“I need to speak with him in private,” I say, looking at the four Cats as the first one answers with slight anger in her eyes.
“Sorry there is no room for you here.”
She is wearing an amulet with a green stone and has a short yellow dress on. The second has a dress with flowers on, and she quickly responds…
“This is our private table.”
The one with a funny hat and a vest with a Mously logo, says…
“You need to get your own private table to talk in private.”
The last one has short black feather coated and she definitely has the longest hair.
“You’re not invited so move on, Mistress.”
I raise my princess tail towards them, fur on end. Fear in her eyes, the last one apologises and stands to leave, taking her sisters with her.
“Come, sisters.”
“Ya, we need some more milk.”
“Why are we leaving?”
“The important need to speak to the important.”
As they leave they make their kittens laugh.
At last. I have him alone.
This story's plot, (with out saying too much).
Everything have something to do with magic, time and Meow! But not in the way you think it will go.4 books will come, 4 parts will go into the story, 4 charaters we follower and only 3 staff magic.
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That will by chapters art by Azifri and character pictures by Sarah.Mørch
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