Page 20 of Monster's Melody

Kasi had a huge grin on her face, a bottle of wine in her hand and her eyes on Shadow, who was slinking along at her side, a tiny wine bottle clenched between her teeth.

“That’s adorable,” Mikaela exclaimed.

“The label says it’s Purrlot Cat Wine, and that it’s made with catnip.”Kasi chuckled.“Shadow is so thrilled to have her own bottle.”She pulled a second, miniature bottle out of a pocket and handed it to Mikaela.“I asked the cellar to gift another one for Miki-Leopard and it agreed.”

“Oh, my gosh.Thank you, Kasi.Thank you, cellar!”Mikaela looked so thrilled, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d burst into tears.“Miki is throwing confetti and doing kitty cartwheels in my head.”

“That’s so dang cute,” I muttered.

I had to admit I was a little jealous of my friends with their cat companions.At one time, I’d believed Vorzak’s snakes would fill that emptiness inside, but no longer.

I scowled as I remembered my conclusion from the night before that I might be better off just finding a familiar of my own.“How does one go about finding a familiar anyway?”I asked as Sunny, and her best friend, Daya, lynx and panther shifters respectively, plopped down at our table.

“You’re getting a familiar?”Daya asked.

Before I could answer, Mikaela let out a whimper and started scratching her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”Sunny asked.

“It’s Miki-Leopard.She’s making me itch!”Mikaela wailed.

“That’s weird,” Daya said.“Are you sure it’s your leopard?”

“Definitely,” Mikaela said.

“Is it a scratch under your skin?”Sunny asked.

“Yes!”Mikaela exclaimed.

“Oh, yeah, that happens all the time,” Sunny said, “but it’s weird that you haven’t shifted yet.”

“I don’t think that’s what she’s talking about,” Daya said.“Not if it’s only her shoulder that’s itching.”

“Sometimes it’s my elbow,” Mikaela said.“Or my thigh.My ankle.My neck.”

“But not all at the same time?”Daya asked.

“Oh, no.That would be awful!”

“But that’s what it’s like when we shift.An inside itch all over,” Sunny said, “but it shouldn’t take very long at all.”

“Yeah,” Daya agreed.“Like ten, maybe fifteen seconds at most.”

“And then we’re shifted.Is Miki trying to shift?”

Mikaela groaned.“No.She’s trying to lay on my skin like a tattoo.”

I snickered at the stunned looks on Sunny and Daya’s faces.

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Sunny said.“Is it?”

“Shadow does it,” Kasi said without lifting her head from the table.

“Yeah, but Shadow’s not a shifter,” Daya said.

“I don’t know if it’s possible,” Mikaela said.“All I know is she’s making me insane with the attempts.And we have to head to class.Maybe the dragons will distract Miki.”

“Don’t count on it,” Kasi said as she lifted her head and slowly climbed to her feet.“Cats are notoriously stubborn and from what I’ve read, shadow-cats are the worst of the lot.”